Is It Too Late To Start Prepping?

http://www.theorganicprepper.ca/is-it-too-late-to-start-prepping-12252012

$20 List

2 pound bag of rice
2 pound bag of beans
4 cans of spaghetti sauce
2 cans of peaches in water
1 jar of peanut butter
1 jug of white vinegar
5 gallon jug of water

$50 List

everything in the $20 list and

4 boxes of saltine crackers
4 jars of unsweetened applesauce
2 pounds of sugar
5 pounds of flour
1 liter of olive oil
3 cans of green beans
2 boxes of baking soda

$100 List

everything on the $20 list and the $50 list and

1 canister of grated Parmesan cheese
1 canister of baking powder
10 pound bag of potatoes
5 pound bag of onions
5 pound bag of carrots
2 pounds of powdered milk
6 pounds of pasta
5 bags of dried spices of choice
small assortment of treats (candy, chocolate chips, etc – you have $5 to spend on things that make life more pleasant!)

A shopping list is fine, but it would be helpful for menus to accompany the lists. People eat differently, so take that into account. Dried spices are not the only condiments, so work through menus and see what else you need to make the above foods palatable. How many people will this list serve? It's a one-month supply, probably for one person.

If you can afford to buy in bulk, you're money will go further. Current Mormon cannery prices (best prices I've found) as of a few months ago were, for 25-lbs. bags:

Black beans $16.80 (less gassy than pintos and just as tasty in Mexican food, which is the most affordable cuisine, get a cookbook and learn to cook it)

White beans $16.00 (Great Northerns, basis of Boston Baked Beans)

Pinto beans $18.55

Powdered Milk $47.20 (makes 420 cup = 26.25 gals)

Oatmeal $15.35

So, for around $114, you can have 75 lbs. of beans, 25 lbs. of powdered milk, and 25 lbs. of oatmeal. That's a good kickstart to a food storage program. You can make cheese and yogurt from powdered milk. Use it on oatmeal.

For another $40, add in sweetener, rice (to combine with beans for complete protein), and wheat (another element to combine to make a protein, also to make bread):

Sugar, 25 lbs, $15

Rice, 25 lbs., $13

Wheat, 25 lbs., $12 (you'll need a grain mill for this; buy flour if you can't get a grain mill, 25 lb., $13.30, shorter shelf life)

So, now, you're up around $155. All these items have 30-year shelf lives, except milk which has a 20-year shelf life.

You can get generic black tea at Wal-Mart for about $1 for a box of 100 tea bags. For around $4.00, you have a one-year supply for one person. I found the sugar there for $13.98. Extra-virgin, cold-pressed olive oil has the longest shelf life, but it is getting pricey. Shop around. Remember, many other oils are probably GMO, such as soybean, cotton, and canola. If you can find butter at a good price (buy 1-lb bricks instead of four individually-wrapped sticks for a cheaper price), then can your own butter. It's easy, instructions here: http://www.endtimesreport.com/canning_butter.html. Also, check out the other "Manna Meals" that you can "can" (they are actually canned in glass jars) yourself, here: http://www.endtimesreport.com/manna.html.

Get heirloom seeds to grow tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, onions, garlic, spices like rosemary, thyme, etc. Also, consider medicinal herbs. I get mine from Southern Exposure (mid-Atlantic): http://www.southernexposure.com/. Johnny's is another good one: http://www.johnnyseeds.com/.

Buy sprouting seeds to get fresh vegetables on demand during the off-season months or if you contemplate having to move around. You don't need a pricey kit. A glass jar, a rubber band, and a piece of cheesecloth or nylon to cover the mouth is all you need. Just add seeds and water, store in a dark place, water daily, and within a few days you have alfalfa sprouts (or other types).

If you can afford it, buy a good multivitamin/multimineral. Also, know your local plants. Here on the east coast, pine trees give Vitamin C if you boil the needles of the white pine. The inner bark is food. Pine boughs make a bed that keeps bugs away. Minimal books related to food to have: Mexican cookbook, how to garden, local plants.

Need meat in your diet? Raise chickens for eggs and meat, raise catfish in a barrel (http://www.stevequayle.com/prepare/Raising.Catfish.in.Barrel.pdf, search youtube for videos), raise rabbits and guinea pigs for food, goats for milk. Want deer? Buy a salt lick at your local feed and seed store and the deer will come to lick it. Easier than having to hunt them down.

Here's a link about guinea pigs. It's a staple in Pervian diets: http://72.30.186.176/search/srpcache?ei=UTF-8&p=guinea+pigs+for.... Note that, like rabbits, guinea pigs don't have much fat, so an exclusive diet could leave you fat deprived.

