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Living off a 30 Day Emergency Supply of Food – Days 12, 13 and 14

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By Mavis Butterfield on June 15, 2015 · 10 Comments

Little known fact about me… I am prone to passing out.

It happens at least once a year. Either because I got up to fast or because I did not keep my sugar levels in check. I am not diabetic. I don’t have low iron {not anymore at least} and I’ve been this way ever since I was a little kid. Ask my Mom, or the HH. It’s probably why I am more of a snacker than a 3 meals a day kind of person. I’ve been tested for all sorts of things and everyone just says the same thing. You’re fine. Take it easy. Eat a cookie. Yada yada yada. You’ll be fine.

That being said, my one and only goal for this past weekend… was to finish the Sound to Narrows 5k race a friend and I had signed up for before I took this nutty living off a 30 day emergency supply of food challenge. Even if it took me two hours… I was determined to finish. Without passing out.

Day 12 – Friday

Breakfast – Strawberry Oatmeal 300 calories

Snack – Beans and Rice 320 calories

Lunch, Dinner and Dinner – Pasta Primavera {1140 calories – 380 calories per serving}

I decided to eat an extra serving of pasta at dinner. The pasta primavera has the highest amount of calories per serving in the entire kit so I figured this was the smartest way to go about adding extra calories in the day before.

My stomach has adjusted to the amount of food I’ve been consuming lately and I actually felt full after my third bowl of pasta on Friday.

Total Calories Consumed on Day 12 – 1760

Total Beverages Consumed on Day 12 – 8 bottles of water {I’m using this to drink out of}

The hardest part about day 12?

I was hoping to get to get at least 9 hours of sleep the night before the race, but I ended up drinking water really late in the evening for some odd reason and have to make a midnight trip to the loo and had a hard time falling back to sleep.

Day 13 – Saturday

Breakfast – Strawberry Oatmeal 450 calories {300 calories per serving}

Saturday being race day and all I decided to eat an extra {half} helping of oatmeal to help get me through the race.

Snack – Beans and Rice 320 calories

~~Lunch and~~ Dinner Chicken Teriyaki 230 calories

The chicken teriyaki was pretty saucy so instead of finishing up the liquid with a spoon, I decided to save it for the next day and spoon it over my rice instead. If you’ve ever had to eat plain rice and beans for nearly two weeks straight, having a little seasoning makes the meal so much more enjoyable. 🙂

Total Calories Consumed on Day 13 – 1000

Total Beverages Consumed on Day 13 – 9 bottles of water {I’m using this to drink out of}

The hardest part about day 13?

The race of course! I was shocked I was able to finish in under 35 minutes with ZERO training and such limited calories for 2 weeks. I wasn’t even trying super hard either. I haven’t even taken Lucy on a walk lately that has been longer than 10 minutes so I was pretty pleased that 1. I was able to finish and 2. My time was great {all things considered}.

After the race I came home and took a very long nap. It was so long in fact that I missed lunch. But I needed the rest , that’s for sure.

Day 14 – Sunday {Monkey Boy’s Graduation}

After graduation we headed to Duke’s Chowder House on the Tacoma waterfront. When the waitress took our drink order I requested water. I thought it was going to be super awkward but it wasn’t. My parents were totally on board with my crazy Living off a 30 emergency supply of food challenge but the HH was rolling his eyeballs at me.

I hung in there though… and I am so glad I did.

Breakfast – Strawberry Malt-o-Meal 220 calories

Snack – Beans and Rice 320 calories

Lunch and Dinner – Chicken Teriyaki 460 calories (230 calories per serving}

Total Calories Consumed on Day – 1000

Total Beverages Consumed on Day 14 – 8 bottles of water {I’m using this to drink out of}

The hardest part about day 14?

Watching everyone at the restaurant eat giant portions or freakin’ delicious food while I shoveled beans and rice in to my mouth. It wasn’t as awkward as I thought it would be though, so that was a plus.

I’m halfway there BABY!!!

