survival food

Is Survival Food A Healthy Solution?

Survival food is everywhere. Question is, just like everything else in our lives, should we take it for granted?

Food: it seems to be the one constant in prepping. We start out buying food and many of us are still buying food, long after we think we’ve got all our other preps in place. No matter how much food we have in our stockpiles, we never really think we have enough. So, instead of calling it “done”, we just add another month’s worth.

There’s nothing wrong with stockpiling all that food. None of us know what sort of disaster we’re going to be faced with, and if we’re ever faced with a true TEOTWAWKI event, then we’ll need all the food we can get. In fact, we’ll all be wishing we had more.

But what’s it going to be like when we open up those buckets and find the food contained inside? Are we going to be pleased with what we have or are we going to feel like something is lacking? What’s it going to taste like and what sort of nutrition are we going to get from that survival food? Will it truly be enough to survive on?

Of course, a lot is going to depend on what we have stored in those buckets and who packed them. You might actually be more content with your own survival food, than with buying the prepackaged buckets.

While the prepackaged food may be made up by “professionals”, we really don’t know the criteria they were using when they developed those survival meals. Taste seems to get a lot of attention when people talk about survival meals, but isn’t nutrition actually more important?

Let me deal with taste to start with, as that’s actually the easier subject. I’ve eaten a number of different survival meals, from a number of different companies. I’ve also eaten military MREs, which is the real basis for the types of food that we’re talking about.

Based upon that, I’d say they are all edible and some are even rather tasty, if you like the Rice-a-Roni or Skillet Helper type of flavor. The main seasoning used in the majority of these foods is salt, like much of the food we eat every day. As salt is necessary for survival, that’s probably rather good, although I will have to say that the amount of salt that they use is probably a bit high, as with most of the prepared food we eat.

Calories in that Survival Food

We’ve all been taught to think in terms of a 2,000 to 2,500 calorie per day diet. That’s actually more than we need, especially if we live a sedentary lifestyle. On the other hand, if we live an active lifestyle, that probably isn’t enough. Soldiers in combat are fed 4,500 to 5,500 calories a day, whether eating in a mess hall or eating MREs, to ensure they have plenty of energy to fight.

You’ll receive different information from different sources, but by and large, the average person needs 1,200 calories per day to survive. Men need more than women, due to being larger with a larger muscle mass. Of course, that doesn’t take into account activity; but rather, is just based on what is needed to survive. As activity increases, the energy the body needs has to come from somewhere, either from food being eaten or energy stored in the body’s fat cells.

When you open your survival rations, you’ll find that they base everything on servings. If you buy a 30 day package for one person, that usually means 90 servings (30 days x 3 servings per day). Now, here’s the thing; in the case of many of those prepackaged survival meals, those three servings per day work out to only 1,000 to 1,200 calories, although there are some which contain 2,000 calories per day.

In other words, no matter how good your buckets of pre-packaged survival rations taste, they are most likely going to end up leaving you hungry. You will probably not be eating enough to sustain your body weight and most likely will not have a whole lot of energy for strenuous physical activity.

Nutrition in that Survival Food

If you spend any time talking to a nutritionist, or even reading what they say, you’ll find that they spend a lot of time talking about micronutrients. Listening to them, it sounds like all we need to eat is Omega 3 fatty acids and anti-oxidants to survive.

In reality, micronutrients won’t keep you alive all by themselves. The nutrients which talk about them are already assuming that you are getting enough of the macronutrients your body needs, probably more than enough. If you are already getting enough macronutrients, then the idea behind supplementing those micronutrients is to improve your health.

That’s all well and good; but in the case of survival, we really need to focus on the macronutrients, not the micronutrients. There’s really no value in being the healthiest corpse in the graveyard.

There are three macronutrients. They are:

Carbohydrates – These come from grains and should make up 50 – 60% of a survival diet. Carbohydrates are your body’s biggest source of energy.
Fats – This includes both plant and animal fats and should make up about 30% of a survival diet. Fats break down slower than carbohydrates, providing a “second wind” of fuel to your body when the energy from the carbohydrates runs out.
Proteins – We’re talking animal proteins here, although some can be garnered from plants, Proteins are essential so that your body doesn’t turn on itself and cannibalize muscle tissue to get them. You need about 10 – 15% of your diet to be animal proteins in a survival diet.

In reality, the one thing that most “survival foods” are really good at providing is carbohydrates. While they provide fats or proteins, they don’t provide enough. Not only that, but the protein they provide is “textured vegetable protein” or in other words, flavored soy curds. While you can survive on them, they aren’t an ideally balanced survival diet.

Micronutrients are all but non-existent in these survival foods. That’s okay for a short-term survival situation (under 30 days), but if you continue eating this sort of diet for a prolonged period of time, your body will not receive all the nutrients it needs and will become susceptible to disease.

In order to use those buckets as your main source of nutrition, you really need to augment the food that is in them with other fats and proteins, as well as fruits and vegetables to provide the micronutrients your body needs. Of course, if you are growing an extensive vegetable garden and using it to supplement your survival food, you’ll be doing a lot to provide the micronutrients your body needs.

How will the Survival Food Affect You?

If you try to live only on survival food, you will find it affecting you quite a bit. Of course, a lot will depend on the actual survival food that you are eating, how many calories it provides, how much physical activity you undertake and what your health is like before the disaster strikes. Nevertheless, there are some conclusions we can generalize on:

#1. You will most likely lose weight. Not only will you be eating less calories than you are accustomed to, but you will also be doing more physical work than you normally do.

#2. You will find yourself weakening. The food in survival buckets is intended to help you survive; it is not guaranteed to keep you in top form. So you will find that you will become weaker over time.

#3. You may find that you don’t think as clearly. One of the things a poor diet affects is the higher brain functions.

#4. You will be more susceptible to disease. Without a fully-balanced diet, your body will not have the defenses it needs to fight off disease. I’m not talking so much about infection here, as I am about diseases where the organs of the body are not able to function fully.

#5. You will probably have digestive problems, due to a lack of sufficient fiber in your diet.

I would recommend that you augment that food with other food stocks, more specifically: jerky or other dried meats, canned meats, nuts, peanut butter, canned vegetables, canned fruits, dried fruits and vitamins.

