Prepping on the Cheap: The $5 a Week Shopping Challenge

SHTF Plan ^ | 7/10/12 | Tess Pennington

[Kartographer]

Here are 52 stock-ups – one for each week!

15 packs of Ramen Noodles 6 cans of mixed vegetables 5 cans of fruit 6 cans of tuna 4 cans of spaghetti sauce 5 cans of diced tomatoes 4 pounds of rice 3 pounds of kidney beans 5 cans of kidney beans 10 cans of baked beans 3 cans of chilli 12 cans of generic condensed cream of mushroom soup 12 cans of condensed tomato soup 4 pounds of white sugar 10 boxes of iodized salt 6 bags of dry pasta 2 jumbo boxes of raisins 1 pound jar of honey 2 cartons of molasses 15 boxes of baking soda 5 jars of spices 48 bottles of water 5 cans of apple juice 2 jars of peanut butter 10 boxes of macaroni and cheese 3 cans of flaked ham 3 cans of flaked turkey 4 cans of flaked chicken 1 canned ham 3 bottles of barbecue sauce 500 tea bags 120 herbal tea bags 1 large canister of iced tea mix 50 packs of generic cool-aid mix 10 boxes of instant pudding 20 boxes of gelatin mix 10 cans of corn 3 cans of beef stew 5 bags of dehydrated onion flakes 5 bags of garlic powder 10 packets of gravy mix 2 cans of spam 10 cans of Vienna sausages 2 bags of beef jerky 5 pound bag of flour 3 pound bag of cornmeal 4 pounds of dried black-eyed peas 3 jars of sauerkraut 3 pounds of steel cut oats 2 pounds of powdered milk 3 pounds of brown sugar 30 bouillon cubes

[Pat4ever]

Thanks FRiend-good to know.

[Iron Munro]

CARDBOARD CAN ORGANIZERS at CanOrganizer.com

Cost about $3 to $4 each in packs of four depending on size (plus shipping of course)
They come as a precut sheet of cardboard - you just fold into shape.

Click for Can Organizer.com Assembly Video

[SatinDoll]

Make your own. It is really quite simple. The only drawback is the smell.

How to make your own saerkraut.
http://www.ehow.com/how_4696397_own-sauerkraut.html

[Iron Munro]

Bulk Corn For Corn Meal, Corn Bread?

Does anyone here have any experience buying and storing bulk dried corn and grinding it up for corn meal to make corn bread or other corn products?

I would like to learn what to do and how to do it.
Things like:
Where to find the bulk corn?
What kind to buy?
How long can it be stored?
How to use it once it is ground up, etc.

I find a lot of info on long term storage for wheat but haven’t found much on corn.

Any advice or info shared will be appreciated.

[SatinDoll]

Bob, I made a neat discovery online. It is a small campstove that cooks efficiently with sticks, tree bark, pine cones, scrap lumber, and other biomass fuels!

You can buy it from the Deadwood Stove Company.

http://www.deadwoodstove.com

We’re getting one because my family can not function without a good, hot cup of coffee in the morning, and boiling water using charcoal seems a waste (we choose not to use propane except for a burner used for pressure canning outdoors).

I have stored 50 pounds of coffee and have a manual bean grinder. Ain’t no way we’re going through the end of days withoug java!

[SatinDoll]

Check Ebay. They have lots of green coffee beans for sale.

I, too, am a lover of coffee. My passion is arab mocha sanani. Actually, I mix it with five other coffees from around the world to arrive at the perfect essence.

As you may have guessed, I’ve already laid in a supply.

[redhead]

I stocked up on rice. To flavor it, I have: the little seasoning "stock" cups of beef, chicken, and vegetable flavors; all kinds of tomatoes; canned vegetables; salmon in the foil packs (tons of these. cheap, light, and store forever, take up little space. I have mine in a big plastic jar from halloween pretzel treats).

I have been buying one #10 can of the dehydrated foods WalMart has been stocking lately. They can't keep them on the shelves, but there are tins of powdered butter, whole eggs, vegetables, TVP for those who can eat soy, baking mixes of various kinds, omelette mix, instant potatoes (already have tons so I don't buy this in the cans) freeze dried fruits, powdered honey, etc. Every time I shop I buy at least one thing for my stash.

[JRandomFreeper]

I buy Costa Rican, Tres Rios, Magnolia, solamente, gracias.

I have a broker I go through and Oct/Nov is the time for me to buy.

I'm down to 10 lbs of green beans, but I'll make it to the next buying season. ;)

/johnny

[BobL]

Cool, that works - it doesn’t take much to season rice. I’m thinking of the Walmart cans too.

[BobL]

Yea, I’ve heard of that also. Not bad, as long as you can keep it fed. You’ll find that wood products burn much faster than an equal volume of fuel - but then it’s possible to have an unending supply of wood products. So, not a bad plan for long-term, and probably more reliable than a solar stove (which looks like an accident waiting to happen).

[JRandomFreeper]

Big question.

I don't buy bulk, but deer corn at the local feed store/Lowes works.

I grow my own dent corn.

It stores for years if you keep the bugs out of it and keep it dry. I mix a bit of diatomatious earth with the corn (and wheat and barley) to keep the bugs out.

I generally use a Corona grain mill to grind maize. I usually sift it and grind it twice to get it down to correct size for the cornbread I make.

My recipe for cornbread is:

3 tablespoons of dried egg,
one cup of wheat flour, 
one cup of cornmeal, 
one teaspoon of risings (baking powder), 
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda, 
1 tablespoon of sugar,
1/4 cup of powdered milk, 
1/3 cup of melted fat of any kind.

Add water to make a cake batter consistancy mass. Bake at 400F in a preheated cast iron skillet.

/johnny

[mouser]

here you go

http://www.lehmans.com/store/Kitchen___Grain_and_Grain_Mills___Quaker_City_Grain_Mill___quakermill#11712951171300

lehmans is a neat place for non power stuff

if granny used it they have it

[Grams A]

Thanks - will see if I can find one. There is a Dollar General but everything there is expensive junk and a total rip-off. At least our Dollar Tree has some frozen food, like really great blueberry pancakes in pkg of 8, link sausage, and some really nice frozen veggies. Frozen fruit is awful though. Many of them don’t have anything but packaged food.

One of the problems is that if I find something I like and go back to get more it’s all gone as they don’t carry much of any one thing in the way of food.

[IncPen]

ping

[goosie]

I do buy corn in the 5 gallon buckets. The last I bought was from Emergency Essentials. I actually buy popcorn and have double duty. I grind it for cornbread and now I occasionally make corn mush as a cereal and then chill it for later for fried mush. I saw that on youtube.

[Titan Magroyne]

Lots of great tips in FR comments and also at the OP article site.

I like the simplicity of the Deadwood Stove posted by a FReeper, but given the price I wonder if I can get my Dad to make me a similar stove from scratch...

[Iron Munro]

Thanks for your input on buying, storing and using corn.

I will put your advice to good use.

[Tax-chick]

Cinnamon toast for those with no toaster!

[Neidermeyer]

At least our Dollar Tree has some frozen food, .............One of the problems is that if I find something I like and go back to get more it’s all gone as they don’t carry much of any one thing in the way of food.
********************************************
Talk to the store manager or go to dollartreedirect.com

[DuncanWaring]

Rocket Stove ping.