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We started provisioning in Penang (for 2 people) for provisions like Indian spices, dahl and dosai mix. The bulk of our provisioning was done in Langkawi - cases of tins, lots of cheese, flour, oats in supermarkets and basic baking needs at Pastry Pro. We also stocked up on wine, and spirits enough to get us to Madagascar. The only things we wish we'd bought more of was mozzarella cheese for pizzas, tinned fruit for muesli when the bananas ran out, and herbal teabags, but we were able to buy lots of tinned fruit in Galle, Sri Lanka. The only things we bought a lot of in Phuket were liters of juice that we knew we liked and ground coffee. Not knowing if we would stop at Gan in Addu Atoll in the Maldives, we stocked up on big bags of onions, potatoes, and garlic in Sri Lanka, along with lots of pumpkins and cabbages. Although we did end up stopping in the Maldives to order a new jib, we were very glad we bought what we did in Sri Lanka as the produce was better there and it lasted us through the three months in Chagos and on to Madagascar.
We stocked up on most things to get us through to South Africa, but knew we'd be able to buy more wine, flour, sugar, onions, potatoes, blue cheese, and yogurt at Nosy Be in Madagascar. We felt very fortunate that we did this. The one small supermarket in Nosy Be didn't have much available and tinned goods were very expensive. Fresh fruit, vegetables and prawns were available in Nosy Be, but after dealing with upset stomachs there we realized we had to wash all fruit and vegetables that couldn't be peeled in a Clorox solution. After we did that we had no more stomach problems as long as we didn't eat lettuce and tomatoes when we went out to eat.
Of course most provisioning depends on one's needs, likes, and wants, but if there is any other information that you would like me to respond to feel free to write to Nina with the subject "Provisioning for Chagos."
| Artichoke Hearts | 8 Tins for pizza |
| Baking Powder | 500 g |
| Baking Soda | 500 g |
| Beans: | |
| - refried (tinned) | - 1 |
| - black (dried) | - 300 gm |
| - other (dried) | - 1 qt jar |
| - red kidney | Case of 24 + 5 for soups and refried beans |
| Beef Curry | 2 tins |
| Black Current Juice | 6 Bottles (each makes 8 liters) |
| Black Olives | 10 tins for pizza and pasta |
| Bulgar Wheat | 2 quarts when stored in jars for tabouli |
| Butter (tinned) | 2 (340g) tins + 5 kg canola margarine + 2 kg other margarine |
| Cabbages | 12 bought in Sri Lanka and stored in green bags in fridge |
| Catsup | 2 bottles + large bag of tomato sauce |
| Cheese: | |
| - Blue | Have 40 (Some in fridge and some in canola oil) Bought more in Madagascar. |
| - Brie | 6 from Galle + 2 Camembert |
| - Cheddar | 10 (250 g) [refried bean tortillas, calzones, sandwiches, quiche, & ham sauce with mushrooms] |
| - Cream | 2 small bought in plastic containers |
| - Feta | 1 Freezer Box which held 5 UHT small boxes when taken out of their containers |
| - Gouda | 2.65 kg block in Galle |
| - Mozzarella | 4 kg for pizza with some put in 3 freezer boxes and rest in oil |
| - Parmesan | 6 kg for pasta |
| - Ricotta | 500g in Galle for lasagna |
| Chicken | 2 boxes of chicken breasts in freezer. Bought small frozen chicken in Gan, Maldives. |
| Chicken Curry | 20 large tins |
