Prepper Food And Recipes

Surviving in the face of any emergency or disaster will depend on ensuring that you and those with you have enough nourishing food to eat.

A little guidance might be called for when it comes to making the most of the foodstuffs you put into storage as a prepper – the techniques you can learn, and how to make the dishes both nutritious and delicious to eat.

Long-life food

In a previous blog we stressed the importance of not only putting enough food into storage but also knowing what types of food are likely to sustain you in the best possible way – for as long as possible.

Not unreasonably, therefore, we concentrated on the wide range and versatility of long-life and non-perishable foods.

Without splashing out on supplies of expensive, specialist, purpose-designed “survival” supplies, there is sustenance and nourishment in a selection of rice, pasta, beans, canned foods, dried fruit, and root vegetables.

If you’re stuck for ideas on recipes that make the best use of such ingredients, take a look at some of the really useful prepper cookbooks available, such as The Prepper’s Cookbook.

Storage requirements

It’s all very well putting together your supplies of food but, unless you take care over their storage, you’ll miss the chance to make the best and longest possible use of them.

Whether you’ll be keeping your stores somewhere in your home, the garage, or even an outbuilding or bunker in the garden, you’ll need to find somewhere cool, dry, and hidden away.

Our posting on the 20^th of September 2021 highlighted some of the common mistakes made by novice preppers when storing their supplies of food:

• make sure that you and your companions will actually like to eat the food you’re storing – it needs to pass a “taste test”;

• don’t forget to keep a record of just what you’ve stored – and where you’ve stored it;

• don’t buy any old food just because it’s on special offer;

• make sure to store a variety of different foods; and

• choose foods that are easy to cook.

High-calorie foods

You’ll get greater benefit from the food you store the more nutritious or higher calorific value it offers.

In an article dated the 2^nd of June 2021, the Net Doctor identified 20 different foods that are especially high in calories. Some are fresh foods that you’ll be hard-pressed to keep for any length of time as a prepper, but the list includes items such as homemade granola, brown rice, macadamia nuts, whole grain pasta, chickpeas, oats, sultanas, Adzuki beans, and sun-dried tomatoes.

Skills to learn

Like so many aspects of becoming a successful prepper, a lot will depend on the skills you learn to make the most of every ounce of food you store.

Many of these are also the skills that were essential in any kitchen in the recent past – and skills that have been making a more recent comeback.

So, consider developing the techniques of pickling, jarring, and canning to preserve your vegetables and fruit – thereby extending the life of essential foodstuffs and adding colour and variety to your daily diet during the challenging times of an emergency or crisis.

Whether you’re new to the art of preserving or are already well seasoned in those skills, Canning and Preserving for Beginners presents some essential canning recipes and offers a comprehensive canning supplies guide.

Further reading: Foraging Guide And Toolkit and Prepper Food Supplies.