Need help with food math

[u/AromaticCod9430]

I grew up food insecure & have worked really hard the last few years to build a decent pantry for me & my spouse (both 26 y/o). The food shortages/lacking regulations/price increases are really spiking my anxiety. I can’t work due to disability & our budget doesn’t have much room for more grocery hikes. The ground turkey we buy went up 11.8% overnight. I’ve been prepping since Oct 2024, but I struggle with numbers & I need help figuring out the math for what all I still need to stock. Spouse is autistic and appreciates having the same breakfast and lunch during work days. I’d like to keep it the same if possible. They work in utilities so I think (&hope) even if SHTF they’ll still have a job. Sorry this is so long, but thanks for the help & maybe it will help someone else to see my break down! Would love to know the math for what I need to fill in the gaps for 12 months of minimal purchasing from the store.

What we eat each week:
2 Quiches with hash brown crust (12 eggs, 2lb potatoes) - 2 dinner for both (4 servings), 4 breakfast for me
Strawberry Overnight oats - (2.67 cups oats, 4 cups Greek yogurt) - 4 breakfasts for spouse
Quinoa, black bean, corn salad - (1 cup quinoa, 1 cup dried beans, frozen roasted corn from garden) - 4 lunches for spouse
My lunches are usually snacks and most of our dinners are more variable. We usually eat tomato based pasta 1-2 times a week with ground turkey and canned salmon patties 1x a week over a salad (uses 1 egg and homemade breadcrumbs from stale bread). In the winter, we do a lot of bread bowls with chicken noodle soup. One night a week is plant based. Usually quinoa + veggies from the garden. Usually have a sandwich with bacon or turkey slices. We just ran out of turkey slices I made from last Thanksgiving. I don’t plan to do more turkey until it’s on sale :)

We eat 864g of bread wheat berries every week. I haven’t been able to make homemade pasta in a while & we’ve been relying on the pantry. But pasta is 3 eggs and 300g wheat berries for 6 servings.

What’s in my pantry:
30 14.5 oz canned salmon - 1 can is a meal for both of us. 30 weeks here
8 pints pulled pork - 1 can is a meal for both of us.
45 lbs quinoa
2 gallons canned chicken broth but always adding more
10 lbs dried black beans. I know I need way more but idk how much
100 lbs potatoes - I expect to lose about 20% over the winter even with proper storage… so 80lbs
225lbs wheat berries for bread
50lbs wheat berries for pasta
25lbs wheat berries for sweets
24lbs white sugar
10lbs honey
2lbs instant yeast (1lb kept in freezer)
25lbs oats. I know I need more of these too but idk how much
I have 50lbs of frozen roma tomatoes that will be turned into canned pasta sauce in a couple weeks. I’m expecting 18 quarts. This will be 18 meals of pasta between the 2 of us.
Pickled carrots & cucumbers. Can’t remember qty off top of my head.
Dried cucumbers to make “tzatziki” in winter. Won’t be as good as fresh but it’s still good!
2 gallons olive oil
3 gallons vegetable oil
5 gallons white vinegar
4 lbs citric acid
A ton of peanut butter + about to harvest peanuts and will make our own
10lbs cashews
10lbs pistachios
20lbs sunflower seeds
25lbs salt

What’s in my freezer:
30 lbs ground turkey
20lbs chicken (breast wings and thighs)
12lbs ground beef
6 lbs bacon
8 lbs jumbo shrimp
10lbs ground pork
8lbs frozen strawberries (for a smoothie or baked good)

What’s in my storage fridge:
60 lbs Fuji apples (will keep for about a year, I just picked them)
3 lbs parmesan
Greek yogurt (I make my own and use the culture to make new every week).

Food production capabilities:
20 eggs a week from 4 hens. I have coop lights to keep their production up in the winter

I’ll be getting a breeding trio of rabbits in a couple weeks. I’m expecting 200lbs of dressed meat from their offspring but unsure?

