Feeding Your Family Well During Hard -- and Harder -- Times
 

Feeding Your Family Well During Hard -- and Harder -- Times, by Lin H.

We can all agree that at the very least hard times are here, for way too many of ourselves, our friends, our family members, our acquaintances. And most of us here agree that harder times are a�coming. And I�ll add another basic human agreement: we all need to nourish our bodies with food, preferably good-tasting and health-sustaining food. I�d like to address and share my thoughts on this basic human requirement. I am not an expert in food nutrition or preparation. I have no college degrees in these areas: my credentials are only a little common sense and 30 years of feeding my family, as well as possible, on the smallest dime possible.

So first I�ll address hard times: feeding your family on as little as possible during normal hard times. I have a few �rules� for thrifty cooking: (1) basics are better; (2) beans, rice and pasta; (3) meat is a flavoring agent, not a main dish; (4) if it�s on sale, buy a bunch; and (5) use your imagination.

1 - Basics are better. I�m talking basic cooking ingredients like flour, sugar, salt, oatmeal, baking powder/soda, spices/herbs, oil/shortening, bouillon/broth, dried milk, eggs, vinegars and soy sauce, basic vegetables etc. Learning to cook from scratch using basic ingredients will save you big bucks, is healthier, and can bring you immense satisfaction. Learn to bake bread (I recently discovered the wonderful new �no knead� bread recipes: as easy as it gets, and makes delicious bread). Practice making scratch biscuits, cornbread and pie crusts. Play with serving flavored oatmeal for the kids� breakfasts, instead of the expensive store-bought cereals. Try creating different soups and stews using the various spice and herb possibilities. Experiment with making a �kitchen sink� casserole or stir-fry, using different combinations of ingredients and flavorings.

2 - Beans, rice and pasta. These should become your kitchen �go to� staples. They can be purchased affordably in bulk and can stretch any meal far beyond the usual menu ideas. Countless sauces and toppings can be created and stretched by being served over rice or pasta; all three items can bulk up soups or be the basis of warming and nourishing casseroles. I understand that if your constitution isn�t adapted to bean-eating (and carbohydrates in general) you may have intestinal distress - so start now on adding some bean dishes to your family�s diet. They�re cheap, tasty and healthy. Learn to cook a perfect pot of rice. It�s not hard, it just takes a little practice.

3 - Meat is a flavoring agent, not a main dish. Meats tend to be the most expensive part of any meal, so get away from the �meat-n-potato� mindset when planning menus. Less meat, mixed and stretched with sauces, vegetables, broths, and the aforementioned beans, rice and pasta, etc. gives you a similar satisfaction, and good taste, for a lot less money. It�s healthier too. An example: I�m going to fix Sunday brunch for my family of five. I have a pound of bacon, which if I fried and had a basic meal of bacon, eggs, potatoes, toast, juice - we�d eat most, if not all, of that bacon. So instead I only fry up 3-4 slices, and stir it in with beaten eggs, potatoes, veggies, flavorings etc. and bake it for a breakfast casserole. I now still have 2/3 of the bacon, so for supper tonight I might use another 3-4 slices to flavor a pot of beans. With appropriate side dishes, it�s another whole meal. And the last third I can use for another supper - a skillet of bacon/veggie fried rice. We�ve eaten 3 wholesome and satisfying meals vs. 1 meal using the same pound of bacon. This is just one example, but you can see how a little thinking about your meat usage can really stretch a food budget.

4 - If it�s on sale, buy a bunch. This is self-evident. If your grocery budget is very tight, start small on stocking up on sales, but start. Buy fruit and vegetables that are in season and therefore lower in price. Pay attention to grocery prices so that you�ll know what a good price is. In my area of the country, the price of a pound of cheddar cheese (which we use a fair amount of) can fluctuate from $2.69 all the way to $3.89. I know, from price-watching, that $2.99/lb. and below is a good price. So I always buy at least two at those times (four if the budget allows). Cheddar freezes excellently, I always have it on hand, and never have to overpay for it.

5 - Use your imagination. I�d like to suggest a paradigm shift here: when planning your main meal of the day (let�s call it supper), don�t ask yourself in the morning �What sounds good for supper tonight?� Rather, you should ask �What do we have around that needs used up for supper?� Are there any leftovers in the fridge that could be adapted to a casserole? Any veggies that are starting to look bad, but could still be thrown into a pot of soup? Something you could �sauce up� and eat over rice or pasta? The possibilities are endless, and the creativity of trying to come up with a tasty meal using a little bit of nothing can even be fun!


And now we address harder times, or serious hard times, which is much more difficult because it�s theoretical. But we are all here on this most excellent Survivalblog.com because we at least see the possibility of food shortages, hyperinflation, loss of basic utility services, theta. So we�re stockpiling. Later, we may have to make do with the foodstuffs we�ve stockpiled or can otherwise forage. We may need to dramatically stretch small amounts of food. And we�ll want to be able to feed our families as healthily and tastefully as possible with what we�ve been able to put by. If we�ve already practiced the tips I�ve stated above regarding thrifty frugal cooking, then those ideas will also stand us in good stead in the event of serious hard times.

