Several weeks ago, Mountain House contacted us to see if we would be willing to review some of their products here on the blog. Of course, we were more than happy oblige and they sent us a box of some of their best selling freeze-dried foods. (I'll share some pictures in our post announcing the giveaway winners.)
If you aren't familiar with Mountain House, here's a brief description straight from their website:
Mountain House, the #1 brand of freeze dried backpacking foods has been the choice of backpackers, hikers, campers, and other outdoor enthusiasts for over 30 years. When it comes to long term food storage, emergency preparedness and recreational activities like camping, hiking, backpacking and hunting, Mountain House is the #1 choice. That's because Mountain House has been recognized as the best tasting freeze dried meals. Mountain House is convenient, easy to prepare and has a long shelf life.
Like I said above, Mountain House sent me some of their best sellers, including: Macaroni & cheese, Vegetable Lasagna, Chicken Teriyaki with rice, Scrambled Eggs with bacon, and Buffalo style chicken, and a few more. They even sent a freeze dried ice cream sandwich, which I thought tasted great (unfortunately, my kids did too and I only got one bite!).
I have to say, I have been so pleasantly surprised by everything I have tried so far. The textures were great, and every meal is so full of flavor. All of the foods can be eaten alone, and a handful can also be used as fillings in tortillas, making it an even heartier meal.
One of the best parts about these packs of food is that they can be prepared right in the bag. You just rip open the top, add 1-2 cups of boiling water (depending on the directions), and seal the bag up again with the zipper. Let stand for 8-9 minutes, and it's done! You can even eat it right out of the bag. Also, most (if not all) of the pouches had two servings in each pouch.
I definitely recommend Mountain House foods. In the past, Abbie and I have both warned against completely filling your food storage with freeze-dried foods because, what if you don't have access to clean water? However, if you are able to store lots of water or have access to clean water, you should consider investing in some of these meals.
But think beyond general food storage -- these babies are perfect for your 72-hour kits! They are incredibly light weight, and you are already carrying water in your kids so you have that handy. They are also filling and would provide you with the calories you need. Check out the Mountain House website because they have entrees, breakfasts, desserts... they even have some vegetarian meals. I am planning on placing my own order in the future so that we can re-stock our 72-hour kits.
And now, the moment I'm sure you are all waiting for... the giveaway! Mountain House wants to give TWO of our readers a box of some of their best-selling products.
To enter the giveaway, simply comment on this post (click on the word "comments" at the end of this post. If you receive our posts via email, you will need to visit our food storage website to make a comment.)
So let us know: what is your biggest food storage challenge? I know we've asked this before, but I'm always interested to hear what other people are working on, and it gives us great ideas for future posts as well!
One comment per person, please. The giveaway ends Saturday at midnight EST. We'll announce the winners next Monday.
Good luck, and thanks to Mountain House for the great giveaway!
**Just a disclaimer - the picture at the top of the post is Mountain House's 7-day food unit. This is not the giveaway item, it's just a picture of some of their products. Mountain House is giving away a random assortment of some of their best selling entrees.**
160 comments:
What a great giveaway! Our biggest challenge is setting aside the money for some of the pricier items we would like to add to our storage.
Buying the products! So simple, but $ always goes to other things.
Water is our biggest challenge. The weight, the volume, the need for containers, keeping it fresh. Ugh! Most important but most frustrating. At least it's cheap.
Our biggest challenge is figuring out the needs in a new state!
Biggest challenge is unemployment.
My biggest challenge at this moment is just finding the funds. I'll just keep up my "a little at a time" routine!
I would say that my biggest challenge is convincing my husband that it is a necessary expense. He doesn't necessarily feel that "stockpiling" is a good idea so I do what I can to keep a moderate supply of food and water on hand.
