Prepping: the new world...

elsien

I don’t think myself is being a prepper anlthough I check into this thread once in awhile just because I’m curious.
I just want to have enough for the few day emergency, whatever that might be.
I don’t  have a grab bag because I’m not organised enough to keep things charged or up to date.
 I don’t store bottled water - I have memories of having to do that at the millennium when my business (care home) ordered us to keep water in just in case all the computers went mad and it was wasted. I drink tap not bottled water in my daily life, so I just end up with lots of bottles that don’t get used for which I have neither the space nor the inclination.

I do have camping stuff, because I go camping occasionally anyway so I have the wind up torches, matches, a couple  of camping lights with batteries, etc. And I always have candles in because of memories of power cuts in the past.
Otherwise, it’s basically a tinned food store, basic household stuff, basic first aid and dogfood. 

And teabags. Definitely teabags because I can go without milk, but I’m not going without my tea.
Probably enough food for over a week, although the meals wouldn’t be very appetising towards the end of that time. I do get laughed at sometimes when visitors see that stash but it meant that the empty shelves during covid weren’t an issue for me. 

If I lived rurally I’d probably stock up more but I find rotating things enough for a faff as it is. 

That’s the way to start, I just bought one or two extra things a week to start with. But with your store cupboard food, think about how it will all go together to make meals you might actually want to eat. 

Cherryfudge

MikeJXE said:

Why do you need to prep ?

Apparently you can live for 

3 minutes without air 

3 weeks without water 

3 months without food 

Or thereabouts 

But would you want to, and would you want to risk the potential damage? I prep so that we don't need to make an extra trip to the shops because we've run out of something; or if we're unwell we don't need to bother/infect other people; or if our path is icy, I don't need to risk injury; or if there's a petrol shortage (remember that one from 2021?) and everyone's competing for the same things at the supermarket, which can't get regular deliveries, I can carry on more or less as usual. I imagine it's different for different people - those living out of town, are older, have disabilities, special dietary needs or who have known hunger (for instance), may have a stronger case than mine.

I don't have vast quantities, just enough for a few ordinary meals, plus things we eat often which are bought in larger quantities when I can get them more cheaply, as are a few treats so I can make a pudding if we have guests for example.

I think it just makes sense.

ArbitraryRandom

Cherryfudge said:

Nice with baked beans and brown sauce, or pickle...

And a runny yolk egg (fried or poached)...  

Slight difference to your recipe - I mash half the pots and leave half chunky, chop half the onions fine and leave half larger, mix in half the corned beef to the mash and leave half as bigger chunks - then put the whole thing under the grill till the tips are black/toasted before serving. 

MrsCD

Cherryfudge said:

DigForVictory said:

Apologies if the wrong thread, but has anyone a recipe for comfort corned beef hash (tin, spud, onion) chopped heated mixed & eaten with no need for teeth? Youngest having a wave of nostalgia & hunger but the recipes do not match his memory of squishy pink comfort…

I set some potatoes to cook and mash, chop an onion small and sauté it till soft, meanwhile get the corned beef out of the fridge (where it's been chilling to make it sliceable) and cut it into small cubes. Then it's just a case of combining the lot and mixing it up. I use half a large tin of corned beef for two adults but there's no rule about proportions as far as I know.

Nice with baked beans and brown sauce, or pickle, and any leftovers can be made into patties and fried. I hope this works for him but I've noticed the recipe changes north of us (Newcastle direction) where it's more of a stew and might have carrots and water added.

I usually add a crumbled Oxo cube for a bit extra flavour, but other than that, I make it just the same way. The type of potatoes make it either mushy or firmer.

TheFrugalPaladin

MikeJXE said:

Why do you need to prep ?

