A Year of Supplemental Food Storage for $300 for my family of FOUR !!
5 min read
I have come across an amazing find, thanks to a FB friend; I have learned how to add enough food to my storage to feed us (2 adults and two kids) for a year! This is a combination of legumes, grains, beans etc that provides balanced, nutritious meals daily very cheap. The thing I love about this recipe is that it can be changed in many different ways by adding left over meats, vegetables, dry vegetables, TVP, potatoes, etc.
This recipe has been around the internet for years now, but this is the first time I have seen it. I have researched for hours on ways to get a year of supplemental food storage for $300 for my family of FOUR for a reasonable cost and finally found it, so I thought I would share it with all of our APN readers. 🙂
Note: Please feel free to share this with everyone you know. I feel it will greatly benefit anyone that has food storage, struggles with food storage, or is just beginning. I know for me, the thought of trying to get enough food for a year was sooo overwhelming, but with this plan, it created a *baseline* for me to build on so I felt secure knowing I had at least some basics to make a meal for my family. This will last a year if you ration it properly, but you will want/need to add things like meat and other vegetables (canned or dehydrated) to your pot of food. Lets face the facts, no one wants to eat the same thing over and over day in and day out. So you will want to build on this once you have it.
I am going to list the things needed and what you are supposed to do so you have an easy list at hand and instructions to add to your buckets.
What you will need:
Food:
- 4 x 22 pounds of rice. Any kind of rice will do. (Four 20 pound bags + 8 one pound bags) OR two 50lb bags at Sam’s.
- 2 x 11 pounds of Kidney Beans. (22 one pound bags)
- 2 x 11 pounds of barley. (22 one pound bags)
- 2 x 11 pounds of yellow lentils. (22 one pound bags)
- 1 x 5.5 pounds of split green peas. (6 one pound bags)
- 1 x 5.5 chick peas/garbanzo beans. (6 one pound bags)
- 30 pounds beef or chicken bouillon. (or both) It will be added to each batch as you cook it.
Hardware:
- Four/Five 5 gallon buckets for the rice. (rice usually settles if you shake it down so its give or take here)
- One 5 gallon bucket for kidney beans.
- One five gallon bucket for the barley.
- One 5 gallon bucket for the yellow lentils.
- One 1 gallon bucket for the split green peas.
- One 1 gallon bucket for the chick peas/garbanzo.
- Thirty-two oxygen absorbers
Total of six 10 gallon buckets and two 1 gallon buckets.
Approximate Cost Where I Live: (Revised note 2013: The links attached to the items are not the cost I paid buying them on sale. I am adding the links upon request of the readers to bulk options of the food items listed.)
- Rice @ Sam’s: 2 x $16.48 = $32.96 (two 50 lb bags)
- Kidney Beans /sale: 22 x $0.67 = $14.74
- Pearl Barley /sale: 22 x $0.59 = $12.98
- Lentils / sale: 22 x $0.45 = $9.90
- Green Split Peas / sale: 6 x $0.40 = $2.40
- Chick peas (garbanzo) / sale: 6 x $0.58 = $3.48
- Beef Bouillon: $65.49 (Revised Note 2013: I have been asked about a link to bouillon in bulk. Here is one option. It is 2 dollars higher per pound due to inflation in 2013.)
Total Food: $141.95
- Ten 5 gallon food grade buckets: $51.10 (free shipping) You can also check with your local Sam’s or grocery store bakeries for free buckets. We go to fire house sub and pay $2.00 for them when they have them because ALL procedes go to the local fire departments.
- Ten Gamma lids: $69.70(pick up in store)
- One Gallon Buckets & lids: $15.25 (have to order a min of five, $15.25 is total cost)
- Shipping for buckets and lids: $7.90
- Oxygen Absorbers: Sixty 300CC = $9.97 (3 packs of 20)
Total Hardware: $153.92
Total combined cost: $295.87
Note: The reason the title says for $300 is to give some room based on cost of living in your area.
Directions:
- Put split green peas and the chick peas in a separate 1 gallon bucket, add 1 OA (Ooxygen Absorber) to the bucket, seal.
- Put Barley, Kidney beans, and lentils in separate 5 gallon containers adding 5 OA per bucket, seal.
- Divide rice up in remaining 5 gallon buckets with 5 OA in each bucket, seal.
