Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: Lennyjoe on December 06, 2022, 10:12:28 AM
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If anyone is interested in an emergency food supply for whatever reason, these guys have a pretty good sale going on right now.
We have some of their products and the quality is rather good.
https://mypatriotsupply.com/collections/short-term-food-storage/products/4-week-emergency-food-supply-2-000-calories-day?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign-email&utm_campaign=MPS%20-%2012.5.22%20-%20%24100%20off%204%20Week%20Kit%20%282022-12-05%29&_kx=sxkZx2Lsgf5DrYfjZzYcqxy04leJfOcXHehSVJn5gYU%3D.TLRHJG
(https://i.imgur.com/mBAPrsBm.png)
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(https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/57182ecb-fc41-49d1-a9c1-95ef2e3c28c3_1.b031c44af933ad44d1f78f98320154c0.jpeg)
Available everywhere
Not gourmet but not bad.
~$2.89 each
Long shelf time
Microwaveable, they say 60 sec, I use 90
Can be heated other ways
Can be eaten cold if necessary --calories is calories
Sometimes a little salty if that's a concern
No tools to open
Very wide variety
Dinty Moore has similar
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I will have to look at the Compleats meals next time I go to the store.
I am not a huge fan of the random food packs as they include a lot of foods I don't like. However, I realize that if I am depending on that food, I am not in good shape and may have given up being picky. =)
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I prefer stuff from Emergency Essentials or Mountain House. As already stated the kits include too much fluff. I am definitely a la carts in future purchases as I am trying to prep around a few food allergies.
Compleats are definitely in my preps in the keep a few around and they get eaten and replaced, the most common emergency being I forgot to prep a lunch for work . Not a staple since not the healthiest. Or as someone here said they are the food that doesn’t have a shelf life, they have a half life. Speaking of, lunch today was baked Mac and cheese I made from 2014 vintage Bega canned cheese.
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I settled on Augason Farms for my long term stuff. I have tried some of it and it has all been quite good. With 15-30 year shelf life, at my age it was a one and done purchase. =D
I bought pre-covid, when they often offered killer deals on stuff. I think they're kind of expensive now.
Otherwise, I have gone they mylar bag route this last year, and have several plastic bins full of rice, beans, flour, sugar, oatmeal, etc. The mylar bags are super easy to do, and also give you 20ish year shelf life on most things.
This is all for the apocalypse shtf stash though. For the few days to few weeks disaster planning, I just keep extra of whatever canned/boxed stuff I like to eat anyway.
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This is all for the apocalypse shtf stash though. For the few days to few weeks disaster planning, I just keep extra of whatever canned/boxed stuff I like to eat anyway.
Correct. We also have canned/boxed provisions set aside as well.
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Available everywhere
Not gourmet but not bad.
~$2.89 each
Long shelf time
Interested on how long is “long shelf life”
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Interested on how long is “long shelf life”
Looks like 18 months.
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Canned "no beans" chili. Rice and Ramen. Get plenty of seasoning.
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Interested on how long is “long shelf life”
They used to say six months, then changed it to one year. I 'spect they are one hundred percent sterilized and the only reason they state a shelf life at all is it's probably a legal or regulatory requirement.
ETA: A recently bought package says "BEST BY" 14 Jan 24. Today is 06 Dec 22.
Also, too, inevitably, the shorter you make a shelf life, the more often people will buy it ... equals profit. Of course 100% sterilization will not stop the purely chemical decline in quality (tasty things reacting too other tasty parts). Somebody said it's more like a "half life," but nobody will assume the legal liability of pinning an exact long period on it.
Terry, 230RN
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<hormel compleates>
Available everywhere
Not gourmet but not bad.
~$2.89 each
Long shelf time
Microwaveable, they say 60 sec, I use 90
Can be heated other ways
Can be eaten cold if necessary --calories is calories
Sometimes a little salty if that's a concern
No tools to open
Very wide variety
Dinty Moore has similar
OK Terry, I bought a couple to try based on your recommendation. ($2.24 each at the HEB store.)
Considering the company, if I get any hint of a SPAM-like taste . . . you're in trouble. ;)
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Canned "no beans" chili. Rice and Ramen. Get plenty of seasoning.
I agree on seasoning. Even stuff like salt is something to not forget. I don't keep a lot of canned food, but some. That falls into the store of food in my cupboard that will get eaten in the first month or two of a bad event.
If all else fails, if you don't like certain foods or they are expired, keep them in a stash for people who come begging.