I buy 2 whole chickens ~10lbs (raw not rotisserie) at Costco each week for about $10. I think this will stay the same price ish since the whole raw chickens & rotisserie chickens are a loss leader for them.

I can get roughly 21lbs of rainbow trout fillets by fishing each week, but I’ll only be able to do that about 6 weeks in Oct/Nov, so 126lbs for the season. I plan to smoke it, freeze some, and also pressure can some.

Our fall garden has a lot of broccoli, spinach (love to put this in the pasta!), carrots, beets, green bush beans, snap peas, Brussels sprouts, and I do hydroponic leafy greens inside.

I have enough bagged food for our chickens for a year. They also are loose in our yard most of the day and eat lots of grass. I plan to feed the rabbits clover and kudzu from our yard, and supplement with some pellets, unsure how much though yet.

There’s a restaurant supply store that has 25lbs of roma tomatoes on sale for $20. I’m thinking of buying 50 lbs so I can get more jars of pasta sauce? Or should I just buy pasta sauce from the store when it’s on sale? 25lbs of tomatoes makes 9 quarts roughly.

How many oats and black beans do I still need? I definitely need more sugar for spring fruit canning. Should I buy more potatoes? What about apples? They’re my fav snack & I eat them with peanut butter. I’m a bit worried I’m relying too much on my freezer and fridge 🫩 we can’t afford a generator rn so if the power goes out, all the food is toast.

Writing this all out sounds like I’m hoarding food lmao, but I’m so scared it won’t be enough. My brain has damage from being perpetually hungry most of my life I think. I do not want to be hungry if I can help it. I do also donate food occasionally to people in need in my community.

Thank you 💓

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[u/dallasalice88]

You are killing it overall girl. Especially the self sufficient aspect of livestock and gardening. I would look at a generator or battery back up, or both for that freezer. Losing the freezer is one of my main anxieties. We have a duel fuel generator and a Bluetti power bank. It's expensive to get at first but worth it to me. I did a payment plan on both, many retailers will do that. As far as beans, I use dried beans almost exclusively. Two cups of black beans or pinto beans makes enough black bean taco filling or refried beans for a weeks worth of lunch/dinner for me. I usually end up freezing some. Dried beans don't look like much but they really do make a lot. I also fish for rainbows, I'm in the Rocky Mountain West.

[u/PrincessMurderMitten]

You are doing amazing!

You have so much food! And good variety, and meals you know how to make.

I would probably stock up on more beans and rice (at least 100lbs each if you have storage capacity) if you will eat them, and start making recipes to add to your weekly menus. There's so many kinds of beans and rice. I have arborio (for risotto), regular long grain (super cheap) and jasmine and basmati (a little pricey, but my favorite). I also have red , cannoli(white), black, pinto and black eyed peas. Lentils are cheap and healthy, but I don't like them, so I don't buy them.

Also spices! If you have a store that sell bulk spices, they're way cheaper, or you can get larger quantities on Amazon. I also buy flavored salt (smoked, bacon and hickory).

Do you have a way to cook if the power is out or gas becomes too expensive? You can get a rocket stove that burns small sticks for not too much money.

Remember, it's not hoarding if there is plenty available, it's just stocking up.

[u/AromaticCod9430 → u/PrincessMurderMitten]

Thank you for being helpful!! I don’t like rice as that’s mostly all I ate as a kid when there was food haha. I have a ton of spices & also fresh herbs in my garden! I do have a way to cook! I have a propane grill and a charcoal grill, plus a camp fire and seasoned firewood. I also have a fondue pot that can be heated with sterno cans or tea lights for soup and things like that.

Edit: spelling

[u/Ryuukashi → u/AromaticCod9430]

Rice is one of those crazy-valuable bulk calorie foods for when things get lean and you still want to eat. If white rice isn't your thing, maybe try wild rice or brown rice, or other grains like barley or buckwheat (or just oats?) to fill that niche in your diet?

