# Beginner foods?



## ghostman (Dec 11, 2014)

Hello I am new to the prepping community. I am on a tight budget since my income is only $200 dollars a week so what would be good surplus foods to stock up for a beginner like me? I'm talking about things I can buy at a grocery store or walmart. Thanks!


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## MrsInor (Apr 15, 2013)

Rice and beans.


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## MrsInor (Apr 15, 2013)

Now introduce yourself please so we can all say hello.


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## Auntie (Oct 4, 2014)

Peanut butter and sardines. Not intended to be eaten together


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

Buy what you eat now, just a little more of it. Pasta is a good thing to store as is canned soup. And as wife says, rice and beans.


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## Salt-N-Pepper (Aug 18, 2014)

Concentrate on things that store well, and also just use boiling water to cook.


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## TJC44 (Mar 16, 2014)

Auntie said:


> Peanut butter and sardines. Not intended to be eaten together


Unless you're pregnant.


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## 1skrewsloose (Jun 3, 2013)

Rice and beans, whatever variety you like, and spices to mix it up a bit. Dried beef works well with beans and gives good flavor and last a good long time.


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## Boss Dog (Feb 8, 2013)

Start with can goods that don't need cooking. This is in case you have no power or way to heat it up. Buy what you like and already eat regularly. Once you get a good supply of can goods you can start storing up dry goods and provide for a way to cook without online utilities (propane, wood, charcoal, etc). And for crying out loud, get an old fashioned manual can opener! I bought some extras and gave them to my daughters a while back and they said, "what do I need with this, I have an electric can opener"! They probably don't even know where they are now.
Sorry to rant but, my supposedly grown kids drive me crazy sometimes. ...and welcome to the forum.


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## Sasquatch (Dec 12, 2014)

If you're on a tight budget Walmart is always good. Not sure about where you live but if your area has a 99 cent store or Dollar Tree those are good places to hit up as well.


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## shotlady (Aug 30, 2012)

i went to costco and bought really good chili in a can, tuna, soups,chefboyrdee crap, ranch style beens... its a nice start. got out of there for less than 100.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

To start with don't over stock. As others have said dried goods like beans, rice ect. Prepping in a long term thing but you start off short term. Ask your self what things may cause you to have to depend on yourself and how long they may last. Plan and stock for that first.
Many common store goods, canned soups ect will store a long time with no special treatment


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

When you grocery shop, only buy what's on sale. And on canned goods, buy an extra $5 worth and put that away.
We eat a lot of spaghetti, it is cheap. And we buy the sauce when it's on sale. And even if you have no sauce, plain butter makes that spaghetti slide down better.
At least once a week we will cook up a pot of rice that will provide us with several meals, and divide it up into plastic containers in the fridge. Get one out, add a can of corn, or green beans, or whatever, plus a can of tuna, heat on stovetop or microwave.
We used to not eat much beef it was too expensive. Chicken is cheaper and healthier.
There are lots of ways to stretch the food budget.


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## MrsInor (Apr 15, 2013)

What RPD said and get a few seasonings.


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

rice paddy daddy said:


> And even if you have no sauce, plain butter makes that spaghetti slide down better.


Heat the butter until the salt turns brown. It is freakin' GREAT! I lived on that while I was in college. Mrs Inor hates it. But she is not a big fan of salt. I am. That is still a favorite of mine when I have to cook for myself. Also mixing the pasta with a little Cheese Whiz is another favorite.


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## Arklatex (May 24, 2014)

ghostman said:


> Hello I am new to the prepping community. I am on a tight budget since my income is only $200 dollars a week so what would be good surplus foods to stock up for a beginner like me? I'm talking about things I can buy at a grocery store or walmart. Thanks!


200 a week?!? that's rough... I would highly recommend that you find a better job. That would be my first prep if I were in your situation. However, beans and rice are good for starters.


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## BagLady (Feb 3, 2014)

It depends on where you live. Here, in the south, we have "Salvage" stores. (Dent and Bent)
A lot of canned goods there are not bent, and not close to out of date.
I don't buy anything but canned foods at those places tho.
We bought 2 cases of chili, and 3 cases of veggies.
We paid $20 dollars for the chili. And the veggies were 3 for a dollar.
We can't make and can chili for what we paid.


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## warrior4 (Oct 16, 2013)

Like others have said canned goods that either just need heating themselves, or just add boiling water. Find what you like then when you go grocery shopping bu a couple more of those cans. It may mean making a trade off for a couple of your splurge items, but when it comes to prepping it's probably worth it for a few months to get your stores up.


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## oddapple (Dec 9, 2013)

Spam and beans with rice...they have bacon flavored

The rice & beans make a complete protein. The spam is optional but good...


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

Auntie said:


> Peanut butter and sardines. Not intended to be eaten together


Actually peanut butter is getting expensive...

get the 4 basics..

rice and beans

and

beans and rice


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## Diver (Nov 22, 2014)

Since no one has explained the consistent answers, there are 16 proteins the body needs. Rice and beans cover all of them. You can survive a very long time on rice and beans and nothing else.


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## jimb1972 (Nov 12, 2012)

Diver said:


> Since no one has explained that consistent answers, there are 16 proteins the body needs. Rice and beans cover all of them. You can survive a very long time on rice and beans and nothing else.


Don't forget the Frank's or other appropriate condiments


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## Diver (Nov 22, 2014)

jimb1972 said:


> Don't forget the Frank's or other appropriate condiments


I didn't you would like surviving on them and nothing else.


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## warrior4 (Oct 16, 2013)

Another thing I thought of for the budget minded prepper is to stock up on the generic store brands rather than the national name brands. Most of the time it's hard to tell the difference in taste and sometimes the store brands even taste better in my opinion. Store brands are also usually a lot cheaper than name brands so for the same money you can get more stuff.


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