| Chicken (MOCK, tinned) | 10 tins |
| Chick Peas | Case of 24 + 5 [for falafel & hummus (2 tins to 1 tahini jar)] |
| Chocolate Bits | Never found any that looked good - Should have bought in States in summer. |
| Chutney (Mango) | 2 (684g) jars |
| Clams (baby in broth) | 2 tins |
| Crabmeat | 4 tins |
| Curry Cockles | 4 tins |
| Coconut (shredded) | - 6 tins (127g) + 4 packets (100g) for Anzac biscuits |
| Coffee - 1 kg/month | 12 kg in Ao Chalong small grocery store |
| Kopi Maize (from Philippines) | Use as decaf coffee - 3 quarts when stored in jars |
| Corn (tinned) | 2 tins |
| Corned Beef | 8 tins |
| Corn Meal | 1.5 kg (for corn bread & English muffins) |
| Corn Starch | 1600 g in 4 packages |
| Crackers | 3 tins of 700g + 2 pkg cream crackers + 10 packages cream crackers (500g each) in Galle |
| Dates | 5 kg + 5 kg (Galle) |
| Eggs: | |
| - Powdered | 1 quart stored in glass jar |
| - Real | 300 bought in 2 large boxes in Galle, then stored in plastic egg containers with a little vaseline
(Had too many and gave about 80 away - yolks got 'watery' looking but were still fine for baking) |
| - Egg Replacer | (200g) equivalent to 66 eggs |
| - Egg Whites (dried) | 1 pkg of 8 oz |
| Flour (White) | 18 kg + 10 (1 kg pkg) - (1 kg flour = 8 cups & need 6 kg of flour/month) Bought more in Madagascar |
| Flour (Dark) | 2 kg dark rye + 3 kg whole meal (Pastry Pro) |
| Flour (Rice) | 400g |
| Flour (Tempura) | 150g |
| Flour (Chapati) | 1 kg |
| Flour Dosai (Thosai) | Mix 12 packages from Penang |
| FLOUR USED FOR VARIOUS THINGS: BREAD (5 cups/2 loaves); CALZONES (4 cups/2 meals) ; DESSERTS(1 kg/month) ; PANCAKES (2 cups/batch) ; PIZZA (5 cups for 2) ; TORTILLAS (3.5 cups with 1.5 c. water for 13 & 2 meals) | |
| FLOUR NEED FOR EACH THING: BREAD (need 5 cups for 2 loaves) 2 kg/mo ; CALZONES 1/2 kg/mo ; DESSERTS & PANCAKES 1 kg/mo ; PIZZA 1 kg/mo ; TORTILLAS 1 kg/mo | |
| Fruit (Dried) | - Pineapple for muesli. Friend gave me big bag of dried cranberries from States that I used too. |
| Fruit (Tinned from Mike in Galle): | Apricots 4, Mangoes 6, Peaches 4, Pears 4, Pineapple 8 |
| Fruit (Tinned Pineapple) | 12 (565g) |
| Fruit (Fresh): | |
| - Apples | 7 Kg in Galle Wish I'd bought more apples as they lasted well. |
| - Bananas | 5 hands + 2 hands from Lalith + big bunch from Tango Shipping 1 stock in Gan, Addu Atoll, Maldives |
| - Limes/Lemons | 24 fresh + 2 boxes in freezer (equivalent of 6 cups in freezer) |
| - Galle (Fruit) | |
| - Pamplemousse | 6 in Galle |
| - Oranges | 12 local green ones in Galle didn't last + 4.5 kg orange ones in Galle & 12 in Gan lasted well |
| Granola Bars | 12 packages |
| Green Beans (tinned) | 4 |
| Greens (tinned spinach) | 12 |
| Ham (tinned) | 3 |
| Honey | 8 (1 kg plastic containers) - Bought more in Madagascar at 'honey river' |
| Horseradish | 2 new wasabi + 750 gram jar horseradish |
| Jam/Jelly | 10 jars (400-500g) + 2 large Thai marmalade |
| Jello | 8 boxes |
| Juice in liter boxes | 25 liters |
| Juice (lime) | 11 (200 ml bottles in Galle - not wonderful stuff) |
| Juice (Tang) | 3 Large Tins (each make 22 liters) from States |
| Liquid Smoke | 2 small bottles for making refried beans bought in Ao Chalong |
| Mayonnaise | 4 (1 liter) pkg (tuna & tartar sauce for fish sandwiches) |
| Milk: | |
| - UHT | 20 (liter boxes) |
| - Coconut | 24 (200 ml) + 24 (400 ml) for dahl, fish curry, rendang sauce, Tom Yum soup |
