I hate buying produce. Sure, fruits and veggies are good for you. They’re even tasty! But they turn bad faster than fresh zombies or vampires.
Frozen broccoli and Brussels sprouts are fine and store really well. If you have time to cook them in the nucular wave oven. Don’t overcook them, though, or they’ll be nasty! The big problem is that you need two power consuming appliances to make frozen foods useful: a freezer and a cooker.
What if you could just reach into the pantry and pull out six month old food that required no preparation, and shove it straight into your mouth? But something more healthful than Cheezits! Something you could mix with your home-made yogurt or granola, or into your stew!! Something really handy and even lightweight!!! In case you go camping or it’s the end of the world!!!!
That’s the beauty of freeze-dried food. It’s always ready to eat. Not just the strawberries and raspberries. The corn and peas are swell as well, fresh out of the desiccant-loaded can. Mmmm, crunchy peas!!! Where’s the wasabi?
So I’ve searched the ‘net over, and I’ve found three, no, TWO sites selling useful amounts of vacuum evaporated goodness.
I can’t decide which I like better, Honeyville Food Products (it used to be Honeyville Grains), or Emergency Essentials. I buy from both pretty regularly.
Honeyville seems to have more beans and grains. Emergency Essentials has the widest selection of freeze dried fruits and veggies, but sometimes Honeyville beats them on the price.
Emergency Essentials has freeze dried ORANGE slices. Fluffy crunchy yummness! Like Cheetos, but citrus and with fiber that’s good for you. They also have boysenberry bits, asparagus, and zucchini. I believe that their selection of textured vegetable protein is unmatched. And they have a bunch of freeze dried meals and MREs. But always check them against Honeyville, which often has a better price.
And they both have freeze dried cheddar cheese, Gromit!
I call these places my End of the World Caterers. Folks planning to survive the apocalypse are these companies’ bread and butter (dehydrated, of course). Many religious orders require each household to store several months worth of supplies in their pantry. Survivalists and folks planning to take part in the final battle enjoy the comfort of the MREs. I like to think that I’m doing my part to help keep the Caterers in business long enough to actually fulfill their goal. And so can you!
To recap: Freeze-dried foods are handy, tasty, and last a very long time. They may survive the end of the world. Honeyville is cheaper, but there’s more to Essentials. It’s all good.
