Quick and cheap food ideas

Have you brought already made survival food? I have purchased some meal packages in bulk because I wanted to just have something ready quickly while I build up a stock supply. This method is not cheap! I got a few things from Sam's Club via online. They seem to have the best price.

 

I will agree with Keith, you don't need to spend unnecessary money on something that you can be creative about, unless of course you have it and you don't have enough time on your hands, at the end of the day it is a matter of choice. You could make some yourself to minimize the cost especially with foods like meats, smoking and drying works out the best and you can do that in the comfort of your own home, but if you want freeze dried, then that could be costly.

 

If you mean MRE's then no, I don't have those. I think they are really expensive for what they are and I really can't envisage a scenario where I would need them. I prefer to keep a full pantry, lots of tinned/dried goods and grow vegetables.

 

Well, that is a good start and you are doing very well, considering that a lot of people are still blind about the idea of prepping, they somehow think that the stores will always be open even during a war or something along those lines. My only advise to you would be to keep your tinned foods in date rotation so that as the time goes by, in the event of a catastrophe, you will still have plenty of food that it not expired.

 

You are off to a good start as the food stores may not be there when there's an EMP or nuclear attack. Keep your tinned foods in date rotation, I find that many people prepping forget to do that and at the end of the day it is wasted effort if your food is out of date when you need it.

 

Useby dates on cans mean little.
Last week I finished off the last of my baked beans in tomato sauce!
Canned in the 70's and the last spam from the 80's
All good!
Tomatoes and anything acidic may not last too long but most stuff lasts and lasts.
I am still using rice I packed in 2002!

I vac-pac my own ration packs! but not to much as most of my food is in bulk!

 

Some concerns that make dried food charge a premium claiming production and processing costs. One dried food that one can make easily from the comfort of their home is dried potato peel crisps. They cost next to nothing and are very tasty and nutritious. Meat can be cut into thin stripes and then dried in the sun or oven and it can keep for years. Another excellent dry food is roast maize.

 

I think it is cheaper to create your own. It's kind of like cooking meals at home versus going out to eat. You save more money doing it yourself. Thankfully, u have boxes of MREs. They are packed with calories and we (military) eat them when we are in the field training, on deployments, but they are intended for War time or just a time of emergency.

 

Do you think it's okay to store canned food--I mean literally in cans--or does the fact that they all have expiration dates make this a bad idea? Because we have a local grocery store where you can get cases of canned goods for a really deep discount. I was thinking about stocking up on canned vegetables, canned meat and canned fruit. Most of those items you could heat up over a campfire or eat straight out of the can.

 

Canned food will last - indefinitely - in the can. I have eaten canned food that is past its expiration date and it's fine. Best Before dates, that you find on canned foods, are a guide only. You may find that there may be some deterioration in the actual quality of the food, but that's all. Of course, I try not to have any expired cans in my food storage because I rotate my food stocks, but occasionally I find one or two! If a can is blown at the ends, don't use it though, as the contents will have gone bad - it happens occasionally.

 

An indispensable done item when I an in survival mode is maizemeal. Its quite cheap and easy to prepare a satisfying dish when you are hungry by boiling a handful of maizemeal in water and them adding some fat or margarine and a pinch of salt. A packet of maizemeal can in for many days with this porridge. I find it good when I an broke or famished.