What is everyone doing to prepare their pantry for what is coming?

[Trueblue Texan]

I feel like more inflation is inevitable. I am trying to prepare my pantry by stocking up and making more homemade mixes. During the last few years of inflation I managed to escape a lot of it because I've always been one who tends to buy on sale and stock up. I fear it will be worse this time. I'm grateful that for the last year I have gradually transitioned from a meat-based diet to mostly plants. I have developed my cooking repertoire with some pretty solid strategies and recipes so that I feel no deprivation from doing without animal products. In fact, I feel so much better physically and am delighted with the food I am discovering, preparing and eating. I'm interested to know what you guys are doing to get ready.

[Groundhawg]

1. Stocking up on whistlepig.

[Trueblue Texan]

9. What is whistle pig? nt

[Ilsa]

16. whiskey I think. Maybe Rye? My husband had started

whiskey tasting several years ago, but nothing with a pig label!

[Groundhawg]

31. the best rye whiskey.

[MontanaMama]

26. Kick.

Good answer.

[Ilsa]

2. I have a difficult situation with my

sons at home. They are finicky eaters and polar opposites. I've frozen some items, and I'm trying to stock up when my store has good BOGOs. I also have some dried 25 year food items.

[Trueblue Texan]

8. What kind of dried food do you have?

I'm just starting to get into drying food. I really like the product and method.

[Ilsa]

15. I don't dry or preserve it myself,

I purchased a nice kit of meals, eggs, meat, etc, from Costco, I think. Maybe some other outfit having a sale. Armageddon-type foods in case of extreme shortages. And a friend sent me a basic kit years ago on my birthday.

I also have a huge tub liner for potable water storage. It has a nice spigot. I think it's called a Water Bob.

[gab13by13]

3. I went grocery shopping today

I spent almost 300 dollars for just 2 of us. I did go to a local meat market that has a fantastic selection. It is a bit pricey but you get what you pay for.

I still buy a lot of organic also.

[yellowdogintexas]

4. stocking up on dried beans, rice, pasta and our favorite canned items

I am not too worried about toilet paper because 90% of what we use is made domestically.

[Trueblue Texan]

7. I get that mail order from Who Gives a Crap...

They do not price gouge, which will be another source of inflation, in addition to tariffs.

[Bluethroughu]

5. Flour, sugar, chocolate, kidney beans, northern beans,

Yeast, broths, tomatoes, frozen green beans, carrots, corn, califlower and broccoli ...

Frozen bags of all the fruits!

Pasta lots of pasta

And a huge vegetable garden with lots of marigolds, and strawberries, raspberries, grapes...plenty of apples in my area.

I learned quick in 2020...fed many families off my first garden and stocked the food pantry.
Burpee!

[Trueblue Texan]

6. Your strategy sounds very much like mine...

I just wish I was a better gardener. I've got lots of seeds from last year and I've ordered more through Baker's Creek and bought some from my local coop. I just have the backyard and it is full of oak trees that steal the nutrients from the other plants, so I pretty much have to grow in containers. I've recently learned how to make my my own veggie broth powder to season rice, potatoes, pasta, and I make my own fajita/taco/chili seasoning. I've got tons of nuts in the freezer and loads of canned and dried beans, rice and flours. I should stock up on more frozen fruits and veggies. I'm also dehydrating stuff like mushrooms and peppers that I grew. I grew a lot of jalapeno peppers this year and smoked them. They make great seasoning for beans. I also have stocked up on some yeast but I make most of my bread with sour dough. I am grateful that water is my favorite beverage, but I have stocked up on coffee. It is surely one of the items that will be affected by tariffs. I fear for working families...it takes time to prepare foods from scratch, though having good strategies helps. But they will not have the means to fight inflation as much as those who have been able to prepare and stock up and who have good cooking skills.

[Bluethroughu]

10. Thank you Trueblue Texan

I live on the IL/WI boarder so my sowing season is different, but I looked up my soil on the topography maps for my address, bought a Country Almanac for my area, so it gives me planting partners, and I just planned out my area, and it went well. I will be ordering a dehydrator!...if you could give me your sourdough reciepe, I would love you forever!