~Mavis

Living off a 30 Day Emergency Supply of Food – Days 10 and 11

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By Mavis Butterfield on June 12, 2015 · 8 Comments

Day 10 {Wednesday}

Breakfast Strawberry Malt – o- Meal 220 calories

Yummalicious.

Snack – Beans and Rice 320 calories

Let’s just say… without butter, salt and onions… whirled beans and water does not taste like refried beans, whatsoever. I felt like I was eating mush and it was a little depressing.

Lunch and Dinner Cheesy Mac – 560 calories {280 calories per serving}

Delicious. Wish I could have added a can of tuna and some frozen peas to it. 🙁

Total Calories Consumed on Day 10 – 1100

Total Beverages Consumed on Day 10 – 8 bottles of water {I’m using this to drink out of}

The hardest part about day 10?

Nothing really. It was a pretty easy day.

Day 11 {Thursday}

Breakfast – Strawberry Oatmeal 300 calories

Hands down my favorite breakfast. I honestly think I would eat this for breakfast, lunch and dinner for 30 days straight. Seriously, it’s that good.

Snack – Beans and Rice 320 calories

No more mushed beans for me.

Lunch and Dinner – Pasta Primavera {760 calories – 380 calories per serving}

Total Calories Consumed on Day 11– 1380

Total Beverages Consumed on Day 11– 9 bottles of water {I’m using this to drink out of}

The hardest part about day 11?

We took our 85 year old neighbors to the berry farm to buy raspberries and I didn’t eat a single one. I made 12 jars of homemade raspberry jam and didn’t even lick the spoon when I was finished. It was a sad and for the first time I started to feel my will power fading a wee bit.

I decided since the 5k race is on Saturday {I’m only walking it} that I needed to find the highest combination of calories per day that I could find and eat them on Thursday, Friday and Saturday to get a little more food in my system. I also took a nap yesterday and today as well. I think I’ll be fine as long as I take it easy and remember not to EAT ANY OF THE FREEBIE FOOD they always pass out to people after they complete the race.

I have never really been on any sort of diet before so getting used to smaller portions has been a little tough. More mental than anything else really, but I’m working through it.

I am hoping my stubbornness will prevail. But man, that pancake mix James sent me sure is tempting.

~Mavis

Living off a 30 Day Emergency Supply of Food – Days 8 and 9

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By Mavis Butterfield on June 10, 2015 · 9 Comments

Day 8 {Monday}

Breakfast – Strawberry Malt – o- Meal 220 calories

I could eat this stuff everyday. Plus it has a wee bit of sugar in it which is a total bonus if you ask me.

Snack– Beans and Rice 320 calories

Boring.

Lunch White Bean and Lime Chili 230 calories per serving

Happy to have had this in my kit. There are a bunch of other soups left to try, but I have a feeling the white bean and lime chili will be my favorite overall. I.Love.Cumin.

Dinner Cheesy Mac 280 calories

I was a little worried about how the mac and cheese was going to taste. I was hoping it would be better than the stuff in the blue box… and it totally was. The dish was very creamy and tasted great. So far I have been very please with the quality of the food from Valley Food Storage because it actually taste like food I’d cook for my family.

I remember trying backpacker food when I was in college and it wasn’t the greatest… but holy cow, freeze dried meals have come a long way.

Total Calories Consumed on Day 8 – 1050

Total Beverages Consumed on Day 8 – 7 bottles of water

The hardest part about day 8?

Drinking so much water {rather than tea with milk and sugar} was starting to get to me a little. Habits… like drinking 20 cups of tea a day, are hard to break. But, in hindsight, I probably shouldn’t be drinking 20 cups a day anyway. Waking up and going through my day without an ounce of caffeine in my system is amazing. I feel like I have more energy and am more alert. Weird, huh?

Day 9 {Tuesday}

Breakfast – Strawberry Oatmeal 300 calories

I LOVE this stuff!!! I like eating it out of my tin gardening cup for some strange reason.

