Survival Meals

The survival thread got me thinking about this again. The cheapest I could come up with totals about $3.75, assuming you buy the components in bulk. It has around 1010 calories and you have to swipe two of the components from a restaurant, the mall, etc.



4.5 ounce Tuna Pouch (150 calories; $2.50)

Two Mayonnaise Packets (160 calories; free)

Two Sweet Relish Packets (20 calories; free)

Two Frosted Strawberry Pop Tarts (400 calories; 63 cents each)

One pack of two Peanut Butter Crunch Bars (280 calories; 25 cents each)

One chewable fruit-flavored multivitamin (negligible calories; about 20 cents each)

Plastic spoon (a few cents or free)

Wrap it all in a piece of plastic wrap (a few cents)



Can anybody come up with better alternatives in terms of price, calories, and convenience?

the mayonnaise Packets sound kinda iffy, don't they have darie in them?

Basic mayonnaise

Ingredients
1 large egg
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt 1 / 2 teaspoon
1 / pepper 4 c. White Tea
1-1/2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1 cup vegetable oil, peanut oil or corn
1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice





Sounds like the shelf life is "a couple of months," but people aren't sure.



What else could you use? I was thinking each pack should have about 1000 calories, so you could live on two of them a day.

A second opinion says 5-7 years.



http://askville.amazon.com/condiment-packets-shelf-life-expiration-date/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=8979545

Mountain Berries and Bannock

Boil leaves to make tea

add berries to tea to make it sweet

Under the rocks maggots and worms provide nutrients even ants and roaches

Certain types of spiders may be edible but beware of the black widow which is the most deadly spider in Canada

they have packs of survival food at my local wal mart . powerderd eggs , grits , vegetarion bacon bits and dried strawberries . each kit feeds 4 people breakfast for 28 days and costs about 50 bucks . i will get brand name and exact contents next time i go . oh shelf life is 30 years . they have a dinner pack too

Mayo lasts only two hours (or less) once it's opened

The sealing is what makes it last



Nuts keep longer that peanut butter
but, if you have to last and so does the food,
powdered milk will give you protein
and
the fat in
chocolate will keep your muscles going
and the sugar in
chocolate will keep your brain going.

You can carry a lot of chocolate bars and powdered milk

I got some MREs from freecycle.

not bad.

Also, I got some nutrisystems food from freecycle.

That stuff is freeze-dried, balanced and keeps

I can't. Find the artical on jerky but multiple websites are saying it will last forever when prepared properly and vacum seals. Personally I wouldn't trust it after so long but it seems like it'd last a pretty long time.

Mayonae? That's undercover brothers one weakness. Get the hot sauce!

Nah seriosusly.. all about the trail mix...

Yeah... I figured with the packets the mayonnaise would last a while.

That 50 dollar thing sounds like an amazing deal.

So I'm trying to come up with about 12 variations on these, vaguely using early MRE menus as an inspirational starting point and trying to keep each under $5, over 1000 calories, and good to sit on a shelf for a year...



So far:

SARDINES AND HARD TACK
4.4 ounces Sardines in Olive Oil (190 calories; $2.50)
2X Hard Tack (160 calories; about 50 cents)
2X Drink mix (Kool-Aid) (120 calories; about 50 cents)
Granola Bar (110 calories; about 30 cents)
1 cup of breakfast cereal in a zip lock bag (about 100 calories; about 50 cents)
Small block of dry cheese wrapped in foil or wax (Parmesan, Romano, etc) (about 100 calories; about 75 cents)
2X Peanut butter single serving packet (about 260 calories; about 70 cents)
One chewable fruit-flavored multivitamin (negligible calories; about 20 cents each)
Plastic spoon (a few cents or free)
Wrap it all in a piece of plastic wrap (a few cents)
1040 calories; $5.95

TUNA SALAD AND POP TARTS
4.5 ounces Tuna Pouch (150 calories; $2.50)
Two Mayonnaise Packets (160 calories; free)
Two Sweet Relish Packets (20 calories; free)
Two Frosted Strawberry Pop Tarts (400 calories; 63 cents each)
One pack of two Peanut Butter Crunch Bars (280 calories; 25 cents each)
One chewable fruit-flavored multivitamin (negligible calories; about 20 cents each)
Plastic spoon (a few cents or free)
Wrap it all in a piece of plastic wrap (a few cents)
1010 calories; $3.75

PICKLED SAUSAGES AND POTATO STICKS
2X Pickled Sausages (Tijuana Mama, Firecracker, etc) (300 calories; $2)
1 oz. potato sticks in zip lock bag (150 calories; 50 cents)
One pack of two Peanut Butter Crunch Bars (280 calories; 25 cents each)
2X Drink mix (Kool-Aid) (120 calories; about 50 cents)
2X Granola Bars (220 calories; about 60 cents)
One chewable fruit-flavored multivitamin (negligible calories; about 20 cents each)
Plastic spoon (a few cents or free)
Wrap it all in a piece of plastic wrap (a few cents)
1070 calories; $3.75

Also so far it seems like actual MREs are a better value and less trouble.

