Panic Buying? Don't.
- Jul 16, 2021
- 7 min read
It’s a terrible time in our country, I think that goes without saying. As a people we have loved and lost on such a scale that becomes immeasurable. KwaZulu-Natal, my home and one of my loves, my heart bleeds. I know my heart bleeds alongside so many others and as a nation we are having to exercise unity like never before.
For those of you from a far, that may not know exactly what is happening in South Africa at the moment, we are a country in turmoil. On Wednesday, 07 July 2021, former president Jacob Zuma handed himself over to authorities, he was sentenced 15-months for contempt of court (That is the facts that I know and am willing to state, if you would like to know more on that matter I would suggest reading a few articles, one in particular from BBC because it’s an overseas media-house and I believe it is more objective - https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57758540 ). Zuma has many loyal supporters who felt this was an unjust sentence and took to the streets to express their disagreement in the form of protests and rioting. Violent rioting that saw trucks being hi-jacked and burnt to close off National road and highways and brought an entire province to its knees in a matter of hours. These riots swiftly turned into the looting of shops, factories, warehouses and other buildings , and resulted in the destruction of these by setting them a light and watching them burn to the ground. Of course these acts have evolved far beyond the trending #FreeZuma, and have now become a question of poverty, privilege, criminal opportunists, race and political foul play.
Regardless of what your opinion is, you probably have found yourself in your own State of Emergency due to a sudden lack of resources. In our instance, we would have been housebound for over a week now and probably will be for much longer as the greater Midlands area has no petrol or diesel. We personally have food as we prepared for this last Friday once we saw trouble brewing, but our fellow countrymen are unable to get hold of food or even medicine.
Due to of all of this I thought I’d share a few tips and hacks that I feel are relevant to the situation. From our experience of camping and being in the bush we’ve become accustomed to the bare minimum, especially when it comes to food and packing. We often don’t have a fridge at hand, as well as packing space (this is always a push for me because I can never be too prepared – hence why we were so prepared for this crisis, I’m paranoid and I know it). So I’m going to first share our list of essential foods that go a long way, then a few links to recipes and some tips and tricks.
First tip, and MOST IMPORTANT tip, is that you are going to have to adjust your standard of living RIGHT NOW. Your needs are not your wants and that’s the first step with dealing with a crisis. It is definitely upsetting when your lifestyle is disrupted but it’s those who adapt the quickest that cope the best. You are not going to be able to get from the shops what you normally do, and that’s a fact. Another fact is that you might not have fuel for multiple trips so within your limited amount get the most necessary and multi-use products as you can.
Food
Meat
Meat is versatile, high in calorie (red meat and pork in particular), high in protein and higher in fat. Meat can also be frozen which obviously means it can be kept for a while without turning.
We also try cook meat for something in advance.
Eg. I’ll make a chicken breast dish, cook an extra chicken breast or two and the next day shred it up for a lunch. One pack provided two meals essentially.
Pantry
Cereals
We personally always have ProNutro and Oats, reason why these are hits is because they only require water. ProNutro in particular doesn’t even need hot water, so if lights are out or you’re out of gas you’re not left stranded.
Cans
This, in my opinion, is more important than most fresh produce. During a crisis you are going to have to not worry about preservatives etc. Because that one time you get into a shop might be the last for a while.
Canned foods will be your friends, they not only last forever and are super convenient in terms of food prep, but they are hardy! There is no concern of dropping it and losing a precious resource, 9/10 times a can won’t break. They also cover a multitude of categories, from soup to milk to fruit.
Good cans to have on hand:
· Tomato mixes (whole, cut, relish etc.) – these make sauces easily for pasta and stews alike.
· Tuna
· Beans
· Soups
Other pantry food to consider, includes pastas, self-rising flour and rice, all versatile and can stretch.
Fresh Food
This is where it gets tough but it’ll be okay… keep reminding yourself of what you need and not what you’d like or are used to.
Potatoes
Definitely get potatoes, sweet or normal, just get. They aid in baking, with a lot of meals and can be cooked in various different ways. Potatoes are very high in calorie also, so provide substance.
Eggs
Eggs are also versatile, nutritious and help with a variety of meals and baking.
