What's the most important food for survival situations?

[JohnB445]

If water is abundant but all other resources are limited, what would be the best option for one to have for food, if you had to pick a single resource to help sustain you for a week, what would it be?

A weekly supply of either of these 7, if you can only pick one in a short-term survival situation lasting one week. What would be the smartest choice provided that water is abundant and easily accessible.

1. Eggs
2. Milk
3. 100% Whole Wheat Bread
4. Mixed Fruits
5. Mixed Vegetables
6. Mixed Nuts
7. Any kind of cooked meats, beef, turkey, chicken, pork
8. Would be any other suggestions you can come up with

I ask this because I have been learning about nutrition, and prepping has always interested me, I plan to go camping as well and I think this can help me make good choices when it comes to food when I am out in nature without a grocery store in sight. I'm not sure what food to bring.

 

[chevyontheriver]

If water is abundant but all other resources are limited, what would be the best option for one to have for food, if you had to pick a single resource to help sustain you for a week, what would it be?

A weekly supply of either of these 7, if you can only pick one in a short-term survival situation lasting one week. What would be the smartest choice provided that water is abundant and easily accessible.

1. Eggs
2. Milk
3. 100% Whole Wheat Bread
4. Mixed Fruits
5. Mixed Vegetables
6. Mixed Nuts
7. Any kind of cooked meats, beef, turkey, chicken, pork
8. Would be any other suggestions you can come up with

I ask this because I have been learning about nutrition, and prepping has always interested me, I plan to go camping as well and I think this can help me make good choices when it comes to food when I am out in nature without a grocery store in sight. I'm not sure what food to bring.

Mixed nuts. Stable at room temperature, no need to cook, stores well, high protein, high fat, high energy, dense.

I remember canoe trips where we packed eggs and frozen meat for day one and two, salami and bread and chesses for days three and four, and then we ended up with freeze dried meals, rice and potatoes, and powdered stuff (milk), and whatever fish we could catch. First night steak, eggs for breakfast and ending up with freeze dried stroganoff and the like. Aside from the fish fries the first days were the best.

 

[chevyontheriver]

If water is abundant but all other resources are limited, what would be the best option for one to have for food, if you had to pick a single resource to help sustain you for a week, what would it be?

A weekly supply of either of these 7, if you can only pick one in a short-term survival situation lasting one week. What would be the smartest choice provided that water is abundant and easily accessible.

1. Eggs
2. Milk
3. 100% Whole Wheat Bread
4. Mixed Fruits
5. Mixed Vegetables
6. Mixed Nuts
7. Any kind of cooked meats, beef, turkey, chicken, pork
8. Would be any other suggestions you can come up with

I ask this because I have been learning about nutrition, and prepping has always interested me, I plan to go camping as well and I think this can help me make good choices when it comes to food when I am out in nature without a grocery store in sight. I'm not sure what food to bring.

Stocking up before the political turmoil gets worse? Just to be cautious I will be doing so. One criteria is things that don't need cooking or refrigeration. I just want to be able to lay low if I need to.

 

[JohnB445]

Stocking up before the political turmoil gets worse? Just to be cautious I will be doing so. One criteria is things that don't need cooking or refrigeration. I just want to be able to lay low if I need to.

It is good to be prepared for anything, and for me I find being prepared gives me a confidence boost.

 

[AlexB23]

If water is abundant but all other resources are limited, what would be the best option for one to have for food, if you had to pick a single resource to help sustain you for a week, what would it be?

A weekly supply of either of these 7, if you can only pick one in a short-term survival situation lasting one week. What would be the smartest choice provided that water is abundant and easily accessible.

1. Eggs
2. Milk
3. 100% Whole Wheat Bread
4. Mixed Fruits
5. Mixed Vegetables
6. Mixed Nuts
7. Any kind of cooked meats, beef, turkey, chicken, pork
8. Would be any other suggestions you can come up with

I ask this because I have been learning about nutrition, and prepping has always interested me, I plan to go camping as well and I think this can help me make good choices when it comes to food when I am out in nature without a grocery store in sight. I'm not sure what food to bring.

I recommend that list. Also, if you have money, MREs are good. Also, a good, high quality thermos would be good for this, as well as some camping stove/cooker and water filter.

Disclaimer: I am not a prepper, but have heard about MREs. US Army MREs could work. Other countries have their own version of MREs as well.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

If water is abundant but all other resources are limited, what would be the best option for one to have for food, if you had to pick a single resource to help sustain you for a week, what would it be?

