Hello my friend and welcome back! A new Prepper asked me “What kind of food should I store in my preps?” It dawned on me that many new Preppers really don’t know what kinds of food they should keep in their preps. In today’s post, I will try to answer this question, so grab a cup of coffee and have a seat while we visit.
Oddly enough, when you talk about storing up food preps, many people think of MREs (Meals Ready to Eat). That seems to be because that is the perception that they have of food preps. Well, if you have ever eaten an MRE, then you know that they are for desperate times only! With the exception of some of the condiments, I would have to be starving to eat them. Despite all of the hype, they just plain taste nasty! Having a case or two of these in your preps is good for emergencies and that is about it!
So what should you have in your preps as far as food goes? Well, let’s start with things you like to eat. There is no point in having anything in your food preps that you will not want to eat. Now, having said that, let me also say that you have to be smart about what you do put in your preps as far as food goes. Some people store up cases and cases of canned vegetables like they are planning on having dinner parties or something when the collapse comes. Just remember that those things have a limited shelf life and you can’t really make a meal out of a can of carrots now can you? I would go with dehydrated vegetables myself. They take up less room, they weigh a lot less and when added to water or other foods they taste great.
Here is my view on the subject; you will get the most use out of items that you mix with other items to make a little food go a long way. Things like rice and flour for example. There is no end to what you can do with rice. It is one of the most versatile foods out there. If you kill a Rabbit and cook it over a fire, then you have some meat to eat, but if you take that same Rabbit and put it in a pot with some rice, water and maybe a few dehydrated vegetables and a little seasoning and you have a meal that will feed several people and maybe even make more than one meal. For some people, being in survival mode means not being able to cook (of course some people don’t know how to cook). If you are one of them then at least learn how to make a simple stew or soup before you are forced to eat your own cooking.
What you want to store up are the basics: rice, beans (all kinds), flour, salt, sugar, assorted spices. These are the things that you will need the most. You may also want to add things like baking powder and baking soda to your preps as well. This brings me to spices. Just because you are cooking over a camp fire or whatever, doesn’t mean you have to eat bland boring food, so be sure to have plenty of spice on hand in your preps. I go to the store and buy them in the bottles and then vacuum pack them into smaller portions. This will help keep them fresh for longer. I’m talking about things like red pepper, steak seasoning, safe, thyme, chili powder, allspice, etc. Any spice that you regularly like to use is great to add to your preps.
So what about Dehydrated Food? The only drawback that I have ever found to dehydrated food is that you need to have access to water to eat it and if you are traveling and only have access to a limited amount, you may find yourself in a bad situation. As far as taste goes, all of it that I have eaten tastes pretty good. Dehydrated ice cream is delicious! I love the stuff! The fact that it is light weight and taste great is a big plus so I have quite a bit in my preps as well.
When it comes to selecting the food for your preps, you need to keep in mind that you need food that will give you the maximum amount of calories and protein in a meal. Things like Peanut butter, honey, rice and oats are really good for adding calories as well as starch and vitamins that you will need when the time comes. Speaking of vitamins, be sure to keep plenty of multivitamins in your preps to help make up for any times when you might not be getting all you need. Here is the bottom line: store foods that you will eat, food that you can create larger meals with and foods that will last a very long time. Well I hope this has help clear up the question about what kind of food you should be storing up. Until next time, stay safe, stay strong, and stay prepared. God bless America!
-The Sargent-
This is my first post here… being a tenderfoot!
Not much to add to a very well-written article. .At the risk of redundancy, I will make the following points based on our experience:
1. Store what you eat and eat what you store. Waste not, want not.
2. Consider charity. In our case, we have a couple cases of MRE entrees (meat loaf, spaghetti, chicken, etc.) in a freezer that we will be prepared to hand out to those truly in need.
3. We have a large amount of beans and rice that when combined with a can of Spam or chicken and some seasoning, would produce a hearty meal.
4. Think soup. Nothing better sometimes than a steaming bowl of soup.
5. Add some comfort foods to the pantry… Man does not live by flour alone… a chocolate chip cookie now and then is a real morale booster.
6. Learn how to pressure can (safely). In our case, we process a few turkeys each year from our flocks and can several dozen quarts of broth and meat. Wonderful base for soup. (Stock up on spare canning lids!)
7. In addition to basic seasonings such as salt/pepper, we stock a fair amount of yeast, baking powder, baking soda as well as meat curing nitrates and a crock of sourdough starter happily sleeping in the refrigerator.
8. Use that vacuum sealer.
Thanks for letting me comment here. I look forward to learning and sharing.
Welcome “tenderfoot” ! Thanks for adding your great information. No such thing as redundancy! People need to hear it till they live it!
-Sarge-