Are you a beginner food prepper? If so, starting DIY long term food storage will seem daunting and overwhelming.
So, you might want to start building short-term food storage and then switch to long-term food storage. Start with a 3-day food supply followed by 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year. Eventually, you can get your food storage to a point where you are stocked up for more than 1 year!
When you are just getting started with prepping, it is easy to get overwhelmed with so many prepping foods and options available at the store and online.
But don’t panic!
There are five types of prepper foods you can easily find at the supermarket to start building your short-term long storage. Once you know more about these food items, you can pick and choose them for long-term food storage.
Prepper Food #1: Jarred foods
Yes, we know that jarred foods are not the choice of an expert prepper. And rightly so! Jarred foods tend to break due to falls during an emergency such as an earthquake or flooding.
However, they are easily available in the supermarket and are a good choice for short-term food storage. They are great to have during short-term emergencies such as power outages, personal financial problems, and such. You will always have something to eat with bread.
Food items like jams, jellies, Nutella, peanut butter, spices, and condiments (ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, and more) are available in jars.
However, if you find plastic containers for these food items, choose them.
Prepper Food #2: Canned foods
When you go to the supermarket, you find an aisle filled with canned foods. That’s what you check when developing your short-term storage.
As a beginner prepper, canned foods will be your best friend as you develop short-term food storage. Canned foods stay safe to eat for years, and some for even decades! And you can find almost any type of food canned.
You can find canned fruits, vegetables, meats, legumes, beans, ready-to-eat meals, dairy products/milk, spray cheese, and more.
However, the drawback of canned foods is that they are either high in sodium or sugars depending on the food item that is canned. Also, the food item will have an extremely mushy texture. So, use canned foods only when you know how to incorporate them into different meals or if you know you will enjoy them as is.
Prepper Food #3: Protein Foods
Whether it is a short-term emergency or a long-term emergency, consuming proteins will be essential to building and maintaining muscle strength.
You must store protein rich foods in your short-term and long-term storage, and luckily, you can find several protein-rich foods in the supermarket.
One of the most common suggestions for a shelf-stable protein rich food is dry beans. However, you must know storing dry beans is difficult. If not stored properly, they can get infested with pests or insects, and get spoiled due to oxygen and moisture.
If you want to store dry beans, you must repackage them in Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers. This will keep them fresh long-term. However, if you are not ready to store dry beans, other protein foods available in the supermarket are canned beans, nuts, peanut butter, canned fish and meat, seeds, powdered eggs, powdered cheese, canned cheese, and more.
Prepper Food #4: Carbohydrate-Rich Foods
During emergencies, you want to consume food items that give you energy. So, be sure to make carbohydrate-rich foods a part of your short-term (and long-term) storage.
Carbohydrate-rich foods available at the supermarket that can help you get started include rice, oats, pasta, whole grains, couscous, crackers, instant mashed potatoes, cereals, flour, and more.
Most of these food items are dry and can be stored in plastic, glass, or steel containers for short-term storage. However, if you want to extend their shelf-life, you must store them in Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers.
When you buy these food items, make sure you know how to use them in different recipes. This will also help you rotate them without risking spoilage.
Prepper Food #5: Freeze-Dried and Dehydrated Foods
As a beginner, freeze-dried and dehydrated foods that you can buy online or at the supermarket are your best bet. These foods stay edible for decades. You can either eat them as-is or rehydrate them with water.
You will find dried fruits, vegetables, jerky, and other dehydrated foods in the supermarket. If you want to increase their shelf-life, you can store them in Mylar bags along with oxygen absorbers.
Bottom Line
Food prepping as a beginner can be overwhelming, but you can find everything you need at your nearest supermarket.
The only things you will need other than food items are Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers. You can find high-quality Mylar bags on our website.
Visit our online store now to see why thousands of preppers choose Wallaby!
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