So, I’m making a box of macaroni and cheese (what??? It’s quick and easy) and as I’m stirring the noodles into the pot of boiling water I thought, “hmmmm, noodles and powdered cheese. Hey, I’m making survival food!”   Dehydrated noodles and dehydrated cheese (oh and the added junk they put in the mix to preserve it).

This got me to thinking about all the ‘boxed’ food I’ve prepared in a life time (hey missy, like I said, it was fast and easy – oh geeze that sounds like some of the girls I heard about in high school – but I digress)

Okay, back on track. 

I wondered.  Could I mimic boxed foods to make my own survival foods?

Think about it.  By dehydrating food, either by using a dehydrator or your oven, we should be able to make a lot of those boxed meals that we loved as a kid (and some of us still today – love me some mac and cheese!)

Then with a good vacuum sealer you could prepare away!

The research was on.

Milk comes powdered, butter comes powdered, cheese comes powdered, and eggs come powdered.

Then, there’s the cooking/baking stuff; sugar, flour, oats, grains, baking soda, baking powder, powdered sugar.

With these things added to your dehydrate fruits, veggies, meats and nuts and you could make just about anything and everything.  Soups and stews; casseroles, rice dishes, pasta dishes, cake, cookie and muffin mixes, energy bars, you name it.

Really. 

You would only be limited to your own creativity.

And once you saw the prices of MREs (military talk for ‘meals ready to eat’) making your own meal packages would look a lot more pleasing.  

By just using the things you have around you (in your pantry, cupboards and cabinets that is), you can begin, or add to, your survival food supplies.

We all know nutrition is key to survival.  But by the same token, food is a comfort to most of us.  Admit it, we get bored easily.  So the more variety and selection we have the better we will be able to adapt and survive.

Look at the list of things I found as a guide to what you should have.  Consider this your insurance policy against starvation.

Make your own list of these items and do a checks and balance to see what you have and what you may want to get.

Coffee and tea (beans and ground, instant)
Baking powder
Baking soda
Bread crumbs
Broth (dried and canned)
Beans (all kinds, i.e. dried and canned)
Cocoa powder
Cornmeal
Cornstarch
Chocolate (all kinds, i.e. unsweetened squares, semisweet and chips)
Cooking spray
Cereal (all kinds)
Crackers (remember Hard Tack?)
Dried fruits: raisins, apricots, pineapple, (make your own with fruit cocktail too!)
Extracts: vanilla, lemon, almond, orange
Flour (all kinds, i.e. wheat, rice etc.)
Garlic (dehydrated)
Granola (all kinds)
Jelly (jams, preserves)
Milk (boxed, powdered, evaporated milk
Meats (all types of dried/dehydrated beef, tuna, chicken etc)
Nuts (all kinds, i.e. peanuts, walnuts, almonds etc)
Onions (dehydrated)
Pasta: (all kinds, i.e. spaghetti, linguini, angel hair, fettuccine, penne, noodles)
Peanut butter
Pepper
Potatoes (dehydrate all kinds)
Powdered eggs
Rice, (all kinds, i.e. long, wild etc)
Soups (all kinds)
Salt (or salt alternatives)
Spices/Oils (all kinds)
Sauces (canned for browning and flavor)
Sugar: (all kinds i.e., granulated, confectioner's, light and dark brown)
Veggies (all kinds of dried/dehydrated)

Girlie-girls, just like insurance, you can either have just enough to get by (just have the basics), or you can have an umbrella policy (which fills in the gaps and protects you over and above the basics.)

After all, isn’t insurance in and of itself is a form of risk management to safe guard against the unknown?

So should your survival planning.

- Survivor Jane

RELATED ARTICLES:

Do You Really Know What Your Are Paying For?  
Gimme some Sugar - (Honey the Other Sugar)
Happy Burgers - (What's Really in our Food)
Hard as a rock Bread - How to Make Hardtack Survival Bread
Survival's Comfort Food
Soups On! - (Learning to Make Something Out of Nothing)
Honey I Shrunk The Pea! - (Dehydrating Food)
Your $20,000 Dehydrator (Food Preparation)
Sun Worship (Cooking with Solar Ovens)
The Missing Link … (Home Food Supply)
How much is 'A Lot'? (Food Storage)
Ahhh! My Beans are Sprouting Legs! - (Sprouts the Real Survival Food)
Do You Really Know What Your Are Paying For?
Garlic - The Survival Multi Vitamin - (Survival Herbs) 

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Survivor Jane is not intended to be expert, legal or even medical advise - just one girl sharing with others.