Y'know, it's amazing how some of the foods I wouldn't normally consider particularly palatable somehow turn into ambrosia when I haven't eaten anything substantial in a few days. Spam turns into such a food on about day 2. Ants become yummy on day 4. Armadillo needed slightly more than 10 days of starvation, and grubs (more than one anyways) will take me about 8 days I reckon. Beyond two weeks I figure I would eat my own guts.

A big box of Quaker Oats would add in some fiber and significant calories. Good fuel to have before you start digging out. It takes me weeks to eat a box from Costco.

No food beats white rice for when ill. It's pretty much the easiest food there is to eat and not have leave your disgestive track prematurely.

I'm a huge oats fan. Does granola have oats in it? Only asking cause he listed granola.

I like that list. Did I miss the can opener in the box? I know we all carry one, but having a spare seems a good idea. Anything to combine ingredients in, serve in, eat with and from?

I know someone who's elderly father was in one of the Florida hurricanes and survived fine, but he couldn't eat a whole can's worth of anything and had no refrigeration after the power went out, so single-serving cans began to seem like a good idea if you live alone.

Have you tried cooking all this over a week's time with one can of butane (you don't give its size). Louise and I cook three squares a day for the two of us at Burning Man for a week, and we go through two full ones plus start a third of those small screw-in cans for a Coleman stove.

One of our advantages is that we get to bug in for a week at Burning Man every year, so our bug in box has menus and selections that are tried and true. Because there's nothing at Burning Man except what you bring, we've learned to bring spares of almost everything. That's why I'd have additional can openers, stoves, and other items we consider essential.

I think your list is much more practical than the "5 pounds of flour, 5 pounds of corn mean, 5 pounds of dried beans" type lists.

My tip for possible addition would be vacuum-packed Italian gnocchi. They take only few minutes (I guess 2-3) to boil and they are delicious.

Yes, my granola has oats in it. That is the only way I'll eat them unless it is those or death.

Have you shared this list with us before philip? If so, please provide a link. If not, please provide the list! I think we all could definitely benefit from your experience. I certainly could!

Well that's very kind of you, but our menu changes annually because we get tired of the same old crap. :-> It's similar to ironraven's list, which is why I like his list, of course. From my point of view our advantage is not that we have a list but that we have the experience from an annual trip where we had to bring every thing we need and live with the results. That's what will happen after the big earthquake or pandemic when we either are stranded or have to isolate ourselves.

Neither of us has any cooking skills, so we don't rely on going to the pantry (or bug in box), seeing what we've got and coming up with a meal - We do one menu for each meal, then we buy based on the menus. Then we put the contents for each meal in a plastic bag with the recipe for that meal. It's way over-organized for real life, but it's amazing how aggravating it is trying to search through a box in a hot van in 100 degree heat for the hearts of palm. Having each meal in its own bag with the recipe saves marriages and mayhem when you're under stress. We rotate out of our bug in box to the Burn box, so nothing gets stale (and we camp other times during the year, so we actually use our menus pretty much year round).

I realize there are lots of people who can go to their pantry, see 5 lbs of flour, a can of soup, three sticks of beef jerky and come up with a gourmet meal. Louise and I have no clue, so we pick recipes we like, substitute canned chicken for whatever cooked chicken was called for (or canned beef or whatever), and off we go.

And I think that's the key to a real survival situation: we've got familiar recipes we know how to cook, and everything we need is right there in the bag.

Seriously, if I were in a survival situation and I opened up the box and there's a bag of white flour, a bag of wheat flour, a bag of corn meal, a bag of corn flour, a bag of rice, and a bag of elbow macaroni, I'd have no clue what to do with it. (Well, if you throw a teaspoon or so of flour on an open flame you get fun sparks and fire, but macaroni just chars, so that's no fun at all.)

There is a P-38 duct taped to the inside of the lid. Not to mention the can openers in my SAKs, Leathermen and about 30 more P-38s scattered about.

As for something to cook in/with, this lives next to the box with the camping/bug out gear, and if this leaves the house, BoB is going with. There are also two more canisters (one full Coleman screw on, one partial) on the shelf with my other camping gear. I've got bowls, pots, mess tins and a few coffee cans that are organizing webbing and cordage that just need to be cleaned with canned air. :P

You didn't notice the shocking omission of any bourbon! I'm sure there's a bottle of MM in there somewhere.