| - Evaporated | 20 (400 g) for soup, chowder & pasta sauces |
| - Powdered | 6000 g Anlene from Langkawi + 4 (1 kg boxes of New Zealand Anchor brand) in Galle |
| - Sweetened Condensed | 5 |
| - Whipped Cream | UHT 2 + 7 in Galle |
| Mung Beans | 2 large bags + 1 kg in Galle |
| Mushrooms (tinned) | Case of 24 + 21 tins |
| Mustard | 7 small jars (for lentil burgers & cheese sandwiches) |
| Nori | 2 packages of 10 sheets each |
| Nuts: | |
| - Almonds | 2 kg Pastry Pro + 1 kg Galle |
| - Cashews | 3 kg Pastry Pro + 3 pint jar |
| - Peauts (White) | 1 kg |
| - Peanuts (Red Skins) | 3 kg + 4 kg in Galle for muesli and sweet breads (date-nut, banana bread) |
| - Walnuts | 2 kg Pastry Pro + 1 qt jar |
| Oats | 37.5 kg in 50 (.75kg) bags - Use 3 kg/month for muesli, lentil burgers & Anzac or Oatmeal cookies
Bought in Langkawi and stored in 2 sturdy, large plastic boxes in original packaging. |
| Oil: | |
| - Canola | 10 liters |
| - Olive | 1 quart + 6 liters in Galle - would have been less expensive in Malaysia or Thailand |
| - Peanut | 1 |
| - Palm (for toilet) | 2 (2 kg) bottles |
| Onions | 3 kg + 30 kg in Galle Bought more in Madagascar |
| Orange Lentils | 42 cups stored in study plastic containers for dahl and lentil burgers |
| Oysters/Mussels (smoked/tinned) | 8 tins |
| Oysters (whole tinned) | 1 tin |
| Pasta: | |
| - Fettuccine (500g pkg) | 15 packages |
| - Lasagna Noodles | 1 box |
| - Linguine | 12 packages |
| - Macaroni or Spirals | 3 (375g) |
| - Spaghetti | 10 packages |
| - 2-minute Noodles | 48 packages |
| - Vermicelli | 4 (400g) |
| Peanut Butter | 10 (510 g jars) |
| Peas (tinned) | Case of 24 + 6 (way too many for us as we aren't really fond of them) |
| Pesto Sauce | 5 (185 gm jars) |
| Popcorn | 2 kg |
| Potatoes | 7 tins + 30 kg fresh wrapped individually in newspaper + 58oz tin of potato flakes
Checked each fresh potato every 3-4 days and used them if soft. Made sure they had lots of air. Gave some away in Chagos. Bought more in Madagascar. |
| Prawns | 1 box in freezer |
| Propane | - Have 4 containers that hold 60 pounds - last filled in Sri Lanka & needed more in Madagascar |
| Pumpkins | - 12 Checked each one every 5 days or so. When one started to spoil we used it right away |
| Rice: | |
| - Brown | 5 kg bag + 4 (1kg) bags |
| - Red | 2 kg + 1 kg |
| - Brown & Red Mixed | 54 cups for 6 months (3 kg brown mixed with 1 kg red made 22 cups) |
| - Sushi | 1 kg |
| - White | 4 kg |
| Salmon | 3 tins and 3 salmon spread |
| Salmon (smoked) | 5 packages in freezer between boxes |
| Sherry (cooking) | 1 bottle + part of bottle for coleslaw dressing and Lobster Newburg (in Madagascar) |
| Seeds: | |
| - flax (linseed) | 1.5 kg (1/2 kg = 3 cups or 48 TBSP. Need 2 Tbsp/2 loaves bread) |
| - pumpkin | 1 kg Pastry Pro + 1 (200g) jar + 2 pint jars |
| - sesame | 2 quarts for museli, stir fries, cabbage salad, sesame noodles |
| - sunflower | 3 kg Pastry Pro + 1 pint jar for museli & bread |
| Semolina | 2 tins (454g each) |
| Snails | 1 tin |
| Soy Sauce | 2.5 (600 ml) bottles |
| Spices: | |
| - Chili Sauce | 1 bottle |
| - Green Curry Paste | 4 packages |
| - Oyster Sauce | 2 bottles |
| - Red Curry Paste | 4 packages |
| - Rendang Sauce | 24 large + 10 small packages |
| - Salt | 2.5 kg |
| - Tobasco Sauce | 1 bottle |
| - Tom Yum Paste | 2 pkg + 2 small jars |
