Ellen

The present POTUS promised that the energy rates would necessarily skyrocket after he got into office, he meant it. This affects the prices in the stores.....everything has to be transported and guess who pays in the end.
In an emergency, the grocery stores only store 3 days worth of food....when it's gone, it's gone. Anyone who can build up a stash of basic food supplies, should. Add extras for friends who aren't able to. We need to become more self sufficient as some before me has eluded to.

If you can stock up on basics like every kind of dried bean known to man and rice, flour, oil, sugar, salt and pepper, you will eat hearty.

I don't mean to alarm anyone but it's going get worse before it gets better. Ramona, I think you know where I'm coming from here.

Just wish I had thought to plant cotton....whew, the prices!

Gramof6

Our kids gave us a Food Saver sealer thingamajig for Christmas. When I see sugar, flour, beans, noodles of any kind, gravy & sauce packets, rice, powdered milk, Oatmeal, tea bags, coffee, dried fruits,I stock up and come home and seal them in sm portions. Anytime I find canned goods on sale, & they have a long exp. date, I buy as many as I can. I am thinking of trying to dehydrate some frozen veggies & see how those work. I also think some very lean times may be ahead. We will not be eating gourmet, but we will eat.

nycbgirl

Wow you all came up with some very good ideas. Esp planting a garden! Thanks for all of your input.

jaciqltznok

wow going by what others think she should eat, I certainly hope this woman is healthy now..she won't be eating most of these suggestions.

she also needs to learn what will keep her fuller longer. That is HARD proteins! NO sugar, no starchy carbs, no caffeinne...eggs are great, but can be costly. Tuna is good and Salmon.

jaciqltznok

always sounds so FUN and exciting, but gardening is NOT easy nor cheap! As for saving seeds from things you buy..NOT a good idea..they are usually grown from Genetically modified plants and will not grow from those seeds..they are not meant to reproduce! they are also treated with chemicals that alter them, so again. usually will not grow!
IF you want to garden it takes months of reading,planning and hard work. Even just a pot of tomatoes can be hard to grow if you don't know your zone, your climate, what species to get, etc.

and then there is Mother nature..who decided to ruin the gardens of even the heartiest of gardeners this year..thus by forcing us to not be able to put up anything at all despite our months of planning and hard work!

jaciqltznok

I don't think you can dehydrate produce that is already frozen..it has already lost most of its nutritional value already. Best to by fresh on sale and then dehydrate..but even then, most of what we get at the store as "fresh" is already a week old and has lost most of its nutritional values as well!

ptquilts

actually frozen vegs are as nutritious as fresh - maybe more so, as they are frozen immediately, compared to the "fresh" in the store which has been sitting around, as you said.

I think you can eat pretty healthy and cheaply if you eliminate meat, soda, junk food, and most processed or convenience foods. I am amazed at what people pay for a little frozen meal, lean cusisine or such. And when I have a coupon for a free one, I open it up and DH says, where is the rest of it?

hobo2000

We have been doing this for over 6 months, lost a little weight, learned alot and have built up a good 6 month stash of food as we are told to do. You do need sugar, salt, powdered milk, spices, then on to rice, several kinds, beans, many kind with differing amounts of protein, canned meats, tuna, potato flakes from the Amish store, onion flakes, oatmeal,all from the Amish store, they know how to store food as they store for a year. If you go online, they have a list of what you need to store for 4 people for 3, y6, 9, 12 month. Amazing how much you need. Oh yes gelatin, all kinds. Honey, large Amt. as it can heal wounds and act as a natural anti-biotic. Look into survival needs, it could save your life.

AUQuilter

At WM, they ususally wheel out the day old bakery items in the AM- they are usually marked at 40% off. The way I look at it is, if I bought the bread the day before at full price and didn't eat it, it would still be the same as if I buy it today off the reduced cart. Slice and freeze for french toast, garlic bread, sandwiches, etc. I also save leftover bread pieces for when I make meatloaf. One pound of dry beans will yield more than enough for a huge batch of chili and then some left over for putting in a casserole or even tacos. I starting adding black beans to taco meat to increase fiber and decrease meat intake.
They should also check out the local food bank for additional help with the food and sometimes they help with budgeting and other financial things like electricity and gas programs.

ptquilts

I was at a Walmart and the produce guy was picking out tomatoes with blems, I said are you going to mark those down, I can use them for cooking. He said, no, we have to throw them out. grrrrrrr.....