Other self-sufficiency and preparedness solutions recommended for you:

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Survival food is everywhere. Question is, just like everything else in our lives, should we take it for granted?

Best Survival Foods Your Grandparents Used To Make

Thanks to modern food processing technology, building up a stock of survival rations is easier than it’s ever been. From cheap tinned goods to tasty dehydrated meals that let you eat well even when you’re living out of a rucksack, modern survival foods make prepping easy.

Even your freezer is a powerful survival tool (as long as you can keep it working).

What do you do if you can’t benefit from all these modern options, though?

Maybe you’re pretty much self-sufficient in food, don’t want to buy what you can grow yourself, but can’t afford a full-scale food processing factory to turn out your own Mountain House meals?

Or what if the crisis has already hit and you’re trying to build up a reserve to get you through the next winter?

There are plenty of ways you could find yourself trying to put together a survival food reserve without the benefits of modern foods, but the good news is it’s easier than you might expect. After all, just a few generations ago our ancestors were building up food stores without most of the foods we rely on today.

They weren’t doing it as a precaution against a possible crisis, either; it was a vital part of survival from one year to the next. If you lived on the old western frontier, or anywhere rural until the early 20th century, you better have a good supply of preserved food laid up by the time the first snow fell or your chances of making it through to spring weren’t that good.

Considering that, it’s no surprise that previous generations had their own ways of putting up food that would last a long time. As recently as our grandparents’ generation most people knew how to preserve their own food.

Those skills are just as useful for modern preppers as they were for our predecessors, so let’s look at some of the survival foods your grandmother would have made.

Kielbasa

Ham is one way to preserve pork; sausages are another. Many of our ancestors came to the USA from central and eastern Europe, where pork sausages are a major part of the diet. There were two reasons for that. One is that sausages could be made from scraps and poorer cuts of meat; the other is that, properly cured and air-dried, they can be stored for months in a cool, dark place.

While the hams were soaking in brine, pounds of pork would be forced through my grandmother’s mincing machine, seasoned, then packed into sausage skins. Then the strings of sausages were smoked and hung up to cure.

Once they were dry they would last through the winter and well into the next year; grilled, or cut up and cooked in stews or soups, they were a tasty and versatile source of storable protein.

The truth is, our grandparents and great-grandparents grew up in a world where home refrigeration was a luxury. They needed food that could be stored for the long term, because crops and livestock were mostly available for processing on an annual basis.

That meant pretty much anything they canned, cured or otherwise preserved was good for at least a year. So, if you have your grandmother’s old recipe books around the house, dig them out and take a look; there could be a lot of great survival food ideas in there.

Head Cheese

Don’t be misled by the name – this old delicacy isn’t a dairy product (although it does usually have bits of head in it). Originally from Europe, it was popular for generations in the USA, too. In fact it’s still popular in some areas, mostly in Cajun and Pennsylvania Dutch country.

In the mid-20th century almost every rural family would lay up a stock of it after the slaughtering was done. One great thing about head cheese is it can be made from almost any animal; a calf or pig is the usual choice, but cows, sheep and deer work fine too.

Head cheese is a great way of not only using up tricky cuts, but also of preserving meat for long-term storage. It’s made by taking the head of an animal, removing the brain, eyes and ears, then slowly simmering what’s left in a pan of seasoned water. This process doesn’t just cook the meat; it extracts natural gelatin from the head.

After a few hours, depending on the size of the head, the meat is stripped off and chopped into small pieces.

The gelatin-rich stock is simmered a bit more to reduce it, then the meat is put in a mold or jar and the stock is poured over it. When it’s cooled you’re left with a meat jelly that can be eaten cold. For long-term storage it was made in jars, then canned while the stock was still hot. That way it would last in the root cellar for months.

Ham

Ham’s one of those things we pick up in the grocery store and the label says “Once opened use within 3 days”. Ham isn’t so delicate, though. In fact it originated as a way of storing meat through the winter – and sometimes well into the next year, until a new batch of hogs were ready for slaughter.

When my grandparents butchered their hogs, that was the cue for ham curing to start. Some hams would be buried in salt then pressed to get the blood out, washed, and hung in the root cellar to dry.

Others would be soaked in brine for a week or two, then hung up. The brined ones were ready to eat as soon as they’d dried; the others developed a richer flavor, but had to be left to cure for months.

Lard

If there’s one thing this site seems to love as much as articles about surviving an EMP attack, it’s articles about lard. That makes perfect sense to me, because lard is a great survival food. It’s healthier than a lot of modern spreads, and even butter.

It’s versatile, and can be used for frying, baking and general cooking, as well as an ingredient in some delicious baked goods. It can be used to preserve meat. It’s rich in calories and also has plenty of essential fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins. Best of all, it’s easy to make and stores for a long time.

My grandmother made her own lard every fall when the hogs were slaughtered. Butcher a well-fed hog and you’ll end up with plenty of fat. To the horror of today’s health-conscious foodies this wasn’t thrown away.

It was cut into small cubes, put in a pan with a little water, then slowly rendered down over a low to medium heat. After a couple of hours she was left with a basket of delicious pork cracklins and pints of lard. Poured into jars, pressure canned and stored in the root cellar, that lard would last a year or more.

Maple Syrup

5 Survival Foods Your Grandmother Used To Make

Nutritionists might hate sugar, but it’s a great survival food. Easy to digest, packed with calories and useful for preserving other foods, sugar is something we all stockpile.

Our reserves won’t last forever, though, and what do we do once the last spoonful of sugar is gone?

Not many of us want to go through the hassle of growing, then cutting, sugar cane and building a press to extract the juice. Luckily there’s an alternative sweetener that’s much easier to produce.

My grandfather used to tap a couple dozen maple trees for their sap every spring. Once he’d filled enough buckets with sap my grandma would slowly boil and skim it until it was reduced to a thick, sweet syrup. We ate that on pancakes, but it’s also a great all-round sweetener.

Sauerkraut

Fermented cabbage isn’t to everyone’s taste, but if you can’t get your hands on fresh greens for a while you’ll be grateful for a source of essential vitamins. Sauerkraut was developed as a way of preserving cabbage for long-term storage, and it used to be a regular item in the fall canning season.

