Summer is the time for adventure! That means camping, hiking, rock climbing and…staying alive if you get lost! OK, hopefully you don’t get lost, but if you’re an outdoor enthusiast, you should be carrying these foods just in case you’re gone for a while. Here are 10 foods that could save your life in the wild.
Nut Butter
With nearly 200 calories in just two tablespoons of peanut butter, eight grams of protein and a whopping 16 grams of fat, one 16-ounce jar of this stuff could supply you with enough calories for several days.
When you have to fast before an operation, you’re allowed to eat Jell-o and that’s because the water content makes you feel full. Jell-o mixes take up almost no room in your backpack and with clean water and a pot, you could make a huge batch of the stuff and satiate yourself until you find real food.
Milk powder is packed with protein, vitamins and minerals, and even has a high carbohydrate content, which will come in handy if you’re hiking and get lost in the woods. It weighs about a tenth of liquid milk and is unperishable.
Buckwheat can last up to 10 years and one cup contains 583 calories, a whopping 23 grams of protein (almost enough for a day) and 17 grams of super-filling fiber. What’s great is that you can eat it without cooking it. Just soak it in water for at least an hour.
Coconut oil has no protein or fiber, but it’s loaded with healthy fats and has 117 calories per tablespoon. It can last up to two years and when you’re starving in the woods, a few tablespoons of this will sustain you for a while.
Be sure to get the type with the lid you can open by hand, since you might not have a can opener handy when you’re lost. Tuna is packed with protein and healthy fats.
If worst comes to worst and all you have on you is some hard candy, it could stave off your hunger for a bit longer. Simply the act of masticating tells our brain that we are taking in nutrients, and can trick your stomach into believing you fed it…at least for a little while.
You might be a vegetarian or a health enthusiast, but you’ll have to put that aside if you’re lost in the wilderness. Lard can keep for two to three years, packs the high calories you’ll need when lost, and can be used to cook many of the other foods you’re packing.
Cornmeal is not only packed with carbohydrates, but you can make cornmeal-based bread on a simple skillet over fire. It also lasts longer than refined flours.