Compact source of Calories for BOB/Large Survival Kit

Qew71

Qew71

Joined
Dec 4, 2000
Messages
169
Ok, try this on for size:

Lots of people have discussed, to great lengths, about starting fires and catching food, etc... What IF for the first 48hrs, foraging/trapping/hunting/fishing wasn't an option? What IF you NEEDED to include a very compact, durable and hopefully rich source of calories in your kit? What options do you have?

That the human body can go a long way without food has been documented in many books and articles. Chris Ryan in his book 'The One That Got Away' for instance, went for a week on just a couple of biscuits.

Is there an optimum mix for this food; like, X% protein, X% fat, X% Coke (the Real thing, not diet), or X% chocolate??? ANy nutritionists on board?

So anyone have any ideas, recommendations or opinions on this topic? Something small, durable (maybe even leave in a kit for a year) and high in calories.

One of the assumptions is that the kit should be fairly small; I'm thinking of a Blackhawk drop-leg med-pack (planning to buy one for a combo first-aid/survival kit). No point suggesting huge ration packs that'll require a backpack to carry.

Another assumption is that water will either be taken care of itself or is of such primary importance that getting H2O is more important than getting food (therefore food will have to come from the kit). Make up whatever scenarios you like, but the point is... What magic twinkie should go in the kit?
 
Lifeboat rations might fit your needs. They're designed for long term storage under varying environmental conditions, and have a relatively high caloric content (400 per bar). One brand is mainstay, thy are available in 2400 or 3600 calorie packages, and supposedly taste like lemon cake. There is another brand that makes them in variety packs. I've been thinking about getting a few for the car. Oh, Datrex is the other brand.

Horace Kepharts book "Camping and Woodcraft" has a good section about survival rations. It's a bit dated (form the '20s) but interesting reading.

Food is far less of a priority than water, though. After all, the average person can probably go for a few weeks without food, and only 3 days without water. Less in hot or dry conditions.

Pat
 
Originally posted by Outdoors
Food is far less of a priority than water, though. After all, the average person can probably go for a few weeks without food, and only 3 days without water. Less in hot or dry conditions.
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Point noted Pat.

just bear with me and assume that given limited resources of time and energy, you can only make the effort to find one or the other... maybe you have an injured companion who cannot travel or move around too much (broken ankle).

apart from lifeboat rations, anything else? btw, how bulky are they?
 
Powerbars aren't bad, and they keep relatively well under a wide variety of temperatures. If you switched 'em out every year or so, you'd probably be all set. Caloric content isn't real high (240?), but half a dozen pack up about the size of a paperback book and would probably keep you okay for 48 hours.

Something else to consider, if only because it keeps well, is commercially available beef jerky. Lightweight, though bulky in the commerical bags. You can also make your own and package it using one of those home shrink-wrappers. Tasty too.

You could also think about making your own pemmican...I've seen recipes for it in several backpacking magazines. Not a healthfood, due to the large amounts of fat involved, but high in calories, with a reasonably long shelf-life (months).
 
Along with a few 'Clif bars' in my BOB, I keep most of the ingredients for pemmican, but I don't grind up the jerky and really make pemmican. I store a bag of dried apricots, a squeeze jar of olive oil (instead of real beef tallow) and jerky. Food pack includes cashew/M&M gorp, instant oatmeal, pine nut/parmesan couscous, bullion, dry onion soup, bulgar, tea bags, cocoa, bourbon, spices, beans and rice.
 
Originally posted by Qew71


Point noted Pat.

just bear with me and assume that given limited resources of time and energy, you can only make the effort to find one or the other... maybe you have an injured companion who cannot travel or move around too much (broken ankle).

apart from lifeboat rations, anything else? btw, how bulky are they?
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I think it's an area worth exploring. Food if nothing else makes you feel better under stressful situations. And the situation you describe is always a possibility.

Lifeboat rations look to be about 1" thick and 6" square or so. Weight about 1.5#. Here's a photo from the walton feed site.

http://waltonfeed.com/mainstay.html

Other options might be:
Traditional - the pemmican already suggested or:
Jerky and parched corn

Power bars, cliff bars, or my favorite - Pemmican bars. Alot like cliff bars, but naturally based, 400 calories, a bit bigger than an altoids box. None of these are really designed for long term storage, but if you rotate them out every few months, they should be ok. I try to keep them in my bag (I carry it into the office and back into the house), but they get eaten after a few days. Some of the mountain biker sites have recipes for home made bars/energy drinks.

Cheap eats: Stuff from the bulk isle - couscous, instant rice, hard crackers, . Add condiments. To get calories, you'll have to add something to it - I suggest peanut butter. Stores well, cheap, and available in small, unbreakable plastic jars. Nuts are another alternative. For sugars and bulk, you can add dried fruit.

