Because the 21-Day Pantry-Friendly Meal Plan is designed to be used either in case of emergency or as easy, last-minute meals, I wanted it to be a healthier version of a freezer full of pizza or a pantry full of mac-n-cheese. Now that I'm thinking about snacks I'd also like to have on hand, I'd like them to be a healthier step up from Cheez-its. They are still things my family will eat of course (no dried kale chips or anything), but they have more nutritional value than your average bag of chips.
It's wise to have a 72-hour kit in case of emergency as well, and I keep many of these snacks in my 72-hour kit. They can serve as small meals if you're desperate (such as if the power goes out for an extended period and you can't cook). We actually rotate ours every year to keep them fresh.
Here are some ideas for pantry-friendly snacks that have some nutritional value that are great to have on hand in case of emergency.
Here are some ideas for pantry-friendly snacks that have some nutritional value that are great to have on hand in case of emergency.
- granola bars or protein bars
- dried apple slices or pear slices or strawberry slices (You can get individual packs at Target or Walmart, but if you want apple slices in bulk, you can get them here [my favorite] or here. I get my apple slices here because the price is good, though they're not as crunchy as the freeze-dried varieties. They're perfect for my Pantry-Cooked Apple Crisp, though!)
- jerky
- instant nutritional drinks (such as Ensure or Carnation; I also like Ruvi which is just fruits and vegetables; so is V-8)
- trail mix
- freeze-dried cheese (I've seen this as Moon Cheese at Target, but you can also get them as Snackies; Snackies also come in other combinations of freeze-dried fruits and vegetables and nuts and yogurt bites--it may seem funny to see freeze-dried corn as a snack, but it's SO good!)
- fruit leather (Joray have always been my favorite.)
- individual drinkable soups (Campbell's makes easy-to-eat ones.)
- nuts
- tuna salad or chicken salad with crackers (from Bumble Bee)
- individual milk boxes or bottles (From my grocery store I usually just get Nestle chocolate milk bottles or Lala white milk [in the Mexican food section], but the shelf-stable milk from Gossner Foods comes in quite a few flavors, all of which I've tried, so I order those a couple of times a year. Fair warning: shipping isn't cheap, but it's good, shelf-stable milk. You can sometimes find Gossner milk at Dollar Tree, which is awesome.)
- peanut butter and crackers
- popcorn (high in fiber)
- applesauce pouches
- specialty olives and tapas spreads with crackers
- crunchy wheat snacks
- tuna salad and chicken salad (Bumble Bee makes them in snack sizes, pre-made)
- MREs (Meal Ready to Eat--just Google to find availability at food storage companies or even on Amazon)
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