It's really easy to over complicate food storage. There are a half-billion companies out there marketing MREs, dehydrated, freeze dried, powdered -- you name it -- food storage stuff. These things have their merits, but they can also be a costly distraction. They make it really easy to over think and over spend on food storage, when really, it doesn't have to be so tough. Don't believe me? Click below to read more.
I'm a believer that you should generally store foods that you will eat. Fresh foods are out, so that generally means staples and canned goods. Things like flour, sugar, pasta, salt, rice, beans, canned fruits, veggies and meats. Nothing high tech, scientific or fancy. No need for special mail order here; although, you may be able to save money buying groceries on Amazon - they have a pretty decent grocery store. Discounts + free shipping + no driving to the store + no taxes can make it worthwhile. Check it out here.
Your staples will definitely be cheaper locally, though.For your shopping list, figure out the length of time you want to buy for. Two weeks is a good starting point. Pick out some recipes/meals you enjoy and then multiply the ingredients by the number of that meal you want to have on hand. So if Meal A calls for one can of corn and a pound of rice, and you want to have that meal five times, you'd go buy five cans of corn and five pounds of rice. That's not so hard, is it?
With some good, basic recipes and a little simple math, you can pull a lot together without too much headache. This makes for a good family activity, too--sit down, dust off the old recipe book and identify the family favorites. Definitely recommended.
My wonderful wife is going to start posting up more food storage/recipe related posts here in the near future. I will say that she's got some pretty good skills in the cooking/baking realm, and, as Chief Taste Tester, I am looking forward to working with her. Stay tuned!
