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Location: When you take flak it means you are on target
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Submariner - after reading your post I keep thinking of Mad Max, "Who run Bartertown?"
Tamara OP - Other than the fact I wouldn't buy dog poop from the price gouging (ammo and guns) company you linked I would be concerned about what those MRE's actually contain. I think it is best to stick to companies that are producing current military food, and I'd like to see the wrapping. But the price is actually very good - which is kind of a red flag for me as to quality and content.
Currently we are eating up some old Trader Joes rice dated 2/2015. It's been fine, we have 2-3 boxes left. I have some vacuum wrapped rice from 2017 which is next. I'm going to start moving expiring (but still edible) food into a secondary storage to begin building a stockpile that can be used either to give to other people in need or to turn into the government if they come around collecting "for the common good."
I wrote extensively on food stocking about a year ago if anyone wants to dig back a few pages. In a really bad shtf event diabetics and everyone with health challenges is probably SOL. I think most storage "survival food" is bad for diabetics. I'm not diabetic, but we look for low or no salt foods. In "normal" times we eat mostly fresh veggies and fruit, with chicken and fish. I literally haven't had a steak in years and have maybe one burger a month.
We were still eating "MCI" rations, a fancy name for the old C-rats in Basic training in 1980. We started getting the new MRE's when I got to my unit. I thought they were pretty tasty. LOL As a civilian I used to keep a case or two of MRE's around for emergencies, or hiking trips where weight is a factor. I haven't stocked any for a decade due to the high cost and off the shelf items that are cheaper, tastier and more readily available. Also, getting mre's with a full shelf life can be problematic.
Substitutions I like for mre's are the "Complete" meals ($2 @ Walmart vs roughly $12 for mre's). We keep about a 15 day supply in our pantry and another 15 in our "go" trunk along with staples like rice, and canned meat and fruit. They have about a 2 year shelf life (vs 5 for mre's). I rotate them out every year or so. They aren't very healthy either, but are easy and stop hunger for awhile. Also we can toss 'em under the hood of the Jeep and have a hot trail lunch in about 30 min.
We also keep a stock of canned foods. Look for long life items like:
Olives (4 yr+)
Kippers and Sardines (4+)
Tuna (3 yr)
Salmon (2-3)
Meat (3 yr)
Canned chicken (3)
Tomatoes (3)
Fruit cocktail (3)
A lot of this is high salt. Rinsing helps.
There are quite a few frozen foods and TV dinners that can be diabetic and heart healthy. Take some time to browse the frozen food section and read the labels sometime. I was kind of surprised.
We mostly eat fresh, supplemented with frozen foods for short term shortages or emergencies. We buy those 10lb bags of frozen rubber chicken at Walmart. They store pretty good for about a year and actually aren't terrible if you marinate them in something. We make terriaki and orange chicken or stews with it. ​We also keep about 5 lb of frozen hamburger and 4 or 5 small frozen hams, which last a looong time. And we keep about 10 bags of frozen veggies and a gallon of ICE CREAM!
And finally, we keep a supply of 25 year freeze dried as our main emergency food after the pantry runs out. If we are hitting the freeze dried it's probably getting to the point where the cat should be watching her six!
If you're worried about it, just rotate your food and eat it within 6 months. I don't see the problem.
There is a lot you don't see. This is the "Preparedness" forum, and most of us have stocks that go past six months. Some might go past 6 years.
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Originally Posted by Robert20170
If you're starving after 6 months, I'm guessing those "piousness" cans will look plenty appetizing. Or you can get MREs and don't overindulge due to your diabetes. That may be a problem for you and why you have diabetes in the fist place, so you could always can your own food, but good luck getting them to last five years as well.
Just curious, if you're insulin dependent, are you going to be able to stockpile insulin too?
Wow, completely out of line.
A candidate for my "ignore" file.
For example, I have lots of HEB canned chili and chili has 0% added sugar, so it is heading in the right direction for me. The catch is a lot of it was bought in 2013.
I am under the impression that the Best By date is not an expiration date and as long as the can is not compromised, it is still viable......assuming it doesn't explode or hiss upon opening.
