2019 Brexit Preps

[OVAgroundWOMBlingfree]

I thought it would be useful to have a thread as we head into the new year where we can discuss our Brexit preps.

Today I picked up all gift wrap and cards I will need for next Christmas which I would normally do anyway but I added some neutral gift wrap which could be used for birthdays. I also stashed a few toys in the sale which can be used for birthdays. The thought of the DC going without birthday presents is too sad.

I’ve also just stashed some lightbulbs, candles, lights and matches.

Going into 2019 I’m focusing on:
Solar chargers
Camping gas
Protein
Medicines
Box hair dye
Skincare
Loo roll and tissues + hankies
Cleaning products
Home brew kits
Books on self reliance

We've been trying out long life milk too. Moo tastes pretty good, but a bit expensive. Will try other supermarket own brands.

That’s worth knowing! Thanks.
We have some almond milk and regular milk powder stashed but we get through so much milk daily that I just think we would do without but for the smallest 3 DC.

We need to get a head start on the masses who may indeed panic buy. Anything you do now will stand you in good stead.

I did a very big housekeeping shop before new year. Not really for brexit reasons, more for organisational reasons. But it will be useful if we do have problems. We're now fully stocked for laundry supplies, toiletries, bin bags, matches, tea lights, pet food, dishwashing stuff, lightbulbs etc.

I am struggling to think of variety for the food preps but I'm assuming that if we have food problems variety will be the leats of our worries.

Bellini how does your MIL make the flatbread? Would love to know the recipe / method.

Flour - I was dithering over this yesterday. I can buy a 25kg catering sack quite cheaply but for our small household it seems a bit mad! Storing it - we have space but don't know how long it would keep. I've been doing a kitchen clear out and can't believe how many dried pulses we have. Who knew my disorganisation would help our prepping efforts!

@HalloumiGus - I will find out. She worked a lot in the 80s with an immigrant community and they taught her.
Knowing MIL, her "recipe" will be "a bit of this " and a "bit of that"..
It's part of my plan to make her feel like she's contributing to our management of any tricky situation that arises.

I’d love to hear more about the bread too.

I’ve stocked lots of yeast sachets. I have about 200 of those and they make a loaf each. I make around 4/5 loaves a week and a batch of rolls. So I use 6 a week. Again - big family.

I’ve stashed a bunch of seeds and will get to planting them in the next short while.
Tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, onions, spring onions, potatoes and we have root veg ready to come up as a second go around.

I had a look at halloumi in the shops and some had a use by of 2020, so I bought a several packs.

Thanks Bellini 👍

OVA I am a big fan of halloumi for many reasons and that is one of them. I'm veggie so it's my 'meat'. I bought a couple last summer and they last till May 2019 so going to stock up on more.

Any good tinned meat products apart from ham? DH hates lentils etc so need some meaty things. Don't mind stocking up as we will use them camping in the summer.

Anyone else wondering about booking flights to Europe over the summer? I normally try to book ahead but uncertain. Want to visit relatives in July.

I did my first Brexit prep shop today. The checkout lady at Tesco laughed at my massive hoard and told me to ignore “scaremongering”, as she’s seen the threat of Cold War and Y2K come and go without issue...

Anyway, I’m going back tomorrow for more!

Is the Moo milk on the shelf? Almond milk was in the fridge tab Tesco and only had a 6 week shelf life.

Any recommendations for long life milk very welcome!

You can get longline almond milk. I pick it up in Morrisons.

I think Moo must be on the shelf as it wasn't cold when delivered (?). It was from Sainsbury's. Was hard pushed to tell the difference between that and normal, so definitely good to keep in anyway for emergencies.

I hope you don't mind me joining in but I buy moo whole milk uht for my daughter. I've never tried it as I don't like milk but my daughter doesn't show that it's any different.

She's only 15 months so can't tell me lol but worth a try. Most supermarkets stock it at a pound/1.25 but b and m stock it at 69p I think. Watch dates though ;-) last ones I bought were for 'may' but some boxes were 'feb' still.

It's saved my bacon many a time and have a rolling store of 5 cartons. These are for snow in or unexpected extra milk consumed!

Interesting thread as I want to pick bits up but got stuck at rice, gf pasta and tuna!

www.sainsburys.co.uk/shop/gb/groceries/moo-long-life-organic-milk--semi-skimmed-1l

This is the one I got. Great tip about B and M, thanks Trytowin!

Wow that was long winded, basically my daughter has fresh whole milk but when it runs out or we are travelling or can't get out she has the moo. :-) even when she has one fresh one uht straight after she doesn't respond any differently. Little guzzle guts ;-)

@Brexit yes that's it the one in b and m isn't 'organic' well the label doesn't say so anyway. Can't miss it though as similar packaging.

I have bought moo from Asda too, that's where we first saw it. Best price is a pound there I think

I’m not much of a prepper but having tidied a cupboard this evening I appear to a huge amount of coffee.

🤷‍♀️ It’s a start. I need to stock up on things like plasters etc, ran out recently, but money doesn’t stretch to stock pilling atm.

Long life oat milk tastes amazing.

Heron is good for long life (UHT) plant milk like oat and almond.

@AdoraBell , smart about plasters.
Just add a couple of extras of shelf stable stuff you actually eat each time you shop. Have a strategic think about what you need. It will go a bit crazy in the shops once stories start in the press and the "advice to consumers " website goes live in mid January (?). Think about it now and save the aggro.

Guys what are you favourite tinned fruits and veg?

We have had success with the following being fine:

Veg:
Garden peas
Green beans
Sliced carrots (but only in things like stews, and added toward the end, not as a side)
Tomatoes (we prefer chopped to whole)
Sweet corn

Fruit:
Pineapple
Peaches in juice rather than syrup
Cherries in juice rather than syrup (harder to find)
Fruit salad (not the best but passable with custard)
Pear quarters in juice
Mandarins in juice

Has anyone tried the sliced apples? Or softer fruit like raspberries. I remember tinned strawberries of old being useless but perhaps they have changed? What about prunes or rhubarb?

Any veg recommendations?

Peas and sweetcorn which you already have. Peas have iron. Sweetcorn has vitamin C.
New potatoes are a good one to put some carbs in a meal.
I prefer dried beans to soak and boil but tinned chick peas are great. The water in tinned chickpeas is also a vegan substitute for egg whites. Someone more switched on than me will come on with the name of chick peas water.

I only have a few tins of new potatoes, I forgot about those. We use them when camping but I might trail them this weekend in things like pies or just fried as a topping to a dish, to see how they fair.

I have chickpeas and other beans coming out of my ears! I think we may have a very farty house.
Interesting regarding egg whites.

I think tinned rhubarb is OK for crumbles etc, but I'm not keen on it otherwise and I love rhubarb. But I suppose beggars can't be choosers!

I've also seen recommendations to keep your car tanks topped up.

Yep - never less than half full in your petrol tank if possible.

Worth knowing that butternut squash will last a good four months (sometimes longer) if fresh when purchased and undamaged.

I plan on buying 8 for my store next month. Really nice roasted with cumin or tossed in a little tagine paste.

I think tinned rhubarb is OK for crumbles etc, but I'm not keen on it otherwise and I love rhubarb.

I think that would probably be the limit of what we used it for. I’ve boight a lot of tinned and powdered custard as I want us to be able to have “treat” food if times are tough. We only really have puddings at the weekend or in special occasions, so hopefully a rhubarb crumble with custard on a bad day could brighten a few faces.