Posted on 03/18/2021 1:23:13 AM PDT by clairechen
It is said time and tide wait for no man. Technological advancements have ensured there are possible alternatives for everything but nature waits for no man. Disasters, natural or otherwise can happen anytime.
In a world riddled with uncertainty, how do you ensure you keep your wits about you to survive. Food is the basic human need and it is important to have a survival food list so youâre prepared when emergencies hit.
History has shown us that whether it is a hurricane, an earthquake, floods, or any other natural calamity, or even a war, the first thing people lose access to is food and water. People who live in areas and cities prone to heavy floods, famines, droughts, or heavy snowfall are used to this and tend to keep a stock of chosen survival food that would last a long time.
But what would you do in case youâre thrown head straight into an emergency? Our survival food list will walk you through everything you need to know about the right kind of food to store and how to store food during a disaster.
Criteria to Choose Survival Foods When it comes to choosing survival foods whether, for the short or long-term, there are certain things you need to keep in mind.
Shelf Life The whole idea of survival food is to store food that can last for a long time. If the food you choose does not have a long shelf life, then it stumps the whole purpose of it. Most items have best before dates written on the packaging itself so they can give you a rough idea. Avoid stocking products that donât last a year, at the least.
Easy to Prepare Seeing that we donât know what kind of emergency weâll be in, itâs best to choose food products that can be consumed as is or require very little preparation time. Food items like protein bars, canned beans, and white rice are the way to go.
Nutritional Value Just because youâre in a situation that requires you to eat stored food for survival does not mean it has to be bland, or a straight-up fast-food meal. Ensure you stock up on nutritious foods. Most staple survival foods have great nutritional value and are meant to keep you energetic and fit at the time you need them the most.
Storability As much as possible store food in air-tight containers. The plastic packaging that they usually come in can decrease their shelf life. Your main concern should be storing food that does not require electricity or fuel to be cooked.
Survival Foods That Have the Longest Shelf Life When survival is all about staying put and making the best of what you have, it also means stockpiling on food that has the longest shelf life since thereâs no saying till when an emergency might extend. You need food that will not expire. At all.
How crazy is that?
But, in a scenario where youâre restricted from making regular trips to the grocery store or ordering online, the items on this list can be your best bet.
#1. Rice Rice can last you more than 25 years if stored in ideal conditions. If I were you, Iâd lay off brown rice. While popularly known as being more nutritious than the standard white rice, it has a high oil content comparatively. Simply put, it wonât last more than 12-18 months in the pantry. Defeats the purpose of survival food, doesnât it?
#2. Honey I know, I know. The âbest beforeâ date on the bottles can confuse anyone. While honey may get grainy, hard, or change color post the best before date, the truth is that it wonât go bad. Honey doesnât expire even if itâs been previously opened, provided it is stored in good conditions, away from the stove.
#3. Potato Flakes Potato Flakes have a shelf life that ranges from 25-30 years when stored in ideal conditions. If youâve opened a can, best remember to use it within a year.
#4. Dried Meat Dried meat is not just a tasty snack you nibble on, it is a great survival food too. Meat is packed in proteins and is essential for building new cells and maintaining tissues. Dried meat can be stored for 25 years and more and can be a great addition to your survival food list.
#5. Canned Beans Canned Beans have a crazy good shelf-life and they go well with rice. Now thatâs an unbeatable combo. Like rice, beans donât cost an arm and a leg. Theyâre easy to store. What I mean to say is, theyâre the survival superfood. You will find a great variety of beans that are high in calories and proteins, some also contain a fair share of vitamins and minerals.
Dried beans. And they can be used as sprouts or as seeds to grow more.
Seeds for sprouting. A 50 lb bag if clover or Alfalfa seed costs under $100
Whole grains: corn, wheat, rye, buckwheat, oats.... again, eat whole, flour, sprouting or planting
I added a couple 50lb bags of popcorn... different types
Salt..
It’s about sustainability...
And COFFEE!!!!
I've complimented all that with large containers of multivitamins and minerals.
It's all stored back in such a way that it will be good for three years.
Welcome to Free Republic.
Beware the humblegunner.