A weekly supply of either of these 7, if you can only pick one in a short-term survival situation lasting one week. What would be the smartest choice provided that water is abundant and easily accessible.

1. Eggs
2. Milk
3. 100% Whole Wheat Bread
4. Mixed Fruits
5. Mixed Vegetables
6. Mixed Nuts
7. Any kind of cooked meats, beef, turkey, chicken, pork
8. Would be any other suggestions you can come up with

I ask this because I have been learning about nutrition, and prepping has always interested me, I plan to go camping as well and I think this can help me make good choices when it comes to food when I am out in nature without a grocery store in sight. I'm not sure what food to bring.

Meat with some fat content. Eggs would be good also.

 

[AlexB23]

So, @JohnB445 , what is your scenario? Are you planning on camping in a tent, or in a camper. If you have a camper, solar panels could be installed on the roof, as well as batteries inside, allowing you to run a fridge to keep your food cool.

This guy uses solar to keep his RV cool, allowing him to run the A/C, but a fridge would use way less energy:

2625 Watt RV Solar System Lessons Learned - Never Stop Adventuring

6 months ago we finished the installation of our 2625 watt RV Solar System with 6 LiPO batteries and 2 3kW inverters. How has it worked out?

neverstopadventuring.com

 

[chevyontheriver]

I recommend that list. Also, if you have money, MREs are good. Also, a good, high quality thermos would be good for this, as well as some camping stove/cooker and water filter.

Disclaimer: I am not a prepper, but have heard about MREs. US Army MREs could work. Other countries have their own version of MREs as well.

When I was in the Peace Corps I got my water from a well that had a loose fitting cover over it where one would drop a bucket down and pull up the water. First thing in the morning it wasn't too bad. By midmorning it was muddy. The well once had a goat fall into it.

I did a multistage purification. First I let the water settle for hours or better overnight. Then decanting it off and pouring it into a ceramic filter to remove the rest of the solids. Then boiling it for 15 minutes. Then cooling and decanting it into plastic bottles and putting those into a great big clay jug that cooled the water by evaporative cooling.

I did collect rainwater in a barrel to water the garden, and I now have a rain barrel here too. I don't think I would want to drink water off the roof no matter what. In Africa the vultures liked to roost on my roof. Here I just wonder what's in the shingle residue.

Good clean and safe water is an essential. In a crisis we would have to ask is the tap water safe, if it is still running. I have a nearby creek that couls be used with suitable cleanup.

Oh, I forgot. Iodine tablets for water purification. Yuck. But it works. Better than drinking biologically active water. I think iodine is best saved for nuclear fallout mitigation actually.

 

[chevyontheriver]

So, @JohnB445 , what is your scenario? Are you planning on camping in a tent, or in a camper. If you have a camper, solar panels could be installed on the roof, as well as batteries inside, allowing you to run a fridge to keep your food cool.

This guy uses solar to keep his RV cool, allowing him to run the A/C, but a fridge would use way less energy:

2625 Watt RV Solar System Lessons Learned - Never Stop Adventuring

6 months ago we finished the installation of our 2625 watt RV Solar System with 6 LiPO batteries and 2 3kW inverters. How has it worked out?

neverstopadventuring.com

Solar power for cooling is pretty good. I once had a kerosine powered refrigerator. It cooled SLOWLY.

 

[AlexB23]

When I was in the Peace Corps I got my water from a well that had a loose fitting cover over it where one would drop a bucket down and pull up the water. First thing in the morning it wasn't too bad. By midmorning it was muddy. The well once had a goat fall into it.

I did a multistage purification. First I let the water settle for hours or better overnight. Then decanting it off and pouring it into a ceramic filter to remove the rest of the solids. Then boiling it for 15 minutes. Then cooling and decanting it into plastic bottles and putting those into a great big clay jug that cooled the water by evaporative cooling.

I did collect rainwater in a barrel to water the garden, and I now have a rain barrel here too. I don't think I would want to drink water off the roof no matter what. In Africa the vultures liked to roost on my roof. Here I just wonder what's in the shingle residue.

Good clean and safe water is an essential. In a crisis we would have to ask is the tap water safe, if it is still running. I have a nearby creek that couls be used with suitable cleanup.