As we are just starting out, my biggest concern is storage. It's quite hot and humid here, so much needs to be inside. Finding the space inside can be very challenging indeed!
my challenge is just starting period. i get so overwhelmed with all that i have to do that i just keep putting it off. but i'm proud to say that i'm starting to put together a car kit. it's a start!!
my biggest challenge is storage space...I was using our smallest bedroom for food storage since we are "almost" empty nesters, but then we had 3 grown kids and 2 grandkids move in with us! hard times for everyone, I know! My 23 yo son is sleeping on a mattress in the "food storage" room and is afraid of what he will find whenever I go to the store.
Mom Carpenter, Mesa, AZ
Oh I would love to try out their products. I've heard nothing but GREAT things about them.
Our biggest food storage challenge is getting all these amazing and wonderful products that you mention..... up here in Canada.
All you Americans are SOooo blessed to have such amazing and easy access to these products. I hope no one there takes it for granted, because we would LOVE some of these products that we can't get.
And to thecutestcouple (Crystal) who said her biggest challenge is unemployment. I totally hear you girl!!! We have been struggling with the same issue for the past year and only have been able to find work now. Not much, but it's a start. And the concentration now is on paying bills that piled up. But we were SO thankful for food storage. It saved us. Hang in there! You will do fine too. Rootin' for ya!
I would love to try some of these products. My biggest challenge is space. Thanks so much for all of the great information that you share on this blog!
My biggest hurdles are 72-hour kits and organized 3-month food storage. There are just so many options and more things that could be added, it's hard to feel "done." And sure I COULD eat this case of beans for a month, but do I really WANT to? So a little variety would be nice. I'd love to try these products!
My biggest challenge is the spacing issue-especially water. I feel it very important to have the big 50 gallon drums for each member of the family, but we just don't have the space. Water jugs, bottles, etc. are very easy to stack. Yes, we can slide them into corners of closets, etc, but it's still a challenge to me.
I think my biggest food storage challenge is knowing where to even start. There is so much that I just don't know, or don't seem to have time for. So aside from picking up extra cans of everything and stocking up on toothpaste when it's on sale, I feel a little lost. --Especially when it comes to things like freeze-dried foods; which brands are worthwhile, and which aren't, and what will my family like or not like, so I don't end up wasting a $20 can of dried TVP.
My biggest challenge is rotating it in our daily diets. We eat a lot of fresh fruits/veggies and I am trying to find a good balance between the two.
Our biggest challenge is financial
Our biggest challenge is that we recently started a new diet and only purchase very healthy food. I do not think we could rotate the general food storage items into our daily meals now. Not to say that all food storage is unhealthy, just that we are not eating a lot of canned items or things that preserve well.
Thanks for the giveaway!
I think my biggest challenge is figuring out menus to know what to gather. I think the Mountain House product looks like a great idea. I would not have to figure out what exactly I need. My friend order some of there product at I got to try a bite it was really good.
My biggest challenge is using food storage items before they spoil, so essentially, rotating food storage into daily cooking.
My biggest problem is organization. It's hard for me to keep up on an inventory list, but it's really the only way to go.
i LOVE Mountain House! yay for a give away opp!
As far as biggest challenge? Yikes, menus! I need to do a lot more to incorporate a variety of storage items into a variety of meals!
Oil! We don't use a ton and don't rotate quick enough and I just can't figure out how to keep enough on hand without it going bad!
(Although, I read one suggestion somewhere where the guy buys his years worth of oil, then a month or two before it's out of date, he donates it to the Food Bank and buys new. Not the cheapest way to do it, but you'd always know you had it!)
My biggest challenge is finding a good organization/storage system and then rotating it.
snakan0 at hotmail dot com
My biggest problem with food storage is space. We live in a small two bedroom apt. with two kids. We do our best with what space we have and pack water jugs in every corner of the closets, but there is only so much space.
erin.e.garner at gmail.com
I'm so glad I'm not the only one to say that my biggest challenge is... getting started. I have found this blog and guidelines so helpful.
Thank you for helping so many of us.
Amy
Monument, CO
Biggest challenge-taking control of use-by dates and making sure things get used and not wasted!
My biggest challenge is rotating it and keeping the right amount stored. We bought a few mountain house meals to put in our 72 hour kits already to replace the MREs. I tried some of the MREs before I bought more and was NOT impressed, they were actually gross. I'm glad to hear the freeze dried food tastes a lot better.