If your food reserves are based around dry goods and canned meat, digging out your grandmother’s old sauerkraut recipe will let you add some much-appreciated vegetables to your diet.

Before you go, you may also like:

The Lost Ways (The vital self-sufficiency lessons our great grand-fathers left us)

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Backyard Liberty (Liberal’s hidden agenda: more than just your guns…)

Alive After the Fall (Build yourself the only unlimited water source you’ll ever need)

The Lost ways II (4 Important Forgotten Skills used by our Ancestors that can help you in any crisis)

The Patriot Privacy Kit (Secure your privacy in just 10 simple steps)

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Have you ever wondered what’s wrong with society? Why is so hard to find and cook a good healthy meal?

Healthy Versus Unhealthy Survival Food

With plenty of clean drinking water and shelter to sleep, the average adult can survive for several weeks or longer without food. This means that in a short-term survival situation, any kind of food, even unhealthy food or “junk food’ will be comforting.

This is fine for a short-term situation where the goal is to satisfy your rumbling stomach and hang on until help arrives that you know is on the way. But in a long-term survival situation where “help” is likely not coming, proper nutrition becomes critical to survival from day one.

Proper nutrition is important from day one in a survival situation because without the right vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients your body needs, your body begins to be negatively affected in multiple ways. Lack of proper nutrition over time of course can negatively impact anyone. But lack of proper nutrition in a long-term survival or SHTF situation means your physical strength and mental clarity can diminish rapidly. This is detrimental to your long-term survival because chances are, you will be expending a lot more energy on a daily basis than in your normal routine which means your body begins to fall apart much faster.

Want to learn about essential health practices, the right way to take vitamins, and why they currently aren’t working for you? Find out more HERE.

Most people know that staying well hydrated is of the utmost priority but make sure you’ve planned for multiple ways to have access to fresh drinking water. Stockpile sports drinks that are low in sugar but packed with electrolytes to replace those that are lost while hiking to your BOL, hauling water, chopping wood for a fire, or foraging for wild edibles.

Following a SHTF situation, you will have innumerous tasks you must accomplish just to survive. Even for those people whose normal days are active and can barely find time to sit down, the strenuous tasks needed for basic survival will be challenging. In a survival situation, a lapse in mental focus for just a few moments can cost you your life or the life of a family member. You must be on alert nearly constantly for dangers that could be lurking. Adrenaline may get you through the first couple days, but only a well-balanced diet can combat the mental and physical fatigue that will set in quickly following a SHTF event. A lack of physical strength and stamina can seriously hamper your ability to rejuvenate for the next day’s tasks, heal quickly from injuries, and ward off illness and diseases.

Some of the effects of inadequate nutrition that can be detrimental in a survival situation include:

Poor mental focus and clarity
Physical weakness
Fatigue or Lack of Energy
Drowsiness
Depression

All of these issues can really have a negative impact on how well you can get strenuous tasks completed and make you more likely to be injured or get sick. In addition to some of the effects above, a SHTF or other survival situation comes with additional stress, inadequate sleep and relaxation time, and increased threats from outside sources. In a SHTF situation, professional medical help and pharmaceutical medicines will be in short supply if they are available at all. It’s critical that you work proactively to prevent any illness, injury, or diseases if you’re going to survive.

Want to learn about essential tools for treating most diseases you are likely to encounter? Details HERE.

Survival Food Needs

Carbohydrates

These are starches, sugars, and fiber that is contained in foods. They can be complex or simple. Natural sugars like those found in vegetables, fruits, milk, and some added sugars are simple. Whole-grain breads, starchy vegetables, cereals, and legumes are good sources for complex carbohydrates. You need a balance of simple and complex carbohydrates in your diet. Carbohydrates assist in providing the body with energy and help guard protein stored in the body.

Without sufficient carbohydrates in your daily diet, metabolism of fatty acid suffers and the body becomes weaker. Carbohydrates should make up approximately half of your caloric intake for a normal day, no less than 60 grams minimum. So, for the average adult during a SHTF situation, you’ll want to be much higher and get as close to half your caloric intake as possible.

Carbohydrates come from:

edible plants are easily accessible if you know how to identify them properly
white rice
grains like wheat and oats
root and tuber vegetables
cereals
honey
fruits
sugars

This book teaches you what to do when your doctor is not around. Follow this link for details.

Protein & Healthy Fats

Protein is found in foods such as eggs, meats, and beans. Proteins are important because your body breaks these down into amino acids which are distributed through your body. It’s also important for a wide variety of essential things including provision of nitrogen you can’t get from lipids or carbs. They also help balance pH and are vital for the immune system. Recommended daily protein intake is 20 to 25% normally and more during strenuous activity.

Healthy fats are critical because they are an energy source but also because they help the body to properly absorb vitamins. Omega 3s are healthy fats found in fatty fish and in plant oils such as corn oil, olive oil, and sunflower oil. Healthy fats are vital for creating fatty acids and glycerol. Fatty acids help to regulate inflammation in the body and glycerol is a naturally occurring carbohydrate that serves as a source of fuel for the body. Recommended amount of healthy fats is around 10 to 30% of total calories per “normal” day so for a SHTF situation you’ll want to be closer to 30% most days.

Protein comes from:

many different insects if the situation is dire
fresh meat such as rabbits, chickens or other poultry (start raising them now)
peanut butter, legumes, and nuts
eggs
canned fish and meat
grains like quinoa and wheat
Oatmeal
MREs

Healthy Fats come from:

Avocado or Avocado Oil
Whole eggs
Cheese
Fatty fish like salmon, sardines, mackerel, trout, and herring
Chia Seeds
Dark chocolate
Fatty cuts of lamb, pork, beef, and lard

Critical Vitamins

Vitamins are classified as water soluble or fat soluble. Vitamin C (helps with iron absorption) and all the B vitamins are considered water soluble vitamins and each has a different function within the body. Water soluble vitamins are not easily stored within the body and extra is flushed during urination which means these vitamins need to be replenished frequently. Keep this in mind when planning your survival meals and snacks. These vitamins are critical to helping your body use the energy in the food you eat.

