(pause)
I'll let my few loyal readers mull over this advice. Do you see any problems? First off, if you are looking for foods on a budget, you want high calorie vs. dollar amount. (calories/dollar)
Here is a way better list that I've assembled. The best food choice, hands down, is flour at 4464 calories per dollar. The LDS list wheat berries as a primary grain to store...NO WONDER! You can easily make Navajo fry bread with just flour, salt, and water. Soda bread only uses a little bit of baking soda and no yeast. You could also bake sour dough bread without having to store yeast.
My personal favorite item is sugar at 2854 calories per dollar. Protect from moisture and you have a food storage item that will last indefinitely, relatively hard to manufacture, highly desirable as a trade item, and goes great in coffee. Sugar was actually the first item to be rationed during World War II (Spring 1942) and no sugar could be legally purchased without ration stamps until 1947.
Next on my list is rice at 2320 calories per dollar. I'd also recommend storing Kikkoman Soy Sauce, and the Walmart website sells powdered soy sauce. (LINK TO SOY SAUCE POWDER) Having a ton of rice, but no soy sauce would really irritate me after a while.
Let's not forget plain oats at 2148 calories per dollar. The oats make a quick and easy breakfast to go with that tea brick that I did an article about...
The cheap Ramen noodles and pasta come in at 1949 and 1600 calories per dollar, respectively.
So, here you have my top 5 list for budget foods to store. This is not a complete nutritional profile, so I'll add a few more items to help round out the nutritional side of things.
1. Prenatal Vitamins which tend to be cheaper and better profiles.
2. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (1245 calories per dollar) and can be stored in a deep freeze for extra longevity. Besides, fried squirrel and rabbit with that flour, salt and pepper makes a great meal. (Be sure to check out the Lard and Crisco comments below)
3. Salt. A no-brainer preferably with iodine if you don't live along the coast. Also, can be used as a salt lick for hunting local game.
4. Green Coffee Beans
5. Lots of spices that can't be grown locally. Here's my list: nutmeg, cinnamon, black pepper, turmeric, mustard seed (homemade mustard), cocoa powder, and chili powder.
6. (hat tip to Monsoon Matriarch) Refried Beans from the LDS for a quick food to make a complete protein with the rice.
7. (Vicki is on point with two overlooked fats) Lard ran $1.99 for 2110 calories per dollar, Crisco ran 1982 calories per dollar, and olive oil ran 1284 calories per dollar. Purely empirical, lard is the best choice. I checked today, and the lard had a best buy date of Feb 2019 (I'm impressed).
Interesting links:
My tea brick article
Soy sauce powder link for Walmart
IFSBULK. A wholesale supplier and GREAT prices.
APN article that I hate.
Sweet Maria: Coffee supplier
As always, comments are encouraged, and make my day a little brighter.
Keep Right On Prepping - K
I see no advantage in having a pantry full of spam and energy bars. But full of flour, rice, sugar and oats. Yep. That's what mine looks like.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the soy sauce. :)
Yep, kinda like when I smoked. Had a pack but no lighter!
DeleteTalking about lard...it can be canned just like butter can be canned, for a longer shelf life. That's one of the projects on my 'need to do' list.
DeleteThis list would presume not having refrigeration though, right? So wouldn't the old style lard or Crisco work better for storage purposes?
ReplyDeleteI much prefer your list, for certain. Thank you, K. I hope you are all well. Be safe and God bless.
I did some looking around at the grocery store. Lard ran $1.99 for 2110 calories per dollar, Crisco ran 1982 calories per dollar, and olive oil ran 1284 calories per dollar. Purely empirical, lard is the best choice. Thanks for the insight.
DeleteWhen I backpacked quite a bit, I'd run across old homesteads and see old tin lard buckets scattered around. Makes sense now.
Supposedly is how granny got that flaky pie crust, too. ;)
DeleteGlad I could help; even if it was from the pov that I don't believe lard needs to be refrigerated. Comes in small cans or you could probably repackage.
Went to the store again today, and noticed that the best buy date on lard was Feb 2019. A pretty good longevity for a fat.
DeleteGreat list! Depending on who you are feeding (growing children, pregnant women) I might swap the rice (or half of it) for the LDS refried beans. It would improve the protein profile and break the grain monotony.
ReplyDeleteLOL! You caught me in my old age... I was writing the list before work, and got to number five, then drew a blank on my train of thought. I was supposed to be pinto beans to compliment the rice for a complete protein.
DeleteWe also like the orange drink from Emergency Essentials for the nutritional profile.
Good old red beans and rice. :)
DeleteI resemble that forgetfulness point, too. Can't count the number of times I'll be typing something and then have to stop because I just can't think of the word, even though its right there at the edge of my brain!
P.S. And provide 'fast food' if needed.
ReplyDeleteI like the refried beans for low fuel use and completing the protein chain.
DeleteFor my use, I would not store wheat as I am allergic to it and soy. Cannot stand Kikkoman's anyway. I am not sure why everyone puts Spam on these lists. Other canned meats are healthier and more tasty. Hormel's beef is delicious, but I had to give it all away as I am allergic to all mammal products. I can do without spices. Salt and pepper are just fine. Sugar and cinnamon and cocoa are necessary for me. I use other spices just am not dependent. I have friends who eat my food and declare it delicious.
ReplyDeleteI would store sugar, brown rice, dried eggs, oats, and beans (Great northern and blackeyed peas). I make a great refried bean from pintos, garlic, and salt. The cans of it are full of fat. However, having food with fat would be a good thing in a time of less abundance.
I am alone, so I store what I must eat and little of things to which I am allergic. Monotony in food does not bother me. Hopefully, my eggs would come from my chickens. I can have a little flour that is not whole wheat, potato flour, so I could have brownies...lol.
In my opinion and from reading, Crisco and lard are equally bad with transfat and hydrogenated fats. A long time ago, lard was just lard, not now. Both lard and Crisco have a shelf life that can be extended by refrigeration. The old Crisco we knew has been reformulated and now raises blood sugar as it lowers cholesterol. I GIVE UP!
linda,
ReplyDeletewhat happened to lard.?
i have put some by, though i don't use it now, as a need if hard times hit.
i have thought of storing some crisco but you have given new information so i don't know what to do. maybe nothing.
we can get canned fat-free refried beans here in ne ohio, so that's what we use.
excellent source of protein.
my daughter cannot digest animal products, except goat milk,
because of lyme disease.
we were glad to find the refried beans without the fat.
we are both gluten-intolerant so i store rice but it is nutritionally deficient, so pulses are much more important for us.
thanks for info on crisco and lard.
k,
ReplyDeletethanks for tea brick link i am ordering some. 40 years!!! storage life.
those chinese are some smart people.
The tea bricks were more compact and durable for trade. Capitalism at work.
DeleteVery important article ! Thank you and keep it up.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jane, always nice to see your name in the comments area and an honor to get a compliment from you!
Delete