Carbs are CRITICAL

We are finishing our stockpile on rice this week.  We eat alot of rice.  4-5 nights a week We also eat pasta at LEAST twice  ~Spaghetti or some sort of  elbow pasta meal. You need to learn how to make bread from scratch.  Why?  SO when you're under stress its old hat and not yet another thing to learn. 

How much pasta do you cook for a meal for Your group * # meals per week you eat it * 52 weeks * 5 yr  = how much to store
How much rice per meal for YOUR family * # meals per week you eat it * 52 weeks * 5 yrs = how much to store
How much potato flakes to store?  Same as above equation.

Your family is DIFFERENT than mine ~ I can't tell you what to store for your family as far as quantity but I can tell you how to figure it out for yourself.  This is what your BIG MEAL of the day should look like:

1 protein + 1 veggie non carb + 1 carb + 1 fruit = balanced meal

Before the nutritional police start pounding on me I know this is a simplistic view however when my hubby is cooking the food equation has to be simple or we'd never have fruit and veggies! This isn't about a scientifically correct balanced meal. This is about trying to keep veggies and fruit in the picture so dinners aren't completely lopsided

SO lets look closer at the dinner equation:

Proteins ~ we have covered
Protein: Chicken, Beef, Pork, turkey whatever, beans
Carbs ~ You know what they are ~ now acknowledge them fully in your stockpile.
Carbs: Rice, Potatoes, Pasta, corn, breads
Veggies: canned (commercially or by us), fresh, frozen
veggies ~ mixed in with the rice, or pasta
veggies ~ as a side item
veggies ~ as a snack
Fruit: canned, frozen, fresh or as juice
Fruit ~ as desert, ,
Fruit ~ in the desert
Fruit ~ as a side item

So, when we have all four together it's a meal. Also for long term "preppers" remember to make up for deficiencies in diet to take a multivitamin a day starting NOW. Get in the habit. Also stockpile enough vitamins that are people specific:

Hubby & teenage son ~ Manly man specific multi
Myself & Older Daughter ~ Women's once a day
My Senior parents ~ Centrum Sr
3 Lil Kids ~ Flintstones

EXCELLENT For BARTER: 5 jumbo bottles of generic multivitamins, 5 jumbo bottles of Flintstones can be subdivided for barter

The USDA andNutritionistss have given up on the pyramid altogether and are introducing the PLATE. You can full details on this change at    http://www.choosemyplate.gov/   but let's fast forward: This is what "your plate" should look like according to top nutritionists.:

Now, this all well and good but what does this mean for us in the prepping for long term storage?  Well, CARBS are not a bad word.
In fact carbs help bulk out the meal and help you feel full.  We have translated the "plate" into an equation because I am all about the math!