LDS Freedom Forum

Ok I am about to make a big purchase for food supply purposes. I just wanted to know what you guys have done.

Freezed Dried from Wisefoodstorage.com is by far the easiest way to go. All you have to do is boil so water and add it to the mix. This will save you so much time I can't even image. Yet you have no bread. You don't have any choice in mixing different items together. But your food prep time is almost minimal. Heat water add to foil pack and wait 10 mins eat. You can get many different types of food for variety. You don't have to have a flour mill no yeast no oil. No major kitchen items. What am I over looking? Freezed Dried is more expensive but not by that much. Three meals a day for 2 people on wise list as $3795 + shipping... that is 2 adults 6 servings per day with three meals a day. They offer a two meal a day but why go just 2 meals a day .... i guess only to save money.

Dehydrated foods from http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/foodpak1.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; . This requires you have a grain mill. With no power you are cracking by hand... for a long time. You have to use yeast but you get bread!!!! This requires lots of wheat, beans and I have extra rice myself. This means you have to mill your grain... dough it up... then bake it for bread. Is all that work worth it? You don't have to do any of that in the freezed dried bags but you get no bread either. This version seems like a lot more work. What am I over looking here? This package for 2 adults 2800 calories per day is $2482 + shipping. $1400 cheaper than freezed dried. I guess that is the major difference and the amount of time it takes to prepare the food. I know with the beans in this package you have to soak them in water overnight to soften them up and then boil them to be able to get the nutrients out of them. That seems like a lot of work but once you get in the routine I guess every night in my tent I would just put another 2 cups of beans in the water and cook away. Or rather maybe put three days worth of bean in there and cook three days at a time... or just two days at a time.

I am leaning toward the Dehydrated foods even though it looks like more work to me. The price is really nice and 2800 calories is nice too. I might get a years worth of dehydrated food and then supplement it with 3 months supply of Freezed dried food for those days I am lazy and just want to add water and eat. |) $-)

What have you found to be better or what is your preference and why?

We have mostly high preparation foods. That's because I like cooking, and our family has done enough camping that it doesn't bother me. My parents just bought us a nifty kerosene stove that will come in very handy in an emergency situation.

My personal opinion is that diversity is the way to go. You want several cooking method options and you want several fuel choices. We don't know what situations might arise. Maybe you're out of work for a year... you aren't going to want a hand crank grinder, your going to want electric. But if you lose power for a month because of a natural disaster, you'll want a hand crank. If you have to evacuate, you'll want ease of preparation. If something happens in summer, you can utilize the sun for cooking. If it happens in the dead of winter, you might think about a wood stove or a kerosene or propane stove.

I think diversity is important, but just having something is better than nothing, so get what you can afford.

7cylon7 wrote:Ok I am about to make a big purchase for food supply purposes. I just wanted to know what you guys have done.

Freezed Dried from Wisefoodstorage.com is by far the easiest way to go. All you have to do is boil so water and add it to the mix. This will save you so much time I can't even image. Yet you have no bread. You don't have any choice in mixing different items together. But your food prep time is almost minimal. Heat water add to foil pack and wait 10 mins eat. You can get many different types of food for variety. You don't have to have a flour mill no yeast no oil. No major kitchen items. What am I over looking? Freezed Dried is more expensive but not by that much. Three meals a day for 2 people on wise list as $3795 + shipping... that is 2 adults 6 servings per day with three meals a day. They offer a two meal a day but why go just 2 meals a day .... i guess only to save money.

Dehydrated foods from http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/foodpak1.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; . This requires you have a grain mill. With no power you are cracking by hand... for a long time. You have to use yeast but you get bread!!!! This requires lots of wheat, beans and I have extra rice myself. This means you have to mill your grain... dough it up... then bake it for bread. Is all that work worth it? You don't have to do any of that in the freezed dried bags but you get no bread either. This version seems like a lot more work. What am I over looking here? This package for 2 adults 2800 calories per day is $2482 + shipping. $1400 cheaper than freezed dried. I guess that is the major difference and the amount of time it takes to prepare the food. I know with the beans in this package you have to soak them in water overnight to soften them up and then boil them to be able to get the nutrients out of them. That seems like a lot of work but once you get in the routine I guess every night in my tent I would just put another 2 cups of beans in the water and cook away. Or rather maybe put three days worth of bean in there and cook three days at a time... or just two days at a time.

