One of the basics of emergency preparedness is making sure you have enough food and water to outlive a disaster. Prepping your pantry properly is essential if you want to avoid appetite fatigue and survive long enough to tell the story. Remember, preppers do not live by bread alone.
In recent years, a lot of people realized that stockpiling food is necessary in case bad thing happen and making a trip to the grocery store is no longer an option. The majority of people fill their pantry with rice, beans and some canned goods and call it good. Although that is better than nothing, it’s not the best course of action and you need to learn about prepping your pantry the right way.
You should know by now that the human body needs a variety of nutrients to function properly and beans and a few canned goods aren’t going to cut it for over the long haul. We all need a lot of carbohydrates and protein. You can store honey or rice and beans because they have a long shelf life, but your body needs more than that. During a long-term survival scenario, you will need vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids like Omega 3.
Storing fish and red meat can be difficult, but people shouldn’t give up. There are alternatives like canned salmon, venison or jerky. The main thing you should prioritize is that these goods need to be rotated frequently. While canned goods can be stored for years, the longer something is stored, the fewer nutrients it will have.
Another thing to remember is that the shelf life of your goods depends on a variety of factors, such as how cool and dry your pantry is, and how well protected is from insects and pests.
Prepping your pantry – Pursuing the valuable protein
While you can find a lot of information on how prepping your pantry with various foods or how to make pemmican and other long-lasting foods, very little is written about how much protein our body needs to keep going. I believe this is the first thing you should know, how much fuel your body needs to stay healthy. When a real disaster hit, you will need to stay healthy and strong, especially if going to the doctor is not an option.
Having the food on hand that will make survival easier becomes a necessity. In survival mode, your body needs at least 60 grams of protein each day to keep going. To maintain your current weight and stay healthy you will need at least 2,000 calories per day. The amount increases if you have to deal with harsh weather or intense labor. There is no exact number because some people require less while others require more. Your activity level will burn a certain amount of calorie and you need to keep this in mind when prepping your pantry and fill it with food.
Related article: Establishing How Much Food And Water To Store
When it comes to animal proteins, our body is able to digest it more easily and they also contain more essential amino acids. However, since storing meat and learning how to can it properly can be difficult for some people, there is also an alternative. I’ve noticed that a lot of preppers are adding powdered protein shakes in their pantry. This is because they can last for years and don’t require much preparation to store them. Most protein shakes you can find at the sore contain whey protein which comes from animals and it’s easily digested by the body.
Prepping you pantry – Carbohydrates for everybody
When I started filling up my pantry, I first researched foods that are considered good carbohydrates. Consider foods such:
- as brown rice
- whole-grain pasta
- millet
- whole wheat
- whole oats
- beans
- whole rye
- whole grain corn and whole grain barley.
They are rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that will help you maintain good health.
When it comes to vegetables, most people chose one of two options: canning or freezing. Although these are a good option, you may have to think about not having electricity for a long time. Everything you have in the freezer will go to waste if you do not consume it in time. I can give you a good alternative to these classic options. Think about storing vegetable powder as a backup plan. Nowadays, powder vegetable products are stable compared to liquid goods and can be stored for a long time.
Prepping your pantry – The tasty fats
When storing fats, you need to aim for healthy ones. These come from a variety of sources and canola and olive oils are very popular. Fish is also a good source of healthy fat so you should consider the following options: tuna, trout, salmon, mackerel, striped bass, sardines and herring. Other sources of good fats are hemp seeds and flax.
Another thing you should be storing, which most people ignore, are nuts and seeds. Many varieties are good for your health and are easy to store long-term. Not to mention that it will create variety when living off what you stored. You need to avoid boring your family with the same food day after day. When storing fatty foods like nuts and seeds you should add oxygen absorbers otherwise the oil in them will become rancid and spoil the entire lot.
Prepping your pantry – what about canning?
If you tried your hand at canning you now that it can be complicated and it takes a lot of time. As main alternatives to canning, you can opt for powdered or freeze-dried goods. The downside of freeze-dried food is that it can cost a lot if purchased in large amounts. One thing you could do is buying a freeze dryer and offer to freeze dry foods for your friends in exchange for a small fee. This will eventually help you recover your investment.
If you are not familiar with the process of freeze drying food here it how it works. Freeze drying is a water removal process typically used to preserve perishable materials, to extend shelf life or make the material more convenient for transport. Freeze–drying works by freezing the material, then reducing the pressure and adding heat to allow the frozen water in the material to sublimate.
Suggested reading: Smoking Meat For Long-term Storage – Smoking Secrets
Prepping your pantry – Nutritional supplements
No matter how much variety you add when prepping your pantry, you will need still need to consider vitamin and supplements. Storing them will make sure that your body gets everything you need. As a quick example, fish oil capsules have become popular among preppers. In fact, everything in a pill or capsule form have a long shelf life and are easy to store. If you want to make sure your kids aren’t missing out on vitamins, make sure you have these on hand.
A last word
Prepping your pantry takes a lot of planning and dedication. Most of us won’t fill our pantries with everything needed because we haven’t learned how to do it properly. Canning is hard for some, while for others allocating a certain budget for this task is difficult. Besides storing some canned foods, don’t forget seeds, nuts, vitamins and powdered proteins that have long shelf lives. These products are not hard to find and you can purchase and stash them in your pantry without too much stress.
Useful resources to check out:
Survival Lessons from the 1880s Everyone Should Know
Find Out What’s the Closest Nuclear Bunker to Your Home
This ONE THING Can Help You Terminate Your Store-Bought Dependency
Knowledge to survive any medical crisis situation
The vital self-sufficiency lessons our great grand-fathers left us
I just kill my neighbors smoke them and hang them in the closet
Just one question on your list…….Brown Rice. I have read that it is high in oil and will not store for long periods of time, like white rice?
I’ve always heard it’s good to help and depend on one’s neighbors.
wvweights, I have heard that about brown rice as well. I have cooked and eaten with no ill effects brown rice that was 3-5 years past the Best By date on the package.