Portable, Non Refrigerated Food List

Scenario: Cant cook, have water and traveling for a week. Need a weeks worth of food that doesn't require refrigeration.

Here is my list ...What would you add?

Non-Refrigerated Foods
PROTEIN
Peanut butter (or any nut butter)
Cheese (cheese whiz)
Cured meats
Jerky
Nuts Seeds
Cheese crisps
Cold fried chicken
Single serving tuna
Potted meat
Canned soup
Canned beans

CARBS
Crackers
Muffins
Bread
Tortillas
Naan
Granola
Potato chips
Pretzels (cover in chocolate for dessert)
Fruit leather
Fruit cups
Wasabi peas
Apple sauce
Instant noodles
Rice noodles
Vegtables (brocolli, cauliflower, carrots, peppers, tomatoes are good for a few days without refrigeration)

MRE’s (i put this because its obvious but pretend we are not using MRE's)
Condiments (mayo, ketchup, mustard)
butter

 

Eggs

 

"Cold fried chicken" Nyet! Can make for sick or dead Comrade...

Chicken breast in a foil pack Da!

I'm a fan of so-called food bars -
make them yourself for the savings. Or buy commercial foil-packed bars.

Instant noodles & rice both require cooking to be...eatable.
That said, the folks at Tasty Bites (and Unka Ben) sell cooked rice in a pouch. You can cold-soak minute rice for the same effect and lower cost (shudder)

Speaking of pouched Chow, there is a ton of offering from Pace and Prego (both are a Campbell's sub-brand)
They are better heated in microwave or water bath, but in a pinch...use defroster setting in Das Auto and set the pouch over the vent - it works pretty good.

Apple sauce - good. There are multiple "GoGo" brand 'stuff in a squeeze pouch' that are both tasty and contain real food. They offer a yogurt line as well. I use these myself and so can vouch for them being eatable.
(Pro tip, the empty pouches can be washed and used to hold dish washing soap or people washing soap)

Pita bread = tortillas = Naan = Chow

The folks at Bridgford sells a line of sandwich in a pouch (very MRE-Like) that can be heated just by leaving them in the window/sunshine to heat. Not bad, but more bread than filling.

Pop-tarts (ick, but popular)

Cheeze-whiz (death in a can) isn't necessary. Any hard, wax covered cheese is a better choice, to include Baby Bell snak sized cheese.

Taking nuts? Make GORP with raisins - or dried canberries - .peanuts, cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds and raisins. .

Dried figs, dried apples, dried... well, just about everything these days.

I now carry freeze-dry coffee with the creamer and sugar in a sachet. You can dump this in a water bottle, shake and have your caffeine fix...

Any number of dry mixes (low to zero calorie) make water more palatable. (products like Mio also make a coffee flavor with caffeine that is not too bad) There are any number of 'water drops' to flavor water as well.

Somewhere on the board here, I've posted a fairly long list of no-cook Chow for if/when one must beat feet.

 

Can't cook at all ? How will you deal with canned soup and some of that other stuff that is far better heated than not ? No coffee/tea/coccoa ?
Not hard to throw a small sterno stove in the pile.

 

I have a tough time imagining a scenario where I can't cook for a week, but lots of the items on the list are super high in sodium. If you don't eat a diet like this all the time you might want to test the health affects. Any way you work the food you'll need plenty of water and more when eating salty foods and stuff like cheese and bread that could lock your bowels up and make you miserable.

My work food usually fits this criteria. Apples, bananas, precooked bacon, Altoids (dessert), Cocoa pecans, Prairie Belt Smoked Sausage (can), smoked oysters, pork cracklins, canned chicken salad (DG brand). Mostly stuff I can eat with my fingers or on the point of a knife without taking my eyes off the firing line for more than a couple seconds.

 

I eat very low carbs & dont eat “grains/sugar” so the second part of that list would be scrapped to leave space for more protein & fats.

My list would look something like this.... Nothing that needs cooked or refrigerated or glass packaging (cause you know.. theres the tripping and the breaking.... followed by the bleeding...... )

Tinned sardines in olive oil
Tinned Salmon.
Smoked oysters
Boiled duck eggs.
Precooked bacon
Hard cheeses
Jerky
Droewors
Biltong
Butter &/or Gee (keeps better than butter if its hot out)
Macadamia/Pecan/almond nuts &/or butters
Pine nuts
Pemican
Dark chocolate
Lots of cured meats like Salami, chorizo, pepperoni etc.
Olives
Avocados & lime
Himalayan pink or celtic sea salt)
Coconut cream blocks
Cocoa butter & cocoa mass drops (can eat as is or if your lucky & can boil water, add alone or with some coconut cream for hot chocolate. (Bring preferred sweetener if you want it sweet) Or pair with nut butters.
Pickles

Possibly some Bone broth (you can get good ones in the shelf safe “boxes” but its expensive, cheaper ones usually have crappy ingredients added, at least the ones ive found)

if factoring hubby into the equation then add coffee, dried or uht cream and stevia sweetener, and figure out a way to have hot water cause am sure he'd expire without his coffee fix LOL

 

High caloric density, high protein and high fat foods only would be on my list.
sardines / herring / salmon in pulltab cans
pouched meats single serving with salmon being first.
other canned meats (pull tab preferred)
nut butters
cheese
jerky / pemmican
dried fruits/veggies, nuts, chocolate
maybe beans.
sport drink powders to add to the water.

Hey, it's only a week I don't need a salad.

 

Life boat rations.
Light, storage times out to decades.
Do not make you thirsty!.
They're not high one the calorie count, so best used for relatively sedentary situations. But they'll keep you alive.

 

Though they aren't foods, don't forget vitamins - stressful times increases your needs. Same with goes for your favorite analgesics. Also, for drink mixes I'd get ones that have electrolytes.

 

DKR in # 5 suggested using auto defrost setting to heat foods. MANY (read that MANY) yeas ago Pop Mech's printed a tutorial on using car exhaust manifold to cook on the road meals while vacationing. Cat convertor gets hot also, (but less accessible)..

 

I can do canned soup cold if i have too. Its not too tasty but doable.


@DKR i looked for a post like that and couldnt find it. Love to see it if someone can find it.

 

My folks and many of my aunts and uncles did this. I wish I had paid more attention.

 

Life boat rations.................................CRAP

Laughing Cow Cheese IS very good

 

Spam and Ramen noodles! Not the best but it will keep you alive.

 

You can also , in the fall , or winter time ,, place your hot canned beer in the grill of your car , truck ,,, and in about 15-20 minutes of driving , you've got cold beer . Or soda's ,, if that's your choice .