Water Soluble Vitamins come from:

Citrus fruits
Dark green leafy veggies like kale and spinach or broccoli
Meat, poultry, dairy products, shellfish, fish, and eggs
Tropical fruits and oranges
Peanuts and peanut butter
Nuts, peas, soybeans
Bananas

Your body needs these essential vitamins to continue to function by producing energy, building cells, and making collagen for wound healing (Vitamin E), healthy teeth, and bones (Vitamin D).

Fat soluble vitamins, like Vitamins K, E, A, and D are stored in the fatty tissues and liver and distributed as needed by the body. Fat soluble vitamins are critical for building bones, healthy vision, and to help store other essential vitamins. Getting and maintaining sufficient levels of vitamins also helps to prevent diseases that can occur when certain vitamins are deficient or in short supply such as:

Blindness (Vitamin A deficiency)
Rickets (lack of Vitamin D)
Scurvy (Vitamin C deficiency)

Fat Soluble vitamins come from:

Veggies like carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, asparagus, cabbage
Eggs, milk, yogurt
Nuts like almonds and sunflower seeds
Fruits such as cantaloupe and apricots
Fatty fish like sardines and salmon, shrimp, and trout
Olive oil, coconut oil

Vital Minerals

The minerals your body needs work similarly to the critical vitamins in that some of them circulate more like water soluble vitamins and should be replenished frequently and others are more like fat soluble vitamins because they need to be absorbed and transported through the body by a carrier. The reason it’s important to know how these minerals work is so that you can plan your survival meal plan in a way that replenishes those that don’t get stored and to not overindulge on those that are naturally stored in the body.

Calcium
Sodium
Phosphorus
Potassium
Magnesium
Trace Minerals

Healthy Survival Food Options

Okay, so now that we know what kinds of nutritional ingredients will be critical to keeping our energy, strength, and mental clarity intact during and in the aftermath of a SHTF event. But what kinds of foods are good options?

Ten Super Nutritious Survival Foods:

Dark Chocolate (Antioxidants, fiber, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, improves brain function, protects skin from sun damage)
Brown rice or Brown rice hot cereal (high calorie, protein packed, and good source of minerals such as iron. Store airtight container for 3-6 months.
Whole Eggs (nutrient dense contains a bit of every single nutrient we need plus antioxidants)
Cheese (calcium, B12, selenium, protein, Vitamin B12, fatty acids)
Dried Beans especially split peas. (high calorie, good protein source, some vitamins and minerals) Long shelf-life
Chia Seeds (high fat-9 grams in 1 ounce of seeds, fiber, Omega-3, loaded with minerals, can lower blood pressure and are anti-inflammatory.
Avocado or Avocado Oil (contains oleic acid, high in potassium, high fat)
Nuts and Peanut Butter (good source of protein, high in healthy fats, Vitamin E, and magnesium) Store airtight, lightweight for easy carry during bug out.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (good source of healthy fats, stores open 3-6 months, unopened up to 2 years or until it begins to smell “sweet”.)
Powdered Sea vegetables or greens (vitamin and nutrient dense, can boost immunity, antifungal and anti-bacterial properties, can make up for lack of fresh produce)

MREs

We’ve all heard about MREs for survival food. One of the benefits of MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) is that they are just that, ready to eat. For most of these, you can simply open them and eat them cold. They are lightweight and provide an average of 1,200 to 1,500 calories. MREs have a long shelf life, and are easy to carry in a bug out bag or get home bag if needed. For the average adult, two MREs daily will give you the recommended calories needed to keep you alive. Many of them come with beverages, snacks, and even utensils in the package. One thing to be careful of with MREs is that although they often are a good source of carbohydrates, protein, and other essential nutrients, they can be high in salt or sugar.

Freeze Dried Foods

The advantage to some of these packaged “freeze dried” meals, from companies like Wise and Mountain House, are that they are lightweight and pre-calculated for you to help ensure balanced nutrition. And in most cases when bought in bulk they have enough variety to combat “food fatigue”.

They are typically more difficult to use on the go because you need to at least have the ability and time to boil water to rehydrate them and some can take up to 30 minutes to fully cook. Another issue some have found with these meals is that they aren’t as tasty as one would hope and can be expensive to purchase. But in a pinch, they can be handy to have as part of your survival food stockpile.

Eggs

can be cooked multiple ways
freshly laid eggs (unwashed) can have a long shelf life if properly stored
fragile in a bug out situation but most bird eggs are safe to eat in the wild as a last resort

Canned Chicken

Comes canned, in foil pouches, or mini pull tab cans
packed with protein
can be heated quickly or eaten cold if needed
Long shelf life

Tuna Fish (Albacore)

comes canned or in foil pouches
can be eaten cold right out of can or pouch if necessary
foil pouches are lightweight
long shelf life
water in canned tuna helps with hydration if needed

Canned Alaskan Wild Salmon

Inuit people (native to Alaska and Northern Canada) have low stroke and heart attack rates. This low rate is attributed to a long-term diet of fish.

high in protein
good source of healthy fats
minimal contaminants
can be eaten if necessary right out of the can

Trail Mix

simple sugars for quick mood boost
protein from seeds and nuts
Decent shelf life if stored properly

Beef Jerky or Pemmican

go with natural when possible to limit harmful preservatives
high in protein
long shelf life
lightweight and non-bulky

Hardtack

Made from flour, salt, and water
Stored in airtight containers
Long shelf life
Easy to carry
Must be soaked first to soften enough to eat

Basic Cooking Grains

If your long-term survival plan for food includes being able to make your own breads and other tasty meals, you’ll want to include flours and pastas in your survival food stockpile. When frozen first and then stored in airtight containers, white flour, cornmeal, whole wheat flour, pasta, and cornmeal will last five years or more. These are all great to have in your stockpile for making things tortillas, cornbread, biscuits, muffins, etc. that you can combine with sauces and gravies to make delicious and hearty meals.

