How Many Calories In A Pound Of Rice, Beans, Wheat

Calories in a pound of rice, beans, wheat (and flour). Why? Well, maybe you’re just curious. Or, given that this is a general preparedness site, maybe you want to know how many calories of these dry goods to store… How much will equate to “survival days” for example.

The most common ‘staple’ dry foods for preparedness and long-term food storage are rice, beans, and wheat berries (for milling into flour).

You may have some of these in your deep pantry inventory. In order to fully grasp how much you actually have with regards to calories and ‘survival day’ equivalent, the following information should quickly help you to figure that out.

I used various online sources to determine an average calories per pound. Then I determined how many cups of each would equal one pound. That’s so I could figure out how many cups of each would fit into a 5-gallon bucket (common method of long term storage). All so I could estimate equivalent “survival days” per 5-gallon bucket (with relation to calories).

I used my digital kitchen scale to accurately measure the weight (per pound) from my own storage of white rice, beans (a variety average), and wheat berries. Surprisingly (sort of) they all weigh quite similar to each other!

About 2.5 cups per pound (raw – uncooked)

>> Digital Multifunction Kitchen and Food Scale
(view on amzn)

  • When looking up calories per pound (or cups per pound) for various varieties and various data sources, the results will vary slightly. However the figures given below are close enough for general conversation.
  • Using 2,000 calories per “survival day”. While this value will vary (we can technically survive on less), this is a commonly accepted average. The demands will increase with laborious work.

Rice Calories Per Pound

There are 1648 calories in a pound of rice (uncooked).

RICE – Calories vs. Survival Days

Note: One 5-gallon bucket equals approximately 30 – 32 pounds rice
Note: One 5-gallon bucket equals almost one month ‘survival days’ rice

lbs. | Survival Days

10 | 8
30 | 25
100 | 82

[ Read: Rice and Beans – A Survival Combination! ]

[ Read: Is It Safe To Store Rice & Beans In Original Bags If In Food Buckets? ]

Beans Calories Per Pound

There are about 1568 calories in a pound of dry beans (uncooked).

BEANS – Calories vs. Survival Days

Note: One 5-gallon bucket equals approximately 30 – 32 pounds beans
Note: One 5-gallon bucket equals almost one month ‘survival days’ beans

lbs. | Survival Days

10 | 8
30 | 24
100 | 78

Wheat Berries Calories Per Pound

1520 calories per pound (uncooked)

WHEAT BERRIES – Calories vs. Survival Days

Note: One 5-gallon bucket equals approximately 30 – 32 pounds wheat
Note: One 5-gallon bucket equals almost one month ‘survival days’ wheat

lbs. | Survival Days

10 | 8
30 | 23
100 | 76

Note: When we are analyzing our ‘survival day’ equivalent of rice, beans, and wheat, we must also consider that this will not be the only source of our calories from a diversified food storage. But we should still put emphasis on the total caloric content of these particular dry staples that we keep in our storage.

As you may have noticed, the caloric content of rice, beans, and wheat berries are pretty similar per pound.

90 Comments

  1. I had previously looked up the calories per pound of rice, beans & pasta.

    I figure 1,600 calories per pound each, which is enough for me for one day per pound. Actually, if I eat more than 1,500 calories on a regular basis I will gain weight, but I figure if my house is not as warm as I usually keep it, then I would need more.

    Hopefully one pound of beans/grains plus some garden produce and/or canned or fd veggies would be enough for each day. When it comes to these dried foods, I just count the number of pounds I have stored and that is the number of days the food will last. Men, pregnant women, and teenagers would need more, as you have specified above, but for me, the math is easy.

    Usually you can figure that 2 parts of grain mixed with 1 part of legumes is complete protein. Although I have some beans stored (two #10 cans of “instant” dried whole beans, two #10 cans of “instant” refried beans and some small cans of already-cooked canned beans), I plan on supplementing most of my grains with milk/meat/nuts instead of beans since beans require so much fuel to cook.

    1. We will most likely have a pot of soup bubbling on the coals somewhere if things go badly, can keep adding to it and stretch it, not too long obviously, for food safety reasons but when I was a kid most of the old timers did this, week long beef stew!