Procrastinating because I don't want to buy stuff I won't end up using. Just need to decided and do.
Enough water storage and rotation is my biggest struggle. My son has told me that Mountain House's products are great camping meals too!
Our biggest challenge is space. Everyone can discuss great storage ideas, but when it comes down to it, our house is only 750sf and there just isn't enough room anywhere for storage.
But that's not going to stop us. We're actually going to do a trial run on our last three months of no food from grocery stores or restaurants and see if we can spend go without buying any food at all. Just live 3 months off of our garden, food we can store, foraging and bartering.
Wow, what a great giveaway! I have never tried Mountain House freeze dried food, but have always thought that some would be great to add to our stockpile. It's always good to have a variety. Not just canned or frozen. I think our biggest challenge is storing water. It takes up alot of space.
My biggest challenge is finding a variety of meals that can be made completely with storable ingredients.
On another note, I've found a water storage solution that works great for us. I buy distilled drinking water in 5-gallon jugs. I got storage racks for free from our local bottled water supplier. Each individual rack holds 4 bottles, and I have 8 racks set up next to teach other along a wall in the garage. (When they're lined up, they look like four big long shelves, each with 8 bottles of water on it.) It takes 3-4 months to rotate through the entire 8 stands (32 bottles). I just replace them as I go.
My biggest challenge is space, for sure!
This would be a great addition to our food storage. I would love to try Mountain House products!
Our biggest challenge is keeping it up. We'll do really well for a few months and then I'll realize we've been "rotating" our food storage without replacing the food we use!
Our biggest challenge is moving from a hot, dry region (high desert) to a hot, humid one. There are different ways to store food, so we are trying our hand at mylar pouches instead of putting many things in #10 cans. Would love to try some Mountain House products!
My biggest challenge is storing a balanced selection of foods that we actually use. We use tons of diced tomatoes and black beans in real life, but never use canned peaches or pears. Yet if we were living completely on our food storage, I know we'd want some fruit in there.
I have a problem with rotation. I always place new stuff in the back but my kids just set it on the shelf. I try to organize about every 6 months to keep it in shape. Thanks for passing on this opportunity to your readers.
My challenge is space. Our apartment is smaller than most 2 car garages.
I love mountain house. We use them for our office 72 hour kits and home week kits. We also love them for backpacking. My favorites are their chicken and rice and ChiliMac. They are pricy, but since we don't have to rotate them as often they're really cheaper than granola bars and packaged cookies. I stock up on them when they are B2G1 free at my grocery store.
Biggest challenge is rotating stored foods. I love the Mountain House foods we have used them for years. Especialy during Hurricane recovery periods Leo in Mississippi
My biggest challenge is storage rotation with the added problem limited storage space. It seems if it is not readily available, I don't use it.
My biggest challenge is longer term items. I do pretty well with coupons, but buying powdered eggs and butter are a little out of reach yet. I would love to try the Mountain House foods though.
Vicky S.
visinglet@aol.com
I have a few problems... First of all is lack of space. Second is storing water. Third is my husband always makes comments about "going into bunker mode"... We do have a good start on long term storage, but not nearly as much as I'd like!!
My biggest challenge is finding room for it all! I thought I had a pretty spacious storage room, but all the buckets and cans necessary for a family of 6 took over quickly.
My biggest challenge is 72 hour and the 3 month supplies with more well rounded ingredients. Also, rotating.
My biggest challenge is rotation! Finding practical ways to use it all to acclimatize our digestive systems to stuff we don't normally eat, in recipes we're WILLING to eat.
My biggest challenge is know where to start! I have tons of random food items in my food storage and in a true emergency I'm not sure if they would work well together. I like the idea of a menu having the same thing each week then focusing on those items for a length of time.
Our biggest challenge is finding space for food storage in our small apartment, also need a rotation system. And of course I could use some more food to store! :)
I enjoy Mountain House meals while backpacking in the mountains. They are tasty, lightweight, and easy to use, besides providing nutrition needed. What's not to love?!
