Stockpile gone wrong

[Gotonenerveleft]

As I read all the posts about stockpiles I have to warn folks not to do as I did.

Last year I worked pretty hard on trying to gather a years worth of food as a hedge against rising prices. Built up an impressive stash.

Well my husband and I started talking about losing weight and getting healthy. About that time his sister had a heart attack at 50 years old.(my age) It was the wake up call that we needed to start watching what we ate and exercising. We decided to cut out certain items from our diet and eat whole foods. Cut out processed food, chemicals, hydrodgenated oils, HFCS, and the like. Well you know how it is, you start reading labels. Turns out most of the food that I stockpiled was junk I no longer wanted to eat. Cases of Wolf brand chili, box after box of Betty Crocker potatoes, pasta out the wazoo, white flour, sugar,....the list goes on. Tons of food that I don't need. Money wasted when the whole purpose was to save. But the way I look at it is now I'm saving my life.

So the moral to the story is look at what you SHOULD eat and stockpile it if possible (But remember for a lot of foods, chemicals have been added for that food to have a long shelf life). We should all try to eat healthier. The sad thing is that the stuff that's so bad for you is also the cheapest, goes on sale the most and always has coupons.....that's how I got sucked in to them. But I'm smarter now.

Stockpile WISELY!!!!

HTH
Tami

[frugalwarrior2]

Many food pantries are clamboring for the foods you no longer want. Go ahead and donate them and get yourself a huge tax write off. Smile. and restock correctly. All is not lost. Cheers.

[Gotonenerveleft]

Frugalwarrior....I have been giving the stuff away right and left. After reading some of the labels, I'm not sure anybody should be eating this stuff. But I don't want to get preachy. I'm just shocked that I wasn't paying enough attention to what I put in my body. Just sad at the waste of health and money.

[frugalwarrior2]

I understand but when your starving>> Besides a little junk in moderation??
I had to redo my pantry this fall as the shelves had collasped from weight and the kids walked on things. Other things went to waste because I couldn't get in there and exp. dates were passed.. Talk about sickening.
I get canned fruit and veg. I find cheaper brands have less salt but therefore have shorter exp. dates (a worthwhile trade-off)
Consider dehydrating foods like so many here. I hope to get a electric one one of these days myself. Stock beans,grains,rice.

[AmyBoz]

Definitely a wake-up call, but kudos to you for the healthier lifestyle!

So, now you have a chance to help others, by donating to the food pantry and a chance to help yourself by reinventing your pantry!

Thanks for the reminder that stockpiling, in and of itself, isn't necessarily a good thing if you aren't stockpiling good foods!

[Grainlady]

What a tough lesson to learn...but I think your positive food changes will be well worth the cost. You either pay for good health, or you pay for bad health - either way it will cost....

Your story is a good example why ingredients with which to make foods from scratch, and make your own homemade convenience foods, are suggested for home food storage rather than highly-processed convenience foods.

Make the "most" from the "least".

The whole foods you are now using are more nutritious, lower on the glycemic index of foods (so don't raise blood glucose as rapidly), contain more fiber (more filling so you don't eat as much), generally cost less, and are Nature's original "FAST FOOD". Empty calories and chemicals never fed anyone....

Here's a "Home Storage List" from Cookin' with Home Storage by Peggy Layton. Even this list can be improved by using less-processed foods.

Grains: variety of wheat, rice, oatmeal, corn or cornmeal (field or popcorn) or both, farina, millet, 6-grain, white flour, pasta, etc.

[I can eliminate all of the processed foods in this list and make them from whole grains I have in storage. FRESH IS BEST! Only freshly-milled grains contain all the nutrients possible.]

Legumes: variety of pinto beans, red beans, Anasazi beans, kidney, lentils, sprouting peas, etc.

[The ability to mill beans into flour means you can make fat-free "instant" refried beans, "instant" split pea soup, and a variety of other soups. You can "cook" dried beans in a Thermos. That one, easy, energy-saving process should be able to remove canned beans and canned refried beans from your pantry shelves.]

Sweeteners: Honey, white sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, molasses, corn syrup, etc.

[Add REAL maple syrup or maple sugar/granules because there are important glyco-nutrients we can only get from the "real" stuff, and avoid high-fructose corn syrup at all costs. I also have several years worth of Agave Nectar (a natural, low-glycemic, honey-like sweetener) in storage, along with sucanat - a less-processed sugar. Use all "sugars" in moderation. I can make a loaf of freshly-milled 100% wholegrain flour banana bread using 1/4 c. agave nectar, while a regular recipe uses 1-cup of sugar.]

