Stocking Up For Winter

[Ms_Speedy_Elf]

I have been hearing that we are expecting a BAD winter here in east Tennessee so I plan to stock up on a bunch of non perishable food's. You know stuff that you don't have to store in the frig or freezer.( I don't have a big frig or a chest type freezer)What can you all come up with that would good to stalk up on ?Here is what I've thought of so far...

Soups
Soup Beans
Rice
Pastas


For some reason I'm just drawing a real blank

 

[Winged One]

I may suggest things that aren't available to you - but what I try and have are:
Tea bags
Bags of ground coffee (and a jar of instant for REAL emergencies)
Tin of milk powder
Sugar
Cocoa and hot chocolate powders
Various jams and jellies in jars
Nutella chocolate spread
Packets of jelly and also tins of custard powder
Tins of fruit and various dried fruits
Baking goods - flour, sugar, dried yeast, vanilla, tins evaporated/condensed milk
Dried herbs and spices

Dry cereals (as they last many months)
Dried beans - kidney, cannellini etc
Tinned beans (both flageolet for cooking and in tomato sauce for quick snacks)
A couple of tins of spaghetti in tomato sauce
Tinned tomatoes and tinned tomato puree, long life cartons of passatta
Jar of garlic puree and another of ginger puree
Jars of salsa and other sauces
Jars of tomato, curry, chinese, thai - various sauces for cooking with diced chicken etc
Noodles
I use a couple of kinds of rice (easi cook/American style and basmati) and about 4 types of pasta (long spaghetti, lasagne sheets, and a couple of short shapes which vary over time)
Tins of coconut milk and sachets of coconut cream
Packets of biscuits (sweet biscuits and savoury crackers)
Long life packs of tortilla wraps and pitta breads
I usually have a couple of packs of part baked bread rolls as well, as they come in packs good for a couple of months

That's just a few ideas - I hope they are not totally off the wall for you.

 

[Ms_Speedy_Elf]

Thank you Winged One!

I thought of another one ...oatmeal

 

[Pam Spaur]

This is a good idea, Terri. :applause: It is something we should always be prepared for.

How about a couple of other hot cereals?

grits (instant or regular)
cream of wheat (instant or regular)
all kinds of crackers
fruit cups
applesauce (individual)
pudding cups
tuna
salmon

That is what I have come up with in just a moment.

:bigsnow:

 

[Ms_Speedy_Elf]

Thank you Pam! :-D

 

[countrychristmas]

Hi Ms Speedy, I'm in East Tennessee too, near Chattanooga! I haven't kept up with the predictions, what are they saying? Thanks for the info and the heads up-when we have an ice storm it is days before we regain power at our house. Hope that is not what we are having this winter!! I'd better think about stocking up too!

 

[Cinnamonstix]

Don't forget about bottled water..

 

[AuntJamelle]

A couple of other thoughts...

- Refried beans (Organic if you can get them - much healthier - Meijer brand is awesome!)

- Tuna

Both of these have long shelf lives, can be used in multiple ways in recipes or just eaten as is.

 

[Ms_Speedy_Elf]

Thank you Aunt Jamelle and Cinnamon Stix

 

[HouseElf]

Food and water are excellent

AND don't forget your medication! Ensure you have enough, at all times, with copies of the prescription , in case of emergency - to last one month.

Individuals with copies of needed prescriptions in many cases are assisted quickly by first responders and emergency medical teams for existing conditions (type 1 diabetes, asthma, heart conditions...)

 

[Ms_Speedy_Elf]

Thank you House Elf.

I'm grateful to the good Lord above that I'm not on any type of prescription medication yet.

But that's an excellent reminder to others.

 

[Winged One]

As well as water - what about some cans of drinks (like cola, lemonade etc - whatever your family likes) and some dilutable drinks (like orange squash). Apart from being able to drink cold drinks with the squashes, I sometimes in the depths of winter make them up using hot water for something really comforting.

Matches, candles, firelighters/kindling, fuel for whatever backup cooking you have (a bottle of gas, a bag of charcoal, can of kerosene), extra container of gas for the car/truck, batteries for torches/radio (maybe even one of the windup torches/radio/mobile phone charger).

And apart from prescriptions, having a well stocked first aid kit might be useful - things like bandages (both band aids and larger ones for sprains), cleaning fluids (alcohol?), cream for cuts and burns, painkillers, deep heat spray (for muscle strains etc). (I may have gotten some of the ways you describe them wrong, but I amn trying to think of the kinds of injuries you may get - slips on ice, strains from digging/cutting wood, cuts from working in poor light). Maybe a couple of heat pouches (they heat up when you mix 2 parts) and a "space blanket" in case someone gets very chilled.

