Survival Food – Freeze Dried & MRE

Dehydrated – Freeze-Dried Versus Bulk Food Storage

By Jeremy Crews

Recently, I posted a series of videos on my blog showing the proper method of packing staple food items such as rice, beans, and wheat for long-term storage. I couldn’t possibly stress enough the importance of using such methods as one would be hard-pressed to find a better way to quickly build up a larder of nutritious, life-sustaining food. When dealing in such bulk items as grains, legumes, etc., a hardy supply of foodstuffs will quickly accumulate.

Of course, these methods do have their drawbacks. The first is that it is time- and labor-intensive as you can see from watching the videos. Another downside is that food packed in such ways is typically not going to be something you can just jump in and start eating. Raw wheat, for instance, must be ground into flour using a countertop mill and then baked into bread. A 5 gallon bucket full of wheat will make a lot of bread to feed you and your family, but that level of work going into preparing it may not be what you’re looking for in an emergency. If your personal preparations tend toward gearing up for a long stretch of bad times, then this method is by-far the best for you due to the many months of food you can quickly and economically accumulate.

If, on the other hand, your preps tend toward shorter emergencies (i.e. blizzards and/or ice storms, floods, or even self-quarantine during a bird flu pandemic) you might find it better to simply load up your pantry with canned goods. With few exceptions, virtually any commercially-canned product you buy in the grocery store will last at least 2 years as long as it is not exposed to high temperatures for extended periods and there are no noticeable abnormalities in the packaging (i.e. bulging cans, etc.). In fact, many are still good long past the expiration dates printed on them. Those using this method must be diligent about rotating the stock in the pantry on a regular basis, meaning you must get used to using the oldest items first.

A sort of middle-of-the-road option and the one that I use mostly is to buy commercially-canned dehydrated and freeze-dried foods in #10 cans. The downside to this method is, first off, it’s more expensive. Secondly, you’ll often find these products are not available locally, and so you must pay for shipping as well. Still, when you factor in the *LONG* shelf lives of these foodstuffs, I believe the added cost is worth it.

For those who may not be familiar with food storage as an emergency prep, dehydrated foods are usually base ingredients such as rice or beans with little or no seasoning added. You typically add them to boiling water, which rehydrates and cooks them at the same time. This can be done on the stove, in a crockpot, or even over a camp fire. Things like pancake and muffin mixes are also typically dehydrated. A personal favorite of mine are dehydrated Potato Flakes, which make mashed potatoes when you fix them. Mmm… mashed potatoes. Okay, I think I’ve recovered now. The bottom line is that these more or less always require cooking. These products, unopened, are good for an amazing 15 years on average.

Freeze-dried foods, on the other hand, are typically already a meal that just requires rehydration. Just pour some odd-looking powdery concoction into a pot of hot water and let it sit for 20 minutes or so and return to find that it has magically soacked-up all the water and turned into a steaming pot of yummy Chili Macaroni or Chicken Teriyaki, all pre-cooked and seasoned and ready to eat. Most freeze dried foods are typically advertised as having an almost unbelievable 25 year shelf-life if left unopened.

As always, it is up to you to decide which is your best option for putting up a larder of storage food. Only you can decide what best suits your individual situation. For me and mine, I have concentrated mostly on dehydrated and freeze-dried so far, but I am planning to put away some bulk beans, rice, rolled oats, and pancake mix in 5 gallon buckets with mylar liners and oxygen absorbers in the next few months.

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Emergency Food Rations – A Review of Mountain House 72-Hour Emergency Meal Kit

By Bobbi Adams

Years ago Mom and or Grandma had a food cellar where they stocked up on food just in case of an emergency. This custom has virtually disappeared from the American lifestyle. Thus the advent of emergency food rations, freeze dried foods. You never know when you might experience an emergency. With the recent horrendous snow storms on the east coast, and the severe weather on the west coast, it is smart to be prepared. The Mountain House 72-Hour Emergency Meal Kit is the perfect answer with meals for three days for one adult, and you will rest easy knowing you or your family are ready in case of hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, and other events. Some people also take these delicious foods camping and backpacking as they are easy to pack and easy to enjoy. They are ideal when there is a power outage, as you only have to add water. The Mountain House Company cooks fresh or frozen foods and then freeze dries them so the flavor and goodness are locked in. Backpackers have said these are the best-tasting freeze dried food they have ever had. You don’t have to add anything or cook anything to get a complete meal.

This Mountain House meal kit includes three breakfasts, three side vegetables, and six 10 ounce packets of lunch or dinner entrees, food enough for an adult for three days. Included are granola with blueberries and milk, scrambled eggs with bacon, scrambled eggs with ham and pepper, garden green peas, whole kernel corn, cut green beans, beef stroganoff, chicken teriyaki, chili mac with beef, rice and chicken, pasta primavera, and sweet and sour pork with rice. All this emergency survival food can be prepared easily in challenging circumstances by adding water, and have a seven year shelf life. Satisfied customer Christopher Coakley of Santa Barbara, California said, “Mountain House meals typically taste better than many of the freeze-dried alternatives.” My son agrees with Mr. Coakley, and takes them on motorcycle trips because they are also so easy to pack.

The Mountain House food for emergencies are preserved because greatly reduced amount of water halts microorganisms and enzymes that would result in spoiling the food. That allows the food to be stored without refrigeration. Satisfied customer M.O. Gomez of Northern California said, “The food is amazingly good. We purchased this to add to our earthquake preparedness kit, but we tasted the stroganoff before we filed the rest away. It was surprisingly yummy.” The chili mac with beef is a favorite of my daughter’s. Mountain House has put a lot of thought and care into their food preparation, and customers appreciate the taste of these hearty, well-balanced meals. I know when camping my family appreciates a hot meal, and during an ice storm Maine had the Mountain House foods we had collected were doubly appreciated. In my opinion the foods taste as good as if I had cooked them myself from scratch. I find also that they are very easy to store as they take up little room.

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Are you and your family prepared for emergencies like the recent horrendous snowstorms? It is important to plan ahead so you have enough food on hand. If you want to start a collection of food for an emergency kit, go now to Mountain House Emergency Meal Kit

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