You know it's time to switch your emergency food supply when...

In my attempt to be recessionist chic (and hopefully avoid a trip to the grocery store) I decided to go through my emergency food supply, or mostly my 72-hour food supply that I have kept in my car. I actually had more food than I expected. Luckily, much of the food is high in preservatives but some I did have to toss because it was either questionable or just tasted bad. One kit had a suggested rotation of 2 years, but I suggest sooner. Yesterday I triple-dog dared myself to live off of the recommended "menu" of my 72 hour kit for a day. Here are some things that I learned as I completed this challenge and went through some of the other food that I kept for who knows how long.

You know it's time to switch your 72 hour food supply when:

*You wonder if your granola bars have fermented.
*Beef jerky is crunchy (or dissolves easily)
*Your Lipton noodle soup package has been infiltrated with the smell/taste of the wintergreen gum that was also in your kit. (Note: keep gum in a separate plastic bag). wintergreen + salt + chicken broth tastes really bad.
* Vanilla pudding has turned a weird shade of brown.
*Fruit cups say "Best Before September 2006". Enough said.