Enhance Your Long-Term Food Storage

Do you have a three-month, short-term supply of perishable items in your food storage? Like most preppers, you probably know how important it is to have a long-term, shelf-stable supply of food storage. Have you thought about including food items that won’t store as long, but add high value? I bet you have a few SuperPails of grains in your long-term food storage. You’re probably planning on grinding the wheat into flour and baking with it. That’s a good plan. Now, consider how many ways you can use a SuperPail of wheat or oat groats if you keep some oil, vinegar, and spices on hand. You could make one of these tasty salads, or this easy and delicious breakfast. When thinking about food storage, many people just stock up on the bare minimum for survival. But having familiar and nutritious food on hand is important to your health and emotional well-being in a crisis. Consider keeping extra packages or bottles of the condiments and add-ins that you normally use while you cook. When you have to dig into your food storage, you’ll still be able to make your favorite meals because you’ll have your favorite ingredients on hand (instead of going to the store with the crowds and settling for whatever’s left on the shelves). Here are some of my favorites that I keep in my food storage pantry. I use them often, so I rotate them frequently enough that they don’t go bad.

• Oils (canola, vegetable, olive, sesame seed, cooking spray)
• Vinegars (balsamic, apple cider, red wine)
• Herbs and Spices
• Nuts
• Dried fruits (raisins, apricots, figs, dates)
• Chocolate (chocolate chips, chocolate bars, chocolate candies)
• Spreads (Nutella, peanut butter, almond butter)
• Sauces (barbeque, chili, tabasco, cocktail, teriyaki …this list could go on forever…)
• Condiments (honey, bacon bits, mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup)

These items were never meant to be stored long-term. But keeping them in your food storage plan—and making sure to rotate them—will increase what you can do with your food storage if the times comes that you need to rely on it exclusively. These everyday items can take your food storage from back-up plan to luxury.