Five Overlooked Pantry Staples You Should Buy Now

When the SHTF in March, grocery store shelves were stripped bare.  

I walked into the store and got everything I went in to get in the brands that I usually buy.  I guess I don't shop like normal people, though.  We have some dietary restrictions and food choice preferences that change how we purchase food.  Specifically, we are gluten-free, which means when everyone else was looking for flour, I could not have cared less that that shelf was bare.

Unfortunately, for the most part, the items that were most popular are still pretty popular, and my grocery store, at least, still has huge bare spots.  They haven't fully recovered and those shelves haven't been fully stocked in months.

Predictions are that we are headed back into another similar, possibly worse, scenario.  The virus seems to be making another come-back.  Countries in Europe are already starting their second round of lockdowns, and with the increasing numbers in several states here in the US, we are, likely, not far behind them.  

In addition, this is an election year.  Over the past 20 years, I have seen election years grow more and more divisive between the far right and left wings of our political spectrum, but the last few years have seen an even wider chasm between the ultra conservatives and uber liberals.  

Compound that with the fact that the first lockdown caused a very real financial strain on individuals and the economy at large.  The restaurant industry is still trying to imagine ways to stay in business.  The farmers that supplied them food have had to become more creative and figure out ways to reconfigure their distribution to get direct-to-consumer sales.  In Maine, our economy is based on tourism, but we were still in lockdown for half the tourist season.  Most of the businesses that cater to tourists are struggling to stay afloat - if they haven't already buckled.  Federal and state grants and low-interest loans were helpful, but how much longer can we just count on tax dollars propping everything up?

So between the very palpable political tensions which are being exacerbated by the pandemic (we're becoming the star-belly Sneetches - only with masks or flags or hats) and the economic collapse that we are in the midst of, thanks in a large part to our response to the pandemic, things are getting really ugly out there.

At this point (and not to diminish the fight in Harlan Co.), but we're all singing Florence Reece's tune, Which Side Are You On?  The whole US has become those southeastern Kentucky coal fields, and it's only a matter of time before we truly pick up arms.  Harlan Co. was nicknamed Bloody Harlan.  It's not a place we should really be hoping to go, but it feels very much like that's where we're heading.

In the Prepper world, we are on high alert.

I mean, to be fair, Preppers are always a little more on edge than the average person, because we've accustomed ourselves to not being complacent.  Frankly, for me, it's been a good thing, because prepping = planning for the worst, and so when those "worstcase scenarios" (like a job loss or an extended power outage) kinds of things happen, we don't panic, because we're ready.

Preppers are always in a state of readiness, but this feels a little more tense than even our normal tenseness.  

Looking back on what happened in March and the very real possibility that next week things will be similar or worse, I've put together a list of things that most people won't consider adding to their preps, but that could make a world of difference.

1.  Cornmeal/grits/popcorn.

I am a history buff of sorts.  I am very interested in studying difficult times and how the folks living during those years handled things.  I really enjoy historical fiction and reenactments, because I like seeing how people lived before they had the modern amenities that we have today.  I get lots of ideas.

In the 1800s Ireland was under British rule, but they weren't really protected by the British government.  So, basically, there were millions of Irish people living on their ancestral land, but with no right to use that land to feed their families or to earn a living.  I mean, sure they were tenant farmers-ish, but almost none of the food that was grown (and there was quite a lot of it, actually) was theirs.  

What they could grow was potatoes, but as it happens, during that time period some crazy fungus drifted across the Atlantic and infected the entire potato crop, rendering it inedible.  The result is that millions of Irish people died a horrific death.

In 2019 13.7 million US households (not people) were considered "food insecure."  What that means is that those folks don't really know where their next meal is coming from.  That number has very likely increased - probably doubled - in 2020.  We could find ourselves in a "Potato Famine" kind of scenario where people are starving because they don't have access to food that they can eat or the money to purchase it.  

Here's the thing, though.  During that potato famine, the Irish received aid from the US in the form of "Indian corn."  Indian corn is a meal corn, not a sweet corn.  It's not boiled or grilled on the cob and slathered with butter.  It has to be processed to be digestible, and this usually entails soaking it in a lye solution.  Hundreds of thousands of native Americans survived for centuries on corn.  It is edible and nutritious, but because they lacked the understanding of how to make it so, the Irish suffered from eating the improperly processed grain.

It's a pity.  

Being a southern girl, I very much love corn - in all of its incarnations.  I even love grits.  My favorite breakfast is a bowl with one scrambled egg and grits, both swimming in butter.  I like grits with just salt and butter, but some people prefer it sweetened with a bit of sugar or syrup.  I like grits better than oatmeal, because grits are gooey, like, oatmeal.

Earlier this year, when other cereal grains and flours were flying off the shelves at the grocery store, I still found cornmeal, grits, and popcorn.  Those three items can be a whole days worth of delicious meals and snacks.   

Cornmeal is amazingly versatile.  It can be made into pancakes, bread, (my favorite) hush puppies, polenta, or just served boiled as a mash with salt and butter, or sweetened with some maple syrup.  

I appreciated cornmeal before, but since going gluten-free, having such a versatile alternative to flour is wonderful.  

2.  Roasted or raw nuts, seeds, and peanuts.

My daughter adopted a big parrot named Spike two years ago.  I love the late fall at the grocery store, because that's when they start stocking the in-the-shell bags of mixed nuts.  I stock up on them when I find them, because they're good treats for the bird.

For those who do not have allergies to tree nuts or peanuts, I can't stress enough how valuable these could be.  Properly stored and in the shell, they can last years.  And we all know what a great source of nutrition (especially protein and "good" fat) they are.  

