This article was written by Tess Pennington and originally published at ReadyNutrition.com.
Editor’s Comment: Whether you are cut off from store supplies during a disaster, or you are hiking to your bug out location, food will obviously be one of your most crucial supplies during a crisis.
Although you can live for weeks without food if necessary – unlike water – your ability to handle a critical and potentially life-threatening situation without proper energy and nutrition. If you plan ahead, you can adjust for the types of foods most likely to meet your needs and give you a boost of stamina to see it through.
Survival Fuel: You Must Have This in Your Disaster Supplies
by Tess Pennington
Being well-nourished during a disaster can mean the difference between powering through the event with strength, stamina, and energy or plodding through the situation barely able to put one foot in front of the other.
Protein in Crucial For the Prepper’s Pantry
Protein is the basic necessary structure for the growth of organic life on a molecular level. Protein can come from vegetable and animal sources. Protein is further broken down into amino acids, the building blocks of protein. There are 8 essential amino acids the body needs that it does not produce on its own and needs to obtain from food sources. They are as follows: isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine.
Your best sources for protein and those essential amino acids are as such: dairy products, eggs, meat, poultry, seafood, oats, nuts, seeds, and soy protein. Here is a term you need to know concerning protein, and that is the thermic effect, which is the total calories burned in the course of a day to digest your food taken in (it usually equates to about 10% of your total caloric intake). The reason it’s important to know is that 1 gram (g) of protein and 1 g of carbohydrates supply the same amount of energy, 4 calories.
Survival Fuel
The difference is that food is energy in the form of the various chemical bondings that must be broken down, and you need 2 1/2 times the energy to break down the protein as you do the carbohydrates. Protein prevents you from overeating by giving you a feeling of satiety, as well as speeding up the metabolism. That protein from meats gives you muscle. It also aids you in tissue repair. I also stress that while the intake is important, you can’t just be an “eating machine” and not exercise/live too sedentary a lifestyle. Then again, you guys and gals are preppers and survivalists, well aware that your body is the most important personal tool you have.
There are a couple of works I wish to cite for your further study, as they are excellent in the manner they delve into this topic from a fitness standpoint. They are as follows:
- “The Testosterone Advantage Plan,” by Lou Schuler and Jeff Volek, ISBN: 1-57954-507-6. This book is geared toward men, but has a wealth of health and dietary information that women can use, as well as information on exercise that will benefit both genders. In-depth breakdowns of protein analysis and the glycemic index, as well as the different types of exercise and the muscle systems benefited by their application.
- “Sports Supplement Review, 3rd Issue,” by Bill Phillips, ISBN: 096587320-X. This is one of the greatest books you can find. It goes into each different type of amino acid and tells you the chemistry and their effects on and requirements by the human body. It details vitamins, minerals, supplements, and could be a “Bible” for exercise…strength, conditioning, and recovery exercises in your workouts. This book gives you scientific procedures to obtain lean body mass and maximize your protein intake.
These works will more than get you started: they’ll help you finish. As I have mentioned ad infinitum, you need to exercise to fully develop and take advantage of all your physical gifts. That being said, you can supplement your diet with high-protein and high-amino-acid bearing dietary aids. I already mentioned how I like the use of the whey protein powder; I need it with as much as I lift. There’s one out there called Nutribiotic Organic Rice Protein Powder (Plain) in a 3-lb. container, organic with 80% vegan protein content. One serving in scoop form gives you 36 grams of protein, plus I add 2 tbsp. peanut butter (another 8 grams) and the milk (8 grams) will give you a good “jolt” of protein. Don’t use it as a meal replacement! It is meant to complement, not replace. I add the peanut butter and make a shake out of it because it really tastes bad.
Another goodie: All Natural Bragg Liquid Aminos, comes in a 32-oz bottle. Just 1/2 tsp. will give you 290 mg of aminos. It tastes akin to soy sauce. You can throw this into your bowl of soup, stew, mashed potatoes, or dish such as casseroles. It actually tastes pretty good, and you can use this to flavor your food a little better while adding amino acids.
You Need More Protein in Colder Months
During the winter months, you need more protein than usual. The cold causes your body to need to break down more calories to provide more heat internally. High protein diets take away some of that seasonal debilitation. Needless to say, the high protein will also benefit you in the times of cold and flu by helping you to boost your resistance and (if you should get the sickness) hasten your recovery if necessary. Protein is very important. In our next segment, we’re going to cover survival sources of protein and explain why you can’t just live off of a diet of wild game and other niceties of wilderness living. Until next time keep your powder dry, take care of one another, and turkey sandwiches…lots of turkey sandwiches! JJ out!
