Hell is ever closer-how's your stash looking?

[SistemaAddict]

My brexit cupboard shelves have been depleted due to using up the things that were going out of date like long life milk and juice. We also seem to have raided the baked beans
After today's announcement of buffoon johnson (isn't Johnson an American term for penis?) being our new PM and his threat of brexit on Halloween come hell or high water I figured I should assess my supplies. I still have my original lists somewhere so need to check everything.
Anyone else extra worried now and assessing their supplies?

Hi, I’m back and in serious panic mode.

Today’s task is to get milk to freeze and paracetamol.

I'd use the freezer space more effectively and buy UHT milk, Rhubarb. You're better off saving the freezer for actual food, I think (though you know your needs better than I do!).

@Rhubarbisevil don't panic. Which I know is unhelpful but I'm saying it anyway. Instead of blocking up your freezer, what about Nido full fat powdered milk. Or Marvel skimmed dried milk. Or supermarket equivalent. Or try some non-dairy options like oat or soya etc. That don't need cold storage till you open them. Think about what you use milk for on a daily basis and whether there are alternatives.
And if, like me, you love dairy milk, stick the odd pint in the freezer. But it doesn't taste as nice defrosted .

Don't put milk in the freezer. You will get used to UHT. I can barely even taste the difference between pasteurised and UHT anymore!

Don't put milk in the freezer. You will get used to UHT. I can barely even taste the difference between pasteurised and UHT anymore!

Watch the dates on UHT milk carefully, sometimes it can be a little short lifed. Sharpie the dates on so you can see at a glance. Same with juice.

I’m afraid that I don’t like powdered or UHT milk! But I do take your point about the space.

Sorry,only read the first couple of pages, but why on Earth are people stocking up on things like milk, rice & tuna?
The YK is pretty self sufficient in milk, most rice is imported from India and tuna from the Indian Ocean or West Africa.
So what is the point of stocking up on things that are imported from outside the EU anyway or that are already produced in the UK?

Read the rest and people will explain. It's been done to death.

It's time for Tuesday bingo!

Ok I'll bite. One sentence only. Because if there are delays at ports etc / supply chain disruption it will affect all goods not just goods originating in the EU.

So what is the point of stocking up on things that are imported from outside the EU anyway or that are already produced in the UK?

Many of the things we get from outside the EU are nevertheless imported via the EU (both in terms of trade agreements, and the actual physical routes). Furthermore, "self-sufficiency" is not an absolute term (like the speed of light in a vacuum) but a relative one.

Consider:

Say, hypothetically, a very simplified diet in each human on these hallowed isles requires 5 vegetables per day. Now imagine that on average these 5 vegetables consist of 3 True British carrots and 2 Forrin tomatoes; therefore the 60 million UK population needs 180 million carrots and 120 million tomatoes, i.e. 300 million vegetables per day. In our scenario, we are self-sufficient in True British carrots.

Now imagine that we’ve snarled up the 120 million Forrin tomatoes in a many-day customs tailback, where they can gently moulder into rotten mush instead of gracing the supermarket shelves. Shoppers therefore seek out other vegetables/fruit to fulfil their 5-a-day requirement. So, arithmetic fans, are our 180 million True British carrots still self-sufficient to feed the 300-million-vegetable requirement of the population?

{Other foods, consumables, and points of origin may be substituted into our thought experiment.}

WRT milk, I've found that oat milk is very easy to make with only shelf-stable ingredients, this is the recipe I use. It tastes fine on cereal and in coffee, but not porridge. Easy to scale as well, so you can make a small quantity if that's all you need. As oats are cheap and keep well, it's a handy backup to have if you need it.

My pantry is ok, I think. I need to dust and organise there, and take stock, because it's been rummaged through quite frequently in a "I know we have coconut oil somewhere here" frenzy. Some things that expired this summer have been consumed and not everything replaced.