Lots of distractions that don't need power - so paper and pencils/paint, packs of cards, board games, books, puzzles. Not that you need to buy more necessarily, just make sure you know where to find them easily. But a new one produced at the right time may also be a useful standby.

 

[Cinnamonstix]

Oh and those hand crank radio/flashlight combos are great. I think they'd make wonderful Christmas gifts as well, I plan to buy a few when they go on sale this winter.

 

[Ms_Speedy_Elf]

As well as water - what about some cans of drinks (like cola, lemonade etc - whatever your family likes) and some dilutable drinks (like orange squash). Apart from being able to drink cold drinks with the squashes, I sometimes in the depths of winter make them up using hot water for something really comforting.

Matches, candles, firelighters/kindling, fuel for whatever backup cooking you have (a bottle of gas, a bag of charcoal, can of kerosene), extra container of gas for the car/truck, batteries for torches/radio (maybe even one of the windup torches/radio/mobile phone charger).

And apart from prescriptions, having a well stocked first aid kit might be useful - things like bandages (both band aids and larger ones for sprains), cleaning fluids (alcohol?), cream for cuts and burns, painkillers, deep heat spray (for muscle strains etc). (I may have gotten some of the ways you describe them wrong, but I amn trying to think of the kinds of injuries you may get - slips on ice, strains from digging/cutting wood, cuts from working in poor light). Maybe a couple of heat pouches (they heat up when you mix 2 parts) and a "space blanket" in case someone gets very chilled.

Lots of distractions that don't need power - so paper and pencils/paint, packs of cards, board games, books, puzzles. Not that you need to buy more necessarily, just make sure you know where to find them easily. But a new one produced at the right time may also be a useful standby.

Thank you Winged One. I agree it is good to have a back up to cook on in case the power goes out for a long amount of time .

As well as a first aid kit and cell phone .

I was also thinking about a kerosene heater as well as we use electric heat

 

[Ms_Speedy_Elf]

Oh and those hand crank radio/flashlight combos are great. I think they'd make wonderful Christmas gifts as well, I plan to buy a few when they go on sale this winter.

Thanx Cinnamon Stix ,we purchased one of the crank radio/flash lights last year.

 

[Debbieoz]

A generator!!! We had a terrible ice store several years ago and that is what saved us. At the time, we had a really tiny one. My dh and I would set an egg timer for 1 hour and take turns putting the gas in it. But, it kept the freezers running and the fan from the wood furnace running. Later we bought a bigger one that is on his welder. Now I can run pretty much the whole house and only have to fill it up about every 8 hours. Thankfully, we haven't had to put it to the test.

As for the water, you can stockpile that yourself. Be sure to use clear plastic jugs, like what juicy juice comes in. Fill it from your tap and add 1 drop of bleach to it. Let it sit on the counter overnight with the lid off. That will get rid of all your chemicals. Then store it in a cool dark place. I re-do mine every 6 months. I have about 20 gallons put away at one time.

 

[JayOkie]

A thought re: the water. I wash & rinse well empty milk jugs, fill from the tap, & label "tap". That lets me know it's for flushing only - not drinking. I try to keep sealed bottles of water for drinking only.

 

[VeronicaM]

Not far from you here in Western NC--thanks for bringing this up--we need to stock up on some stuff too.

I know these things aren't the greatest but you know the Ramen noodles will work in a pinch for hot food and they are easy to store, Bean and Weiners too. Don't forget to store dog and cat food/water supply. Also stock up on extra blankets if you can--for you and if you have pets to snuggle up with in case of no heat. Glow sticks are great to keep for the kids to keep them from being afraid of the dark and they aren't so bright that it will keep everyone else awake.

 

[ladybugsmom]

Stocking up is a good idea even if you live in an area that is not expected to receive very harsh weather. With the rising costs of food and fuel, I think it might be wise to stock up on some of the 'loss leaders' that the grocery stores have been offering lately. My store has had some great prices lately on pasta and jarred spaghetti sauce and soups.

 

[Cathymac]

The recent double whammy hit of hurricanes here reminded me how important it is to have these types of things on hand. We live in town in a very central location, only two blocks or so off the interstate and directly across the interstate from Wal-Mart and the hospital. I just take it for granted that we can get what we need...however, with the economy the way it is and the bad weather we had, it makes me realize that even this close in we need to have a store of supplies. I'll be working on this myself this fall!! We are predicted to have a worse than usual winter ourselves. Thanks for the reminder!!