There are so many nutritional foods and ways to store them that it gets to be confusing sometimes on what to save first.Do you go for vitamin c? Protein? Calories? The list goes on and on. And if you aren't lucky enough to have a garden some things are just not very affordable. (Please try to have at least a small garden next season. It is way worth it.)
We just recently started pressure canning and it is Way Awesome! (I used to go with the oven method and that was anything but successful.) So amidst my husband canning anything he can get his hands on, we recently realized a great couple of foods that cover the basics and are easy to come by.
Carrots & Potatoes!Yeah, not what you would have said huh?
Well, let me explain our thinking.
First off, carrots and potatoes are both very easy to grow and tend to yield a lot. They also save space and are easy to harvest. Just about any gardener grows these plants for those very reasons. They are also very easy to come by.
Potatoes. They are such a good staple. Like rice, you can add it to anything to make a bigger meal and can be cooked in many ways. And in case you didn't know, they are also nutritious! There is as much fiber in a potato as there is in pasta or bread. The skin of a potato even has Vitamin C.
Carrots. There are so many nutrients in carrots, mainly B-Carotene which metabolizes into Vitamin A. They are rich in antioxidants and minerals. They naturally help with poor vision, the digestive system, constipation, and many more things.
Well, if you for some reason ran out of food or couldn't afford to buy anything, most likely you will be out hunting (as long as you aren't a vegetarian or don't live in the middle of the city.) So protein is already covered for the most part.
And instead of opting for straight meat, you're going to want to make something with it. Hopefully you will be out finding wild herbs or whatever, but that's not enough.
So what can you do with it? How can you make that meat stretch? Make a Stew of course!
Just about any meat can go in a stew and will go perfect with carrots and potatoes. The meat and veggies will both flavor each other and you already have most of what you need.
Having them on the side is just fine and dandy, but when you're down to the back up food, you want to have something a little different every now and then. And by storing these two basics, you'll almost have everything needed for a stew.Other veggies are also very important. These are just the two we could easily access that made the most sense. Have any more ideas of how to use carrots and potatoes? Or possibly an even better food to store?
If so, please share. We'd love to hear it. :)