This article first appeared at Tess Pennington’s Ready Nutrition.com.
Tess Pennington is the author of The Prepper’s Blueprint, a comprehensive guide that uses real-life scenarios to help you prepare for any disaster. Because a crisis rarely stops with a triggering event the aftermath can spiral, having the capacity to cripple our normal ways of life. The well-rounded, multi-layered approach outlined in the Blueprint helps you make sense of a wide array of preparedness concepts through easily digestible action items and supply lists.
Tess is also the author of the highly rated Prepper’s Cookbook, which helps you to create a plan for stocking, organizing and maintaining a proper emergency food supply and includes over 300 recipes for nutritious, delicious, life-saving meals.
Visit her web site at ReadyNutrition.com for an extensive compilation of free information on preparedness, homesteading, and healthy living.
Related:
A Step-By-Step Guide To Survive Any Disaster
Nukes and Fallout: How to Survive When Others Won’t
A Green Beret’s Guide to EMP: Practical Steps to Prepare for a “Lights Out” Scenario
I Will be throwing out all my survival food because I found out that all of it is literally GMO. So I will be replacing it first. One prepper on this site told me about it recently.
Here is the list. I wont be wasting any money on this crap anymore. I know the ones that are not GMO and will be getting them.
Daytrix bars manufacture in Cali-TOTAL FILTHY GARBAGE.
Wise food
Mountain House
MRE- all of them
http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/2016/12/02/the-stealth-invasion-of-somali-terrorists-coming-across-the-mexican-border-jobs-awaiting/
Listen to the video on this link, the second video, this is very, very serious.
HCKS.
HCKS, Don’t throw it out. GMO is better than starving or going broke replacing it. You can also barter it. MRE’s are the WORST for chemicals and pure garbage shit. Sell them on ebay or craigslist. Don’t buy TVP crap it is toxic soy garbage (wise brand). Just add to what you have and use the gmo as barter or last resort food.
Second what Genius says.
Keep it for barter, barter it now or give it to the poor (if you have already made up your mind to trash it).
HCKS< I'll take whatever Mountain House you have but you can keep the rest. Genius, I admit that part of my food supply may be GMO but not all of it. Like you said, it's better than starving. Even GMOs will be appetizing in any post-SHTF scenario.
GMO….Really???? Hahahahahahaha… So lemme see if I can get this right…
The world as we know it has just collapsed…
Your chances of long term marginal survival are reduced by about a factor of at least three…
So the first order of business is worrying about your GMO food stores…
Hahahahahahahaha… Preppers… Not the smartest bunch.
Buy bottles of 14 essential amino acids at SPROUTS for $30 a bottle. You wouldn’t need to take one capsule every day in a survival environment.
Once a week would be enough combined with other food and your multi vitamin/mineral. 🙂
Numanna is a non-GMO long-term-storage food brand. It’s sold by Natural News, who would be the last people on the planet to sell ANYTHING with even a smidgeon of GMOs in it. If you want to avoid GMOs in general, that’s a great website to check.
My protine comes from my livestock, what i can bag hunting and what i grow on my farm. You dont need an expert to tell you that you need more food in the cold winter months my body does a pretty good job of letting me know that. I suggest that if you want to learn survival you go out to the woods with just a kife and stay out there a few days you will be amazed as to what information becomes unlocked in your dna, youll either figure out how to get along or youll die. Darwin must have been on to something.
Speaking of Testosterone, have you seen this article?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/11/30/man-cured-prostate-cancer-doctors-shock-tumour-death-testosterone/
A man with advanced prostate cancer is believed to be cured after doctors ‘shocked’ his tumour to death with huge amounts of testosterone.
Not just protein, but get some fats, lipids, in your diet during the winter. The calories burn slowly and provide energy and internal heat for hours.
Some sausages or salami-type meats are a good idea.
Yep eat something with alot of fat before bed and you will wake up sweating cus your body actualy create that much heat burning it
Good info Tess. I also stock vitamins and suppliments and medicinal herbs and herb seeds. Peanut butter and freeze dried meats to supplement wild game. Get a few good herbal remedy books too.
i live in the desert, so i got lots of CANNED food that contains moisture. all that stuff you got to add water to will be a problem, especially if you have to heat it, thereby sending odors all over the neighborhood. one thing i DIDN’T have much of was fruit…it’s more expensive, so i did without for a long time. but i had an eppifany watching “the road” where the guy guzzles a can of peaches. that made me think about how hard water was to find, and even if found, you’ll take a chance every time you ingest it of getting sick. so get veggies and fruits to help with the dehydration that will be prevalent.
