Emergency Food Supply: Week 32
Snacks, Sweets, Drinks, and More!
Variety is the Spice of Life
This week we go back to the list we made of things our family likes to eat. What do you like to eat for snacks? For beverages? In an emergency situation, you will want to have some version of those favorite foods. Bonus points if they can be eaten without cooking.
Snack Foods
If you are used to snacking on fresh fruit or veggies, you may need to make some accommodations. Fresh foods may not be available and dehydrated versions are not the same. That said, there are ways to add them to an emergency food diet.
Sweets bring a sense of comfort in an emergency. Natural sweets like dried fruit store extremely well and can also provide substantial nutrients and calories. You can make your own and keep it rolled up on wax paper in your freezer. You can also add canned fruit to your pantry.
Canned veggies that can be eaten alone as a snack include pickled veggies of all kinds, olives, peppers in oil.
Starchy foods are the easiest to store. Think crackers, pretzels, popcorn, chips.
Need some protein? How about beef jerky, canned sardines, or a little garbanzo bean salad? (Add together canned garbanzo beans, canned red pepper, canned artichoke hearts, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar – yum.)
Beverages
Water is your most important beverage. You need one gallon per person per day; half a gallon per day is recommended for drinking. If you haven’t done your water storage yet, visit the Transition Longfellow website to see instructions for water storage (you can’t just put it in a jug on a shelf – it has to be treated). If you stock electrolyte powders, you can rehydrate and replenish if you’re rationing water.
Truthfully, sometimes treated water just doesn’t taste that good. If you store some ascorbic acid (found in citrus foods like lemon juice), adding it will remove the chlorinated taste.
Keep a store of your favorite tea, coffee, and cocoa mix on hand for everyday and emergency use.
Bottled fruit and vegetable juice take up a lot of space but if you drink these regularly, buy a few extra next time you’re at the store. You know you’ll use it and it stores well.
Powdered milk is a source of calcium and vitamin D, and it can be used just like milk in recipes.
REMEMBER PEST CONTROL!
Like all the food you’ve been adding to your pantry, be sure to think about protecting your food investment from pests. A cracker box or powdered milk box is flimsy cardboard, and that airtight bag inside can’t stop a mouse. Tea and even coffee are also attractive to mice, whose sharp teeth can quickly tear through a foil bag.
Repackage foods that are vulnerable to pests. You may be able to put the entire original package into a new container. Or you may want to invest in (or share!) some inexpensive food processing equipment to remove excess air that would cause your food to go stale. You can also put a desiccant packet in with the food (see example here).
Your Task For the Week
- Buy 3 snack items this week for longer-term storage. Put them into a secure storage container. If you are looking for a tool for air removal, post to the Facebook group to see if someone will let you use theirs.
- Buy 3 beverages.
- If you didn’t do your water storage earlier, do it now. You probably can’t store 90 days of water but see if you can store two weeks’ worth.