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Heh on tasting like Spam. Answer=no.
I don't know why Spam is such a whipping boy. Sorta like a political party. You either hate it or love can tolerate it. Yet it's still on the market, and I see they've come up with new varieties like bacon Spam and turkey Spam and what-not. I like it because you can eat it like meat, but right out of the can. If you can get it out of the can --I had to develop a damned Spam can plan which involves pressing it hard in the long direction so the sides pop away from the meat, allowing air to get up and behind the meat to break the suction.
So I'm not really partial to Spam, but it's not that bad and I recognize its utility. Protein is protein.
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On SPAM:
. . . you can eat it like meat . . .
SO much meaning packed into that one little phrase . . . :rofl:
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On SPAM:
SO much meaning packed into that one little phrase . . . :rofl:
I gotta watch my tongue around you guys.
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I gotta watch my tongue around you guys.
That double entendre was offal.
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The light weight of those would be good, but it looks like they need hot water to prepare, is that right?
If your source of hot water is cut off, that would make them obnoxious to use.
It seems like regular cans would be better, unless you were needing to carry the food with you, in which case the low weight would be helpful.
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The light weight of those would be good, but it looks like they need hot water to prepare, is that right?
Do you mean the OP's link? If so, you're not gonna find many long term (10+ years) food options that don't need water. Most people who prepare with these kinds of foods for long term shtf already have their water situation figured out as well.
In short term emergencies, certainly hydrated foods are a better option. I have always said that Katrina would not have been such a shitshow if all those people that showed up to the stadium had instead invested $30 of their monthly cable/iphone/Nikes bill into a couple of cases of canned food and a couple of cases of water.
Heck, a six pack of Campbell's chicken soup is like seven ducats at Walmart and gives you both food and water (obviously not all your water).
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When I started out with concern about emergency supplies, I made a little stove out of a large tin can and stocked up on Sterno cans. Later, I got a two-burner camp stove and stocked up on Bernz LPG torch tanks, but I still have the homemade can stove and Sterno burners. But let's face it, if tummy growls turn to HUNGER pains, eating cold stuff is OK.
I remember a line from a movie: "Ma'am, if you're really hungry, and I don't mean just ready for dinner, you'll eat dog and fight over the bones."
And don't forget candles and batteries.
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I have some candles, but if there were no power, I don't have near enough. I like the little tea light candles but I guess you could go through those pretty quick. I need to look into the burners. You can buy cases of the little propane cans also.
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Gotta say, with all the available LED light / power brick options, I would not deal with candles for lighting. For several years now, when there's an outage, I just use a few USB LED bulbs and light up the house almost as well as regular lighting.
https://www.amazon.com/Onite-20-US24USB3W-WW-Warehouse-Emergency-WarmWhite/dp/B00QX096L0
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I totally agree with you regarding lighting, however candles have non-lighting capabilities. They can also be used for heating food, heating small spaces, and depending on the wax composition sometimes other things as well.
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I'm not clear on where the USB power comes from in an outage. Do you charge a battery that's in line between the lamp and the USB plug?
I'm sure I'll give myself a dope slap when somebody tells me, but...
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I totally agree with you regarding lighting, however candles have non-lighting capabilities. They can also be used for heating food, heating small spaces, and depending on the wax composition sometimes other things as well.
Point taken, and yeah, I was specifically talking about lighting. I don't have much use for candles for heating or whatnot (for home use) simply because I have many other options. I could see their utility for apartment dwellers or others (including backwoods survival).
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I'm not clear on where the USB power comes from in an outage. Do you charge a battery that's in line between the lamp and the USB plug?
I'm sure I'll give myself a dope slap when somebody tells me, but...
Power brick, the UPS that should be hooked up to your computer, etc. One of these will run one of those LED bulbs for like 15 hours. That's at least three nights of lighting for me. More in the Summer.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SSC23Z4
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Point taken, and yeah, I was specifically talking about lighting. I don't have much use for candles for heating or whatnot (for home use) simply because I have many other options. I could see their utility for apartment dwellers or others (including backwoods survival).
Right, you specified lighting and I am completely with you there.
Also, like you, I have plenty of better options for emergency heating and cooking at my house - namely more trees than I know what to do with and small, portable stoves that can burn it. I've been keeping my in-laws in firewood just cutting up standing dead and some of the stuff that has blown down.
Speaking of backwoods use of candles, I love those little tea lights for starting stubborn campfires. No muss, no fuss, just stack twigs over the candle and light it. Doesn't even have to be spectacularly dry stuff.
