store what you eat

STORE WHAT YOU EAT
We have covered this before. Every Joe Blow survival writer and his brother has covered this before. Only store the foods in your apocalypse stockpile that you eat normally. People do not eat MRE’s or freeze dried foods regularly. The MRE is easy enough to get used to since the protein and fat content borders a super sized McGreasey meal. But believe me, they get real old real quick. The lack of fiber ( they will bind you up in a hurry ) and live enzymes really are telling in very short order. We won’t even go into overprice issues. Just leave it at the unfamiliarity. Even canned foods may not be what you normally eat. I eat tuna, refried beans and fruit from cans, occasionally chili and baked beans and very little else. I would not be very happy with a diet of canned goods ( and again, there is the cost issue ).
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There is a lot to be said for not being too picky with a post collapse menu. After all, we should be happier than pigs in slop that we are eating at all. But knowing something intellectually and being able to overcome your body chemistry are too different things. Guys, take sex. You know you can live without it. You know we pay a very high price for it. Yet we allow the need for it to rule most of our lives. It doesn’t matter how many times we tell ourselves we need to overcome the urge, we still do stupid things because of it. Even when you are telling yourself what you are doing is stupid, you do it anyway. A very mild case would be buying the wife roses and dinner after a fight. Yes, you want to live with the love of your life in perfect harmony and you feel bad and you love her super duper like and wish we could all just get along in our sunshine and lollipop universe. Plus, you really want to get laid soon.
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One of the first reactions to stress is going to be a decrease in appetite. Let’s say that legions of zombie bikers are encircling your compound ( it would be called a house normally but nowadays if you have more than a pellet gun in the house and aren’t a Hillary supporter it is considered a armed compound with terrorists inside ). Fight or flight kicks in and the last thing on your mind is breaking out the cast iron skillet for some fried potatoes. Once the fear subsides your appetite is going to remain slightly fragile. Especially if you introduce weird food into your diet. Now, I have never been attacked by legions of biker zombies but I have encountered plenty of stressful situations, as have we all. Such as moving. Relationship problems. Problems at work. You get the idea. So it really should be a rule you don’t break. Only store what you eat normally. However.
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I think most people also assume they need to duplicate their menu as far as possible. If they choose cans, they buy as close as possible to a regular meal. Canned meat, canned fruit, canned vegetables. Canned dry potatoes. Same with freeze dried. Duplicate the meal as close as possible. Herein lies the problem. Either the cost will be too high or you won’t store enough because of a tight budget. I would advise you that you should only store a few items that you normally eat. Not the entire menu. Wheat, beans, fat and perhaps milk. Not canned meat or vegetables or fruits. Get most of your protein from combining the wheat and beans, get your vitamins from sprouts. Of course you want some of the regular foods. I am not a herbivore. I crave meat. But it is important to have enough food in stock. So I stored up wheat before I bought any canned meat. I didn’t even start stockpiling beans until my wheat supply was secure. Yes, it is far from ideal, but to my thinking a lot of sub par is better than a little of perfect. I’m far more concerned with beans than meat. Canned meat buys are few and far between. A luxury. I understand it is not my normal dinner. But wheat and beans are normal in my overall diet. Right now I eat wheat for breakfast and lunch. I’ll miss meat but my body will be used to wheat when I start eating it for dinner. I love refried beans so legumes will not be a shock to eat every day. Not perfect, not ideal. But cheap and food I’m used to eating.
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Don’t duplicate your present menu. It is based on cheap petroleum and most likely will not be normal for you the rest of your life. Rather, start eating more beans and grains and make them the bulk of your storage food. I agree with others that a little bit of meat is so much better than none at all, even when combining beans and grains. My body notices the difference from just a few ounces of meat added in. Normal people crave and need meat. My point is that it will become more of a luxury than you will care for. Food prices are increasing double digits yearly now. You don’t have the resources to stockpile what you want, only the bare minimum you need. Slowly move your diet towards more plant food, and stock them. After you have a full pantry, then add your luxuries. Don’t panic because you think it will cost a grand per family member in storage food. Instead, stockpile the cheaper basics as you move your everyday diet in that direction also.
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My apologies for this broken record. A lot is lack of fresh material, a lot is my very bad feeling about future food prices and/or availability. Far better to panic now and cheaply stock up on food, then when one is comfortable to add the expensive items. The alternative is being unable to stockpile latter, even on the once cheap beans and grains. Global food stockpiles are down so far there is almost no wiggle room. You should be able to get by on procrastinating certain purchases such as land or gas guzzling RV’s. Prices on those most likely will fall. I don’t think food should be one of those things. I can’t see food prices falling.
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