Protein Preps

Not actually Erin.

Picture by KJ Photography

& is used with permission.

Now that everyone is contemplating their food storage plans, let's talk about the importance of protein in your preps. While the importance of fats and carbohydrates have been addressed in previous BCP articles, I wanted to revisit protein to specifically talk about density per unit.

The Necessity of Protein
Whereas carbohydrates are a quick-burning fuel that can leave you feeling lethargic a few hours afterwards (aka the infamous "sugar crash") and fats provide a long-term but slow release of energy, protein is the happy medium of energy-producing food . Eating a steady amount of protein throughout the day will not only leave you feeling full and satisfied but also give you the energy needed to perform tasks without crashing out.

Getting enough protein is essential to our health, and lack of it can lead to health problems such as:

• Reduced immune system response
• Degradation of muscle tone 
• Increased wound healing times (just one weeping wound requires as much as 100 more grams of protein per day)
• Cataracts and childhood blindness

Proper amounts of protein are especially needed for the ill, the elderly, and vegans. 

How Much Do I Need?

Most Americans eat more protein than we need for daily nutrition, which is a result of living in a wealthy country. This means that in a survival situation we can get by on less than we usually eat, although we won't be happy about it.

The recommended daily allowance (RDA) of protein for a healthy adult is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight, although some believe that to be on the low side, especially if you are extremely active or trying to gain muscle. For more information I encourage you to follow the link above.

I wish to point out that I am not trying to lecture anyone on their diet; why I mentioned this ratio of grams per pound will be made clear in the next section.

https://examine.com/nutrition/how-much-protein-do-you-need/

Protein Density for Food Storage

Since we're all stuck at home to avoid catching COVID-19, it's important that we eat well so that we can keep our immune system strong. However, it's also important that we have the right foods put away, as we all have a limited amount of space for our food storage. Please consult this chart when you re-stock your pantry so that you can optimize your food preps.

Complete Proteins
A complete protein or whole protein is a food source of protein that contains an adequate proportion of each of the nine essential amino acids necessary in the human diet. Complete proteins come from animals (including seafood, eggs, and dairy) and the soy family of legumes (edamame, tempeh, soy nuts, tofu, soy milk).

Protip: If you are storing canned foods such as tuna and salmon, get them packed in oil instead of water. The oil will add additional nutrition along with some essential fats.

Incomplete Proteins
These are proteins which are insufficient by themselves but combine with another incomplete protein group to make a complete protein. You do not need to eat both groups of incomplete protein in the same meal; your body is able to assemble a complete protein from different meals so long as you eat them on the same day. Incomplete protein groups are legumes, grains, and nuts & seeds.

https://www.todaysdietitian.com/pdf/webinars/ProteinContentofFoods.pdf

https://www.todaysdietitian.com/pdf/webinars/ProteinContentofFoods.pdf

When it comes time to re-stock your prepper pantry, keep this chart in mind.


Sources

• How much protein do you need per day?
• Protein Content of Foods - Today's Dietitian

Prepping for Hypoglycemia

Most preppers assume that when the apocalypse happens, they will be fighting zombies, killing aliens, and fending off invasions of leather-clad bikers that seem to have endless supplies of motorcycle parts for when things break.

While they’re doing that, though, some of them will have to face unfortunate health problems that make it somewhat more difficult to keep stabbing bikers all day long or wading into zombie hordes and cleaving skulls with a broadsword. In my case, I am speaking of hypoglycemia.

What It Is
Hypoglycemia, at its root, is the condition of not having enough sugar in my blood. Hypoglycemics have to make sure that they maintain the minimum level of sugar in their blood needed for their brain, nerves, and various organs to continue normal operation.

People who know about hypoglycemia will think that symptoms are limited to low energy and irritability. This is true, but there's more to it than that; I know several people who actually went blind due to their lack of blood sugar (thankfully for them it was temporary, but very disconcerting). Worse, a hypoglycemic will often have trouble thinking when their blood sugar get low, in part because they literally do not have the fuel needed for their brain to think properly, often making it hard for them to realize they need to fix the problem. If it can sneak up on a person in daily life, think how much more common it would be during a disaster and how difficult it would be to fix.

How It Happens
There can be several reasons that a person might be hypoglycemic, ranging from an under-active pancreas to a problematic reaction to medicine such as metformin, a common diabetes medication. I also know at least one person who had a hypoglycemic reaction after having an allergic reaction. Hypoglycemia can be caused by all sorts of things, so please keep that in mind.

There are different triggers for the condition, with the most common one being not eating a regular diet and overexerting yourself. Untreated, it can lead to all sorts of things, including coma and death. Thankfully, whatever the cause, it has the same treatment.

Treatment: The Stack
When you're treating a hypoglycemic, remember the stack. Incidentally, this is also useful when working with pregnant women who have trouble keeping food down but still need the full range of nutrition provided by normal foods.

