Food Rationing: It Will Break You Down Mentally

SHTF Plan ^ | 2/27/14 | Tess Pennington

[Kartographer]

There are certain factors you should consider when living through an extended emergency. It is common for your physical, mental and emotional state to be affected following a disaster. On top of that, you are hungry due to rationing food portions and still have to continue daily activities, physical labor, parenting, etc. If you haven’t put thought into the right types of food and the amounts needed to see you through the ordeal, then you could be setting yourself up for deficiencies in your diet.

Repeatedly, I have told readers interested in leading a self reliant lifestyle to simulate a disaster at home so that your family can practice living through it using the supplies you have. This creates a safe environment to prepare and train family members for what they might expect and help you learn what you may need for the future. Using the contents of your emergency pantry is no different. In fact, you should be using your pantries regularly to ensure the food you store is as fresh as possible. In my cookbook, The Prepper’s Cookbook, I list 25 must have foods for your pantries and also touched on what to expect in an emergency situation when you are rationing your supplies.

[bgill]

Bouillon lasts forever because of all the sodium in it, imo. I just used a cube last week out of a jar of Wyler’s beef dated “best used by 8/2006”. I have a nearly empty jar of Knorr powdered chicken bouillon some random date of Dec 2011 (no indication of “use by” or what). I know I’ve used some with much older dates and lived to tell about it.

If you eat Ramen noodles, use only half the seasoning (basically bouillon) packet per noodle package. This tastes better and reduces your sodium intake. Use the other half of the seasoning packet in the next prepared noodles and you’ll then have a new unopened packet of seasoning to put back.

[bgill]

Oh, I dunno, I’ve been thinking of eating tomato horned worms and squash vine bores out of spite.

[bgill]

Potatoes are high in potassium.

“Potassium is an essential nutrient used to maintain fluid and electrolyte balance in the body. A deficiency in potassium causes fatigue, irritability, and hypertension”

http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/food-sources-of-potassium.php

[EternalHope]

Thanks for the calorie per acre info. All I knew was that the Russians considered potatoes the best choice if you were limited by space.

I haven’t got growing them figured out yet, but someone else on this thread has been kind enough to give me some tips. I’ll also spend some time lurking on the gardening thread.

Apparently even apartment dwellers can grow potatoes if they have a deck with sunlight and know what they are doing. Emphasis on “know what they are doing”. I clearly do NOT, but MIGHT be teachable...

[bgill]

Now is the time to print out all those how-to tips on how to survive with little. Having it in hard copy means you won't have to worry about power to your computer/ipad or the web being shut down.

After eating that roasted chicken, boil the carcass for stock. Add a spoon or so of vinegar to leech calcium from the bones. Pick the meat off the bones and you have the makings of soup for your next meal.

[EternalHope]

I fully expect hussein to pull something at any moment so a good day is any day he hasn’t. Our GOP isn’t going to bat an eye when it happens as they’ve plotted and planned right along with him.

I agree, but think they are trying to "set the stage" first. When he makes his move it will be more likely to succeed if it can be spun as a rescue rather than the final move in the establishment of a dictatorship. The media, Hollywood, academia, and liberals in general will go along with it if he can give them a plausible excuse.

The reason I think time is short is that I do not believe he will risk losing his window of opportunity through a huge electoral loss this November. So if things look bleak for the Democrats this summer I expect him to make his move before he loses the Senate.

If he is not at risk of losing control of Congress, then I think we may have another year or so before it happens.

Regardless of the timing, I simply cannot see Obama going away peacefully. If he cannot keep power he will burn the house down on his way out the door.

[Sherman Logan]

Just curious. Potatoes are really cheap. It would seem logical to me to buy potatoes at the store and use my limited garden space to grow more expensive stuff.

[bgill]

Within the past month, I posted on one of these prepper threads that some of those dehydrated food cans are half empty and their reconstituted amounts do not add up correctly. Here's a very good video with proof of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpqQl_z2tR0 . This lady knows her stuff and has excellent videos on food storage.

[Sherman Logan]

Not sure what you’re talking about. I was referencing plain old canned goods from Publix or Costco.

[Sherman Logan]

If you haven’t put thought into the right types of food and the amounts needed to see you through the ordeal, then you could be setting yourself up for deficiencies in your diet.

I'm not sure what the author is talking about here.

True dietary deficiencies usually refers to vitamin deficiencies. Those are quite easily prevented by simple multi-vitamin pills.

[Cboldt]

copycat of Euell Gibbons?

[EternalHope]

Just curious. Potatoes are really cheap. It would seem logical to me to buy potatoes at the store and use my limited garden space to grow more expensive stuff.

You can't buy potato seeds. You have to already have potatoes in order to grow more of them. If we are in a SHTF situation it will help to have some naturally grown potatoes in storage if you plan to grow more.

There are other things to think about too. The potatoes in the store have generally been treated with something to keep them from sprouting. This makes them difficult to use in your garden. Potatoes from the supermarket may also be more susceptible to potato blight.

If you decide to grow potatoes, I suggest you buy seed potatoes that are certified to be disease free. (See, I learned at least a bit about this before giving it a try. Just not enough...)

[bgill]

I was speaking to your “alternatives” to canned foods.

[Mashood]

“It is common for your physical, mental and emotional state to be affected following a disaster.”

Just ask the Brits. 10 years after WWII they were still rationing food.

[Iron Munro]

One potential problem for canned foods in really cold climates would be freezing, which would likely damage the cans.

Good point.

Back in the day we fabricated little wire baskets on the exhaust manifolds on Jeeps, six-bys, or other vehicles. They were sized so a can of C-Rations would just slip in and out easily.

Then we would cut or poke a hole in the tops of C-Rats cans and put them in the wire basket to heat up.
It doesn't take long to have a piping hot meal in a can - even in winter.

You do have to time it right or the can can boil over or blow out!
But you quickly learn about how long it takes.

Most canned foods keep well for a long time without spoilage.
I've eaten C-Rations 40 years old and they were not noticably different in flavor or texture than newer ones.

[Iron Munro]

The reason I think time is short is that I do not believe he will risk losing his window of opportunity through a huge electoral loss this November.

You can bet that at the very least there will be some sort of September or October Surprise.

If not a full scale "Man Caused Disaster" it will be something to put fear into the population.

[SisterK]

Ha Ha Ha!
“Take that you foul bug. Regret the day you were hatched!” And then stab em with a fork.

[Cloverfarm]

THanks for the list! We have a lot of this on hand most of the time but not enough to get through a BIG blizzard (not half-baked ones like this year’s) or a long post-tornado power outage.

Yep ... gotta keep buying a little more a little at a time.

[Iron Munro]

I haven’t got growing them figured out yet, but someone else on this thread has been kind enough to give me some tips.

I didn't have much succcess growing potatoes in the ground so my next attempt will be growing them in a spud barrel.

Anyone interested in the technique just Google:

"Potatoes In A Barrel"

Or check this out for starters:

4 Simple Steps to Grow a Hundred Pounds of Potatoes in a Barrel

[SisterK]

There are a couple of folks on the gardening thread who are strictly container growing. They give helpful detailed records of progress and failures. Also know that you don’t need soil to grow potatoes. I have grown them in wheat straw. Two weeks ago one person sent in a photo of a homemade potato tower filled with rotting leaves as a growing medium. Key is to put your piece of potato in the bottom of the container because potatoes will grow above the initial spud piece. You do not have to plant a whole potato - as long as the piece you plant has one sprouting eye, then you are good to go. Happy gardening!