[Trueblue Texan]

11. I would be happy to give you my sourdough recipe if I had one!

The truth is, I just throw the fed starter and the flour, water, and salt together and it somehow comes out really tasty! I could give you some of the things I've done to make bread, but the truth is, it's hard to fail with sourdough once it gets started. I've made it all sorts of ways, followed all sorts of directions, and then made even better bread without following any directions at all and it still comes out good. Yesterday I had 3 loaves I'd just mixed up from a fed starter. I was supposed to let them sit on the counter for an hour (that's called the autolyse phase) and then stretch and fold them 4 times with 30 minute intervals. Well, the day got away from me and I never did get back to stretching and folding the dough. It was about 5 o'clock before I got back to them (They started the autolyse at 11) I just grabbed some pans and formed them into loaves as best I could and covered them with plastic wrap and threw them into the fridge for the rest of the night. In the morning, I pulled one of the loaves out, scored it, and let it rise for about3 or 4 hours and baked it. It turned out GREAT! See? Sourdough don't care how you treat it, long as it gets fed decently. The other 2 loaves are still in the fridge. I guess I'll bake them tomorrow. Anyway, I'll be glad to send you some starter and some general directions if you want. Just email me.

[Bluethroughu]

12. That was more than hepful! I was afraid to try because there

are so many recipes, but that is excellent...a two day process is wonderful!

[MLAA]

13. I've been stocking up things with a long shelf life.

I’m not much of a cook in the best of times so I’ve gone for easy things. I haven’t eaten animal products in many years so I don’t need to plan for those perishable items.

Canned soups, vegetables and fruit
Powdered veggie broths
Dried beans and lentil and split pea soup mixes. They don’t take up much room and easy to cook in a crock pot
Pasta/gnocci/cornmeal for polenta and sauces in jars
Rice
Peanut butter and jams
Boxed non-refrigerated plant based milks.

Some bulk items that are advertised as 25 year shelf life like potato shreds, flour, rice and black bean burger mix. I have watched for sales and have added these items to the pantry then.

First aid and OTC meds and vitamins.
Batteries
Extra bottled water
Extra Kcups for coffee, I recently read they stay good for a very long time if stored properly

Climate change and ensuing extreme weather has been my biggest motivation to build up the pantry, the havoc/chaos TSF will create is another good reason.

[La Coliniere]

23. Like your suggestions!

I have to add boxed nut milks to my list.

[La Coliniere]

14. It's great that you've become more plant based.

My wife and I gave up dairy and eggs 8 years ago and never looked back. We had been vegetarians for many years but looked at the research which suggested that eggs and dairy were not beneficial for maintaining good heart health (nor a healthy environment) so we ditched them. Incredibly, my eczema disappeared and arthritic inflammation was drastically reduced. At 70 years old I still ski, walk 4-5 miles a day, and lift weights at a gym 3x a week. We are not 100% plant based because we eat one serving of seafood weekly, usually wild caught salmon or shrimp. Our pantry and basement shelves are filled with dried and canned beans, lentils and split peas, whole grains (brown rice, quinoa, barley and whole wheat pastas), canned tomatoes, tomato paste, vegetable broth bullion, peanut butter, spices, groats, rolled and cut oats. We don’t use refined flours, but we still use some olive oil, which I could actually do without. We also eat some plant based processed foods like tofurkey products, but not too many and we could easily give them up as well since they are just guilty pleasures. I think we should start stocking up on frozen produce because if our farm workers get deported or if the felon’s tariffs go into effect, fresh produce will become very expensive. But I feel we are best prepared by not needing animal derived foods because we only need and want plant based staples to survive. I’m hoping we can still get onions, potatoes (especially sweet) and cabbage, they are cheap and versatile. I will miss our daily salad, but I’m hoping things don’t get that bad. I wish more folks would go plant based. It’s wonderful and easy once you start. It’s a real adventure learning to cook without meat, dairy and eggs. Good luck!