1. At the bottom of the stack you have simple carbohydrates. These are things like hard candy, sugary drinks, crackers, and bread. They are the easiest to break down in your body and are the least likely to be rejected by an upset stomach. This is the first thing that you want to give to a hypoglycemic, since it will allow their body to function correctly until you can put more substantial food into them.
2. Once some of that simple sugar is absorbed into the bloodstream, you can put slightly more complex carbohydrates -- fruit, whole wheat bread, Snickers bars, and most commercial Nutri-Grain type bars (not a lot of protein, typically has a fruit filling) -- into the body without as great a fear of rejection.
3. After that, add protein like beef jerky, protein bars, and steak. These take a little longer for your body to break down, but they allow it to continue having energy for longer.
4. Finally, and if you have the opportunity, add fats for ongoing energy, usually in the form of cooked food. I'm a fan of saturated fats like coconut oil or most animal fats like butter or lard, but I know people who stick to primarily vegetable fats for things like this.
5. Whatever you choose, keep in mind that if someone has low blood sugar, they will have a harder time absorbing whatever you feed them, so it is best to give them a little bit of food that they can digest, and then something bigger.

I actually like using trail mix for the beginning of the stack, followed by a protein bar and beef jerky. They're easy to carry, take up little space, and keep well in all climates.

Whatever you choose, even if it's just commercially prepared glucose tablets, please make sure that if you are prepared to check on the medical needs of the members of your group. A little bit of preparedness now can save a lot of grief later.

Good luck, and don’t forget to eat something.

Protein Bars? or Candy Bars?

The s**t has hit the fan. You have a bug out bag, you got out in time, and you're on your way to your bug out location. You've met up with one of the other people who bought into the bug out location and are hiking together. You decide to stop and rest on the side of the mountain you are hiking up, enjoying the crisp spring air mixed with the smell of burning cites, and you sit down to grab a protein bar from your pack. Your friend pulls out yellowed plastic-looking puck of something and bites into it with the joyful expression of someone who is eating what tastes like sawdust mixed with lard.

You pull out the packet with your snack in it, rip it open, and pour some in your mouth, crunching away cheerfully. Your friend looks over at you, an expression of deep desire on their face as they as “Is that chocolate?”

In a lot of ways, this is a sequel article to “The Argument For Chocolate”. I started looking into a post-workout snack, and as a control for the experiment I started looking at Snickers Bars to oppose my preferred brand of protein bar.

And then I started to look at most protein bars.

It turns out that for a 68 gram / 2.4  Clif Bar (I went for the oatmeal raisin walnut, since that looked like the healthiest flavor) , there are 10 grams of protein (decent), 0.5 grams of saturated fat (not great), and 43 grams of carbohydrates.

Wait, 43 grams? That's about as much as a can of Coke! For a protein bar, that is a lot of sugar. Okay, maybe it's not that big a deal if you're using this as food in a bug out bag; you're expecting to burn a lot of calories, and carbohydrates are quick energy. But fats, and especially saturated fats are much better for that situation: they're more energy dense to start out, and release that energy slower (which is part of the reason that excess fat in a non-survival situation may not be good -- you're taking in a lot of energy, and you may not be burning it.)

Protein is great if you're building muscle, but if you're just hiking around, moderate amounts of it are fine. 10 grams is a lot when you consider that, for people who aren't trying to build muscle or who have other medical problems, 1 gram of protein per 10 pounds of body weight is the RDA. So two Clif Bars are actually more protein than is needed for the majority of the population's RDA.

Well, at least Clif Bars must be a better value than candy, right?

Nope:

• Clif Bars are much more expensive, about $1.50 each if you buy a case of 12. 
• Conversely, peanut M&Ms (46 grams) are about a third of that cost for a box of 48. 
• Peanut M&Ms have 4 grams of protein, 5 grams of saturated fat and 28 grams of carbs.
• A box of 48 Snickers Bars (52 grams) cost about the same as the peanut M&Ms.
• Snickers Bars have 4 grams of Protein, 12 grams of saturated fat, and 33 grams of carbs.
• Heck, even Reeses' Peanut Butter Cups cost only a little bit more than that, and their nutrition values are similar except with more protein.

So unless your only source of protein is these trail snacks, you're probably getting enough to satisfy your RDA, and both of the candy options have better sustained energy (saturated fat) and lower carbohydrate levels (but high enough to still give an instant boost).

Given that M&M candies originated as a way to keep chocolate from spoiling in the field, they are now my "protein bar" of choice.

In conclusion, unless you cannot eat peanuts I unreservedly recommend getting some sort of chocolate with peanuts instead of a Clif Bar for your bug out bag. It is superior in every way that I can figure out. Even if you're hitting the gym, eat a couple more eggs in the morning instead of a Clif Bar and you come out ahead, both in cost and nutrition.

Guest Post: Carbohydrates and Fats in the Apocalypse

by George Groot
George is a member of our Facebook Group and has written for us before.

We’ve already covered essential amino acids and vitamins. I’m going to lump carbs and fats together in this final post because, biologically speaking, they are both very boring: science lists no “essential” carbohydrates, and only two essential fatty acids (omega-3 and omega-6). For a quick review, here is the list of essentials:

Amino acids: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine
Fatty acids: linoleic and α-linolenic acids
Vitamins: ascorbic acid, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B-6, pantothenic acid, folic acid, biotin, and vitamin B-12
Minerals: calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and iron
Trace minerals: zinc, copper, manganese, iodine, selenium, molybdenum, and chromium
Electrolytes: sodium, potassium, and chloride
Ultratrace minerals: (essentially everything else)

Carbohydrates
Carbs are nowhere on the above list, but that doesn’t mean you can ignore them; a lack of carbohydrates in your diet can lead to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar, which results in being tired, cranky, and unhappy) or even ketosis, a serious medical condition that can lead to death. So you definitely need some carbs, but you have no specific need for any one particular carbohydrate, which is why none are labeled as essential.

