Options for prepping and storing food?.(Part 2 of 3)

MRE's or Meals ready to eat are packages of food that can be opened and eaten hot or cold, with no additional fussing around.  you have military grade and civilian grade.  Military grade comes with a flame less heater and are not sold by the Gov.
 You can find them second hand on auction sites, army surplus shops or a friend/relative that is active in the military.   When buying these, try to find out how and where they were stored and for how long. High temperatures (above 80) can cause them to go bad faster. Check the expiration date on both the individual meal packages AND the box/case they come in.  Since purchasing these second hand, you want to make sure no one switched or changed whats in the box.

Now civilian MRE's are not much different besides being made for the general public and not all contain the heater. most places sell them separately.

There is a wide market out there with some pretty incredible choices from freeze dried ice cream to stews and sandwiches. so shopping around in a must.
Here are a few of my favorite places to purchase from (and compare)
 Nitro-Pak   they offer free and flat rate shipping options based on what you buy.  That alone saves money.
The food taste good,they offer tons of choices and customer service is no hassle.

Now.. This next place is my food prepping haven! its Cheap, fast, and easy food from eFoodsDirect.com!
No trans fats, no hydrogenated oils, no added msg, NOT genetically modified, gluten and lactose free, natural made in the USA and the list goes on. You could stock a bunker or your car and still walk away knowing you got one of the best deals out there.  For the price of the postage, you can get 6 free meals so you can try them out.
 That's how i got hooked.  I was expecting some flour tasting weird textured food but
it was damn good. I really like to avoid gluten so that was a bonus.
 
Sit down with your family and figure a few things out.
Do you plan on having 3 or more meals a day?
Are you going to buy desserts and extras?
How much variety do you really need?
Will you need food to give away or trade?
Will you need food for more then one location?
How long do you expect to feed your family?  3 months? longer then a year?
Are you basing your food stock on prepped foods alone or will you be gardening as well?
What if garden fails?





     

Options for prepping and storing food?.(Part 1 of 3)

There are quite a few options ranging from home canning to MRE's (meals ready to eat)
In my opinion, each one has its good and bad points.  

Canning requires you to buy the food, the jars, and a cooker. although you can carefully use a good old pot of boiling water. It can be very time consuming and slightly troublesome to learn but you know exactly what is going into your end product and its suited to your taste.
A few great options for buying your canning supplies online are The JarStore
and The Fresh Preserving store. Their selection is amazing and the prices are great. 
The Fresh preserving store is running a promo right now for $10 off orders of $75 or more with coupon code C96245
One of the best ways to learn techniques for home canning is through watching the videos on youtube
you have people of all ages who do canning everyday!
My canning skills are still in the beginning stage, But i find its the best way to preserve what i grow in my garden.  I do freeze allot of my garden veggies
but i can not rely on that staying fresh if the power goes out! 

So for now, Lets say freezing is not a good way to prep food for a SHTF situation!

Along the same lines as canning, you have food dehydrating.
This can also be time consuming but not as intimidating as hot water and glass jars. 
Your end product is light weight, compact, and pretty much resistant to mold and bacteria if dried properly.
BUT keep in mind, when foods are dehydrated (or cooked in general)
they lose allot of nutritional value and you are spending more money on electricity for the  6+ hour drying process.

I picked up my first food dehydrator at a thrift store and its still running strong. Many people get these as gifts, try them out once or twice and then get rid of them..  I will save my cheap prepping ideas for a different post lol

end 1of 3

Potassium Iodate tablets KIO3

Should a nuclear event take place (Like in Fukushima) you really are screwed with out the potassium iodate KIO3 This is something you, your family and pets need to take BEFORE you are exposed to the plume of radiation. 



Do you know how close you are to a nuclear power plant?
Here is a United States map showing the approximate locations for each state.  (scroll about 1/2 way down) 
That web site is a cache of free maps,GPS information and downloads!




 Do your research and ask your doctor.


 

The not so obvious... thoughts on survival

Do you think about the food you are storing away vs. what you eat now? 
How comparable is it?

I bring this up because if your diet right now consists of allot of empty carbs, sugar, fast food, and soda, Your body is going to go into withdrawal once there is no more junk going in.  You could get head aches, mood swings, lethargy, the sweats and all sorts of other weird symptoms.  None of that is easy to deal with and being in a SHTF situations is not the ideal time to be sick and off your game. Are your kids always hopped up on sugar 24/7? Imagine how they will react when they crash and can't get anymore sugar! 
You could prep allot of junk food but that's not really recommended for sustainability. 
Starting to incorporate complex carbs, fruits, and vegetables now like oats,muesli,whole grain breads,brown rice,lettuce, apples, carrots,and prunes will get you and your family used to eating different things, start you on a detox from sugar and fats, and probably help with a little weight loss.  
(yes i take my own advice on this LOL)

Do you have heirloom seeds stored away? 
My absolute favorite seed store (plus way more)
is my patriot supply
These guys are great from pricing, shipping, to customer service.
you can call and talk to a real person! They know the products because they use them. how often does that happen now? 

Heirloom seeds will produce fruit or veggies where the seeds can be saved and replanted giving you the same food over and over again. If you save the seed from a hybrid plant you could wind up with any number of different plants that were used in the past to cross breed. There could be bad flavor, bad growing traits or you could get nothing at all. 

Have you tried growing anything yet? 
Its very important to know your ZONE. Also, you might want to consider the extreme weather we have been getting the past few years. You might plant a crop and the whole thing croaks because the summer was too hot and dry.
Consider some drought tolerant heat loving veggies like Okra.  

Do you have any preps for your pets?
Do you have a bell on your dog,or a flashing collar for at night?
you wouldnt want your pets wandering off into the dark or falling prey to a hunter that mistook it for a wild edible animal. Did you know, the scent of lavender keeps most animals calm.

This may sound silly but you would not believe the amount of people who forget... A standard non-electric can opener!  During hurricane Wilma we were without power for 3 weeks and a can opener was one thing my neighbors kept looking for. 

 

 
 

Prepping questions

Prepping gets so time consuming and confusing, sometimes you are left wondering if you have all the bases covered.
How do I grow my own food? What food can i eat in the wild? Do I have enough supplies or the right ones for my family?
Whats the best bug out location? How do i know when to leave? What's the best survivalist guide?

Then there are people who are new to prepping and they wonder,  What the heck is homesteading? Will the economy really collapse?, Can I really be self sufficient? There are SOO many questions. 

 
I have come up with (what i think) is a pretty damn good list of Books, e-books,links,resources, Topics and suggestions to help my fellow preppers along. This is just page one of my new blog so stay tuned for new info to be posted.
If you have a prepping blog too, I'd love to see it!

 

If i post a link in my "favorite links" list or right in my blog post, It could be a regular website,a forum,someone selling an e-book, or a preppers network.  Some of these sites with e-books give you tons of very helpful info for free with out even buying anything.   

On a different note, I am also a gardener (mostly veggies now) 

So i will be talking about what I'm growing, saving seeds, recipes, and good old simple living. 

Feel free to ask me questions about prepping and/or gardening and I will do my best to answer or find the answer! 

-Mello