Apparently you can live for 

3 minutes without air 

3 weeks without water 

3 months without food 

Or thereabouts 

The rule of 3 is correct but it’s 3 minutes WO air, 3 days WO water and 3 weeks WO food

ArbitraryRandom

I dunno... looking at my post lockdown weight gain (that's stubbornly not going anywhere) I might be able to manage three months  

-taff

My mother used to make the corned beef hash with fried onions, chunks of corned beef and gravy, poured over potatoes and peas. OH is not a fan of corned beef but that is oneof the flavours of my youth...and now I fancy it

I am prepped just because my parents always did and having had no money at all to buy food before I do it because I don't want to be in that position again [ this was a time before foodbanks, I basically survived on pasta with tinned tomato sauce [ in the days when they were 9p a tin or whatever - pride and stupidity prevented me from asking my parents for help]

I have enough food for a good few months but the meals would get weird after a bit. I have noticed I am not selective enough in what I store, far too many one offs are there, not enough eat all the times. And far too many jams etc considering i like savoury stuff more. Then again, I am eating blackcurrant jam currently I made about ten years ago [ it's still fine] and I have quince cheese in there from 8 years ago. I make marmalade from leftover tangerines and oranges at Christmas for example and that is my favourite [and OHs stepdad] , so not many jars of that left.

sammy_kaye18

I do really need to sit and focus on getting things like paperwork in order for important things like passports, rent agreement, bank details, husbands work details etc as well as thats one thing I haven't got copies off and probably should do. Birth certificates as well. I would say onto a USB stick but if there's ever a problem with electrical things then Id be stuck trying to get them so maybe a bag with a hard copy in is best. 

We seem to have had a few spells of people in our house being poorly - whether it was fever after a tooth extraction, what I suspect was proper flu and other general bits and pieces so I want to get focused on stocking up our medical cupboard and having some bits and pieces upstairs in our bedside table - like a bottle of water with things like painkillers and cold remedies. 

Also I went through things a while back and some of them were well out of date which I suspect would of probably made us more ill than helped us! 

Food wise - I try to keep us stocked up so we can have a good week of meals. Again Im in the process of a clear out and stocking up on items that mean I can make products as well as buy them - things like Jam I know I can make from fruit, lemon and sugar so having those on hand is fine and I forage for things like blackberries, and brambles, Im growing strawberries, blueberries and a mini patio apple tree etc. I hope to add to these gradually but for now these keep us going. I also freeze fruits to use in desserts, breakfasts, baking and smoothies etc. Bread flour, flours, yeast etc also can do a lot with. 

I am using my garden to grow my own veg at the minute and again with intent to freeze, cook, batch cook etc and things that store well. So so far I have runner beans, peas, lettuce, spinach, rocket, more tomatoes than I know what to do with, aubergine, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, swede, several types of chillis, sweetcorn, cucumber, celery, courgette, pumpkin, watermelon, several types of flowers, then parsley, coriander and chives. 
I still also have lots more seeds to succession plan and will be putting them in hopefully soon. 
Over winter I plan to grow garlic and onions to keep us stocked in them throughout the year as well. 
Growing and drying our own herbs also saves us a fair bit too. 

My main reason for pepping is to know my family is ok. We hardly left the house during the pandemic as we had no need to. We are lucky enough to have a decent sized garden with a nice view so we could use that to enjoy fresh air and live in an area with a forest park and access to welsh mountains so we could avoid people. 
I have also gone hungry at more than one occassion in my life and gone without to make sure my then small child and husband were fed, I dont care to go back to those times so keeping a stock of tins and things we eat gives me that reassurance.

boxer234

I have put together a bag with important documents and a small amount of cash as a start.  I plan to add a little cash each month.  With the store cupboard I normally buy what I eat weekly but am trying to get a few extra bits to slowly build a store.  I am also ordering cheap bottled water.  I’m rural and our water has gone off a few times.  My main issue is my pooch who is a fussy eater.  Storing for him is difficult as he currently has frozen raw or home cooked fresh.  I think he would perhaps enjoy a tin of salmon if we got snowed in or similar.  Interesting once you start thinking about it.  I also need to invest in torches and maybe a little gas cooker. 

suzeesu2000

Note to self: restock meds. Had cystitis over weekend but fortunately had cystopurin in the medical box so dealt with immediately. Just need to restock now and check other stuff is still okay. Have just got new bottle of alcohol so okay with that. 

Need to clear pantry shelves and sort out properly as some stuff needs a restock.