Bug Out Bag Food Ideas

Choosing the best food for your bug out bag can be challenging.  There are several things to consider:  shelf life, calories, taste, weight, bulk, fragility, and prep time.  Here are several bug out bag food ideas that I have used in my emergency kits over the years that may help you determine the best option for you.  The order is based on what I have found to last the longest in the trunk of my car.

1.  Ration Bars

Shelf Life:  5+ years
Calories: 410 per bar
Protein:  6g
Cost:  ~$8
Weight:  1.12 pounds
Dimensions:  4.5 x 2 x 5 inches
Prep Time:  Ready to Eat
Taste:  3.5 out of 5 stars. The bars tastes like Danish Butter Cookies.  For me, they are a little too sweet but I still have one in each bug-out bag.
Note:  This is breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 3 days so it is a great cost efficient option.  It also seems like these last the longest in the fluctuating temperatures.

Bug Out Bag Food Ideas - Preppers Survive

2.  Dehydrated Meal – Black Bart Chili – Gluten Free

Shelf Life:  5+ years
Calories: 580 per pouch
Protein:  50g
Cost:  ~$9
Weight:  7 ounces
Dimensions:  8 x .5 x 10 inches
Prep Time:  Boil 2 cups of water (3 mins) pour into the pouch with ingredients. Let stand 10-12 mins.
Taste:  3 out of 5 stars.
Note:  There are lots of brands that provide dehydrated meals. Unlike the other examples listed, this would only realistically feed you for one (maybe two) meals.  I use these in my husbands bug out bag because his pack is the heaviest.  Out of all 4 options, these weigh the least and I don’t need to rotate them very often.

Bug Out Bag Food Ideas - Preppers Survive

3.  MRE – Pork Sausage with Gravy

Shelf Life:  5+ years
Calories: (gravy 290 + biscuit 250 + cheese 180 + bread 180 + granola 260 + raisins 140)= 1300
Protein:  (gravy 9 + biscuit 3 + cheese 5 + bread 4 + granola 8 + raisins 1)= 30g
Cost:  ~$9
Weight:  1.10 pounds
Dimensions:  8.5 x 4 x 13 inches
Prep Time:  Ready to eat, unless you would like to wait 10 minutes for the flameless heater.
Taste:  4.5 out of 5 stars.
Note:  This one MRE could last me for breakfast (granola & raisins), lunch (bread & cheese), and dinner (biscuit  & gravy).  Of all four options MREs are my favorite.  They taste the best, have a variety of items to eat, the weight is reasonable, and is priced well.  However, they are not sold in sporting goods stores and are typically sold in a case of 12 so its a big purchase.  Read more about MREs by clicking here.

Bug Out Bag Food Ideas - MRE - Preppers Survive

4.  Food in Pouches – Do It Yourself Meals – Gluten Free

Shelf Life:  about 2 years
Calories: (chicken 70 + quinoa 240 + lentils 150 + tuna 80 + clif bar 240 + oatmeal 100 + fruit strip 50)=  930
Protein: (chicken 14 + quinoa 6 + lentils 7 + tuna 17 + bar 10 + oatmeal 4 + fruit strip 0)= 58
Cost:  ~$15
Weight:  2.3 pounds
Dimensions:  8 x 3 x 8.5 inches
Prep Time:  Ready to eat, except for the oatmeal.  Oatmeal 3 mins.
Taste:  4 out of 5 stars.
Note:  I use this option in my bug out bag.  These items are closer to my everyday eating habits.  I travel a lot and use items from my pack when food is not readily available.  Even though I like the taste of the MRE better I could do without the extra calories.  These items are a little healthier too.

Bug Out Bag Food Ideas - Preppers Survive

Bug Out Bag Food Ideas

There are some ingredients that I don’t prefer to have in my emergency bags like dairy & nuts.  They tend to spoil in extreme trunk temperatures and have the potential to make a person sick.  Another one to watch out for is too much sugar.  Sweet smelling food has a tendency to make all your other food smell just like it.  Foods with a high sugar content makes me hungrier after eating it.  Sweet items also tend to attract animals and/or kids.



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About PreppersSurvive 234 Articles
Welcome to my site! My name is Nettie and I started this blog to provide simple tools to help Preppers.  I am a Girl Scout Prepper. “Be prepared! A Girl Scout is ready to help out wherever she is needed. Willingness to serve is not enough; you must know how to do the job well, even in an emergency" (the motto, in the 1947 Girl Scout Handbook). Being a Prepper has been a blessing to me, my family, and friends on more then one occasion. You'll find these stories throughout this blog.  You will also find prepper supplies checklists, prepper events, cheap food storage ideas, emergency heat sources, survival books recommendations, reviews on power outage lights, printable prepper pdfs, and articles on emergency disaster preparedness.  

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