      1. Nailbanger,

        I think that as long as you keep the soup above 140 degrees, it will be fine.

      2. Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold! Peas porridge in the pot 9 days old!
        blech. But better than nothing, I suppose!

    2. And don’t forget that once that pregnant woman has the kid, its another 500 calories a day for her to breastfeed!

      Not sure if everyone on here’s Catholic…if not, have you added birth control to your preps? Otherwise, you’ll need more chow!! (and diapers. LOTS of diapers…baby TP, NRP?)

      hahaha

    3. Man does not live by Rice, Beans and Wheat alone there are the neighbor’s down the road ducks, geese, rabbits & chickens and your next door neighbors cats. Or you should have some of these yourself to expand your preps.

      1. Coming for my chickens would get you shot. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

        1. Luckily, you could just shoot them first.

          Just kidding. The “lone-wolf” will be the first people to die in a SHTF scenario.

      2. This mindset. I never want violence but were anyone trying to take from me – they are dead. This is a Rubicon decision. If they get away or you only warn them, then they will be back and will not hesitate to kill you and your family – or do worse. So take into planning your location should the proverbial walls come down. Do not be where you may have to kill marauding vermin as many will come on two legs.

      3. 1 lb of beans has as much protein as a lb of chicken breast, is healthier (loaded with antioxidants), and more sustainable. Enough with this false notion “man can’t live on” blah blah blah.. That talk is old and not based in any science.

        1. Kyle Biochem, Wrong! Nope. A pound of chicken has 25% more protein than a pound of beans. Chicken is a complete protein where beans are an incomplete one and must be supplemented to prove same quality of protein as chicken. Chicken is also easier to digest and takes less cooking to prepare than beans.
          Depending on how one manages one’s chickens, they can be far less labor-intensive, far less machinery-dependent, and require far less fossil fuel, fertilizer, and other inputs than beans and supplemental crops.
          Do your homework.

        2. Calirefugee, Your comment made me do some digging. Turns out I was a bit inaccurate. A pound of chicken does have 25% more protein (123 grams) than a pound of beans (most commonly consumed is pinto at 98.3 grams). But the initial comment mentioned chicken breast. That has 40% more protein (139 grams) than beans alone.
          For comparison a pound of chicken has about the same amount of complete protein as 3 cups of dried beans plus 5 cups of dry rice. Beans double or triple when cooked, amount of rice increases by 4 times.
          I’ve lived and worked in community with vegetarians and vegans. Vegetarians who consume eggs, dairy, or fish don’t have much of a problem. However, it seemed that strict vegans had to consume significant amounts of carbohydrates to get sufficient complete proteins. Impossible for someone on a carb-restricted diet. Very difficult for those needing to consume large amounts of calories to support daily efforts.

        3. Kyle B, You can have all the gas causing beans., peas,soy, and legumes. I do not tolerate or digest them. i will eat my chicken pork and beef…and be happy with my RX’d diet/ 100 grams protein per day.

        4. Would these be cooked? A pound of beans that has been cooked isn’t even in the same realm of 1 lb of chicken. One pound cooked is a heck of a lot of beans,

    4. I was looking this up as a project; find the item in the grocery store that is the most cost effective. My first year class had concluded that it was Oatmeal Creme Pies, which at $3.99 for 12 of them at 330 calories each came out to about 990 calories per dollar. Rice was 1600 calories per dollar (2 bucks for 32oz of Mahatma rice), what we found this year. Much better deal.

      1. Hard Red Wheat Berries can be bought for .64 cents per pound in a 25 pound bag from Azure. That’s the Wheat in a loaf of high quality bread. It would will give you more calories per dollars and is highly nutritious.

        1. Rebecca,
          They will also keep indefinitely if stored properly, just good insurance
          IMHO

  2. Calculating caloric intake in preparing for the future is as important as calculating how much we expose our beliefs and preparations to the outside world.

    Example: RT News Network has had their rug pulled out! Ken I hope you have planned for your options.

    1. Not sure what you mean–the site is still there. Do you mean the bank account fiasco?

      1. RT is providing info to US citizens that our MSM will not. The west will not allow this to continue. RBS is just one way Europe is dealing with RT.

        ATM networks here are next! I’m concerned for Ken’s safety primarily, even after ALT Media is shut down. I hope he has prepared for this!!!

