The importance of storing a WIDE variety of food

[itsybitsy]

For the past four weeks or so, I've been eating very much the same foods day in day out. I'm on a low GI diet plan (it's a research study being conducted by one of the departments where I work) so for ease/convenience I've been basically eating more or less the same thing every day (with a couple of days off - I really needed a takeaway!). And while this wasn't a dry run for a SHTF situation, it's certainly opened my eyes to the importance of storing a wide range of food. I've been eating:

Breakfast:
Special K with skimmed milk/ Wholegrain toast with hummus
Orange juice

Lunch
Wholegrain Krisprolls with either hummus or low fat Philadelphia and tomato or lentil soup
A pear

Dinner
Pasta with king prawns & cherry tomatoes/feta and pesto
Chickpea & spinach/chicken & red pepper curry (no rice just a wholemeal pitta)

I have to say that, after a month, I'm now starting to feel slightly nauseous at the thought of another bowl of spaghetti or a plate of curry. Cont below...

[itsybitsy]

I've also had a few cravings for sweet stuff which has resulted in me eating Nutella and rasberry conserve straight out of the jars (both low GI so there!) which is the highlight of the day's food intake!

It got me to thinking about how you would manage in an extended SHTF situation if you didn't have a good, wide variety of food stuffs stored. I honestly think you would get to the point where you couldn't face another dish of vegetable soup/Big Breakfast/noodles, etc etc. Your morale would be low enough as it was without being off your food too! And if you're not eating properly then you're not going to be functioning fully and you need your wits about you in a SHTF situation. You also need to keep your strength up.

So I guess the morale of my story is that you may have 100kg of rice or pasta shells mylared in your pantry, and 150 tins of spaghetti hoops and beans hidden under the floorboards, but will you physically be able to live on that withouth getting to the point that it makes you physically ill to look at it?

I'm going to put together a collection of recipes of stuff I like - ensuring that there is a wide variety of meals to choose from - and then adjust my food store as necessary to encasuplate those recipes.

So, a good exercise which has made me rethink my food storage. And - I've lost 5lb!

[diamond lil]

Yaaaay on the 5lbs This is what I always say though -- some forums its like a competition to see who can mylar the most lbs/buckets/tons of pasta or rice ... but there must be a limit to the amount of pasta/rice a person can eat ! (We don't eat the stuff at all in this house, we'll probly starve to death post S)
We need a recipe thread not just a stores thread ...

[itsybitsy]

Yaaaay on the 5lbs This is what I always say though -- some forums its like a competition to see who can mylar the most lbs/buckets/tons of pasta or rice ... but there must be a limit to the amount of pasta/rice a person can eat ! (We don't eat the stuff at all in this house, we'll probly starve to death post S)
We need a recipe thread not just a stores thread ...

Lil - what type of thing do you eat then if there's no rice or pasta at all?

[allan]

I would rather the pasta and rice than some of the things I have read about people storing. Ones read an Americana book that suggested the best food to store was dry dog food and vitamin tablets.
Would not want to eat that on the first day I would stave by the end of the week.

[diamond lil]

We live on porridge breakfasts, home made soup and bread lunches, and a big meat and two+ veg dinner, alternated twice a week with fish or cold meat salads. He is diabetic and pasta or rice sends his BG through the roof.

[itsybitsy]

I would rather the pasta and rice than some of the things I have read about people storing. Ones read an Americana book that suggested the best food to store was dry dog food and vitamin tablets.

Jesus wept!

[ezekiel]

Food fatigue is potentially a big problem, especially if you have kids. I'm adding dried noodles, cous cous and cornmeal to my supplies of rice & pasta along with a wide variety of instant rice/noodle/cous cous/pasta flavours. My collection of pasta sauce flavours is growing and I'm also adding jars of oriental sauces (black bean, chow mein, sweet & sour, hoisin etc) all of which add variety. Tinned soups can be added to rice/pasta and I also have a large box of packet soups and sauce mixes, anything from cottage pie & sausage caserole to chilli con carne.

All of which still points to a diet of rice/pasta....

For a change of pace I have instant mash, tinned potatoes and a variety of tinned veg, meat, fish and fruit, not forgetting a small selection from the dessert trolley (tinned sponge pudding, custard, rice pudding and packet instant custard, angel delight style mixes etc.) It might not be gourmet stuff but at least we shouldn't die of boredom before we die of starvation

[counsellor]

Allan wrote "best food to store was dry dog food and vitamin tablets.
Would not want to eat that on the first day I would stave by the end of the week."

well i heard that cat food is better because they are a little more picky about what they eat, so it is made to a better standard. also I understand that all pet in the UK is ok for humans to eat
although i've never tried and hope not to

[diamond lil]

Tuna is cat food ! I agree re the pkt sauce mix, they're light and cheap and can be sprinkled on anything to give it a bit of a taste. ANd yes if you had kids then things wouldn't be so easy. I lost my appetite when I got ME and I hardly ever get hungry now, I'm happy with very little. Every pain in the ass has a silver lining eh