HM Gov telling us to get tinned food and bottled water?

[DecisionTime123]

Call me old fashioned, but isn't this sort of thing likely to provoke a run on toilet rolls? Couldnt find any other threads on it, but I think there is a "preppers" topic on here somewhere. In any case, what do you think? I'm sort of concerned, should I be? Or has this gone under the radar?

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/aug/25/uk-to-warn-citizens-to-stock-up-on-food-amid-threat-from-climate-crisis-and-hostile-states

you don't waste water cooking rice like you do cooking pasta. Rice only needs enough water to rehydrate it, There should be none to drain off like pasta has. You "eat" the water with rice and it goes to rehydrate you and do all the things that any other wet food does. You can make soup with pasta water or make the pasta sauce a bit wetter and cook the pasta in it...like making lasagna with dry pasta...or you could flush the loo with it. I have tried GF pasta...the one made with pea fibre wasn't bad.

Well quite! Mind you I use the 'enough water to absorb into the rice' method and no more, meaning no water is thrown away.

Yes I have plenty of rice in my diet, quinoa I like but it is very high oxalate which I have some problems with. I do use GF cous cous, made from maize, which is fine but it is totally tasteless. I think even if you added cold water to it, that would reconstitute it if left for a bit longer than the usual 5 mins with boiling water. Apparently coconut milk could be used to cook rice. DP dislikes coconut though!

The other tip I had was don't try to cook big loaves of bread, stick to flatbreads! I guess far quicker to cook, so maybe practice that, or some kind of pancake. I can make chickpea flour pancakes as a GF option, good with jam of which I have aplenty!

oh I NEVER rehydrate ordinary cous cous with plain water...always some kind of stock or absorbable seasoning, maybe some fruit juice.

Or too dirty to drink.
We had that this year. Advice from Water Board was just to trickle the tap until the water cleared as they were dealing with a leak.

That is true. I feel better now about my sacks of rice.

I’d miss my rice cooker though I have to say. 😂

I’ve used pasta water for loosening pesto in pasta dishes, and also tried bake bread with it (more starch).. lasagna was a great idea.

I’ve never tried to make my own pita bread, but it is one thing I would like to do.

I'm wondering whether a Kelly Kettle might be worth the investment. Would certainly allow the cooking of small amounts of food and of course hot drinks.

I have got domething similat called a ghillie kettle ehich I recall was cheaper. Not tried it yet

Always best to have to some things saved is a good motto, also an alternative energy source. Items like camping stoves, bottled gas, battery lights etc. Not as in a panic prevention but common sense.

I've got a Kelly Kettle. It's great but it took a bit of practice to learn how to use it so it's worth trying it out before you need it. Hopefully we'll get plenty of rain now so it'll be safe to do so.

In a National Emergency I can assure you that toilet rolls would bevthe least of my worries!!

It’s just plain silly, isn’t it..

I dunno, I'd def be shitting myself!

😂 Don’t forget to buy cat sand and plastic garbage bags for your toilet too..

I had an end of the world cupboard when the news came out. My husband ate everything in two days. 😎 I bought chocolate bars, protein bars, UTH milk, beans, chickpeas, water. All gone. 🤣

I have got heavy duty rubbish sacks, toilet roll and wipes in my go bag

Wooden houses lose heat quicker.

GF pasta is fine, even my non coeliac family members are perfectly happy with it (we usually use corn based ones)

its a few years ago since I tried it. was having a bad ibs flare up and was trying anything to see if it would help.

We have had power it's here that have lasted 3 days more than once.

How would you survive 7 days power cut without food? Local shops can't sell food with out electric and You have no spare food in house. Pubs not serving as no electric to cook. What are you eating? I know you won't die with nothing to eat for 7 days but it wouldn't be pleasant.
If you have more than next meal in the cupboard then you are prepping

I keep having sprouting phases so my cupboards are full of mung beans, whole dry brown, green and beluga lentils and other sproutables. No cooking required, just 24 hrs or so of leaving them wet after a good soak - and most nutritious, especially if you have olive oil and good vinegar. Maybe I’d get through my sprouting mountain. They never seem to go out of date to the point of not sprouting.

I've been eating toilet rolls since lockdown ended, have run out of ideas how to cook and serve them.

you can cook pasta the same way.
we did when backpacking with the tiny pot and limited gas.

Just to reassure anyone panicking, I have been in talks via my job (marketing) about how this messaging is going to be conveyed for months, this is not a new or sudden initiative. The big question is how to deliver the message and convey the benefits without causing panic, tough brief!