    1. Consider Wheat berries and a mill. Far more nutritious and if you are a bread eater it provides many easy options for meals.

  3. One last thing…
    I’d be curious to see the vitamin/mineral comparison of the three…I’m guessing beans have the most of those?

    1. In reality I’m sure nobody is planning on eating only rice, beans or wheat. For myself they are just staples to make bread or a soup or some other such concoction, like a stew with rice, or bread with the stew or soup, or tortillas for a veggie taco, etc etc.

      Sure there will be times when that bowl of rice will be all, or a piece off a loaf, but for the most part it’s just an addition. Life will be different if things go awry, much, much different for many, for some, maybe not much, who knows, this slow motion train wreck could go on for the rest of our lives, or the rest of our lives could be a flash in a moment and then nothing!

      Hard to say, as with everything else, balance, easier said than done, I know, but balance in everything from meal planning to how much stuff you are going to put away to how much brain power you are going to fry looking at crazy scenarios, life changes, that’s about the only thing that is certain.

      1. Hi Nailbanger,

        I am with you, and just posted almost the same thing to NRP’s post… I am trying to get a wide mix of canned foods to change it up. Some of the key ingredients may be the same, but with different meats, some different spices, etc… at least everything doesn’t have to taste the same every day. Gotta mix it up! :)

    2. To Dude

      Darn!!!

      Even though I left spaces in the address, it still went to moderation. Here is a good website for nutrition information:

      Let me try again. Go to CalorieLab dot com

  4. Wow Ken you must have an extra sense. Seems when I need something, you supply it. Like just when I was going to buy new boots there was a article on that. Now as I going through pantry & counting all my beans rice & wheat product we get this article. Thanks so much! Love this site as it is so practical.

    1. I just did the same thing a couple of months ago as I will now have 2 more people to feed if need be. I was actually surprised at how much I had stored. Even found 2 5 gl buckets of wheat berries I had forgotten.

  5. We figure in a SHTF scenario we will use meats for more of a garnish than an entree item. If an adult needs 2000 calories per day to keep going in tough times (there will be more physical chores). We calculate 1,460,000 calories per year for 2 people. We are trying to do set asides that provide us a balanced meal as well as an enjoyable one, with a hard candy treat thrown in for good behavior.

    We also plan for lots of soup/stew meals.

    Three years ago we counted our complete inventory in calories to see how we were doing. It was a good exercise to help rotate inventory as well as to calculate your food storage inventory.

  6. No rolled oats? We store these almost as deep as wheat berries but they do take up more than twice the space.

  7. Rice and beans I know where to get, but for the second day in a row… wheat berries! I need to find a place to acquire some, and try them! Ken was kind enough to include a link about mills for them yesterday with his post to me. I am curious now! At least I’ll have something to post on Saturday!
    Have a great day y’all!

    1. Tex N

      You can get wheat berries from Pleasant Hill Grain, Amazon, Augason Farms, Honeyville, and Walmart among other places. Our local grocery store has them in 5 gallon buckets. The Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) has them in their stores.

      1. Restaurant Depot is a restaurant supply store in the Seattle area. They are cheaper than COSTCO for these things! The store name may change but I bet there are these type of stores all over. I think a rocket stove is an efficient way to boil water with wood.

    2. Walmart online is the cheapest I have found unless you want to package your own.

    3. Tex N

      Tip: If you are using Google or searching within one of the sites I mentioned, don’t search for “Wheat Berries.” Use the search terms “Hard Red Wheat” or Hard White Wheat. You will find them.

      1. @ DaisyK

        Thank you for your help! I kind of feel silly that I had never heard of wheat berries. I worked at Whole Foods years ago and learned of Spelt, Bulger and wheat germ. I will use those search terms and see what I find!
        Have a great day!

  8. Hey Guys!

    Curious as to what the favorite kinds of beans y’all are storing? I like white & red beans…wondering if there’s a clear favorite…

    Daisy K, thanks for the calorie/nutrition info page!
    If we figure out the top bean, I’ll make a summary of nutrition info & post it. :)
    Dude

    1. If I had to guess I would say pinto’s would be the most stored. I know I have way, way more of them than others though I store black,,red,,kidney,,small white, and also split peas and pearl barley that I lump together as other.