I lived in the Kingman area for 10 years. Many springs on maps. I think many people don’t realize. In a humid climate your lungs are absorbing water. In a dry climate your lungs need water to keep from drying out.
Buttcrackofdoom:
I believe nothing beats the nutrition of fruit picked right off the tree. Most fruit is mostly water and high in sugar but balanced by its high fiber.
When fresh, organic fruit is not available, high quality juice can fill the gap. I am drinking organic black cherry mixed with filtered water. Two parts water to one part black cherry. I buy cranberry and pomegranate juice, and dilute them as well. Sometimes I pour these or other concentrated juices into ice cube trays, or Popsicle trays.
When I was a kid, we made slushed deserts with fruit punch and a manual ice cream maker.
Now, I use a Vita Mix. I highly recommend Vita Mix Blenders and food processors. They liguify better than anything. And, you can use them as a mill to turn wheat berries into flour, or coffee beans ground, etc.
I will buy a manual mill one day soon. Until then, I prefer to just push a button.
I know. You can’t fix stupid. But Vita Mix makes a great family Christmas Present from Santa.
☺️
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Genius, same here. Especially those packaged meat sticks. Crackers go pretty good with them and can become a meal if necessary. I’ve been a meat-eater all my life and won’t stop now.
Wood ya cant go wrong getting wood oh ya we are talking about body fuel
I guess wood could make ya sweat
There used to be lots of heat in the piece of wood Mr. Kelly used on our ars in school, 1964.
i woke up with wood just this morning….
ah shit ya beat me to it….
Or if you are serious about your long term survival, move to a place where there is little or no competition for resources and ample game.
My elk this year I shot from my wood shed. it was about 27 yards. Protein problem solved till spring for the cost of one 308 bullet.
Now I’ll wait for the next installment, where I get to be told why I can’t live off of wild game and the wilderness… seemed to work just fine for my Cherokee ancestors.
cant live off the land funny how it worked for the indians isnt it.and the settlers and my family for 30 years now
Of course ya’ll can “live off the land”….as long as there aren’t a few million others trying to do the same thing. Then, just like the 1930’s, large four legged critters will be hunted to near extinction.
trump is liable to reduce cannibalism to a misdemeanor, thereby easing the food crisis.
Is there a murder if there isn’t a body?
I share my county’s 1,733,000 acres with 11,017 people. We are outnumbered 50 to 1 by deer… probably grouse too. Again, if you want long-term sustainability… move to where it works.
What country is that?
County.
Not country.
Eat meat. The west wasn’t won on salad.
Miss you Eppe.
Second that
Thinkin’ of you Eppe.
i third that emotion….missing eppe.
emotional sigh—eppe
emotional sigh—eppe
Townsaver, good to see you back. I agree wholeheartedly about meat. Once a meat-eater, always a meat-eater.
BTW, I also miss Eppe. R.I.P.
Salad isn’t food. It’s what food eats.
tess is a city boy
except she’s a girl… and lives in the country 🙂
LMFAO!!!! thanks mac!
How any of you guys could even think that Tess is a boy is beyond me, haven’t you read her cook book? No city girl can cook like that.
BS that no city girl can cook like that. My girl can cook circles around Tess’s mormon cookbook recipes. I’ve bought all kinds of food from all kinds of people. The one thing I KNOW is that mormon girls all cook the same and though it’s filling, it isn’t delicious. Give me a good Italian girl over that mormon shit any day. As an aside, I’ll purchase from mormon-free stores EVERY time!
Iowa, is this the same “Iowa” who used to come here regular and was in a hellish situation at least a couple of years back? If so, welcome back and how’ve you been doing?
Bio-Trust
This lab has a large assortment of supplements.
They make powdered bone broth. Add hot water.
Their products are top quality. I think having this in the pantry is wise. This bone broth has no fillers or impurities, and is designed to line the gut, rebuilding a leaky gut. Very important.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2sfg_-LnUg
PART 2
HCKS
I used to like some soy products like the chocolate soy milk, and found ways to make omelets from tofu.
And I will never be out of soy sauce.
Then I read years ago on Dr. Douglass’ site how toxic soy beans are and how they must be cleansed of poisons before being safe to eat. Never touched any of it since.
I will always stock Brewer’s yeast. 50% protein! (16 grams protein in 30 grams, which is 2 tablespoons.