Most survival scenario's only last a few days. Really food isn't much of an issue. Hydration is critical and maintaining body temperature is very critical but food, don't sweat it. It's crawling all over the place, just look under the nearest rock.

In all seriousness, MREs and freeze-dried meals, bought in bulk. And moths are high in fat, easy to catch and atracted to light if you get desperate.

Dandilions are good if you know how to prepare them

Actually I really like their leaves. You don't even have to do much... you can just eat them as is, if you want.

They wouldn't really keep on a shelf for an extended period, though.

and buy lots of bags of beans.
They keep.



Can we store dandylion seeds to make more dandylions later?

Polarman wrote:

Dandilions are good if you know how to prepare them

pluck them.. ??

Depends on how much weight you're looking at carrying. When we're talking "survival," are we talking in an urban environment, desert, forrest, mountains...etc?

All of these would dictate what I'm willing to carry with me.

adamm[] wrote:

Polarman wrote:

Dandilions are good if you know how to prepare them

pluck them.. ??

Pluck them and wash thoroughly to remove pesticides. Remember most folks consider them weeds and spray all kinds of stuff to get rid of them.

Place in a pan full of water on a stove and bring to a small boil. Remove from the stove once they come to a boil and pour out the water. Some save the water for possible vitamins but I just take a 1 a day myself and use the cooled water on plants.

Take the pan with them in it, add vinegar and seasonings to taste and simmer on the stove till your stomach starts growling. Remove from the stove and serve. If you don’t tell anyone most will think they are eating spinach.

Superman

Superman wrote:

adamm[] wrote:

Polarman wrote:

Dandilions are good if you know how to prepare them

pluck them.. ??

Pluck them and wash thoroughly to remove pesticides. Remember most folks consider them weeds and spray all kinds of stuff to get rid of them.

Place in a pan full of water on a stove and bring to a small boil. Remove from the stove once they come to a boil and pour out the water. Some save the water for possible vitamins but I just take a 1 a day myself and use the cooled water on plants.

Take the pan with them in it, add vinegar and seasonings to taste and simmer on the stove till your stomach starts growling. Remove from the stove and serve. If you don’t tell anyone most will think they are eating spinach.

Superman

YES!
Old recipes call for bacon.
I don't put bacon in much of anything but it is excellent with dandilions

Red Dragon wrote:

Depends on how much weight you're looking at carrying. When we're talking "survival," are we talking in an urban environment, desert, forrest, mountains...etc?

All of these would dictate what I'm willing to carry with me.

I'm thinking basically homemade MREs, more or less... for "survival" and just for convenience. Pretty much the same concept as for handouts, except that I've never approached them in terms of adding up calories, specifically.



As for dandelions... you guys really eat the flowers? I know the leaves are very nutritious and taste good. It's not so common in the US, I think, but it was pretty typical in Korea and some other places I've been. Europe too, I think.

I also enjoy the mountain berries both for eating in my BBQ Burgers and in my Tundra Tea

A chunk of ice broken from a burg makes for fresh water for both cleaning up or drinking

The Tundra moss can be used to create smoke that keep the mosquitoes away from you

The reason I mentioned Dandilions is because they are not native here and I have heard that htey are good but am not sure about what I can eat and what to avoid They however do not throw pesticides on the plants up here as the mountain behind the hospital is everybody's back yard and a very popular berry picking area Same with the picnic spots along the Road To Nowhere and the Apex Trail out to Rotary Park and Satilite Hill

The Syllvia Grinnel River is also a place where you can get fresh water if you cant find the ice bergs but extreme caution is really recommended because if you fall in while trying to cross there is no hope of being rescued the water currents will suck you under and hold you to the bottom until you drown

The leaves are fine. Way more nutritious than lettuce or cabbage. Never ate dandelion flowers or heard of them being eaten before this thread.

Dandelion roots, however, can be a rather strong diuretic.
-Rook