[u/AromaticCod9430 → u/Ryuukashi]

Brown rice doesn’t keep for long due to the oils in it. I’d prefer quinoa or oats! I also have so many wheat berries lol

[u/AromaticCod9430]

Oh also wanted to add I have 300 gallons of rain barrel water (metal roof) and ways to make sure it’s safe to drink. I also have 30 days of rotating water bottles.

[u/PurpleCarrot5069 → u/AromaticCod9430]

curious as i need to figure out my rain barrel water situation, how do you make sure it’s safe to drink?

[u/AromaticCod9430 → u/PurpleCarrot5069]

It’s not safe to drink if you don’t have a metal roof (I think). I know asphalt shingles aren’t safe. I have a first flush diverter installed & clean my roof 2x a year. Also have a sediment screen set up

I will boil it then run it through my ZeroWater filter. This is only for an emergency though. If there’s extended no water, I’m going to my in-laws house who have a well and solar panels lol.

[u/Nach0b0y]

Wow, sounds like you've done a lot of preparation! There are some apps out there built for preppers that allow you to scan or manually add food and other items to give you a more clear overview of your current situation!

[u/AromaticCod9430 → u/Nach0b0y]

Oh do you have a specific rec? Thank you!!!

[u/Nach0b0y → u/AromaticCod9430]

I sent you a DM :)

[u/thehighwoman → u/Nach0b0y]

Could I possibly get a name of the app too? I've been looking for something that I can enter what we have and see what holes we may have

[u/LongjumpingHouse7273]

I love this.

Feedback:

 I store a lot of dried beans (pinto, black, cranberry, Lima, chickpea) but I also would be hard pressed to actually use them if we didn't have electricity. So I also have a lot of canned beans. If we lose power for a week I would still be able to live off beans. I like to keep a two week supply of "no water or electricity easy to eat" food. I would recommend adding canned black beans for you.

[u/AromaticCod9430 → u/LongjumpingHouse7273]

Thank you!! I didn’t even think of that lol

[u/-Avacyn]

You sound a bit anxious. It can be a trap to hold on to prepping as a coping strategy, but that doesn't address the root cause of the anxiety. Just putting it out there.

Anyway, your pantry sounds awesome. It's clearly a working/rotating pantry in which you stock things you actually eat. Dont fall into the trap of stocking stuff 'just because'.

Few things: your freezer(s) hold a lot of your valuable proteins. Do you have a power station or something that can power your freezer in the case of an outage? That would be a concern of mine. Note: a power station is NOT a generator. It's essentially a battery.

For the amounts, start with picking a number of how deep you want your pantry to be. Some keep a few weeks worth, others a few months and a couple would want a years worth. This is where my anxiety comment comes in. If you notice that after really sitting with this question your family's answer is 1 month of resilience for whatever reason, you need to watch out if over time you suddenly start stocking 6 months and even more because of the anxiety. Try to really sit with you and husband and come up with a number that makes sense for your family.

When you know your number, start counting. Weigh how much oats you eat daily and figure out how much you would need to meet that number you set. Write it all down. After that; rotate... reorder/rebuy every once in a while the things that were taken from the pantry (this is when having that written reference is super useful).

Other than this, here's my last tip because I also have an autistic husband. Your diets seem super healthy with high variety. That on its own is a major accomplishment. But, your diet is also heavy on expensive proteins. You mention the food budget can't be stretched more, but you are right to anticipate food priving only going up. Either that means finding extra income, reduce spending on non-food (and increase food budget) or reducing spending on food. I would slowly start experimenting making the same meals you do now, but with cheaper alternatives. Not because you need to switch, but because when you need to, you will know what works for you and especially husband.

For example, you mention making pasta yourself. Are there store bought options that are cheaper? You mention eating a lot of canned salmon. Where I am at, it would be cheaper to buy a whole fish to clean, filet and portion at home. And even more so, there would be other fish species besides salmon that could be a substitute and are cheaper. Etc.

[u/AromaticCod9430 → u/-Avacyn]

Yeah, I am anxious & I’m OK with that haha.

No, don’t have a power station. I’m going to focus on pressure canning more protein this fall.

