Food For Storing: Bear's Top Tips

Whether your preparing your bunker to avoid your mother-in-law, your home for the upcomming zombie apocalypse, making sure you're covered for 2012 or just ensuring you can survive some unknown future event then arguably the most important thing on your survival checklist after shelter and water is food. It's all well and good assuming you're covered on your weekly/bi-weekly/monthly shop but we don't know how long these events will last. So rather than doing what a lot of survivalist do and say "You should do everything I do or you'll die", I'm just going to mention a few things for your consideration. What follows is a list of foods that will sustain you through the oncomming trauma and, on top of this, will last a long time. Remember, not all products are created equal so unless I say otherwise then please make sure you know how long your own items will keep. There's nothing worse than trying to survive food poisoning, even without the zombies trying to break down your door. Even if you do overcome the food poisoning you'll still be left with suspision about the quality of the rest of your stocks, as well as any other food and you'll have a lingering damper to your moral.

Now, for my money, the BEST, bar none, survival food for, particularly for storage, is Honey. Honey, as well as being packed with callories and tasting great, has been proven to have some amazing properties. It is anti-septic and (correct me if I'm wrong) it is also anti-inflamatory, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial. The medical profession has started using honey in bandages, plasters (band-aids) and dressings. There are records of honey having been found in ancient Egytian tombs which is still edible. It is believed that honey does not have an expiary date so feel free to disregard any that is printed on the jar/bottle/whatever. I always do.

Another survival food I can't say enough about is proper jerky. So long as you can keep it dry it lasts for a very long time and what's more, espesially if it's made traditionally, it's damn nice too. Jerky can be used in home-made soups or pre-made/powdered soups and dry and flavoured noodles. Contrary to what some people think, jerky does not remain tough and chewy when used in this way. On the contrary, it becomes the most tender meat you've ever had. I would advise looking around online for "how to"s on jerky making and perhaps try a little experimenting on your own. Be aware that jerky is meat and, though it has a long shelf-life, can still go off.

Another fantastic use for jerky is to pulverise it (or blend it for a quick fix) into a powdery form and using it to make a survival wonderfood. Pemmican. There's more recipes and instructionals on how to make pemmican than I'd care to mention so have a look around and see what you like best. I've seen pemmican eaten in about 2005 that was left over from the Vietnam war so it lasts if you pack it right, however I'd be careful as it is still meat based.

Tinned goods are another excellent addition to any survival cupboard. Anything like luncheon meat (spam) or tinned fruits and soups tend to have an insanely long shelf life and so long as you keep a list of when what things needs replacing and provided you keep an eye on your stash list to make sure you can replace things before their wasted, these can be life saving resources. NOTE: tinned fish has considerably shorted life span than most other tinned food.

Another invaluable supply, not to mention one of the longest lasting, is dry and powdered foods. Rice, pasta, couscous, Quioa, barley, instant (ramen) noodles, powdered soups and even custard powder are all great to stock up on. Espesially the custard and the grains. They can last for ages and are full to the brim with energy giving carbs.

Last but not least on Bear's Top Tips on Food For Storing is: Army Rations. This is a sort of pricey option. There's loads out there with more variety than you can shake a spork at. Deasigned to sustain soldiers in battle and often keep for 25+ years. I'd say these are probably the best things you can get to store away for that personal or family survival plan.

Now remember, these are just tips. If you or anyone you're stocking up for have any alergies or other concern factors then please don't ignore them on a basis of "Bear said we need this." I for one will only be stocking one or 2 peoples worth of honey as it tends to make my fiancee throw-up and her gran has digestive complaints. Remember the 2 biggest principals of survival: KISS (Keep It Stupid Simple) and SIS (Sense Is Surviving).

Have fun and good luck with your Mother-in-law/Zombie Invasion/2012 preparation.