If you’re only preparing foods to survive, it doesn’t have to be fancy but it does need to be safe and nutritious. Some foods aren’t nutrient-dense but they are packed with carbs that will give you energy to keep going. You need to learn how to prepare these foods BEFORE SHTF. Today we’re going to talk about some basic foods that you need to know how to prepare for survival.
Bread and Biscuits
Homemade breadThough bread and biscuits aren’t necessarily nutrient-dense, they are light to carry and provide a quick source of carbs.
They also help other foods such as meats go a bit further toward filling your belly. You can stretch your valuable food supply by knowing how to combine flour, butter, milk and salt to make biscuits.
Plus, once you know how to make biscuits, you can get fancy by adding fruits, spices (cinnamon is awesome in a biscuit!), vegetables (my favorite is a bit of jalapeno pepper) or sugar to spice them up.
Add some yeast and sugar and you can make bread, too.
Gravy
Gravy is another one of those foods that will help you fill bellies and stretch your food supply. All you need is fat, flour, salt, pepper and water or milk. I personally like to start my gravy by adding water to the browned flour to get the base going, then add some milk to make it creamy but in a pinch it can be made with just water. Or, if you have a cow but a limited supply of water, you can always use just milk.
Butter
Homemade butterButter is a good source of fat in a survival situation. Considering how easy it is to make and how easy it will be to barter, knowing how to make butter in a survival situation is a no-brainer. All you need to do is skim the cream from your milk and shake it in a jar. It helps if you let the cream sit out for a few hours. Then you just put it in a jar and shake it.
You’ll notice chunks forming, then you’ll see it forming a solid clump. Once you have the solid clump, stop shaking. Pour the contents of the jar through a cheesecloth or linen towel then rinse the butter under cool water. Put the butter in a bowl. Don’t throw away the juice – that’s buttermilk and it makes excellent biscuits and pancakes.
Using a wooden spoon or flat spatula, work the butter around in the bowl so that you press the rest of the liquid out of it. Once you have all of the liquid out of it, add salt to taste and you’re done. You can also use a butter churn if you have one to make larger batches.
Jerky
Jerky is light and is a great source of protein. It’s easy to carry and lasts for a week or two after you make it if you don’t preserve it as long as you prepare it properly.
Slice the meat as thin as you can get it, season it with your choice of seasonings or marinade and hang it to dry over a fire, assuming you don’t have power. You can even dry it in the sun if it’s hot and sunny enough but you need to start in the morning.
Flour
If SHTF, you may not have a source of flour. If you have access to wheat or nuts, you can make your own flour by (continue reading)