When prepping, food is an important subject to cover. We always want to get a food that is easy to store, easy to prepare, inexpensive, and something that has good variety. Unfortunately, it is not easy to find a good quality, shelf stable, cheap food product. That combination is not going to be found in a store since those qualities are a bit contradictory. To get all these qualities, you would typically have to spend the time to make and prep your own food. I am not here to recommend any particular food to you for prepping, but rather inform you about what to look for in your food. What you eat and drink will definitely determine your health and well-being, so I highly advise paying attention to your health as a general guideline.
FORGET ABOUT CALORIES
Most people prepping are going to be obsessed with the number of calories per day or per meal. The funny thing is that the number is literally meaningless. 3000 calories of chocolate will not be healthy, and 3000 calories of bread will likely leave your body wanting for nutrients. It is for this very simple and sensible reason that I largely disregard caloric intake and rather focus on foods that are packed with vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that help you survive or perform.
THE BIG THREE MACROS
When it comes down to survival, you need to focus on having 3 big macro-nutrients in order to heal or generally keep your energy up. Each one of these macro-nutrients plays an important role in your overall health but also there are different types of each macro-nutrient. The best I can tell you is to try and stick to plant-based foods primarily.
The first macro to look for is “fat” which your body directly relies on for energy, but in the form of “stored” body fat. If you don’t have something like fat that replenish your fat stores, you will die. Think of eating fat as being a means to replenish your fat stores, so the more the better, to an extent. My advice is to stick to more natural fats if possible, such as nuts, fish, avocado, etc. I am not saying all of them can be simply preserved, but do what you can.
The next is “carbohydrates” which break down into sugar and then get stored as fat. There are different varieties of carbs, just like fats, that can break down in the system fast or slow. Oats for instance, and beans are generally regarded as very good sources of carbs because they give a lot of return. Wheat is a very good carbohydrate as well, but not if it is so processed that you lose the germ. Carbs will give your glycogen stores a boost and feed your fat stores as well.
The last macro, protein, is the least important, though I do not wish to diminish its importance overall. Protein rebuilds lost muscle, and will help you maintain muscle and other parts of your body after you get done with strenuous work. The problem comes when people get this notion that having nothing but meat and dairy is okay, even when their bodies didn’t undergo any sort of stress. Too much protein will play hell on your kidneys and will strain it long term. So, depending on what kind of prepping you are doing, you might want to be careful about how much protein your meals to have. If you are just sitting out the apocalypse, protein should not be a high priority.
VITAMIN CONSCIOUSNESS
The body simply cannot function without vitamins and minerals. Macros will not be sufficiently processed and directed where they need to go, and your organs (Brain included) will have to work extra hard. I am not saying to take a multivitamin pill. I am saying to make sure that the food you eat has A LOT of vitamins and minerals in it. By a lot, I am saying to look for nutrition facts that have a much longer list of vitamins than macronutrients. There are drink tabs that you can buy that have dried greens in them that are packed with vitamins that will supplement, NOT REPLACE, a healthy diet. Same goes for multivitamins. Aim to get food that is packed with vitamins and minerals.
HERBS AND SPICES
Herbs and spices are generally a great source of vitamins and minerals, and more good nutrients that don’t show up on the nutrition facts labels. For example, turmeric is widely loved for the anti-inflammatory effect that it has due to the curcumin in it. The way to help your body get to the most of this curcumin and absorb it is by mixing the turmeric with black pepper. Garlic and onion powder, not to be confused with garlic or onion salt, have Allicin in them which are great anti-inflammatories, but also great for your gut as well. It will generally only have a fraction of the allicin that fresh garlic and onion will have, but it will do if you use more than a tablespoon of each. These would be needed anyways in order to help with the taste of a lot of the meals that come in a can or bag anyways.
SEEDS AND NUTS
Nuts are great additions to pretty much any meal as a side or supplement due to how fatty and nutrient dense they are. I recommend aiming for a good variety of nuts so you can acquire the most diverse range of nutrients. How you go about preserving them is another ordeal I will leave to you. Seeds are a terrific addition to any meal. Yes, they can give the meal a crunch and make it a little thick, but they pack a punch when it comes to nutrients. Be advised that you need to have at least a tablespoon of seeds, or more, if you want to get the health benefits from them. That sesame seed bun isn’t doing anything for you. But my advice is to do your research and learn how to get the most out of each seed, because some need to be sprouted while others just need to be used in volume.
EAT SPARINGLY
If you are in a survival situation, the last thing you need to do is eat when you don’t need food. I am not sorry to say that if you have a beer belly, you are in absolutely no danger of starving if you just don’t eat anything for a day or two at a time. You don’t need to eat a single crumb, but only drinking water, plain black or green tea, or black coffee. No cream, sugar, sweetener, or flavor added. This is called fasting, and for those of you who have more than a little more to love, it is just a good idea to not only lose some of that fat, but also gain access to more energy and add longevity to your food stores.
Every time we eat, our insulin spikes and we stop burning body fat, but rather start building body fat. I know the default is for people to say they would rather have smaller meals, but this will literally put your body in starvation mode. Again, eating food or any calories raises insulin and will stop you from burning fat. Eating three meals a day, or even having a snack literally is why you got that beer gut to begin with. It is also how people fail to lose weight. If you have fat on your body, it is because it is there so you can live when there is not food, so don’t eat any food. Plain and simple.
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