How to make your soup:
- 8 oz of rice
- 2 oz of red kidney beans
- 2 oz of pearl barley
- 2 oz of lintels
- 1 oz of split green peas
- 1 oz of chick peas/garbanzo’s
- Bouillon to taste
Take the 16 oz dry mixture and add 6-7 quarts of water with a spoon of butter or olive oil (optional) to prevent the water from boiling over. Add 3 tablespoons bouillon or to taste. Then add any other meats, vegetables, potatoes or seasonings you’d like to. I personally love to add garlic and Lima beans. DO NOT add onions. They will spoil the mixture. Bring to a boil and then let simmer for two hours. You should have enough to feed 4 people for two days if rationed correctly.
Note: Onions ferment too quickly and will cut the time you are able to store the already cooked soup mixture. There is always the option of dried onions and you can add it to smaller batches you know will be eaten on the first day.
On the second day you will need to add more water and a tablespoon of bouillon because it will thicken in the refrigerator overnight. Boil for a min of ten minutes to kill off any potential bacteria, especially if you’re not able to store it in the refrigerator because you’re without electricity.
You will be full off of ONE large bowl of this delicious soup. The kids usually eat about a half a bowl with bread. That’s what makes it so great. If able to, bake some bread or corn bread to go with it.
If there is any mixture left on the third day, then just add it to the new mixture you make. (If making a new mixture on the third day) As time goes by you will learn to tell how much of each ingredient you need to fit your family’s needs.
With the exception of dairy and Vitamin B 12, this should take care of your nutritional needs. Maybe not all of your wants, but once you get this out of the way, you can concentrate on adding the stuff you want to your food storage knowing you have enough for a year already if you half to use it.
I hope this helps you all to begin or expand your food storage like it has me!
Keepin It Spicy,
Jalapeño Gal
Note: These prices may or may not go up a little with inflation after 2013.
Please visit my store: Jalapeño Gal’s Survival Surplus
They do make instant red kidney beans now. I would think that in a SHTF scenario one would be happy to have food even if it took a little longer to cook verses starve. However as stated in the article, this is not the ONLY food one should have in food storage. It is a base so that you know you have something instead of nothing.
Storage proportions are in pounds and recipe proportions are in ounces.
Storage proportions are in pounds and recipe proportions are in ounces.
Storage proportions are in pounds and recipe proportions are in ounces.
Thank you Christina. I had no idea why one would ever need a year’s worth of food on hand. You suggested that you store food and I suppose water, because help might not be forthcoming after a natural disaster. Can you tell me the last time someone in the U.S. starved to death because they didn’t get assistance from emergency crews after a disaster? I’d bet it was a long time ago. Our transportation and communication resources are advanced enough where I doubt any group or individual would be allowed to starve to death because help couldn’t get to them. Since you live in a rural area, I would think the possibility of getting emergency assistance was even greater. Population is sparse where you live, I imagine, and food and water and blankets and other such aid could be brought in by helicopter or air dropped near you even if the roads were destroyed. Anyway, good luck with the food storage. I hope you never have to use it.
Thank you Christina. I had no idea why one would ever need a year’s worth of food on hand. You suggested that you store food and I suppose water, because help might not be forthcoming after a natural disaster. Can you tell me the last time someone in the U.S. starved to death because they didn’t get assistance from emergency crews after a disaster? I’d bet it was a long time ago. Our transportation and communication resources are advanced enough where I doubt any group or individual would be allowed to starve to death because help couldn’t get to them. Since you live in a rural area, I would think the possibility of getting emergency assistance was even greater. Population is sparse where you live, I imagine, and food and water and blankets and other such aid could be brought in by helicopter or air dropped near you even if the roads were destroyed. Anyway, good luck with the food storage. I hope you never have to use it.
James Lee Phelan, have you seen the news footage after Katrina? I live in Louisiana about 3 hours by car from New Orleans. I could have walked to New Orleans much faster than the federal government responded with water and food. I’m glad you trust the government so much, but the point of being prepared is NOT to depend on someone with a helicopter to drop “food and water and blankets and other such aid”.
Thank you Christina. I had no idea why one would ever need a year’s worth of food on hand. You suggested that you store food and I suppose water, because help might not be forthcoming after a natural disaster. Can you tell me the last time someone in the U.S. starved to death because they didn’t get assistance from emergency crews after a disaster? I’d bet it was a long time ago. Our transportation and communication resources are advanced enough where I doubt any group or individual would be allowed to starve to death because help couldn’t get to them. Since you live in a rural area, I would think the possibility of getting emergency assistance was even greater. Population is sparse where you live, I imagine, and food and water and blankets and other such aid could be brought in by helicopter or air dropped near you even if the roads were destroyed. Anyway, good luck with the food storage. I hope you never have to use it.
