With the recent events the world is experiencing, many of us are realizing we didn’t have a long term food storage plan available. I’ve done the basic research for you and created this long term food storage guide with a variety of foods for anyone who may be quarantined or left without access to food for a few weeks. (Shopping list included!)
Often times we face an unexpected crisis that makes us realize how unprepared we are for an emergency situation. I did a lot of research and thought I would share with you what I found to be the best survival foods. Let’s take a look at the list I created for an emergency pantry with easy long term storage.
Long Term Food Storage
We created a list with a variety of foods and drinks to keep on hand for your emergency food supplies. While this list isn’t all inclusive, it is a great list of what we find to be the best survival foods.
1. Protein
You want to make sure you have adequate sources of protein for your emergency pantry long term food storage. These are items that will stay fresh for a long period of time that won’t require refrigeration or freezing. Items include:
- Canned Fish – consider adding canned fish to your emergency food pantry. These include canned tuna, salmon, sardines, and herring. Not everyone enjoys fish, but if it becomes necessary to eat, you won’t mind getting a high protein-rich meal.
- Nuts – peanuts are the highest in protein, followed by almonds. Other nuts to consider storing would be brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pine nuts, pistachios, and walnuts.
- Beans – Canned beans are also a great source of protein, and here is a great list of beans to add to your emergency food pantry: chickpeas, kidney beans, lentils, black beans, soybeans, pinto beans, and navy beans. You can also opt for a longer storage life by storing dried beans.
- Meats – Canned ham, chili, and beef are great for long term storage. You can opt to purchase special chicken and beef that are known as freeze dried food. These can last up to 25 years. You have to rehydrate them to eat, but they are an option and not typically found at your local grocery store.
- Peanut Butter -Opened peanut butter can last up to three months, but unopened peanut butter can last for a long time on the shelf.
Other items to consider adding to the pantry of best survival foods that have a long shelf life are oats, dried pumpkin seeds, and quinoa.
2. Dairy
Dairy products like cheese are something you can purchase for long term storage in the freezer. However, if the power goes out, so will your cheese stockpiles.
You can also purchase canned cheeses that will also last longer on the shelf and won’t have a risk of going bad if the freezer goes out.
3. Fruits and Vegetables
Make sure your emergency food supplies also include dried fruit and vegetables. There are a large variety of canned dried fruits and vegetables that are rich in nutrients and easily stored on the shelf.
These fruits and vegetables are also great to use as a trail mix when mixed with nuts.
4. Pasta and Rice
Pasta and Rice are very easy to store and have a long storage life. Consider adding pasta and rice into air tight storage containers for an even longer shelf life.
Pasta and rice are great carbs to add to your emergency storages recipes.
5. Salt and Spices
Don’t forget to add salt, pepper, and a variety of spices to your food storage. When making your new emergency recipes you’re going to want to flavor things up a bit.
Salt is also a great way to help preserve foods.
6. Sweeteners
Sweeteners such as honey and white sugar can last a very long time. Some have even said they will never spoil!
You can also use both honey and white sugar as preservatives for wild fruit and berries.
7. Butter and Oils
Cooking oils and canned butters are also great things to keep in the emergency food pantry.
While canned butter has a shelf life of about a year, it’s an easy product to rotate in and out of your food pantry to keep things fresh.
When purchasing oils for the emergency pantry, consider extra virgin coconut oil. It has a shelf life of 7-15 years! Not only that, but it can be used for many different things besides cooking. You can use it as a skin moisturizer and as a hair conditioner.
8. Drinks
While the human body can survive a long time without food, it can’t survive very long without hydration.
Bottled water is usually one of the first things to disappear off of the shelves during an emergency situation. Having access to a healthy water supply is critical.
Consider adding powdered drink mix items to your list as these have a long shelf life and can add additional nutrients and flavor to water. These items include powdered milk, breakfasts, and orange drinks.
Best Survival Foods Guide
We took the time to research and find what are some of the best survival foods. These foods are able to stay on the shelf without any use of refrigeration. While creating meals and placing them in the freezer is a great idea, it doesn’t work if the power goes out.
Grab this quick printable shopping list to get your emergency food pantry started today.
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Anything with a oil In it will last at most 3 years including nuts and butter’s.