# nutritional value of cheap bulk foods



## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

I did a post about pinto beans and it got me thinking about cheap food like beans and rice.
Bean soup would come out to about a few cents a bowl. And then there is rice but what is 
cheap to eat that would keep you alive without your teeth or hair falling out.
I got my bases covered on food for me but some low cost hand outs might be something
that could come in handy.


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## Grim Reality (Mar 19, 2014)

You are right to be concerned about nutrition

Teeth and hair falling out are most likely a result of poor nutrition. The best way to avoid
that is with VARIETY in you diet...a proposition that might be very difficult after the SHTF.

If nothing else, look into getting adequate Vitamin C, D...what the heck...the whole alphabet!
Our bodies typically synthesize Vitamin D from sunlight, but still many people need to take more.
Not sure if Powdered Milk has adequate Vitamin D or not.

Rice and Pinto Beans are good because between the two of them all necessary proteins are present.
Always soak your Pinto Beans overnight...it saves on your cooking fuel. 

Jalapeno peppers are a good source of Vit. C.

Tang would be a welcome addition to a diet of Rice & Beans. And it has Vit. C & it keeps well if you
put it into vacuum sealed jars. Look into getting a Food Saver or something similar.

Start with a Multivitamin at the very least.

Buy lots of spices.

Forage for fresh foods when possible. Plant a garden & trees now...they usually need time to mature.

Probably not very helpful.

Grim


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

Mexicans have a very healthy diet composed of beans..rice and corn. Few green peppers and tomatoes for vitamin C. Yellow corn has a lot of vitamin B..aka niacin. If you do corn torts it gives calcium from the lime. Thats how they get by without much dairy except for a little cheese.


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## TacticalCanuck (Aug 5, 2014)

Add the odd rabbit squirrel or duck to the beans rice and spices and your looking at good eating now never mind post shtf. 

I don't think there will be an shtf without some form of authority trying to take over. Basically nato will find us.


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## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

Grim Reality said:


> You are right to be concerned about nutrition
> 
> Teeth and hair falling out are most likely a result of poor nutrition. The best way to avoid
> that is with VARIETY in you diet...a proposition that might be very difficult after the SHTF.
> ...


 No,, That is very helpful. The tang I just left in the sealed plastic containers that it came in. 
That's not good enough?

So beans, rice washed down with a refreshing Tang and a multivitamin should do it?


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## txmarine6531 (Nov 18, 2015)

Green Vibrance and Rainbow Vibrance are good supplements. I'm sure vac packed they'll last quite a long time.

Vibrant Health: Plant Based Supplements, Green Super food, Green Vibrance, Futurefood? -Green
Rainbow Vibrance -Rainbow

FYI the Green Vibrance looks, smells, and tastes like grass clippings. However in a SHTF situation, I'm sure we could deal with it. The Rainbow isn't bad. Much much more palatable.


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## txmarine6531 (Nov 18, 2015)

Grim Reality said:


> Forage for fresh foods when possible. Plant a garden & trees now...they usually need time to mature.
> 
> Grim


Yup. Once fruit trees start producing fruit, they need a few seasons to produce to their full potential. You shouldn't harvest immediately. That goes for garden plants to.


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

Get a big bottle of inexpensive vitamins and take one every other day. The cheap vitamins may not be as fully absorbed as the higher quality vitamins but they store well and for prepping on a budget they are a good choice.

We maintain at least 45 days of top quality vitamins and a big bottle of the cheap long term storage vitamins.


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## walking (Nov 19, 2015)

budgetprepp-n said:


> I did a post about pinto beans and it got me thinking about cheap food like beans and rice.
> Bean soup would come out to about a few cents a bowl. And then there is rice but what is
> cheap to eat that would keep you alive without your teeth or hair falling out.
> I got my bases covered on food for me but some low cost hand outs might be something
> that could come in handy.


Which nutrient is most expensive? I would say, probably proteins and fats, that's meat, cheese..animal foods in general. You lose teeth from vitamin C deficiency and hair from vitamin A deficiency, for example. Potatoes are cheap and contain vitamin C. Beans are one of most nutritious plant foods. Parboiled rice contains more vitamins B than polished rice.

On the other hand, even in expensive foods, vitamin content falls with the storing time. For example, storing foods for 7 months can decrease vitamin C content of foods by up to 80%
Vitamin C Functions, Foods, Benefits, Side Effects, Deficiency


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## Gimble (Aug 14, 2015)

Nutrition is a wonderful thing to think about. I raise my own proteins, so I know a bit more than the average person. Ever notice how the people that eat the "Low Fat" diet are usually pretty fat.

