

SPAM, sardines in oil, potted meat, deviled ham-you pick. Just figure out the calories per ounce from a few contenders and the highest one should be your champion. But it’s also tasty, high in calories, long lasting, rodent-proof, and ready to eat. It’s loaded with sodium, and God only knows what else. No, this crap in a can isn’t healthy for you. This is a loose category of loose-meat products which could be anything from beef, pork, chicken or fish…to cardboard, cornmeal and old boots, carefully ground up and spiced to be pleasing to the palate. A couple jars of this caramel colored concoction are right on target for your winter bug-out bag. And unless you’re one of those unfortunate people who are allergic to peanuts, it’s loved by the majority of men, women, children and pets. You can eat it right out of the jar, with a spoon, your fingers or a chip of bark. It’s packed with calories from fat, and it carries some protein and carbs along for the ride. If it wasn’t for the short life span, I’d say peanut butter would be my perfect survival food. This makes them a great emergency food supply for your office or car, since they’re not tasty enough to lure you into idly snacking upon them. Items like Millennium Bars and SOS Rations have 400 fat-laden calories per serving, and they boast a 5 year shelf life. But to a person who is struggling out in the cold, these flavored blocks carbs and fat are exactly what you need. Heavy, dry, gritty and hard: survival food bars and cubes aren’t exactly haute cuisine. Here are four fatty foods with survival-friendly properties. Fatty foods are the best treasure trove of life sustaining calories, and we should embrace these fuel-dense foods as we prepare for winter emergencies.

It’s giving you the fuel you need to produce heat. Wolfing down a King sized Reese’s pack may not seem like a survival move, but it’s just like throwing another log on the fire. This chill tells you that you need to eat more calories. Say you find yourself getting cold and staying cold, and you’re wearing appropriate outer wear and clothing. The most important way we can replace that heat is by burning calories for warmth. In this season of ice, the cold air can steal the heat from our bodies very quickly.

At no time of year is this fact more clear than in the winter. More plainly stated, calories equal survival. And as we exercise and make low calorie choices to keep our waistlines from expanding, we tend to ignore what calories really are: They’re the energy source that keeps us alive. In a time when obesity is a quiet epidemic in America, it may seem like calories are our collective enemy. Whether we face a nationwide conflict, a large scale national emergency, a localized weather event or something as mundane as a job loss, there's no doubt that you'll eventually benefit from a 25 year food supply.We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. And if we've learned one thing over the last few years, it's that our supply chain isn't nearly as robust as we thought it was. Most of us are so detached from the sources of the things we rely on day to day that if those supply lines are disrupted we don't have any other recourse.

Just be sure to order your freeze dried food from a reputable supplier. With high quality processing and high quality packaging, a 25 year shelf life is easily attainable. But, if you're looking for survival food with a long shelf life, the main limiters on the shelf life of freeze dried meals is in the processing and in the packaging. If you were just looking for the longest shelf life possible, there are a couple foods like white rice and sugar that have virtually unlimited shelf lives when packed properly.