      1. @ poorman

        I would agree, I store 6 different varieties, all except Pinto… HAHAHA
        I do have a favorite that’s called “Mortgage Lifters” it’s a white bean unfortunately it’s also a proprietary bean and only is grown in a local farm, by far the best variety of bean I have ever eaten.

        NRP

  9. My 2¢ worth.

    3 BILLION Asians can’t be wrong; Rice is a very substantial staple for a LOT of people.

    That being said Wheat, Rice and Beans are one of the easiest storage foods ya can think of. As long as you keep the moisture and the “bugs” out of them ya got yar-self 10-20 years (or more) storage life of these products.

    Now I’m not the sort of person to tell someone what or how much of something to store, but within the past 20 years I bet the prices (adjusted prices) have doubled on these 3 items. Also if one happens to have ohhhhh say 100 pounds of Rice, than one can wait till it goes on super-cheap sale and add if wanted without doing a “panic” buy because the Stuffed Bell Pepper needs a Rice ingredient so you end up paying 3 times as much for a pound.

    Personally I buy my Beans and Red Wheat Berries from a local “Mill” at about 1/5th of the cost in a store. I get them by the 50 or 100 pound sack and repackage for better storage. Rice I get from Sam’s Club and again repackage. I happen to like Mylar Bags for this, 5 pounds per bag.

    As far as Calorie Count, W-B-R are a fantastic “base” for about any foods you can think on, take for example a can of Beef-Stew, 16oz of stew added with a pound of cooked Rice could feed 2-3 people easily for a meal or two, AND it would actually be quite good considering TSHTF.

    So take that 1648 calorie pound of rice, take a few added items and you just made a 2 day meal rather than a one day, with only the Beef-Stew. And for the price, Rice is cheap. So add 2 pounds rather than a pound and poof, ya got 3 days of good tasting food.

    Finally please remember, one does not live by Rice alone, even the 3 Billion Asian’s add a hunk of fish or a slab of pork for flavor and nutrition. So make sure you have other “stuff” to add to the W-B-R.

    FYI, I do not believe that 500 pounds of Beans is excessive, do you?

    NRP

    PS, I see I’m going to need to educate Ken on Beans….. Pinto Beans = yucko, Anasazi Beans = YUMMMM hehehe

    1. NRP

      Rice, beans, & wheat are all deficient in Vitamins C, D, K, B12, calcium, & fatty acids among other things. You are quite right; you need to add something to them to make a complete diet if you are going to be surviving long.

      Add some OJ, a can of spaghetti sauce or tomatoes, a can of green peas, some dandelion greens out of your yard, or whatever you have or can find. I worry about some who are storing ONLY rice and beans.

        1. and salt for later, how will you preserve your garden food, meat etc..

      1. Wheat berries can be sprouted quite simply and then the sprout will provide a multitude of vitamins that were barely detectable previously. Especially antioxidant vitamins. This is one major benefit of storing wheat berries. They are seeds!

    2. NRP
      There is nothing wrong with pinto beans…just close your eyes, open your mouth, chew and swallow. Being picky is dangerous to one’s health. lol

    3. @NRP, To quote my Father, who loved pinto beans! “Pinto Beans are good for the heart, the more you eat the more you f*rt” :D

      Pinto Beans with cornbread! Yummmm Luv ya’ll, Beach’n

      1. I hated beans growing up. Mom made them plain with a dry crumbly cornbread. No flavor and cornbread with no moisture..I would have to skip dinner those nights. ….until 20 years ago I went to a dinner and had beans with onions, pepper, sliced tomatoes, and garlic salt. Wow! And a friend brought over a creamed corn- cornbread for a Xmas dinner, double wow, could have put a straw in it and sucked it up. It all depends how it is made to tantalizes the appetite.

