Forget the rice

[Ashkelon]

A true survival plan calls for unprocessed foods IMO.

Rice is often discussed as one of the staples for buying in bulk by preppers. IMO forget it. If looking for the ultimate dry storage survival food go with:

Quinoa

160 Calories per serving (1/4 cup)
0 cholesterol
2.5 gr fat
29 carbs
6 gr protein !
1mg sodium

Commercials say banannas are nature's perfect food but for the portion and nutritional composition this can't be beat.

Surf the web and there are many many recipes that if you try them you will like them.

If you have something better from a nutritional standpoint please share.

 

[CarmelHP]

A true survival plan calls for unprocessed foods IMO.

Rice is often discussed as one of the staples for buying in bulk by preppers. IMO forget it. If looking for the ultimate dry storage survival food go with:

Quinoa

160 Calories per serving (1/4 cup)
0 cholesterol
2.5 gr fat
29 carbs
6 gr protein !
1mg sodium

Commercials say banannas are nature's perfect food but for the portion and nutritional composition this can't be beat.

Surf the web and there are many many recipes that if you try them you will like them.

If you have something better from a nutritional standpoint please share.

I like Quinoa, but where do you get it in $15 50lb bags, instead of $3 6oz boxes?

 

[Ashkelon]

Jungle Jim's in Cincinnati. We just don't have the options in Indy even with International market etc.

 

[Mog]

I like Quinoa, but where do you get it in $15 50lb bags, instead of $3 6oz boxes?

Try Good Earth in Broad Ripple in Indy. They get grains in bulk and sell them in bulk by the oz. or lb. If you ask for larger quantities they will accommodate you.

 

[Lex Concord]

I like Quinoa, but where do you get it in $15 50lb bags, instead of $3 6oz boxes?

Amazon has bulk quinoa (a bit more than $15 for 50 lbs), but UPS will bring it right to your door.

 

[Lex Concord]

Try Good Earth in Broad Ripple in Indy. They get grains in bulk and sell them in bulk by the oz. or lb. If you ask for larger quantities they will accommodate you.

Good Earth is a good place...haven't been there for a while. How are their prices these days?

 

[Mog]

Good Earth is a good place...haven't been there for a while. How are their prices these days?

Very competitive as always. They have a great selection of bulk grains and they are very willing to work with you on quantities, including a good bulk price. I've found a few things cheaper on line. . . but by the time Ifigured shipping Good Earth came out ahead.

 

[CarmelHP]

It still looks like quinoa would be around 8-10 times the price by weight.

 

[Ogre]

It still looks like quinoa would be around 8-10 times the price by weight.

yikes, I've never heard of the stuff, but they're proud of it... $$$$

 

[Mog]

yikes, I've never heard of the stuff, but they're proud of it... $$$$

I use small quantities of quinoa in baking whole grain breads-- it's very good. One of the things I would suggest here is to try a variety of grains-- brown rice, corn meal, flour or wheat for bread, millet, steel cut or rolled oats, mixtures of whole grain "hot cereals". Google the grains you're interestedin for recipes. Then eat them! Experiment with some recipes-- "porridge", breads (cornbread), use them in soups or stews, make your own pasta. Any grains you are going to store for any length of time you'll either need to keep in the freezer and/or rotate your stocks. Otherwise sooner or later you will end up with a Biblical plague of pantry moths. And when the SHTF and you'll be looking at a bunch of weird looking dry stuff wondering WTF to do with it?? ANY stores you keep for emergencies-- whether it's grains, canned stuff, MRE's, etc-- should be stuff you actually eat. BTW, making your own pasta is a GREAT way to cook whole grains and actually enjoy them!

 

[slow1911s]

Think about quinoa in these terms - cup for cup. 2.5x calories. 8x protein. 24x fat. It is simply a more calorie dense and more balanced food. Seems like a no brianer to me.

 

[DHolder]

Having a variety of foods in the larder is important. Who wants to eat rice and beans every day? The addition of quinoa, although pricey, has important vitamins and minerals needed to stay healthy.

Dont forget to add protien to your stash, add peanut butter, tuna and canned chicken , to help have balanced meals.

 

[caneman]

For most of us, cost has to be part of the equation. Quinoa, to my palate, has a ranking of okay, but not something I'd eat a lot of by choice. On the other hand, I like brown rice especially over the normal rice available. Sticky rice like they have in the orient and eaten with chopsticks is to me superior to the U.S. rice you have to scoop to eat.

We just all have diffferent expectations from our diet and need to diversify as much as is possible.

Proteins and fats will be most difficult to obtain after you get past the (enough calories to sustain life) barrier. Enter Spam or Treet and Peanut Butter.

If you live mini-ranch style rural, a couple of goats become desireable for multiple reasons.

 

[CarmelHP]

Having a variety of foods in the larder is important. Who wants to eat rice and beans every day? The addition of quinoa, although pricey, has important vitamins and minerals needed to stay healthy.

Dont forget to add protien to your stash, add peanut butter, tuna and canned chicken , to help have balanced meals.

Quinoa seems to be better suited as a supplement and not a bulk item. If it's high fat, it'll store badly with high rancidity. Same with peanut butter, usually year old peanut butter, even sealed, is starting to go rancid and getting a bad flavor. These are foods you're going to have to rotate out consistently.

 

[caneman]

Rotating isn't all bad. We go through a jar of peanut butter every three weeks, so we could stock a dozen jars and rotate them easily. I also like most canned bacons but dollar per ounce usually means the Spam/Treet route. One good think with bacon is you get to use the leftover grease for fixing greens or potatoes and make things more tasty. Rotating also means you are stocking the things that are a part of your "Normal" diet. No adjustment of your digestive system in a time of stress.