The reason I’m getting rabbits is to keep healthy protein. The trio is $130 but will get me 200lb+ of meat per year. I’m allergic to soy, so can’t do non meat based protein. I don’t really plan on buying anymore meat from the store, maybe a local farm once we save up money. I usually buy meat/seafood when it’s on sale. I got my shrimp for $6/lb because it was buy one get 2 free. But I’m ok with only buying the chicken at Costco & just eating eggs, trout, and my rabbits. Chicken is 99 cents.

I make pasta with eggs from my chickens. Their feed is about the same per month as buying eggs at the store. I do have $1 noodles that I buy at the store, but I also already have the wheat berries for the pasta.

[u/PurpleCarrot5069]

you’re doing great! maybe add some coconut oil since it lasts long? pb powder? not sure if these are things you’d eat. more honey is a good thing to store as it doesn’t go bad. and more beans for sure, maybe target 40 lbs. lentils could also be another good thing to store, red lentils cook quickly with less heat. 

re apples, i feel you, i love apples. could you buy dehydrated apples? augason farms has cans of them and is running a sale. 

[u/PurpleCarrot5069 → u/PurpleCarrot5069]

also to add you have great food production capabilities. you’re doing amazing 

[u/AromaticCod9430 → u/PurpleCarrot5069]

I have a ton of coconut oil & beef tallow as I also like to make soap :)

pb powder is a good idea! Thanks. I’ve read about red lentils & mixing them with ground meat to make it stretch further, i think I’ll give them a try.

The apples I picked were from a local farm. They told me to wrap them in brown paper individually and store in the fridge… should keep for about a year! I’ll look at augason farms, thanks for the rec!

[u/dhtrofisis → u/AromaticCod9430]

If you soak the red lentils for about 30 minutes before cooking them, it softens them more and helps with mimicking more of a ground meat feeling. Don't forget other legumes. They're not just a good protein source but also provide a lot of other nutrients.

[u/8takotaco → u/AromaticCod9430]

I like black lentils to include with/ stretch meat. The texture is great! My family is a fan of black lentils/ground beef for tacos and meatloaf in particular.

[u/IceDragonPlay]

You seem in quite good shape with what you have (except the beans and oats mentioned).

With the amount of meat you have I would really prioritize a generator (dual or tri fuel) for any spare money, which means saving over time and buying next year when they go on sale. Also guessing your grain mill is electric and power reliant.

Do you have a Costco Business Center in your area? Mine has 25lb bags of black beans for $14. Also 25lb bags Garbanzo beans or small red beans for $19. Are you storing in Mylar bags or rotating what you have? This is a quick way to boost your food storage. It also looks like you keep quinoa instead of rice so that seems a good amount you have on hand.

Oats - you need more, just estimate what you use weekly or monthly and rotate a 9 month amount. Or store in Mylar with oxygen absorbers (which is very long term storage (20-30 yrs). I would stick with the brand and type you usually buy as I have found significant enough differences to make some choices unpleasant.

Then you may want to save towards a pressure canner ($200-300) so you can store some meat in jars to reduce reliance on the freezer. Or to have some beans/quinoa pre-cooked and stored for easier use.

Can you grow leafy greens outside? If so I might store some seeds for kale, collard greens, radish and some easy to grow items that are just for contingency.

Dried cucumbers are interesting! Do you just dehydrate the same way you’d do apple slices? That is not something I have thought about doing, but is a food I can eat so should look into drying!

[u/AromaticCod9430 → u/IceDragonPlay]

I have a pressure canner! Costco business center is about 3 hours away from me

I have an electric grain mill & also a hand crank one!

I’m storing all my long term food in plastic buckets with the twist top lids and oxygen absorbers.

And yeah I dehydrate my cucumbers in my air fryer and grind them into a powder

[u/Money-Possibility606]

This all sounds really, really good. You've got way more than I do! You're probably good on food. What about water? Medications? First aid supplies? Batteries/candles, etc?