But not all carbs are created equal, and you can think of them as “fast” or “slow” carbs. You’ll often hear them called “simple” and “complex”, and if you remember that simple is the “fast” kind that tastes good but isn't good for you, then you are on your way to success. Simple carbohydrates are monosaccharides (a single sugar molecule) or disaccharides (a molecule that is broken apart by an enzyme into two single sugar molecules). Not all of these sugars have the same glycemic index (how much they affect blood sugar and insulin production), and complex starches such as found in potatoes or pasta are still carbohydrates according to your body.

You don’t need much to survive; a single bowl of oatmeal or a medium potato is going to give you all the carbs you need to avoid ketosis or hypoglycemia if you are a healthy person. If you have flour, beans, rice, pasta, potatoes, and fruit as part of your preps, you are not going to have any issues getting enough carbohydrates to maintain health. I worry more about preppers being extremely carb heavy in their preps which, over the long term, can lead to health problems such as weight gain, heart disease, and diabetes.

Fats
If you cook with a vegetable oil, or eat fish, you are already getting the two essential fatty acids you need. In fact, the only people who are in danger of needing essential fatty acid are those who go for a long stretch of time on extremely lean meat. But if you have a fat source, then lean meat is no problem.

The normal household cooking oils (corn, canola, olive, and soybean) all have the essential fatty acids you need. There is some argument among foodies about which oil has the best ratio for human consumption and optimal health, but in a survival situation any of them will keep you alive and healthy. Sunflower oil may or may not have the omega 3 fatty acid you need, depending on how it is processed and what type of sunflower seeds were pressed. Cold pressed is best, in my opinion.


The two essential fats that you need aren’t hard to come by, and cooking oil is one of the essentials that you can buy cheap and stack deep as it has a myriad of other survival uses such as filling copper candles, weatherproofing cloth, and if you store it too long and it starts to go rancid, consider turning it into soap. And if you didn’t pack away enough cooking oil to keep yourself healthy and your cast iron pan seasoned, then go fishing and gather nuts to make sure you get the essential fats you need in your diet.

Guest Post: Vitamins in the Apocalypse

by George Groot
George is a member of our Facebook Group and has written for us before.

If you are prepping food, it is easy to get bulk calories in the form of starches. My previous article on proteins focused on ensuring the complete array of amino acids made it into your diet; this article will focus on vitamins.

I prefer to not rely on a daily multi-vitamin for essential nutrition, but in the case of survival it wouldn’t be a bad idea to stock up on a few bottles just in case. But vitamin supplements will eventually run out, and a longer-term solution will be required. The good news is that you can grow most of the vitamins you need from the dirt, and the ones you can’t grow (the B family) you can farm or hunt.

At the cellular level, vitamins are all cofactors and are needed to catalyze necessary chemical reactions. Minerals can also be a specific type of cofactor called a coenzyme. Some vitamins, such as B12, have a mineral component (in this case a cobalt ion) already included. Sometimes they are used whole as a prosthetic group tacked on to a protein, and sometimes they are just a precursor to the actual coenzyme or cofactor. But no matter the terminology, vitamins are important to maintaining your health.

Solubility
Vitamins also come in two main categories, fat soluble and water soluble. Quoting from the linked article:

Water-Soluble Vitamins
All B vitamins and vitamin C are water-soluble. Water-soluble vitamins are easily dissolved in the body. The kidneys remove excess amounts of these vitamins so they can be excreted in the urine. Still, this doesn’t mean that you can take vitamins B and C in unlimited quantities.

There is a misconception that if you consume too much of a water-soluble vitamin, your body will just ‘get rid of it.’ The truth is, there can be problems with excessive amounts of water-soluble vitamins, and upper limits have been set on their consumption.

Fat-Soluble Vitamins
The fat-soluble vitamins are A, D, E, and K. Fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed in the lymph, transported in the blood, and can be stored in the liver and fatty tissues for use as needed.

The fat-soluble vitamins are the ones you really need to be careful about. Because fat-soluble vitamins can be stored in the body, these vitamins can build up to toxic levels when consumed in excessive amounts.

Vitamin A is found in leafy greens like spinach, kale and in carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and butternut squash. As a fat soluble vitamin, feel free to consume it with a little pat of butter or other oil.

The B vitamins are found in the meat of ruminants. If you eat any of the kosher animals (they have cloven hooves and chew the cud), you are not likely to be deficient in any of the B vitamins. If you are a vegetarian, your only real option is vitamin supplements.

Vitamin C is the cofactor for the collagenase enzyme, which puts specific bonds on the collagen proteins to make connective tissue stronger; this is why lack of vitamin C causes the typical leaky gums and easily cut skin seen with scurvy symptoms. It's generally easy to get enough vitamin C from plants and fruits, but even rare meat can contain enough vitamin C to keep you healthy (animal protein is the main source of vitamin C for some Inuit native diets). If you are worried about getting enough vitamin C in winter, grow boxes with kale or spinach; they, and tubers like potato, sweet potato, turnips, and rutabaga, are all rich in vitamin C.

