survival food sucks....please give me recomondations for bulk food (bags of beans, lentils, oats, etc) for $2,000 budget

Also, flour and meals lose much of their nutritional value quickly. Whole grains store better; just add a grain mill to your budget.

I purchased most of my stuff from Costco.

couple 100 lbs of white rice
half the weight of rice in beans
100 lbs of oats
10 gal of honey
150 lbs of salt
25 lbs of baking soda
100 lbs of flour
50 lbs of sugar
50 lbs of seeds
50 lbs of split green beans
lots of other things
etc. etc.

Amazon:
numerous mylar bags
foodsaver and bags
5 gal buckets with lid
oxygen depleting packs
15 large boxes of multi tampons and pads (for the ladies and wounds)

etc. etc. etc.

^^^^ He's wrong you know...

MRE's are not survival food.

They provide high energy short term
dietary needs for soldiers in the field.

Good to have a few around but definitely not
a good choice for long term survival food.

Get Mylar bags off of Amazon or eBay with oxygen absorbers, you can get any size up to a 50 gal drum. Beans, rice, spaghetti, macaroni and a few other things will last 25 years. A lot of other dry foods are at least good for 5 years. Your sauces and other canned products will be good for at least 5 also. (I'm eating ravioli that went out of date three years ago.)
I made 17 buckets for a little over $400.
All you need to do the Mylar is a hair straightener or an iron. I also used a small shop vac to suck out as much air as I could. Takes two people to do that.

I grow veggie starts for resale, let me clear up some confusion:

There are very few GMO seeds available to purchase in packets for the average gardener. What you are looking for is heirloom.

ALL seeds will produce a plant the following year, so there is no harm in buying a tweaked sweet corn (for example) it is only when you attempt to save succeeding harvests for seeds, that issues will arise-this is ALSO TRUE of hybrid seeds (those that say something like F1 or hybrid in the description) The wonderful thing about seeds is this: You keep them dry, and out of the light, they store for many years.

Pick seeds suited to your location! That is, your garden zone. If you do not know your USDA gardening zone, there is plenty of information online about it-and a great map. I am Zone 3, so all my seeds need to be under 90 days for a reasonable chance at a yield. And about those "days to maturity" on the packets: Generally speaking, this means from planting out-not from when you started them. They are only a guide and you cannot count on this. Your soils, your growing conditions, water/rain, winds, etc, all play a major role in yield. Invest in calcium and epsom salts too, btw.

A great resource for seeds-and PLEASE do not buy those idiotic "survival seed" cans from most places. For example, I have seen ads bragging that you can get some ridiculous amount of green beans for the packet in there. Hogwash! There are about 43 seeds in an average packet of bush beans. NO way are you going to get 2500 green beans from 43 seeds! (Sorry pet peeve here!) You are going to get between 8 and 15 per plant, lol-IF you have a great growing year.

A good resource is www.mypatriotsupply.com I even buy their seeds to grow on for resale. They are packaged extremely well, have a good and growing selection, and all are heirloom. But most of all, there is an ample amount of seeds in each packet-and this is important if you are investing into seeds.

Rice and beans are cheap as fuck! Who knew?

in addition to your bulk food -

spend $40 on a 2 gallon pump sprayer and some concentrated insect killer , like sevin

buy 100 cheap lighters, for use, and to use as currency

don't forget bulk candy from sams club - like sweettarts or skittles

word

Muzz gonna eat your supply....

fight or die coward...a bag o beanz??

western men are nearly all fagz

I do the same thing except I don't sell. When I was a child my family and neighbors taught me the value of growing your own food. I visit the markets that are all over looking for prime strains. I agree organic and heirloom are the way to go. The people who haven't started their growing are behind the eight ball. Invest in it and get started now. I don't want to see you starve to death waiting for your garden to produce.

RAISINS they are full of good nutrients and sugars.

I'm fighting but I'll need fuel to be on my A game. I'm sure I'll do both. The military taught me a few tricks.

Yep, candies. Chocolate-which keeps forever, did you know? Just vacuum seal it, easy peasey. Learn how to make laundry soap from scratch, how to use your bleach, vinegers, and how to make them too. And you might think I'm nuts, but clothespins and good line, tons of extra socks and gloves, tape, nails and tarps, clear plastic (visqueen comes in a 100 foot roll, for example) and so on.

Do not overlook lighting. Oil lamps, oil, wicks, mantles.

As far as oils go, here is what I keep in my pantry year round:

Five gallons veggie oil. Four large cans shortening, plus a gallon or two of olive oil. Three or four little buckets of lard (I should have more, really). We go through about 4 times as much veggie oil as we do the olive, but each household is different.

Do you realize that you will have a phase...probably long months were you wont have nor time, nor water to cook, clean etc, no way to dispose or fuel to cook

I prepare all from basic ingredients and never use platic plates etc..but before I will be able to chill a bit and organize things I won't be able to do everyday stuff.

So get ready meals too or make it yourself.

Also things like beans should not be core of your preps... You have to rehydratate them, changing water multiple times and cooking even with pressure cooker is high fuel demanding

Better muge beans chinese noodles you can reidratate and season easily.

Besides what others have posted, here are some additional thoughts:

- Generally I dislike freeze dried MEALS. The taste usually leaves something to be desired, and they are full of crap like extra salt. However, I do like freeze dried components. For example, using freeze dried ground beef and tomatoes, use up your bean stockpiles and some chili powder to make your own Chili. It will taste ten times better than either the canned shit or freeze dried meals.

