Survival Foods

[LeanAndHungry]

This is an odd question, but it has some practical aspects.

What would you suggest for raw survival foods? Foods that will keep for months, if not years that are raw, and that you could use as staples(not the kind for paper), and would still help you improve your health and not suffer from any deficiencies.

The reason I ask is this. I don't think the US can stick around much longer as it is now. Too many things going against it. I think stockpiling food and water is a good idea. It's a good idea even if you don't see major economic ruin coming. You never know when you may have to stay in your home for a week, or leave in an instant. Second reason is I want to camp and do things like that, but I want to bring the best food possible. This means it would also have to be easy to make/eat on the trail(sprouting alfalfa might probably be out, it would not provide much in the way of calories anyway)

One aspect of this is to stockpile non-hybrid seeds of fruit and vegetables and fruit trees that will grow in your area should you be required to provide for yourself. But even then you will need some food to get you through until you can harvest your crops the first year.

I'm thinking some kinds of grains would be good, but I have no idea what kinds of grains are ok to eat.

I guess for home stockpiling sprouting seeds would be good. THey just would not be good for camping unless you were staying pretty much in one spot.

I guess one aspect of this is to get as healthy as possible beforehand so that when you need to survive for a while you will still thrive on less than ideal food.

If you come up with a good food can you give the expected shelf life? Vacuum packaging might also increase the life.

[Coriander74]

Tough question to answer, as I don't keep much of anything for a long time, not even my nori paper.

Run a banana-search for "camping" and see what you get. I know that one of the girls recently went camping, perhaps you can find some ideas on her thread?

[eachpeachpearplum]

My first thought is to have a container full of up to date seeds - for growing in case of REALLY needing to fend for yourself.

The second would be several sprout bags - they are cheap - and a good variety of sprouting seeds & beans. Sprouting is so easy and could be done anywhere, even on the run.

Third; a selection of commercial raw bars - These are pricy but worth it. However you could work on a recipe for an energy bar and just always have some around, that would be cheaper but not shelf stable!

Things that can be dehydrated & therefore re-hydrated.

And lastly an edible wild foods guide - no I cannot recommend one, but I would like one. It would need to be regional.

A good knife too

I will add more as I think of things. :rolleyes:

Great question, I look forward to others' ideas!!

[Lay-Lay]

Every month I buy at least 10 lbs of something for my stock pile in case of a storm or something. I have the following stock piled:

Kidney beans
Chick peas (lots of these because I love them)
Sunflower seeds
Wheatgrass (Hard and soft)
Barley
Flaxseeds
Black eyed peas
Pinto beans
Nuts
Sesame seeds
dried fruits

there may be some other ones in there, I'm not sure.

I keep them in large sealed rubbermaid containers so as to keep bugs from getting in them and I also have an old 1940's fridge that doesn't work and I store stuff in it.

As far as how long they last -shelf life. I started doing this a few year ago and well some everything is still ok. I use the stuff and replace it. I have probably never had anything seat in there more then 2 years or so, well maybe a few things, like pinto beans and kidney beans. I haven't touched those in a while are they are still fine.

[juliebove]

Nuts, seeds, dried fruits and vegetables are all things that keep well. Bottled water is another must. Water is even more important than food because we can live for two weeks without food but not without water! One thing to keep in mind if you do have an emergency preparedness kit is to check it often and replace the food and water in it. You wouldn't want a disaster to strike and have spoiled food! It's also annoying to check your kit and then realize that had you eaten that food perhaps a month ago, it would have still been edible. But now it's not and you have to replace it all.

[lissomllama]

The reason I ask is this. I don't think the US can stick around much longer as it is now. Too many things going against it. I think stockpiling food and water is a good idea. It's a good idea even if you don't see major economic ruin coming. You never know when you may have to stay in your home for a week, or leave in an instant.

Wow, that sounds very negative. Don't you think it is a very ugly thing to just expect things to fail? To expect our lives to become hard? To expect 'economic ruin'? Maybe trusting our environment and trusting that the people who are 'in-charge' will start coming to their senses and do good things is a better plan. Maybe keep trusting those people who already tend the earth and love their fellow people and care for animals and enviromental issues and spread love and joy to make sure that good things continue to happen. Trust that our earth and environment will protect and nurture us and give us what we need and be gentle on us. If we did have an issue like that, it would probably be a blessing because we could get back to nature. Breed love, not fear. Instead of being afraid and just trying to get ourselves stockpiled, maybe we should all be consciously concentrating on spreading healing, loving, good energy around the world that it may come back to all of us. What we put out into the world (whether conscious or unconsciously) comes back to us all.

It's good to be prepared but worrying constantly and stockpiling doesn't seem very healthy or beneficial. If, powers forbid, IF something happened to you and you needed to find raw food and healthy water, you would. People/creatures are very resilient and usually find a way to survive healthily. Life always finds a way. Just my advice.

Now, that is a great idea for camping or temporary storms though. I'd bring nuts and I guess, dried fruits and veggies and lots of water and then enjoy whatever other bounty of fresh produce you find while camping as well. Oh and pack away tons of little packages of seeds . Keep them airtight and dark and they will last for years and you could plants hundreds of sustainable crops and grow living food!

[sport]

There was an internet group set up after Kathriona for raw people to help each other out in the event of an emergency. I joined but can not do much from over here.
It may be worthwhile joining up. I will scour my emails to find the link and post it later.

[DavidZaneMason]

Opinion:

-The above suggestions are great. You can go completely beyond the idea of societal or national collapse.....and simply aim to become more self-sufficient (always a good thing!). Keep a dry and well-varied stock of seeds (both sproutable and plantable). Make sure you have a well to draw your own water if need be - that can be powered by solar, battery or generator. With seeds and your own water - you'll be fine. You'll be able to grow your own crops, grasses, sprouts, etc.....everything you need to be healthy.

-David Mason

[swingbolder]

I've thought about this too.

You don't have to be a pessimist to conclude that our empire may be headed for some pretty nasty times. All you have to do is keep up with current events AND be a student of history. I think it's pretty realistic to be planning ahead to a time when fresh food might not be so plentiful, and planning ahead can alleviate worry.

But to stay on topic, these foods can keep for a long time:

-sprouting seeds
-dried seaweed
-nuts

We also have 30-gallon water barrels stashed in our basement.

Working towards self-sufficiency, as others have suggested, is a very good goal.