[Trueblue Texan]

20. Great ideas here!

For leafy salads, arugula is VERY easy to grow--if I can grow it, anyone can--if you plant it at the right time, that is. Same with cilantro. Also chopped salads, made with cabbages, peppers, onions, carrots, radishes, etc., last much longer than leafy salads. I often make one up and use it to dress my leaf salads. Saves time and energy and is yummy! Also I always cut off the base of green onions and stick them in the dirt...I get lots of free onions that way. No bulb onions, which I use a LOT, but at least plenty of free green onions.

[La Coliniere]

22. Thank you!

Unfortunately arugula is the one and only leafy green I do not like. Cabbage salads and slaws are great and I love making them. I usually add chopped spinach or any green I have around. I’m going to try growing the scallions as you suggested. I always have plenty of chives that grow like wildfire and like to take over my herb garden and need frequent thinning out.

[MLAA]

24. I know it's not the same as fresh, but I do keep on hand dehydrated onion chips and they seem to last a long time.

Your post reminded me I need to buy some canned sweet potatoes, again not as good as frozen or fresh, but still nutritious and satisfying. My guilty pleasures are Gardein products

[La Coliniere]

25. Gardein Ultimate chicken cutlets are terrific.

Last edited Wed Jan 15, 2025, 10:54 PM - Edit history (1)

Field Roast plant based products are good too. Their apple sage sausages and smoked frankfurters are super tasty. The main ingredient in their products is wheat gluten, not soy. We limit processed plant based foods to about one or 2 servings a week. Also love Soy Boy smoked and Caribbean flavored tofu which is minimally processed and a great protein source in salads.

Edited for spelling

[MLAA]

32. I do like the chicken cutlets, but never noticed them getting intimate (your spell checker has a sense of humor!)

I love Fieldroast stadium dogs. What vegan cheeses do you like?

[La Coliniere]

35. Lol...love those cutlets, but not THAT much! Fixed it

Parmela Creamery cheeses were pretty good, cashews were the main ingredients, but Wegman’s stopped selling their stuff for some reason. Trader Joe’s shredded parmesan is good as well as Violife cheddar slices and shredded mozzarella. Imitation cheeses are getting better but I limit the use of these foods as well. Never liked Daiya brand cheeses but some of their other products, like their Key Lime cheesecake is very tasty.

[MLAA]

37. I like Follow your heart Parmesan. For occasional grill cheese I like Fieldroast Chao Original creamy.

I’ve never seen the Parmesan brand but will watch out for it. I’m thinking those chicken cutlets were just trying to stay warm in the freezer!

[tishaLA]

34. I love Garden's chik'n

I recently bought the Impossible Foods version (I've really like Impossible burgers and spicy sausage) but haven't tried them yet, so we'll see which I need to stock up on.

[MLAA]

38. I did the same thing, but haven't tried the impossible chicken yet either.

I also like Morningstar’s vegan chicken patties for ‘chicken’ parmesan. They are thin and get very crispy in the air fryer. But the Gardein Filets are nice and fat for sandwiches.

[Trueblue Texan]

36. I smoked some tofu the same afternoon I smoked jalapeo peppers.

It came out incredibly smoky! I froze it and use it when I want a smoked protein. If you don't have a smoker, ask a friend to let you know the next time they are going to be smoking--I'd bet they'll be happy to get the full smoke from their wood chips by adding yours after their foods are done.

[Trueblue Texan]

29. Sweet potatoes are pretty easy to grow if you live in the south

You get the potato in a growing medium, like water, or soil, then cut “slips” and root those and plant them to get sweet potatoes. Even I was able to grow them.

[chowmama]

17. If you need some dairy for cooking

Stock up on evaporated milk. This was actually its original purpose, as shelf-stable milk. Diluted 50:50, it's substituted for whole milk. The shelf dating is pretty good. It's got a slightly cooked taste, so you may not want to drink it straight, but it works in recipes.

We've usually had it around because DH got used to it as coffee cream, for camping. He didn't like the powdered stuff and half & half went sour really quickly. A little heavy to trek in to a campsite, but it lasted. Then he started using it at home and actually prefers the taste. I'm getting extra now, in case regular milk becomes difficult. If not, well, coffee cream.

[Trueblue Texan]

30. I don't really do much dairy, except for making milk kefir for medicinal purposes.

I do use plant milks. I like soy milk best, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it. I can make oat milk, though. Maybe plant milks won’t go crazy. Anybody got any good tips for making plant milk?

