I recently received a package in the mail that I thought was worthy of sharing. I’ve got to give credit to Dutch from Texas for this awesome DIY Bug Out Meal idea! When I opened the box I found a couple homemade vacuum sealed food kits. UPS delivers here right before lunch so it was hard for me not to cut them open and gorge myself right then and there. The enclosed letter explained a really cool concept: DIY At Home Bug Out Meals Ready To Eat Kits.
As many of you know, I am a huge fan of simple, “Open & Eat” Bug Out Meals. I like the idea of being able to eat on-the-go versus spending too much time having to prepare meals. Bugging Out is all about getting from Point A to Point B. In fact, I currently only pack high calorie energy bars in my BOB but this recent package is making me reconsider. Regardless, Bug Out Meals should meet the following criteria:
- Long shelf life: ideally at least a year – minimum 6 months
- Open & Eat: Nothing that takes too much time, energy or resources to prepare
- Calorie Rich: Be sure to choose foods that are high in calories – our body converts calories to energy
- As small as possible in both weight and size (remember, they have to go in your Bug Out Bag)
As Dutch mentions in his letter, traditional MREs can be very expensive and are jam packed with sodium and preservatives. In addition, one single meal is rather bulky. His solution is to gather meal items and snacks from a local grocery store and vacuum seal them into Full Day Bug Out Meal Kits.
Below is what Dutch puts in his meal kits. This is taken directly from his letter:
- BREAKFAST: Qty 2 Kellogs Fiber plus breakfast bars. I also use Instant Oatmeal or Oatmeal Squares. Nescafe Tasters Choice Coffee, or if not a coffee drinker, throw in a tea bag.
- LUNCH: Crackers and SPAM or Kipper-Snacks or a can of Sardines. All of which can be eaten cold and on the march. Rspeberry Lemonade drink mix, just add to a bottle or canteen of water.
- SNACK: On grueling hikes, you have to keep your blood-sugar levels up, so these have 2 packages of peanut butter crackers and several packs of Peanut M&Ms to be eaten between meals.
- DINNER: I try to have a least one hot meal a day. I advocate Ramen Noodles. I also pack beef jerkey to break up and add to the soup.
*NOTE: The meals he sent me were almost 1 year old and they showed no sign of mold or spoilage. Good sign!
With traditional MREs and camp meals, the selection is fairly limited. And Dutch is right, they are packed full of salt and preservatives. Furthermore, if you’ve ever eaten MREs for very long they’ll back you up worse than traffic during mass exodus.
I’ll admit that these are pretty lavish Bug Out Meals but I really like this concept. It allows you a ton of creative freedom when prepping your Bug Out (or BUG IN) emergency meals. You aren’t limited to ‘stock’ entrees and each meal can be tailored to fit specific dietary needs. Gluten Free? No problem – pack non gluten items. Peanut allergy? No problem – your meal kits get plain M&Ms. You get the point. Vacuum sealing the meals not only helps to preserve them longer but also waterproofs them. The added bonus is that they are also organized and very compact – 2 Bug Out Packing essential qualities.
Write the expiration date on the outside of the package with a Sharpie Marker (you choose the time frame but I’d be just fine with 1 year). Don’t throw away the meals when they expire. That expiration date marks a much needed camping trip and your meals are now already packed!
Does anyone do something similar to this?
Is this a Bug Out Meal concept that you will consider?
What types of items will your include in your Vacuum Sealed Bug Out Meal?
Remember, it’s not IF but WHEN,
Creek
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Related
FAQs
Include a selection of the following foods in your short-term Disaster Supplies Kit:
- Ready-to-eat canned meats, fruits and vegetables.
- Canned juices, milk, soup (if powdered, store extra water)
- Staples " sugar, salt, pepper.
- High energy foods " peanut butter, jelly, crackers, granola bars, trail mix.
- Meats & Beans. Canned meat, chicken, turkey, seafood. and other protein-rich foods, such as. ...
- Vegetables. Canned vegetables and vegetable juices. ...
- Fruits. Canned fruits and fruit juices. ...
- Milk. Canned, boxed or dried milk and shelf- ...
- Grains. Ready-to-eat cereal, crackers, pretzels, ...
- Water. Enough for 1 gallon per day.
What Emergency Foods to Keep in Your Pantry
- Peanut Butter. ...
- Whole-Wheat Crackers. ...
