A Prepper’s Perfect Pantry

Let’s try saying it three times really fast: a prepper’s perfect pantry. Difficult, right? Fortunately, it is not so difficult to stock your pantry for any situation in which you will be inside your home for a longer period of time than you would be under normal conditions. While it is important to be prepared to bug out if conditions require such a move, it is equally wise to prepare yourself to hunker down in place. Those preparations should include stocking your pantry with food that keeps well and will also keep you and your family healthy.

Your survival pantry should be stocked with plenty of rice. Rice has a long shelf life and is very versatile. Adding it to your meals will make them go farther and will provide you and your family with vital carbohydrates. Another grain to keep around is oats. Oats are a very nutritious source of vitamins and minerals and are low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium. Oats are perfect for bulking up casseroles and meatloaf. If you are trying to stretch your food rations, this is helpful and healthy.

How about meat? Pork, beef, and chicken can all be purchased in cans, as well as tuna and salmon. These products have a very long shelf life, so feel free to buy in bulk. Their versatility in creating meals will keep you from getting too bored come dinner time. In addition to the canned meat, it’s a good idea to keep some beef and chicken broth on hand. These broths can be used for cooking rice or creating a yummy soup.

Canned fruits and vegetables are a must for your survival pantry. Both provide fiber and are sources for vitamins and minerals that cannot be found in other foods. Stocking up on a wide variety of fruits and vegetables will ensure that boredom does not set in when eating them. Those vegetables will be just right for adding to the broth you’ve stored in your pantry when making soup. In addition to the canned varieties, many fruits and vegetables can be bought in dried form which can be added to other foods or eaten as is.

If you like some of your food sweetened, stock up on honey rather than sugar. Honey actually lasts for years and acts as a natural energy and memory booster. Did you know that honey also has medical benefits? It happens to be a natural antibiotic which can be applied to wounds and burns. It is also a natural anti-inflammatory, and helps reduce coughs and allergy symptoms.

Of course, all the food in the world won’t be much help if you don’t have anything to drink, because humans can survive about three weeks without food but only about three days without water. The large water coolers that are used at sporting events are a great way to store extra water. To add a little variety to your liquids, and to add some necessary nutrients, stock up on powdered milk. Powdered milk has all of the vitamins and the protein that can be found in liquid milk, but it has the advantage of having a long shelf life and not requiring refrigeration. If you are facing a crisis, you’ll need the calcium and vitamins available in powdered milk.

Naturally, you’ll want to add some of your own favorite foods to this list when stocking your survival pantry. Pasta and pasta sauce, beef jerky, tea bags, or instant coffee come to mind. The point is that you will be prepared to feed yourself and your family should a crisis occur that causes you to hunker down at home and eat from your versatile and well-stocked pantry.