I think I stocked on some stuff in my panic that it turns out I really don't want to eat. I think I fell into the trap of looking at what everyone else was buying and thinking somehow I'd need the same. The freezer has meat in it that I don't want to touch, for example, so while DH can have that (and some will need eating soon, I think), I need to freeze more meat alternatives for myself. I also have a shelf in my cupboard for just pasta and rice, and I think left to our preferences we've been eating one or the other maybe twice a month!

Meds are still my biggest worry. I had built up a small buffer before April, but a lot that got eaten up in one GP/pharmacy delay. Both DH and I have also had medication changes recently, so there's not been time to build anything on the new things. (We're upto 13 monthly longterm prescriptions now in total!)

Positive:

• I have a veritable tomato and herb jungle out in my garden.
• Both DH and I much prefer Huel to many actual foods, so keeping extra of that in store works great, as it's compact and has a long shelf-life, and is good nutrition.
• I have that bastarding Settled Status now, which is at least lulling me into a bit of a more calmer state.

Plans:

• Bake bread out of the flour nearing it's exp date and freeze.
• Organise and take stock.
• Think more on whether I actually would eat the stuff before buying anything.
• Restock what might need restocking.
• Get new glasses and boots etc sorted before we crash out.

Glasses!

I need a pair of boots too.

I have found that I have quite a bit of space left in one space I have cleared out as I have rotated stock. It is still quite early to replace some stuff but I think I need to keep stocks running at maximum levels and get better at rotating stock.

Positives:

Running quite high stocks of varied things.

Been allowed to start growing stuff at church for everyone, including me.

Stuff is growing in pots at ex's.( Except the sodding courgettes)

Got seeds for next year.

I know where a lot of storage places are in the flat now. (The on tops of/ unders/ behinds)

Plan:
Use up flour and yeast, rebuy.

Think about buying a bread maker, having given good reasons to fluffy and realising my elbows have gone a bit shit and wobbly.

Get new glasses.

Sort out all storage places, restock with long date stock.

Label dates with Sharpie. Keep a list of dates.

Level out supplies so that there is approximately the same amount in weeks of each thing rather than X tins of each. Need to check how much we actually use to get this more accurate.

Try out tinned food recipes.

Get eyes tested and replace glasses.

Sort out prescriptions.

Replan for DD now being veggie and allergic to eggs. ( Been referred to dietician) plan in case she goes vegan. I will keep the tinned fish for ds me and possibly ex.(sardine tins are small)

Make sure there is food covering all nutrients for each family member, which will be different for each person.)

I'm hopping on board, I'd like a buffer on basics... Me and dp are both on long term meds (me considerably more than him, and a number of mine are controlled, some of which are going to be impossible to stash 😩 and life will be VERY unpleasant without) and we're slowly getting a buffer of them (we've already been having issues getting regular items at times as the country stocks up/"production issues").

We have a fairly limited diet as I have severe gastrointestinal issues that lead to hospitalisation regularly, so stocks of pasta, rice and sauce type things is important. We eat A LOT of mushrooms and chicken, both of which are an absolute bugger to store. My issue is I can't eat any alternative high protein alternatives as they lead to extreme pain and bowel blockages as they are generally high fibre. I can eat dairy, chicken, beige carbs (minus bread), a lot of crisps.... I eat cheese too which obviously is protein but I can't eat the things I used to like bean stews etc.

I should try and get more stocks of my medical calorie replacement drinks 🤢 but we have a severe storage issue... The kitchen has 5 cupboards which as you can imagine are pretty rammed with usual stuff (lots non food) but I have half a cupboard for stashing. Instant mash (OK with added water/some kind of dairy, seasoning), rice, pasta, herbs, seasoning, kids snacks (5 year old dss), cereal, passata, soups are all being stocked up. Freezer and fridge annoyingly small too... Need to clear out a drawer for freezing cheese etc. Maybe stash some frozen chicken breasts (I can eat some chicken portions but limited) as they don't freezer burn like fresh, have a small stash of chicken sausages too as I can only really eat 1/2 a meal.

