It is no good stocking up for food for an emergency if most of it goes bad before you can use it. A good idea is to rotate your stockpile of course. Use some of your saved food in your regular meals and replace those items with fresh ones that you newly purchase.
Still, making sure that you pick staple items that have a long shelf life will help you be better prepared for an emergency, since you know that there is a good chance that your emergency food supply will be edible and nutritious, two things that can be very important should disaster strike leaving you in a position where you can’t purchase food.
Dried Grains and Beans
Grains such as rice and a variety of beans not only fill you up, but they also have a long shelf life. You can make them into a hearty meal with just a bit of water or broth, or turn them into more elaborate meals, such as chili, if you have other ingredients. While brown rice is the most nutritious, it can go rancid and expire sooner than white rice. Store your brown rice long-term in a freezer.
Canned Tuna and Chicken
These simple proteins are good for you and an easy way to get some meat (well, fish, too). Albacore may have a high mercury content, but for short term emergency use, you could eat it every day if you had to do so. Not only can you make canned tuna or chicken into salads, you can also cook with them or add them to salads or other dishes to make them more nutritious.
Tofu
Another good source of cheap protein, tofu can last for weeks and weeks. It is very versatile, so it is a good thing to have. The downside of tofu is that it will need to stay refrigerated, which could be a problem if you lose power.
TVP
Related to Tofu is textured vegetable protein or TVP. I always have at least one bag of this in the house. You can rehydrate it and use it as a stand in for ground meat. Make it into a meatloaf, add it to soup or to canned tomato sauce for pasta. Because it is dried, this stuff seems to last practically forever.
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