Vitamin D is something your body can create through exposure to sunlight. Ultraviolet B rays cause a tight ring structure to form and you are good to go -- for a while, at least.

Vitamin E, another fat soluble vitamin, is found in large quantities in spinach and in sunflower seeds. Sunflower oil is a decent cooking oil that stores relatively well when not exposed to oxygen.

Vitamin K is another vitamin that I don’t worry about much. If you are eating enough spinach or other greens to get your vitamins E, C, and A, then you are already getting more than ten times the vitamin K you require.

Growing Your Own
Now if you want to grow fresh greens year-round to take care of your A, C, and E needs (getting B from meat and D from sunlight if necessary), a cold frame system will work very well in the temperate regions. Since these plants have little in the way of calorie content, they are less likely to be a target for thieves than crops of squash, root vegetables, or fruits (in their seasons).

I know eating greens can have all the flavor of "blah" mixed with "yuck" to some people, but they are a great source of vitamins that can be grown year round.

Next: Carbs and Fats!

Guest Post: Proteins (and a little math) in the Apocalypse

by George Groot
George is a member of our Facebook Group and has written for us before.

Several decades ago, there was a book titled Recipes for a Small Planet which got all the science wrong regarding how we wouldn’t have enough meat to feed people and the meat industry would totally destroy the ecosystem if people didn’t willingly en masse adopt a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.

Another thing it got wrong was the ability of the human body to uptake incomplete proteins and then take up other complementary proteins later to keep the body healthy. 

Proteins

But I do believe that the author was correct in the assertion that it is optimal to eat complete proteins or complementary proteins to make a complete protein. Another thing she got right is that you can meet your minimal protein requirements from vegetable sources (although you can’t get your B12 quota that way, so enjoy a rare steak every once in a while).

In a long-term disaster situation, I assume that all the domestic animals will be eaten first; then all of the feral pest animals like squirrels, pigeons, raccoons, rabbit, deer; and finally people will turn to rats and mice in desperation. So in a world where fresh meat is both scarce and a luxury, how do you get enough protein to stay healthy? As a prepper you’ve got stored foods, but if things go bad and stay bad long enough, you’ll want to stretch that protein supply for as long as you can. What I’m discussing here, then, is really only going to be a consideration for an “end of the world as we know it” situation.

In your preps, there is really only one vegetable crop that is a complete protein and also cheap enough to consider: the soybean. It is grown all over the U.S. heartland, and soy products are pretty much everywhere from textured vegetable protein (a mainstay of MREs) to cooking oil. If you don’t have a huge amount of storage, I recommend getting soy flour.

Math
Let me first say that the following math has an inherent flaw: these numbers aren’t exact for the final product (baked or cooked) because I have not accounted for dry to wet weight in the conversion from flour to a baked good. As such, it isn’t precise enough for you to bake a loaf of bread, cut off a 100 gram slice, and expect the full calculated protein content. Since I don’t know what recipes you’ll use, and I’m not in charge of the baking in my family (seriously, I suck at it) I won’t even begin to try to estimate that conversion.

If you do want to measure out precise portions for protein control:

1. Weigh your total dry products and compare that number to the weight of your final baked good.
2. Figure out how many 100 gram portions were in the original dry weight.
3. Then cut the same number of portions from the final product. 

The most likely soy flour you’ll find is the ever-hip Bob’s Red Mill soy flour , which generally sells for about $2.50 a pound. But if you can buy in bulk, a 50 lb bag of baker’s soy flour from Honeyville is $56.99 with a flat $4.99 shipping fee. If you buy two bags, that's the equivalent of 35 lbs of pure protein that you can transfer to airtight long-term storage.

But since this is Blue Collar Prepping, don’t use just pure soy flour for your prepping needs if you can help it. My family has one person with a wheat allergy, so mixing soy with wheat flour is a no-go, but if you can you should. 

If you assume 60 grams of protein per average man and 40 grams per average woman, this means that 172 grams (6 oz) of soy flour per man, or 115 grams (4 oz) per woman, will meet this requirement. By quick math, that means a 50 lb bag will keep two adult men and one adult woman fully stocked with their daily protein needs for 50 days (or 4 women for 50 days, or one woman for 200 days).

The 60 and 40 gram numbers are essentially meaningless to you as an individual; they are what an average American man and woman with an average American lifestyle (largely sedentary) would need to avoid a protein deficiency as per USDA dietary guidelines. You may need more, or less, depending on your body size and activity level.

Now, I’m not recommending solely living off of soy flour for any length of time. Variety is the spice of life, and a cornerstone of good nutrition. What I do recommend is using soy flour to increase the protein content of your baked goods.

