Affordable Prepping
You’re going to need 2,300 calories a day per person, since you anticipate being active during any emergency. This page focuses on foods you can store to ensure your steady supply of calories.
Find local sources of healthy foods, such as this example: Nature’s Gourmet Farm
Of course it’s ideal to be producing your own food, like with a chicken tractor or earth boxes or aquaponics. But you have to be ready with a stash just in case. Below is a beginning of how to stock up a year’s supply of emergency rations on a shoestring. If you are looking for ideas on raising crops or growing livestock, visit my Grow your Own page or its sub-pages.
White Rice – for calories! It keeps indefinitely and is easy to digest. And if you think it lacks fiber, forget that. What you need for regularity is oil or fat (see the next item). If white rice lacks anything that would be B vitamins.
Coconut Oil – Extra Virgin. For calories and fat. You need fat. Coconut oil is a terrific food, and it lasts for I think 5 years without going rancid. You can buy it in 5 gallon buckets online from Tropical Traditions. If you sign up and wait for it they periodically offer free shipping!
Lentils – A little protein, a little fresh veggieness, because fresh greens are a perishable item and these are cheap and easy to sprout!
Chickpeas – Dried chickpeas will last quite a while, they are very nutritious, and properly prepared they should be very palatable.
Fermented Beans (including lentils) – Beans are notoriously hard to digest. Fermenting your beans is likely to make it possible for you to eat them regularly without discomfort or other digestive complications.
Sardines/Canned Fish – More protein. If packed in water these little tins last 5 years or more. They don’t have to be cooked or heated. They are tradable. Also check out What Canned Foods have the Longest Shelf life? According to this, Pink Salmon, Traditional Style, by Chicken of the Sea has the longest life. He also shows Spam, Corned Beef Hash, Canned Ham, Vienna Sausage, Sardines, Tuna, Crabmeat, and Red Salmon. They keep well beyond their expiration dates. Or watch what canned foods have the longest shelf life (yup, same title) where this guy finds that sardines have a way longer expiration date than the salmon. And What canned foods last the longest which points out that the Dept of Agriculture says that canned meats are good for 2-5 years after the “best by” date; and adds that Armour brand Beef Stew has a long expiry date. I noticed that expiry dates do vary by brand.
Powdered Eggs – If the processing doesn’t destroy their value, eggs are an excellent source of protein and fats. 25 years!?
Soybeans – Soybeans are cheap and will last forever. Get them not to eat directly, but to make soy milk, tofu, and mostly: Tempeh! Tempeh is a meat-equivalent that is made by fermenting the pulp left over from making soy milk.
To me, it tastes like chicken.
Whey Powder – Shelf life? Processing? Cost?
Sea Salt – broad spectrum minerals! 35 Reasons to Store Salt
Iodine – if you’re not going to be eating seafood. Iodine is a very important nutrient.
Vinegar – Learn to make your own.
Herbs and Spices – NOT irradiated. Learn to grow your own.
Eight Vegetables you can Regrow at Home – It’s easy!
B Vitamins?
Refrigeration
Instead of Refrigeration – Pickling!
Survivopedia says, there are some other simple things you can do to keep foods and medicines cool:
- Bury foods in the earth
- Use a zeer pot, which is basically 2 clay pots (one inside the other) separated by wet sand. As the water evaporates, it will remove heat from the center of the inner pot.
- Add table salt to ice in your freezer or a sealed container.
- Consider refrigerators and freezers that run on propane or other alternative fuels
Icliks Incoming 