One thing that is important when it comes to survival situations is food. Even a simple power outage can shut down the local grocery store, forcing you to eat what is already in your house. I want to share today our one-month food storage box.
This food gives us peace of mind and assurance that we always have food in the house. When unexpected guests arrive, we know we can pull from our box a delicious, hearty meal. If one of us where to lose our jobs unexpectedly, we could reserve our savings and eat out of the box for a while.
This box includes all shelf stable items, and some that require no cooking, just reheating. Not having to cook means you could in a pinch eat at room temperature without the need for a cook stove or fire or drawing attention to the meal. It may seem silly but cooking a big pot of steaming chili may cause others to lift their noses at the smell and come down to check it out.
Our box is designed for one person to eat comfortably, without rationing, for one month. For us, it means we could eat for 2 weeks, or find space in our apartment for another box. This box currently lives under our end table next to the couch and fits nearly everything. (Water we store elsewhere, learn about our water storage here.)
So how much does it cost? About $140. But we didn't buy it all at once. After the first list was made, every grocery trip we selected 5-6 items to buy and slowly built up our supply.
But what if it expires before I use it, seems like a waste of money? First we created this box around foods we eat every day. So, when we plan chili for dinner in a week, we buy what we need but take the items out of the box and restock with the items we bought. This keeps things rotated and fresh. It also ensures we are stocking the box with things we like and eat regularly. Second, think of it like car insurance. Most months you don't have an accident, don't need repairs but you still pay for insurance. This box is food insurance, most months you won't need it, but will be very happy to have it when you need it. Third, peace of mind is not a waste of time (or money).
So, let's get down to the details, what’s in our box?
Breakfast meals: (38 meals)
- Oatmeal and brown sugar or jam or honey (15)
- Protein powder (15)
- Corned beef hash (8)
- Protein bars and canned fruit (15)
Lunch + Dinner: (56 meals)
- Pasta and tomato sauce (8)
- Easy Chili (16)
- Shepard's Pie (16)
- Tomato Soup (8)
- Mac and cheese (8)
Snacks:
- Ritz and peanut butter (-)
Here with 38 breakfasts and 56 lunch/dinner meals that comes to 94 total meals which is 3 meals a day for 31 days. The recipes are pretty simple.
Oatmeal: (1 serving x 15)
- 1/2 cup oatmeal
- 1/4 cup water (to preference)
- 1 dab of honey, jam or brown sugar
Corned Beef Hash: (2 servings x 4)
- 1 can Corned Beef hash
Protein + Fruit (1 serving x 15)
- 1 protein bar
- 1 fruit cup
Protein Shake (1 serving x 15)
- 1 scoop of powder
- milk or water to preference
Pasta and tomato sauce: (2 serving x 4)
- 1 box pasta
- 1 jar tomato sauce
- sprinkle of Parmesan cheese (for morale)
Easy Chili: (4 servings x 4)
- 1 can black beans
- 1 can baked beans
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 can corn
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- optional canned meat (not included)
- optional rice
Shepard's Pie (4 servings x 4)
- 1 can peas
- 1 can corn
- 1 can gravy
- 1 packet of dried mashed potatoes
- optional canned meat (not included)
- optional rice
Mac and Cheese (1 serving x 4)
- 1 box mac and cheese
Tomato Soup (1 serving x 4)
- 1 can tomato soup
- rice/pasta optional
For variety, try mixing half a can of tomato soup with half a prepared box of mac and cheese. This nice blend changes things up and is still the same amount of servings.
Note: Rice is very easy to make with water and easy to store dry. It has a long shelf life, is packed with calories and fills your stomach. This makes rice a great way to stretch a meal, chili over rice can double the servings of chili. Rice in tomato soup (think Spaghetti-O's) or Shepard's pie can do the same, making your food supply last much longer.
Cooking without Power
Do you have a plan to cook this food without electricity? Say there is a bad wind storm that knocks out power. You have food from your box but some require cooking and some reheating. How do you plan to heat or cook the items in this box?
A good apartment solution is a camp stove. I recommend this Butane Gas camp stove. It is large enough for your standard cooking pots. The Butane Canisters are not easy to find in stores but can be ordered easily from Amazon. (Small propane canisters are also becoming harder to find in camping stores.) Each canister last for 3- 4 hours of burn time. Don't forget to stock up on Butane canisters too! With this link, you can buy 1 canister for about $1. That is a great deal!
One warning with using butane stoves inside: Carbon Monoxide. Get a simple battery powered detector and you will be all set. You could open a window if it's not cold outside.
Want a free printable list ? I will email it to you. Check out the box below.
What other recipes do your family love that are made of shelf-stable ingredients? What would you swap out in this list?
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