People in my community are dedicated to storing a year’s supply of food (myself included), and we are blessed to have many preparedness experts around us. I struggled for years to achieve a food supply that we would actually eat, that wouldn’t go to waste because it’s so nutritionally inferior or has such a short shelf life. (I threw out a lot of stuff over the years.) I feel that I now have a solid food storage I can rotate into our diet. So I’m including here a list of what’s in The Hatch. That’s what we call our cold-storage room in the basement, in honor of our favorite ABC TV show, Lost. I hope it helps you, and if you’re a preparedness guru, please share any ideas on what YOU store.
I know some of you will have to get creative, space-wise, to achieve any kind of storage, and perhaps you will want to consider starting with a three-month supply of food.) Tons of natural disasters in the last couple of weeks, along with an international food shortage and skyrocketing fuel costs, have put food storage at the forefront of many of our minds.
I’ve put at the top of this list the things I feel are most nutritionally valuable in my list (the least important things are at the end). For length, I’ve left off the list all the non-food items and dog food.
VitaMineral Green (for enzymes, greens nutrition, probiotics, 5-yr. shelf life)
The Ultimate Meal (#10 cans, sprouted, 3-yr. shelf life, get it on Amazon)
Raw sauerkraut (from my garden cabbage)
Organic, extra virgin coconut oil
Extra virgin olive oil
Raw legumes: small red, black turtle, small white, pinto, garbanzo, and 11-bean mix, plus lentils and split peas
Grains: popcorn, wheat, Kamut, quinoa, rye, oat groats, rolled oats, brown rice
Shredded coconut
Raisins
Nuts and seeds: raw almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, cashews (many of these are in my upright full-size freezer)
Coconut juice (canned)
Raw apple cider vinegar (gallons are on sale right now at Good Earth, locals!)
Sweeteners: raw honey, raw agave, real maple syrup, blackstrap molasses, stevia
Spices: sea salt, kelp, cinnamon, cocoa powder, baking powder, basil, oregano, cayenne
Natural peanut butter
Whole-grain pasta
Canned:
Powdered milk (to make kefir/yogurt)
Whole eggs
No-sugar-added spaghetti sauce
Canned diced tomatoes, and tomato sauce
Dehydrated fruits and vegs (bell peppers, onions, apples, bananas, mixed fruit)
Beans: black, vegetarian refried, garbanzos (for convenience)
Corn
Vegetarian chili
No-sugar-added applesauce
No-sugar-added peaches, mandarin oranges
Some other random items like canned black olives and liquid chlorophyll
Thank you! I was going to ask you to share your food storage ideas.
Do you intend to use the powdered milk and eggs, or just throw them away as they go bad?
This is an awesome list! I really appreciating your sharing this with us. I am curious of the shelf life of coconut oil. My EVOO lasts for at least 6 months but I don’t know much about shelf life for coconut oil. I was also not aware that kefir and yogurt could be made from powdered milk. Is it used the same? How does your brown rice store? I had some go rancid when I canned it so I have been weary. Do you use buckets? I know I have a lot of questions but it is often hard to store things that are really healthy. We plant a garden and try to store as many seeds as we can but we could add many of these other items.
Hey, Robyn, when you get back would you mind sharing a picture of your food storage set-up? What kind of conditions does one need for cold storage? Thanks!
I plan to use the dehydrated eggs and milk to make baked goods and kefir/yogurt in an emergency. :-) Milk should last a very long time on the shelf. Baking powder must be rotated, as its shelf life is limited to a year or two.
Natalie, I’ll make a note to post a photo of my cold storage and shelves and stuff. I just happen to have an unfinished basement with cold storage, lucky me (I didn’t always, so when we built this house, I made sure to have concrete cold areas). Some people do dig a cold storage against the house, in the dirt, with a wood lid. You can put vegetables like potatoes, onions, and carrots in it for the winter, along with raw sauerkraut and other preserved vegetables.
Also . . . coconut oil lasts 2 years on the shelf! (Some say more, but that’s what the companies I asked, when doing local group buys, guarantee.) It is highly stable and doesn’t go rancid quickly like many oils.
Thank you so much for this post! I have been trying to incorporate more whole foods into our diet and have been wondering about what to do about our food storage. I am sure I will have to throw much of it out in the next 3-5 yrs, but I can now start hopefully incorporating items that we will use and rotate through. Robyn I really appreciate your talent, and that you are sharing it with the rest of us.