Doomsday Preppers

[Sneakers]

Ok, back on track. Maybe.
DoomsDay Preppers has been on every Sunday night, and I kind of get sucked in. Partly to learn what people are doing and why, and partly because of the entertainment factor at some of the lunacy.
This week it triggered my "Be Prepared" persona. Between that and the thread about crop and food disasters, I thought about some long-term food storage, primarily freeze dried supplies. Seems the most popular brand locally is Mountain House. WalMart sells a lot of Auguson, but the reviews aren't stunning. And I know nothing about MREs.

So, gotta start somewhere. Got a bunch of different Mountain House packs and over the next few weeks will try them out, keeping in mind long-term emergency, but also for camping. Takes a lot less room, easy to make, no cleanup.

To the preppers and hard-core hikers/campers, what do you think of various brands? Got a brand you really like, with a pretty fair selection of foods? MREs?

 

[Grumpy]

 

[Sneakers]

What was I thinking...


Oh yeah.... I have solar!! I can make electricity!! That means I can put the freeze dried food in.... um.... in... wait....

How the hell DO you unfreeze it?

 

[black dog]

Ok, back on track. Maybe.
DoomsDay Preppers has been on every Sunday night, and I kind of get sucked in. Partly to learn what people are doing and why, and partly because of the entertainment factor at some of the lunacy.
This week it triggered my "Be Prepared" persona. Between that and the thread about crop and food disasters, I thought about some long-term food storage, primarily freeze dried supplies. Seems the most popular brand locally is Mountain House. WalMart sells a lot of Auguson, but the reviews aren't stunning. And I know nothing about MREs.

So, gotta start somewhere. Got a bunch of different Mountain House packs and over the next few weeks will try them out, keeping in mind long-term emergency, but also for camping. Takes a lot less room, easy to make, no cleanup.

To the preppers and hard-core hikers/campers, what do you think of various brands? Got a brand you really like, with a pretty fair selection of foods? MREs?

Take a ride to Upper Marboro and check out the Mormon/Latter-day Saints Food Store.
They will sell to others. I have been to the Indy store many times for long term storage foods.

Washington DC Welfare Home Storage Center
7979 Penn Randall PlaceUPPER MARLBORO Maryland 20772-2626
Wednesday: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Saturday: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Please call to confirm hours of operation.

Freeze dried normally is expensive, MRE's will plug you up after a few days.

 

[GURPS]

Ranking the best long term food storage of 2021

Long term food storage refers to food supplies that will stay good for years at a time. This makes them especially useful for survival and emergency preparedness, when you will need food that stays good without refrigeration and is fresh and ready to prepare when you need it (which could be a...

bodynutrition.org

What are the Best Foods for Long-Term Storage?

If you are looking to know what are the best foods for long-term storage, you need to know that "long-term storage" is a bit of a loose phrase. What exactly

www.shtfblog.com

11 Best Grocery Store Foods You Can Stockpile For Years

Growing your own shelf-stable food is always the most inexpensive and healthy option. But when you cannot grow or raise all the food you need, long-term food items must be purchased as a part of a family’s overall preparedness plan. Although grocery store items may not have as long as shelf life...

www.offthegridnews.com

 

[Gilligan]

I have a large stock of Readywise buckets.

 

[jrt_ms1995]

I have a large stock of Corona buckets.

And this, too.

 

[Gilligan]

And this, too.

I am concerned about Corona stocking. The brief Corona shortage back at the beginning of the COVID shutdowns really put the fear of God in to me. I'm trying out various ways to freeze dry it.

 

[jrt_ms1995]

I am concerned about Corona stocking. The brief Corona shortage back at the beginning of the COVID shutdowns really put the fear of God in to me. I'm trying out various ways to freeze dry it.

Very easy to freeze dry Budweiser, and it stores compactly: 1) buy Bud; 2) pour Bud liquid into toilet and flush, then recycle container; 3) store remaining molecules in ambient atmosphere until desired; 4) to reconstitute for consumption, add urine to displace ambient atmosphere in glass/mug/stein of choice. DO NOT STIR!

I'm not sure it will work, but you can try the same for Corona, but be sure to use a clear glass/mug/stein.

 

[Bonehead]

Sneakers check out Harmony House dehydrated vegetable products. I use Legacy Foods for freeze dried protein.

 

[Sneakers]

Thanx, just what I was looking for. More research.

The Mormon store in UM sounds intriguing. Thanx BD.

 

[Sneakers]

Sneakers check out Harmony House dehydrated vegetable products. I use Legacy Foods for freeze dried protein.

I've only found one or two buckets of vegetable stuffs, so this is a good lead.

 

[Sneakers]

I have a large stock of Readywise buckets.

I have a couple, but they seem expensive for what you get.

I've also discovered that these freeze dried food packages can be very dangerous. Each one is packed with an oxygen destroyer, and we all know what an oxygen destroyer did to Godzilla in the original film.

 

[jrt_ms1995]

I have a couple, but they seem expensive for what you get.

I've also discovered that these freeze dried food packages can be very dangerous. Each one is packed with an oxygen destroyer, and we all know what an oxygen destroyer did to Godzilla in the original film.