Replies

Cheryl Nelson December 26, 2012 at 4:06pm

Food banks around here either give food away (such as food donated by Wal-Mart is given out free via one city's fire department), food donated from Food Lion (a supermarket chain here), a food bank in Roanoke, or a local grocery store. If you income qualify, then you can get extra food via the USDA food program. Participate in programs like these in your area because it will help you build your food stores. Don't know where they are? Contact your local department of Social Services. They will tell you.
Kim B December 26, 2012 at 3:28pm

Good list. I have to add gluten free stuff to my list as I found out recently that wheat gluten makes my hashimoto's thyroid worse (I don't need that!!).

My husband's aunt who moved into our basement last year, has been stocking up on food she gets free from the government. It is mostly canned foods, rice and pastas. Glad to see she is doing this as this may be a necessity if some type of emergency would arise.
Cheryl Nelson December 26, 2012 at 3:08pm

A shopping list is fine, but it would be helpful for menus to accompany the lists. People eat differently, so take that into account. Dried spices are not the only condiments, so work through menus and see what else you need to make the above foods palatable. How many people will this list serve? It's a one-month supply, probably for one person.

If you can afford to buy in bulk, you're money will go further. Current Mormon cannery prices (best prices I've found) as of a few months ago were, for 25-lbs. bags:

Black beans $16.80 (less gassy than pintos and just as tasty in Mexican food, which is the most affordable cuisine, get a cookbook and learn to cook it)

White beans $16.00 (Great Northerns, basis of Boston Baked Beans)

Pinto beans $18.55

Powdered Milk $47.20 (makes 420 cup = 26.25 gals)

Oatmeal $15.35

So, for around $114, you can have 75 lbs. of beans, 25 lbs. of powdered milk, and 25 lbs. of oatmeal. That's a good kickstart to a food storage program. You can make cheese and yogurt from powdered milk. Use it on oatmeal.

For another $40, add in sweetener, rice (to combine with beans for complete protein), and wheat (another element to combine to make a protein, also to make bread):

Sugar, 25 lbs, $15

Rice, 25 lbs., $13

Wheat, 25 lbs., $12 (you'll need a grain mill for this; buy flour if you can't get a grain mill, 25 lb., $13.30, shorter shelf life)

So, now, you're up around $155. All these items have 30-year shelf lives, except milk which has a 20-year shelf life.

You can get generic black tea at Wal-Mart for about $1 for a box of 100 tea bags. For around $4.00, you have a one-year supply for one person. I found the sugar there for $13.98. Extra-virgin, cold-pressed olive oil has the longest shelf life, but it is getting pricey. Shop around. Remember, many other oils are probably GMO, such as soybean, cotton, and canola. If you can find butter at a good price (buy 1-lb bricks instead of four individually-wrapped sticks for a cheaper price), then can your own butter. It's easy, instructions here: http://www.endtimesreport.com/canning_butter.html. Also, check out the other "Manna Meals" that you can "can" (they are actually canned in glass jars) yourself, here: http://www.endtimesreport.com/manna.html.

Get heirloom seeds to grow tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, onions, garlic, spices like rosemary, thyme, etc. Also, consider medicinal herbs. I get mine from Southern Exposure (mid-Atlantic): http://www.southernexposure.com/. Johnny's is another good one: http://www.johnnyseeds.com/.

Buy sprouting seeds to get fresh vegetables on demand during the off-season months or if you contemplate having to move around. You don't need a pricey kit. A glass jar, a rubber band, and a piece of cheesecloth or nylon to cover the mouth is all you need. Just add seeds and water, store in a dark place, water daily, and within a few days you have alfalfa sprouts (or other types).

If you can afford it, buy a good multivitamin/multimineral. Also, know your local plants. Here on the east coast, pine trees give Vitamin C if you boil the needles of the white pine. The inner bark is food. Pine boughs make a bed that keeps bugs away. Minimal books related to food to have: Mexican cookbook, how to garden, local plants.

Need meat in your diet? Raise chickens for eggs and meat, raise catfish in a barrel (http://www.stevequayle.com/prepare/Raising.Catfish.in.Barrel.pdf, search youtube for videos), raise rabbits and guinea pigs for food, goats for milk. Want deer? Buy a salt lick at your local feed and seed store and the deer will come to lick it. Easier than having to hunt them down.

Here's a link about guinea pigs. It's a staple in Pervian diets: http://72.30.186.176/search/srpcache?ei=UTF-8&p=guinea+pigs+for.... Note that, like rabbits, guinea pigs don't have much fat, so an exclusive diet could leave you fat deprived.

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