# What can food storage shoud I...



## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

I'm not a nutritious. My regular meal is Pop Tarts for breakfast, hamburger for lunch and the balanced meal the wife prepares for supper.

Wife mentally can't accept TEOTWAWKI so I give her reasons she can accept. I've got to ease her into this. I'm building a first-in-last-out canned food storage rack. She understands it is for saving money, buying more then we presently need when the item is on sale.

My rack will have two columns, each column holding about a dozen cans.

Over a period of time as the wife adjusts to the idea then I'll build more racks for a larger selection of canned goods. Until then, what two food items would you recommend we start with?


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## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

Since you're only talking a couple dozen cans to start, I'd just store what you like to eat.

Now, once you get a larger cache, and rotation or consuming by "best by" dates, here's my thoughts.
Tuna has a very long shelf life compared to other canned goods.
Soups are good but ones with a cream as opposed to clear broth don't last as long.
Veggies in clear liquids store for a long time.
Spam type meats are filling. 1 small can of spam will make a meal for 2 people.
Get some things you like above other items. (for me it's stews and corn beef hash). It's a nice treat.


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

Just something to get her started? For us I'd say tomato sauce and chicken broth. The kid loves pizza so I'm constantly making pizza sauce and the broth is used for all sorts of stuff.


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

Ravi oli/beefaroni/canned cheese
canned soups
canned fruits and veggies


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

If the goal is to get her used to it then, whatever you use the most.


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## bigg777 (Mar 18, 2013)

For just 2 types of canned goods, soup/broth and tomato sauce or spaghetti sauce. If she is a baker, I'd start her out with condensed milk and pie filling.

Good luck.


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

bigg777 said:


> For just 2 types of canned goods, soup/broth and tomato sauce or spaghetti sauce. If she is a baker, I'd start her out with condensed milk and pie filling.
> 
> Good luck.


Pie filling...she does make pies AND fruit is one thing that would be hard to acquire after TEOTWAWKI.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

Many items are sold in packages of twelve. If you make your rack deep enough to hold, say, sixteen then the shelf does not have to be empty to restock. If you pay attention and do the restocking your wife will never run out and you will avoid the dirty look she gives you when that rack is empty and she has to go elsewhere to find that second can.


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## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

Since we are talking SHTF situations and since everything is going to be in turmoil and your stress levels will be thru the roof we most look at it from a logical point of view. You need to get what you like ,ready to eat meals are best ,like c-rations just heat them in a pot of hot water, open with a p-38 or pull top and a nice plastic spoon and you are readytogo my friend ,no mess, no clean-up. So hot water for a cup of coffee or chocolate and one of your pot tarts for dessert .But really many have this idea that in a real SHTF situation they will have all the luxuries to make a fancy meal set with the nice china and silverware, hell they will be lucky if they have running water. This is not the time for fancy salads or cooking; spam and beans with flour tortillas or biscuits cook on the hot plate over some lumber. After Andrew in 92 here in Miami we lost power but with plenty of propane for the house stove or a camping stove or white fuel we eat good ,just like in our camping trips ,hell I even baked bread and cakes , had my neighbors going crazy .Anyway stored what you like and keep it simple and just make sure you have the right tools and preps for a bad situation and don`t forget to ROTATED your food supply and have plenty of water.


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

Canned chili beans would have to be one choice for me. Tasty, provides protein & a good amount of calories. Maybe some corned beef hash?


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

Canned chili beans would have to be one choice for me. Tasty, provides protein & a good amount of calories. Maybe some corned beef hash. Higher caloric foods would have to take priority.


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## DrPrepper (Apr 17, 2016)

readytogo said:


> .But really many have this idea that in a real SHTF situation they will have all the luxuries to make a fancy meal set with the nice china and silverware, hell they will be lucky if they have running water. This is not the time for fancy salads or cooking; spam and beans with flour tortillas or biscuits cook on the hot plate over some lumber.


 Readytogo,
I have to respectfully disagree with you. If I have to spend the rest of my life after SHTF eating beanie weenies, it is not worth it! 

I can prepare healthy and tasty meals over a campfire, a sterno, my rocket stove, camp stove, or even my little folding stove. I practice, and the food I store is the food we eat now.....Yeah, I'll probably pass on the china and linen napkins, but I see no reason to plan to become a Neanderthal just because the SHTF! Learn to use the food you have stored now, and you may still be able to have "fine dining" after. After Hurricane Katrina, my medical team and I did our own cooking over a camp fire, and we had some really great meals.


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## jimLE (Feb 25, 2015)

TheLazyL said:


> Pie filling...she does make pies AND fruit is one thing that would be hard to acquire after TEOTWAWKI.


guess you'll be starting with apple, and maybe cherry pie filling then.. gotta keep the wife happy..