This would be a pretty severe diet by US standards. May take a little getting used to. Better put in some pepto and laxatives. Just in case.
This would be a pretty severe diet by US standards. May take a little getting used to. Better put in some pepto and laxatives. Just in case.
This would be a pretty severe diet by US standards. May take a little getting used to. Better put in some pepto and laxatives. Just in case.
Hey Diane, do you know somewhere on the net I found a recipe to make instant beans? Hum, let’s see. Anyway, dry beans take up so much less space. I thought about “instant” but if the SHTF I’ll have to pressure can, the easiest way to cook them!
Hey Diane, do you know somewhere on the net I found a recipe to make instant beans? Hum, let’s see. Anyway, dry beans take up so much less space. I thought about “instant” but if the SHTF I’ll have to pressure can, the easiest way to cook them!
Hey Diane, do you know somewhere on the net I found a recipe to make instant beans? Hum, let’s see. Anyway, dry beans take up so much less space. I thought about “instant” but if the SHTF I’ll have to pressure can, the easiest way to cook them!
ok , but i dont understand :/ i’m french and prefere use kilogramme.
1 Pound = 16 Ounces —> http://www.asknumbers.com/PoundsToOuncesConversion.aspx
so , it dont change proportion ?
i realize this PDF in french , and i have some difficults to solve this probleme of proportion in Kg :
http://www.fichier-pdf.fr/2013/04/02/1anreservealimentaire-1/
help me please , and translate the pdf if you want to share it 😉
This should help you out. 🙂 http://www.french-at-a-touch.com/Gourmet/cooking_conversions.htm
http://www.fichier-pdf.fr/2013/04/02/1anreservealimentaire-1/
http://www.fichier-pdf.fr/2013/04/02/1anreservealimentaire-1/
http://www.fichier-pdf.fr/2013/04/02/1anreservealimentaire-1/
Sherri Underwood Hodgson I have a friend that is interested in this. She asked how long the food could be stored in this manner. I’m not sure what to tell her. I usually store my items in mylar.
Sherri Underwood Hodgson I have a friend that is interested in this. She asked how long the food could be stored in this manner. I’m not sure what to tell her. I usually store my items in mylar.
Sherri Underwood Hodgson I have a friend that is interested in this. She asked how long the food could be stored in this manner. I’m not sure what to tell her. I usually store my items in mylar.
It’s a pain but well worth the effort to soak 12-24hrs. Or you can precook and dehydrate! This should also last the year if done properly 🙂
and Homeland Security and MSNBC are saying that people that are doing this are Hoarders and should be prosecuted if they dont share with nieghbors during disasters. They also say they have the right to take it from you and distribute it….if you do store your own supply do not share that information with anyone…
not being paranoid just listening to what the news is saying
Sherri just soak them over night. you just have to plan ahead. Also they will double or triple in size when you soak them. So fill a container 1/3 full. Then fill it with water. The next day the container will be 2/3 full to completely full. Do not do this in a sealed glass container. Leave the lid on loose when you do this. Dont forget to store lots of Seasonings. Chili powders, Cumin, Curryies and such. Makes SHTF scenarios more livable and less boring
Honeyville Grain now offers a “quick cook” dried bean in #10 can. It’s more expensive though. It does take a long time to prepare dried beans, but you can mitigate that some by canning some ahead of time for the occasion “quick” grab. It’s still worth it to have them on hand, properly packed, they will last 30 years, so that’s something to consider.
Beans and rice are also less likely to be stolen ……at first……oh and dont forget cooking oil
My wife made baked beans for dinner this evening from scratch. (We always cook this way.) She boils the beans for an hour to an hour and a half. Then she mixes the other ingredients in with the beans and bakes them. (Of course the baking process wont be used with all types of beans.)
We replenish most of our supplies at harvest time when we can/freeze/dry everything for the next year. We grow most of our own food for the year and preserve it as it becomes ready. Very large garden. tastes better then anything I get at the store.
It’s not about whether or not emergency help will arrive in a timely manner. It’s a matter of taking responsibility for ourselves and our families. If everyone actually did that government help after disasters would be unnecessary. But, yeah, why take responsibility when you can wait on someone else to bail you out.