View attachment 157856

Yes, the freeze dried are all very expensive, per calorie, as compared to other options. But you won't have to be concerned with giant lizards.

 

[Sneakers]

So, seemed like a good morning to try one of the breakfast packets. Mountain House Breakfast Skillet, eggs, potatoes, pork sausage, onion and peppers. Followed the directions for re-hydrating to the letter, 1.25 cups boiling water, stir, seal and sit for 5 min, stir again, seal and sit for 4 minutes.

Not bad, tasty, but high in salt as are all of these packets. Noticed it seemed a bit 'wet', and some of the potato and larger pieces of egg were not fully re-hydrated. Could have used a longer time sitting before serving to more fully re-hydrate. The packet was labeled as 2 servings, and half of it was an ample single serving.

I'd def use this camping, and in the event of an apocalypse it would be fine dining.

Only going to try one or two of these a week because of the high sodium content, and I'm supposed to be on a low salt diet.

Each packet has an oxygen remover, so I saved it in a vacuum bag for use later with my own long term storage stuffs. But they are cheap and easily available in bulk. If I were a real prepper/hoarder, I'd reuse the re-sealable mylar bag too, but.... nahhhhh.

 

[Loper]

So, seemed like a good morning to try one of the breakfast packets. Mountain House Breakfast Skillet, eggs, potatoes, pork sausage, onion and peppers. Followed the directions for re-hydrating to the letter, 1.25 cups boiling water, stir, seal and sit for 5 min, stir again, seal and sit for 4 minutes.

Not bad, tasty, but high in salt as are all of these packets. Noticed it seemed a bit 'wet', and some of the potato and larger pieces of egg were not fully re-hydrated. Could have used a longer time sitting before serving to more fully re-hydrate. The packet was labeled as 2 servings, and half of it was an ample single serving.

I'd def use this camping, and in the event of an apocalypse it would be fine dining.

Only going to try one or two of these a week because of the high sodium content, and I'm supposed to be on a low salt diet.

Each packet has an oxygen remover, so I saved it in a vacuum bag for use later with my own long term storage stuffs. But they are cheap and easily available in bulk. If I were a real prepper/hoarder, I'd reuse the re-sealable mylar bag too, but.... nahhhhh.

I have been freeze drying my own for the last 4 years. I can control the sodium levels and know exactly how everything is made/dealt with. But it's not cheap and a lot of work just like canning and dehydrating. Oh, the minute you opened that package that OA was toast and won't do you any good to save it.

 

[Sneakers]

Oh, the minute you opened that package that OA was toast and won't do you any good to save it.

I thought about that, and wouldn't the same be true if you bought them new and put them in your own packages? As soon as you opened the bag to take one out to put it in the food package, it would be worthless?

 

[Loper]

I thought about that, and wouldn't the same be true if you bought them new and put them in your own packages? As soon as you opened the bag to take one out to put it in the food package, it would be worthless?

You have to be super fast when working with them. When you buy them in bulk they come with a little tab (for lack of a better word) that turns color when they are out in the open too long. I open the bulk package and immediately put them in a canning jar with the tab and vacuum seal the jar. I leave out only those that I need and right into my packages they go and get sealed.

 

[Sneakers]

You have to be super fast when working with them. When you buy them in bulk they come with a little tab (for lack of a better word) that turns color when they are out in the open too long. I open the bulk package and immediately put them in a canning jar with the tab and vacuum seal the jar. I leave out only those that I need and right into my packages they go and get sealed.

And that's my thought... as soon as I opened the package, I removed the OR and put it in a vacuum bag. The time in the open air was minimal, probably less time than putting one in a bunch of packages before sealing.

Did some reading on it. If the OR packet is getting warm, it's been out too long. If it's cake-y and not powdery, it's no longer good. It can take as much as a week to remove all of the oxygen from a sealed container. Found this, sounds like yes, you need to work quickly but the OR isn't dead as soon as you open a packet. There is time to work with it.

How to Use Oxygen Absorbers: Printable Chart + Video

Learn how to use oxygen absorbers with a video tutorial and printable chart. Oxygen absorbers make food storage economical and simple.

simplefamilypreparedness.com

And don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to dispute your info, I'm just in a learning curve and your thoughts and experience are much appreciated.

 

[Loper]

And that's my thought... as soon as I opened the package, I removed the OR and put it in a vacuum bag. The time in the open air was minimal, probably less time than putting one in a bunch of packages before sealing.

Did some reading on it. If the OR packet is getting warm, it's been out too long. If it's cake-y and not powdery, it's no longer good. It can take as much as a week to remove all of the oxygen from a sealed container. Found this, sounds like yes, you need to work quickly but the OR isn't dead as soon as you open a packet. There is time to work with it.

How to Use Oxygen Absorbers: Printable Chart + Video

Learn how to use oxygen absorbers with a video tutorial and printable chart. Oxygen absorbers make food storage economical and simple.

simplefamilypreparedness.com

And don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to dispute your info, I'm just in a learning curve and your thoughts and experience are much appreciated.

No worries, it's always good for people to do their own research. That also assumes you are working with fresh OA's, the one you took out had already been used.