- Cereal. ...
- Granola Bars and Power Bars. ...
- Dried Fruits, Such as Apricots and Raisins. ...
- Canned Tuna, Salmon, Chicken, or Turkey. ...
- Canned Vegetables, Such as Green Beans, Carrots, and Peas. ...
- Canned Beans.
Dry beans and legumes form the foundation of a survival diet. Beans contain protein, complex carbohydrates, and fiber. They are literally a powerhouse of nutrients. When beans are combined with a grain, such as rice, they provide your body with all the essential amino acids and form a complete protein.
How do you make a homemade survival kit? ›
Basic Disaster Supplies Kit
- Water (one gallon per person per day for several days, for drinking and sanitation)
- Food (at least a several-day supply of non-perishable food)
- Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert.
- Flashlight.
- First aid kit.
- Extra batteries.
- Whistle (to signal for help)
Hardtack, Pemmican, Parched Corn, and Trench Cake Are Some of the Original Foods for the Long Haul. MREs and emergency ration bars are fine examples of modern survival foods. These bug-out-friendly items can be stored for long periods and provide sustaining nutrition, two key requirements for survival food.
What 3 foods could you survive on? ›
A balanced diet of survival food will ensure that your body is getting all the protein, carbs, minerals, and vitamins it requires to remain healthy. If you could only select five foods to survive on, potatoes, kale, trail mix, grains, and beans would get you pretty far.
What 5 foods could you survive on? ›
You can survive on a balanced diet of potatoes, kale, trail mix, grains, and beans. This combination offers plenty of protein, carbs, minerals, and vitamins to keep your body healthy and energized.
What is the cheapest food to survive? ›
Cheapest Foods to Live On:
- Oatmeal.
- Eggs.
- Bread.
- Rice.
- Bananas.
- Beans.
- Apples.
- Pasta.
The only food which comes close to being something you could survive on long term as a sole ingredient is the potato. The fact that the potato has Vitamin C means that scurvy is not a risk like it would be with almost any other food source lacking in this nutrient.
Good food choices are dried fruit; canned fruit or vegetables; shelf-stable cans of meat, poultry, and fish; jars of peanut butter and jelly; small packages of cereal, granola bars, and crackers; nonfat dry milk; and small boxes of juice drinks.
What is the cheapest food that lasts the longest? ›
10 Cheap Foods That Last a Long Time
- 01 of 10. Potatoes. The Spruce. ...
- 02 of 10. Beans and Other Legumes. Dana Hoff / Getty Images. ...
- 03 of 10. Rice. Savany/E+/Getty Images. ...
- 04 of 10. Peanut Butter. Isabelle Louche / EyeEm / Getty Images. ...
- 05 of 10. Apples. Des/RooM/Getty Images. ...
- 06 of 10. Carrots. ...
- 07 of 10. Pasta. ...
- 08 of 10. Oatmeal.
Dried beans, peas, lentils, etc. provide an inexpensive alternative to meat and are easy to store in glass or plastic containers tightly covered. Those purchased from the grocery shelf are normally the highest quality. Open food boxes or cans carefully so that you can close them tightly after each use.
How to make your own survival food kit? ›
Examples of things to keep on hand for your Short Term Emergency Food Supply:
- Ready-to-eat Canned Meats, Beans, Soups, Fruits and Vegetables.
- Canned Milk & Juices.
- Shelf-stable boxes of milk, juice and broth.
- Nut Butters.
- Jerky.
- Jam & Jellies.
- Granola Bars.
- Crackers.
In this article, we break down the origins story of the original North American survival food: Pemmican. The Carnivore Bar has a rich history rising from the evolution of a traditional food source called pemmican.
What do you put in a survival kit for food? ›
Some examples of foods to include are: Ready-to-eat canned meats, fruits and vegetables. Protein or fruit bars. Dry cereal or granola and dried fruit.
How to build a 3 month food supply? ›
Make a list of foods you eat on a regular basis, and determine how much you would go through in three months. Use and rotate these foods in all your daily cooking. Constantly replenish the stocks of these foods as they go on sale again. Don't forget to include non-food items in this step as well.
What canned foods last the longest? ›
High acid foods such as tomatoes and other fruit will keep their best quality up to 18 months; low acid foods such as meat and vegetables, 2 to 5 years. While extremely rare, a toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum is the worst danger in canned goods.