        1. @ Stardust

          I have a FANTASTIC receipt for Blue Corn Bread, uses Blue Corn and Ground Popcorn.
          Will post it this coming Sunday… Also has Green Chili in it…. yummmm
          FYI, very low fat, only 10 Tablespoons of Bacon Drippings… LOL

          NRP

        2. That sounds great. Nice to use my bacon fat I normally add to the dogs meals.

          The sausage gravy with the hot pepper biscuits I made the other day used up all the sausage fat for the gravy… but it was as good as the southern truck stop restaurants made it. To die for,,, and I almost died on the toilet from it and used a whole roll of TP. :-)

      2. Beach’n,

        My Dad’s poetry on beans was:

        Beans, beans, a wonderful fruit
        The more you eat them the more you poot
        The more you poot the better you feel
        So let’s eat beans at every meal

      3. @ Beach’n

        The version I always rmemeber singing arounf the dinner table

        “Beans, beans, the musical fruit
        The more you eat, the more you toot
        The more you toot, the better you feel
        So eat beans for every meal!”

        But I was raised in a fun/crazy family… HAHAHA

        NRP

    4. I really enjoy cooking, and agree that living on just the Big-3 items would get real old, real quick. Given no other choices, sure we would all eat that diet as long as necessary. But, the addition of a can or two of food (depending on how many you are feeding) could make a big difference in avoiding food fatigue.

      I am also thinking a can of stew or chili over rice would be more flavorful and add nutrients and calories. Or, a can of chicken with some canned veggies and an Asian-based sauce or seasoning blend over rice would create a stir-fry type meal.

      Beans, tomatoes, corn and seasonings can be the start of a veggie chili. Beans, canned meat and some cheese (maybe break out some of the good waxed stuff – yum!) would make a great burrito if you have the stuff to make tortillas. I figure if I can even do some basic cooking (or heating up) I should be able to change things up and avoid boredom. I hope :)

      1. @ poorman

        You’re correct, but remember when in a Mexican Restaurant, it’s always “Frijoles and Spanish Rice” hehehe

        NRP

  10. Being a Diabetic, I have to watch the grains like wheat, oats, rice.

    I’m heavy on types of beans, and nuts. Also, vegetables, fruits, and meats.
    I try to structure my diet, so most of my starches are in the morning. With lunch and dinner having a majority of fats and proteins. High calorie, starches and carbohydrates get the day going and the long burning fats and proteins, keep my stamina up.

    The result has been a lower A1C, and needing less medication.
    If anyone who has Diabetes on here, I strongly recommend a nutrition class.
    30+ years ago I was required to take one. And was able to control my blood sugar for the first 7 years.

    To this day I still mange my blood sugar through diet. With just a supplement of Insulin. And have been able to build a surplus of insulin. Currently a 11/2 year supply. And that’s about what I have for food storage.

    1. Sprout the wheat, for very high B vitamin boost as greens..will need them as stress will be higher…3 days to have them ready.,

      1. Just Sayin’

        Very good idea. That way you get Vitamin C & A, more Vitamins B, as well as some other nutrients. We store Vitamins A, D, E, K, and some B12, but the others you need every day.

      2. Sprout lentils or beans with the wheat. They’re all ready for cooking in 3 days. 30 minute cooking time,

  11. This may be a little off subject. Just heard on the news that “food prices have gone down”. I don’t know about you guys, but I hear the lullaby… just go to sleep…count the sheep… Interesting how just before an election prices for essentials go down. Riiigghhhhttttt, Beach’n

    1. I have seen a few products drop by 15 cents…(last 4-6 wks). 2 out of 3 products have shot up 55+ cents., noticed this week. If you see a product suddenly drop in price, load up…it is warehouse clearing stock before packaging change, usually.

    2. Food prices continue to go up….they just change which products they review in their formula. Last year at this time lentils we’re $.98 per pound. By spring they were up again and they are now $1.38 per pound at our local WalMart. Same with pasta prices – up. Even though I stock up and buy on sale, if I have to go the store, I check the prices. And they are even higher at our local grocery store. We are in a smaller town so their prices are 20 percent higher than the same store the next town over. They don’t have more overhead, they simply feel they can charge that because of the people who like to shop local. I won’t support a store that overcharges its customers.

    3. @ Beach’n

      You do know those cost numbers are distributed by the .gov, right?
      And you know how some of us feel about the truth of the .gov, right?

      NRP

  12. Great post and great site! For about three years now I have been feeling something coming. A huge shift. And only now am I becoming more serious about preparing. I am proud though, since with my meager attention to the matter I have begun buying rice and beans already. I literally only have that and our passports ready, though I am not sure the latter will do us any good. Aside from water, what else would you guys say are the top 10 things I need to focus on? Thanks, I look forward to getting to know some folks here. Peace.