Contains: (% values based on 2000 cal. diet)
Potassium 600mg. (17%)
Iron (8%)
Thiamin (260%)
Riboflavin (86%)
Niacin (86%)
Vitamin B-6 (450%)
Folic acid (263%)
Biotin (10%)
Phosphorous (33%)
Magnesium (10%)
Zinc (39%)
Selenium (60%)
Copper (12%)
Not bad for 2 TABLESPOONS!
This is from the label off Swanson’s house brand. ($7.99 per lb.) Store bought brands can be outrageously priced, like well over $20. a lb.
In grocery stores look for “nutritional yeast” in the bulk containers, it will be priced right.
That’s all folks, I hate typing..
See I told ya, beer is good food lol 😛
Ketchupondemand:
Thx.
Use it here.
Cook with it or sprinkle it on certain foods for a somewhat ‘cheese-like’ taste.
Ketchup:
NOW Nutritional Yeast Flakes
quality GMP assured
NOW FOODS
395 S. Glen Ellyn Rd.
Bloomingdale, IL. 60108
http://www.nowfoods.com
NonGMO no gluten no pesticides etc. good stuff
Not the cheapest but one of the best. Marked Best By 2018.
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B from Ca, Lol, we tried Now brand and it was by far the absolute worst tasting brewer’s yeast I’ve ever tried…that’s in about 40 yrs.
double down bad!
“…NOT a brewery by product as is Brewers yeast. This ensures freedom from Candida albicans yeast.”
That is a quote off the label.
It is grown on cane and beet molasses from a specially selected strain of ‘bla bla’ bacteria.
So it is a different product. I like the taste. But I guess if you don’t, don’t eat it. I put it on eggs. Sometimes mix it in various other foods, but it is for the array of ‘b’ vitamins, so I don’t heat it.
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Most all brewer’s yeast is grown on sugar beets now.
We put it in orange juice or fruit smoothies with papaya and peanut butter.
As for gmo’s, isn’t it true that if we have been eating store bought tomatoes for umpteen years we have been eating gmo’s?
Same with soy products of all kinds (“Round-up Ready”) and countless other products.
Most of us are still here and kicking…
Two words: “wheat germ”. 🙂
Many scientists say there are only two single protein sources that contain all 8 essential amino acids . Spirolina, blue green plankton, alge. And turkey.
I make my own detox capsules with spirulina, chlorella, bentonite clay. Good stuff!
A starving person and his starving dog will smell food a mile away. Buy every pressure cooker you can . And buy spare seals. Don’t add salt it eats the seals. No smell comes out if you don’t over heat . And it cooks faster saving fuel.
hmmm…what happens when you open the pressure cooker to eat the food? Sounds like a load of BS to me!
While there is probably no way to eliminate all odor is does cut down on it. Anyone who uses a pressure cooker will tell you as long as you don’t get it hot enough to gas off it will keep everything in . Till you open the lid.
The high temperature of a pressure cooker reduces the nutritional value of food. On a day to day it is best to eat some vegtables raw and some just lightly steamed. If you are weak, boiling vegtables or using a pressure cooker breaks them down and makes them easier to digest.
__oh, that makes sense about containing smells as much as possible.
__
I read that relief workers in Africa say the best way to put weight on a starving person . Is to mix flour and powdered milk with water and let them eat it like soup.
Yeah? Didja? Bullhockey. You read/know crapola about putting weight on boy. Flour, powdered milk, and water has nothing to put weight on. Get an education in nutrition before you spout this nonsense. Oh, also like to your “I read” article please so that I can destroy that bs as well. Unless this is a disinformation campaign in order to kill people, in which case – CARRY ON.
I read this somewhere I don’t know if it’s true or not. I’m sure it would be better to feed them a gourmet meal with all essential food groups. And some rocky road ice cream for desert. But this is about trying to feed thousands of starving people with limited resources . Bull hockey crapola did you learn those words in nutrition class?
Lone wolverine:
In Africa, flour is not made from wheat. I believe it comes from some kind of root. I’m not sure. I think I’ll look into it. That is an important aspect of survival. I know you have to be careful how you reintroduce food to a starving person. Very little, because starvation causes the digestion system to shut down. Food will be vomited up and could kill them. Liquids like broth, juice, or this milk and flour seem like a logical initial step. Good post.
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I read that in a bunker down no sunlight situation . Vitamin D dosent cut it. You need vitamin D3 .
I also read That in early America the Indians showed the pioneers how to boil green pine needles to make tea that would keep their teeth from falling out. Aperantly it contains a small amount of vitamin C.