Cabbage
Cabbage is a magic veggie, in our house an entire head of cabbage seems to last forever. We get about 5-6 meals from a decent sized one and we use it in an array of recipes.
Squashes
So that includes pumpkin, butternut and gem squash, those three options are the most popular in our shops. These can last a while and also provide versatility.
Milk.
Although I personally don’t think milk is as essential as a lot of people are making out, milk obviously is needed for a lot of baked goods. However, powdered milks, condensed milk, canned milk and so on can also be used in baking. So consider that before losing your mind over milk.
RECIPES, TIPS & TRICKS
If you have the means of baked goods such as bread, by all means bake it and use it. However I don’t recommend pursuing traditional bread as an essential, a loaf of bread gets eaten quickly and tends to require something else on it to eat.
However should you like to add a bread option to your arsenal, there are ways around it.
When camping I often make homemade roti's, which are a lot easier than I first thought and are very cheap to make. It is flour, water and butter (I learnt that different flours make a difference, self-raising flour makes a little bit like a naan but it’s still ‘flat’)
Here’s the link to the recipe that I followed:
If you are itching for dinner rolls, here are some options to use ingredients around the house.
Sweet Potato Bread, (I’m not sure if there are normal potato recipes similar to this but I’m sure it will come out similar) it’s two ingredients, flour and SP.
What I find most people always have in their pantries is Maizena, it’s a lot more useful than just thickening gravy that’s for sure. This recipe is for the TikTok fans that may be familiar with cloud bread, it’s 3 ingredients, Cornstarch (Maizena), sugar and egg whites.
Then a recipe for your egg yolks so that they don’t go to waste, a carbonara pasta. You may not have all the ingredients to a traditional or fully loaded carbonara but you can always whisk up the egg yolk, water from your pasta (perhaps some cheese if you have) and make a rich sauce for your pasta.
This recipe has incorporated cabbage to their pasta, again a magic veggie that goes a long way.
Some bush food tips that may apply now:
- When cooking sausages, bacon, or any meat in an air fryer or grill, collect the run off fat and don’t chuck it. Use that fat the following day to fry whatever else you’ll be cooking, it adds INCREDIBLE flavour and will also stretch your butter and oil for cooking.
- Make stews and ‘potjies’! Bulk cooking goes a long way, always! You can freeze some for a later stage or just eat off of it for a few days.
- One-pan recipes are simple and convenient, during stressful times less dishes is a bonus.
- Keep water bottles filled in the fridge, there have been threats of water cuts so at least you'll have some to tide you over until the problem is fixed.
- If you’re ‘braai’ing’ meat throw potatoes in tinfoil with the coals or even on the gas Braai, it’s a no electricity meal and a ‘cook ahead option too’.
- Google any idea you’ve come up with on your own that’s not a tried and tested recipe to avoid wasting any ingredients that you can’t get back.
THIS IS NOT TO INCITE PANIC - it’s merely some advice to rather organise any frantic minds. I am a firm believer in preparing for the worst but believing the best will happen. In the bush any time is tea time and it never hurts to be prepared, this just translates into my everyday life. Another thing to keep in mind is that we all need each other in this moment, and one way to help your fellow countryman is TO NOT PANIC BUY. When you clear out stock of a particular product, you are taking away from someone else, take what you need and have faith that there will be more for when you need again.
I hope this post was helpful and was able to gather and organise your thoughts. There is never a need to panic and we can always lean on others perspective to better understand a situation. My heart and prayers go out to everyone at this time. I love my people and I love my country, with all my heart, and just want to add value where I can.
As we go along this journey together I will try and post as many life hacks as possible that may help those in need. I encourage as many as possible to do the same. If you do have any suggestions of your own that you feel I should incorporate please pop me an email or leave your suggestion in the comments.
We will overcome this South Africa, we just need to band together and support one another.
**DISCLAIMER
This post is just my opinion and my logic. It’s what I have decided for me and my little household. A lot of this knowledge has been accumulated from my own experience and is by no means the gospel. This post is to promote preparedness and through that to encourage calmness, and especially thoughtfulness. This post is not to incite panic nor am I predicting the worst for our beautiful country.
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