[Old Crank]

18. If you know the neighbours

You might think about going in for bulk purchases with them. Flour and rice come in large bags. Invest in airtight containers. I think you can get dried beans also. Perhaps pasta.
Of course you will need a cool dry storage space.
My problem is with room to put stuff. And no separate freezer. Not sure how Trumps plan will play out here in Germany.

[Laurelin]

19. What a great topic

My situation is a bit different: Europe is kinda sorta preparing for war. Maybe. The Dutch government said, we are not at war but we are no longer at peace, and we should store food, water, first aid. Their recommendations are less than what the Red Cross suggests all Americans should always have on hand. Still, it's not a very Dutch thing to have a stocked pantry; many people still shop every day.
I've always had a garden but last year my community garden was under water until mid June, so I got very little food. I'm not sure if any of the perennials will make it back this year.
I have canned tuna, sardines and beans,; dried beans, fruit, pasta, quinoa, oats, oatmeal, crackers, nuts, chocolate, coffee, tea. Less water than I typically kept in the US but a few days' worth. Freezer and fridge are tiny by American standards but I still have blackberries and tomatillos from last year's garden, and other fruits and vegetables from the store. Tofu , hummus, eggs and fresh fruits/veg in the fridge.
Flour actually goes bad here, to my amazement. Apparently it's the humidity. I don't have enough room for it in the freezer so I don't keep a lot. I'm thinking about a dehumidifier.
Also extra dog and cat food.

[Trueblue Texan]

21. I just realized I haven't considered my animals...

Dog and cat food did go up quite a bit in the last round of inflation. I know we have to be careful about feeding our animals people food, but I have discovered they do enjoy oatmeal and grits and I know lots of dog food includes rice. I guess I could invest in a large garbage can with a lid to store extra bags of dog and cat food.I always buy cheap sardines for them for a special treat. I could invest in some of that extra. Thanks for the reminder!

[MontanaMama]

27. Buying as much local food as possible.

Narrowing the scope of what we can get in the region will be key in this household. Fresh produce in the winter is a challenge living in Montana but there are greenhouses in the northwest that provide good quality greens all winter long. If the tariffs are imposed, I’ll stop buying any produce from Mexico which would include tomatoes and avocados. Once in a while, I can get CA tomatoes so I’m hoping for that. I’ll plant my usual garden this year with tomatoes, beans, peas, greens, tomatillos and put all of that up for winter. I’ll shop various farmer’s markets in the summer and fall for the things I don’t grow. Wheat Montana produces wonderful unbleached flour for my baking needs and local bakeries have wonderful ancient grain sourdough breads. I’ll stock up on pasta and rice at Costco. I have laying hens for eggs.

Your post above made me think that I’d better pay some attention to pet needs. I think our dog food is going to be sourced okay but my parrot food comes from Canada as does the hemp bedding in my chicken coop. Our chicken feed comes out of WA state and that’s a regional purchase and feels reliable. Time to get the other stuff figured out.

This is going to be a long haul and the more we can support each other the better off we will all be. Thanks for this thread.

[Jilly_in_VA]

28. As long as I have

assorted flours, yeast, and some sugar, plus some dried fruit and spices, I'm good for bread. I probably need to get some dried and condensed milk just in case, although I'm lactose intolerant, but for baking anyway. We eat seasonally as far as veg and fruit, so there's that, and can be much more plant-based if needed, although we currently have a freezer full of meat. (Great Lent is coming soon enough!) I'm not all that worried at the moment.

[tishaLA]

33. Lots of dried beans

Last edited Wed Jan 15, 2025, 11:59 PM - Edit history (1)

I also have several different Better Than Bullion jars, probably too much flour for my own good because I try to stay low carb, steel cut oats, and various rices (jasmine, basmati, long grain). As long as I cook from scratch and don't overindulge, I feel ok for at least the first 6-9 months.

[spinbaby]

39. Nothing different

I live alone and tend to be overstocked anyway—never did get the hang of shopping and cooking for one. I’ll just keep buying foods I eat regularly when they’re on sale.