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

DrDianaAnderson said:


> Readytogo,
> I have to respectfully disagree with you. If I have to spend the rest of my life after SHTF eating beanie weenies, it is not worth it!
> 
> I can prepare healthy and tasty meals over a campfire, a sterno, my rocket stove, camp stove, or even my little folding stove. I practice, and the food I store is the food we eat now.....Yeah, I'll probably pass on the china and linen napkins, but I see no reason to plan to become a Neanderthal just because the SHTF! Learn to use the food you have stored now, and you may still be able to have "fine dining" after. After Hurricane Katrina, my medical team and I did our own cooking over a camp fire, and we had some really great meals.


I have to agree with you.


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## jnrdesertrats (Jul 3, 2010)

I know this is not the answer to your question, but it may help someone else. When I was looking if to the can rotator I used inexpensive racks made for sodas in the fridge. They seem to fit common can sizes. It was quick and easy and let me move on to other things. In the meantime I have been able to really consider what I want and how big to make my permanent solution.


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## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

DrDianaAnderson I was just stating an example but to be honest I have seen many people who have no idea of what to eat even during normal times and on my many camping trips boiling a hot dog for many have turn out to be a nightmare ,having the basic life ingredient's and equipment is all anyone really needs in a survival situation or emergency and for many beans and weenies is really a luxury.


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

Starving people will eat pretty much anything you hand them, including dog food, cat food, roasted rat, and even (YUK) tuna.

Like TSRwivey I would go for the most protein and fat dense food I could in a can: beans. Maybe some oysters packed in oil.


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## HardCider (Dec 13, 2013)

DrDianaAnderson said:


> Readytogo,
> I have to respectfully disagree with you. If I have to spend the rest of my life after SHTF eating beanie weenies, it is not worth it!
> 
> I can prepare healthy and tasty meals over a campfire, a sterno, my rocket stove, camp stove, or even my little folding stove. I practice, and the food I store is the food we eat now.....Yeah, I'll probably pass on the china and linen napkins, but I see no reason to plan to become a Neanderthal just because the SHTF! Learn to use the food you have stored now, and you may still be able to have "fine dining" after. After Hurricane Katrina, my medical team and I did our own cooking over a camp fire, and we had some really great meals.


Good point and I agree, except I'm already a Neanderthal. LazyL, you can go a long way with canned fruit and Chili


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

The fanciest dining stuff we have is glass cups and plates. We almost never know what we are going to have for dinner until it's time to make it, BUT we have everything we need when we do decide. I pulled out a jar of beef and potatoes, the kids just ground some wheat and made pizza and hubby is having chicken fajitas. All from our pantry. No need for spam or any other store bought stuff. All we need to cook is the sun or a fire.


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## FrankW (Mar 10, 2012)

One of the limitng factors in historical famines has always been lack of protein.. grains and such are a lot easier to come by even during a greatly depressed economy.

So I store SPAM.
Lots of it.
Cheap. Has lots of protein and fat ... already canned and lasts long

Second item:

Peanut Butter.
Lasts long has lots of calories in protein and fat


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## DrPrepper (Apr 17, 2016)

I love to cook, and I used to spend my time learning how to make fancy gourmet meals. Then, when the preparedness bug got me, I changed my focus from being able to cook gourmet to being able to cook, period! My hubby and I have played around with a variety of meals that can be made from our stored items. For example, we can make lasagna with homemade pasta, home canned meat sauce, herbs from the garden, and freeze-dried cheese. Chicken fettuccini alfredo is another easy-to-make nourishing meal. We try to plan our meals to be nutrient-dense. In the event of a SHTF situation, we will make our meals not only nutrient-dense, but also calorie dense. I must admit I have a fondness for Chef Boyardee Spaghetti-Os, and so I do have a couple of cans put away of that...... but it is more of a comfort food and not part of my routine meal planning. I think having a plan of how to use the food you store is just as important as storing the food. Survival, to me, is not just waking up with a pulse- it is knowing that there will still be some quality to life afterwards.


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

DrDianaAnderson said:


> I love to cook, and I used to spend my time learning how to make fancy gourmet meals. Then, when the preparedness bug got me, I changed my focus from being able to cook gourmet to being able to cook, period! My hubby and I have played around with a variety of meals that can be made from our stored items. For example, we can make lasagna with homemade pasta, home canned meat sauce, herbs from the garden, and freeze-dried cheese. Chicken fettuccini alfredo is another easy-to-make nourishing meal. We try to plan our meals to be nutrient-dense. In the event of a SHTF situation, we will make our meals not only nutrient-dense, but also calorie dense. I must admit I have a fondness for Chef Boyardee Spaghetti-Os, and so I do have a couple of cans put away of that...... but it is more of a comfort food and not part of my routine meal planning. I think having a plan of how to use the food you store is just as important as storing the food. Survival, to me, is not just waking up with a pulse- it is knowing that there will still be some quality to life afterwards.


I like the Chef Boyardee Ravioli and Jello pudding... when they are gone, they will be missed but I have a pretty good recipe for chocolate pudding for back up and everything to make it. It's just not the same though.


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