Survival Guide: The Book All Survivalist and Preppers Need ( 3 in 1 ) (2016)

Book 2

SURVIVAL

Setting Up The Pantry

Without food and water, you are pretty much doomed no matter what else you may be having. As such, before you can do anything else, the first thing you need to do is to set up a survival pantry (you can keep this in a survival bag or in a fixed pantry in your house) where you will keep enough food to sustain you for a few days into the disaster. For this, you will need to consider the perceived impact and the period you think the disaster may last. Don’t just stockpile stuff that you have never eaten. Instead, stock stuff that you eat daily to avoid instances of discovering that you cannot eat something after wasting all the space and energy to keep a certain food. Nonetheless, what you pack in your pantry (or survival bag) is truly up to you but as you do that, you need to consider a few pointers:

Macronutrients: You should aim to have all the essential macronutrients in your pantry to ensure that you have a balanced meal. This should ideally comprise 5-20% proteins for toddlers & babies, 10-35% proteins for adults, and 10-30% proteins for kids and teens. As for carbs, you should aim for about 45-65% and for fats; you should aim to have 30-40% for babies & toddlers, 25-35% for kids & teens, and 20-35% for adults. As for the calories, you should aim for at least 1200 calories.

Tip about meals: Aim for about 500-700 calories per meal for each of the three meals then calculate that for the number of days that you want the food to last you. To help you stockpile fast, try to buy an extra item every time you go shopping. You will soon find yourself with a good quantity of such items. But don’t just keep them forever; try to cycle such items in your everyday consumption to ensure you don’t end up with expired food products. You can try to keep the new food at the back and those that have stayed for awhile at the front.

Tip: Keep in mind that there is something referred to as food fatigue caused by taking the same old food every other day. As such, don’t just assume that any food is food during a survival situation. Try to have variety if you truly want to have a smooth time. You can pack such things like:

45-60 ready to eat meals packed in vacuum pouch bags.

Salt and pepper to make food tasty

Seeds: these are easy to pack and are light to carry around. Of course, if you are to survive in the wild for longer, you will somehow need to figure out a way of growing your own foods and not just relying on fish and meats. You can pack squash, corn, tomatoes, cantaloupe, lettuce, early carrots, broccoli, watermelon, Swish chard, onions, red beets, pumpkins, potatoes (white), cabbage, spinach, various herbs, sweet potatoes etc.

Grains

These will be made up of energy giving food and they include; pasta, rice, oats, cereals, pancake mixes, stuffing mixes and other similar foods.

Vegetables

These will serve as your major source of vitamins and minerals and they include a variety of canned vegetables.

Fruits

You can get additional fruit supply through foraging, but you need to pick your own fruits just in case. Items in this category will include all canned fruits and fruit juice that come in containers.

Protein

Basic food in this category include; canned salmon, canned tuna, peanut butter, canned lentils, canned legumes, canned soups, eggs and dried legumes.

Diary Food

These are other sources of proteins that will be needed and they will include packed dry milk, cheese, and yoghurt, canned liquid milk, soy milk etc.

Other Items

These are other miscellaneous items you will need in your survival bag and they include wine especially non-alcoholic ones because you will need to stay alert at all times to survive during this period. Others you will need will include: condiments like sauce, olive oil, butter, vinegar, ketchup, salt, ginger, pepper, dried herbs, sugar, and honey.

Tips For Stocking Your Bag

ü Stick To Canned Items

You should always stick to canned items unless you are sure that your stay is a very short one. Canned foods can last for months if not years before they expire. That is the best option for you, not fresh foods that will get spoiled in a matter of days.

ü Dried Items

You should always choose dried food to fresh ones; the moisture in dried foods has been extracted making them to last longer than fresh food.

ü Think Long Term

You have to think long term when packing your pantry bag because you never can tell how long you will stay out there before help comes your way. So you need to include as many items as you can carry to last for a long time.

ü Always Check For Expiration Dates

If you’re buying canned food, it is advised that you take time to check the expiration dates for every item before purchase. Try to go for items with longer expiration dates.

ü Balanced Meal

When packing your survival bag, ensure that the food in the bag is able to make you a balanced meal without your secondary source of food. That is why from the list I made on how to pack a pantry bag, I ensured that all the classes of food were present in the list to some extent. You need well balanced meals to stay fit, and fortify your immune system.

Important Note:

Even as you pack various foods, ensure to carry cookware; you can use a backpacker’s cooking set, which you can fasten to the outside of the bug out bag or on your belt. But as you do this, ensure to carry one fork, a table knife and a strong spoon. You should also think of having a thick iron skillet or a cooking pot if need be.

Keep in mind that fire is life when it comes to survival. It will keep you warm at night and will help you prepare various foods comfortably. As such, don’t under pack when it comes to prepping for fire because without anything else, knowing how to light a fire can keep you alive since you can hunt, catch various insects and prepare various foods. As such, ensure to have such things like 3 steel flint fire starters, bic lighters, waterproof matches and a hand lens.

And even as you do all that, you will also need to set up a survival bag i.e. the bug out bag that you will be carrying around with you or even place one at different places like in your car, your office, your home and other areas just to ensure that you always have enough survival stuff to survive for several days if disaster strikes.