Dried milk in individual packets. Dried milk, honey and peanut butter can be combined to make a tasty "dough" that has carbs, protein, carbs and fat. My wife makes it for the kids at her preschool. It will keep at least a week at home on the counter, but I'm not sure how much longer. It all get's eaten by then :)

Tang. Basically sugar and vitamin C, but it tastes OK, and mixes quickly. There's dehydrated gatoraide/gookinade, too.

Two books that might also suggest good ideas:
The Well Fed Backpacker
This has a recipe for a bread that tastes like rasin date bread ('cause it is) but can be dried and kept for long periods. It's called Logan Bread, you may find recipes in other places or on the 'net, too.

Also, Sierra Club has a cookbook for hikers, I forget the name.

Sorry for the rambling, hope this gives you a few ideas.
Pat
 
I've been very happy with lifeboat rations. You can also get the individual bars individually-packaged, which costs a bit more, but makes 'em handy for emergency snack food in the car - you don't have to open a whole pack.

The kids love 'em, they're filling, and not too expensive. I usually keep at least a few days worth in each car, and 2 days worth in each BOB.
 
Though you might be able to survive for a while without food, it really can help a lot in a survival situation. It can calm you down, help you think more clearly, slow down exhaustion, raise your morale and your will, and simply make you more comfortable.

I used to carry around an emergency jar of peanut butter. When I got into tough situations, the first thing I did was sit down and eat my emergency jar of peanut butter. It made me a wiser man when I needed to rely on my wits to survive.

If you are simply looking for the most compact source of calories: it's fat. It's pretty much the same amount of calories per volume/weight, no matter what kind of fat you choose. I'd recommend olive oil or hemp oil in a sqeeze bottle. (I actually enjoy drinking straight vegetable oil, but I know that's not normal.) Chicken fat has a nice flavor, too.

Whatever kind of fat you choose, keep it in an airtight, lightproof container--preferably totally oxygen-free, and cool. In any case, replace your fat supply often. Even if the taste remains pretty much the same for a while, the healthfulness and nutritional value will deteriorate significantly after a few weeks.

It's probably worth giving up some compactness for more balanced nutrition. Pemmican, Powerbars, and the like are pretty good.

My choice, these days, is bodybuilding meal replacement drinks, in powdered form. (They also come in bars which look and taste like a mediocre candy bar; but those are heavier and bulkier per quanta of nutrition.) These are excellent nutrition, with no moisture, fiber, or any other kind of filler to take up excess weight and bulk. I like Biochem's TMX, EAS's Myoplex Deluxe, and TwinLab's Mass Fuel. They come in lots of flavors, most commonly chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry. They last damn near forever. You can find these in nutritional supplement stores, or order them over the internet.
 
I once went into GNC with this exact question. They where very helpfull. The average diet is 2000 calories a day, but weightlifters eat a hell of a lot more to "bulk up." There are a number of concentrated high calorie products on the market that should be more than adequite for keeping you alive a couple days.
While I was there, I also bought some instant water, but I couldn't figure out what to add. Keep in mind these guys are on a commision, and won't hesitate to rip you off.
 
I forgot to mention 'bisquick/bannock' mix, Nutella and honey, and 'aplets & cotlets' in the BOB. I keep most of the dry bulky stuff zipbagged and stored in Nalgene waterbottles.
 
Originally posted by Evolute
Though you might be able to survive for a while without food, it really can help a lot in a survival situation. It can calm you down, help you think more clearly, slow down exhaustion, raise your morale and your will, and simply make you more comfortable...
I actually enjoy drinking straight vegetable oil, but I know that's not normal.)

LOL dude... I REALLY don't think that's normal... hehehe BUT I have tried drinking olive oil neat before. This was after reading Peter Mayle in his books about Provence... apparently, it's a local practice to down a shot of olive oil a day to 'lubricate your insides'... hmmm... I tried it but it was too weird for me... and I felt nauseous afterwards... and it was extra virgin olive oil so I thought it had to be lighter and thus easier to drink... NOT!

Another point of note about oils. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to keep oils for any extended periods... I was having a chat with a doctor friend who's a real health nut and very into nutritional science. He was explaining about free radicals and so on and I recall him mentioning that oils over time will oxidise and produce free radicals so (and here's his point) if you keep olive oil for too long, the presence of free radicals will cancel out whatever beneficial effects you expect to gain from consuming olive oil.

(not that that's REALLY relevant to the survival situation but it was kinda related. AND my paraphrasing may be very liberal and I may have gotten some terms wrong... If someone knows the process better, please correct me)

I think the health food/bodybuilding supplement is a nice idea... I'll head to GNC tomorrow to see what's available.

I have one concern about preparing my own 'trail food' especially if I'm gonna be keeping it in a kit for many many months on end. I'm really paranoid about food poisoning. Ziploc baggies are great but they are not 100% airtight over time. And even small amounts of bacteria/fungus/mould/alien spores can fester and grow over time till it's a poisonous glob when you need it. And hell, getting a nasty diarrhoea in a survival situation is no fun at all... not to mention nausea, dizziness, dehydration, etc.

