Real survival food. Don't eat for defeat.

2010-08-15T06:04:00.000-07:00

The term survivalist is commonly used to describe a person who believes that they themselves, their families and perhaps their entire country is at risk of a significant disaster situation, in which it will be unwise to rely on help from governments, or anyone else in authority. Survivalists are sometimes thought of as a little extreme in their views, but you don't have to look very far to find evidence that bad things can - and do - happen, even in our own country. If you take a look around, you will find that in the US alone in the last 4 years several major cities have suffered significant storm and flood damage, as well as a long-term power outages which have not only made life unpleasant, but even claimed quite a number of lives.

The basic premise of the survival movement is that you should be prepared. You should be prepared for all sorts of eventualities, ranging from having no electricity with which to heat your home and cook your food, to being prepared for not having clean water on tap and being able to drive your vehicle on cheap gas. One big thing which survivalists plan for is having a good supply of food on hand should there be a disaster, and this is what we will talk about now.

When we talk about survival food, many people will immediately envisioned things like tinned ravioli, or maybe MRE’s. MRE stands for Meals Ready to Eat, and are basically a military invention. It usually describes freeze-dried and dehydrated food, which can be re-hydrated and eaten with the addition of some water. These things certainly sound like the sorts of foods that you would want to have on hand in the case of an emergency, but how good are these emergency foods really, especially if you are going to eat them for an extended period?

In actual fact, if you look at foods like these you will find that they are terrible for your immune system and for your ongoing health. Just because the military is issuing soldiers of MRE’s does not mean they are healthy. As a matter of fact, many people have attacked this military endorsed diet, suggesting that it makes soldiers weak and susceptible to illnesses and diseases. If you apply simple logic, it actually seems impossible that any sort of tinned food or re-hydrated ration could possibly meet even the most basic nutritional guidelines: how can you possibly get your vitamin A and vitamins C requirements from something which has been in a packet for several years? The truth is that is just not possible.

The sad thing is, that during a stressful time like an extended emergency you really want to have access to good wholesome food to keep your body in top fighting shape. So here are some easy ideas for real survival food, which you can easily make with minimal effort in most situations.

Soaked grains and beans are a cornerstone of a natural and safe diet. Not many people would be familiar with the practice of soaking grains to make porridges, soups and other meals. In actual fact though, grains are like nature's own MRE’s. For example, wheat will keep for many years if stored in nothing more than a breathable sack, and in order to eat it you don't need a flour mill or any other expensive apparatus. Wheat grains, or any other grains for that matter, can simply be soaked in fresh water for a period of about 24 hours, and then drained and eaten. This actually doesn't taste as bad as it sounds, and if you want you can heat the resulting grains or mash up to make a porridge. Soaked grains like this contain minerals and nutrients, and if you want to take the next step, you can even sprout them.

Sprouting grains is something which is appropriate to a more long-term survival situation especially where you will not have access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Sprouting grains has been practised by many cultures throughout history, and is really very simple. Most people have made alfalfa sprouts or bean sprouts at some stage, and grains are much the same. Essentially they need to be soaked, and then drained and placed in a position where they will receive sunlight. Within 3-4 days you will see small sprouts emerging from the wheat grains, and within about two or three more days these sprouts will have turned a fresh green colour. At this point you can eat them as is, or you can cook them. The massive advantage to eating sprouted grains is that this is effectively a way of growing your own vitamins and living enzymes in your own kitchen. Sprouted grains can easily provide your required intake of vitamins A and C, as well as providing chlorophyll and antioxidant compounds which contribute significantly to your ongoing health.

If you like the idea of stocking up on foods in case of an emergency situation, grains and dried beans should be at the top of your priority list. Many beans can be treated in the same way as the wheat (the grains) just described, that is they can be soaked and potentially cooked, or sprouted and then eaten or further processed. This is real survival food, which won't leave your immune system in tatters, and leave you in danger of falling victim to the first epidemic that sweeps through a disaster ravaged area.

An easy way to go one step further, once you have made a provision to grow sprouts, is to juice them and drink the resulting juice. Most of us will have come across wheat grass juice by now, as this is a popular health and detox drink which is now sold by many cafes and juice bars around the country. If you think about it, making wheat grass juice is a pretty natural extension of growing and eating wheat sprouts. The wheat grass you see being processed in a juice bar is simply in a more advanced state of growth than the sprouts which we just described. Typically, wheat grass shoots are grown until they are about three or four weeks old, or about 3 inches tall. They are then simply put through a juicer machine, which crushes the liquid out.

If you want to make a provision to make wheat grass juice at home, you are going to need a juicer machine. Although it is possible to get electric machines, we have just spent some time discussing what we would do in a disaster situation. So, the question is will we have electricity electricity? Of course there might be, but then there might not. And with an electric juicer, you are fairly stuck if there is no power!

The best thing to buy by a long shot is a hand powered wheat grass juicer. A hand juicer like this is actually quite inexpensive, and can often be purchased for less than $50 in many retail outlets, and even less online. Wheatgrass juicer use is not difficult, because wheat grass juice is typically only made in small quantities. If you've never tried drinking it, you should try it some time and then you will know why! It has a very strong taste, which bears testament to the nutritional potential held in this juice. Chemically, wheat grass juice has been identified as containing over 90 different minerals, as well is very high levels of antioxidants and vitamins.

If you are already in the process of preparing yourself for a disaster situation, and have already stockpiled dehydrated tinned foods and the like, this is not intended as a criticism of you. If everything goes wrong, you will want all the help you can get - and before we are through this may well include dehydrated or MRE style food. However, don't overlook the potential of old fashioned and natural foods which humans have used to survive in dire circumstances for thousands upon thousands of years. As noted, these natural food such as grains and legumes are not only versatile and nutritious, but can potentially save you a lot of money as well.