In the winter I like to keep a big, three-wick candle in the truck. Never had to use it but it's cheap insurance. Actually, it is a Christmas candle from Goodwill with little peppermints embedded in the side. If it came down to it, I guess I could dig those out and try to eat them ...
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In the winter I like to keep a big, three-wick candle in the truck.
I need to look at doing that. After nearly 4 years, I'm not sure my "living with real Winter" vehicle kits are necessarily up to snuff. I've only recently started carrying kitty litter in the 4Runner. The truck has sandbags in the back, but I don't intentionally drive that when it's icy.
The rucks in each vehicle will certainly let me survive "surviving" in a Winter emergency, but I'd rather be in a real sleeping bag than a foil emergency bivy. I know there's other stuff that I could add for "stranded roadside comfort" for local driving. On Winter road trips, I'm loaded down with good gear.
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I need to look at doing that. After nearly 4 years, I'm not sure my "living with real Winter" vehicle kits are necessarily up to snuff. I've only recently started carrying kitty litter in the 4Runner. The truck has sandbags in the back, but I don't intentionally drive that when it's icy.
The rucks in each vehicle will certainly let me survive "surviving" in a Winter emergency, but I'd rather be in a real sleeping bag than a foil emergency bivy. I know there's other stuff that I could add for "stranded roadside comfort" for local driving. On Winter road trips, I'm loaded down with good gear.
I’ve been toting around a winter emergency bag in our Explorer for the past 6 winters and have t ran I to more than 3” of snow here in SW Ohio. But, I’ll keep it in there just in case.
I usually get 6-8 bags of sand for the bed of the pick up for weight and traction aid if need be. Really don’t have an emergency bag in the truck but I need to make sure there’s one in there just in case.
We have 5 of those power blocks that we keep charged and usually take one with us when traveling.
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I have a number of LED light options myself, but I realize that power isn't replaceable if the house power is out. A small candle can put out enough light to move around by even if I wouldn't want to read by candle light. A small box of candles will last you a good while if you just use them a couple hours a night. I guess I should keep matches with them.
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I have a number of LED light options myself, but I realize that power isn't replaceable if the house power is out. A small candle can put out enough light to move around by even if I wouldn't want to read by candle light. A small box of candles will last you a good while if you just use them a couple hours a night. I guess I should keep matches with them.
That's where I was coming from with my qiestion about USB power. Nice to have those electric power options, but it too is limited. Obviously, the same can be said with respect to running out of candles, though. Or fuel for your generator. I guess in those extremes we're just SOL and have to hope it never gets to that point.
Terry, 230RN
Edited for typo.
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I have a number of LED light options myself, but I realize that power isn't replaceable if the house power is out. A small candle can put out enough light to move around by even if I wouldn't want to read by candle light. A small box of candles will last you a good while if you just use them a couple hours a night. I guess I should keep matches with them.
Or a candle wick stuck into a can of Crisco. I wasn't sure that would work; wife has been burning a lot of candles lately for some reason and I made one out of vegetable shortening with a little bit of scented wax to make it fancy. It burns just fine, doesn't smoke, and I'd bet it didn't really need the wax because there wasn't much wax.
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A poster remarked:
"...wife has been burning a lot of candles lately for some reason and I made one out of vegetable shortening..."
Hmmm... is she also mixing up strange combinations of herbs and spices and other weird stuff?
Gathering moss at night from the north sides of trees?
Recently acquired a small pet of some sort... especially a cat?
Shown interest in a small servant's bell at an antique shop?
Hmmm.
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A poster remarked:
"...wife has been burning a lot of candles lately for some reason and I made one out of vegetable shortening..."
Hmmm... is she also mixing up strange combinations of herbs and spices and other weird stuff?
Gathering moss at night from the north sides of trees?
Recently acquired a small pet of some sort... especially a cat?
Shown interest in a small servant's bell at an antique shop?
Hmmm.
None of those things, but I like where you're going with this ;)
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I was originally going to comment on shortening candles. I found you had to use a stiff wick tied down to one of the little base plates you find at the bottom of most tealight candles. Reason for this is the lower melting point (in my case, Crisco and lard) melts the whole mass of shortening, allowing the wick to fall over into the molten shortening and snuff itself out. If you conquer that, there's then the differential between the liquid level going down slowly while the wick is more rapidly getting shorter... allowing the wick to snuff out. This is apparntly dependent on the diameter of the mass of molten shortening, which in my 'speriments was about two inches in diameter (about the diameter of a tea light candle holder.) This all was with the regular wicking you can buy to make candles with. Seemed like it was a race between the liquid level decreasing and the wick getting shorter and drowning itself.