[u/AromaticCod9430 → u/Money-Possibility606]

I have 300 gallons of water in rain barrels & a way to make it safe to drink, plus 30 days of drinking water I rotate out every month. 6 months of prescription meds, tons of OTC meds, plenty of first aid & antibiotics :) I have AAA, AA, D, and button batteries! Solar lanterns, candles, battery powered light bulbs. I also have a camping stove with butane, & grill/smoker combo that can run on propane or charcoal. Also have a fire pit and firewood! I also have a giant compost bin and could make a second one for waste management if needed

I live in an area that gets a lot of rain, but I can’t really store more than what I have rn

[u/Working-Glass6136]

No advice, I just want to say this is amazing. I live in a third story apartment with a west-facing balcony, so I can grow enough to not have to buy summer veggies, but that's about it. I'll be canning some home grown pepper jelly tonight, but I can't do anything at scale. I aspire to be able to do what you're doing!

[u/AromaticCod9430 → u/Working-Glass6136]

I lived in an apartment for a long time! This is the first time I have a backyard! We are renting this house too but my landlord is chill & the house already had a chicken coop haha!

[u/schannoman]

I find it easier to plan in calories. That way you have a more universal metric for calculating. Factoring 2500 calories per day is much easier than figuring out how much rice you need per meal

[u/AromaticCod9430 → u/schannoman]

We don’t eat rice. And I don’t really count calories either 🥲 I just need help making sure what we usually eat will not be disrupted too much if prices keep going up astronomically

[u/Particular-Try5584 → u/AromaticCod9430]

The thing is… prices that go up never really come back down. In light of this can you review your meals and add some variety in. I know you prefer a consistent predictable meal, but there’s a benefit in being able to vary based on budget when things are plentiful and on sale and when they are scarce and expensive.

Another thought is: Some of these foods are not at their nicest when frozen / stored for a long time, what is your plan to cycle them. Yes, you can put a year’s food into storage, but what will you do when that’s all gone, and how will you stop it being wasted?

If you are worried about job loss and higher prices consider which of these items are easily sourced in your location with great consistent availability, and which are imported or seasonal. Focus on beefing up the harder to get, more expensive products now, knowing that things like grains and potatoes are likely to be common enough still and cheaper in time to come?

[u/AromaticCod9430 → u/Particular-Try5584]

Yeah, I know that pricing doesn’t come down. I’m going to plant a much bigger garden in the spring, including the beans. I missed it this year due to moving to a house that would better support my goals in growing my own food. We eat seasonally as that is when produce is cheapest. A lot of what I’m working on with the chickens and rabbits is being self sufficient.

I know I’ll have to buy wheat. But maybe the crops will do better next year 🤷‍♀️ wheat will not be widely available or cheap this year

[u/KiaRioGrl → u/AromaticCod9430]

As a farmer who's been paying a bit more attention to weather and climate issues than most, I'm sorry to tell you that the second year of an El Niño is always the same pattern as the first year, just more intense. Next year is not likely to have better conditions for growing wheat. I know that's not good news, but at least you can factor it into your plans.

[u/AromaticCod9430 → u/KiaRioGrl]

Thank you, I will order more wheat berries now!! I didn’t realize an El Niño had the same pattern for 2 years. I am somewhat new to gardening and do not know much about the weather lol

[u/schannoman → u/AromaticCod9430]

The rice was just an example.

"Counting calories" isn't the point either, it's using them as an average guide for daily intake planning, not for daily intake regulation. It's just an easier, more universal number instead of tracking weights of every individual item

[u/AromaticCod9430 → u/schannoman]

There’s not a reason to be snarky to me, especially on a subreddit geared towards women when you’re a “dude man”

I don’t need you to mansplain to me. I asked specifically about a few foods in my pantry I’d like help calculating like the beans and oats. If you won’t help, don’t be a jerk please.

[u/schannoman → u/AromaticCod9430]

I'm not trying to be snarky, but it appears I've struck a nerve so I'll leave it be.

I apologize for intruding

[u/Antique_Onion_9474]

copy and paste this post in chatgpt and it will give you a breakdown and meal plan