So what's the scoop?
There are a variety of shelf life's in various literature. My rule of thumb is: 15 years, go half if it is acidic, and go half if it has a pop top.
Your can of chili, being 8 years old, is a bit long in the tooth, but, unless it has a pop top, it should be OK. Probably not as tasty as it once was.
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Originally Posted by TamaraSavannah
Well, that's the thing of finding out I am a Type II diabetic. Just a trifle over one year ago, I found out that so much of the stuff I have is now off limits to me. No canned spaghetti, no raw spaghetti, no white rice, ...
My diet, diabetes aside, has shifted mostly to dry goods (beans, brown rice, lentils, split peas, corn meal, corn flour, cocoa powder, sugar substitute, flour, rolled oats, sugars (more on that in the moment)), avocados, lettuce, canned fish and meats, canned tomatoes and corn, and deep freeze meats and fish (though I might get into smoking some day). On the sugars, my doctor says I can have limited Toll House cookie baked stuff.
A question about rice. You can have brown rice, but not white. Where does Uncle Ben's Parbroiled Rice fall in that decision?
You said you can have lentils. Beans, and dried legumes in general, have a very long shelf life. Reconstituting them requires some skills, though, if they get past about 7 years.
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An interesting side note about the snowcoplypse. With its rolling black outs, I would take a quarter lbs of beef out of the frozen goods when power was up and let it defrost during the day. Then, for meal times, I would cook it up on the gas stove and have it with tortillas.
As it is, what is my most heavy purchase of canned goods? Cat food....and we go through that quick enough.
Cat food always tasted "off" to me. And a bit gritty.
Might be the brand, though
When they told me, they gave me the option of pills or shots and I immediately went for the pills because...
insulin is refrigerator dependent
there is the question of circulatory collapse
......and that was just back in the Trump administration.
As it was, given the Texas snowcolypse and the rolling blackouts, having the pills was another reason over insulin.
I am Type II so it is more a thing of diet. I am wondering if there is something in nature, in natural drugs....but that's a different research question.
No expiration date but most of it is pasta which is rather off limits to me, so I got to wondering.....
As it was, before I started this thread, I was thinking an order every year or every 6 months, slowly build up at stock pile that would have to be rotated out at the 5-6 year mark or so.
...............or the next best thing one can build if they find a friend with a good back hoe.
So if you're type 2 all you have to do is purchase the freeze dried selections of beans, greens, vegetables and fruits. Nuts don't store well but I think there are some nut butters with added oil which is against my diet style but if I'm eating out of a bucket then TSHTF. I think there are some whole grains you could also add but I don't eat them. Also there are animal products but I don't eat them either.
I'm not diabetic but I eat that way anyway. I freaked out when in a routine physical my FBG was 96 because my mother was T2 and I was not having it. So my meals are: 2 lbs greens/vegs, 1 cup beans, 1 oz nuts/seeds, fruit.
Simple. Also a good motivation to reverse your illness. Read End of Diabetes by Dr. Fuhrman. It's all in there. Especially Chapter 10. Also discusses meds for doctors/patients and also weaning down...which would be a concern if you were to end up in an emergency situation. The most difficult part is getting off the deadly sodium and oils. They're like crack.
You wouldn't want to stockpile starchy carbs like the fractionalized oat meals because they SPIKE and that would just demand more insulin when the goal would be to wean off it or need very little in a SHTF scenario.
Funny, I came here for food reviews on the different brands and saw your post.
I know a lot of 'survivalist/preppers' they often have friends who are military and have access on-base.
I would expect 20 to 30 year old canned food to be less flavorful. They become somewhat bland in taste.
I remember one apartment building I owned, the basement has been filled with sand from years and years of repeated flooding. As I removed all of that sand by hand I discovered many cases of prohibition era whiskey and home-canned food from the 1930s. Both the food and the whiskey were okay.
I understand maybe trying the whiskey, but can not for the life of me understand why you would even want to try home canned food from the 30's. Surely you couldn't have been that hurting for food.