RE: Water
I have found that Glacier water is the best tasting, but their bottles can only be refilled 3 or 4 times before leaking. It is cheap, $.65 is for if you buy the bottle or $.46 for a refill (a gallon). In my local Safeway it is in the pharmacy area.
I would suggest buying decent bottles of your grocery water and refilling them with Glacier water. It is filtered 5 times.
Amen on that! I ran across a sale on coffee at half price in 2009 so I bought 3 cases-figured that would last 3 years. But we didn’t use it as fast as I thought. So it lasted almost twice as long—good to the last drop.
I also bought some dehydrated hash browns and have been testing them to see —opened up a pack with a use by date of 2014 and it was excellent. It’s been stated that food will still be good beyond the use by date, possibly loosing a little taste or nutrition. So we’ve been checking it out.
Milk products-stick to the use by date-everything else so far has been ok. We bought some long term storage foods -staples that a packaged to last 20 -30 years. Medium Term - we stock up on stuff we use all the time 1-5 years supply. Buy it when a good sale comes along.
The emergency food bars etc. not big on those. OK for maybe a couple of days. We have pork and beans, canned bread and peanut butter, tuna, beef, tomato juice etc. for foods that don’t have to be cooked.
I bought meats on sale and canned up 2 cases each of Beef, Chicken, Pork, hamburger. That will give us meat 4 times a week for a year. Then we have fish/seafood once a week for a year-alternating between tuna, salmon, shrimp, clams. Meatless Monday and Taco Tuesday is the rest of the plan.
And we have added to that in case relatives get in trouble and come to visit. Almost always buy a container of salt, sugar, baking soda, or honey. Lasts forever and can trade it for something you need maybe.
We have plenty of beans, rice, wheat, and have learned to grow, preserve, and prepare meals for nearly all the things we consume.
Rice and canned goods. I’m in decent shape for a bit.
It’s not great rice but I’ve got plenty. Hehehehehe.
Some drink supplies - mostly water but a little soda too. Have to rotate the soda the fastest.
We bought one of those machines that makes carbonated water and we have some homemade syrup that I have used to make a decent soda drink. I especially like the lemonade that I make from lemons I have grown over the winter.
I am currently stocking up with the tubs of food guaranteed for 25 years. Both Patriot supply and 4patriot offer them along with a variety of other products.
And of course, rice and beans are part of the inventory. Not concerned about meat as there is plenty and there is plenty of deer, squirrels etc in a worse case scenario.
At this point, I'm more concerned with a fresh water supply. I live inside city limits where digging a well is prohibited and so, I'm stuck with city supplied water.
Dehydrated vegetables and fruits are a good choice. Protein powders are another.
You can build your own dehydrator that doesn’t require electricity using trays and mesh.
Bullets, guns, friends with the previous, salt and water.
Fava beans for eating and adding nitrogen to your garden....also a couple of sacks of granite dust or small pebbles adds to mineral content of soil.
Dehydrators are also great for drying herbs. I have dried parsley, chopped chives, sage, and oregano. This can also be done on trays in the direct sunshine. Store in glass jars. Making pickles is easy too. They are a rich source of vitamins and minerals and beta-carotene. I have kept and used home canned pickles for up to 3 years. Not sure about store-bought.
These are all good ideas.
I made a few kegs of Russian Imperial Stout.... it gets better with age.
Liquid bread.
I have enough wine and beer to last twenty years... I just can’t drink it fast enough and I love making it.
If I’m going to live, I want you enjoy.
Reminder to self.. need another ton of barley malt...
If you are inside city limits, your big problem is not how long your pantry lasts, your big problem will be hungry gangsta types.
Where’s Chocolate?
So your strategy is to only stock salt and water and to use the bullets and guns to take the rest from "friends with the previous"?
“I’m stuck with city supplied water.”
In my southern home where I like to be in the winter, I too have city water.
Ironically, I have a pretty good fresh water spring in my basement that is not a leaky pipe. I dug it out and made a reservoir, put in a pump hooked to my generator, and use the overflow for the garden. Water is very expensive here and sewer that is based upon water meters is even worse. I couldn’t afford to water my garden otherwise.
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