 

[JetGirl]

Quinoa

I like that stuff!

I like Quinoa, but where do you get it in $15 50lb bags, instead of $3 6oz boxes?

Whole Foods stores? Trader Joe's? Maybe ordering it through them or someplace like them?

 

[Mog]

I like that stuff!


Whole Foods stores? Trader Joe's? Maybe ordering it through them or someplace like them?

Trader Joe's has it but not in bulk, you might be able to order it. Most whole food stores carry it and if they sell bulk grains they will probably offer you a deal if you buy larger quantities. Of all places-- eBay has several listings for bulk Quinoa in quantities from 1# to 35#. I saw one seller with 4# for 17.99 + $5.49 S/H, one seller had organic Quinoa for $4.49/# plus $7.53 S/H but would combine shipping. One eBay source was an Indian food store-- if you have any (East) Indian markets around you might try them! If you buy from ebay or foreign market sources note the info on saponin content below: information from the All India Store on eBay (Quinoa 4# $23.85 + $8.90 S/H)--

Saponin content

In its natural state quinoa has a coating of bitter-tasting saponins, making it unpalatable. Most quinoa sold commercially in North America has been processed to remove this coating. Some have speculated this bitter coating may have caused the Europeans who first encountered quinoa to reject it as a food source, since they adopted other indigenous food plants of the Americas like maize and potatoes. However, this bitterness has beneficial effects during cultivation, as the plant is unpopular with birds and thus requires minimal protection. There have been attempts to lower the saponin content of quinoa through selective breeding in order to produce sweeter, more palatable varieties. However, when new varieties were introduced by agronomists to native growers in the high plateau, the native growers rejected the new varieties, despite their 'magnificent' yields. Because the seeds no longer had a bitter coating, birds had consumed the entire crop after just one season.
The saponins in quinoa can be mildly toxic, as can be the oxalic acid in the leaves of all the chenopodium family. However, the risks associated with quinoa are minimal, provided it is properly prepared and leaves are not eaten to excess.

The first step in preparing quinoa is to remove the saponins, a process that requires soaking the grain in water for a few hours, then changing the water and resoaking again, or rinsing it in ample running water either in a fine strainer or in cheesecloth. Boxed quinoa typically has been pre-rinsed for convenience.

 

[Bruenor]

If you use rice as part of your regular diet, then put back rice. If you use quinoa, then put back quinoa. See the pattern? Your preps should be what you regularly eat, and you should rotate your stock. Think of your preps like an expansion of your kitchen cupboard instead of your last ditch survival stockpile.

Use the old, replace with new, and repeat. That way if you do need it, you'll be used to eating it. Have you ever tried real, whole wheat bread that's made from scratch and contains freshly ground wheat grain? Depending on your diet right now, it may take a while for your digestive system to adjust. You want to make that adjustment now, and not during a SHTF situation.

 

[Ogre]

Trader Joe's has it but not in bulk, you might be able to order it. Most whole food stores carry it and if they sell bulk grains they will probably offer you a deal if you buy larger quantities. Of all places-- eBay has several listings for bulk Quinoa in quantities from 1# to 35#. I saw one seller with 4# for 17.99 + $5.49 S/H, one seller had organic Quinoa for $4.49/# plus $7.53 S/H but would combine shipping. One eBay source was an Indian food store-- if you have any (East) Indian markets around you might try them! If you buy from ebay or foreign market sources note the info on saponin content below: information from the All India Store on eBay (Quinoa 4# $23.85 + $8.90 S/H)--

Saponin content

In its natural state quinoa has a coating of bitter-tasting saponins, making it unpalatable. Most quinoa sold commercially in North America has been processed to remove this coating. Some have speculated this bitter coating may have caused the Europeans who first encountered quinoa to reject it as a food source, since they adopted other indigenous food plants of the Americas like maize and potatoes. However, this bitterness has beneficial effects during cultivation, as the plant is unpopular with birds and thus requires minimal protection. There have been attempts to lower the saponin content of quinoa through selective breeding in order to produce sweeter, more palatable varieties. However, when new varieties were introduced by agronomists to native growers in the high plateau, the native growers rejected the new varieties, despite their 'magnificent' yields. Because the seeds no longer had a bitter coating, birds had consumed the entire crop after just one season.
The saponins in quinoa can be mildly toxic, as can be the oxalic acid in the leaves of all the chenopodium family. However, the risks associated with quinoa are minimal, provided it is properly prepared and leaves are not eaten to excess.

The first step in preparing quinoa is to remove the saponins, a process that requires soaking the grain in water for a few hours, then changing the water and resoaking again, or rinsing it in ample running water either in a fine strainer or in cheesecloth. Boxed quinoa typically has been pre-rinsed for convenience.

This seems it would make for a waste of water. Granted, beans need soaked, but you dont have to wash them with water afterwards to avoid toxicity...

 

[Mog]

The first step in preparing quinoa is to remove the saponins, a process that requires soaking the grain in water for a few hours, then changing the water and resoaking again, or rinsing it in ample running water either in a fine strainer or in cheesecloth. Boxed quinoa typically has been pre-rinsed for convenience.
This seems it would make for a waste of water. Granted, beans need soaked, but you dont have to wash them with water afterwards to avoid toxicity...

*Boxed quinoa typically has been pre-rinsed for convenience.* This step (removing saponins) is only necessary if you buy in bulk from someplace that hasn't already done this.