| Spices Continued: | |
| - Black Mustard Seeds | 2 (100g) packages |
| - Celery Seeds | 2 (100g) packets |
| - Chili Powder | 4(50g pkg) + 1 (20g) |
| - Coriander Powder | 200g + 2 (125g) + 100g |
| - Coriander Seeds | 50g |
| - Cumin Powder | 2 (70g) packages |
| - Cumin Seeds | 2 (100g) packets |
| - Curry Powder | (KURMA brand) 3(200g) packages |
| - Fennel Powder | 4 (75g) packets |
| - Fennel Seeds | 2 (100g) packets |
| - Fenugreek Seeds 100g | |
| - Ginger (fresh) | 4 large pieces in Galle which lasted months in fridge |
| - Peppercorns | 2 (100g) packets |
| - Turmeric Powder | 3 (100g) packets |
| - Wasabi Paste | 2 Tubes |
| Squid | 1 box in freezer + caught many in Chagos without getting black ink on boat |
| Sugar (Brown) | 2 (500g) + 2 (455g) |
| Sugar (White) | 1 gallon container + 8 kg |
| Sultanas | 1 kg + 7 (200 g) for muesli and semolina |
| Tahini Butter | 5.5 jars - use 1/2 jar with 1 garbanzo bean tin for hummus |
| Tea - Roobios & herbal Bags | 360 teabags (use 2 teabags/day so for 6 months needed 60 x 6) Bought more in Madagascar. |
| Tofu: | |
| - TVP | |
| - fresh, packed well | |
| Tomatoes (tinned) | 24 |
| Tomato Paste | 25 small (150 g) + 4 (170g normal) + 3 (340g) for pizza and spaghetti sauce |
| Tuna (tinned) | 26 |
| Vegetables (fresh & frozen): | |
| - Cabbages | 12 stored in green bags in fridge |
| - Carrots | 12 in Galle + 12 in Maldives - neither lasted - dried or froze to use later |
| - Corn | 2 tins |
| - Garlic | 20 kg in Galle - WAY too much so gave lots away |
| - Greens | 4 freezer boxes from Thailand + enough fresh for 1 meal in Galle |
| - Green Peppers (Capsicums) | 2 freezer boxes + 8 fresh for pizza and spaghetti |
| - Peas | 30 tins |
| - Potatoes (flakes) | 58oz tin bought in Phuket |
| - Potatoes (tinned) | 7 tins of small whole potatoes |
| - Potatoes (fresh) | 30 kg in Galle wrapped individually in newspaper
Checked each fresh potato every 3-4 days and used them if soft. Made sure they had lots of air. Gave some away in Chagos. Bought more in Madagascar. |
| - Pumpkins | 12 in Galle |
| - Tomatoes (tinned) | 24 |
| - Tomatoes (fresh) | 36 in Galle which lasted well |
| - Spinach | 12 tins |
| Vinegar: | |
| - Apple Cider Vinegar | 1 pint |
| - Balsamic Vinegar | 2.5 bottles |
| - Malt Vinegar | 1 small bottle |
| - Red Vinegar | 5 bottles |
| - Rice Vinegar | 1 bottle found in Galle |
| - White Vinegar | 1/2 bottle |
| Wheat Germ | 1 (567gm=20 oz) jar |
| Wine | 12 (5 liter) boxes |
| Yeast | 3 (500g packages) |
| Yogurt | 3 large containers in Langkawi and 5 pint containers in Galle.
Made my own yogurt from the above until we got to Madagascar. A friend gave me several small packets of dry culture from the States which I appreciated. |
| Bug Spray for hornets or other pests | 1 |
| Chlorox | 3 |
| Conditioner | 3 large |
| Dish Detergent | 2.5 + 2 (600g) Galle |
| Hinges for galley doors | |
| Laundry Detergent | 1 large pail full |
| Liquid Hand Soap - Gervenne Rosemary & Herbs | 3 |
| Mosquito Coils | Big Box |
| Mosquito Repellent | 8 containers |
| Paper Towels | 12 rolls |
| Shampoo | 5 large |
| Shower Soap (Purple Cover Aroma Therapy) | 4 |
| Tissues | 8 large boxes |
| Toilet Tissue | 4(10 rolls) = 40 rolls in Langkawi + 2 rolls of 10 in Galle |
| Toothpaste | 4 + 2 (200g) Galle |
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