(For the purposes of staying on-topic, I have to assume that those reading this will have already addressed the basics of water procurement/storage/purification, and having at least three sources of a cooking method, in the event of serious hard times.) So back to:

1 - Basics are better. I have stockpiled my own personal list of dehydrated veggies, herbs/spices, canned meats, and kitchen staples. Your choices would probably be different than mine. But the point is that stockpiling basic kitchen ingredients, rather than only prefab meals, means my choices in feeding my family varied and tasty meals dramatically increases. Using my stores of basics I can bake bread, or use a bit of oil to make flatbread. I can prepare either cornbread or johnny cakes. I can make a breakfast of oatmeal, or even a treat of pancakes, because I�ve learned to make my own pancake batter and maple-flavored syrup. I can make noodles to stretch a pot of broth. Rather than deciding which can of soup to open, I can cook any of a number of types of flavorful soups, stir-fries, or casseroles, using different ingredients and spices. My personal �A-list� of stored veggies is dehydrated celery, carrots and onions. I can mix these same three ingredients into a beef stew with potatoes; or I can use them with a bit of canned bacon or ham and make fried rice; or I can layer them with a flavored white sauce, a bit of canned ham or tuna, some peas and some pasta for a hearty casserole; or I can cook them in a chicken broth with some beans, corn, rice, tomatoes, garlic and cumin for a tasty Southwestern soup. Same basic ingredients, infinite possibilities.

2 - Beans, rice and pasta. Because I�ve stored quantities of these foodstuffs, my ability to stretch my stockpiles has also increased. I could open up a can of chili and feed 2 people, and rather minimally at that. Or I could heat that can of chili along with a cup or can of cooked beans, a cup or can of tomatoes, some garlic, oregano and cumin, serve a dollop of it on top of bowls of rice, and feed 4-5 people with plenty of flavor and satisfaction.

3 - Meat is a flavoring agent, not a main dish. I can guess that meat would be in much shorter supply in harder times, and I am afraid to depend on electrical power to maintain stores of meat products in this event; therefore I�ve concentrated my budget on canned meat stores. This is expensive stockpiling. (Many people pressure-can their own meats; this is something you may want to look into.) So of course I would be rationing those precious meat stores to the greatest extent possible. Because I already cook our meals using smaller amounts of meats, I am in practice of imagining meals using meat more for flavoring than as a main dish.

4 - If it�s on sale, buy a bunch. Saving money on my grocery budget today helps enable me to prep foodstuffs for a possible harder-times tomorrow.

5 - Use your imagination. This will be more important than ever in the event of serious hard times. I will have to substitute and make do with my stores. For instance, I have been researching sourdough bread-making, in the event that commercially-produced yeast isn�t available. I have been practicing bread-biscuit-and-pizza-making both in the charcoal grill and over (and under) the fire pit. I have been researching the foraging possibilities in my area - trying to learn what grows wild that I may be able to use to improve the nutrition of our meals. (Or even simply to keep us alive.) I�m thinking about the possibilities of �you bring me some of your venison and I�ll cook and stretch it three different delicious ways, using my stores, and we�ll share�.

Entire books have been written on just small areas of what I�ve touched on here. Because the subject matter is so vast, I�ve only hit the high points, hoping to give a learner somewhere to start, some things to think about. Every cooking skill we learn today, when grocery stores are full of affordable and available foodstuffs, could come in very handy later if shortages occur. Knowing how to create an edible and good-tasting meal from available little-bits-o�-nothing could become an important skill-set to have and share with others. Indeed, having this knowledge could someday be essential toward keeping ourselves and our loved ones alive and healthy.

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Re: Feeding Your Family Well During Hard -- and Harder -- Times
 

I would like to be a fly on the wall when Jon and Jane Q Public have to sprinkle Salt and Pepper on old take out menus and eat that.

I wonder what the consistentcy of well seasoned paper taste like??


T

Re: Feeding Your Family Well During Hard -- and Harder -- Times
 

It is not that bad really, and the soy-based inks give you a bit of protein.

Re: Feeding Your Family Well During Hard -- and Harder -- Times
 

A good cook will be worth their weight in gold i remember my mum and grandma could take those raw basic ingediants and turn them into just about anything.all the modern prepackaged processed foods have dumbed down
even our cooks

i mean whats in pancake mix that people buy it instead of flour and a few other ingrediants?

Im a pretty good survival cook meaning you can eat it but it tasts like :censored: I can make a meal from anything but its likely to be plain
and flavorless somebody that could make the same meal delicious would be a great benefit to the health and moral of a family/group

Re: Feeding Your Family Well During Hard -- and Harder -- Times
 

Everyone needs to read "The Omnivore's Dilemma".

I thought most of what was in that article was already common sense. We have been living like that for a decade or more. I will say that we need to make brown rice more of a part of our diet. Thet hard thing is to break yourself out of a comfortable recipe rotation. Trying to cook new things requires concentration and unfamiliar shopping habits.