Oh, I forgot. Iodine tablets for water purification. Yuck. But it works. Better than drinking biologically active water. I think iodine is best saved for nuclear fallout mitigation actually.

Goat flavored water, sounds gross. Hopefully, the goat survived, and was rescued from the well. Where were you stationed in the Peace Corps, such as the country or city? Africa is a huge continent, with 54 countries as of 2011. Yes, iodine is a halogen, so it can destroy bacteria, though iodine works best for nuclear disasters, as you said.

Ahh, makes me glad to live indoors.

 

[AlexB23]

Solar power for cooling is pretty good. I once had a kerosine powered refrigerator. It cooled SLOWLY.

So, a fridge that used a flame (to heat an ammonia coolant inside a condenser)? Solar is more eco-friendly compared to kerosene, so I am glad that you ditched that kerosene fridge.

 

[chevyontheriver]

Goat flavored water, sounds gross. Hopefully, the goat survived, and was rescued from the well.

Yes a boy and some ropes got the goat rescued. But I never for a moment considered that water clean.

Where were you stationed in the Peace Corps, such as the country or city? Africa is a huge continent, with 54 countries as of 2011.

1979 in The Gambia, way up country. Former British colony and very poor.

 

[chevyontheriver]

So, a fridge that used a flame (to heat an ammonia coolant inside a condenser)? Solar is more eco-friendly compared to kerosene, so I am glad that you ditched that kerosene fridge.

It did work, but as I said SLOWLY. To make ice you had to be sure not to open the fridge for about a day.

 

[AlexB23]

Yes a boy and some ropes got the goat rescued. But I never for a moment considered that water clean.

1979 in The Gambia, way up country. Former British colony and very poor.

Good, just making sure the goat was okay, and all individuals were okay. Yeah, Gambia is still poor. Which city/town were you nearest to? It would be cool to see what it the nearest city looks like nowadays in 2024.

 

[AlexB23]

It did work, but as I said SLOWLY. To make ice you had to be sure not to open the fridge for about a day.

Yeah, compressors work much quicker compared to passive systems. Electricity is a blessing, man.

 

[chevyontheriver]

Good, just making sure the goat was okay, and all individuals were okay. Yeah, Gambia is still poor. Which city/town were you nearest to? It would be cool to see what it the nearest city looks like nowadays in 2024.

That goat has long since been cooked and eaten.

 

[AlexB23]

That goat has long since been cooked and eaten.

Better than drowning, that is for sure.

 

[JohnB445]

So, @JohnB445 , what is your scenario? Are you planning on camping in a tent, or in a camper. If you have a camper, solar panels could be installed on the roof, as well as batteries inside, allowing you to run a fridge to keep your food cool.

This guy uses solar to keep his RV cool, allowing him to run the A/C, but a fridge would use way less energy:

2625 Watt RV Solar System Lessons Learned - Never Stop Adventuring

6 months ago we finished the installation of our 2625 watt RV Solar System with 6 LiPO batteries and 2 3kW inverters. How has it worked out?

neverstopadventuring.com

I have a camper, and everything I need when it comes to food storage options, the only cooking option I would have for the camper is a microwave.
The fridge is small, I need to be careful what items I buy and would like to learn what foods are the most important if supplies ever run low.

 

[AlexB23]

I have a camper, and everything I need when it comes to food storage options, the only cooking option I would have for the camper is a microwave.
The fridge is small, I need to be careful what items I buy and would like to learn what foods are the most important if supplies ever run low.

Well, you can buy a few refrigerated items, and then some MREs for nonperishable stuff. However, as you are only camping for a week, granola, nuts, and eggs (refrigerated) could work, along with chicken and turkey (healthy meats). And yes, a microwave would work well, though it sucks for cooking rice or risotto, unless you are careful.

Here is a good idea: Try camping with the camper next to your home first, with a week's worth of food inside your camper, parked on your driveway or behind your home (if possible). If you run out of food inside your camper, you can always walk and go into your home and grab more food. Once you have figured out the optimal amount of food for a 1 week camping trip (+2 days extra, in case the camper or truck breaks down), then, you can drive the camper to your intended camping site, and try it for real.

It is getting late here, but I can try helping you tomorrow, and maybe even use AI (with your permission) to help find good camper-ready foods.

 

[timewerx]

With Biblical wisdom, you can survive worse case scenarios without having to stock up on anything, you won't even need to farm, grow things, cook, nor even hunt.