Are you a survivor?

I'm just curious how good you are at surviving...in this modern lifestyle which we live.

So it's the middle of winter your heating has been switched off for not paying the bill (no cheating and saying you have an open fire etc) you have absolutely no money to your name and it is fully 10 days until you will have. How do you keep warm and feed yourself one reasonable meal per day when all you have left is

1/4lb of mince beef

1 bag of approx(110g) of microwave in the bag rice

2 tortilla raps

1 small egg

1 tin of mixed beans (not flavoured with anything)

1/2 onion

30g cheddar

seasoning, and quarter of a jar a sauce like sweet chili (sorry the only one i can think of as it's the only one i buy).

Make 9 meals out of that lot say how you keep warm or how long before you freeze or starve or both?

And no this is not a real life situation of anyone i know at this time.

I'm at no risk of freezing in my house ... we're well-insulated, have lots of blankets, and a house-full of kitty cats.  Heck, we often have windows open all winter long so the cats have access to their catios.  I think we only turned the heater on last winter 4-5 times.  Anyway ... closing blinds will help prevent the loss of warmth through windows, and if needed -- just keep confined to one room so your body heat builds up. In severe "Day After Tomorrow" sort of blizzard scenarios, a walk-in closet may be your best bet.

I suppose if I got hungry enough, I could always eat dry cat food ... we have probably 80 pounds of it stockpiled, and it breaks down nice 40% protein, 40% carbs and 20% fats.  I have to say, from a flavor only standpoint, the Kitten Chow is significantly tastier than the Science Diet.  And I'm pretty sure that the wet food has even more protein. (Go for the chicken and turkey flavored cat food over the fishy ones, trust me.) And if I didn't want to eat the cat food, we've easily got 100+ pounds of sunflower seeds in the garage for the birds and squirrels. A sunflower seed, all by itself, has protein, carbs and fat ... pretty nifty nutrition, huh?  And then there's the grapefruit tree and lemon tree out back -- those are hearty winter-harvest plants and there'd be some nice vitamin C there.  And did you know that every part of the dandelion is edible?

I'm having some difficulty with the food that I'm supposedly stuck with ... since we never have minced beef, microwavable rice, or tortillas in the house. We do, however, have an impressive stockpile of non-perishable foods that don't require lots of cooking ... great for those weird global emergencies.  Yes, we even have Spam.  Heck, I even have a nifty supply of Sugar Free Peeps -- which I'm pretty sure have a shelf-life of several hundred years.

And then there's the Community Food Bank ... one can get food there. Or church food pantries. Or several rescue missions in town that serve hot meals.  But I'm pretty sure my friends and neighbors would be willing to feed me, if necessary. Heck, they are always sneaking big piles of zucchini on my front porch when I'm not looking.

For me ... (an insulin dependent diabetic) ... the biggest challenge will be eating the right quantity of carbs to match up with my insulin .... but if I just nibble on all those sunflower seeds and dandelions, I'll probably be just fine.

too much thinking on a fri night for me.

Original Post by mollymouser:

 I have to say, from a flavor only standpoint, the Kitten Chow is significantly tastier than the Science Diet.  And I'm pretty sure that the wet food has even more protein. (Go for the chicken and turkey flavored cat food over the fishy ones, trust me.)

We do, however, have an impressive stockpile of non-perishable foods that don't require lots of cooking ... great for those weird global emergencies.  Yes, we even have Spam.  Heck, I even have a nifty supply of Sugar Free Peeps -- which I'm pretty sure have a shelf-life of several hundred years.

2 things:

1- I'm glad I'm not the only one out there tasting my dog's food. She once had these sandwich cookies that I ate. They were amazing. Only with a garlic aftertaste. We got her treats she wouldn't eat, so I tried it. Beef liver. Blech.

2- Preparation is key. We have easily prepared shelf stable food as well... I don't trust the government or my fellow citizen, and it wouldn't surprise me if something horrible happened soon. Therefore, we are prepared.

bangs head on desk! i give up.

Can't anyone read directions??????

Original Post by moonikins:

Can't anyone read directions??????

i dont like what you are implying!!!!!!! actually i don't know what you are implying????? or imploding?????

sorry andie, hope you didn't get a lump on your head.