    1. Welcome, lovelypoet :)

      Welcome to the MSB community or as, NRP (yes, you will get to know him-kind of famous around here for some things…good things :)) He
      would say welcome to “the nuthouse” LOL, and I agree.

      Per your question…two other big areas to focus on besides food is
      water – water stored and water filtration and securing source(s) if you look on categories you will see info regarding that.

      Heat – ways to keep warm that are off-grid.
      Power- many of us here are into solar… and don’t be scared there are some really do-able options for charging devices, lights, and small appliances
      that are not over the top expensive, there’s whole gamut of options.
      Again under categories you will see some postings on that too on the categories page.

      Health/sanitation is another area of preparedness definitely worth addressing for oneself/family/household.

      Ken J. our “captain” maintains this exceptional site and we all greatly benefit.

      Hope to keep hearing from you, lovelypoet~

      Best Blessings,

      Shepherdess

      1. @ Shepherdess

        What???? I just call em like I see them…. HAHAHA
        I will say that the “warden” does a great job of keeping the troops inline though, AND bringing up a LOT of good subjects.

        NRP

    2. Lovelypoet:

      I don’t know how your Passports are going to help you, unless you have substantial assets stored at your destination beforehand.

      You certainly won’t be able to take much Cash with you, and arriving ‘poor’ in another country is a pretty bad scenario.

    3. I am glad to hear you say that this info helps you. I remember feeling that way too when I first started, and yet, I was a little worried about responding to this question (you know, don’t put your details out there). Anyway, I do remember feeling overwhelmed and uncertain when I began but one of the first food items I added were rice and beans. I placed several one pound store bags into a gallon and a half Mylar bag with O2 absorbers and then sealed them and wrote the items contained within, the poundage and the date. And boy, did I feel better! These would help me stretch what I already had on hand – meat in the freezer and soups.

      So, with that in mind, while I keep a lot of Golden 86 hard white wheat on hand at this point in time and use it to grind my wheat for weekly bread – I don’t think it is a good starting point because it is labor intensive and a learned skill set. You are on track with the the rice and beans, I include lentils and split peas in here – high calorie meal stretchers (don’t forget the water needed to cook these items). I also keep some regular flour (brand with no additives) sealed in Mylar so it keeps better and have used it two years past expiration date with no problems.

      And pasta is high on my list for storage because of its versatility and long shelf life. Things like a Ramen noodles that you limit now because of additives, will provide calories and sodium we need. We break an egg in ours before done cooking to add protein.

      What we need to do is share our favorite bean or rice recipe so you can see how to use the items you are storing. Also check out the Prepper Cookbook. When things get bad for whatever reason, including illness in the home or loss of a job, we revert to depression era cooking and stretch the food with soups and stews, potato casseroles, and macaroni dishes as goulash or with cheese.

      I wish you the best on this amazing journey. We find that we eat healthier now and are at peace with our food insurance. We save more in the long run because we mostly buy on sale.

    4. @ lovelypoet

      Welcome to the “Nut-House” HAHAHA, ya knew that was coming.

      FYI, Ken has a lot of good articles here on MSB, check out the “search” area and you will find a LOT of help on your journey. Or please feel very free to ask any questions you may have on the most recent “Saturday” article, it’s basically a “free-for-all” for information. And a very good place to learn a LOT of “stuff”.

      NRP

  13. Rice.

    Best eaten straight after cooking.

    If you let it go cold – it turns to starch. This starch is converted to fat when eaten.

    Fried rice. The secret is to boil cook the rice first, leave it over night to cool and then use this to make fried rice. However, this is why fried rice is so fattening.

    1. Bone Idle

      maybe not…

      I have seen several articles, and a TV show, stating that if you let Rice/and/ or Pasta cool in fridge, and then use it (even if you then reheat it), it changes something and less calories are absorbed.

      Hunted around for some articles, only found this.