Properly sealed and kept away from heat, the following grains can last nearly a decade:

Quinoa
Buckwheat
Barley
Rye
Millet
Spelt
Kamut
Hard Red Wheat
Soft White Wheat

Freeze Dried or Instant Coffee

mood booster
warm beverage in colder weather
Decent shelf life
extend shelf life by storing frozen as long as possible

Emergency Food for Diabetics

If you have diabetes stick to food low in potassium and limit your portion sizes. Below are some good foods to have on hand:

Raw honey and cinnamon can help with blood sugar management
Instant glucose tablets
Low potassium juices (grape, apple, or berry)
Dried cranberries not raisins
Dried or Fresh Plums, pineapple, or peaches not mango or papaya
Dry cereal (unsweetened and unsalted)
Vanilla wafers or Graham crackers
Sugar free drinks such as ginger ale or sugar free drink mix
Distilled water
Unsalted peanut butter
Low sodium canned salmon, chicken, tuna, turkey
Corn syrup
Evaporated milk
Unsalted Crackers

Gluten Free Emergency Food

Jerky (beef, salmon, pork, turkey)
Rice
Quinoa
Organic dried fruit (no sulfites)
Bone broth (cooked and frozen)
Dehydrated vegetables (snap peas, etc.)
Great Lakes Unflavored Gelatin
Homemade Canned Foods
Gluten-Free Granola
Dried beans
Gluten-free crackers

Additional Survival Foods That Won’t Spoil

There are several foods that you can add to your survival stockpile to not only help prevent “food fatigue” by adding flavor but to also boost nutritional value. Some of these foods are considered basic staples which will are great to have on hand to create meals or enhance flavor. Store these ingredients in airtight containers and add desiccants to dry ingredients to combat moisture and humidity.

Seasonings

Pepper
Salt
Sugar
Cinnamon Sticks (antimicrobial, antioxidants, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, boosts immune system to protect against diseases like cancer and heart disease)

Honey

Contains B6, niacin, thiamin, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, and amino acids
High in minerals like iron, manganese, copper, calcium, sodium, potassium, zinc,
and phosphorous.
Local wildflower honey can help prevent allergy symptoms
Great source of natural energy
Packed with antioxidants to boost immune system by increasing polyphenols in the blood that fight disease.
Can be used for wound healing and burn treatment
Natural cough remedy
Indefinite shelf life

Molasses

Contains essential minerals and vitamins like calcium, potassium, iron, vitamin B6, selenium and magnesium.
Use as a sweetener in coffee, oatmeal, etc.
Can help alleviate PMS symptoms
Can relieve constipation, stress, headaches
Improves immune system
Good source of energy
Store in cool place. Shelf life up to 6 months opened or 1 year or more unopened

Instant Jello

Easily digestible form of collagen
Contains all but 1 of the 20 amino acids needed
Inexpensive
Shelf life 3 years to life of packaging
Just add boiling water and let gel or drink as a liquid
One packet can serve up to 4 people
Can be used to make homemade Pedialyte

Maple Syrup

Stores unopened in glass containers for decades
if mold grows once opened, boil and skim the surface and store in clean container

Regular Corn Syrup

Can mold once opened if not stored properly
Karo Syrup has fewer calories and no high fructose corn syrup

Jaw Breakers

This one doesn’t add much nutritional value except perhaps a quick sugar boost but it can do wonders for your morale, especially for children who might be hungrier than they are used to during normal times.

Providing an older child with a jaw breaker during a long walk or during periods of turmoil can take their mind off what’s going on. It can also help them to stay quiet during times when stealth is critical.

Prevent Food Fatigue

During and following a SHTF event, stress can be overwhelming. Mental and physical fatigue can have a huge effect on your motivation to keep going day after day. Believe it or not, food can become a source of comfort and a huge morale booster during times of crisis. When the day has been long and stressful, the ability to quickly prepare a tasty meal that has all the essential vitamins and minerals your body needs to maintain itself will be critical.

Imagine the difference in your mental state between knowing you’re stuck eating the same dried beef jerky and coffee or knowing that you have what you need to prepare a warm chilli or tasty stew later that night. This is what “food fatigue” is about. Plan your survival food stockpile so that you can prepare healthy meals with enough variety to keep “food fatigue” from being detrimental to your mood and morale. One important way to prevent “food fatigue” is to stockpile “treat” foods as well even if they don’t have much nutritional value. This includes foods such as hard candy, chocolate, and even some soda or other tasty beverages.

Enhance Meals with Pure Flavor Extracts

When it comes to long-term survival after a SHTF event, you’re going to eventually want to return to a menu that is as close to normal as possible. Baking and cooking meals may difficult for months or even years after the chaos has receded. Manufacturing and shipping will affect supply and availability or traditional baking and cooking ingredients. Having pure flavor extracts included in your survival food stockpile can help you create healthy and tasty meals and desserts.

Imagine the morale boosts you can provide several months into a survival situation if you can add a dash of your favorite fruit flavor to oatmeal, add hazelnut to your coffee, or even a dash of lemon flavor to water.

Almond
Vanilla
Maple
Strawberry
Hazelnut
Black Walnut
Orange
Lemon
Chocolate
Coconut

You’ll find survival food lists on other sites but our list specifically takes into consideration the requirements of the human body for survival and to thrive. Pick and choose from the above list according to your daily caloric intake and try to balance your survival diet to compensate for your increased activity and stress levels.

Surviving long-term following a SHTF situation will be fraught with dangers and obstacles. It’s up to you to plan ahead to make sure your survival food stockpile includes the healthiest foods to prevent the effects of malnutrition from being one of those obstacles.

You’ll Be Surprised How Much Food $5 A Week Can Get You

Looking at the state of the world today, with all its threats to our society and way of life, it’s easy to think anyone would see the benefits of preparedness. Personally I think most people do realize that being prepared is a good idea, but still, preppers make up a small minority of Americans.

There are several reasons for that. Some people are optimists that believe any crisis can be avoided. Others believe the government will look after them if help is needed. For most, though, the problem is likely to be money.

Prepping does cost money; there’s no way around that. It isn’t all about major purchases, like bug-out locations or bunkers, though. One of the most basic and important preps is to build up a stockpile of food that will get you through the critical first weeks of a crisis. That’s also a major purchase if you just head for the grocery store and buy three months’ worth of food – major enough to put almost everyone off doing it.

There’s some good news, though. You don’t need to buy your emergency food stockpile all at once. With some patience, and an extra $5 a week on your regular grocery shopping, you can build up a large, well-balanced food reserve in the space of a year. Most of us can find $5 a week from somewhere; it might be as simple as dropping a couple of luxuries from our shopping list and replacing them with cheaper, but more useful, items for our reserves. You’ll be surprised how much food $5 can get at a store like Walmart or Sam’s Club if you spend it on staples in large, economical packages.

