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I tend to go grocery shopping several times a week, picking up various items at different stores and buying only for a few days’ worth of meals at a time. Shopping this way allows me to eat yummy fresh food without having any of it go to waste, but if I suddenly get superbusy for a week and don’t have time to shop or cook, the pickin’s get pretty slim. What if the power and gas went out, leaving me with a fridge full of rotting produce and a pantry stocked with rice and dry beans that I couldn’t prepare? I worry about these things occasionally.
If we’re talking serious disasters, then I might be the perfect candidate for a huge, 275-serving bucket of dehydrated emergency food: Costco sells one for $115, Unclutterer reports (via Serious Eats).
Not only does the bucket contain a variety of dishes—including blueberry pancakes, corn chowder, “Ala King” (note the lack of Chicken here), and something called “Potato Bakon”—but each meal is just a little more expensive than the classic 33-cent cup of Top Ramen. As blogger PJ recounts, when he and a friend happened upon the buckets at Costco,
[M]y friend realized he could eat for an entire year on less than $500. Tears swelled up in his eyes when I mentioned he could probably also get rid of the refrigerator in his apartment.
The idea of spending that little on food is kind of appealing, until you think about why the stuff is so cheap. (As commenter missdona points out, Costco ironically categorizes the bucket as part of its “prepared gourmet entrees” section.) In terms of bang-for-buck rations, natural peanut butter would definitely be my number one choice; I’d probably want to have some dried fruit on hand, too. What kind of food would you turn to in an emergency or in belt-tightening times?
The buckets-of-stuff are *emergency* food, what you eat when you can't get anything else. I was appalled at the comments on the other articles on how "stupid" it was, or "disgusting" it was -- this is not intended to be a TV dinner, it's intended to keep you alive.
I have one such bucket for real emergencies, and am collecting cans of more palatable food for less dire times. There are...+READ
The buckets-of-stuff are *emergency* food, what you eat when you can't get anything else. I was appalled at the comments on the other articles on how "stupid" it was, or "disgusting" it was -- this is not intended to be a TV dinner, it's intended to keep you alive.
I have one such bucket for real emergencies, and am collecting cans of more palatable food for less dire times. There are freeze-dried staple foods that cook up very nicely, and canned whole foods that store forever. I just found some lovely canned cheese that lasts forever, and the same source has canned hot dogs, hamburger, and sausage. Add some pilot bread or rice, and some dried fruit or some kind of vegetable, and that's good food.-COLLAPSE
I keep a few bags of frozen shelled edamame in the freezer for times when I cannot shop for lunch, dinner, snacks, etc.
It's easy to prepare in a bunch of different ways and it's relatively cheap.
Our earthquake kit -- which needs refreshing, thanks for the reminder -- includes canned tuna, canned beans, un-natural peanut butter (longer shelf life thank the real stuff), many kinds of soup, lots of bottled water, and kibble for the pups. My normal "seasonal, local, natural" mantra goes out the window in this case. My main criteria are long shelf life and palatability when eaten cold.
>> What kind of food would you turn to in an emergency
>> or in belt-tightening times?
Cans of beans and beef bullion, chicken bullion and tomato bullion, a mexican favorite, always on hand for rice.
Living on the Gulf of Mexico we have to always have some emergency supplies on the shelves from June through November during hurricane season. Now the problem is some of these items were just found to have deadly poisons in them and removed from the store shelves. Can you say "botulism" ? YES..that horrible bacteria. I usually cook from scratch never liked the taste of those fast processed foods...+READ
Living on the Gulf of Mexico we have to always have some emergency supplies on the shelves from June through November during hurricane season. Now the problem is some of these items were just found to have deadly poisons in them and removed from the store shelves. Can you say "botulism" ? YES..that horrible bacteria. I usually cook from scratch never liked the taste of those fast processed foods in a can or box to begin with only during this time of year do I stock a few just in case we have no clean water or power to cook with. Now that changed my emergency list..to plenty of bottled water and some dry cereal and powdered milk. That is just for starters....I'm sure I'll have to come up with more than that...or my husband is going to have a "long face". LOL..seriously it's hard enough to plan for a normal week of meals..but emergency meals is a whole different ballgame this summer.-COLLAPSE