      “Simple rice-cooking hack could reduce calories by 60 per cent”

      Cooking rice with a teaspoon of coconut oil then refrigerating it for 12 hours more than halves the number of calories absorbed by the body, scientists have shown ”

      and

      “‘Eat rice cold for fewer calories’
      Scientists say they have found a way to make rice less calorific – boil it with coconut oil and then refrigerate for half a day before eating.

      According to the Sri Lankan researchers, treating rice in this way reduces its calories by up to 60%.

      They told the American Chemical Society how the method made the starch in the rice less digestible so the body took on less fuel than it otherwise would.”

      and

      “”What we did is cook the rice as you normally do, but when the water is boiling, before adding the raw rice, we added coconut oil—about 3 percent of the weight of the rice you’re going to cook,” said Sudhair James, who presented his preliminary research at National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) on Monday. “After it was ready, we let it cool in the refrigerator for about 12 hours. That’s it.””

  14. KEN we have all of the above in storage, but I feel potatoes should be in the mix too, ready to use dehydrated in #10 cans keep forever, well almost.

    I have used some that were 20 years old and still good, we can get wheat and oats right out of the combine for pennies a pound but I can’t eat them so use for cat & dog food &chickens &cows.

    Fresh spuds keep well for a year in a proper storage cellar also canned baby spuds last for 3 years at least, as far as food value compared to rice my body tells me that I can do more on potatoes than rice and spuds are so easy to grow. You can almost plant and forget, rice not so much, having food storage is fine and dandy but what about when you use it up ????

    After SHTF how long do you think it’s going to be till the food supply chain comes back?? We are going to be on our own for a good while, you can not store enough to see you through for years!! If you can’t grow your own you better have a skill to trade with someone that can. We have year round fresh out of our greenhouses, kind of nice to have fresh sweet corn when their is snow on the ground, it’s less work to greenhouse than to can or dry. Still need to figure out how to come up with a home grown TP. NRP are you with me on that? HA HA to you…

    1. I agree completely when you say ‘if you can’t grow your own, you’d better have something to trade with someone who does’.

      That’s why I stock, substantially, ‘Liquors’.

      I can’t think of a more versatile, universal, valuable trade item; throughout history always in demand.

  15. My wife and like anasazi beans. She soaks them over night, pour the water off, adds new for cooking. The best part is the lack of vapors after eating. They are even good tasting.

  16. If I remember right, 8 – 80 lb sacks of short grain rice was the annual supply for a house hold of 6 people. 2 adults and 4 growing teenagers. We are asian family 2nd and 3rd generation so we ate rice A LOT! (breakfast, lunch and dinner 6 nights per week.) Suffice to say we got sick of eating rice as a child.

    2nd generation asian family in America will serve a spaghetti dinner with garlic bread, green salad and…2 scoops of rice. yes people, we are that bad.

  17. Greetings all,
    One thing I’d point out is that the rice and beans can be cooked with water, a pot and a heat source. Without a mill, how does one eat wheat berries and digest them enough to gain most of the calories? As a side point, a benefit of rolled oats is that one can eat them raw (e.g. if bugging in) and still digest them pretty well. (Not my favorite, but far better than starving.)

    At my local restaurant-supply store, rolled oats were not any cheaper than retail, so I stuck to rice and beans. I like black beans, so that’s what I bought. As others have mentioned, vitamins, salt and spices are part of my preps.

  18. Sorry, you are WAY off on beans. Pinto bean have about 750 calories in a pound.

    1. @Scott Pi, You are incorrect. The calories per ounce of RAW pinto beans (uncooked – as in one’s dry food storage) is 98 calories. Multiply that by 16 and see what you get per pound…

      calorieking.com (there are many additional online calorie counters as well…)

  19. Put a few beans in a Stanley thermal container and pour boiling water over them. Seal. It will cook them in about 12 hours. Rice in less time. No huge fuel input, no odor. I have started using this method because it keeps the volume down, no need to refrigerate. About half through, I replace the hot water to get rid of the saponin that cause gas. Even better if you soak overnight in cold water. Of course, sprouting increases nutrition.

  20. bush gardens bring wildlife you get a crop or a meal either way, most dry goods will work to plant.

    1. kimburns53,
      i have had good luck planting dried beans and peas from the grocers and at a fraction of the price of seed from the feed stores, when they have it. your mileage may vary. zone 8b here.
      good luck

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