• All-purpose flour is 10% protein and it is incomplete, but it is dirt cheap and readily available. 
• A 25 lb bag of Walmart “Great Value” brand all-purpose bleached enriched flour is $8.09. 
• Mixing soy and all-purpose flour 50:50 makes a blend with 22.5% protein by weight, or one fifth of the product is useable protein.
• If you stretch your soy flour this way every 5 ounces of baked good (pancake, waffle, muffin, biscuit, whatever) is protein.
• Peanut butter is 25% protein (and also has some valuable fat content needed for vitamin absorption).
• If you have two slices of bread (on average 50 grams a slice) with a single 37 gram serving of peanut butter as filling, you have 22 grams of wheat/soy protein and 8 grams of peanut protein.
• This gives a whopping total of 30 grams from one sandwich, which is over half of the total protein intake needed for maintaining health. 
• I don’t know about you, but I can generally demolish two peanut butter sandwiches in a day to get my daily protein intake of 60 grams.
• A 4 lb tub of Jif peanut butter is currently $9.69 at Walmart. 4 lbs is 1,814 grams, so that’s 36 sandwiches. 
• At 2 sandwiches a day, that’s one adult male for two weeks (four days if you plan on getting all protein from soy/wheat peanut butter sandwiches). 
• But for every day this hypothetical adult eats two sandwiches, that frees up your other shelf stable protein (jerky, powdered eggs or milk, etc) or fresh protein (eggs, fish, meat). 

Once again, I don’t recommend getting all your protein from these hypothetical sandwiches; it's just an example of how adding soy flour to your preps stretches out your nutritional health for a longer period of time.

As another example of how soy flour stretches your protein intake:

• Two 100 gram pancakes with 50:50 soy/wheat flour is 45 grams of protein at breakfast (enough for the average woman). Three pancakes is 67 grams protein, enough for a man’s daily intake.
• As previously discussed, two peanut butter sandwiches as snack/lunch is 60 grams of protein, enough for man or woman for the day.
• As a comparison, two servings of red beans and rice for dinner is 40 grams of protein, enough for the adult woman, and three servings would cover the man.

Some 50:50 soy/wheat biscuits would go a LONG way to helping stretch a jumbo can of Dinty Moore beef stew or Wolf Brand Chili across multiple people, while still getting each person adequate protein intake. Anything you can do on the cheap to stretch out your other resources is something you should consider. Perhaps you should add sandwiches to your long-term diet plan to add variety to your stash of beans and rice?

If You're Allergic

If you have a soy allergy, I'm sorry; I can’t think of a more affordable long-term storage protein solution. If you also have a wheat allergy, I'm really sorry because buckwheat flour is almost twice as expensive as soy flour when bought in a 50 lb bag and has only 3% more protein than normal cheap all-purpose wheat flour.


I hope this information is helpful and good food for thought. Once you have protein intake covered, you’ve still got the whole gamut of vitamins, minerals, fiber, fats, and carbohydrates to cover, which is best addressed with the wisdom of “Have a variety!” although that can be difficult to do on the cheap.

Adding Some Spice to Your Life

When talking about Prepper Pantries, there are a few things that most of us tend to either ignore or forget. The most important thing that everyone in the Western world tends to take for granted is something that's so common in our grocery store and regular pantry, and so easy to come by these days, that we forget that its more than simply a kitchen convenience: SALT.

We don't generally stop to consider that salt does more than just make our food taste good. It provides certain critically necessary minerals in our daily diet, as well. Without it, we will die. With too much of it, we do ourselves damage as well -- especially with our increasingly sedimentary lifestyles here in the U.S. -- but a complete lack of salt will kill us in particularly unpleasant manners.

History
Salt is so important to maintaining our health that entire economies rose and fell based on salt trade routes throughout the ages. It was worth its weight in gold: spice caravans were raided not simply for the riches that were represented by exotic, rare spices grown only in certain climates, but more commonly to steal the very necessary salt that was always part of trade.

Salt has been important enough in a historical sense that it is only when we reach the late 18th to early 19th century, with the industrial revolution and rapid transportation of goods on a global scale, that salt started being more commonly used in every day cooking and kept as a matter of routine out on the dinner table.

Up until that point, spices were carefully hoarded in the kitchen, to be used with extreme parsimony during cooking. Setting it out on the table for the use of high ranking or extremely important guests was done not simply to honor those guests as an act of high hospitality, but also to show off that you had sufficient wealth that you could afford to put something as critical as salt, and as difficult to come by and expensive as pepper, out on the table for lavish use. Extravagant salt and pepper cellars set out on the table during dinner were the Renaissance equivalent of driving a Lamborghini today.

Application
Salt, pepper, and a few other commonly used spices can go a long way towards making even the most unappetizing dreck a little easier to swallow when you're out camping or en route to your bug out location. When you go out to grab a quick bite of something at a fast food place, do yourself a giant favor and grab a few extra packets of salt, pepper, ketchup, mustard, honey, or other tiny condiments. Stash them in a baggie and toss them into the bottom of your bug out bag. You'll thank yourself later for having done so.

Similarly, do yourself a favor and start stocking up on salt now, as part of your Prepper's Pantry, by spending an extra $2 a month on a couple of standard kitchen canisters full of salt that you would normally pick up only when you're about to run out. If things ever go completely haywire and society collapses, having a large stash of salt on hand serves several purposes:

1. It's critical to maintaining your own health, when used in moderation. 
2. It makes your food more appealing - you'll be amazed at how much better your outlook is if you aren't dreading fueling your body. 
3. It becomes a good way to preserve your food (those rabbits, fish, etc that you're trapping for protein) so that it doesn't spoil before you're through the winter. 
4. It's a great trade commodity, because it will be needed by everyone and they won't think of it until its critical.

