Setting Up A Healthy Self Sufficient Pantry

Home made, whole food, healthy self sufficient pantry

Did you know that you are just two weeks to about a month away from starvation? Unlike in the past, modern homes typically have enough food to last only from a day to a week at most. Beyond that, you might be able to put together a meal of some kind, but it won't be sufficient to sustain or improve your health.

Imagine a situation where, due to an unexpected event or accident, you can't visit the shops, you run out of money with no possibility of getting help, or for some unforeseen reason, the internet fails, preventing you from accessing your funds. Or perhaps you're simply unable to leave your location. These scenarios are not unrealistic; they occur frequently across the globe.

The most concerning issue is that much of the food found in supermarkets isn't beneficial for health. We often make shopping and cooking decisions based on our parents' habits, our budget and situation, what we learned in home economics, or, even more detrimentally, advertising. Advertisers are indifferent to your health or whether their products might lead to obesity or illness.

Returning to our doomsday scenario, imagine having no food and no means to obtain it. Picture the chaos when everyone else is in the same predicament, leaving no one to borrow from. Or consider living miles away from any resources. Why focus on canning meat, making cheese, or hunting? These actions are not about health or kindness; they are about survival. However, we aim for THRIVAL - our goal is to live and eat in a way that allows us to thrive, not just survive.

With some foresight, you can be prepared for months, or even years, with food that serves as both your medicine and nourishment. You don't need a large budget for this. I discovered this as a single parent living in a rental on a very low income, below minimum wage.

Our glass storage was sourced from recycling centres, generous individuals looking to dispose of their unwanted items (which we considered treasures), and what we already possessed. We would gather freebies, giveaways, and even roadside rubbish before the trucks could discard useful items. I even acquired dried goods bins for free from a shop that was upgrading.

Start with planning and collection:

Glass jars of all sizes, with lids

Large food-grade plastic tubs Metal storage tins

Scoops

Takeaway containers Shelving

Next, compile a list of ingredients, including both the main food items and those that will enhance flavour. Start visiting farmers' markets and consider growing your own food—more on that in another article. Did you know there are over 12,000 plant foods worldwide? Yet, most people regularly consume fewer than a dozen fresh foods! Farmers cultivate only a limited selection, and home gardeners often stick to basics like potatoes, peas, beans, tomatoes, chilies, lettuce, and brassicas. Be creative; introduce variety - especially perennial plants (that fruit year after year with little effort) to your garden, pantry, and palate. Exchange or accept offers from those willing to share their garden produce.

Have you considered growing herbs for both medicinal & culinary purposes? What about spices, fruit, nut trees or berries? If you have the space, start planting. If space is limited, opt for smaller varieties or try espalier techniques. For those in rental properties, consider using tubs & grow bags. Replace lawns with food forests. In urban areas, verges can be transformed into a productive food space instead of being left unused. Purchase pots from garage sales & recycling centres.

Many councils now provide free mulch and potting mix, created from residents' garden waste. Some even offer delivery for a small charge. But I digress...

Which dried foods are we discussing? Start by searching for bulk food suppliers in your area or online. If your budget is very limited, begin with the smallest quantities, as I did. If you can manage it, purchase by the kilo. Order with friends to split the cost and divvy up the spoils.

Start BIG. Keep in mind, this isn't about bulk junk—it's about thriving and health. Try for organic but if your bodget does not allow, start with regular and buy organic when it is on special - it's still better than what is on the shelves. Beans, organic pasta, pulses, organic flours. My pantry contains staples (organic), all healthy (medicinal) and capable of creating hundreds of dishes. A note of caution—ALWAYS activate (sprout, soak overnight) your pulses to remove anti-nutrients and unlock those nutrients that are only released through this process:

Chickpea flour (replaces egg, makes pancakes and flat breads, thickens soups)

Plain organic flour (baking and gravy)

Pastas - durum or oganic or gluten free if needed (various dishes)

Soy beans (milk, tempeh, tofu, okara) Chia seeds (egg replacer, food thickener, smoothies) Split peas (soup, dahl)

White beans (soups, sprouts, casseroles, bean tofu and salads)

Black beans (soups, sprouts, casseroles, bean tofu and salads)

Lentils - red & green (tofu, sprouts, soups, salads, dahl, lentil tofu)

Chickpeas (tofu, sprouts, soups, salads, hummus)

Nutritional yeast (gives cheese flavour to anything)

Sunflower seeds (mock fish, smoothies, salads, dressings)

Pumpkin seeds (smoothies, salads, toasted, crunchy coating to any baked goods)

Flax seeds (smoothies, toasted, dressings, crunchy coating to any baked goods)

Hemp seeds (smoothies, Buddha bowls, salads)

Rolled oats (porridge, cakes, biscuits, smoothies, milk)

Cashew pieces (dressings, cheeze, cheezecake, milk)

Walnuts (cheese cake bases, biscuits, salads) Almonds (milk, cakes, biscuits, roasted snacks)

Rice (meals and salads, puddings, patties & cakes) Sesame seed (they go with everything!)

Poppy seed (cakes, bakes)

Desiccated coconut (cakes, biscuits, milk, puddings)

Rice paper (wraps, skins for roasts)

Nori sheets (seaweed for sushi, flavouring in any meal) Mung beans (sprouting)

Coconut sugar

Olive oil Coconut oil

Agar (jellies)

Guar gum (thickener)

Tapioca flour (gravy, sauce and pudding thickener)

Potato flour (thickener)

Buckwheat flour (use as gluten free alternative)

The above can not only literally make ANY meal healthier but can make and/or replace hundreds of different foods. You don't need to buy processed anything.

Then, I have the herbs, spices and flavourings which I add to my smaller jars:

Ground garlic

Mixed herbs

Paprika

Chinese 5 spice

Ground ginger

Fennel seeds

Rosemary

Black salt Turmeric

Celtic salt Sea salt

Lake salt White pepper

Black pepper corns

Bicarb

Baking powder Yeast

Print or hand-write labels and affix them to every tub, jar, and container, indicating the weight and volume of each ingredient; for example, use jars for spices and herbs, and larger jars and tubs for beans. If you have beautiful handwriting or have taken a ticketing course, you can write the labels yourself using a permanent marker. To prevent weevils and pantry moths, place bay leaves in each jar and add sandalwood powder to containers in your pantry, with small holes punched in them to release their wonderful scent.

It's never too late to start collecting canned food, but ensure it is nutritious. Unprocessed dried food is always a plus. If your friends have surplus harvests, let them know you're happy to take whatever they don't need. Turn these into preserves, sauces, and jams—dehydrate what you can't use and make into powders, or preserve in oils (antipasto).

Start a herb garden. It saddens me to see herbs going to waste. Consider trees like bay and elderberry, shrubs like hawthorn berries, hedges like wormwood, and culinary herbs such as parsley, oregano, thyme, mint, chamomile, feverfew, fennel, tarragon, sage, and more. Plant them in tubs, pots, or beds; the choice is yours. If you have an excess, dehydrate and grind them.

Dehydrate herbs, vegetables and fruits - make your own stock, flavourings and snacks. This is only the beginning. This single idea can address everything from your digestive health to overall well-being, enhance your garden, and fulfill your homesteading needs. You might even be able to create your own skin, oral, and hair care products! Moreover, even without land, you can still achieve self-sufficiency!

Like a home medicine kit, a home pantry not only helps your family be less dependent on worst case scenarios but provide nourishment and improve health.

Every home can do it, with a little ingenuity.