SurvivalMoms Group Project: Stocking up on dinners

Any food storage newbie stopping by this blog got a wealth of information when we brainstormed ideas for breakfast foods.  I’m glad I asked for your help because there were suggestions I had never thought of.  Let’s continue this group project by putting together more food storage ideas.  The next main meal to tackle is dinner.

Why not lunch?  Well, in a survival situation, one in which you are pretty much 100% reliant on your food storage, preparing three meals a day may not be the best course of action or even possible.  Instead, a very hearty breakfast, an early afternoon lunch, and leftovers or snacks for dinner may make a lot more sense.

image by crd!

To get these ideas rolling,  my suggestion is to plan on a meal of soup and bread once a week.  Just about every soup mix is made up of ingredients that can easily be converted to dehydrated and/or freeze dried versions for the longest possible shelf life.  For example, a basic soup of veggies and pasta can be “survivalized” by substituting dehydrated carrots, celery, onions, and bouillon for fresh veggies and canned broth.  When you stock up on wheat, yeast, and other ingredients for homemade bread, you end up with a meal that is nutritious, filling, and easy to store in your long-term pantry, and who would turn up their nose to a big bowl of homemade soup and hot, buttered bread?

Why not canned soup?  Canned soup and other canned entrees have their place in storage, but at some point you have to ask yourself, “What happens when all these cans are gone?  Then what?”  I have plenty of canned entrees in my storage for the same reasons I stock up on freeze-dried entrees.  They’re inexpensive, easy to prepare, and very convenient.  However, long term food storage must have, at some point, ingredients at its core.  With just a dozen or so ingredients, you can make many different types of soup.  Additionally, those ingredients will be versatile enough to be used in other recipes.  There’s very little versatility in a can of ravioli or cream of broccoli soup!

So, what other dinners can you suggest whose ingredients can easily be stored long-term?  It’s your turn now!

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