I am leaning toward the Dehydrated foods even though it looks like more work to me. The price is really nice and 2800 calories is nice too. I might get a years worth of dehydrated food and then supplement it with 3 months supply of Freezed dried food for those days I am lazy and just want to add water and eat. |) $-)

What have you found to be better or what is your preference and why?

I wouldn't do either personally, I'd go to the cannery and get the food there, but if I had to pick I'd take the dehydrated stuff. That's from an experience I had as a boy. One year at scout camp they tried to feed us all week on freeze dried food. Before the end of the week, we all felt malnourished and half stared. I don't mean just a few of us either, it was pretty much the whole camp that felt that way. We all ended up going down from the camp to a convenience store for real food because we couldn't stand it. Before you buy into one of these plans, why not order a few weeks worth and try it? See how well it keeps you alive before your life depends on it. Me, I'll never depend on freeze dried again. I'll buy some freeze dried foods for some variety and maybe mix them in once in a while, but I just can't trust it for more than a meal here and there.

Many prophets have extolled the virtues of good old wheat, you can't go wrong with loading up on those simple cannery foods.

7Cylon7,

I have built my supply over time. Often buying basics form the Storehouse, sometimes buying canned goods, sometimes buying a few #10 cans of freeze dried. Also purchasing detergent, toiletries, and other supplies.

I don't know your financial status, but the Church leaders have been clear. Don't go into debt to build your supply. Build your supply slowly. They have not changed this instruction, even though many of us, including myself, believe that time is rapidly running out.

Regards,

George Clay

gclayjr wrote:7Cylon7,

I have built my supply over time. Often buying basics form the Storehouse, sometimes buying canned goods, sometimes buying a few #10 cans of freeze dried. Also purchasing detergent, toiletries, and other supplies.

I don't know your financial status, but the Church leaders have been clear. Don't go into debt to build your supply. Build your supply slowly. They have not changed this instruction, even though many of us, including myself, believe that time is rapidly running out.

Regards,

George Clay

+1

I agree with the others that you should have a variety of foods, preparation methods, and fuel sources. I also think that if you shop wisely you can get more staples for less money than buying into a "plan". If money is no object, then I'd go with a plan, but I like to store what I know my family will actually eat, not what someone thinks we will eat.

Many of the newer Freeze dried foods are very good. I have consumed more than my share in backpacking over the years. If you choose the right ones, they are fine. I have quite a few in storage, just to fill in in case boiled wheat gets tiring. Certainly, the advise to be diverse in your approach is wise. Dehydrated is also good, but won't last as long.

SEEDS for sprouting......mixed with some condiments (ie dehydrated tomatoes, cheese, onions, etc..for flavorings)...plant, plant, plant.......for the cost of buying most FD/dehydrated, you can double your grain storage......'course, if you're "rich"..eat in luxary while we droooooolllllll

Thank you all for your replies. Thanks for the scout camp story of freezes dried food for a week.

I appreciate the comments. I am going to go mostly dehydrated as the cost is better and will mix in some freeze dried as well. Wheat Rice and beans will be our main staples along with the dried vegetables and fruit.

I am doing to have tons of hot chocolate.... water straight is just hard to handle for more than 3 days.

I like the variety approach. The plan I have is a two week rotation of foods. That should be good enough.

I would imagine in camp we might have a food exchange to keep up the variety. Someone thought we would have soup Fridays to pool our resources together. That could be good or it could be bad.

I am going to start and buy it all at once and yes debt will not be used to purchase this. I have saved it all up. I would have done this over a couple of years but feel that we really don't have more than a year or two before we will really need this food. I would say we will be using our food supply by 2013 end of year.

I like the seeds sprouts too. I am going to get some of that stuff too.

Food
Water purifier
flour mill
Tent
Stove
Generator (solar)
extra winter camp gear

Short list of thing to get.

Good list. I suggest some hand tools too. A saw, axe or hatchet etc. Extra fuel for the stoves is good as well as a water purifier for backpacking. I recommend this one ..http://www.rei.com/product/767564" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hand tool yes thank you. like gardening tools for sure. Shovel, pick, saw, axe, knives... ect... yes



BTW COST TO SHIP FOOD SUPPLY JUST JUMPED UP $100 TODAY. IT was $1518 now it cost $1618. Buy now before it goes up much farther!!!!The base price is the same the shipping was the reason for the jump!!!!!!


