It's no secret; I'm a preparedness junky. I've written books about it and practiced what I preach.
Then I discovered many food allergies to things I produced, stored, and used on a regular basis: Wheat-Dairy-Eggs-Oats-Barley-Rye-Soy---Sigh.
Back to the drawing board. How can someone sensitive to these things possibly keep the commandment to store a year's supply of food? What grains are possible? What other things will fill in nutritional requirements that store easily?
Legumes and grains of all kinds are the staple of our storage. I tried out many specialty grains with two coming out on top for long term storage, millet and dried non-gmo corn for polenta. We also store some whole grain rice, but know it goes rancid and requires frequent rotation. Sprouts are a great way to boost vitamin C in addition to many other vitamins and minerals. Finally, we store dehydrated and canned fruits and vegetables, along with garden seeds and plans to enlarge our garden and home orchard. In my planning, I considered the possibility that no markets in the future would provide any food. Also, organic, non-gmo foods offer the safest choices to guard against more food sensitivities. Each adult would need a minimum calorie count between 1600-2000 daily. Can my storage plan provide this ideal?
Researching dried beans I learned that there is between 100-320 calories per 1/4 lb. legumes depending on which variety eaten. My favorites are small white (120), garbanzo(130), pinto(130), small red(310), and various lentils(360). 1/4 lb. millet has 328 calories, while intact rice has 412 and polenta has 404. The majority of calories comes from legumes and grains.
My plan therefore includes 1/2 lb. various legumes (with lots more long term storage of lentils and small red beans) and 1 lbs. millet, rice, or corn (one person here has a corn allergy, so this is stored in limited quantities) per day per person. Currently, I can't imagine eating that much food. 20 lbs. nuts and nut butter per person can provide quick energy and extra fat/calories for stressful times. Although vegetables add negligible calories, they provide oodles of vitamins and minerals lacking in legumes and grains. Fruits provide more calories than vegetables as well as vital vitamins and minerals. It's really hard to predict the amount of sprouting seeds I might need, but about 20 lbs buckwheat, 15 lbs. sunflower seeds, and 10 lbs small seeds per person seems generously right. Considering 1 lb fresh green vegetables, 1 lbs other vegetables (including dulse sea weed) and 1 lb. fruit per person are eaten around here each day, the dehydrated fruit/vegetable count should be about 80 lbs. For insurance about 350 cans of beans, fruits, and vegetables per person plus herbs, miso, nutritional yeast, and spices that rounds everything out. Yes, I realize my fruit/veggie storage is redundant times 3 but this gives me comfort.
Storage per adult:
153 lbs. legumes
712 lbs. grain
20 lbs. nuts
80 lbs. dehydrated vegetables/fruit
356 cans of beans, fruits, and vegetables (optional)
45 lbs. sprouting seeds
This food must be cooked somehow, making wood stoves, solar ovens, thermal cookers, and butane stoves a primary storage consideration. Food prep involves water, making water a primary storage consideration. Sprouting requires warm temps and can be done in a cold house in the oven with a small heat source. 1 votive candle per day provides enough heat. Then comes the question how a person can make something edible from this list.
Storage per adult:
153 lbs. legumes
712 lbs. grain
20 lbs. nuts
80 lbs. dehydrated vegetables/fruit
356 cans of beans, fruits, and vegetables (optional)
45 lbs. sprouting seeds
This food must be cooked somehow, making wood stoves, solar ovens, thermal cookers, and butane stoves a primary storage consideration. Food prep involves water, making water a primary storage consideration. Sprouting requires warm temps and can be done in a cold house in the oven with a small heat source. 1 votive candle per day provides enough heat. Then comes the question how a person can make something edible from this list.
Like the Japanese, we enjoy a morning bowl of miso with rice, dulse, and greens. Rice pudding made with nut milk and dried fruit is a good breakfast/dessert choice. We like seasoned legumes over millet, rice, or polenta with sprouts or greens. We like lentil (or other legume) soup with greens and grains topped with sprouts. We like savory or sweet polenta. We like all sorts of dried, canned, and fresh fruits for snacks and dessert.
I'll share my newest storage recipe to paint a picture. It is delicious BTW.
Pantry Lentil Soup with Millet and Sprouts
1/2 lb. french lentils (soaked for 24 hours-they don't cook to tenderness as quickly as brown lentils.)
1 c. dehydrated soup mix (carrots, onions, tomatoes, peas, celery, green bell peppers, green beans, and parsley)
4-6 c. water
1 t. oregano
1 t. cumin
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
1/4 c. dehydrated cabbage or kale soaked for 30 min.
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Combine all ingredients except cabbage and heat in solar oven for several hours until lentils are tender. Add cabbage or kale during last bit of cooking to heat through. Serve over rice or seasoned millet with small seed sprouts on top. I never add salt for health reasons. Those that use salt add it at the table. This causes my heavy salters to use less.
Seasoned Millet
1 c. millet (soak for 24 hours and sprout for 24 hours)
1/4 c. soup mix, powdered
1 t. rubbed sage
1/4 t. red pepper flakes
Bring millet and 2 c. water to a boil. Immediately remove from heat, cover tightly, and set aside. After 40 minutes millet is nicely cooked. Sometimes the low-heating process must be repeated.
A last note, French lentils sound elegant but are a hassle. The main reason to store lentils is their reputation for quick cooking. French lentils take as long to cook as regular dried beans. For now I have lots of French lentils in my pantry. Eventually, these will be eaten and replaced with less expensive, fast cooking brown lentils.
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