Do we store enough Protein?

[Adjee]

Consider harvesting and drying some stinging nettles (from memory, so may be wrong, fresh leaves average @ 20% protein, dried leaves up to 40%). Cut about 6/8 inches of the fresh growth in early spring before flowering. They are good for iron, Vit A & C and other minerals.

We harvest them every year for ourselves and as one of the winter feed supplements for our animals.

[ForgeCorvus]

Just going back to recommended daily protein.... I remember on some health/cooking show a guy describing what a day's protein looks like.
He said "Look at your hand, imagine just the palm part with no fingers. Thats your meat or fish for the day"
One of the people said "But my hand is smaller then yours"
"So are you" came the reply.

[jennyjj01]

Just going back to recommended daily protein.... I remember on some health/cooking show a guy describing what a day's protein looks like.
He said "Look at your hand, imagine just the palm part with no fingers. Thats your meat or fish for the day"
One of the people said "But my hand is smaller then yours"
"So are you" came the reply.

I don't eat a fraction of that now. That's a lot to try to have in reserves. Imagine trying to store 90 chicken breasts or equivalent per family member. .
I reckon it's time to revisit dehydrating eggs.

[ForgeCorvus]

For me, thats about a tin of tuna, a mackerel fillet, two pilchards, six sardines (yes, I know the last two are the same species.... Tinned Pilchards tend to be larger), half a tin of corned dog, 3/4 of one of those massive Wikinger hotdogs (the litre jar size).
Any of those are assuming I'm planning on getting all of my daily protein in one meal from one source.

Sorry, thats another rabbithole to go down

[jennyjj01]

For me, thats about a tin of tuna, a mackerel fillet, two pilchards, six sardines (yes, I know the last two are the same species.... Tinned Pilchards tend to be larger), half a tin of corned dog, 3/4 of one of those massive Wikinger hotdogs (the litre jar size).
Any of those are assuming I'm planning on getting all of my daily protein in one meal from one source.

Eggsackerly! We mix it up a bit.
Heading into the apocalypse with a broadly equal proportion of those, and some tinned beans and TVP will give us some good variety. E,g. 1/4 Bockwurst with beans for brekky: A couple of sardines with lunch, with a little bread and a modest slice of corned dog at dinner. Then mix it up a bit the next day

Now..... Dare I eat one of my Wikinger Bockwurst bought when they were a quid a jar. BBE 2018. Probably! I did find that once opened, the 'brine' went visibly bad after just two days. Similarly, some old bacon grill, perfect to eat, but the rest had visible mold after just two days. It's almost like they were primed for accelerated decay.

[jennyjj01]

Our American prepper cousins seem to rave over peanut butter.

Today I take my first dip into Peanut butter and the pros and cons of storing it.

So, tonight I had some peanut butter on toast. Dammit. I've decided I don't like it at all.
But while chowing down I was drawn to a pack of Bradbury's Soup & Broth Mix just bought from Home Bargain.

Blow me down if it's not very rich in protein. A 500g bag at 89p yields 17 portions with 4.2g each. This stuff will give me my protein at negligible cost.

Also, the 'traffic light' listings of nutritional values were ALL Green, so what's not to like?

Anyways...... Look out for it 89p in Home Bargain, or pay £2 or £2.10 for an almost identical product in Asda or Tesco. Surely a good contender for any 'extended' pantry.

Currently soaking some to be cooked up tomorrow. Here's a previous recipe of mine from 6 years ago.
viewtopic.php?p=188937#p188937

[GillyBee]

One alternative use for peanut butter is to make a satay style sauce for use over noodles or over chicken. It is basically peanut butter mixed with sweet chilli sauce and soy sauce so is a shelf stable flavour option.
Back when our kids were small we also made "burgers" by blending peanut butter with cous cous. Fairly bland but the texture worked quite well and might make a basis for other SHTF meals.

My son eats a LOT of lentils these days as he fells healthier when he does so. He has found that they make good patties fried up with onions and a little flour. Add some spices or cheese and they become tasty enough for Mr GB to snaffle.

The WW2 ration books include a lot of recipes to make fake sausages. These were nearly all some type of bean or lentil mash blended with oatmeal or flour and some herbs for flavour. WW2 flavourings were pretty limited so the real thing won out fast once available again. But it may give some more ideas on how to use up those lentil & bean stashes before the next millenium.

[GillyBee]

I did a quick cost per gram of protein for whey protein isolate, standard whey protein, NIDO and generic skimmed milk powder. All with no extra ingredients.
The whey protein isolate and standard whey protein both came in in about 5.6p a gram. The isolate has a higher protein content but the price is increased to match.
The Nido is cheaper if bought for less than £12 per 900g. It is 25% protein but the 25% dairy fat may or may not fit your diet and affects the shelf life.
Basic dried skim milk powder is 33% protein and comes in at around 3p per gram of protein using the standard supermarket packet. It is 50% carbohydrate to not such a good choice if you need to watch sugars or carbs.

All make useful options for bulking up protein content of stored foods using a complete protein with a fair to very good shelf life.

[pseudonym]

Snip> The Nido is cheaper if bought for less than £12 per 900g. It is 25% protein but the 25% dairy fat may or may not fit your diet and affects the shelf life.

I bulk buy it when a religious festival is on.

I then mix it 1/2 and 1/2 with real milk. i.e 1 litre Nido made up combined with 1 litre of milk.