Food Ideas For 72 Hour Kits

Emergency meal and power bars packed with nutritious ingredients lend much needed nutritional resources to our supply. For situations where cooking a regular meal is not possible or the need to conserve our resources is present, a power bar can float us through to a more convenient place and time.

High calorie energy bars don't have to be expensive.

In seeking the right ones make sure they can with stand heat and have long, stable shelf life.

Garden of Life's Raw Meal is a great addition to your list. With a full meal daily requirement in a simple mix and consume powder you don't have to skimp out on your full dietary needs.

For more nutritional information on what to store see article: Survival Foods Requirements

Additional food support for emergencies see site: Survival Recovery

Vitamins for Emergencies

Vitamin's Benefit in High Stress Crisis

Disasters and crisis deplete our bodies of necessary nutrients. Stress can rob us of the building blocks we need to recover quickly and the stores we gain energy from. Vitamin and supplement items added to a bug out kit and emergency food stock makes great sense.

Tablets and powders that contain high nutrients take up very little space. The nutritional supplements help replace needed vitamins and minerals burned by stress. Common vitamins such as Vit C and D reward the body with defence against colds and support the immune system. With the nutritional needs packed into tiny tablets and helpful powders space is conserved and our daily required amounts (RDA) are helped to be met.

Multi-vitamins and other convenient supplements can aid our body's energy stores and carry us through events that could deplete our systems nutrients through stresses and physical effort. Choose wisely and match your family's particular health needs to the right supplement.

Additional Links:

USDA's site for vitamin nutrition
http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/food-composition/vitamins-and-minerals

Survival Recovery.com

What if's we don't think about...

Photo credit: jusben from morguefile.com

From a conversation with one of my preparedness clients:

What if?
Where you live it is a possibility. The power grid shuts down. Guess what! No power means no water. Without electricity the city's water pumps aren't working. No water in the home?
No toilet, no water at the kitchen sink or shower. Family with no water? Sunk!

What if? You are sitting on a highway miles from anywhere with modern conveniences. There is a wreck on the highway and guess what!? You are left on that patch of road for hours until the emergency vehicles and authorities clear up the scene and get traffic flowing again. Having a kit with some basics in it is going to make that wait a little easier. With energy bars and a couple bottles of water, YOU won't be famished and dehydrated by the time things get going.

What if? Your neighborhood has a major fire or is close to a chemical spill. Your home isn't affected but they have blocked off the entrances to where your home is. They need to contain the fire or clean-up that poison. Waiting until you can return home again may be hours or days.

What if? You get a few water jugs filled. Prepare a bug out kit for your home. Put a 72 hour and a first kit in your car. Have some food storage and emergency energy sources standing by.

Plan for a what if. May it never happen, but if it does, be grateful you made sure you had your supplies ready.

For more information see: www.survival-recovery.com

72 Hour Kit and Bug Out Kits

A 72 hour kit usually entails a couple days of supplies. Small easy to eat foods, MRE's, and a few bottles of water. A bag of hygiene products such as a roll of toilet paper, a small towel, washcloth, and some kind of soap or hand sanitizer, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant. Packed, also, is a change of clothes with a couple of pairs of socks and under garments, a warm jacket to double as a pillow. A space blanket or a microfiber blanket is a nice item to have. Even if it isn't cold you can have it for comfort.

My kit includes a whistle, a flashlight, meal bars that supply a high calorie count for energy. Small water packages are tucked in there. It has a tube tent and hand warmers, though here in the desert where I live I don't think the hand warmers are going to be used, but you never know. I added a camp dish set and the utensil set to it to make sure I had something to eat out of and cook with. I grab this kit and my handbag and I can go anywhere in a moments notice.

These things are extremely important to anyone living in an earthquake zone, coastal areas that experience hurricanes or strong storms, and the tornado prone states. Civil unrest and natural disasters can occur anywhere.

For More information:
Survival and Emergency Management at Home

Survival Food Companies

There are many food companies in the survival business. Some specialize in convenient pre-selected large packages for long term purchase. Others have a catalog where you can select and build your own long term store. They all feature long shelf lives.

I have found some companies have an inexpensive price tag which looks great until you read the fine print. The weight content is why the foods are cheaper. Find the heaviest weight in the product you are seeking and you have found the best value for your money. This is valuable information when putting as much product in the space you have available. I personally want to store the heaviest possible amounts as I am limited on places I can put my foods in the storage area I have allocated.

Popular Preparedness for Emergency Survival Food Online Catalogs:


Free Food Storage Calculator:
Shelf Reliance

Large Selection of Entrees:
Nitro-Pak


Special Packages in mylar bags:
Mountain House Freeze-Dried Food


Small storable container selection:
Lindon Farms Food Storage

Home Production

Survival and Home Production

Our society is so microwave and go. Pull into a fast food joint and eat. A lot of us don't even know how to cook anymore. Home production is cooking, canning, baking, creating a freezer stock of ready to thaw and eat meals. Yes, left overs. But good ones. You know what you like to eat! Learn how to make and preserve them! Learn what survival foods you can use to recreate it in survival mode.

Working in your kitchen is a survival skill!

Practice using your survival goods. Make at least one meal a week using the foods you have stored. Putting away food for just in case isn't what food storage is about. It's about self-sufficiency. That means using what you have so it stays fresh for when you truly do need it.