Do it right and you’ll have a useful emergency supply in just a few weeks – and, in a year, you’ll have close to 300 pounds of food stockpiled – all you need to ride out a major crisis. Here’s how to do it by spending between $4 and $6 every week.

Week 1 – 6 Pounds of Rice

Rice is a great emergency food – it’s filling, and contains plenty of carbs for energy. It’s also easy to prepare and very versatile.

Week 2 – 8 Pounds of Pinto Beans

Dried beans are another staple prepper food. They store well, and once rehydrated can be used as a side dish or added to soups and stews. Combine them with rice and you also get a complete protein that contains all the amino acids your body needs.

Week 3 – 12 Cans of Vienna Sausages

Add some meat to your survival diet with convenient cans of Vienna sausages. These can be grilled, chopped and added to stews, or eaten straight out the can.

Week 4 – 10 Cans of Tomato Sauce

Rice and pasta are nutritious, but they can also get pretty boring. Adding tomato sauce to your stockpile lets you create tastier recipes – and that’s good for morale.

Week 5 – 10 Pounds of Sugar

Sugar is packed with energy that your body can access in a hurry. It also lets you make sweet drinks and improves a load of other recipes.

Week 6 – 8 Pounds of Flour

Flour has a lot of uses around the kitchen. As well as baking bread and cakes, it can be used to thicken sauces and soups. It’s a good source of carbohydrates and, if you get all-purpose flour, it’s enriched with other nutrients too.

Week 7 – 1 Gallon of Canola Oil

You need fat for a balanced diet, and oil is a great source of it. Canola oil is good for cooking, too.

Week 8 – 6 Pounds of Rice

You’re starting to get some variety, so go back and increase your supply of this staple.

Week 9 – 6 Pounds of Navy Beans

Add more beans as well, but there’s no need to get the same kind – variety is good.

Week 10 – 8 Cans of Fruit

Fruit is nutritious, energy-rich and tasty. You can get more by buying a multipack, or you might prioritize variety here.

Week 11 – 1 Can of Powdered Milk

You’ll want this for your coffee, and it can also be reconstituted and used to replace fresh milk in many recipes.

Week 12 – 6.5 Pounds of Salt

We keep getting warned about salt, but it’s an essential part of our diet – especially if we’re working hard. Pick up a four-pack of iodized salt; the iodine is valuable if there’s any kind of nuclear hazard.

Week 13 – 12 Cans of Tuna

Tuna is rich in protein and essential fatty acids. It’s also tasty and can be used in all sorts of recipes. You can pick up a 12-pack of small cans for just over $5.

Week 14 – 6 Pounds of Pasta

Another carb-loaded staple, pasta is the base for a range of tasty meals. Smaller pasta shapes cook faster than larger ones, using less energy.

Week 15 – 8 Cans of Vegetables

Canned vegetables are as nutritious as fresh ones, and easy to cook – you just need to heat them through.

Week 16 – 6 Pounds of Rice

Yep, more rice.

Week 17 – 6 Pounds of Black Beans

More beans, and more variety.

Week 18 – 12 Cans of Vienna Sausages

The ratio of carbs to protein is starting to get out of balance, so add more sausages.

Week 19 – 4 Pounds of Peanut Butter

Peanut butter makes for a quick and tasty sandwich, it can be adapted into a great sauce for chicken, and it’s loaded with energy, fat and protein. You can get a 4lb jar of it for $6.33 at Walmart.

Week 20 – 4 Cans of Chicken

Just for a change from Vienna sausages, pick up a four-pack of canned chicken breast chunks. These can be used in a huge list of recipes.

Week 21 – 3 Pounds of Shortening

You can bake a lot more if you have shortening. Get a three-pound can of Crisco.

Week 22 – 10 Pounds of Sugar

Increase your sugar supply this week.

Week 23 – 8 Cans of Vegetables

More vegetables are always good. Get something different this time to keep your diet interesting.

Week 24 – 6 Pounds of Rice

You saw this coming, didn’t you?

Week 25 – 8 Pounds of Pinto Beans

And this.

Week 26 – 10 Cans of Tomato Sauce

You’ll need sauces for all the rice and beans you have.

Week 27 – 6 Pounds of Pasta

You’ll need sauces for this, too.

Week 28 – 6 Jars of Assorted Spices

Add more variety to your sauces and other cooking by picking up six jars of herbs and spices. Get the basics – onion and garlic powder – then branch out. Try paprika, chilli flakes and oregano.

Week 29 – 8 Cans of Fruit

Vegetables are probably more important, but some extra fruit is good too.

Week 30 – 1 Gallon of Canola Oil

Make sure you have enough oil to cook your growing stockpile.

Week 31 – 1 Can of Powdered Milk

Milk is something you’ll really miss when you run out.

Week 32 – 6 Pounds of Rice

Yes, you already have a lot of rice. Get some more.

Week 33 – 12 Cans of Tuna

More protein that isn’t Vienna sausages.

Week 34 – 4oz of Yeast

Get a jar of dried yeast to make your bread rise.

Week 35 – 8 Pounds of Flour

Bread is something else you’ll really miss, so keep expanding your baking supplies.

Week 36 – 1 Pound of Honey

Honey is an amazing sweetener. It also has natural antibiotic properties and can help wounds heal.

Week 37 – 8 Cans of Vegetables

Again, go for variety here.

Week 38 – 6-Pack of Mac And Cheese

Sometimes you need comfort food in a hurry. Mac and cheese is the perfect choice.

Week 39 – 6 Pounds of Pasta

You can’t have enough of this stuff, really.

Week 40 – 6 Pounds of Rice

You can’t have enough of this either.

Week 41 – 6 Pounds of Navy Beans

You know what I’m going to say here.

Week 42 – 3 Cans of Corned Beef Hash

Get some more variety in your protein intake. Hash can be eaten on its own or used to improve pasta sauces.

Week 43 – 8 Cans of Vegetables

You should have enough vegetables by now to make your rice and bean dishes a lot more interesting.