My biggest challenge is Water purification systems. Barring any natural disasters, we do have a year-round stream nearby, but which system is better, easy cleaning, long life without extra filters, and affordability?
My biggest challenge is storing water. It would be easier if my husband was on board, but he doesn't see the need of storing 50 gallon drums of water. However, we do have 10 cases of bottled water on hand at all times, so there is that.
Mountain house is THE best in freeze dried food. We have tried nearly all of them and most of them are yuck.
Our biggest challenge is money to buy food for storage. We have some stored already, but are constantly diminishing the supply. This is an awesome giveaway!
My biggest challenge is finding food that I will cycle through, so it doesn't sit until it goes bad. Mountain house is definitely food that I would cycle through, as it is great for backpacking and camping as well.
We just purchased some freeze dried foods in #10 cans. I am glad we did it, because this has made the process less intimidating. The biggest challenge we face is trying new things. I hesitate to buy products and food we have never tried before, but it is necessary. :)
~~Mrs. Blessed
Our biggest challenge is finding foods that everyone will like or can eat, and with money tight we are hesitant to purchase something new just to find it won't work. Have been wanting to try Mountain House for a long time. Thank you for this chance with the give away.
I have been wanting to get some Mountain House meals, I have yet to hear bad about them. And they post neat links on Twitter as well. My biggest challenge is just financial, going through tough times and it's hard to try to stock up when you can't afford much beyond rice and such for my current groceries. But I will keep trying. Need to get a stockpile built up.
Getting Started!
I love moutainhouse food! My biggest challenge is knowing how much food to store. I just don't want to prepare and prepare and when the time comes realize i don't have enough of something...
Our biggest challenge has been water - I forget to rotate it and until recently we had no where near enough stored for our family
I would say that my biggest challenge is convincing my wife that it is a necessary expense. She doesn't necessarily feel that "stockpiling" is a good idea so I do what I can to keep a moderate supply of food and water on hand.
Yum! My husband and I tried Mountain House before on a backpacking trip, and all the other couples were jealous of our delicious-smelling (and tasting!) dinners each night. They really are great.
So my biggest challenge is probably space. We are in a two-bedroom apartment with our little boy, and there just is not a lot of space to spare. You can only cram so much under beds and in clothes closets!
Also, if I can have a second-biggest challenge, it would have to be just feeling overwhelmed sometimes. We are in an older, more established ward, and went to an emergency preparedness fireside where the speaker was talking about multiple generators and digging holes in the backyard to store coal! Good heavens; I'm still working on a three-day supply of water! I came out of that meeting incredibly discouraged, but I've tried to change my attitude and just focus on baby steps.
Where to put it all is our biggest challenge! BTW - love the blog!
Cash money! Buying a little at a time works until I get hungry and lazy and eat what I had stored. So maybe my problem is known as FoodStorageEatingSymptoms.
Probably alternative cooking methods, like if we had no electricity. I finally bought a camp stove, so that's something.
Finding space to store everything in our small 700 sq ft. House.
great contest!
as a single woman, i would say long term storage for one has some advantages in that i only need enough for me, therefore i don't spend as much money or need as much space for storage as a family of four would. i enjoy the organizational aspect to long term prep and am always curious to read up on new products.
i would say my greatest challenge is with others: having to defend why i think this is important. i enjoy having informative conversations with friends and family about survivalism and long term planning, but often times i get the "you're paranoid" lecture. so yes, aversion from others would be my greatest challenge.
The hardest thing for us is space! I've put a bunch of MRE's into suitcases, just because there's nowhere else they will fit! I'm always looking for more preparedness stuff to cram into my tiny apartment.
Tesiah Frame
One of my biggest challenges is keeping my 72-hour kits up to date. My poor kids will be wearing serious high-waters should disaster strike!
utahraptors at zookee dot org
My biggest challenge coming up with tasty recipes to make with food storage items. We want to rotate, but then I have to use it in ways that are tummy pleasers!
