I was just reading through the "Nov-long term prepare" thread and it got me thinking about the type of foods to store for that long-term-staying-put option (the one I favor).

Long-term preparedness seems to rely heavily on storing masses of dried beans, rice, and pasta. I know they can keep nearly indefinitely with minimal preparation, but I see two problems - fuel, or lack of fuel, and nutrition in the long-term.

1) Especially with rice and beans, they can take a long time to cook = lots of fuel required. Those with acres of forest and a woodstove may have no worries, but for others, the quicker-cooking options may need to be considered.

2) Nutrition - if we are talking about a long-term situation (waiting for crops to grow, etc.) Staying healthy in the meantime becomes more meaningful. For the fuel-needy who have resorted to the "instant" versions of rice, grits, etc,, consider that they lose much of their nutritional value in the processing.
- Diets heavy in carbs will have negative effects eventually (the fact that rice and beans make a complete protein notwithstanding).
- I haven't read of too many here storing vitamins - maybe because of relatively short shelf life.

This is a thoughtful group. How are you addressing these issues?

I try to keep a good supply of multi-vitamins and a few other types of supplements (iron, omega 3, etc) on hand.

I also keep dried fruits on hand, as best as I am able (raisins, banana chips, dried apple slicesw, etc) to round out a diet.

The first thing is to store food that is similar to your normal diet. That way you know it works with you system and you like eating it.

There are a lot of canned food possibilities. There are lots of canned veggies, soups, fruit, fish and meats.
I just saw these today at the Safeway;
http://www.bumblebee.com/products_fam.jsp?famid=10
These are chicken. I also saw tuna (of course) and salmon including steaks. http://www.bumblebee.com/products_fam.jsp?famid=2
Don't forget Spam which now has a turkey variety which is probably a bit healthier.

Bill

Not necessarily. For beans, soak them overnight, come morning replace the water with boiling water (you can use the soak water), then stick the beans/hot water in some sort of insulated wrapping. They'll be ready to eat later that day.

Rice works the same way but you don't need to soak it the night before.

If you are secure in your location and the sun cooperats you can use a solar cooker. A simple one can be made from a cheap styrofoam cooler, a sheet of glass or plexiglass, and a pot painted black.

-Blast

pressure cooker--they make small ones..if you have a
wood lot your all set..it took me 26 years to go thru
less that 5 acres..that was oak and the grow-back never
caught up with the use..

Blast said it. Food prep and a well thought out cooking method is a great way to save fuel. Most of my camping meals can be made by a combination of pre-soaking and/or pouring in boiling water and letting it sit for 10 minutes or so. Even at home I make oatmeal like that. Boil water, pour, cover, wait 5-10 minutes, and eat.

I agree with using a pressure cooker, it speeds things up and uses way less fuel.
It's useful to look at what camping and hiking websites have to say about food sources. I like to take prepacked potato buds and bacon bits, they keep well and cook up instantly.

We store lots of what we eat everyday, nothing special. Remember dry food usually requires a good supply of water to rehydrate.

What about cans of V8? Is V8 juice a good source of nutrition, or at least a supplement to 'plain' foods?

Instead of using boiling water, I used to make ramen by tipping a can of V8 into the ramen cup (with the seasoning sachet) and putting it in the microwave. Makes a sort of bolognese-inspired dish. (Sort of).

A

Costco. Think six-packs of chili, veggies, canned meats, etc. Can be eaten hot or cold, easily rotated, full taste, etc. Add a few bottles of multi-vitamins and you are set...