Re: living without fridge or food preparation

On Thu, 3 Apr 2025 4:59:32 +0000, marika wrote:

Paul Edwards <mutazilah@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi.
>
Some time (read: 25 years) ago, I asked about a minimal diet for
survival:
>
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.food.cooking/c/yNDNcy8v5B0/m/VpIYtj1S9W4J
>
I now have a new objective. I live in Sydney and have access
to a supermarket. But I want to see if I can survive without grid
electricity. Just portable solar. Basically emulating conditions
that might exist if I was backpacking in some jungle. I have 40W
solar panels that fit in a backpack. So does my laptop and
smartphone and powerbanks. Satellite communication is
portable and lightweight too. I only need to connect once/day
via UUCP to participate in newsgroups. I have actually been
sorting out the software side for decades (see https://pdos.org).
Solar electricity I have only taken an interest in in the last
couple of years when I was temporarily in the Philippines (and
experienced daily blackouts and once it was about 3 days).
>
Anyway, before, price was something I was interested in. Now
I'm not too worried about price. I'm interested in not having to
store food in a fridge, and not having to cook. I don't want to
spend time cooking (lazy), but also, I will (simulating) have no
electricity or gas to cook with anyway.
>
I would want food that I could stockpile for say a 3 month
supply. And I'm looking for something that could theoretically
be sustainable and healthy forever.
>
When I was in the Philippines they survived without electricity
after a blackout that lasted about 3 days, but people had
chickens and stuff. I didn't look too closely at the food supply.
My focus was on electricity - specifically to be able to continue
my programming work without electricity other than that I
could get from the Sun. And portable.
>
I don't want to maintain chickens either. Nor grow vegetables.
I live in a 2-bedroom unit.
>
What are my options within this new constraint?
>
I remember there was some "astronaut food". I don't know
if that was a real thing, but it could be as simple as buying
that.
>
Thanks. Paul.
>
>
>

>
I food shop a lot on Amazon from necessity.
>
One time, I was looking to make a simulation of Jack in The Box tacos.
My
sister’s favorites.
>
It is obvious they don’t use real meat. So I bought this stuff that
alleged
it was some sort of soy product meat substitute. It looked just like the
taco meat from The Box.
>
It came in a large can, and had an outrageously improbable expiration
date.
 The labelling said it was good for camping and for preppers.
>
Apparently, they have a whole variety of products.
>
My sister’s favorites said the tacos came out nearly identical to Box
tacos.
One time, I was hungry and there was nothing really available to
eat, so I tried some of the granules without rehydrating.
>
Omg they were so good. Like eating popcorn or potato chips.  Perfect
snack.

The Jack-in-the-Box taco was a pretty revolutionary product. It allowed
the joint to put out a taco-like product. You just plop the frozen
product in the fry oil and then stuff it with some lettuce and sell it 2
for a buck. It was an offer that people couldn't refuse. It wasn't like
a real taco but neither is a Taco Bell taco. I used to eat them when I
was younger. These days I find them hard to swallow. That's okay, I've
certainly eaten my share.