Taking the plunge and living off our storage for a month! That's my big obstacle right now...
biggest challenge is financial, then space. I would love to have more storage - you know like an entire basement would be nice! I find that when we get items that are not used as often they tend to get stuffed away someplace. Often I forget about them (out of sight, outof mind) and when I go to use them they are already expired.
I love Mountain House! I have fond memories of going backpacking far into the Sierra Nevada's or using them for day hikes, and these made my mood after a long haul very enjoyable indeed. However, I found that I can not find all the different types of varieties at local outdoor stores. Buying online can be expensive with shipping, so finding some unique Mountain House entrees or sides have proved difficult. I have yet to try the new wraps, they sound interesting. No doubt that adding these to your emergency kits are SUPER beneficial. The problem is after they run out and your on regular canned food or rice, you will wish you had more! My favorite is Chili Mac, just keeps me going on the trail. This is important when it comes to quick meals that you depend on in desperate need. Keeping your spirits up with food is one thing many people forget to bring up with food storage. It's more than storing rice and beans in five gallon containers. If you're like me, a hungry college student, it's all about great tasting, easy comfort food, that's easy to prepare. We know what good taste is all about, if college taught us anything, it was to stay away from the dorm food!
one of my biggest challenges is knowing that I am going to have to move it all every 3-4 years and making sure I can do that...
We eat mostly fresh food, so my biggest challenge is rotation. We don't eat canned veggies and my kids hate canned tuna and chicken. Mountain House's foods would be good to try. A longer shelf life would help.
Thanks
Lynette
acorntooak at juno dot com
I've been wanting to try Mountain House, this would be perfect.
My biggest challenge is finding the money to make purchases from online dealers like Mountain House.
Fantastic Giveaway! Space...finding space to store enough for our large family! I'm tired of seeing boxes stacked in corners!
It was fun to give some of the Mountain Home products to my son's family for Christmas. Snow really blocked them in later. Nice to have the security!
I have never tried freezed dries food and would like to. Thanks!
My biggest challenge in food storage is bugs and critters. Living in Florida we deal with a plethora of bugs, plus squirrels, mice, raccoons, etc. I cannot store anything in bags. I've even had squirrels chew through my 5-gallon buckets. So I've learned I need to store everything in #10 cans. It's more expensive up front, but nothing so far has been able to eat through the cans!
Sounds like a great giveaway! Getting started for me is difficult because of my biggest challenge...finding a place to store everything in an organized manner.
Thanks
memorylady6
My wife and I have been eating Mountain House foods for years. We like to take them when we take the little ones out for a hike in the woods.
I even introduced my brother to them last fall while we were out hunting. It got to be lunch time and we didn't feel like driving back to town so we boiled up some water and had lunch. He was skeptical at first but did try it and enjoyed it.
We are just building our storage and would love this as an addition.
My biggest food storage challenge is finding room to store everything I'm buying. Also, making sure I have enough variety of items so I could actually make meals from what I have stored.
We've tried a few Mountain House foods, and they've all been great.
Our biggest challenge in food storage is organizing our stores. We have extra food, but we have no idea what 'meals' we can get from it.
Actually eating it. I have it in the basement, but somehow I don't want to go down there and use it.
My biggest chanllege is having a variety of foods to make a menu. It seems that I have lots of pasta at one time, but not enough of sauces.
We have some of Mountain Home products they were recommended by our bishop who is an avid camper, so we got them and they are great. But don't forget to store water and some sort of heating device to warm them up.
My biggest challenge is starting. I keep getting stressed about moving it, storing it, storing the right things, etc.
I should add to my last post that water is our biggest challenge, trying to figure out where and how to store it. We winter in the Southwest and water could be a big problem there in an emergency so we have to solve this problem and soon. With no basement in our winter home which is small water storage, is a big problem!
The hardest part for me is just getting started! It seems so overwhelming. I'd love to try the freeze dried food. Sounds like it would be a good option!
My husband love Mt. House when he went camping,we had been thinking of getting some, this would be the perfect opportunity. Would love to try it. Thanks for the opportunity. Nancy Hill
I would love some free stuff! My biggest problem is finding the funds to support my home storage dreams. Therefore, we love free stuff!
