Winter 2020...

[Uptheclarets]

Been lingering for a while now. Thanks everyone for all the tips. Out of curiosity, if covid19 is going the way the Spanish flu did, what are you putting into place re food to get you through the winter months especially with shortages.

@IndecentFeminist - Well, [rolls up sleeves], you can rehydrate things if you like. Obviously they are a bit wet when you do so.
I have done the following: chopped up the dehydrated veg to add to a slow cooker stew (similar for soup); rehydrated in a cup of water a bit of celery and red pepper to add to the early stages of making pasta sauce; chopped up small some dehydrated cherry tomatoes for a pasta sauce; sprinkled some dehydrated fruit in porridge ( including overnight porridge) ; and raided my dehydrated fruit store to nibble on them out of greed and a pathetic (usually unsuccessful) attempt to avoid eating biscuits.

Very grateful for the thread as the winter is worrying me a great deal.

We need to stock up on logs and clothes too. Some essential house repairs need doing but who knows if they will go ahead.

I am wondering about a dehydrator too. Would you recommend? I have quite a lot of frozen fruit and veg but winter is a whole different ball game than spring!

Yes we just chuck the mushroom in risotto, ratatouille, whatever. Apple, mango eat dried. We store in Kilner jars.

We dehydrate but I only really ever do banana chips and apple slices. I've never really ventured into veg. I keep meaning to try leathers but mine is a circular style rather than trays and I'm not sure it will work as well.

coughsyrupsucks we used to have a small freezer in the dining room, it had a table cloth over it so looked like a corner table with a vase or something on it

I am going to order logs and slowly start adding to battery drawer and look out for another lantern or two

I am planning to grow veg over winter to harvest through and into spring such as leeks, kale, perpetual spinach, parsnips. We still had potatoes in the ground in spring from last year that were Ok probably as winter was mild. Hoping my squash grow and keep ok over winter if I get the curing right, never grown them before. Will also sow winter salad and keep parsley going, mostly for the guinea pigs.

@livingthegoodlife
I also have a round dehydrator, I've tried parchment paper, which works ok but can get a bit messy but now I have a couple of these. (see image) Was a but pricey but have been worth it.

@AngusThermopyle thanks! I never knew there was such a thing!

So I’m just looking at dehydrators, is it better to spend a little bit of money on hem or would a £30 one do the job?

@lexloofah glad it looks ok! Tbh I might have to get a standing one it seems the only type you can buy at the moment

Mine was about £35 and I bought it a couple of years ago as a kind of experiment. It's still going strong.
It was second cheapest with a good Amazon rating - my usual scientific analysis and research, in other words

@bellinisurge that’s how I chose my bread maker thanks, I’ll go and have a read of the reviews.

I'm keeping my stocks up. Every time I shop I try to buy a few more tins or packets (not when people were panic buying).

I'm aiming to have a large shelving rack full as back up not including the kitchen cupboards.

Also just ordered a new winter coat for ds that was on sale on Mountain Warehouse website.

Got a pair of trainers ready in the next size for all 3 dc & school shoes for dd who likes a particular pair so bought the next size when they were on offer.

Need to buy next size of underwear & pjs so looking for offers.

Will stock up on multi vitamins for all of us.

After promising the dc jacket potato with beans & cheese for tea recently I discovered the potatoes had gone bad (so annoying as I hate food waste!) Anyway I made mash using a packet & topped it with the cheese & beans & they loved it so stocking up on instant mash!

please send help... the click and collect order has been collected, and I have lost my kitchen... I think it is under there somewhere...

Bad news: back aches from carrying it all upstairs
Good news, can now scratch my ankles without bending down.

I cleared enough space in the kitchen to cook, but not yet unpacked. I managed to get the chopped tomatoes topped up. 3x4 pack, 3xSmart Price so fifteen tins, only a couple of weeks worth as we use a lot. Can't get red lentils in the quantity we use. I would normally pick up a 2 kg bag and get through it in less time than we have been without a supermarket shop.

I use www.buywholefoodsonline.co.uk for pulses. We used them before all this too. Very good service, good variety too 😊

If you have pets, stock up on their food! The two types of Felix cat food my boys like are out of stock here (and taken offline by Tescos and Sainsburys). Apparently they've had problems keeping up with production due to coronavirus, on top of which people have been buying more since lockdown.

Luckily I have a stash, as trying to live with two cats who can't have their usual is unthinkable!

I’m a newbie to prepping

What do you do with your frozen meat as obviously you can only freeze it for a few months? Do you buy fresh on then rotate it with frozen?

Everytime I use a frozen meat pack, I will replace it with a fresh pack next time I shop. I constantly rotate and use up the older packs first and tbh meat never stays in my freezer for months. We do rotate between veggie, fish and meat nights so we make the meat last longer.

Have also had a Panasonic bread maker for 10 yrs or so. Still perfect and used regularly

Big yes to Panasonic. Ours is about 10 yo too, fab. We use to make pizza dough too.

Not sure how I missed this thread but thanks for starting it!

Prepping for winter has certainly been on my mind, I'm picking up one extra of whatever if I can when out doing the shop as my stocks have taken a massive hit. I did have everything on a spreadsheet, but haven't updated it in weeks.

First items on my list are cat food / treats (underestimated how much extra the cats would eat with me being at home!), flea treatment, vitamins for all, Calpol (if I can find any), thermometer (again if I can find a cheap one anywhere), sanitary products and toilet roll... quite a long list actually!!

On the sanitary products thing, please give reusable pads a try. Or a mooncup if that's your thing. During all this it was great not having to worry about buying a preferred brand for my DD. Or storing masses of it in limited space.

@bellinisurge I have a couple already, but due to a very heavy flow I use disposables for heaviest days as I have to change them quite often.

Reusable pads-I've tried a lot & the best imo are honour your flow. I used to have to wake in night to change but now use their maxi with a night disposable on top & works great

@BlackeyedSusan tell me more about dehydrating frozen veg please.

I've checked stocks of size up clothes for dc & have bought shoes in size up also. Was thinking of ordering some logs & coal now. Have also bought multi vitamins. Could do with having 5 months worth I suppose.

My cat food was out of stock too so had to pay an extra £13 from amazon! Will keep an eye. May invest in a bread maker & thinking about an additional freezer. Also not sure where to put it. Birthdays and Christmas have been on my mind.

Would like to get useful presents. Perhaps luxury groceries will be high on the list!

I'm surprised this thread has not had some stick yet. But glad of it.

I will be writing a list soon because I think it will be better to be safe than sorry. On thing I am going to do, rather than stock up like I did this time round, is to make meals and freeze them. It's all very well having loads of ingredients, but if we get flu, I won't want to be cooking from scratch. the first thing on my list if an additional freezer and to fill it with cooked meals, starting 3 months before flu season arrives.

I think that a lot of people see the huge difference between prepping and panic buying now.
I was trying to explain to my mum the other day... prepping as a gradual, gentle hobby as opposed to buying all the loo roll and locking it in your garage one afternoon.