If you're fortunate enough to live near an ocean, or where there are salt flats, then harvesting salt for long term survival and trade goods is easy enough to learn. If you're like myself, and live more than a day's drive from the ocean during normal times, then it becomes a matter of life and death to have it stocked up and have a plan in place of how to acquire more when it eventually runs out.

Don't wait until the SHTF to start thinking about salt!

Guest Post: Supplements for the Bug Out Bag

by Beth O'Hara

Beth O’Hara is an enthusiastic food prepper and Health and Wellness Coach who works with clients internationally. She is experienced in working with clients to transform areas that include health and wellness, relationships, self-understanding, self-esteem, and life balance. You can contact Beth through her webpage at Conscious Living Center. 

Super Supplementing
Your Bug-Out Bag

I’m not a fan of a "one size fits all" approach to supplements, because just like prescription medications, supplement recommendations need to be tailored to the individual’s genetic predisposition and micronutrient requirements. For example, take the vitamin B12: cyanocobalamin is the cheapest and is a very poor form to take. It should rarely be used. Some people need methyl B12, the activated form of B12, while for others (particular with not uncommon COMT gene mutations) this form can cause anxiety, ADD and/or insomnia. Those people often need hydroxy B12 and perhaps even adenysol B12.

With that caveat, here are a few supplements to consider for your bug out bag, taking into account your own needs and your doctor’s recommendations. While we are on the subject of supplements, be sure to have at least two week’s worth of any required prescription medications and supplements ready to go if you have to bug out.

Garlic
Bolsters the immune system. Wise to avoid if you are sensitive to sulfur compounds.

Vitamin C
Supports the adrenal glands, which give you energy during stress.

Ginger Tea
Anti-inflammatory and anti-nausea, ginger is also a blood thinner, so keep this in mind if you are on blood thinning medications.

Chamomile Tea
Drink this at night. It is calming, will help relax the nervous system, and will help switch your body into healing mode while you sleep. This one is also a blood thinner.

Rose Hip Tea
Rose hips are particularly high in vitamin C, a difficult nutrient to obtain without access to fresh food. Vitamin C is necessary to prevent scurvy, a nutrient deficiency that causes lethargy, spongy gums, bleeding from the mucous membranes, teeth falling out, and eventually death from hemorrhaging. Not a pleasant thought! Scurvy sets in typically after 3 months of vitamin C deficiency, so if you are prepping for a 3-6 month time frame, make sure you keep a vitamin C source on hand, such as rose hip tea or just vitamin C supplements. Even for a shorter time frame, vitamin C is extremely important for healing wounds and maintaining bones.

Vitamin D
Vitamin D is produced by the body in response to sunlight. Most people in the northern hemisphere don’t get enough sunlight to produce adequate levels of vitamin D, which is essential for energy levels and proper function of the immune system. If you are going to stock a D supplement, make sure you supplement with D3, not the cheaper and less bioavailable forms of D2.

General Multivitamin
If food is limited and you happen to have a good general multivitamin on hand, you may be able to keep your body in better condition than otherwise. Research brands and don’t skip – many cheaper vitamins like Centrum often aren’t even absorbed and are excreted whole, according to a friend who is a medical assistant. Whole foods vitamins are often a good bet.

Prescriptions
If you are dependent on any prescription medications, you also want to make sure you have a supply in case pharmacies are closed and refills are unavailable. Talk to your doctor about having an emergency supply on hand.

Guest Post: Superfoods for Armageddon and Everyday

by Beth O'Hara

Beth O’Hara is an enthusiastic food prepper and Health and Wellness Coach who works with clients internationally. She is experienced in working with clients to transform areas that include health and wellness, relationships, self-understanding, self-esteem, and life balance. You can contact Beth through her webpage at Conscious Living Center. 

Super Packing 
Your Prepper Pantry

When thinking about stocking a pantry for disasters, most people think of Spam, beef stew, beans and canned vegetables. While those are all well and good, they are often loaded with sodium, requiring you to need more water, and aren’t necessarily the most nutritious of foods. With a little planning, you can optimize your pantry for the greatest nutrition and survival benefits.

You have more flexibility when planning what to have on hand if you have to hunker down at home, as opposed to stocking your bug out bag with nutrient-dense food. While you may still have electricity and be able to eat out of the fridge and freezer, we’re going to focus on what to stock in case there is no electricity and limited fresh water. Here are some items to consider for your prepper pantry.

Canned Salmon and Sardines
If you like fish, include some of these wild fish in your pantry for their nutrient density.

Buy Wild Caught Alaskan Salmon to avoid chemicals and dyes often added to farmed salmon. Wild caught salmon is also high in Omega 3 fatty acids, important for heart and nervous system health. Salmon provides vitamin A, D, B12, niacin and calcium.

Sardines are high in calcium, and vitamins A, D and B12. Because they feed mostly on plankton, they also have lower levels of mercury and other contaminants than larger fish, like shark and tuna.