Snack– Beans and Rice 320 calories

It’s not very exciting but it’s pretty filling. I think I might try and mashing my beans tomorrow for a little excitement.

Lunch and Dinner Cheesy Mac 560 {280 calories per serving}

Mini spatulas… are amazing. Nuff said. 😉

Total Calories Consumed on Day 9 – 1180

Total Beverages Consumed on Day 9 – 10 bottles of water

The hardest part about day 9?

Actually, nothing. I felt great yesterday {and the day before as well}. I think my body is finally getting use to the reduced calories and is adjusting appropriately. I am getting more sleep {about an hour} than I was before this whole living off a 30 day emergency supply of food started and I am off caffeine.

I am also doing more of my garden chores in the morning while it’s still cool outside and working online during the day… which is kind of nice actually.

I am feeling very optimistic that I can do this. 🙂

21 days to go.

~Mavis

More Posts-
Living off a 30 Day Supply of Dehydrated Food
Living off a 30 Day Emergency Supply of Food – Day 1
Living off a 30 Day Emergency Supply of Food – Day 2
Living off a 30 Day Emergency Supply of Food – Day 3
Living off a 30 Day Emergency Supply of Food – Day 4
Living off a 30 Day Emergency Supply of Food Days 5, 6 and 7

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How Much Water Do I Need to Store For an Emergency?

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By Mavis Butterfield on June 9, 2015 · 24 Comments

This whole living off of a 30 Day Supply of Dehydrated Food has been a real eye opener. First, I now know I will need a lot more food to feed my family in the case of an emergency, but also, I am going to need to seriously reconsider my water storage. When, One Hundred Dollar a Month reader, Ellen C., made the following comment yesterday, I knew I wasn’t the only one surprised by the amount of water I would need on hand in the event of an emergency. So, I thought I would share what I’ve learned so far.

I love your challenge and agree with the concerns of the other commenters; however, I have a question rather than a comment. If I were to purchase this same product for my emergency stores, how much water would be reasonable to stockpile per person per day in your estimation? This should include the water necessary to cook the supplemental rice and beans. Thanks so much for your great articles!

Ellen C.

I really like the food so far in my 1 Month Food Supply Value Kit, so I will definitely be buying one as part of my emergency preparedness after this little experiment is over. For EACH 30 day basic kit, you’d need 6 gallons of water. Since I would definitely be supplementing with rice and beans, I would need an additional 2 gallons of water for the 7 cups of brown rice and 7 gallons of water for the beans. Here’s the thing, though, those numbers assume that I am cooking the rice and beans 1/4 cup at a time. If you increase the amount of beans and rice you are re-hydrating/cooking, you will need a little less, because you wouldn’t use so much for re-hydrating and rinsing the beans each time. That being said, you could save some water by cooking larger batches at a time, assuming you could eat/store everything you’d cooked.

Okay, so that brings us up to 15 gallons for one person, for 30 days, BARE MINIMUM for preparing food.

Now, most websites will recommend another gallon per day, per person. 1/2 gallon for drinking and the other for hygiene {bathing, brushing teeth, etc.}. This gallon probably assumes some cooking is involved, though, I don’t believe it assumes dehydrated foods, so I am going to add it to the dehydrated food requirement. So, add 30 gallons to the 15 gallons, and you are looking at about 45 gallons per person for 30 days. Oh, and here is another kicker: if you have pets, they need a half gallon to a gallon a day too {depending on size of course}. Sooo, one cat or dog would add an additional 30 gallons to that 45 number.

Holy buckets {literally}, that is A LOT more water than I have stored for an emergency presently. Now the question YOU have to ask yourself, is how many days of food storage do I need? Natural disaster websites recommend 3 days. I know lots of people who aim more toward 6 months to a year.

By my math, with my family of four {and Lucy, of course}, living on bare minimums, I would need 195 gallons of water to make it 30 days {drinking water, hygiene and re-hydrating food}.

I’m curious, how many days worth of food storage do YOU aim for? Do you have enough water to make it? I know I definitely have to re-think my planning a bit!

~Mavis

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