[TheRifleman]

What if you had to survive a long time on something

You would want to be able to not run out of nutrients that are required to survive over a long period also
What would be the *cheapest* and also most efficient food to get to store up? Would this result in eating something like grains or rice?

What would be the best if you don't have a fire and water always to cook it?

[rickrem700]

Well, Rifelman; I personaly have been surviving on Wendy's number 3, plain with cheese add bacon, and somtimes a frosty, for several weeks now!!!
Sorry I could not resist that, Ok all kidding aside, I think its a matter of personal tast, as you would not want to have to survive on somthing for a long period of time, that you were not that crazy about, I myself just started doing a little research on things that I like, and see if there is some way to perserve them for a good amount of time, There are also a larg amount of retail survival food stores that sell storable food, how ever this option is very expensive, To me it is not inportant that I have somthing that is going to last for 250 years, I think it is better to cycle your food just to keep fresh stock, the first thing I learned was vacume pack everything, oxygen is the one thing that will spoil everything. Think of the things you could not live with out first, for me thats a no brainer COFFEE nothing happens with out it!!! It also stores great for years and is pretty cheap, and dose not take up space or weigh perfect for me,wife and kids hate it, so fore them a little crystal lite or instant tea whatever they like, Can goods are great, but heavy, I alway take one of my deer and dehydrate it into jerky vacume pack it and deep six it in the freezer, I recently had some that was from 05 and it was great, beleave me on this vacume cealer thing, before my wife bought it, stuff would not last 4-5 months, it is key! other obvious things are nuts, granola, rice, anything that has been dried, even fruit,powdered milk,hot choclate, bacon bits are a favorite of mine they only last about a year, so keep cyceling them. Bisquick is an mutipurpose thing to have around, you can darn near make anything out of it, and the stuff will out last you if you keep it cealed up,powderd eggs are something good to have around, seems like everything you fix needs eggs as an ingreadient, like I said just look at the things your family already eats and see what you can do to perserve it, and just keep cycleing it into your other grub, That way everybodys not in food shock on top of whatever has already happend, My kids would look at me like I was nuts if I tossed them an MRE for dinner!!! to tell the truth I think they could live on FRUIT ROLLUPS indefenetly, A note on the MRE"s they are an excellent thing to have around but I don't think you need a ton of them, I consider them secondary to keep in a truck or a car, or a few when going on long hikes in case you run into trouble! they are a little pricey to, and would cost a fortune to feed a family for any amount of time, keep it cheap, keep it simple. Hope this helps.

[preventec47]

I have a flock of pet ducks and buy something called Scratch to feed them which is cracked corn mixed with oats and barley. 50 bound bags cost 12 dollars now and for the heck of it I filled a bowl of some with water and microwaved it the way I would grits or oatmeal and it wasnt half bad to tell you the truth. Imagine coarse grits mixed with oatmeal. This would be far better
than the gruel or porridge that was eaten hundreds of years ago.
I'd guess this stuff could be put in 5 gal buckets with a pack of dessicant
and stored for a few years at least.
If this is the only thing you ate for months at a time I guess it would
be a good idea to get some vitamin and mineral supplement pills.
This scratch is better than the stuff they feed the starving refugees
in many parts of the world.

[bkt]

Originally Posted by TheRifleman

What if you had to survive a long time on something

You would want to be able to not run out of nutrients that are required to survive over a long period also
What would be the *cheapest* and also most efficient food to get to store up? Would this result in eating something like grains or rice?

What would be the best if you don't have a fire and water always to cook it?

See the thread on Food Preparation a little ways down.

Fire and water are basically as essential as food. If you're storing food, then also plan to store fuel, matches or lighters, and plenty of water as well.

[matt g]

Without water, you're dead in a couple of weeks, so food would be the least of your worries.

[jeepejeep]

Along with as much water as you could store, get some MRE's from places like Sports man's Guide. They are nutritious, compact and don't taste bad at all. I went to Wyoming a couple of times and camped for 5 days in the mountains. Went in there on horseback. Closest place with a phone was about 40 miles from where we were camped. We ate MRE's and were fine.

[MarkoPo]

One person could live off a jar of peanut butter for a few weeks. Also honey is the only food that never spoils. I'd say go with mostly dried fruits and meats, long shelf life and take up little space.

[bkt]

Originally Posted by MarkoPo

One person could live off a jar of peanut butter for a few weeks. Also honey is the only food that never spoils. I'd say go with mostly dried fruits and meats, long shelf life and take up little space.

Honey is an outstanding food source, and it is nature's Neosporin. For the same reason it doesn't spoil, it is good for cuts and light infections: nothing can grow in honey.

Some folks cook up hamburger meatballs and freeze dry them. They keep indefinitely and taste like meat when you rehydrate them. Personally, I'm OK with hunting for meat and storing stuff like beans and rice (which keep for a very long time) and other semi-nonperishables.

Remember: keep instructions how to cook the food you store with the food. It won't help you to have a bucket full of hard, dry beans if you don't know how to make them edible.

[RED]

Rice is cheap, nutritional, and will keep for years as long as it is stored properly. Same goes for beans, peas, etc. Actually I have 2 deep freezes and one of them is full of dehydrated stuff. I figure it's shelf life won't begin until the power goes.

Did you know that frozen peas can be planted and will germinate?

The #1 thing I see people forget is cooking oil. Without it you can't do much with wild game but boil it.

[illbfrank]

I've found a good deal on MRE's. It's at armygear.net. 2 Cases of MRE's for $89.98. I order 4 cases at a time and save some on shipping. That works out to about $3.75-$4.00 each meal. One MRE will feed myself and one kid or my wife in really hard times. I don't eat like I once did.