9 Items/Categories You Need for your “Just In Case” Prepper Pantry.
First, if you need or want a good chuckle, check the reel made on Instagram on this very topic.
If these last two years have shown us one thing, availability of regular items or access to items can change on a dime. This is why it’s a good idea to always have an emergency prepper pantry stocked and ready for when/if you need it.
In any emergency, you can live without pretty much everything BUT food and water! (Yes, even toilet paper).
Sure, you may not want to, but it is possible. That said, when getting started in the prepared world, it’s hard to narrow down where to start. It can all seem so very overwhelming and very much “I need it all yesterday!”. So let’s start with what you can’t live without: Food and Water.
Water
Our top Item is water. Flat out, you will die within three days without water. It is the MOST important item in your prepper pantry. Even if you just start filling containers you have on hand with water you already have access to and keep them in a dark space. This will allow you to have water on hand and you can always boil water over a fire to clean it. All of that said, you can’t make water appear, if for some reason, your access to it has been removed. The number one most important item is WATER! Start there.
Food
You can survive without food for up to three weeks! Can you imagine?!?!
Let’s not test this one out. This is why we stock food in our prepper pantry to ensure we have nourishment to keep going – especially if the emergency is just power outages and you need something that doesn’t need to be cooked. But if it’s something longer term, like a major disaster and access to services and topping up your food is short, you need longer term foods for nourishment.
This list isn’t complete, it’s just a jumping point to get you started. Each category/item can be expanded or swapped for your dietary needs.
Here we go:
Flour/Wheat Berries
…because bread only needs water and flour! Hello sourdough! Wheat Berries are shelf stable for decades, flour is only good a few years (airtight). Wheat Berries will need a grinder. You will need to make sure you have a grinder for each situation your looking to cover (just going longer term, electric is fine, major power outages/disaster, you’ll need manual). Ideally you’ll want all purpose flour or hard white berries as they are the most diverse when it comes to baking.
Baking Soda
The cool kid of the baking club, baking soda. You can cook and clean with this one! Two for one item! Always good to have on hand.
Yeast
Yes, yeast! Ok, Ok, even hard times call for easier bread making! Store in airtight containers withOUT an oxygen absorber. You can keep them in the freezer, as they will last longer, much longer in the freezer. Remember your options as with a power outage, you’ll need an option for all that freezer stuff thawing and possibly sweating as it thaws (which means you’ll need to use them right away if they sweat). If you’d like to start making bread now, check out our recipe we shared with just a few ingredients from this list!
Vinegar
Do you know why we love vinegar, because it’s a hard worker and is useable for so many things! Also from cleaning, to cooking, to canning and more! Commercial vinegar is one that is very difficult to make on your own from scratch, whereas fruit vinegars (Apple Cider Vinegar) is quite easy to make from scratch!
Sugar
This can be cane sugar, honey, maple syrup, whatever your preferred sweet thing is, get that on hand. Whether it’s cooking or baking, having something sweet allows your palate to enjoy diverse foods vs beans and rice daily. This is something to think about when planning for longer term use, variety is the spice (or sweets) of life.
Baking Oils
Baking Oils are items that are frequently overlooked when planning a prepper pantry. You may not realize how much you use these, until you don’t have them on hand! Oils are so important! From the classic Olive Oil, to Avocado Oil, Ghee, Coconut Oil and more. Stock up on whatever oils you prefer, maybe even a variety.
Lentils & Beans
Have you heard “live off rice and beans (and lentils)”? This is a power combo! The two are the best balance of Carbohydrates/Protein/Fats macros you can get, when paired together. They are often quite simple to make, all you need is water (see item number 1) and heat, which could be your stove or an open fire. These two items paired together, can have so many variants and ways to enjoy, provided you included those items in your pantry too! Make it more nutrient dense and diverse with bone broth!
WHITE rice
Whhhhhaaattt???? Yes, white, not brown. Brown rice contains too much oil to store long term, it will go rancid in about 6mth to a year. White rice, on the other hand, is shelf stable. When stored in an airtight container or mylar bag, with some oxygen absorbers, it’s good for decades. Now that white rice is the perfect pairing to those beans and lentils you have above. (Don’t forget your spices, oils and broths to add a little pizzaz to your beans and rice).
Canned Goods
Although every canned good will have a date on it, these dates are simply for their ideal perfected freshness date. It’s officially stated now, that canned goods have a forever shelf life (won’t go rancid) provided the cans integrity is maintained. Cans don’t even need perfect stable temperatures, stay out of sunlight, nothing! (While it is ideal to keep the nutritional content extended, it will still be edible when you open it). So stock up! Whatever items float your boat! Best to be diverse and have meats, fruits, veggies, soups, etc. Add a few cans each time you shop and you’ll fine you have a good back stock for security.
Canned Goods Tips: Another great way to add more protein, outside of beans, is canned meat. Look for the cans with meat you already eat. It’s not the time to see if you like sardines or not, if you’ve never had them. If you’re getting tuna, look for those packed in oil, as you can strain the oil to reuse for another dish (yes, it will keep some fishy taste, but it’s oil nonetheless).
We all know in an emergency situation, we need something sweet as a comfort. But those cookies in a box just aren’t going to stick around for decades and really won’t serve you well anyways. That’s where canned fruit comes in. You can look for canned fruit packed in water, as it’s what keeps the fruits most natural sweetness, vs packed in syrups which add sweetness in the syrup and take it from the fruit. If you find you need a little more “umph”, try adding in some pie fillings! No one said you needed the crust to enjoy it during an emergency. Open sesame!
Prepper Pantry Round Up
While we could keep this list going for days, this is just meant to be a quick start to get you going. We will be adding more content to expand on this soon enough, (if you see links, they’re added) on topics like:
- Bug Out Bag
- Bug In Bag
- Car Bag
- First Aid Items
- Food Prep Tools
- Self Sufficiency Books
- Must Have Tools
- How to Store Long Term
- How to Organize Your Food & Pantries
- Different Ways to Store Food
- Water! Water! Water!
- Items You Didn’t Know You Needed – Self Sufficency
- Emergency Kits
So much more! While this all can be overwhelming as many start this journey for the first time, just remember, with just the mindset of being ready for anything, you’re already miles ahead of those not paying attention.
If you’re looking for more, head over to the MSP Storefront for more suggestions.
You know we love your feedback and would love to hear what your must have list is for your prepper pantry, share in the comments below! Especially as so many have different dietary requirements, it’s great to see what variety there is out there.
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