Friday, January 16, 2009

Raw Food Storage

If you're a raw foodie or even if you just like healthy food around, you may have wondered how to be prepared for an emergency/disaster situation when access to fresh produce may be limited or unavailable. This could mean anything from an earthquake or a bad storm to loss of employment or temporary lack of transportation keeping you from getting to the grocery store as soon or often as you'd like. That's when storing food can be extremely helpful if not downright life-saving!

You can store things to eat right away, like nuts & dried fruit (raw nuts can be kept in the freezer to keep them good longer). You can store ingredients for recipes (oils, sweeteners, spices, etc.). You can also store seeds for sprouting (learn to sprout & use them BEFORE a disaster hits), so you can have fresh foods even when you don't have access to fresh fruits & vegetables. I buy a lot of non-perishable things in bulk (see http://www.azurestandard.com/ for one option), which saves money and forces me stock up, so I usually have most of these on hand:

Walnuts
Almonds
Cashews
Brazilnuts
Pine nuts
Pistachios
Pecans
Hazelnuts
Shredded coconut
Sunfower seeds
Pumpkin seeds
Flaxseed
Sesame seeds
Hemp seeds
Alfalfa seeds
Chia seeds
Lentils
Mung beans
Garbanzo beans
Garden seeds
Sunflower seeds in the shell (for growing sunflower sprouts)
Quinoa
Buckwheat
Sweet brown rice (it sprouts!)
Barley
Wheat
Rye
Raw dried fruits (I like http://www.therawchoice.com/ for these)
Cacao powder
Cacao nibs
Carob powder
Lucuma
Mesquite
Maca
Sun-dried tomatoes
Honey
Agave nectar
Olive oil
Coconut oil
Basil
Cayenne
Cinnamon
Cloves
Cumin
Ginger
Italian herbs
Mustard powder
Parsley
Turmeric
Sea salt

In the event of a natural disaster, you will also want to have several gallons of water - more if you'll be soaking & sprouting things. :)

8 comments:

  1. If a natural disaster should strike, I hope I'm in your house when it does. That's one very well-stocked pantry you've got there!

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  2. ok, but tell me how i can prevent myself from eating my "supply". :-) also my husband doesn't understand why i am buying more of something if I already have a supply around. perhaps I ought to squirrel it away.

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  3. earthmother: Come on down! :)

    aimee: Talk about what the two of you would do if you were unable to buy food for a day, a week, a month or a year.

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  4. Where do you get the lucuma and mesquite? And what "kind" of raw maca do you prefer to get?

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  5. Michelle - I got Lucuma at my local health food store, but the brand is Navitas Naturals, and I believe they sell online. The mesquite & maca I get from www.sunfood.com - I get the regular maca. I've never tried anything else - have you?

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  6. Don't frorget about fermented foods like saurkraut, saurruben, and the endless other varieties that can be easily made with fresh vegetables and even fruits just with salt and water. I like to think of the fermented foods I create as investments and insurance for my future days when I really need them. Though I've never tried, I've even glanced over recipes for saurkrauts that are made without any salt! For some good information about this, go to http://www.wildfermentation.com

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  7. Andrea - Lucuma is a fruit that is powdered & dried for use as a sweetener, but it has a very distinct/strong flavor. If you want/like that flavor, it is great in things that you want to make a little sweeter but not runny like they would be if you used agave or honey.

    culture jammer Julia - Yeah, I just focused this post on shelf-stable foods, but fermented stuff can be very helpful as well! I haven't tried making my own sauerkraut yet, although I love the Rejuvenative Foods brand - thanks for the website. :)

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