Rice has very little to no nutritional value.

Beans are actually bad for you.

Your body is like a bank account that has a couple of million dollars in when you're conceived. A couple of billion if your parents ate properly before you were conceived. From there its a matter of deposits and withdrawals until you die. Most americans don't make any deposits and die in their 60s-80s. You can really see the toll in the cities where the ratio of "hot" to "not" in the 20s is skewed in one direction and the other by the 30s and later.

Take a look at the work done by Dr. Westin A Price, Dr. Loren Cordain, Mark Sisson, Dr. William Davis, Robb Wolf and many others. But be warned, this stuff is like climate change, you can go very far down the wrong rabbit hole in the name of science. You have to eat right for long enough to know the damage done by eating wrong.

Do you know the origin of "The Other White Meat"?

So to answer your original question, get anything cheap and give it away. In an SHTF scenario, all bets are off.


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## Grim Reality (Mar 19, 2014)

"No,, That is very helpful. The tang I just left in the sealed plastic containers that it came in. 
That's not good enough?

So beans, rice washed down with a refreshing Tang and a multivitamin should do it?"


In a word...no. That won't do it. The human diet can't be squeezed into just those few
items. For one thing it hasn't enough fiber, but there is another problem lurking. You
still don't have rounded nutrition...and something else...

Speaking only for myself, I would be ready to commit suicide if I had to live only on a diet
of rice & beans...no matter what type of drink I washed it down with. That is one reason
of why I mentioned spices. I believe you must have as wide a variety of nutritious items 
as you can manage. Sure, START out with a supply of rice and dried pinto beans. But if
that was all you had, while you might be alive, you would at some point, get to a sort of
"If I never see another bean again...!" state. You could be so tired of their taste that you 
could wish to starve before you take another mouthful of them.

In antiquity wars were fought over the control of Pepper. The British controlled the distri-
bution of Salt in India for decades. These items (if you care to stockpile them) have a
possibility of being highly sought-after during dark times.

Not being a nutritionist, I am probably not qualified to give you truly reliable advice con-
cerning how to create your emergency menus. But it is in our nature to desire our foods
to be varied and different.

Think about things like other powered drinks, Dried Fruits, Sugar, Brown Sugar, Cinnamon,
Rosemary, Garlic, Canned Meats (Tuna, Chicken, Beef, etc.) Bread Flour, Yeast, and so on.

Canned Tomatoes, Pasta, Basil, Italian Herbs...the basics of Spaghetti. You can easily do it.
It might not turnout like Mama's...but you'll be glad to have it.

Canned Milk, canned Butter! Even basic MRE Cheese Spread!

Flour! (buy it by the 25lb. bag)

Canned fruits...Pineapple, Cherries, Oranges, Plums, Apples.

And I have only scratched the surface!!

Learn how to dip cheese into wax for long-term storage.

The list is quite long...you will be happy that you had a selection to choose from, much more
than how you might congratulate yourself on how frugal you have been with a minimalist list.

As for your question about the Tang storage...I have heard that even though you have left it
in a factory container...that those plastic enclosures are thought to leak over time...allowing 
oxygen access to the product. You don't want that. The vacuum/mason jar storage method 
should preserve the product MUCH longer. In 4-5 years you would taste a big difference. 

Some will tell you that because some of the fine powder is drawn up and out with the creation
of the vacuum seal when trying to store Tang...that it can't properly be done. Sorry, but it
can be done. You must start with a Large Mouth Jar. You must have a paper coffee filter, 
specifically the type shaped like a basket, you must also have, in addition to the large size
jar lid and band, one regular-sized band. 

Fill your jar with Tang, put the coffee filter on top of the jar (centered), next place the regular
sized band on top & SLOWLY push it down. It will press the filter down and into the jar. You 
should have filled the jar to within about 3/4" from the top. Trim off the filter edge that still 
rises above the jar edge. Wipe the jar edge (leaving the band inside the jar) and vacuum seal 
as per usual (see my comments in "Pinto Beans" thread). For some, two coffee filters may be 
needed to have the right effect...filtering out the dust in any finely granulated/powdered food
materials...like Powdered Cocoa...I like that drink...nice & hot when the weather is cold.

I trust canned goods that are intact. The contents might "deteriorate over time" but they will
not get contaminated by bacteria if their metal integrity is good. The contents might not taste
as good as when they were new...and while their vitamin content will be less...they should remain
edible as long as the can is intact. Bulging cans are a danger sign...don't even OPEN them...TOSS!

I could go on and on...but one can only type so much...

Grim


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