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Canned foods

27K views 91 replies 44 participants last post by  LincTex 
#1 ·
I just got back from our local Family Dollar. I had to pick up a few supplies for the office, so i wandered over to the canned food section. I noticed a canned sausage, the brand name was Banners, it looked like a breakfast patty. Has anyone tried this and is it any good? Also i notice there was lots of Kippers, smoked osters, and other seafood. Does anyone have this type of food in their supplies? Just wondering if its an aqquired taste. I did get a Box of chicken salad with crackers made by Brunswick. Made a nice little snack, but i would hardly call it a meal. lol Also i picked up 2 small cans of Potted meat made by Armour. It has been a long time since i ate that, we used to carry a can or two in our webgear or ruck when i was in the army. Just enough food for a quick snack.

Can anyone else recommend good brands or brands they like.
 
#2 ·
I have lots of crab and tuna and smoked salmon keeps forever. I'm on the lookout for shrimp and lobster. I'd also take anchovies or sardines.

Not a fan of canned oysters or clams. No snails either. I only like them with lots of butter and I'm only storing vegetable oil and lard.

I can't bring most of the canned meats home because my wife looks at the sodium and preservatives and says no right away.

I'm not a fan of canned chicken.

Millionaire is a good brand for sardines. But they are hit and miss with stamping proper expiry dates. Clover leaf is good for the seafood stuff.
 
#3 ·
We cleaned my 90 year old Mother in Law's Apartment out over the weekend. I noticed what canned food she had was a couple years past shelf life. Also bandaids and other goods in the medicine cabinet were beyond shelf life or old and yellowed. Things don't seem to last that long, before they are bad. I am trying to figure an optimal ammount of time and food to stock so that I am not over invested, but prepared. I like the time frame of 3 months supply. In my rotation as shelf times begin to end I am thinking of donating to the local food bank. Are there any other thoughts as to time and ammount :confused:
 
#4 · (Edited)
We have a year supply of on hand. Take the shelf life of the food and divide it by two. Then organize your food by shelf life. We rotate the oldest portion emergency food supply every 3 months by working it into our daily meals. If we are unable to work any of ou emergency supply into our regular foof supply we donate it to a church pantry or food bank.

Costco has a shelf rotation system for sale on its web site. It also has a rottaion system that fits into existing cabinets. Here is the link:

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produc...=2&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1
 
#5 ·
that's a nice looking unit, Expeditioner, but I think I could fabricate one for much less (with the amount of material I have laying around MAYBE for free ;) )

I like to keep a 6 month supply (for 4 people) of food, I like to have friends over tho & that messes up the timeline a little, I'm wondering if I should get them involved but most of them just don't have the income, of course what price can you put on survivability?

I already know that if things really went to Hell I would more than likely help them out, as I have in the past... I just hope it doesn't bite me in the A$$ !
 
#6 ·
If I had the time and better fabrication skills I would build my own! Right now I am trying to finish the honey do list (its the neevr ending story), cut firewood, make improvements to our BOL, and get ready for bow season! The deer are plentiful in my area....one deer to help stock the freezer......one deer to trade for some bison.......
 
#7 ·
Be aware most canned food cans are lined with a plastic that leaches BPA (a carcinogen) into the contents. Not a good thing to be eating, but probably better than starving.

Likely better to dehydrate and save your own items if possible, or buy commercially freeze-dried foods for long term storage.

There is a great set of videos on You-tube showing how to dehydrate just about everything and it keeps for many years.
 
#10 ·
Is the same.

This lady has quite a series on dehydrating food on the "social video quagmire". Watch one and the rest will pop up. The end product will last for many years when properly stored, and bit of H20 is all it takes to have fresh food again.

Conelrad
640 & 1240 on your AM dial
 
#11 ·
I went nuts this week stocking up on canned goods for the coming months. I try to stock up whenever I see sales. This week I was really surprised to to see extreme price rises in some canned goods and groceries, it was like shopping in Britain, but higher! Shee's, my gardens will be better planned next season till they are perfected. My 8 chickens have finally started laying, didn't think I'd ever have birds, but it is really fun collecting eggs everyday.
 
#12 ·
I've kept a LOT of canned food over the years and if I've learned one thing it's to get a couple of cans of something and try it before you consider it for your prep food stash. See if whatever it is can be used in different ways so it will be useful in stand alone meals as well as an ingredient for others. Banners is good as far as canned food goes but from a dollar store I would be VERY careful to check the dates on the cans (Especially if getting the seafood stuff) or you might be buying something at the end of it's shelf life. Dollar stores sometimes buy quanity lots of food items which are just about ready to run out and pass the savings (And maybe "Something Else");) on to you.