Be aware that many food cans are lined with Bisphenol or BPA, a chemical used to prevent aluminum from reacting with the food. There is research showing that this chemical may be harmful and there are also links between aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease. If concerned, you can look food in glass jars, BPA free cans, and Tetra packs.

Canned Lentils and Black Beans
Canned legumes are actually higher in antioxidants than those you cook at home; the heat and pressure of the canning process increases the availability of the antioxidants.

Lentils and black beans are among the highest phytonutrient legumes, with respectable amounts of protein and high levels of molybdenum, folate, fiber as well as good levels of manganese, vitamin B1, phosphorous, magnesium, and iron. Red kidney beans and yellow split peas are also particularly high in antioxidants. According to a 2006 European study, four or more servings of legumes can reduce your risk of heart disease by 22 percent.

Legumes lack an essential amino acid: methionine. This is why many people combine beans with a grain (like rice) for a complete amino acid balance. Add brown rice, quinoa, or even corn for a high quality protein meal. Blue corn is particularly high in antioxidants.

You can find low or no sodium beans, or just rinse the salt off before eating. Legumes often come in Tetra packs as well.

Jarred Artichokes
The gray, bland artichoke has a surprisingly higher antioxidant value than all the other fruits and vegetables you can find in your average grocery store. They are high in inulin, a pre-biotic which feeds healthy bacteria in your gut, and also fiber. Artichoke hearts packed in water or oil are highly nutritious and last a long time. While a little pricey for the weight, they are worth it in nutrition. Stock up when they are on sale.

Tomatoes – canned and jarred, sauce and paste
The most nutritious tomatoes are the ones processed they day they are picked, cooked under high heat and canned under pressure. This makes canned and jarred tomatoes especially high in lycopene. Tomato paste is cooked until it is concentrated, and that gives it ten times more lycopene than fresh tomatoes. Consuming lycopene helps decrease one’s risk of sunburn, an important benefit if you have to be working outside.

Prunes
Prunes are dried plums. While they have a reputation as being a food more for the geriatric consumer, they are actually sweet and have a complex flavor. They are higher in antioxidants than most other fruits, are a good source of the bone-supporting mineral boron, and of course are rich in fiber --important for keeping you regular under stress and diet changes. I buy them in bulk and keep in the fridge to keep them soft. Outside of refrigeration, they will still last a few months and may just need to be soaked in water prior to eating.

Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Ghee
It is important to keep high quality fats on hand. All of these fats will last a long time -- with the exception of extra virgin olive oil, which t needs to be rotated out more frequently.

Most supermarket brands of extra virgin olive oil are actually rancid. Smell it before buying, if you can; it should have a clear olive smell with no off flavors. I purchase mine from a small family business, locally, in 5L containers. The oil is shipped directly after pressing and bottled at time of purchase. This ensures I get the most antioxidants from the olive oil.

Rancid fats and oils actually create free radicals in your body which are toxic. Buy good oils that last. If you buy in bulk, you can bring the cost down.

See Superfoods for Your Bug Out Bag for more on the health benefits of extra virgin coconut oil and ghee.

Nuts and Nut Butters
Nuts are nutrient-dense in both vitamins and minerals, and have high amounts of good fats and protein. Like olive oil, nuts also go rancid easily. Choose raw or dry-roasted nuts and store them in the fridge or freezer (unless the electricity goes out).

High Quality Sea Salt
Salt is an essential source of minerals. Table salt is bleached and depleted of minerals and includes synthetic iodine, so keep some Himalayan Sea Salt, Real Salt, Celtic Sea Salt or equivalent unrefined sea salt on hand for the minerals. I buy it in 25 lb bags. It is also good for bartering in disaster situations.

Other Recommendations
Canned items can last 5-10 years. (Actually far longer than that - listen to my podcast segment for more information. - Erin) To be on the safe side, however, be sure to rotate your items and check cans for expiration dates as well as any bulging or leaking. Bulging or leaking cans may have been exposed to bacteria and could make you very ill.

Try to keep a three month supply of food on hand at all times. This "food insurance" will be of benefit not only if you are in a disaster where you have to hunker down for an extended time, but also if you lose your job, the dollar bubble bursts, or in many other scenarios. Be sure to have food on hand to feed you and your family and extra to barter, if necessary.


We will all be able to prep better if we combine our knowledge. What high nutrient foods do you stock and why?

Guest Post: Superfoods for Preppers

by Beth O'Hara

Beth O’Hara is an enthusiastic food prepper and Health and Wellness Coach who works with clients internationally. She is experienced in working with clients to transform areas that include health and wellness, relationships, self-understanding, self-esteem, and life balance. You can contact Beth through her webpage at Conscious Living Center. 

This article is an entrant in the 2nd Annual BCP Writing Contest.

Super Packing 
Your Bug-Out Bag

What are Superfoods?
Superfoods are foods that are extremely high in nutrition and support health. The media has popularized exotic superfoods like acai and camu camu that, while nutritionally dense, can be rather expensive and difficult to obtain during any kind of civil breakdown. We’re going to look at superfoods that have a good cost to benefit ratio and are easier to obtain.

