Rice and beans are what I store the most of right now. I store other foods as well for variety, but the rice and beans are the staples of my food storage because they're cheap, easy to store, and will last a long time in storage. I store a good portion of mine in food-safe "paint" cans. These are food-safe cans made for storing food which work the same way as paint cans. (Please don't use actual paint cans for food storage without at least using a liner, and probably not even then.) The cans are smaller, allowing me to open and use smaller portions while keeping the bulk preserved for long term storage. And they're reusable, so it's a one time investment. Oxygen absorbers, rice or beans, then tap the lid on with a rubber mallet. Easy. Learned about that on The Survival Podcast, a free podcast hosted by Jack.
I wanted to post something I learned recently. For those who already know about and do this, please jump in and share your experiences.
Sprouting some of your stored beans is a cheap and easy way to grow fresh veggies anytime of the year without a garden. Sprouting can be done on your kitchen counter. Only clean water is required. It does not require soil or even sunlight. It takes about 5 days before they're ready to eat, but if you start new batches during that time you will have a steady, ongoing source of fresh, live veggies. Sprouts are extremely nutritious, more nutritious by weight than a regular salad or cooked vegetables. This is important, especially during a pandemic because you want to be as healthy as possible during a time like that. And, sprouting is a way to turn a pound of dried beans into several pounds of sprouts. A hundred pounds of dried beans could be turned into several hundred pounds of sprouts, providing fresh veggies every day for a year, according to what I read about it. I sprout beans, but I haven't tried to sprout anywhere near that amount, so I'm relying on what I've read for that info. Look it up and decide for yourself how valid the info is.
I'm not saying to sprout all your beans, just a portion. This would turn the beans into a highly nutritious food while increasing the original amount of food. And it would be good for variety as well. Rice and beans will got old real fast during shtf.
I've seen powdered ranch dressing in packets at my local WalMart. It was sitting by the dried gravy powder packets. A bunch of those would go a long way toward making the sprouts taste better. (And, those gravy packets would go a long way toward making the rice and beans taste better) Or, you can put the sprouts on Barbecue sandwiches. Bean sprouts are fantastic on pulled pork sandwiches!
Also, there are many different types of sprouts you can grow for more variety. Not all of them have to be beans. You could store seeds, like alfalfa and broccoli, and sprout them as well. Beans are just the cheapest.
If you do a search on sprouting, you will find a ton of info about how to sprout, what you can sprout, and the minimal equipment needed.
Just a suggestion if you haven't already learned about this.