That being said, can anyone suggest any ways to pack self-prepared food? I don't think jars are practical (too bulky, heavy, fragile and they don't fit in my medical bag). Food preparation tips would be helpful.

And any more ideas for food?

p/s personally I like the peanut butter idea.... hehehehe and the nutella one too... but they finish too damn fast *burp*
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You asked about ratios. I try to take food that provides 3 to 4 times as much carbohydrate as protien. This is recommended for people who are engaging in strenuous activities as it maximizes your body's ability to recover quickly and to reduce muscle soreness.

However, in a survival situation like you describe I'd not even take protein into consideration. You want easy energy, and fast. So look on the nutrition labels and take whatever has the highest content.

Compare carb content per weight unit to see which has more packed into it ounce-for-ounce so that your BOB packs more wallop for less weight. Of course if the carb contest is a tie, then consider your other nutrients (mainly protien) to determine the winner.

For self-prepared foods, look into vacuum-sealers. You can do it at home and still be safe.

Good thread!

cv
 
I have cliff bars, peanuts and a 16oz jar of 5 grain oatmeal can be made in 5 minutes. I also have tea and vitamins.

candy and soda would take more from your body than give.
 
The best high calorie food is canned DOG FOOD! I'm serious. It's nutritionally balanced and doesn't really taste that bad. It has a long shelf life, and contains a lot of moisture. So you sort of kill two birds with one stone. Especially if finding water is troublesome.

Plus, you get to use the can opener on your SAK or plier-tool. Talk about fun.
 
Let's get a few things straight here. Nutritional value degrades very little in stored foods, if they are stored right. Fats/oils may develop an off flavor due to oxidative rancidity but almost all the nutritional value is still there. There is a large myth out there that stored foods lose nutrition. It is true that some water soluble vitamins may degrade a bit but where does the fat, protein, and carbohydrate go? Wheat found in the preserved storage sites of the pharoahs in Egypt had little change in nutritional value. The moisture level had declined to the point it wouldn't sprout, but was good to eat!

I once had a non-technical type (nothing wrong with being one as long as you know you are one) tell me that wheat stored over 5 years was as useless to eat, nutritionally, as dry pine needles on the forest floor. He was telling this to a bunch of people who had stored some wheat for emergencies. He was dead wrong. It caused some of the people to throw their stored wheat and replace it. Lot's of money down the drain!

Fat provides about 9 kilocalories per gram. Protein and carbohydrates provide about 4/5 kcal/g. Except under extreme emergencies -- and I suppose a bug out bag is an emergency, you shouldn't exceed 30% of your calories from fat (according to the Army's Surgeon General). While an Army Officer, I worked with Natick Labs on a very calorie dense food for survival/emergency/future warfare. Several candidates were beef jerky or a cereal bar that was infused (in a vacuum) with a high fat cheese, peanut butter, or yogurt type sauce. The problem with these is they exceeded the 30% calories from fat edict and we had to drop the concept.

Hope this helps.

Bruce Woodbury
Senior Food Scientist
 
wire edge,

dog food is grounded up animals that have been put to sleep from the shelter. not to mention other parts from the butcher shop.

but go ahead

I will look for wild plants before I do that!
 
chrisaolia, I hope you meant that as a joke because if you really believe that you are one of the many who perpetuate the "urban myths" of this world.

Even hot dogs are made to such standards that they wouldn't be allowed out the door. It is true that hot dogs are made to very tight specifications to ensure their lowest cost to produce. If they tried to use all manner of scraps, they would cost more to produce, and therefore provide less profit.
 
Thanks for backing me up Bruce.

I believe dog food is fully cooked to ensure the safety of your prized pooch. Heck, I've eaten it, and some of it was better than the Union food at a college campus! And, believe it or not, I'm still here to type this story. I didn't even aquire a tapeworm to keep me company on lonely nights.

If I was hungry, I'd eat the ass out of a skunk, before I starved to death. Maybe Chrisaloia has never been truly hungry, or thirsty for that matter. I can guarantee that dog food would look awfully darn tempting around your third day without food.
 
I am sorry if I am perpetuating urban myths but I did hear it on NPR news radio. I will try to did up some facts if I can't I will take it back.

as for being hungry I fast for 5 days once a year at least only drinking water. and after that I still wouldn't eat dog food!
 
Thought I'd mention another concentrated source of calories, it's GHEE, a type of clarified butter that's had all the solids removed. You can do a web seach and find recipes/techniques to make your own, or find jars in any Indian food store. Ghee has a very long shelf life in the jar or squirtbottle, doesn't need refridgeration. Ghee's good but I personally prefer olive oil
I saw someone mentioned that oils can go rancid. They can indeed so I replace nuts and oils once a year.
 
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