I have done this.  The wire in the back went down in a snow storm one year.  Only four days without heat and lights though.  I have a camping stove and lots of camping gear.

You can't strwave to death in seven days.  But I would make a taco casserole.  that would last a week.  I also work midnights and I eat at work with my tips.

We'd done this before when an F4 tornado came through.  We drove and stayed with my parents for a few days.

But, IF the car was snowed in, you could soak the rice in water to make it edible.  As far as keeping warm - winters here don't get that cold, so coats and blankets work pretty well.  Bring the dog in, and he can pile in the floor with the rest of us.

Back in my teen years after I was kicked out of the house I lived top ramen.  I would go to the market and buy 1/2 price meat, cook it and eat it with the ramen about 1  tablespoon at a time. If I had extra money I would buy a bag of frozen veggies and cook that in the ramen too.

I had plain toast for breakfast (white bread was 33 cents a loaf) and nothing for lunch.

I dont recall being cold - but I know i never had the heat up higher than 60.  I am sure I was though - I lived at 8,000 feet.

The holdiay inn on my way to work did not lock their toilet paper in the public bathroom.  I used to sneak in there and grab 1/2 rolls of TP.  I felt horrible about it too. 

it's funny, I dont remember feeling hungry, though I must have been starving all of the time.  I dont remember feeling scared or anything.  Though god knows I should have been.

But once a friend brought me peanut butter and saltines and I do remember thinking that nothing had ever tasted better.

Oh but there was one time - I found a lottery scratch ticket in the parking lot of the 7-11.  I dont know how I even saw it, it was very dark but there it was.  It was a winner (already scratched).  $20.00.  I wasn't 18 and I wondered if I could cash it in.  The clerk knew me and did not say anything about my age.  But that $20 bucks literally saved my life I think. 

I don't like the term "survivor" though.  That implies you passively experience and live through whatever is dished at you.  I am not sure what term is better.  But using your resources when things are really bad is NOT passive.  You have to be actively seeking solutions. 

what is minced beef? is that cooked or like jerkey?

what is a tin of beans? is that canned beans that have been cooked or raw hard beans?

microwave rice? thats weird.

can we use camping equipment? (one-burner propane stove)

Minced beef - hamburger

Tinned beans - regular old cooked canned beans

Microwave rice - watergirl you need to get out more :)

Original Post by watergirl:

what is minced beef? is that cooked or like jerkey?

what is a tin of beans? is that canned beans that have been cooked or raw hard beans?

microwave rice? thats weird.

can we use camping equipment? (one-burner propane stove)

OK so I'm not sure if you are serious and really don't know what these things are but I shall answer anyway..

Minced Beef is steak which is put through a mincing machine (other meats are used but I always buy steak mince) it looks like this

http://www.minymorfa-farm-shop.co.uk/images/m inced-lamb.jpg

the picture is of lamb mince but mince all looks the same and is very versatile as a little goes a long way a bit like grating cheese it goes further than if you just cut full slice off.

Mixed tin of beans is mostly cooked beans of different varienties (ready to use).

yes you can use camping equipment if you have been wise enough to it as back up :)

Microwave rice is so simple and easy to use a bit like boil in the bag rice but slightly quicker but remember you have no electricity! The rice is partially cooked by the way.

i was serious. ok you mean ground beef and a can of beans. just checking. yes i have all kinds of camping gear, i love to camp.

i would cook everything together and wrap what fits into the 2 wraps. ration it into 9 portions. it only freezes here a handful of times in the winter so i would store it outside and warm it up on my campstove. dress warm, catch up on my reading and wait til payday.

its amazing what one can live off of and for how long. ive done it often enough.

Yeah, sure if you're going to use camping gear, its easy!! *tongue in cheek*

I was trying to fathom eating raw hamburger and egg mixed together, and thought I'd probably have to wait a couple of days before I was hungry enough to do that.  I was thinking of stealing into a parking lot and finding a hot motorcycle muffler or something to cook an aluminum foil package on!!

Though my grandmother always tasted her meatloaf before she cooked it to make sure she had the seasonings right.  BLECH!

And, if the heat is off for very long, and the weather is very cold, it makes sense to go to a nearby store or library to spend the day just to keep warm.  Done that before in the summer to keep cool!

Oh, and around here if the weather conditions are severe, you can call the electric company and try to make arrangements with them.