Upshot 1: using shortening seemed more appropriate to an oil lamp operation rather than candles.
Upshot 2: I decided that for emergency lighting, tealight candles in proper tealight cups were pretty safe, so I have a mess of them, but I also have a stock of what they call plumber's candles.
Upshot 3: Moths are a danger, and although I did not have a cat at the time, I know that moths drive cats boogeyshit and it seemed like it could be dangerous if a cat was going crazy after a moth around a candle.
All this scientifical research stuff took place soon after I retired and found time to diddle around with it.
You got the track I was running on. Only half-kidding about that.
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I will have to look at the Compleats meals next time I go to the store.
I am not a huge fan of the random food packs as they include a lot of foods I don't like. However, I realize that if I am depending on that food, I am not in good shape and may have given up being picky. =)
As far as I can tell at this point, with Compleats available at all local supermarkets and even a Walgreen's they don't sell variety packs. They have each type of meal separately stacked, but all next to each other. I just grab two of these and three of those and four of that and like that there. I have not tried Dinty Moore, which has a similar product which is usually right next to the Compleats, but simply because I don't need to. I might try Dinty Moore next time I'm shppping but I can't imagine them being a whole lot different.
Terry, 230RN
REF (To keep Doggy Daddy happy):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walgreens
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I was originally going to comment on shortening candles. I found you had to use a stiff wick tied down to one of the little base plates you find at the bottom of most tealight candles. Reason for this is the lower melting point (in my case, Crisco and lard) melts the whole mass of shortening, allowing the wick to fall over into the molten shortening and snuff itself out. If you conquer that, there's then the differential between the liquid level going down slowly while the wick is more rapidly getting shorter... allowing the wick to snuff out. This is apparntly dependent on the diameter of the mass of molten shortening, which in my 'speriments was about two inches in diameter (about the diameter of a tea light candle holder.) This all was with the regular wicking you can buy to make candles with. Seemed like it was a race between the liquid level decreasing and the wick getting shorter and drowning itself.
Upshot 1: using shortening seemed more appropriate to an oil lamp operation rather than candles.
Upshot 2: I decided that for emergency lighting, tealight candles in proper tealight cups were pretty safe, so I have a mess of them, but I also have a stock of what they call plumber's candles.
Upshot 3: Moths are a danger, and although I did not have a cat at the time, I know that moths drive cats boogeyshit and it seemed like it could be dangerous if a cat was going crazy after a moth around a candle.
All this scientifical research stuff took place soon after I retired and found time to diddle around with it.
You got the track I was running on. Only half-kidding about that.
The shortening candle that I made, I used a wick from the craft store and glued the metal tab to the bottom of a largish votive candle holder. It's kinda globe shaped, wider at the top than the bottom and the top is about 2 1/4" across. I eyeballed how much shortening it would hold for about 85% fill and melted that in the microwave in another container. I added one little cube of smell-good-wax to make it female-acceptable and stirred it in (it dissolved *very* slowly) The wax also should harden the shortening some. Poured it up, and put the thing outside on the tailgate of my pickup to harden. (outside was colder than in the fridge, and I didn't want the butter to pick up candle scent)
In operation, the fuel is lasting a *long* time, and the wick needs trimming occasionally because it's not burning away fast enough and it frays at the very top of the ash. Only about 1/2 to 3/4" of the shortening melts. If the wick were not glued down, it would be just fine for now but would likely fall over eventually as the candle burned down.
Wife doesn't know that it's made with shortening, or at least if she has figured it out she's not letting on. It looks just like a "soy wax" candle.
I think an oiled cotton string just punched down into a can of shortening would work okay. But divvying up into half-pint canning jars would probably be better because that's an appropriate diameter for craft store wicks.
You could probably put a utility candle in a jar and pour shortening around it to make it last longer.
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Speaking of emergency rations, I've been watching some of Steve1989MRE's videos on Utoob lately...
How in the name of all that is holy has the guy not poisoned himself with some of the stuff that he's tasted?
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REF (To keep Doggy Daddy happy):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walgreens
I figgered it out from the context. Plus, we have one on just about every corner out here. =)
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I figgered it out from the context. Plus, we have one on just about every corner out here. =)
ROFL
Have a beer on me =D.