The pandemic saw runs on most fresh meats available at the store, but even worse, as the emergency wore on into the summer (growing season), and people who normally tend those animals got sick, we saw processing plants and factory farms closing down.  I'm not sad that factory farming took a huge hit, but at the same time, those people who depend on grocery store meat that is raised at those farms will find it more difficult to get cheap cuts, like hamburger and chicken legs.  Nuts could be an alternative.

I do recommend stocking up on the nuts rather than the nut butters.  First, there's the whole long storage issue mentioned above.  In the shell, nuts last a lot longer than nut butters.  Second, nut butters can be more expensive than the whole nut and with a blender or food processor, one can make one's own butters.  Third, the whole nuts can be used in lots of ways other than just as a spread.  Here's a list of ten ways to enjoy nuts.  There's a little more versatility with whole nuts.  

3.  Olive Oil.

I buy the largest container of olive oil that I can afford, at least once a month.  We use olive oil for all of our cooking.  It can be used in place of butter on bread and with some vinegar and spices on salads as a dressing.  It can be used to make mayonnaise, it's a great moisturizer for one's skin, and it can be used as a preservative.   

Olive oil is one of the "good fats," and while most Americans probably don't need more fat in their diets, the fact is that if we're looking at food shortages, getting the best nutrition possible out of the fewest food items should definitely be a priority.

4.  Cured meats.

There was this funny meme going around Facebook not long ago.  It was a screenshot of a tweet from a twenty-something woman who said she wanted to make a "Shark Cootchie" board.  

She, of course, meant "charcuterie," and I actually found it even more funny, because the word, chatcuterie doesn't mean, "a platter with meats and cheeses."  It actually refers to the process of curing meat, like guanciale, pepperoni, and salami.  

The practice of making these shared platters has certainly increased the appeal of some of these cured meats, but I think there's still a bit of trepidation about stocking up on them, even in the prepper world, because they feel like snack foods, or something to put on pizza.  The thing is that they can be a whole lot more.  This page gives 17 different ways to use salami.

Curing meats is a time-honored way of preserving meat for long storage that doesn't require refrigeration.  In fact, many cured meats are shelf stable until the packaging is opened, which makes them great back-packing food and a favorite among hikers.  

So, while everyone else is trying to claim that last package of fresh chicken wings or fighting it out in the canned meat aisle, smart preppers are quietly filling their carts with links of salami, pepperoni, and summer sausage. 

5.  Canned pie filling.

When I went to the grocery store on that day before Maine went into lockdown, I was shocked by the bare shelves where canned goods, sauces, and pasta would normally have been.  I don't buy a lot of canned foods, in general.  We're more likely to buy it fresh, and then, I can it myself.  

Sometimes, though, having a few commercially canned foods as a back-up isn't a bad thing.  A couple of years ago, I had this very unexpected craving for cherry pie.  I went to the store, and there in the baking section, I found this whole shelf of pie filling options.  Yes, they are full of sugar, but this particular brand is also marked with the 'non-GMO' symbol, and so, HUZZAH!  I bought a couple of cans of cherry pie filling, which I ate straight from the can, with a spoon, because I can't have pie crust anyway.  

Delicious!

Then, I thought, I would try the peach, which led to picking up a couple of cans of blueberry, and even though I make my own canned applesauce, I decided to try their apple pie filling, too.  

It's definitely not an every day food.  

But when all of the other canned food items were flying off the shelf, I still found pie filling, which is interesting.  

Of course, there are more gems in that pie filling section than just the sugary options.  There are also cans of pumpkin, that can be made into pies, breads, and SOUP!  

So, when everyone else was stripping the aisles of every canned fruit, vegetable, meat, sauce, and soup, I moseyed on over to the baking aisles, walked past the empty flour section, grabbed a couple of packages of cornmeal and added several cans of pie filling to my cart.  

Dinner at my house may not be traditional, but it's filling and tasty.  And when everyone else is fighting for the same stuff, I'm standing in the corner laughing and licking the blueberry pie filling off the spoon.

 

BONUS Suggestion:

A couple of years ago I read the book, Lucifer's Hammer.  The story opens with scientists seeing an asteroid heading toward the Earth.  They won't just say it's going to hit.  Instead they hem and haw about it.  Some people are certain it will, and they begin prepping.  Some hold off for several days, and then, by the time they are ready to believe that IT is actually going to happen, what they find at the grocery store looks a lot worse than March 12, 2020 here in Maine.  To say pickings were slim is an understatement, as this character discovers.

I was impressed with what he chose.  He picked up some expensive cuts of beef, like roasts, and salt and pepper.  He took it home and made jerky.  Wowsa!  What an idea!

But it got me thinking - not about making jerky, but about seasonings, and since then, I have always been very careful to have a fully stocked seasonings cabinet.  I always have salt and pepper (I prefer very coarse ground pepper, and usually buy peppercorns, which I grind myself).  We also use a lot of garlic and onion.  Cumin, chili powder, cayenne, and paprika are favorites.  Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves are always in my spice cabinet.  And I have a lot of both dried and fresh herbs from my garden.  I never buy spice mixes (like taco seasoning).  I just always make sure I have the ingredients on hand to make my own.  

Food is necessary, but it should also be something that we enjoy.  

When the SHTF, I didn't have any trouble finding spices and seasonings, which was great - for me!  But if I am giving advice to preppers, I say, stop in the spice aisle.  Learning to use whole seasonings will add a layer of something wonderful to your diet.  You'll thank me.  

I was very lucky that I've been doing this a while now, and so we never needed to stock up.  I just needed to keep my pantry stocks level throughout the whole mess.  I still haven't stocked up, per se, but I might add a couple of cans of pie filling to my cart every other shopping trip, and I might have a few vacuum sealed jars of popcorn in the pantry.