Why worry about nutrition when prepping? 
Most preppers think about making sure they can get adequate calories and macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, and fat), yet don’t take into account the body’s needs during high stress. Physical activity, and mental and emotional strain, take a high toll on the immune system, adrenal glands, and detoxification processes of the body – systems you need in high working order if you have to bug out. While MRE’s and equivalents can get someone already in optimal condition by for a few days, the level of preservatives and lack of micronutrients will eventually take a toll on even the healthiest body. For someone like myself, who has genetic detoxification issues and adrenal insufficiency, MRE’s become a liability rather than an asset. I can’t break down preservatives and need all the nutrition I can get, and I had to rethink the traditionally recommended foods for my personal Bug Out Bag.

Superfoods for your Bug Out Bag
So what are the alternatives? Foods for your Bug Out Bag need to be lightweight, provide plenty of calories, and be easy to prepare. On top of that, they need to provide B vitamins, Vitamin C, and Magnesium – micronutrients that are quickly depleted in stress. Here are some foods I stock in my bag that you ought to consider for yourself.

Quinoa
Quinoa is technically a seed and is high in protein, with about 8 grams of protein for 1 cup (cooked) as well as having good amounts of iron, magnesium, and potassium. Quinoa will go rancid if allowed to sit out at room temperature after a few months, so I store it in the fridge. You can keep a bug out food bag in the fridge to grab if you have to bug out, or if you store it in your bag just be sure to rotate your supplies often so it stays fresh. If stored sealed, it will easily last a couple weeks in your pack. 

Quinoa, along with most seeds, nuts and grains, contains an enzyme inhibitor called phytic acid which impairs absorption of nutrients including magnesium, iron, zinc, and calcium. If conditions allow, soak quinoa in purified water for 12-24 hours before cooking. (This will also reduce cooking time.) If you aren’t able to make a cooking fire, you can sprout the quinoa for a couple days after soaking it: just drain the water and rinse the quinoa in clean water a couple times a day. Small sprouts will develop and you can eat them raw. Sprouting further reduces the phytic acid and increases the vitamin C.

If you just can’t prepare the quinoa (such as water being in short supply), you can also use it as bait to trap small mammals and birds.

Sunflower Seed Butter
While slightly more expensive than peanut butter, sunflower seed butter is higher in vitamin E, zinc, iron, magnesium, and phosphorous. It is easy to make fresh with a food processor or high powered blender, and making it yourself will reduce the cost. I soak sunflower seeds overnight (to reduce the phytic acid), dry them in a food dryer (or you could use an oven on lowest setting) and then blend with just enough extra virgin coconut oil to make it smooth.

The homemade variety won’t keep indefinitely, but it will keep for a couple weeks in your pack. I keep it in the fridge with the quinoa, ready to grab. You can buy sunflower seed butter in the natural foods section of grocery stores that will last even longer in your pack.

Ghee
In addition to protein, you’ll need a good source of fat to keep you going. Contrary to popular media reports influenced by polyunsaturated fat manufacturers, saturated fats are extremely important to the health of bones, organs, nervous system and immune system. Ghee is clarified butter, which I keep in my pack because it is so shelf stable. It also has a high smoke point, making it useful for cooking over heat.

Ghee from grass fed cows is rich in Conjugated Linoleic Acid, which has anti-viral properties. The medium chain fatty acids make it a great, long-lasting energy source. It is also high in butyric acid, which is great for digestion and the immune system. On top of all of this, ghee is anti-inflammatory.

You can cook with ghee, mix it in quinoa, or spread it like butter. Store it sealed in your pack at room temperature for up to a year.

Rose Hips
Rose hips are the “fruit” of the rose – the seed pods at the base of the flowers. Dried rose hips can be used to make a tea that is very high in Vitamin C, a micronutrient you will need to support your adrenals, as well as bioflavonoids, vitamins A, B3, D, E, and zinc. If you decide to process your own rose hips, you’ll want to do some research on which types of roses to use and how to process them to remove all the hairs and seeds in the pulp, which otherwise will cause unpleasant digestive issues!

Steep rose hips in boiling water for 10 minutes, or in room temperature water for an hour or more.

You’ll find dried rose hips in health food stores and online. They will last for months in your pack at room temperature.

Black Beluga Lentils
Lentils come in many different types and colors and are nutrient superstars, high not only in protein but also in fiber and cancer-fighting compounds. Black beluga lentils are especially nutritious with high levels of antioxidants as well as folate. One half cup of cooked black lentils delivers 12 grams of protein and 9 grams of fiber. You can soak them to reduce the phytic acid and cooking time, however if you don’t have time for this step, they will cook in about 20 minutes. You can also soak and sprout like quinoa. You can find the black lentils in health foods stores and online.

Black lentils are slightly more expensive than others, so if you don’t want to spring for the extra expense, you can pack any other type of lentils and still get great nutrition for the dollar. Lentils have a long shelf life and will last well in your bag.

More Articles?
If there is interest I have related topics to write about, such as:

• Affordable Superfoods to Stock in Your Pantry and Freezer for when the SHTF
• Supplements for Your Bug Out Bag
• The Real Superfoods: Foraging Wild Edibles as a Prepping Skill

(I, for one, look forward to seeing more articles in this series. -- Erin)