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As this house is blessed with a fireplace, gas heat & hot water, all I need is my portable generator to make the furnace blower "stir things up".
I have been making (and refilling) my own candles for years and I have several kerosene lamps. The lamps actually provide more light and heat than the candles in the wintertime and actually run longer than many of the candles. I sometimes use the little aluminum-cupped tea lights as they are "self-extinguishing" after about 2.5 hours.
I have one large "emergency candle" that I made by pouring paraffin in a 1 gal. plastic bucket and used a wick that I had never seen before or since. The wick is almost the diameter of a wooden pencil and I did test the candle for about 5-6 minutes to be sure it burned well without smoking.
I have used Pringle's cans to make tall pillars but they can only be used once. Same for plastic frozen juice concentrate containers. Most of the time, I refill assorted glass candle jars and store them until needed in the winter.
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As far as I can tell at this point, with Compleats available at all local supermarkets and even a Walgreen's they don't sell variety packs. They have each type of meal separately stacked, but all next to each other. I just grab two of these and three of those and four of that and like that there. I have not tried Dinty Moore, which has a similar product which is usually right next to the Compleats, but simply because I don't need to. I might try Dinty Moore next time I'm shppping but I can't imagine them being a whole lot different.
Terry, 230RN
REF (To keep Doggy Daddy happy):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walgreens
For me, I was referring to the other product mentioned in the OP. The bulk 3 month supply packs often have a big variety of meal types. I tend to be pretty picky with food. Either it would end up being given away or I would save it until that was all that was left. =)
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The shortening candle that I made, I used a wick from the craft store and glued the metal tab to the bottom of a largish votive candle holder. It's kinda globe shaped, wider at the top than the bottom and the top is about 2 1/4" across. I eyeballed how much shortening it would hold for about 85% fill and melted that in the microwave in another container. I added one little cube of smell-good-wax to make it female-acceptable and stirred it in (it dissolved *very* slowly) The wax also should harden the shortening some. Poured it up, and put the thing outside on the tailgate of my pickup to harden. (outside was colder than in the fridge, and I didn't want the butter to pick up candle scent)
In operation, the fuel is lasting a *long* time, and the wick needs trimming occasionally because it's not burning away fast enough and it frays at the very top of the ash. Only about 1/2 to 3/4" of the shortening melts. If the wick were not glued down, it would be just fine for now but would likely fall over eventually as the candle burned down.
Wife doesn't know that it's made with shortening, or at least if she has figured it out she's not letting on. It looks just like a "soy wax" candle.
I think an oiled cotton string just punched down into a can of shortening would work okay. But divvying up into half-pint canning jars would probably be better because that's an appropriate diameter for craft store wicks.
You could probably put a utility candle in a jar and pour shortening around it to make it last longer.
Try that with bacon grease or lard. Better aroma. =D
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I have a propane lantern, a butane cartridge stove, and several kerosene lamps and lanterns. I also have a UCO candalier 3 candle lamp, and that thing gets hot enough on top to boil a cup of water pretty easily.
I also have the pellet stove, but that requires electric to run. I could run it easily with the smallest generator that they make, but in the 30+ years I've lived here I've never lost power in winter for more than a few minutes.
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^ "I also have a UCO candalier 3 candle lamp, and that thing gets hot enough on top to boil a cup of water pretty easily."
That sounds like my make-do tin can/Sterno stove.
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Oh yeah, I've also got a sterno stove with a bunch of cans of chafing dish sterno. Not the best for cooking, as the lid opening is smaller than the cooking cans, but a few minutes of modification in the can with a snips and it cooks just fine.
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Soup can sterno stove. Slots for intake, exhaust, made with beer can opener ("churchkey"). Positioning and number may be varied according to whim or thermodynamic knowledge. A bigger can might be better, but there's the technology for you.
I opened up one of the cans of Sterno because it felt "empty" and there still was gelatinous stuff in it which burned, but I guess Sterno's idea of a hermetic steel to steel seal wasn't ideal. This was from a "new" but at least eight year old little carton of Sterno cans.
One thing to remember is that if the Sterno flame itself is cooled by hitting a cold surface, it will be generating carbon monoxide (CO). I'm sensitive to that like a canary, so I know.
Terry, 230RN
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I finally picked up a can of Turkey Spam to try, and I have to say...
Meh.
It's OK. Makes OK sandwiches and is OK pan fried with eggs, but the turkey anuses just don't have the same snap as pig anuses in regular Spam.
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That doesn’t even sound appealing