I label all my canned stuff with a Sharpie and keep rotating stuff from my prep supply into the regular food stock all the time so nothing sets too long and gets nasty. Works pretty well for me.
 
#14 ·
I've added some canned food to my 3 day bag; 1 Chef Boyardee Lasagna, 2 Van Camps Beanee Weenees and 2 Armour Vienna Sausages. I went for cans with peel off tops for ease of use. They can also be directly heated over a flame with no other mess. I also want to add a couple of small cans of fruit. Total weight added to my pack should be about 3#s.
 
#15 ·
If I had to live on Chef Boyardee Lasagna and Vienna sausages, I think I'd have wished the sh&t would have hit the fan a little harder. ;)

Sorry, Sail-just my 2 cents. :)
 
#17 ·
If I had to live on Chef Boyardee Lasagna and Vienna sausages, I think I'd have wished the sh&t would have hit the fan a little harder. ;)

Sorry, Sail-just my 2 cents. :)
I'm with you on that too. I normally don't eat the stuff, but for longer term storage in the BOB and enough callories to go for 3 days, I settled in on this. We normally eat all fresh fruits and vegetables from the farmers market downtown. Kind of hard to keep apples, peppers and tomatoes fresh in your BOB.:eek:
 
#18 ·
I was just at the local Army & Navy store last night (getting more camping / survival supplies) and wander'd over to their grocery aisle (didn't know it was even there) .. I got a huge pile of Japanese noodle-soup for next to nothing .. just need to add hot water.

They also have canned goodies for half the price of all the other stores nearby ... :2thumb:
 
#19 ·
I was just at the local Army & Navy store last night (getting more camping / survival supplies) and wander'd over to their grocery aisle (didn't know it was even there) .. I got a huge pile of Japanese noodle-soup for next to nothing .. just need to add hot water.

They also have canned goodies for half the price of all the other stores nearby ... :2thumb:
... mmmmm... Ramen Noodles... what college are YOU still in? :D ;)
 
#20 ·
... mmmmm... Ramen Noodles... what college are YOU still in? :D ;)
I am way beyond college - and - my daughter graduated from college 2years ago and is working full-time now - and - raising my grandson.

I love Ramen noodles - it makes a nice quick cheap lunch at work :2thumb:
 
#21 ·
Ramen Noodles are definately after my time, in my time we called Kraft Cheese and Macaroni Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.:rolleyes: I did pick a case of Ramen Noodles up at Sams Club, They were cheap, The kids in Scouts seem to like them. I would be interested in knowing if they store longer than their advertised shelf life.
 
#22 ·
We keep a couple packets of ramen noodles on hand in the kitchen cupboard. They're good when you are in a hurry. I usually add stuff to mine-if I have chicken flavor I add chicken and the same with beef for beef flavor. It makes it feel at least a little bit like I'm not back in my drafty dorm room. :)
 
#23 ·
Ramen Noodles are definately after my time, in my time we called Kraft Cheese and Macaroni Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.:rolleyes: I did pick a case of Ramen Noodles up at Sams Club, They were cheap, The kids in Scouts seem to like them. I would be interested in knowing if they store longer than their advertised shelf life.
I don't know what the advertised shelf life is, but just the other day I ate some Ramen from 1990 (I did NOT know it was that old at the time & it might've had no nutritive value but it did fill me up), so since I'm a gambling man I will say 'yes'.
 
#24 ·
Chef Boyardee, Ramen noodles, & Kraft mac & cheese are all stored in quantity here. Canned tamales, too. They are easy to grab & take to work for lunch when there are no leftovers. We add a can of tuna to the mac n cheese. Can't be as bad nutritionally as the drive thru. Chef Boyardee & Kraft mac & cheese both come in whole grain now & taste fine. We store what we eat & eat what we store. :)
 
#25 ·
personally, I can't see wasting time or money storing anything that isn't good for my or my families body, like sausage,Mac and that plastic the call cheeze, we all love it, but it isn't found in our home except maybe once a yr. To stay healthy and med free after the SHsTF, a person has to start by eating healthy before and after the SHsTF.
 
#26 ·
personally, I can't see wasting time or money storing anything that isn't good for my or my families body, like sausage,Mac and that plastic the call cheeze, we all love it, but it isn't found in our home except maybe once a yr. To stay healthy and med free after the SHsTF, a person has to start by eating healthy before and after the SHsTF.
I agree about eating healthy, but it seems the healthier a food is for you, the shorter its shelf life is. The crappier food I have in my preps is for longer term SHTF needs. I also have a 1.5 year supply of my vitamin regimine. Crappier food is to take the edge off hunger and suppliment foraged fresh foods.
 
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