You read, you read, you read. No links, no information other than total BS. I’m done with you.
Yep – pine needle tea. Also, you can eat the inside, wet part of the bark, usually referred to as the “fleshy” part of the bark.
And isn’t rabbit meat one of the only ones that contain vitamin C to prevent scurvy?
I fill 5 gallon plastic gas cans with powdered milk.
Lone wolverine:
I considered using those for storing beans, but decided not to. The plastic is not food grade, is it? I don’t need the chemicals. But since you’ve chosen to use them, keep them in a cool place. It is when plastic gets hot and soft that the chemical bonds are broken and it releases chemicals into the food. It is the same with plastic water containers.
__
Your right b from ca. Peanuts from the top smell like plastic . Maybe better than nothing? I’ve read but don’t know for fact that MREs can only be eaten for so long. And regular plastic water bottles leach out chemicals into the water . I don’t know what is true?
I wish I could get powdered eggs
Honeyville.com has powdered eggs.
I read that in Africa they harvest alge. Mix it with spices and bake it . Maybe the ultimate vegetable protein source?
I’ve often wondered . That all food grown and harvested before fucashima is not contaminated?et la the food riots of 2011″ when the last of the uncontaminated food was bought up by the people who knew. Thus the increase in price And the riots because of that?
Goddamn disinformation idiot is all you are.
I put a question mark at the end of sentences to indicate a question. I’m asking if this could be true . Not stating it as fact. Who’s the idiot?
I’ve read that colmans fuel lasts forever? Use to be 350 a gallon now 10 -12 a gallon.? Seems one gallon can last one month? Gotta love Coleman ?
In World War II, the German civilian population would boil pine needles and drink the resulting potion to get needed Vitamin C. Also, most of the calories that your body needs to survive goes to maintaining its internal temperature. The warmer you stay, the less calories you need. Your body also needs fluids to digest the food you need. Stock up on water.
But boiling destroys Vitamin C.
Maybe steeping like tea would be better.
I hope it doesn’t come to that..
We have citrus fruit growing year round.
But like everything else, the chain of transportation is the weak link.
To avoid confusion here, it is a fact that BOILING WATER will destroy all remnants of Vitamin C (in pine needles anyway), so the idea is to boil the water (to sterilize it), allow it to cool down to about 180 or even less, much less if you prefer, THEN ADD THE PINE NEEDLES (allow them to ‘steep-to-taste’, which takes about 1-5mins tops).
In THAT manner you won’t lose any Vit. C (and though it is rarely mentioned, boiling, waiting, then ‘steeping’ is always how it has been done::::>(otherwise the Vit C is destroyed and the tea is just a nasty-flavored water).
I wonder if there is an exact temperature that if you go above the vitamin C is destroyed?
Lysine is in Amaranth. Tryptophan is in Turkey.
Lysine fights the herpes virus. Tryptophan is good for the brain. and is in part, responsible for that feeling of relaxation and contentment following a meal with Turkey.
__people detoxing from those awful mind shattering drugs, can take Tryptophan and eat lots of Turkey as one of the five best supplements to use during this period. But nothing can prevent feeling awful to the point of suicide. I think those drugs are diabolical. Why the pharmaceutical companies are allowed to make and distribute them is proof of the ungodly power of Big Pharma.
__
Many drugs used today are diabolical. The word pharmacy is from the Greek word pharmakia, means drugs or witchcraft. Hardly anyone except witches and sorcerers used drugs 400 years ago. Drugs were used in pagan worship to hallucinate and try to get in touch with evil spirits.
At http://www.Bob‘sRedMill.com: you can get a free E-book. It has twelve recipes for Christmas sweets. You can order ingredients for a recipe from Bob’sRedMill or substitute with what you already have.
Merry Christmas
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I tried to think up a home made bullet removal idea. Maybe? If you get a little toothpaste size tube of anbesol . Squirt it in the hole wait for the anbesol to numb the area.Then widen the hole and use a straight thin wire to probe for the bullet . When located remember depth and angle. Then use forceps or needle nose plyers. To try and pull the bullet out. Last ditch effort? Maybe better to leave it in there?
Another thing ? I bought a katadyn water filter . It says it will remove 99.9999% of all things except salt ? What does salt have that makes it so unique?
Found out last week that spaghetti sauce is high in acid and eats through cans . Or Mabey there is some other reason I lost about 20 cans? I don’t know for sure Iowa .
SPC Baked Beans??
Australia flogging Baked Beans to The USA?
Amazing!