- Stock LOTS of salt, you may need it to cure meats or even to trade with others. You can buy salt in huge bags as softener salt (check the contents first to make sure they don't add extra shit. A bucket or two of canning salt is worth having as well. Remember, entire civilizations have collapsed because of lack of salt.

- Fats are key. Mountain men used to starve with full stomachs because there was no fat in their diets. Make sure to store plenty of olive and coconut oil as they taste and store best. Also cans of Crisco last a while unopened and are useful source of fat. It would also be wise to learn to make things such as mayonnaise as the shelf life on them is only a few months and would go bad in storage.


- Buy a pressure cooker, a bunch of jars, and 5 times as many lids. Learn to can your own food, you can store nearly anything canning, even things like meats, sausages, cheese and butter.

Also...in case of contamination, food poisoning, or simple strees your digestive system will suffer

Consider to prepare ready made easy digesting food and probiotics

I won't be able to read the whole thread until later but I'm assuming that you have some alternative means of cooking all of these things since there may not be electricity or gas.

Since you don't like cans, I think you should probably get a pressure canner and cook your food now.

I have one but haven't used it because of the cost of produce and meat these days. It's hard to buy these items in bulk.

But seriously, if we are in a survival situation do you really think you should be worrying about salt content etc.? You will just need to stay alive. For that reason, since I'm not a rice and beans person, except once in awhile, I would stock up on canned goods, canned meats, some cereals, etc. that I can eat out of the box. Crackers keep a long time. This is survival, remember.

.


Invest in a vacuum sealer for your dry foods.

It'll keep much longer.


.

For a family you need a stash of ready to eat foods.

Think about #10 (large) cans of bean, veggies, fruit,
etc. where preparation (heating) may be desired but
is not required.

The supplement with dried foods that require
preparation. Beans (several different types)
grains, rice, dehydrated entrees, etc.

Your first goal would be to get enough supplies to last
30-45 days. This get you through a massive but
recoverable event.

If a situation occurs that the system can recover from
if will start to recover in 20-30 days.

Any event that recovery can't start in a month, all bets are off.

Crap man... When the SHTF you really gonna be worried about too much sodium?

Don't buy retial!!!

Buy here: [link to honeyville.com]

Do it yourself and save big!

Purchase the cans & lids and 50 lb. bags of

Rice
Oats
Wheat
Beans

Rice, oats and wheat are good for 20 years or more when canned properly.

You can feed 4 adults on $2000 for a year if done correctly.

I stocked up on cans of beans just for that purpose. I can bury cases of them and grab them whenever I need some. If I need to move fast, it'll be like the old C Rats. MRE's are too expensive. I'll trap and hunt. As for fuel, I have an axe and 5 chainsaws. An entrenching tool helps in a pinch.

You can invest in a dehydrator and start making some light preps now. It's easy to make one also. Water is everywhere here. There's springs and I have a few wells on my land. Hand pumps are cheap. I'm sure I can ride out the storm.

I hear tree bark is good this time of year (sarcasm).

Canned foods! Lasts forever and for 2k if you shop smart you could get 2000+ canned foods in a huge variety inclding fruits, beans, veggies and canned ravioli, chili, chicken, tuna, salmon and everything imaginable!

Rice, dry beans, lentils, pasta, bread flour, oats, honey, salt, black peppercorns, sugar, coconut oil, canned meats like tuna and spam. Dried herbs, garlic and onion powder and seasoning mixes like taco seasoning (which is very versatile!).

All of the above store well if kept cool and dry.

Heirloom (also called open pollinated) seedstock for your usda growing region. You dont have to go apeshit, as part of your crop can go to seed to provide for the next season.

Build some raised beds and buy a few stacks of compost bags to fall back on. Use your own compost to fertilize. Composters cost about $100. Throw any unused vegetable biomass into it.

Your garden will provide you with the fresh produce you will need.

$2k can easily supply all of the above if you shop wisely.

Beans are loaded with Phytic Acid and to many beans or grains can reek havac on your teeth. Sugar eventually dissolves and heads south but the phytic acid clings to your teeth and can lead to serious decay.


If you soak them for 8 hours they sprout, and break down, and change so they are good for you.

Lentils are easier than bean to digest.

Good suggestions here, eg raw oatmeal & raisins, raw sunflower seeds

[link to www.relfe.com]

Maybe not exactly what you were asking for, but nevertheless very interesting for preppers...

check out [link to www.soylent.com (secure)]

It has also spawned a open source movement for nutritious meal replacements...

also, worth checking out is aquaponics...

[link to www.backyardaquaponics.com]

I grow in aquaponics. I do have a few raised beds and there's enough free cow manure around my neck of the woods. They really need to understand how things grow. They need to know when to grow. They need to understand how the process works. there's literature out there on the internet as well as videos. Take the time to learn and you won't be sorry you did. Thank God for family and neighbors teaching me at an early age. The older folks know a lot about growing. Talk with them.

You really reap what you sow.

Ive been growing food for years lol. Soil for roots and tubers, aeroponics for everything else.

There is a blog post from a gal that bought a years' worth of food for under $300. You'll have to search for it, sorry.

There are *also* some excellent recipes for putting all those dry goods together into meals, in quart jars. Food fatigue is a real thing, something to remember.

I'm going to suggest another excellent online resource, you can learn about so much on this forum:

www.homesteadingtoday.com

It is a *huge* forum and you do not have to join to read. Included is an entire forum dedicated to prepping on a budget, anyone reading who is interested, should so take a look. I promise you will not be disappointed :)