Week 44 – 10 Pounds of Sugar

There are ways to make sugar yourself, but it’s much easier to buy the stuff and spend your time collecting other foods.

Week 45 – 12 Cans of Vienna Sausages

I really hope you like these.

Week 46 – 10 Cans of Tomato Sauce

By now you have enough ingredients and spices to turn this stuff into some pretty tasty recipes.

Week 47 – 2 Gallons of White Vinegar

Vinegar improves a lot of recipes and has plenty other uses around the home.

Week 48 – 6 Pounds of Rice

Relax; this is the last load of rice.

Week 49 – 8 Pounds of Pinto Beans

And these are the last beans.

Week 50 – 4 Cans of Chicken

A lot of prepper stockpiles are low on meat. Avoid that by adding more chicken.

Week 51 – 4 Pounds of Peanut Butter

Peanut butter is energy-dense and easy to digest, so it’s a good way to get calories into someone who’s unwell.

Week 52 – 8 Cans of Vegetables

Beans and rice are a lot less boring when you mix some vegetables in.

If you follow this shopping plan, after a year you’ll have a massive 295 pound stockpile of food. The core of it is 36 pounds of rice, 40 pounds of beans, 18 pounds of pasta and 16 pounds of flour.

To add protein, other nutrients and of course variety you’ll also have 30 cans of tomato sauce, 40 cans of vegetables, 16 cans of fruit and 67 cans of meat or fish. On top of that you have salt, spices and some other extras that will let you turn your stockpile into tasty meals.

Best of all, it’s done without having to make a single huge purchase; just skip a couple of bottles of soda or bags of snacks each week, and you can spend the money on building up a valuable emergency supply instead.

On a different note, here’s some other self-sufficiency and preparedness solutions recommended for you:

The Lost Ways (The vital self-sufficiency lessons our great grand-fathers left us)
Survival MD (Knowledge to survive any medical crisis situation)
Backyard Liberty (Liberal’s hidden agenda: more than just your guns…)
Alive After the Fall (Build yourself the only unlimited water source you’ll ever need)
The Lost ways II (4 Important Forgotten Skills used by our Ancestors that can help you in any crisis)
The Patriot Privacy Kit (Secure your privacy in just 10 simple steps)

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With an extra $5 a week you can build up a large, well-balanced food reserve in the space of a year.

How to Make Powdered Eggs at Home

Everybody has his guilty pleasure – mine is powdered eggs. Yes, I know that nothing beats fresh-laid chicken eggs, because they’re packed with calcium, albumin, and so on and so forth. But what can you do? The heart asks pleasure first, as the saying goes, and I wouldn’t even consider coming down for breakfast if I’m all out of powdered eggs for my killer omelet.

There are very good reasons why I chose this instead of regular eggs, apart from the fact that they tout more or less the same nutritional values as their ‘living’ counterparts – they can be stockpiled for months if not years; can fit into any B.O.B, no matter how big or small it is and, most importantly, powdered eggs will be worth their weight in gold during an SHTF situation when all supermarkets will run out of the fresh variety.

Now, before showing you how I managed to make my first few jars of powdered eggs, I should warn you that this recipe will require a small investment because you’ll need a contraption called a dehydrator.

Wait! Don’t close this article yet. I was talking about a maybe a few tens (bought mine from Costco for $30). That’s about it as far as the financial part is concerned. Trust me when I say that this investment will pay off – imagine not having to hunt online discounts on survival foods such as powdered eggs. And, most importantly, if you know how to cook ‘em, you won’t notice any difference in taste.

Anyway, here’s what you will need to do in order to obtain a near-endless supply of powdered eggs.

Gathering your ingredients and kitchen supplies

To pull this off, you will need the following:

Eggs (I used two dozen for my first batch).
A teaspoon of vegetable cooking oil or butter.
The dehydrator.
A food processor.
A blender or fork for whipping up the eggs.
Canning jars.
Skillet.

Done gathering the ingredients? Great! Here’s what you’ll need to do next.

How to prepare powdered eggs

Step 1. Start by cracking open the eggs in a large bowl.

Step 2. Whip up the eggs using a mixer or a fork. I would advise you to use a blender since it’s quite tricky to whip up that many eggs using a simple fork and takes less time.

Step 3. Put the skillet on the cooking machine and add a little bit of veggie oil or butter. If you don’t have a non-stick pan, use both or stick to butter.

Step 4. Set the heat to medium-low and wait for the oil to heat up. If you’re using butter, you should put the whipped eggs inside when the butter’s all melted.

Step 5. Add the whipped eggs.

Step 6. Wait until the eggs begin to bind, then use a wooden spoon or spatula to sort of shred the omelet mass. Keep stirring and separating the eggs. It takes about 10 minutes or so. Yup, basically it’s like doing scrambled eggs. Now, if you want your eggs to be extra puffy, you can add a splash of milk to the bowl while you’re whisking them.

Step 6. Move the scrambled eggs to a clean plate with a bit of paper tissue underneath and allow them to cool.

Step 7. Once the eggs have cooled down, transfer them to your food processor and set it on “pulse.” Give your scrambled eggs a couple of spins. After a couple of seconds, you should have a puffy mass of diced eggs.

Step 8. Turn on your dehydrator and set it to 125 degrees Fahrenheit. Wait for it to reach the desired temperature (mine has a green LED bulb in the front which sort of lights up when the device reaches the right temp). Don’t forget to remove the dehydrator’s lid before heating it up.

Step 9. Transfer the eggs from your food processor to the dehydrator. Put on the lid and wait. It takes about four or five hours for the machinery to remove all the moisture from the eggs. Once they’re done, the eggs will have a brittle aspect.

Step 10. Put the eggs back into the food processor and give them a spin or two to turn them into powder. Enjoy!

There’s another way of making powdered eggs. Works great if you’re on the run or not in the mood of going through all the steps. As you will see, the dehydrator you’re just bought comes with a fruit roll sheet (yup, you can use it to get the moisture out of fruits and make your own trail mix).

Now, get half a dozen eggs and whisk them. Put the fruit roll sheet on top of your dehydrator and set it to 145 degrees Fahrenheit. When the thing’s beginning to heat you, dip a paper towel in some veggie oil and grease the surface of your fruit roll sheet.

