Iron Rations on the cheap

What exactly are Iron Rations? They are typically an emergency
food supply kept for situation when normal food will be unavailable
for a limited time. Generally they a food stuffs that have a long
shelf life and do not require refrigeration and require little if
any preparation.

Some examples of Iron Rations are:

Beef jerky
Most persevered sausages such as summer sausages or the
more common "snack"sausages like Slim Jims.
Canned meats like Spam, corned beef, tuna and deviled ham.
Dried vegetables and fruits
Most nuts (No, not your rarely seen family members and friends.)
Various hard cheeses and even some modern processed cheeses.
Rice
Noodles and pastas in general
Chocolate
Hard candies
Granola and cereal bars. This could include Power Bars.
Hard baked breads such as crackers, bread sticks, and old
fashioned hard tack*.

* Hard Tack is basically just plain flour and water and maybe
a little salt that has been formed into large cracker sized squares
and baked long enough to remove the water leaving it very hard
and dry. Normally it was soaked in water to soften it before eating.
Soldiers have at times referred to hard tack as "toothbreakers"
for good reason.

A lot of people tend to make the mistake of thinking that they
need to worry about suffering the effects of malnutrition when
considering emergency foodsupplies. You have to take into account
that Iron Rations are not meant to be used for long periods of time.
As a general rule, Iron Rations should provide enough food for roughly
72 hours. This can be stretched an extra 24 or 48 hours if the situation
dictates it.


Here we have an example of a days worth of emergency food.

The food you see above is a not final list of what you need,
just my personal preference. All together what you see above
will provide roughly 2000 calories for one person for one day.
While it may not be the ideal food it will keep you moving and
can be eaten a little at time to ensure that you have energy all
day. My own "Iron Rations" are based loosely on the old military
K Rations.

Now lets look at it group by group...


Meat, beans, and nuts

Meat, beans, and nuts provide both basic protein and needed
fat to your diet or so they told me in school. Canned meats
and beans will generally be good for at least a year after they
are purchased but I would recommend rotating older cans out
about every six months to ensure that your supplies are as
fresh as possible. Nuts can be a little trickier though, always check
the packaging to ensure they will edible at least three to six months
from the day you buy them. Some will store better than others, so
take your time when selecting them.


Breakfast is served.

Granola and cereal grain bars can make for a quick breakfast
or light snacks though the day so make sure you keep a few
close to hand. I prefer the crunchy granola bars because they
can be broken up into a cup of hot water with a small pack of
raisins to make a quick oatmeal for a hot breakfast.


One of mankind's oldest dried fruits

A few snack sized boxes of raisins can provide more nutrients
than you might think. Additionally you may want to consider
other dried fruits like dehydrated apples or prunes for a little
variety. Though it has been my experience that dehydrated
apples will have a less than desirable flavor unless you dry
them at home.


They aren't hard tack but they'll last a surprising length of time in storage

Plain saltines and snack crackers will last a long time and
generally can be eaten as is or added to soups and stews to
thicken them. The snack crackers pictured above are cheddar
cheese with peanut butter I was looking over their nutritional
info and was surprised to find that the peanut butter variety
had a few more calories than the cheese variety. The idea here
is to pack as many calories into as small an area as is possible,
so avoid low cal anything.


A quick and simple way to produce a hot meal.

While they are not essential, ramen noodles can offer you
the option of a hot meal that takes only a minimum of fuss
to prepare. After you have eaten cold food for a couple of
days even a bowl or large cup of hot noodles be a morale
boost.


Tea has a long shelf life and can make boiled water taste a lot better.

Boiled water as a rule is tasteless. Tea, bullion cubes, or instant
coffee can make it a lot more palatable. The bullion cubes can
also be used to make a quick broth that can have beef jerky, rice,
or ramen noodles added to it. The peppermint disks are a good
source of condensed sugar for adding to tea and they can be used
for a quick boost of energy by themselves.


They're not essential but they will make bland food more palatable

Condiments aren't an essential but you might want to consider
a few packs of ketchup, mustard, soy sauce, or hot sauce to
add some extra flavor to your emergency food.




Reference Material:
First World War.com - Encyclopedia
Trench Food
Vivres de Réserve -- France's Iron Ration in World War 1
K-ration - Wikipedia

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