Food Storage : Beverages Other Than Water

Beverages such as powdered milk, cocoa mix, a fortified fruit drink mix, evaporated milk, and some bottled juice.  In a winter emergency, having cocoa mix around is a blessing.  The  milk  will come in handy for many  things  including  cooking.  However,  one important  thing  you  must keep in  mind is  palate  fatigue.  If you  have the  same foods  over  and over  again  palate  fatigue  will set  in and in a survival  situation  it is  not a good idea  to  go  without  food.  Children  especially  can  suffer  from palate  fatigue  and it is  important  that  these situations  be  taken into account  when  building a  food  storage for  future   use.
You  have the choice of purchasing powdered drink  mixes to  have on  hand when someone  gets that urge  to have  something   different  or  sweet. You  can  purchase  frozen  fruit  concentrate  and  dehydrate the juices just  as   is  shown in my  previous post on  dehydrating and  storing  foods.  Or  you  can purchase  freeze dried  juice  powders  from companies that  sell them already  packed in  #10 cans.  The  same  can  be  said  for  milk.
The thing  you  need to  remember  is that in a  survival  situation  everyone  will already  have to  deal with doing  without.  It  will be  hard enough  living   day  to  day with all the  things  you  cannot have  or do.  Why  make  things harder  or  more  unpleasant  than they  have to be.  When a  simple  treat  now and  then  can  serve  to lift  one’s spirits.  Cocoa , chocolate  milk, fruit  juice, a fruit  smoothie or milk  shake,  etc.  All these things can be  accomplished as  long as you have the  necessary  ingredients.  With the proper preparation and  forethought  you  can have all of this .
Powdered milk, chocolate  or powdered  cocoa and sugar   will make chocolate milk  or hot  cocoa.
Powdered fruit  juice, powdered milk and rehydrated fruit  pieces run through a food  mill or meat  grinder  can  be used  to make a  nice  fruit  smoothie.
Rehydrated fruit juice  and  water  will make a  nice  juice for children and  adults  alike.
Add a  bit of rehydrated veggies  of  your  choice and  you  have a vitamin  rich health smoothie where none  could have  been  had otherwise.
Powdered milk, powdered eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon , cloves sugar will make  eggnog.
Coffee and  tea  are  always  a nice  change of  pace .  Add  some creamer or powdered milk and  sugar  and  you are  set.
Strong  cold  coffee,  powdered  milk,  sugar will give  you a cool coffee drink  reminiscent of the  frappuccinos  and  iced  coffees  they  sell at the  market  (only  without the  ice).  However, still a nice  change of  pace.
Cold  oatmeal,  peanut  butter, powdered milk,  cocoa powder, sugar and  water processed  with a hand  blender  will  give you  a  nice  thick breakfast shake.  The  oatmeal can  be  substituted  by  any  soft  cooked  grain
Milks  can  be  made  of  rice,  almonds,  cashews, soy beans or oats.  For those  who are  lactose intolerant  this can  be a  welcomed change.  They are  mild  tasting  , nutritious  and  light to the  palate.
The varieties are limited only  by  your imagination.  But  remember  the  key  here  is having the  ingredients  , the  equipment  and the  understanding  to accomplish all of  this.  That is  why  storage and planning is the  key.
In  future posts  I  will be  going  into the  hand operated  equipment  you  should  be  thinking  about and  where to possibly   find  them.  Along  with   some  videos  on  how they  can be  used, Hopefully ( if I  can  find  what  I  am  looking  for in the  way   of  videos ).
***There are also hand operated  juicers  that  can  be  purchased for making   juices  from  vegetables,  fruits and even  nut  butters without  need  for  electricity.
***  Please  remember  that  without  a  blender you  could  achieve  very  similar results with  items such as a  food  mill or a  sturdy  stainless steel  sieve to mash the  fruits ,  cooked grains and veggies.  With a bit of preparation it  would not be as  time  or  toil intensive  as  you  would think.  Dried  fruits and  veggies  can  be ground to  make a  powder to  facilitate  preparation.
***  Milk  in  any  of the  recipes  can  be  substituted f or  grain or  nut  milk