I have always heard that this stuff was great. We have friends that use this product for their food storage and 72 hour kits. Our biggest challenge is getting our 72 hour kits all in one place.
My father-in-law LOVES these things - he could eat them every meal even without the emergency! So, I would love to try them out and get converted too.
Our biggest food storage challenge is keeping on top of our inventory so that we have our year constantly in stock but are still rotating, just haven't gotten the hang of that part yet :)
Thanks for the great idea about the Mountain House products. This is very convenient for someone like me who is just getting started. It is so much easier than having to deal with multiple ingredients and meal plans. It's all in the bag! (Well, except water, which was always have on hand).
My biggest challange is to keep water stored. Little people think the water bottles are for easy grabbing so they don't have to go upstairs to get a drink! Thanks for the giveaway, these would be just great in our 72 hr kits!
Our biggest challenge is we live in SW Fl. First, of all people around here think the thought of food storage is crazy. :) Second, finding bulk stores in the area is near to impossible. Third, we have no basements (six feet above sea level, we can not store anything in our garage because of the heat. We are running out of air conditioned storage space. These would be perfect to store here down south. :)
~Yvette
yvette@im4christ.org
Would love to be the winner of this to add more variety to my food storage. Plus to try the products...thanks for your review. Maybe I won't be so shy to try the different things they offer.
Darlene
My greatest challenge is getting beyond my three months supply, the cost of purchasing long term storage items is daunting but this blog inspires me. Thank you
Cindy J
Minnesota
The biggest challenge I have is saving the freeze dried foods for emergencies. I am so new to these products that I experiment with them all the time and forget to keep the bulk of them for later!
Cat
Greatest challenge is where do I put it all, under beds are full, closets are full, even have some behind couches and as end tables, but I will find a way and continue to do what I can!
Right now we have no water storage. And Our 72 hours kits don't have food in them. I guess our biggest challenge is ti work on it on a regular schedule!
My biggest challenge is consistency--I tend to get organized and build up my food storage for a couple of months and then eat out of it for a couple of months, after which I find our family is back where we started!
My biggest problem is finding a rotation system that works for me and incorporating meals into our weekly menu. I would love to have some of these freeze dried meals to experiment with in my family. And if not, thanks for the inspiring review! Also, Walmart carries some mountain house products in their camping dept.
SO excited! My biggest challenge is using the long-term stuff in my meal planning...the things like wheat. Another challenge is making room for it all!
I've already checked out their products on-line just to see what they offer. I was more interested in the meats than the meals, but will definitely look into the meals for our 72 hours kits! The most difficult thing about food storage right now is deciding where to put it! We've had kids moving in and out and so when they do, EVERYTHING gets shifted.
Time! I feel like I'm waaaaay behind and need to do everything right NOW!
Getting organized is my biggest problem. I think I have a solution and so I'm starting this year on something I hope works for me. These would be perfect for my 72 hour kits that need to be updated.
Space! We don't have a large pantry or basement, so we converted one room over to storage.
My current biggest challenge is budget. I'm building slowly, but I would love to go so much faster!
Awesome to have stuff like this available - count me in for the giveaway!
My biggest challenge is actually using my stored foods... I have wheaat berries, but have yet to grind flour and bake with it! Must fix that...
I would love to try Mountain House!
I love their beef stew and would love to try their other products. Please add me to the drawing
love the product...and as I live in Arizona...Water is our biggest trial. I have a water purifier and Iodine just in case I have to drink my pool water:)
Our biggest challenge is finding space and money for the long term items.
I love Mountain House foods. They are so tasty and convenient. My biggest challenge is organization of my supplies and then making sure they are rotated through use. Another challenge is unemployment so it is difficult to allocate the funds to get the supply but it certainly is a necessity. It just needs to be budgeted.
My challenge is water. We have both city water and a well, but I don't have a well pump. I've purchased some 55-gal drums, but I haven't cleaned and stocked them yet. Waiting for Armageddon, I suppose. Donna
My first big challenge is to keep enough food in stock. So I can go hiking when I want.
