Storing Food For Survival | How & What To Store For Survival

When SHTF we will most likely be cooking over a fire most of the time. Having pans that are prepared to take the flame is very important.

The dutch oven is a versatile pan and a must-have!

You'll also want a good set of cast iron skillets. This is a favorite of mine. I don't have this set, but it's the one I want!

What I love about the solar oven is that it's portable. It's so lightweight, and you could even bug out with it.

Have an oven everywhere you go!

You don't have to have one of these, but it's nice for slow cooking beans, meat, etc...

Wooden utensils are nice when cooking with cast iron. If you treat them kindly they should last many years too.

Get everything you need if you don't already have it to hunt and process your own meat.

This grill stands up on its own over a fire. This can also be helpful for cooking stuff like meat, corn on the cobb, etc...

1. Place food inside a mylar bag.

These come in all kinds of sizes. I usually get gallon size because I know I can always cut them to whatever size I need.

2. Add an appropriate amount of desiccant packets to the mylar bag.

These help reduce moisture that gets inside the package of food. This is my favorite brand. They even have moisture indicators to let you know when they've taken on water.

RECHARGEABLE! These can be recharged by putting them into the microwave. Follow the directions of the package to do this.

3. Seal the bag using a bag sealer or an iron. Squeeze all of the air out first.

An iron also works for sealing mylar bags. You have to be careful and quick though. If an iron is on the mylar bag too long it will tear.

A bag sealer is nice too, but it costs a lot more money to buy and is really not necessary.

4. Store sealed mylar bags inside of 5-gallon food grade buckets.

These can range in price anywhere from $40-100 for a set of six. So try to buy low!

Water - is obviously a really important source of liquids. Read Backup Water Supply for how to store water properly. Also, think about having a manual pump for your well.

Soy sauce is good on rice, and well we will probably be eating a lot of rice, so stock up!

They also sell powdered soy sauce, I haven't tried it, but I'm kinda curious!

Soy sauce has an indefinite shelf life if left unopened, however once opened it will last 2-3 years.

I use Worcestershire sauce in some of my marinaras and other recipes. You can also buy powdered Worcestershire sauce.

Worcestershire sauce has an indefinite shelf life if left unopened, however once opened it will last 3-4 years.

If you plan on stocking up on flour or pancake mix, you may want some maple syrup. Although, after opening maple syrup is supposed to be refrigerated. So keep that in mind.

Buy maple syrup or learn how to tap trees and make your own.

Maple syrup may last indefinitely in the fridge.

Hot sauce - You can buy 1-gallon jugs of hot sauce. Hot sauce keeps pretty well. They say it will keep for about three years, but I suspect that most of them will keep a little longer than that. Grab some of my favorite brands in bulk.

Texas Pete, Louisiana Hot Sauce, Frank's Hot Sauce, Tabasco Hot Sauce, Sriracha, Crystals Hot Sauce

Best by 2 years unopened - Should last 3-6 months in the pantry when opened or 2 years in the fridge

You can buy vanilla beans, and make your own Instant Pot Vanilla Extract.

You can also make your own almond extract.

White vinegar should last indefinitely. It can be used in cooking, cleaning and much, much more.

Coconut oil and other oils – Coconut oil should last at least a year. Maybe more. Oils aren’t some of the best Foods to Hoard, they tend to go rancid. Ghee or powdered butter will last much longer.

It's a good idea to keep a good variety of flours. Whole wheat, all-purpose, and even pancake mixes. You can help extend the shelf life by freezing flour for 48 hours. This can help kill any weevil eggs that may develop. It's important to know, that those weevils are edible. So if you do get them in your flour it's not a total loss!!

Powdered drink mixes - like Koolaid, tang, sweet tea, lemonade, etc... These are not necessary but it would be a nice treat if SHTF.

I'm not sure how long these will last, but if you keep the powder free from moisture it should last quite a while.

White rice tends to have a much longer shelf life than brown rice. Since brown rice has a higher amount of oil content in it, it tends to go bad more quickly.

Rice can get weevils or other bugs. Most of these pests are actually edible.

Costco has a 50 lb. bag for around $17.

These can possibly last for up to 30 years when properly stored. Some people say indefinitely?

These are a little expensive. It's cheaper to buy bags of black beans instead, like this 4lb. bag of black beans.

However, having the pail is nice too and that's worth some money, so it all depends on what your needs are.

These can possibly last for up to 25 years when properly stored.

So again, you may be able to buy these cheaper in bags. However, the pail is nice for storage of other foods and jobs once you've finished off the food inside.

These can possibly last for up to 25 years when properly stored.

Pinto beans are really popular. These tend to be a little more expensive than other beans.

These can possibly last for up to 25 years when properly stored.

40 whole pounds of instant mashed potatoes! That's quite a lot!

These can possibly last for up to 20 years when properly stored.

Freeze-dried meals can easily last a long time. Mountain House makes some of the tastiest meals that I've had. My favorite one is turkey casserole!

May last up to 30years if properly stored.

I don't know about you, but I love pasta and bread! Pasta is another thing you can keep in your long term food supply.

May last up to 20 years if properly stored.

This is a pretty large container of dry milk. Dry milk can be used in many different ways. You can drink it like you would milk, use it in baking, soups, and more.

May last up to 20 years if properly stored.

This 10lb. pail is fairly priced most of the time. I think I bought one for about $20. Prices fluctuate though, so watch for price changes.

Up to 30-year shelf life!

You may be able to find a better price in a grocery store, but all in all, this is not a bad price for 5 whole pounds of stone-ground grits.

Stone-ground grits may last up to a year after the best buy date. Quick grits should last for about 2-5 years.

I bought some of this popcorn last Christmas. I used to buy at Trader Joe's but I never get over there anymore. We've tried this popcorn and it tastes great!

I typically use cornstarch to thicken soups & sauces. Many times I prefer this over using flour.

Make sure you are getting plenty of vitamins and nutrients during SHTF. This superfood powder is my favorite. It contains all kinds of green foods, but it tastes delicious. It's really good in smoothies but you can add some to water too.

I actually have a recipe that uses this. I made a regular recipe and a camp recipe that would also be good for survival situations.

You can use protein powder in many different ways in a survival situation.

Whether you are making soup or just a cup of hot broth for a sickly person, this is great to have.

Up to a 10 year shelf life

Bone broth is full of nutrients, this stuff is great in soups, stews, sauces, and more.

I have no clue how long this can last, but it's a powder so take a guess!

These dense bars are packed full of calories which is great for a bug out situation. They are heavy though and will add quite the weight to your pack.

Maybe I'm weird but I like powdered eggs! Mountain House's egg with bacon is especially good.

Mix in with veggies or use to bread veggies or meat.