Prudent Prepping: Re-Reading Cody Lundin

The dust has settled and the First 72 Hours have passed. Follow along as I build a long term plan via Prudent Prepping.

I've run out of E-books to read, so I grabbed a 'dead tree' book for my lunch companion. On the top of my stack was one of my favorites, When All Hell Breaks Loose by Cody Lundin. Re-reading the book reminded me there are a couple things still missing from my preps.

The Three Basics

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In his book, Lundin mentions several things about food that I read but didn't really catch the first several times through. Cody Lundin specifically talked about 'carbs, protein and fat' more than once in his Food chapter, along with several other mentions in different places. I do have carbs covered with supplies of pasta and crackers and protein with canned chicken, but I was lacking in the fat portion. The canned chicken and tuna I have in the Buckets of Holding (and Get Home Bag) are packed in water, which isn't bad in itself, but for disaster prep water-packed isn't the best choice.

I recently added canned chicken to my stores, rotating some old cans to my pantry shelf and giving the rest to my local Food Bank, and with my budget I can't just buy something to replace the chicken right away. What I have to do is add something fatty to the mix, bit by bit. So far, the best and easiest way to get some good fats is through oil, and the way I plan to do it is by adding sardines in olive oil to my supplies. Costco has 12 can cases for almost $24, but I can do better on price by shopping at my local discount grocery store where single cans at the outlet are $1.69 each ($20.28 for 12). Granted, the Costco brand and the outlet are both imported, but I'm betting in a blind taste test by hungry people that both will taste just fine! Another point in favor of  canned sardines is that the cans are much easier to open than my canned chicken.

Now some people don't like sardines, and I understand the fish breath after you eat them can be gross, but I put this into the same category as garlic: Once everyone has some, no one can tell the difference.

As usual, a few cans a week will be going into my gear until the buckets are well supplied.

Stored Water In Jugs
Do you know the difference between crazy and eccentric? Rich people are eccentric!

If you can get past some of Cody's eccentricities, there are some very good tips on surviving any disaster. One thing he has no problem with is algae in water, either in bulk or his personal water bottles. I like my water clear, so my nalgene bottles get washed regularly and I add a very small amount of chlorine bleach to my stored water. I dump the 6 - 7 gallon jugs every six months, even though I have them stored indoors in my closet. Each time I change the water I taste it to see if there is any flavor or odd smell, and there has been nothing other than a very faint 'stale' taste. I haven't ever tasted bleach or seen evidence of anything growing in the jugs, and don't expect anything with my storage conditions.

Cody recommends 3 oz. of plain, unscented chlorine bleach per 1,000 gallons, so 7 gallons need just 3 drops to treat city water! If the Wild Man of the West finds that works, I'm good too, so I follow his guideline.

The Takeaway

• Re-read your resources. There could be something you've missed, like I did with the oils and fats.
• I like fresh, clear water, so the small amount of extra time to treat what I store is time well spent.

The Recap

• 5 cans of sardines in oil: $1.69 ea. at Grocery Outlet; total $8.45
• If you haven't read When All Hell Breaks Loose, I recommend it. This should be on everyone's book shelf.

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If you have comments, suggestions or corrections, please post them so we all can learn. And remember, Some Is Always Better Than None!

NOTE: All items tested were purchased by me. No products have been loaned in exchange for a favorable review. Any items sent to me for T&E will be listed as such. Suck it Feds.