As a home inspector, I would occasionally come across old canned food in basements of vacant homes. Of course I had no idea when it was canned (unless they were marked), but most of it looked disgusting and potentially dangerous.
.......My diet, diabetes aside, has shifted mostly to dry goods (beans, brown rice, lentils, split peas, corn meal, corn flour, cocoa powder, sugar substitute, flour, rolled oats, sugars (more on that in the moment)), avocados, lettuce, canned fish and meats, canned tomatoes and corn, and deep freeze meats and fish (though I might get into smoking some day)..........
Quite a bit of that stuff can be stored.
As for the canned chili, if you don't like that brand, you can buy canned beans and dress them up with chili powder and dried onions.
There is a lot you don't see. This is the "Preparedness" forum, and most of us have stocks that go past six months. Some might go past 6 years.
....
Wow, completely out of line.
A candidate for my "ignore" file.
Oh, thank you my knight in shining armor! (really, thank you!)
As far as ignore files, I don't do those.......there are just some things that don't justify an answer at all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TRex2
There are a variety of shelf life's in various literature. My rule of thumb is: 15 years, go half if it is acidic, and go half if it has a pop top.
Your can of chili, being 8 years old, is a bit long in the tooth, but, unless it has a pop top, it should be OK. Probably not as tasty as it once was.
Hence why spices should also be around. That was the theory hundreds of years ago and also in lessons from Nat'l Geo with the mother ship Cod fisherman cook who, though he served cod for each meal, could make each meal different.
Quote:
A question about rice. You can have brown rice, but not white. Where does Uncle Ben's Parbroiled Rice fall in that decision?
Have not a clue. It's not on the shopping list at all, I'm very raw goods around here.
Quote:
You said you can have lentils. Beans, and dried legumes in general, have a very long shelf life. Reconstituting them requires some skills, though, if they get past about 7 years.
I think my oldest are my pinto beans. The lentils and split green peas do tend to be long in the tooth but they get used frequently enough. My pinto beans are used as fillers, a hand full tossed into this stew or that.
Quote:
Cat food always tasted "off" to me. And a bit gritty.
Might be the brand, though
Growing up in my Father's house, a treat was Pate, like this: https://www.amazon.com/SELLS-PATE-LI...19350400&psc=1
Once upon a time, a young lad from next door came over, had a taste and "UGGH! TASTES LIKE CAT FOOD!"......which was fine with my Father.....more for him.
Last edited by TamaraSavannah; 05-11-2021 at 11:46 AM..
Oh, thank you my knight in shining armor! (really, thank you!)
I have a special place in my gizzard for people who criticize the health of a veteran, as if they have a clue what your history is.
Quote:
As far as ignore files, I don't do those.......there are just some things that don't justify an answer at all.
I find that even seeing some people's posts is a waste of my time.
Quote:
Hence why spices should also be around. That was the theory hundreds of years ago and also in lessons from Nat'l Geo with the mother ship Cod fisherman cook who, though he served cod for each meal, could make each meal different.
In my cabinet, chili IS a spice In desperate times, I plan to use it to flavor other stuff.
Quote:
Have not a clue. It's not on the shopping list at all, I'm very raw goods around here.
I think my oldest are my pinto beans. The lentils and split green peas do tend to be long in the tooth but they get used frequently enough. My pinto beans are used as fillers, a hand full tossed into this stew or that.
Parbroiled rice is about half cooked. It is steamed, if I understand correctly. Pinto beans can be reconstituted by simply soaking, up to around 7 years or so. After that, they require the hot water and baking soda method. (I will try to post that here, for those who missed it, last year.)
Quote:
Growing up in my Father's house, a treat was Pate, like this: https://www.amazon.com/SELLS-PATE-LI...19350400&psc=1
Once upon a time, a young lad from next door came over, had a taste and "UGGH! TASTES LIKE CAT FOOD!"......which was fine with my Father.....more for him.
The "gritty" remark was half joking, but some manufactures put some bone meal in cat food. It is natural in their diet, and in addition to supplying calcium, it helps keep their teeth clean. A bit less fun than a tooth brush.
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