Provisions in times of crisis

Living in Lebanon since 1971 when I was born, was a series of times of peace and times of war, or more appropriately, times of rest and times of crisis. And so I got used to times of embargos, road blocades, electricity shutdowns, water rationning, cutting down on fuel, etc, etc, etc... And I grew up, and now I got my own family = me and my husband, and I started taking responsabilities on my own. So in times of crisis, you have to have some provisions, mainly of food. Not because it will run out, but you may not be able for safety reasons to go out and buy some, or to have enough fuel to go out and buy some, or it might actually run out in case of prolonged crisis.

Here is a guide of what to buy and stock intelligently :

1. First of all , Biscuit Ghandour, it is unexpensive, stockable at room temperature for years, eatable without any further preparation and everybody likes the taste, and it is rich in carbohydrates, amino acids and sugar.
2. Boxes of Picon : this spreadable cheese, presented in triangles that fit in round boxes, is kept at room temperature for a year, eatable without further preparation with any kind of bread, and is particularly rich in fat and milk proteins. It is mostly wanted by families with kids.
3. Cans of sardines : sardines in oil are war time favorites. They are nourrishing, kept at room temperature for years, eatable without further preparation and the box can be opened without an opener. They are the main replacement for meat. They largely outweight Corned beef in terms of popularity because the latter must be at least warmed to become palatable.
4. White boulghour : now this is my idea of stocking bourghoul , specially the white because it does not require cooking, instead of flour. Flour has to be made into bread to be eatable, so you need energy to cook it, would it be electricity or gaz. White bourghoul just needs to be soaked in water for a while to be eatable. And it is a complete meal, since it is made from wheat. And it is inexpensive. If you are rich, you might stock couscous, a tastier alternative, but not too lebanese.
5. Instant noodles : now this is also my own idea of stocking instant or 2 minutes noodles , instead of rice and pasta. Rice takes 15 to 20 minutes to cook after boiling water, and pasta around 10 . Noodles just need 2 minutes to cook after boiling, so you save on energy, but they are more costly.
6. Toilet paper : may not be life saving, but even in times of crisis, life is better with it.

If you think I am exaggerating, just go to a supermarket whenever there's a rumor of unrest and look at the shelfs : flour, rice, cheap pasta, biscuit ghandour, sugar, sardines, canned foul moudammas, toilet paper, body and hair shampoo in a gallon, etc.. are out of stock. You hardly see anyone picking fresh cheese or fish or nail enamel remover.