:-T

We don't have much in the way of Freeze Dried or Dehydrated foods. We do use them for BOB's. But for normal supplies we stay with what we normally eat. If you ever have to use your storage for any reason in a stressful environment, then you really want things a normal as possible.

Both freeze dried and dehydrated food leave me feeling unfed. We tried to use some of our freeze dried items when they were approaching 5 years old. After a few servings I just put the whole load in the dumpster. Ours was loaded with preservative.

We went to regular canned food and we expect it to be okay for 6 years, then we dump it and get new. So we have wasted a lot of food storage in the past 30 years, but I look at it like insurance.

Storage wheat and beans has one major advantage over other foods in a crisis. People will generally not kill you for it because they can't and don't know how to prepare it.

and, just like FD and Dehy.......just add water and theres MORE..he he

davedan wrote:Storage wheat and beans has one major advantage over other foods in a crisis. People will generally not kill you for it because they can't and don't know how to prepare it.

Are you saying it would be dangerous to store Twinkies and Pepsi? I put in a few cartons of cigarettes to use for barter.

Rincon wrote:

davedan wrote:Storage wheat and beans has one major advantage over other foods in a crisis. People will generally not kill you for it because they can't and don't know how to prepare it.

Are you saying it would be dangerous to store Twinkies and Pepsi? I put in a few cartons of cigarettes to use for barter.

Did you really? Hmmmmm What do others think of this?

Tuna in on sale at Wal Mart for .68 a can.

Ordered 1 year food supply for 2 today. SWEET

The wife was like just put it on the credit card a long time ago but I wanted to pay cash for it. You know not go into debt.

You don't know where I live so it is okay to say this right. I better mention I just bought a shot gun too. :ymcowboy:

If you buy your food supply all at once... holy cow that is a big check. You are best to do it a little bit each month. And I would of done that too except I think we have run out of time. Really I hope I am totally wrong. I hope we can stay employed and continue to prepare for 5 to 10 more years. By then I can only image how prepared I will be. I am going to continue each month now to put some more rice and beans into storage and I have started to but canned soups into storage to supplement my dehydrated meals. I also need to buy some bulk hot chocolate mix. At night as I sit by our fire in tent city I will be enjoying my hot chocolate if time allows. I thought of another great idea when I was at Sams the other day buying bulk oil for my food supply. I saw a huge bag of hard candy. I bet I could trade hard candy for other foods and items from those that did not prepare as well. At the very least I can help some children get through some tough days with a little sweet candy. I image candy will be very rare during those few years of hard times.

I have known about the prophets warning of getting a years supply of food for more that 15 years and finally today I have headed the prophets words. I had always said ya that is something I need to do sometime. Well that sometime was today. I also got a water purification system, NICE and a grain mill. It says by using hand power it should only take 1 1/4 minutes to grind 1 cup of flour from wheat. If that is true... I will be in good shape. That is why I bought the more expensive flour mill. It is also fully adjustable for fine or course grinding. I can't wait to start making fresh bread from home using my wheat. I might put up a video on youtube showing the mill and bread making process from using food storage.

Do you mind if I ask which grain mill you got? I'm in need of one and have been putting it off because of the $400 price tag.

durangout wrote:Do you mind if I ask which grain mill you got? I'm in need of one and have been putting it off because of the $400 price tag.

Well if you don't have electricity it's not going to work anyway...I am buying a hand grinder.

Yes, I mean a hand grinder. THe one that it most recommended is the Country Living Grain Mill. I've tried el cheapo $69 one from Emergency Essentials or wherever and it really doesn't work. It would take at least 1/2 hr of grinding to get a cup of flour and it isn't even very fine.

durangout wrote:Yes, I mean a hand grinder. THe one that it most recommended is the Country Living Grain Mill. I've tried el cheapo $69 one from Emergency Essentials or wherever and it really doesn't work. It would take at least 1/2 hr of grinding to get a cup of flour and it isn't even very fine.

LOL....I've tried to twist my arm with that one a time or two.

Best is the Country Mill set up with chain or belt drive off of recumbent stationary bike. Crank out the flour that way.....