I tried my 72-hour emergency kit food...

I usually have my 72-hour emergency kit in my carry on suitcase. Since my soldier was going to be using it, I decided to lay it all out and take a picture of the contents...most of it's food.

I have all the basics from a '72-hour kit' list
Each day's food equals 2000 calories with good levels of salt and fats. It was a pain to make it all 'balanced'. I figured it all out last year but  I've never really tried to 'live on' the food that is in my kit and my Soldier isn't up for testing it out :) ha ha!!! So, I figured I'd give it a go for a couple days while he's gone.  :)   I did not actually open the water bottles but allowed myself 2-1/2 bottles (40 oz) each day.

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Here's how it went... 

Mock emergency food rationing began at 4pm on Wednesday

Wed - dinner 7 triscuits (crackers), chili, 8 oz. water ... I'm thirsty, gotta save my h20 for tomorrow.

Full DAY 1 menu

Th- breakfast     pears, granola bar, 8 oz.  water
Th- Lunch       ... Visited friends for a prearranged Visiting Teaching Lunch, 8 oz water.
Th- dinner        14 triscuits, can of chicken, 8 oz. water    
Th- snack          granola bar, 6 oz. trail mix & choco chip cookies,  16 oz. water
       Holy Cow... I'm so grateful I tried this out. I ate the pears just fine and then thought I'd try the juice.. made me wanna puke. I thought maybe the granola bar would help... nope, I took one small bite and discovered that it's way too sugary. I still wanted to puke so I ate a few triscuits and my tummy finally calmed down! Gonna try a homemade oatmeal packet tomorrow.
... Visited a friend and she fixed me a couple eggs for brunch.. I was so hungry!!!! Thanks Malisa
     That was one of the best tasting Carls Jr. hamburgers ever.. I must have been really hungry :)
     The Swanson's canned chicken was better than I expected and the flavor blended well with the salty triscuits. I did dump out the juice. I'm gonna take this when I go hiking for girls camp in a couple weeks :) Oh, I had it in the truck while I was in town so it was warm :)
       I don't even like chocolate.. why did I pack those cookies? Oh yeah, thought my Soldier would enjoy mine too)

       I ate a couple handfuls of trail mix after dinner. The sweet of the dried fruit balances out the salty food nicely!  I was sooo thirsty today and I did allow myself an extra cup of water which totaled my day at 6 cups or 3 bottles.   I researched water purification pumps.  I need more water.

Day 2 menu

Fri- breakfast     3/4 c. oatmeal, 2 T. raisins, 1/2 T. brown sugar, 2 T. pecans, 8 oz water

Fri - lunch          7 triscuits, pork n beans, 8 oz water

Fri - dinner        14 triscuits, lasagna, chicken and rice soup, 8 oz water

Fri - Snack         more of yesterday's 6 oz trail mix & fresh peas from the garden, 24 oz water

     This was soooo much better than yesterday but the oatmeal was still a little sweet, gotta try 1 t. brown sugar or 1/2 t. cinnamon and sugar or vanilla sugar for tomorrow. I mixed about 1/3 c. of my breakfast water with the oatmeal mix, stirred it up and let it sit for a couple minutes before eating it.

    The Triscuits tasted good dipped in the pork n bean liquid!

    For dinner, I tried the lasagna and after 2 bites, wouldn't eat more, it was sooooo salty. I threw it out. I then opened the Chicken & rice soup which was flavorless - how do people eat this prepackaged food... gag me. I dumped out the broth and realized that there was only 1/3 c. of rice/carrots/celery left... wow, what a meal!!! Good thing I have my mighty triscuits.  The rice and lasagna kinda upset my tummy too.   I would have been one sick girl if I really had to eat just this food that I'd packed in an emergency situation.

     I allowed myself 8 oz of water every 3 hours today. Much better with 6 cups but still would need more if it was a real emergency.

Day 3 menu

Sat- breakfast     3/4 c. oatmeal, 1 t. vanilla sugar, 2 T. pecans, peaches, 8 oz water

Sat -lunch           14 triscuits, can of chicken, 8 oz water

Sat - Snack         trail mix, 16 oz. water

     The oatmeal tasted better this morning but I got a little queezy after eating the peaches.. I think I'm going crazy.  Guess I'll just pack Aunt Pam's dried plums!!!! They're heavenly!
     I think I'm ruined on triscuits for a while.... that or gotta have some cheeze wiz !!!   Behold, the power of CHEEEEEZ :)  

I'm finally saved from this mock emergency food ration!!!!

*All in all, I think the food will be ok, but I need more water, my lips were starting to get chapped. 
          I'll need extra water to brush my teeth, clean a wound, etc.
*I'm gonna pack graham crackers instead of the granola bars! I had 2 bags of trail mix left over -
         mostly cause I wanted to save them for a real emergency, but I didn't really need them.
*Maybe I'll throw in a MRE for 1 day...
*I also forgot about my chewing gum. That would've helped when I was thirsty. Oh well, it's still
         ready for a real emergency!   

We sure do take a lot for granted! No wonder my Soldier didn't want to try this, He lived through it in the army every time he was deployed or had training exercises and had to eat MRE's... poor guy.

I gotta go restock my kit.. Hope nothing bad happens next week. I'd be hungry!

*Don't forget to rotate your food to keep it fresh and rotate your clothing as sizes change.

    Who wants an emergency with rotten food and a change of clothes/ diapers that don't fit?

*My aunt changes hers out everytime our church has it's General Conference during the first weekends of April and October.  You can decide what things you'll need to add or takeout for winter/summer emergencies then too.  Just keep your packing list in your kit!

* I need to throw in some duct tape which I just learned can work if you don't have mole skin and you're starting to get blisters. You can wrap it around a pencil instead of taking the whole roll :).

Please share your wisdom .....

 I'm gonna get a water filter/purifier that will filter more water for me... which one should I get?.. What's the best filter/purifier bottle or pump? 
Have you tried the Lifestraw Personal Water Filter  or MRS Miniworks EX

What's in your kit?

Please share if  you ever had to use your 72-hour kit in a real emergency situation?  
Any tips/tricks would be greatly appreciated!
This blog has a few ideas!

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