My biggest issue with stocking up is I can't eat carbs. Well I'm able to but my blood sugar goes through the roof if I try. I think a whole lot of jerky would work for me, plenty of water, and there's a lot of canned meats/fish/chicken/Tuna. I don't have months and months in my cupboards, but sounds like a good idea now they you'all brought it up
Between the NDAA rules where the gov't can take anything you have in an emergency and the squatters you can't even defend yourself from, I would get a bug out bag with the bare essentials--a couple of good knives, water purification items, a little freeze dry food, a good book like Stalking the Wild Asparagus, a few pairs of socks and warm clothes, some cordage, emergency blankets and first aid kit... You can look on the bright side. Things could get difficult. The best thing is to learn skills that can't be taken away from you. They just want to destroy the world. Don't worry. They plan to build it back better.
I like this plan @Mary Stetler Travel light, in case you have to walk especially. We have a lot of back-road nearby but going them alone would be frightening. It's one time for sure I would wish to have a man a long. I read about some lady that sort of rescued a homeless guy and they ended up married. These guys that live without wheels and and a roof over their head might not be such a bad pick for a mate. The real trick would be to find one that's not hooked on drugs or alcohol. I know, never mind my bright idea
Interesting....I never thought of it as a dating opportunity. Although movies like the one with Robert Redford and (?) hiking the Appalachian trail looked interesting too.
LOL, well heck yeah @Mary Stetler if a feller's travelin alone you can be at least halfway sh'ore he ain't hitched already I never saw that movie with Redford and whoever that was with him
To stock up on food I would eat anyway, I buy a lot of freeze-dried or dehydrated soup mixes. For example, I have vegetable soup mixes from Harmony House and Mother Earth Products. Both are non-GMO and contain only foods, without any of the stuff that looks like it was put together in a chemistry lab, such as you might get from processed canned food. They have expiration dates that are 2-4 years away, would probably be edible long after that, and I eat them within a few months anyhow. The Harmony House vegetable soup ingredients are dehydrated carrots, onions, tomatoes, peas, celery, green bell peppers, green beans, and parsley. The Mother Earth Products vegetable soup mix is pretty much the same, containing carrot flakes, chopped white onions, tomato flakes, peas, celery flakes, green bell peppers, green beans, and parsley flakes. Rather than hiding these away in the attic or crawlspace awaiting the Last Days, I simply eat them as I go along, and buy more so that I always have a good supply. I had some yesterday, a few days ago, and the week before that. Simply add some to water, boil, and simmer. It tastes good as it comes, although, in practice, I generally add chicken, kielbasa, or something else, as well as a bouillon cube, since I'm not a vegan, and sometimes I'll add some frozen corn. Using this as a base, you can make a wide variety of soups, and, since I eat soup a lot, I like to do that. At times, I'll add a small potato, quinoa, or rice, but not all that stuff at once. In what seems more reasonable for someone who is dependent upon a medication (levothyroxine) and coming up on 73 years of age, I mostly buy stuff that I would eat anyhow. If I were in my 20s or 30s, maybe I'd have a bugout bag and a cache of stuff hidden away in the wilderness somewhere, but, at my age, I'm probably not going anywhere. However, in the event of a disruption in the food supply, I have enough stuff here to last for a while, easily for a few months, but we could probably stretch it to a year or more if we had to, and most of what we have is stuff that we would eat anyhow, rather than MRIs or survival food that we wouldn't eat unless we were starving.
Storing soup mixes too long, I am only concerned about the oil in them--like with all stored foods. Eating them as you go, rotating stock, is the way to go with almost everything. You can store mineral pills forever. But not vitamins. You can store white flour and sugar (for trading) but not whole wheat... But I am beginning to agree that I am too old to worry except I like being warm in the winter and cool in the summer. My barnhouse helps with that. If the climate fanatics ban wood fires I am quitting.
Mike Adams sent this out today on Prepping Myths...so so so few can do this function of MAYBE eventual bare stores and how many can do a garden??? Ensuring that you have a long-term food supply is a huge part of prepping – one that requires a lot of careful planning, hard work and investment. The goal of building up a survival food stockpile is not just to keep your family from starving when SHTF, but to make sure they get proper nutrition and energy from the foods they eat so they can stay strong and healthy. Whether prepping for your family or your own survival needs, every prepper needs to be efficient and smart about their choices and way of doing it. When assembling your long-term food supply, the last thing you want is to end up buying too much or too little, exceeding your budget or worse, not having sufficient resources when SHTF. In this feature article, we've compiled and debunked 10 common misconceptions about emergency food storage to help guide you in your food storage journey. Learn More
The only myth I might disagree with is #3. People WILL eat almost anything if they are hungry enough. The key here is why store food you don't enjoy eating at least a little bit? People also forget to gather and store spices and, sometimes, herbs. Storing wither in conventional plastic is not a good idea IMO, as most plastic is permeable and will also leach into the water over time. Glass or specially-designed long-term water storage containers are best, and getting some way to purify drinking water is a good idea as well. Gardening, as you mentioned is important too, for nutrition and taste like you mentioned. Almost anyone can do container gardens.
Two things: Do the best you can with what you have and You can't prepare for every eventuality. Knowledge is one thing they can't take from you. Water is probably the most important item. A solar still costs little. Learn about them. I have three water purification systems. Get a copy of Stalking the Wild Asparagus or other exceptional wild food manual. Before the garden is up and running, we really do make use of weeds. Very nutritious and no added chemicals. And other foods are out there. We are not using them this year but we have an abundant crop of black walnuts. The squirrels will be happy and nut fed squirrels are tasty. I just opened a 40 year old Mountain House #10 can of freeze dried potatoes and chicken just to see how those cans have fared. It was good tasting but the chicken was powdery. That was ok as it blended in with the gravy produced when I added the water. But now we have to eat a whole #10 can of chicken and potatoes. You can't just let it sit around after it is open.