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AustinBoy wrote:Agree with WildBill.

The Sawyer .02 can filter thousands of gallons of water. I bought 2.

Worst case, I can just rough filter and boil water.

The Mountain House pouches and #10 cans I am buying have an expiration date of 2035-2037.

AB

What are some of your favorites?

Macaroni & Cheese - Decent
Chicken Breasts w/Rib Meat & Mashed Potatoes - havent had it yet
Chicken a la King w/Noodles - good
Spaghetti w/Meat Sauce - decent.
Lasagna w/Meat Sauce - decent/good
Rice & Chicken - not so good. Rice was mushy and not much chicken
Noodles & Chicken - havent had it
Chicken Teriyaki w/Rice - havent had it.
Chicken Alfredo - really good
Pasta Primavera - good
Scrambled Eggs w/Bacon - good but use less water than recommended.
Garden Green Peas - havent had it
Golden Sweet Corn - havent had it
Turkey Tetrazzini - pretty good
Chili Mac w/Beef - I say really good, wife says not so good.
Mexican Style Rice & Chicken - havent had it
Sweet & Sour Pork w/Rice - havent had it.
Beef Stew - good
Beef Stroganoff w/Noodles - really good. We both really like this one.
Long Grain & Wild Rice Pilaf - havent had it
Granola with Milk & Berries - havent had it

You made me question my math so I double checked.

Beef Stroganoff:

Pouch = 4.8 oz. = $5.95 = .81 per oz.

#10 can = 20.2 0z. = $28.29 = .71 per oz.

Not as big a savings as I thought and the pouches make for quick preperation.
But, #10 cans are a lot easier to store.


AB

Note: I dont think the end of world is coming tomorrow. I dont buy this stuff unless it is on sale.

"Through a ton of research, I only buy from http://www.beprepared.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. They have the best prices, cheap shipping and monthly specials."

I agree with AustinBoy here. I've also stocked up on #10 cans over the last 2 or 3 years. Just wait for the sales and it's a pretty good deal. And if there's nothing else to eat, the freeze dried food isn't too bad.

I bought 2 or 3 cans a month and stored them away. I could last a pretty good while if things went south. I also have water stored away.

For emergency water, check out http://www.waterbob.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. I have one for each bathtub.

Also, dont forget to have empty containers around so you can drain your hot water heaters into them.
I have a 40 and a 50 gallon hot water heater. That gives me 90 gallons of potable water plus a regular bathtub and a gardren tub.

AB

Wise Foods is what is in the survival kits I sell (2 people for 1 week in a nice "bug out bag"). To be honest though, Wise Foods isn't what I would want for long-term use. One week, sure. Two weeks, I'd be ready to kick a puppy. For longer term, look into ShelfReliance foods (I can order that stuff if you want, but I don't stock it right now).

For short-term, lightweight foods, I like Mountain House the best -- you fix your meals right in the bags. The shelf life is shorter than Wise, so it's all about tradeoffs.

Keep in mind that most dehydrated foods will almost double your daily water requirements (reconstituting plus compensating for additional sodium).

Austinboy is also correct -- get a couple of waterbobs if you plan on hunkering down in-home. GREAT way to keep a water source.

P.S. - I have a few sample Wise Food packages, if anybody in the area is interested.

Just a quick note that dehydrated food and freeze-dried food are two different things.

In freeze-drying, fresh or cooked food is quickly frozen and placed in a vacuum. The process is called lyophilization. Cell structure, nutrients, shape, and color are pretty much all preserved.

Dehydrating, or drying, food is accomplished primarily by the application of heat, evaporating up to 98% of the food's moisture. Centuries-old, this is the technique used to make pemican, jerky, and dried fruit.

Typically, freeze-dried food is more expensive, tastes better, is reconstituted more quickly, and has a much longer shelf-life. With a relatively inexpensive drier, you can dehydrate foods in your own kitchen. I personally love beef jerky and dried fruits, so at-home dehydrating saves me a few bucks and the food can be stored, if carefully, for up to three years. For full meals and longer shelf-life, buy freeze-dried. You can't do freeze-dried at home.

AustinBoy wrote:Through a ton of research, I only buy from http://www.beprepared.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. They have the best prices, cheap shipping and monthly specials.

That's one of the things I love about this forum—truly useful information. AB, thanks for the tip. I've just spent a large part of last night and this morning looking over the beprepared.com website, and I have to say that not only do they offer the best array of options, combinations, and solid basic nutrition, but they also have by far the most reasonable prices.

Costco's stuff is OK, but their selection is limited....for obvious reasons. My wife, who is very health conscious AND a fabulous cook, was much more interested in the things she saw on beprepared.com.

My issue is food allergies. I am sending out requests for info but well over 99% of them I would suspect I can't have due to gluten, egg or dairy. We'll see.

Just an FYI:
Today is the last day for 15% off at Honeyvillegrain.com (coupon code SPLASH)
That means a Wise 60 serving bucket is $93.50. The flat shipping rate is $4.49
Regards, OE