The recent few decades have not been gentle towards our planet Earth. Its inhabitants have witnessed wars, famines, droughts, food shortages, earthquakes, and many more from the list of never-ending calamities. We hope and we should always hope for the best. But one should hope along with preparation, in case of any emergency being the best approach. These essential prepper food items will keep you going when the going gets rough.
Prepping is not new, although it has gained lot of popularity in the recent years mainly during the pandemic situation. Therefore, a prominent surge in this concept’s acceptance among the masses.
We have already witnessed all sorts of shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic. But, in such a situation, food is key for survival. This article focuses on prepping those food items that have longer shelf life and can be very useful in the longer run.
Remember, we are saving food for survival and necessity so flavors and tastes should be least of our concerns. But, we are not totally ignoring it.
So, first things first, when shopping for prepper foods you should consider certain points, like nutrition density, easy storage and long shelf life.
Essential Prepper Food Items Pro-tip: Store water first, before food.
Aside from food, you should start by storing water or securing access to a water source. Water is the #1 essential prepper item you need to survive. Check out our article about saving rain water for some ideas! With that out of the way, the list will focus on food items.
6 Essential Prepper Food Items
Here is a list of foods that are recommended for preppers:
1. Canned Food Items:
Due to long shelf life, canned foods are #1 on our prepped food items list in case of any disaster. They have typically years of shelf life based on the acid level in it. Specifically, low acid canned foods can be stored for a longer time period. This timescale works under the assumption that canned foods are kept under dry, cool and rust-free place. As they are very much prone to heat, light and moisture.
High acid canned foods include tomatoes and fruits while low acid canned foods contain mostly vegetables and meats.
It’s not all sunny when it comes to canned foods, as you might have to bear its taste for the sake of survival. Canned foods are not so popular in the taste department. Plus, they have somewhat high percentage of sodium, too.
While shopping for canned foods, you should examine carefully and look for any cavities in them. You can pick any canned food as they are full of varieties. It ranges from meat, fruits, vegetables, dairy, tomato sauce, etc.
2. Grains:
Up next, we have grains which are high in nutrition and tastes good like corn, wheat and rice. In any calamity and disaster, grains are a great source for survival. Having a grain mill will always come in handy.
The grains recommended for preppers are whole oats, wheat, white rice, brown rice and corn. Grains are composed of carbohydrates, which are a source of energy. You might want to prefer white rice over brown rice as according to experts even though it tastes better but brown rice will go sour very quickly. You can store grains up to 350 pounds for each person.
3. Beans and legumes:
Beans and legumes are also one of the nitty-gritties of preppers’ food checklist. You can store beans and legumes for quite some time. These include lentils, pinto beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, peas and lima beans. Beans are composed of 15 – 30% protein, 60 -70% carbohydrates and about 2 % lipids.
In addition to being highly nutritious, beans are super easy in terms of cooking. From the list of beans listed previously, pick out your favorites and store them in such a proportion that 55 – 65 pounds should be enough per head.
4. Potato Flakes:
Potato flakes are flat chunks of dehydrated mashed potato. These are considered the fast food of essential prepper food items list. The cooking part for these is also super easy. Just add some of that boiling water and your potato flakes are good to go.
100 grams of potato flakes contains 113 calories, 15 grams of carbs, 2.3 grams of fiber and 9.7 grams of vitamin C. Potato flakes can be used for over 2 and a half decades. Along with potato flakes, also store potato flour in your prepper room. They will come in handy if you want make pancakes, waffles and breads. Moreover, it is gluten free.
You should stay away from oil based mashed potatoes, only opt for non-oil containing mashed potatoes as they will remain edible for a greater time period.
5. Honey:
This is a must have for an essential prepper food items list. There are endless reasons for storing honey. Honey has a lot to offer not just as a food:
- Source of antioxidants
- Wound healing ability
- Full of nutrition
- Good for the throat
- Can be stored for a long time
Even if you do not use honey for a long period of time and it starts to crystallize, you can always melt it for using it in liquid form. Moreover, you can use honey for flavoring oat meals and for your favorite recipes.
6. Salt:
Salt is a mineral, not a food but yet it has to be included here in the preppers food items checklist. Salt is essential for cooking food and also aids in preservation of food. But, always protect salt from any type of moisture. According to experts, store at least 10 pounds of salt per head. This amount of salt would be enough for 10 to 12 months.
Essential Prepper Food Items Conclusion
By now, you should have understood the ideal amounts of different foods you want to store and the most important ones too. Other foods worth mentioning are chocolates, spices, herbs, jams, oats and avocados. In case of a disaster or calamity, do not panic, hope for the best and be prepared in advance. Because that’s what an ideal prepper would do! Many of these essential prepper food items can be purchased in bulk on Amazon. So what are you waiting for? Start storing up for the future today!