Another big challenge is to keep many varieties of food, not the same sort of food and not too monotonous.
This is a really a big challenge because base camp is a very important moment. To rest, talking together, eating, to recover strength. And all of that is very friendly. Eating something very delicious allow to make base camp as very great moment. For me, they are exciting moments.
For me, the biggest challenge is finding recipes that my family likes that are food storage friendly. I am focusing on my 3 month supply right now, and really trying to add the items we will use and have them in the right amounts.
Sweet contest! I have been trying to get prepared for the inevitable storms in life a lot recently. My husband and I just took our first trip to our home storage center and stocked up in some great stuff. My biggest challenge I'm finding myself up against is getting a good working rotation of our 3 month supply into our daily menus. My husbands definatly prefers fresh mashed potatotes as opposed to the boxes that I score on sale with my coupons for 34 cents each, but I know they are great to have anyways. Im sure I just need to be more creative; put more thought into it, but at 35 weeks pregnant with our 3rd child...lol
Organization is my biggest problem. Keeping track of how much I have of each thing and rotating it before it expires.
My grown children and their children would come home to me in an emergency. They have no food or water storage. When they are here for holiday meals they eat like a plague of locusts lol.
They would seriously love mountain house foods though and if they like them well enough I might even get them to put a few away for an emergency.
Our biggest problem is rotation since our shelves/space isn't super user-friendly.
A new concern is I recently started a vegan/plant based diet and while beans and whole grains store very well I have no idea what to do about the greens I eat on a daily basis since we have a short growing season.
My biggest challenge is rotation! I feel i have it all organized, but its hard to remember the expiration date, and by the time I need to use some of the stuff, its too late! and I cant remember how long some things stay on the shelf.
What has been quite challenging and will continue to be is space to store the items. We have 3 days worth of MREs (grab and go), tin canned foods (for normal and 6-18 month supplies), self dehydrated food (for normal and 6-2 year supplies), self canned foods (6 month to 2 year supplies), 5 gallon food buckets of rice/flour/sugar/powdered milk, #10 cans (+15 years long term), and "instant" pouch foods such as Mountain House (10 years long term) along with quite a few 6 gallon jugs of water. Rotation isn't a problem because I use a colored "dot" system with the date of expiration written on each dot which is placed on the front of the can, and the cans are all facing forward where I can see the dot.
My greatest challenge is keeping track of what kiddos bring upstairs, so that I know what needs to replaced.
My biggest food storage challenge is dealing with food intolerances for my boys (which right now means no dairy or egg, but for a while one of them was totally off wheat too).
Thank you for reviewing this product...I've really wanted to try it but hated to put out some of our limited income on a product I was unsure of.....storage is one of our biggest challenges and being able to add a little of something like this would be a big help.
Our biggest challenges is space. I am forever having to create more space. Somehow we seem to make it work, but the challenge is to make it work efficiently for rotation and access for use.
Our biggest challenge is that we use up our three-month storage when money is tight, and take a while to build it back up again.
shj
Our biggest challenge is moving everything from the home we're in to our bug out shelter. A lot of the things we have at home we need at home so we're really stocking 2 homes. Gasoline is also a problem at the shelter we've had people break into our tank & take the gas, but with gas going to $7.00 a gallon I want more than what we have up there. It's also hard to rotate food this way. Our BO shelter is 4 hours away. The other biggest challenge is solar storms & EMP's. I'm looking for appliances & cars/truck that do not have any computer parts in them. I want to buy these now before their prices go sky high & they're hard to find. We're having a whole house surge protector put in, but it's still not enough. I want to put a Faraday cage over both homes. Also because we will not have computers I'm trying to print out & file everything we will need & trying to decide which books to purchase. It takes hours to look everything up (let alone the cost), read reviews & I've still ordered books that weren't good. Does anyone have a list of books to get. We need everything from doing surgery's, to dental problems, to making bleach.