Add the whisked eggs (careful not to spill your mix inside the device). You don’t need to put the lid on. Leave it like this for 14 to 16 hours. Swing by from time to time to see if everything’s okay. When they’re done, they’ll have the same brittle texture as in the steps described above. All you need to do now is to transfer them to your food processor (don’t bother waiting for them to cool down), give them a good shake, and that’s it.

As for storing, you can use regular canning jars or zip-lock bags. If you want to make survival packs for your bug out bag or household survival kit, you can try using a vacuum sealer.

For the cooking part, all you’ll need to do would be to rehydrate them – I personally like to add them to a small pan with boiled water and sort of make poached, scrambled eggs. Yes, I know it sounds unappetizing, but nothing a little bit of salt, pepper, and a slice of homemade spam can’t fix.

Hope you’ve liked my article on how to make powdered eggs at home. If there’s anything more to add, be sure to hit me up in the comments section.

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Powdered eggs will be worth their weight in gold during an SHTF situation when all supermarkets will run out of the fresh variety.

How to Make Kentucky-Style Fried Rabbit

In my opinion, every prepper needs to know how to cook. More than that, he or she must become acquainted with the intricacies of preparing the game. Since it’s nearly impossible for me to cover every kind of game out there, I’m going to stick with something smaller and found in almost every corner of the globe – the rabbit.

Yup, you’ve guessed; in today’s article, I’m gonna show you how to deep-fry Bugs Bunny. Yes, I am well aware of the fact that they are cute and friendly and make great house pets, but do keep in mind that in SHTF situation, there’s no room for bias or, in this case, for mercy.

Anyway, you should know that in many countries, the rabbit is considered a delicacy, especially the wild one. Not that there’s anything wrong with domesticated bunnies, but those with ‘freedom to roam’ have an entirely different taste – it’s exactly the same thing between eating domesticated and wild hogs.

Now, the recipe I’m about to show you is very easy to prepare and, as the headline suggests, it involves plenty of oil. Consider this dish a prepper’s take on Colonel Sanders’ iconic fried chicken. So, without further ado, here’s how to prepare a Kentucky-style fried rabbit.

Gathering the ingredients

For this dish, you will need to following ingredients:

One young rabbit. Regarding the meat, you can use almost any part. I prefer the cottontails because they’re easier to prepare and far juicier compared to the other cuts.
Two cups of buttermilk.
Two tablespoons of Italian seasoning or your favorite spice mix. Just make sure it contains oregano, thyme, and dried parsley.
One tablespoon or paprika.
One tablespoon of powdered garlic.
Two or three tablespoons of black or cayenne pepper.
One and a half cups of all-purpose flour.
One teaspoon of salt.
Two cups of vegetable oil or tallow.

You done gathering the ingredients? Great. Let’s get to the fun part.

How to prepare Kentucky-style fried rabbit

Before seasoning your rabbit, you may want to brine it. The thing about using wild rabbit for this recipe is that it comes out all dry. Brining the rabbit beforehand ensures that the, well, nuggets will be moist and crispy at the same time.

To do that, grab a zip-lock back an add a ¼ tablespoon of rock salt and four cups of water. Put the cottontails inside and leave in the fridge for four to 8 hours. After that, take the rabbit out of the bag and start cooking.

Step 1. In a large bowl, put your buttermilk, paprika garlic powder, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Whisk the ingredients.

Step 2. Coat the cottontails with this mixture, stick in a zip-lock bag, and place in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight.

Step 3. When you’re ready, take a skillet or frying pan and fill it with oil or tallow. Ensure that the oil completely covers the cottontails. Otherwise, you will need to flip it more times than necessary.

Step 4. Take the rabbit out of the zip-lock bag and place it into a strainer. Allow your cuts to drain for 15 or 20 minutes.

Step 5. While the rabbit’s sitting in the strainer, prepare the crust. Normally, you would have to put flour in a deep plate or something and sort of roll over your cottontails in it. However, there’s a faster way, one that does not involve getting your hands too dirty. Take a large zip-lock bag, add all-purpose flour and the salt.

Place your rabbit cuts inside, seal the bag, and shake. That’s it! All you have to do now is to use some thongs to take out the flour-coated rabbit and to place on a plate while waiting for your cooking oil to reach the desired temperature.

(Optional) If want a crunchier crust, follow the Viennese schnitzel recipe. Put some all-flour in a plate, some breadcrumbs in another one, followed by a third plate which contains one whisked egg, two tablespoons of milk, a dash of salt and pepper. First, roll the cottontail through the flour, dip in the eggs and milk mixture, and finally roll through breadcrumbs.

Step 6. Set the heat to medium-high. You’ll need a temperature of at least 325 degrees Fahrenheit to deep-fry those rabbit cuts.

Step 7. When the oil gets hot, add the cottontails. Deep-fry them for 8 to 12 minutes. Keep in mind that rabbit tends to suck a lot of oil, so be ready to pour some more if the oil level drops.

Step 8. When they’re done, place on a piece of paper towel. It will absorb the excess oil. That’s it! Serve while it’s still hot. Rabbit cottontails is a very versatile food since it can be paired with almost any kind of side-dish. I personally like to serve them with mashed or blanched potatoes and some green lettuce. Since it’s a deep-fried dish, you can always serve it with garlic sauce and a cold beer.

Wrap up

Preparing the rabbit is not that difficult. Of course, there are other ways to prepare this sort of game, but those recipes call for a lot more steps and ingredients. The best thing about this dish is that you can prepare it in any kind of setting. I personally like to prepare this recipe during a family camping trick. All you need are the right spices, a survival knife, a medium-sized cast-iron pot, and a source of the fire.

If you can’t afford to carry a pot, you can always use your canteen. As for frying the cuts, you can replace oil with tallow if you’ve got some of you. Always remember that domestic rabbits don’t need brining. Moreover, while keeping the wild rabbit cuts in the salt and water solution, you would do well to set a timer. If it stays longer than 8 hours, it will get all mushy during the deep-frying process.

That about covers it for my mouthwatering Kentucky-style fried rabbit. What do you think about this recipe? Hit the comments section and let me know.

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Every prepper needs to know how to cook. More than that, he or she must become acquainted with the intricacies of preparing the game.