Okay, since in the previous post my title was a little misleading I chose this time to cover actual food preparations. For the sake of maintaining clarity in this article we will focus on food choices a person needing to be on the move would choose. In other words food for bugging out rather than sheltering in place. I will break the choices up into 3 categories, grab and go stuff, pre-planned stuff, and traditional or historical options. Food storage for sheltering in place will be covered in a future treatment.
Grab and go emergency food has been a topic of much discussion in our circles recently and is something we extensively cover in our Urban Movement & Evacuation classes. The premise is food that can be easily acquired and added to a hastily improvised bug out bag. The type of thing you may need when traveling abroad and getting caught up in a natural disaster or even a military coup. The criteria is that it must be highly portable in terms of size & weight and provide maximum energy value. My favorites in this category include peanut butter, corned beef hash, and canned sardines. They provide a tremendous amount of macro nutrient density for the small signatures they take up. In the US they are extremely common even in gas station convenience stores. If travelling abroad there may be local choices that also provide these attributes and they should be studied before going.
Consider that 2 tbsps of peanut butter will provide 7 grams of protein, 16 grams of fat, and 8 grams of carbs. Compare that to a steak which typically provides 11.5 grams of fat and 25 grams of protein with next to no carbohydrates. Fats being the preferred fuel for long duration efforts makes peanut butter an excellent choice. Now realize in a 16 oz container you have 14 two tbsp servings.
Corned beef hash (even better than porn and beans) is one of those rib sticking, greasy spoon survival super foods that provides a astronomical amount of calories for getting you out of survival situations, but if eaten on a regular basis will probably kill you from heart disease or your head exploding due to its massive amounts of sodium. Great for avoiding hyponatremia if you have large amounts of water available, but something you should avoid if you don’t. Finally sardines, preferably canned in oil, are so common and packed full of fuel they had to be mentioned. Also note they are great for baiting traps and the containers small enough that carrying a few extra isn’t such a burden for something that could be used in bartering.
The low point in peanut butter and sardines is that they are relatively low in carbohydrates. Not a big deal if you are counting getting into ketosis as part of your survival strategy (knowing that the food will shortly run out). If that’s not the case and you are willing to carry more weight, I would also get some flour, or better yet corn meal. More on that later when we talk about traditional and historic survival foods. Corned beef hash on the other hand provides a significant amount of carbs in addition to fats and proteins. In fact a single can provides two meals. Yeah, its hearty alright!
Pre-planned foods come in a wide variety of options. You have everything from MRE’s (military field rations), freeze dried or dehydrated camping meals, life boat rations, and even canned foods. The most nutritionally dense are usually the camping meals with MRE’s coming in a close second. The down side of them being that they require water to re-hydrate them and some means of heating them. MRE’s are superior in that they are long lasting Meals Ready to Eat requiring no re-hydration. They are bulkier, though that can be mitigated some what by stripping away any unnecessary packaging and accoutrements such as spoons and napkins and such. Save the food warmers though, especially if you are in colder climates!
Life boat rations are the least optimal nutritionally but are the most robust when it comes to varying or extreme temperatures. They make the best choice in my opinion for kits that will live in your car’s trunk or similar places where temperature extremes will vary quite dramatically. Canned foods being the bulkiest, heaviest and most vulnerable of all of them still have their place. Avoid cans that are bulging or rusted though. Their main advantages are that they require no water for re-hydration and can be eaten straight away without cooking if need be. A third advantage may be that they can later be used as an improvised container or cook pot. Depending on the scenario you envision some will be more optimal than others. However don’t dismiss the notion of mixing and matching them as needed. For example, during a bug out event your first meal may come from a can, and a later meal once you’ve reached a water source may be a dehydrated camping meal. Your boat rations may be supplemented with some canned sardines you acquired from a fellow traveler who was willing to barter.
Finally, I’d like to suggest you investigate traditional and historical survival foods. These recipes have withstood the test of time and the ingredients can still be easily found. For example bannock bread which is little more than flour and baking powder. A quick internet search will quickly yield a ton of recipes. Simply put this is survival bread to which you can add what ever you happen have. A little sugar or cinnamon, great. Some raisins great. Some trail side wild edibles, alright. You get the point. Corn meal is another camping staple that should be considered. Its versatility and ability to bulk up meals is legendary! Think corn bread, pan cakes, and hush puppies.
For proteins various meat jerkies will serve this purpose well. But, for protein with fat nothing beats pemmican made from powdered jerky and fat. Like many of these recipes you can add almost anything. Dried berries are a common addition. Looking for something more vegetarian? Consider Tibetan sampa made from various nuts and beans, plantains and honey, or Nordic (or iron age) nut bread made from nuts and seeds held together with honey or even eggs.
Having a good understanding of the traditional and historical survival foods will help you develop good heuristics should the need to improvise survival food arise. Consider that each culture has their own versions so be sure to do your homework before travelling. For example, throughout South and Central America, as well as in many parts of the Caribbean rice and beans are staple foods. Knowing how to prepare them would be critical should you find yourself needing to grab and go with some survival food in those areas. One cool method we teach for preparing rice in the field is under the main cooking fire wrapped in leaves while the protein source cooks above it. This requires the rice to be soaked prior to cooking of course.
One last thing I’d like to suggest are a few miscellaneous grab bag stuff you could add as that would increase the value of any food kit. Salt and pepper go a long way in enhancing the edibility of survival foods and have secondary medicinal values, as does honey or even simple sugar. I’d include as many of those as I could. Often its as simple as grabbing a handful of packets at a fast food restaurant.
Chia seeds have quickly become a very popular health food supplement that are commonly available almost anywhere that sells food. From supermarkets to health food and supplement stores. While not super dense in macro-nutrients they aid in feeling fullness, and satiety because they swell when soaked in water. A great source of fiber to avoid constipation, as well as a form of hyper-hydration to make your bodies water supply go much further. This is one of the secrets of the Tarahumara Indians of Northwestern Mexico known for their ability to run hundreds of miles barefoot and lightly clothed.
Bouillon cubes are a very small addition that could be a huge moral boost. Particularly if you are including wild edibles into your survival plan. A stew can greatly, extend your resources. Especially when in a group. Also consider bland food or distasteful food can be made more palatable that way. For example, crickets, taste like pork rinds, not to bad for those into pork, but earth worms could use more help.
In a future post we’ll be looking at long term food storage ideas for those who include sheltering in place as a survival option. Understand that the previous post, and this one, are intended to show concepts that can be expanded upon, and by quite a bit. These articles are by no means definitive and I welcome any questions, concerns or comments that may improve clarity or expand into productive dialogue.
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