Stocking up on food is often the first step most preppers take to prepare themselves and their families for a SHTF scenario. And while food storage is important, it’s also never-ending. These are the 5 foods I recommend constantly adding more of to your food supply.
Don’t buy anything your family dislikes or won’t eat unless you can use it specifically for bartering and that’s why you are adding it to your food supply. If you buy food you dislike and never end up eating, it’ll simply go to waste.
Beans
Grab a variety of different beans in both cans and dried. Beans can be used often, have great nutritional value (including a good dose of fiber) and are fairly inexpensive. You can always grin up dried beans and use them in soups or stews to create a more hearty and filling dish while adding a can of beans. Again, the variety will keep boredom with your meals at bay too.
If you have a sweet tooth, stock up on sugar and honey. Neither will go bad and both will be able to give that extra kick of sweetness to satisfy those cravings when the SHTF. It can’t hurt to have some extra on hand in the event that you need to make some “survival cookies” just to get through the day.
Although I am not a huge fan of rice during normal times, it’s packed with carbohydrates to give you energy. Rice is pretty versatile too and can be mixed with herbs and a vegetable or used on its own with some salt as a simple main dish if need be. It’s a great “first choice” for those who have just started to put food in their prepper pantry. It’s also a good filler and can stretch meals when topped with some meat or vegetables. Please keep in mind that brown rice contains oils that will eventually become rancid. If you can keep it stored at very chilly temperatures, say below 60 degrees, it will be fresher, longer. Otherwise, plan on the shelf life of only about a year or so.
Peanut Butter
Anyone who has kids knows this is a must. It’s appealing to most children and has a bunch of good fats in it making it a great food to store. You can even keep a new, sealed jar in emergency kits for a quick dose of protein when you might need it most. I actually have some “squirtable” peanut butter in my vehicle emergency kit, just in case I need a quick blast of sustenance.
These are only my personal top 5 foods that you should stock up on every month, or when you notice there’s a good sale. There are many more you always grab too! Just make sure you have a variety of foods to keep yourself satiated and your kids full during the worst of times.
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… and gravy mixes.
Makes anything more palatable?
Pet food
I have been exposed to several broken families, whose kids do not consider ordinary things fit to eat.
Keep one foot in the wild, and train them, young, to eat a variety of different foods.
Learn to grow and to forage, and actually use it — artfully. Because, if you learned about the supply chain, you would not trust most of these people with your life.
HOW ABOUT “TOILET PAPER”.
Keep a big pile of salt. Salt is used as a spice. It also has uses as a preservative for food like meat and other things. You can make and cure skins and fur with salt if needed. Salt may harden if moister is present but it will not go bad, but a pick or hammer can be used to make smaller pieces. I use it also for my walkway and ramp in winter.
There are many more uses of salt, just do a research.
I buy it in 25 lb bags for about $4 a bag.