Dairy/Egg Products: Powdered - milk, eggs, butter/margarine, powdered and freeze-dried cheese.

Salt and a variety of your favorite spices.

Vegetables

Fruit

Flavorings: Bouillon, tomato powder, tomato sauce, or canned tomatoes, dried onions. Baking cocoa.

[You can eliminate tomato sauce and tomato paste if you use tomato powder. You can eliminate canned tomatoes if you dehydrate and freeze homegrown tomatoes.]

Cooking Agents: Oil, baking powder, baking soda and yeast.

[I suggest coconut oil, which has a much longer shelf-life than vegetable oil. You can also use 25% less coconut oil in recipes calling for butter or shortening, so you use LESS over-all fat in baked goods. I'd also suggest learning how to use natural leavening (sourdough starter) to replace yeast and chemical leaveners.]

Seeds for Sprouting: Alfalfa, mung, radish, sprouting peas, lentils, etc.

[The large variety of grains/seeds/beans I have in storage, can all be sprouted. Sprouts are a high nutrition source for "fresh" veggies you can make at home. A better source than any so-called "fresh" produce you purchase at the store. I'd also add nuts to this list.]

I filled our pantry (3-6 months worth) and Emergency Food Storage (1-3 years worth), with a wide variety of foods that cover all the food groups, on $50/week (for 2 adults - which was reduced to $75 every TWO weeks at the first of the year) and would have to disagree that "the stuff that's so bad for you is also the cheapest".

One hundred pounds of wheat at $40 is a LOT of cheap eating - which I can make into: whole wheat flour (and all the things I make with it - ALL breads, tortillas, baked goods...), cracked wheat, bulgar, farina (aka Cream of Wheat cereal), wheat flakes, sprouts, wheat grass, cooked whole berries, and "fake" meat (gluten, aka seitan).

Best of luck with your new changes.

[AnW819]

Grainlady, you ROCK!!!!

And ty OP for the post...it is a wakeup call!

[frugalfranny]

Everyone can use a reminder once in awhile --thanks for posting the reminder.

I have been amazed at what has MSG in it as I have been trying to dump that from my cupboards....almost all crackers.

A friend of mine has just simply cut out high fructose corn syrup from her diet -that is all- and has lost 30 pounds! Even bread can have that in it!! She still eats baked goodies - just makes her own now.

[NikoSan999]

Congratulations on actively going healthier. Hope it goes well for you healthwise. I'm sure some food pantry would be extremely happy to have the donations. Thank you for the post

[frugal-fannie]

Grainlady, Where do you usually buy the agave nectar. It is a bit expensive at my local store. I bought a trial bottle.

[redmaples]

WTG Tami & thanks for sharing your story.
Thanks grainlady too, for the awesome ingredients list!

[daisymay1960]

Great post Grainlady , and also a timely reminder from the Op that a deal is only a deal if its something you need .
One question re cooking with coconut oil , is the oil tasteless? ( probably a silly question lol )

[Grainlady]

Grainlady, Where do you usually buy the agave nectar. It is a bit expensive at my local store. I bought a trial bottle.

I check prices on-line. The last few years I've found Amazon.com to have some of the lowest prices. I usually purchase a year's worth at a time and keep around 3-yrs. worth in storage. It stores very well and doesn't crystallize like honey does.

Hubby has 4 siblings with Type II diabetes so I've used agave nectar as our primary sweetener for many years because it's low-glycemic AND it works like sugar in baked goods, which is a great benefit.

[Grainlady]

Great post Grainlady , and also a timely reminder from the Op that a deal is only a deal if its something you need .
One question re cooking with coconut oil , is the oil tasteless? ( probably a silly question lol )

Not a silly question at all, especially for people who don't like coconut! I use LouAna brand (I get it at Wal-Mart) and it does NOT have any coconut smell or taste. I also have a couple brands that DO have a slight smell and taste of coconut -

Tropical Traditions: http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/ex...oconut_oil.htm

Nutiva: http://www.nutiva.com/

[RaineyDaye]

One hundred pounds of wheat at $40 is a LOT of cheap eating -

Grainlady,
Could you share where you buy your wheat? I checked Honeyville Grain and their current price is about $47 for 50 pounds of bulk wheat berries, plus shipping. Do you buy your wheat locally?