What would you say if I told you that there were four , readily available relatively cheap , storable foods that when combined could keep you alive for a year ? "Bulldust!" most likely, but its true . The following four foods in the ratios described will provide an adult with enough fodder to keep him (or her) going for a year . For children the diet lacks essential fats so 20 - 25 Kg of vegetable oil or edible fat needs to be included per child per year .
| Food | Amount / Person / Year |
| Wheat | 140 Kg |
| Honey or Sugar | 30 Kg |
| Powdered Milk | 35 Kg |
| Salt | 3 Kg |
1. Whole Wheat - This should be hard winter wheat with as low a moisture content and as high a protein content as possible , greater than 12% if possible . In practice , however , this information will not necessarily be forthcoming from the person you buy your wheat from as they may not know , but if you buy your wheat in late spring there is a good chance it will be winter wheat .
Wheat tends to become weevil infested over time so it does need some treatment before it goes into stores . To store wheat it is generally recommended that painted steel be used because it is both weevil and rat proof . There are no rats in our area so I use 20 to 25 litre plastic carboys or "cubes" because they do not rust and I have had wheat stored this way for over fifteen years with no problems .
To foil weevils I put in a cupful or two of dry ice pellets into the bottom of the container . The dry ice vapourises releasing carbon dioxide gas which , being heavier than air fills the container and displacing the air . The wheat is then poured in on top of the pellets and the top screwed on loosely so the CO2 can escape . After a couple of hours the lids can be screwed up tight but keep an eye on the containers and loosen the lid if the pressure starts to build up again. Wheat preserved in this manner will last indefinitely.
Wheat has a myriad of uses , it can be ground to make flour and turned into bread , pasta ,gluten products sourdough etc or used whole to grow sprouts or cook up as a cereal , the list is endless . To make maximum use of your stored wheat (and other stores ) you should obtain a copy of the book "Passport To Survival" by Esther Dickey . You also need a grain grinder to reduce the whole wheat to the more digestible flour .
Again the big point is to try wheat recipes now while failure and wastage is not critical . As an example of this approach , I had heard that you can make a breakfast cereal out of wheat grains by boiling them up and putting them in a thermos to cook in the stored heat overnight . The next morning the wheat is strained and added to a bowl , throw in some milk and sugar and Bobs-your-auntie , hot breakfast . Too good to be true you might say and that's what I found , I know people who eat it on a regular basis but I found it to be tasteless , floury and generally unpleasant. So what I am
saying is to try these things now and work out what does and doesn't work for your family before things get critical.
The nutrition behind the use of the wheat base is very sound . There are plenty of goodies locked away within the humble wheat grain , a useful mix of protein , carbohydrates ( sugars , starches and fibre ) fats , vitamins and minerals . Thus it is not good idea to replace wheat with say white rice which is a source of carbohydrates only , although that is not to say that white rice should not be stored in addition to wheat .
2. Honey or Sugar - Provides easily utilized energy as well as the sweet taste in our diet that we are used to, children in particular need to replace the energy that they burn by regular inputs. The choice between honey and sugar is largely personal taste , honey contains iron and some B vitamins not present in sugar but the flavour is different and it contains some water so it is less concentrated than sugar . Both will last indefinitely in storage although honey tends to go crystalline or candied in cold weather , it can be returned to its original condition by warming it up . Perhaps the
best idea is to have a mixture of both energy sources in your storage program
3. Powdered Milk -This is the most expensive component of the big four and has the shortest life in storage . The type of powdered milk that has the longest storage life is non - instant and non - fat and to ensure it lasts in storage as long as possible it should be packaged in steel tins or foil . If you buy your powdered milk in 25 Kg paper sacks ( the cheapest way kilo for kilo ) it should be repacked into steel or thick polythene airtight , watertight containers . The containers should , as far as possible , be stored in a dry dark place with an even , cool temperature. Under such
conditions the powdered milk should last for 7 years , but over time it may darken and develop off flavours so it should be checked regularly . The way around this of course is to rotate your stocks by using the oldest powdered milk before it goes off and then replacing it .
Powdered milk is a source of calcium and protein and is very versatile , it can be used in cooking , baking ,with cold cereal , as a drink and with the appropriate starter , yoghurt .
4. Salt - Yes , that evil white powder that everyone warns you about is actually an essential part of your diet . Plant foods are rich in potassium salts but contain little or no sodium (except certain seaweeds ) so a diet based primarily on these foods can result in a lack of sodium . Most people in Australia have a varied diet and we could get all the sodium we need from processed foods so in most cases extra salt is unnecessary . On a survival diet , probably accompanied by hard work , however our salt levels would need replenishing on a regular basis so this vital component of the four should not be forgotten .
Salt has a multitude of uses , it can be used as a cleaner for crockery , pots and pans or your teeth , as a solution it can be used to clean wounds (boil to sterilize first) or as eye drops . It can be taken in water to prevent cramps brought on by excess sweating , it can be used to preserve food and if that's not enough you can still put it in your soup to liven it up a bit . Salt is very cheap to buy and is available from produce merchants , catering and bulk food suppliers and some Asian groceries in 25 Kg bags . It will keep indefinitely and requires no special storage procedures other than to keep it dry . Do keep it away from iron and steel though, it tends to promote rust!
So there it is , a diet that is relatively cheap to buy , has a long storage life and is readily available now . The trouble is that we Aussies are used to a bit of variety in our diet and for all its obvious advantages it corners the market in BLAND ! For this reason many people store other foodstuffs in addition to the minimum survival diet , this will also increase the length of time you can last on your stores .