Re: Feeding Your Family Well During Hard -- and Harder -- Times
 

Great thread, C-G, but I'd like to add one thought:

While pasta IS inexpensive, it is also bulky and a bit difficult to stockpile what with the concerns of rodents and insects infecting your food supply. It is, however, extremely easy to make. I bought a "pasta maker" at a garage sale a couple of months ago for $3. It's a small device that looks a little like a meat or grain grinder (only smaller) and comes with several different attachments that allows me to make a variety of pastas. Pasta is basically just flour, oil, and salt that has been rolled, shaped and dried. You can dry homemade noodles & spaghetti by draping them over a string or bit of fishing wire strung across a corner of your kitchen, or on an old-fashioned wooden clothes rack set up near your wood stove/fireplace.

Re: Feeding Your Family Well During Hard -- and Harder -- Times
 

Re: Feeding Your Family Well During Hard -- and Harder -- Times
 

Beans and rice are the best survival stockpile foods for the money. Years ago I worked offshore Louisiana and the cooks would make "red beans and rice". Not much else in it besides seasonings (Tony's Cajun) a little onion and pork I think. Sometimes I didn't care for some of the Cajun dishes they made but I always loved red beans and rice. I never got tired of it. As a Texan I always thought there was only one kind of bean....Pinto. I think they used red kidney beans but whatever it was, it sure was good and filling after a hard day's work and I devoured lots of it.

Ditto on brown rice. It will only keep 3 years or so at best but it's a good idea to eat it regularly and rotate stock. The Basmati rice tastes the best. Even by itself with a little butter and soy sauce it's delicious.

Most of the white rice you buy today is "enriched", which I think is a code word for "poison", but probably in insufficient quantity to matter. White rice lasts longer than I will live.

Re: Feeding Your Family Well During Hard -- and Harder -- Times
 

OK, we're coming up on Xmas dinner.

If you prepare it yourself, SAVE everything. INCLUDING the bird carcass or the ham bone or steak bones or roast bones.

You want to START MAKING your own broths. Chicken, beef and pork. The recipe is basically the same for any of them. Though many folks will tell you to 'cook' the bones to get the marrow out first, I just throw the bones in. DO NOT MIX SPECIES. NO CHICKEN AND PORK OR BEEF AND HAM.

Start with a REALLY large pot. At least a 2 gallon one, though larger is better. I like to use the pot we got with a turkey fryer. It will hold five gallons of water.

ANYWAY, start with some water. Drop in the carcass. Did you remember to save all those veggies that didn't get eaten? We do this after we make our homemade soup. Then I have a ton of fresh veggies that are things like ends and skins (where all the protein is) of carrot, onion, potato, celery, corn, etc. Put the veggies in. You can also add herbs of your choice at this time, but don't over do it, because again, you will be reducing this, a couple of times.

Then bring the whole mixture to a rolling boil. Hit it with salt and pepper but just lightly, because you will be letting this boil down, then add water, then boil down again. Checking the flavor as you go, salt and pepper to taste. NOTE: SEA SALT tastes great and you use a lot less of it for the same salty taste.

Once it's boiled down and you've added water twice (I sometimes do it three or four times, as I'm looking for specific flavors), then take it off the heat. You will want to strain out all the 'stuff' you put in it.

I store my in platic barrels that we get one gallon of ice cream in. Cleaned out, they will store a bunch of soup stock. I have four in my chest freezer for any time we are going to make soup.

There ya go, soup stock.

EASY PEAZE. You will NEVER buy broth again. And it tastes SO much better than anything you can buy.

Re: Feeding Your Family Well During Hard -- and Harder -- Times
 

Back in Cuba, my grandmother used to take my mom and uncle to a restaurant where they made the most delicious chicken soup. My grandma always asked them for the recipe every time she went. She died without knowing it.

Turns out it was just salt in the soup besides the little bit of chicken. Nothing else.

Re: Feeding Your Family Well During Hard -- and Harder -- Times
 

From this years thanksgiving dinner I made 12 pints of very hearty turkey soup. Cost was probably $2 on top of the extra meat leftovers. I pressure canned it. It's pretty much ready to go on top of rice or pasta to stretch if it needs to. There are always waste or abundance that a canner can make you money or preps with. I still prefer a steak to the soup though. Probably around spring I might open one of the soups and see how it came out after processing (it was very good before).

I think the big thing in preps is to realize just HOW MUCH damn grain it takes to live on. Most people don't live on it (I don't) and will have a huge adjustment. If you think your 50 lbs of rice and beans in a couple buckets is going to last long, I think you are wrong. You need a boatload of grains to sustain, and enough stuff to cook it with so you don't just starve yourself after your ass implodes from it :)

Re: Feeding Your Family Well During Hard -- and Harder -- Times
 

By calories, meat is not the most expensive part of most meals. And it contains FAR more nutrition than any other food source... I say find a way to work meat into your budget somehow. It's much cheaper when you buy in bulk.

Re: Feeding Your Family Well During Hard -- and Harder -- Times
 

Buy the 'Dieticians of Canada' cookbooks, absolutely indispensable in my kitchen. Gives a list of ingredients to keep in the pantry from which you can make all the recipes, all are very healthy and quick.