Even behind the sofa already has dss bike, scooter and some toys... I use under his bed for gifts, under our bed is v limited- towels, bedding, wrapping paper already there, and we have stupid drawers that I can only access 2 of by lifting mattress as the bed is against wall (tiny house!!!!) maybe could get some loo roll stashed under bed? Tops of wardrobes have boxes of medication- my day to day, non stashed supply takes up 2 big boxes 😬 I need a narnia wardrobe!!!

Stocking up on paracetamol, cold relief etc slowly but surely.... I need to do lightbulbs, bin bags, bleach, washing liquid etc too... But limited cash as dp made redundant recently and massive car bill!!

Storage solutions, mushroom solutions 😂 and low fibre suggestions appreciated!!

Oh and pitrok deodorant is amazing, has lasted me 3? Months so far, will last probably at least another 3, mineral based, v effective even in stressy hot states. £6is in boots but often offers, sometimes in bargain shops too. I have the gold one and it smells lush.

The only bonus is that dp has such severe eczema (and doesn't smell?! Ever?!) that he doesn't use deodorant, shower gel etc. Just lots of e45, oilatum for bath, salts for bath (he can use either/or depending on state of skin) and steroid cream to stock up on. And store 😬😬🙈😂

Mushrooms solutions - I've been experimenting.

We tried tinned mushrooms from Lidl (which are about 35p a tin as opposed to about 90p a tin at Sainsburys). They were fine and we used them in a stir fry. I've bought another five tins.

Frozen mushrooms - we got a bag of these at Asda, not particularly expensive, easy to store in the freezer, and tasted fine (again, in a stir fry).

Dried mushrooms. We have a jar of these from Tesco to try with pasta. Porcini mushrooms I think. More expensive so I'm expecting them to be pretty good!

You could dry your own? I've done it accidentally by leaving them out overnight on kitchen roll and forgetting about them ...

We ate some of our stash after April, with a view to the use-by dates, so we need to re-stock.

Unfortunately, I'm battling my mother with this at the moment. She's staying with us for the summer, and is adamant that "It's all going to be FIIIIIIIINNNNEE, and They won't let things get bad" and keeps nagging at me for every extra tin I buy in the weekly shop. She also "can't see what the fuss is, surely Brexit won't be that bad and what does No Deal mean anyway" and so on.

Our resident True BeLeavers would love my mother. Except - here's the punchline - she doesn't live in the UK, nor in fact even on the continent of Europe, and she's not a British citizen. So any of her uninformed vaguely optimistic panglossian ideas about Brexit, and any possibly effects on the people who actually live here, are basically worth Jack.

Should have said, mushrooms are for in pasta/rice (baked rice....cooked in stock in the oven with a "lid" of mushrooms that go gorgeously crispy ❤) but I wonder if the frozen ones would be OK if fried and put into sauces etc.... Will try! Thanks 😊

Gosh 3 threads on Brexit stashes with 86 days still to go. I wonder how many threads that will be by late october?

In other news, I have made my redcurrant jelly and got all of 3 jars out of them. Well I did reserve 3 tubs of them because they have such a high pectin content, and that'll come in handy for the raspberry jam making later on.

Will be re-starting my stash. Depleted stock & the rest I don't even know why I bought. No one will ever eat it

Can I recommend a squash called tromba d'albenga? We grow it every year. It is a weird snake shape, firmer than a courgette and when you cut a bit off it seals itself with a gluey substance. We have about 6 plants and already have several kilos worth. You can slice and freeze, but they also keep whole in a cool place. We use them in all sorts of ways; vegetable curry, tagine, dauphinoise, tortilla, in a tinfoil parcel, steamed etc etc.
You will have to Google to see where to get the seeds. They can grow to a huge size, but are better eaten smaller.
They are the most reliable and prolific thing in our (large) vegetable garden.

I think most squashes are meant to store well for a few months. I'm growing butternut squashes and although they're small right now, there's loads on each plant. We have a fair few sugar pumpkins too which are starting to turn orange.