Thanks everyone! I have been keeping cans of different kinds of beans and wanted to add dry ones but because of their cooking time chose to stay away from them. Herbal Pagan – thanks about the Honeyville Grain tip – I am an Independent Consultant with the THRIVE food line and we also sell the instant ones in the #10 cans but I try to be conservative with how my $$$ is being stretched so if it’s cheaper to get the dry ones and a quicker way to cook them, then I’m game. I’ve also been buying my #10 cans for primary things like meats and such since I have not yet canned – we all know how pricey the cans can get so I try to stretch it out. 😉
James – there are different reasons why we all prep and store food/water up. Some of us do not want to rely on others any more than needed. We take too much for granted and think we live in a rosey world where nothing bad is going to happen and if it does, the calvary will come in and save us. We all can learn a lot from history and what is going on around us right now. Our economy is still shaky and so is the dollar. I would be curious as to what people who lived through Katrina or any other type of disaster would say about the gov’t coming in to save them and how long it took for them to get the “real” help they needed.
And, another reason, if you have a family member, neighbor, co-worker or anyone else who has experienced a hardship or disaster of some sorts, it allows you to step up and help them in their time of need if one choose too. 😉
Thanks Brian, I’m not familiar with your movement and was trying to understand the reasons for having a year’s worth of food always on hand. The ability to care for your own family in the unlikely event of a natural disaster that prevents you from accessing food and water for a year is laudable. But I wouldn’t say that people who don’t share your fears and fail to put up that much food will be guilty of mooching off of the government in the event of a catastrophic event. In times of disaster we as a nation pitch in to help those who are suffering and insure that there is plenty of food, water, clothing and other necessary supplies for as long as it takes. In the same way that you, either personally and/or with your tax dollars, pitched in to help those victims of Katrina or the many tornado victims in Missouri and elsewhere last year. And Sheri, I admire your desire to be as self-sufficient as possible. I guess I don’t get the one year part as I can’t imagine this country letting any region go without access to food resources for that long. As to the Katrina victims, if they had stored food it was probably washed away in the flood, or otherwise contaminated. The slow response to that disaster hopefully was a wake up call and we won’t see the like of that level of incompetence again. Thanks again to all of you for answering my questions. I admire your group even though I don’t have the same worries.
You can also can them and then all you have to do is heat them up
Costco
Costco
James, that’s cool, I understand where you are coming from. Some of us have been watching things closely that are going on in the world today and with our country. I went to an Emergency Preparedness Workshop back in Feb – which at that time we were only shooting for 3 month supply in our family – at this event, there were two well known gov’t reps from EMPact America. These two individuals educated us on the threat of an EMP attack (like N Korea has the capability of doing) along with solar flares (which we are 150 years over due for). Both of these events have the capability of taking down our electrical grid which is not protected from these events. They stated, depending on how bad either event is, that we would look at anywhere from 1-10+ years till electric is back up and running! These type of events will fry anything electrical or computer operated – including vehicles. Hearing these two experts talk worried my husband and I that if either of these events happened, how could we look our children in the face and tell them we could not feed them or give them their basic life needs. These experts also told us not to rely on the gov’t because they will not have the resources to help the country out if this happened. My husband and I are not even near the 3 month supply let alone the year but we keep stocking up to get there. We will be gardening this year and canning for our first time. We are also looking into chickens and possibly aquaponics. We have many skills to learn but are also networking with others and building a group up to be of support to one another. That’s “our” story, lol. Sorry so long! 🙂
This is not intended as the only source of food, it is supplemental. A plan that you can do quickly and then build up other food like meat and vegetables, noodles etc..
Just another idea for cooking this. If you are trying to conserve fuel for cooking you could bring this to a boil and then use a heat box also called a wonder oven. The idea is to cook your food and use as little fuel as possible. I tried this last week with a chicken barley soup and it worked great! I brought my soup to a good boil and then packed it up in a box and blankets. It was steaming hot when I pulled it out of the blankets 7 hours later.
Here is a video I found that shows the process. Easy and no extra fancy items needed. Hope this helps.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn4YlBHEYmI
I love lists! They make the prepping process a lot more manageable.
Of course, you have to arrange to have plenty of clean water to make this work. Your plan looks like a good foundation. However, I believe variety is crucial in a long-term survival situation. We need it to keep up morale. So my suggestion is to do as you have shared, THEN begin to augment the prep with creative ways to make the eating experience more interesting.
Wes T.
Indiana
SuccessfulSurvival.net