Start by  making something simple from scratch when you have time. For example: make a couple of banana bread loaves and use one, freeze one. Do some crock pot meals and freeze half of the meal. Set up a basic recipe file. Meal planners are good, too. Stick to the recipes you like and build around your basic meals.

One of my favorite suvival meals is mac and tomato sauce. It's 2 c elbow mac, 1 small can tomato sauce, green beans, and some seasonings. I have the mac in bulk now and have a couple cases of the sauce and a few bottles of the seasonings. Frozen ground beef is kept on hand for days I want to add meat to it. Though this isn't a 5 star restaurant meal it's something I can make quickly and something I can create out of my survival goods just in case.  It fill the belly and that's important. You can't think straight on an empty stomach especially stressed out in a crisis.

Home production starts with a simple recipe. Survival preparedness starts the same way. One simple recipe....

Additional Information See:

Survival Foods Requirements

First Aid Training - Kits - Supplies

Training in First Aid is more important than the kit itself!

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First Aid kits are essential to a survival plan. A small, simple first aid kit with a few supplies can be carried in a briefcase, purse, or a school backpack. Keeping one in a car is excellent planning. A complete first aid kit usually entails a larger volume bag to itself.  Getting the proper training in first aid is extremely important!

First Aid Kit - Image: Morguefile

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Do you know what supplies should be in a complete first aid kit and do you have the proper first aid training to use it?

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Simple first aid kits include the following:

• Adhesive Bandages 
• Medical Tape 
• Antiseptic wipes 
• Burn cream
• Anti-bacterial creams for simple wounds
• Ammonia packets for fainting 
• Medications - Ibuprofen or aspirin for fevers and aches 
• Antihistamines for allergic reactions such as an insect bite. 

In addition to the supplies listed above many of the higher quality first aid kits include a small pair of metal scissors and tools such as tweezers and suture kits. They will have wound packing materials like gauze and material for a sling. They might even include items like an eye wash or a Coghlan's Snake Bite Kit. With a complete kit you should be able to stabilize someone with some simple measures until help arrives. 
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How bout a smile about first aid before we get to the serious stuff?

First Aiders - Minnie Mouse, Pluto, And Figaro learning about first aid...

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First Aid Training:

Reading a First Aid Book and thinking you know about first aid and what to do in emergencies is about as effective as this cartoon. Don't clown around with injuries. Get the proper working knowledge of first aid BEFORE you have to use it!

Learning the basics like CPR, treating shock, and simple wound care can make a big difference in your life or someone else's. These things take proper training and educating in approved classes!

First aid situations are always frightening. There is almost always bleeding and possible trauma involved unless it's a simple cut or strain. The aftermath of disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes generally leave an area very hazardous. The risk of being cut or injured by flying debris or sharp objects such as metal or glass is a possibility. 

First Aid Administered to Earthquake Victims

Image - Allposters (affiliate permissions)

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Common First Aid Conditions From Wikipedia - First Aid:

• Bone fractures
• Burns
• Cardiac Arrest
• Choking
• Childbirth.
• Heart attack, or inadequate blood flow to the blood vessels supplying the heart muscle.
• Heat stroke, also known as sunstroke or hyperthermia, 
• Heavy bleeding
• Hypothermia, or Exposure
• Insect and animal bites and stings.
• Joint dislocation.
• Poisoning
• Seizures
• Muscle strains and Sprains
• Wounds and bleeding, including lacerations, incisions and abrasions

When a person is bleeding heavily or unconscious this person needs to be treated by an expert trained in first aid and it's applications.
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Seek help Immediately!!!
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If you are unsure how to proceed it is best if you do nothing rather than possibly cause more damage. People have had their rib cages broken by someone administering CPR the wrong way. First aid is no laughing matter and should be administered by someone who knows exactly what they are doing!

Having the proper education in first aid training is a very wise decision.

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Related Article: Red Cross and FEMA - Emergency Skills

Where did you take your first aid training class?

Survival Handbag

LADYS!!! What's in your handbag? Can you use it in conjunction w/ your 72 hour kit and bug out bag? I can just because of the work I do and the schedule I have to keep. Are you carrying.... a can opener???

Ideas to turn your regular day bag into your survival tool kit!

There are 4 basic tools you need in any survival situation. And NO it isn't a weapon of any kind. And it is not a flashlight. Well, one if them is a knife. I have mentioned 2 of the tools here. What's the third and fourth one?

     

What's in your purse, handbag, or tote? I hope it's a little more than makeup and lip balm! 

See Full Article here: A Lady's Survival Kit List

A little silly a lot serious! 

Frugal Living Storage Tips

Frugal Living

Rotation Ideas

A great idea for storage items is using basic items to substitute for name brand fancy cleaning products. Salt makes a great scouring agent. Baking soda has always been a useful tool for cleaning. Bleach has many uses from whitening to sanitizing. Used in small quantities it can purify water and sanitize surfaces. Spearmint Rubbing alcohol and water makes a great window and surface cleaner.

The more ways you find a use for your storage in your household needs the easier it will be to keep the fresh items up front. Set routines for regular use so things don't go bad. This helps with the budget, too, frugal living is one of the keys to successful storage planning.

See Full Article: How To Properly Store Survival Foods