Benefits of Dried Food Preps

There are huge benefits of dried food preps, find out how and why you should do this. Dried food is around 11% of its original weight. Therefore, 100 pounds of food can be more easily carried when it is at around 11 pounds after being dried.

Imagine having a gear bag with 1000 pounds of food in it, but only weighing around 110 pounds. Just add water to reconstitute it.

That’s powerful with respect to food storage mobility. We must also consider which dried foods we are storing in regards to protein and nutrition.

We must stop thinking by merely accounting for the number of calories a particular food item offers. There are such food items that are called “empty calories” because they have very little nutritional value.

Best Survival Food List

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Amino Acids

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In the long run, this lack of nutrition will greatly affect your health and ability to survive. Make sure your dried food stores are rich in green leaf matter, protein, and amino acids.

These amino acids are the building blocks for cells. Dried foods like Moringa are high in nutrition. Dried foods like hemp are high in protein and amino acids, along with important fiber for intestinal health.

Seeds like Chia and Flax are high in omega–3 fatty acids and other nutrients. Amaranth is another great food source. The seeds can be saved as a food source and double in value when planted to grow more food, in the event of having to start a new life from scratch in the future.

Many spices and herbs have nutritional value and are beneficial for treating inflammation, infections, and more. Beans are a dry food source, but are heavier than green leaf matter, with respect to their volume and weight to nutrition ratio, and also in regards to their aiding in the body’s natural processes.

Green leaf matter and nutritious seeds are a better prep for many reasons over beans and rice, which are both much heavier and less nutritious.

Canned Food

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Let’s address canned food and preserved food. We store canned Salmon and coconut milk for more protein and healthy fats.

Fat is necessary for the brain and body, but only healthy fats. Each can of coconut milk weighs 13.5 ounces. Ten of these cans is around 8.5 pounds.

If I processed that amount of weight into dry form, it would weigh less than one pound. Canned food adds up fast in weight very fast. It’s good for a stationary food source and to take some in bug-out for supplementary food to add to a diet, but not as the only food source.

The weight of canned/preserved food adds up and will weigh down your vehicle. One-hundred 13.5 ounce cans are almost 85-pounds, versus the highly nutritious green matter where 85-pounds of dry is 850-pounds of food when reconstituted.

Just add water. You need water, so just add it to your dry food before you eat it, and get both food and water.

This is a very simple and rational way to prep for nutritional stability and mobility with the most amount of food in a bug-out situation. Loading weight has to be of consideration for any preppers that are assessing bug-out protocols. The average car can only carry four people and 300-500 pounds of cargo.

Long-Term Viability

While dried meats can spoil over time even if kept sealed if temperatures are not kept within a specific range. The freeze-dried meats that are sold say that they are good for 25 years, but that is only if they are kept below 75 degrees. This can complicate things when you must go mobile for whatever reason requires you to do so.

Most highly nutritious dried green matter can lose flavor, but not value as a food source. Seeds have been found to be still viable after centuries in tombs that were uncovered by archaeologists.

Amaranth had disappeared from some regions of the world because it was forbidden to be grown for some crazy reasons. It has been making a comeback in recent years and is very highly nutritious.

If you want stable long-term food sources, go with dehydrated or freeze-dried green matter and seeds of good nutritional value and omega-3 fatty acids. As long as the hard shell is not broken, it will stay viable for a long period of time and can be used to grow more.

Volume/Size

Dehydrated and freeze-dried foods take up less space. Beans and rice, or canned food, is bulky and therefore take up more space than dried tomatoes, peppers, green leaf matter, and smaller/dense seeds.

That means you can store and carry more nutrition, protein, and calories with dried food. We can fit over 1000 pounds of food in a large gear bag. Of course, it is dried and only weighs 110 pounds.

When we add water, it will expand as it reconstitutes. You should get the point by now. You can carry more water if you lower the weight of your food.

Summary

Dehydrated and freeze-dried food is lighter, smaller in volume, and if the appropriate foods are chosen, very highly nutritious and very tasty as well. Remember that dried food is around 11% of its original weight when the moisture is removed and the nutrients are locked into the cells of the item.

Eleven-pounds of dried food in your backpack is 110 pounds of food to keep you going a long time, especially if you ration it well. Just add water and enjoy.