My son just informed me that I need to plan for 20 people at our shelter. It's a one room with loft shelter. They now want to build a home. Where do we get the money. No one else wants to put in money or time. Do we just tell family & close friends they can't come? I'm confused & nervous. I want to put some money in gold & silver, but this just blows me away. How are others handling this?
I am looking to purchase a solar generator. If anyone has any idea's I welcome the help.
I'd love to add some more Mountain House to my food storage. I'm a newbie at this whole ordeal, so I need all the help I can get!! I love your site!
My biggest challenge right now having just moved is finding the best place for what food storage I have and figuring out what I have and what I need to have enough for our family.
Yay for giveaways! I've tried the Mountain House Granola with Blueberries and Milk, and it was SO good! Our biggest challenge right now is (like so many others) unemployment and having no cash flow whatsoever, but normally I worry about dairy. We eat lots of dairy products, but you can't exactly store a lot of milk, cheese, butter, sour cream, cream cheese, etc. The dried stuff is so expensive, and when I do buy powdered milk it is hard to use it before it goes bad, since we don't like to drink it. Thanks!
unemployment and keeping track of what we use and have. Would love a money tree....anyone know how to grow one? Would love to try this out. have heard a lot of wonderful things about it. thanks, Lorie
Space. That's our biggest food storage problem. Where can I put it? We live in a trailer and it is hard to be creative with what we really need to have on hand.
My biggest challenge is getting started. I live in a small condo and have no storage space at all.
My biggest problem is financial also, plus storing earthquake safe food!
Biggest challenge, space. If it wouldn't get hot in the garage, there is plenty of room there but it gets too hot in the summer. Next biggest challenge, preparing good foods out of all the wheat, beans and rice I have stored.
I would love to try some of these products. My biggest challenge is financial and storage space.
Thanks so much for all of the great information that you share on this blog!
We love this Mountain House food storage! My biggest challenge would be to make sure I have the right amount of food for our growing family!!
Water storage is my biggest challenge!
Thanks!
I think my biggest challenge is buying the long term foods and storing them. I would love to try the Mountain House foods because I have heard they are great.
My biggest problem is simply managing what is in storage and using it before it expires.
nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com
I think my biggest challenge is coming up with the extra money...
Thanks for your site
My biggest challenge is managing the rotation. My family only seems to like fresh foods. Preparing meals from my storage supplies and getting them to eat them is very tricky.
My biggest challenge is water storage. I had some containers but they started to leak. :-( I've very new to food storage, but I'm learning! LOVE your site!
My biggest food storage challenge is rotating the foods.
I used to make my own trail food in an effort to control what goes into my body. After years of that, my buddies showed me their trail food, Mountain House meals. Now I realize that Mountain House products uses high quality ingredients, tastes great, and is light weight to boot! I will never make my own trail meals again!
Our biggest challenge is rotating our food storage so we eat or donate everything within the expiration dates. Mountain House would be great is 72-hour kits - nice and lightweight for our family.Of course we would have to factor in the water needed as well.
I have the hardest time staying organized in knowing what I have stored.
love the mountain house beef stew!
Letting it accumulate is a challenge for me. Food moves fast sometimes.
My biggest challenge is knowing what to store.
With a family of 8 (and an average size house), the biggest challenge is finding enough places to store that much food.
I am just beginning to do food storage. My first obstacle, is where do I put it all? We are a family of 4 in a 700 square foot house. The usual spots, like under beds, are already full.
The most difficult thing for me is keeping track of what we use. I hope to figure out a good system soon so that I know what to replenish and I know what needs to be used.
My problem is just figuring out which product to eat first because they are all delicious! As far as expiration dates go. I don't worry about it because I stocked up on probably 300 buckes worth of it years ago and recently noticed that some of it has been out of date for 3 years! I asked the local sporting goods store owner where I buy all my equipment and he said don't worry about it because he has eaten it older than that. I doesn't go bad. Ever!
Our greatest challenge is SPACE. We live in a hot, humid climate and are already crowded. Evert climate controlled nook and cranny are already full of food storage and we need a whole lot more!
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