Artilcle - Non-Meat Protein Sources For Your Survival Stockpile

[TWP]

First, I DO NOT SUBSCRIBE TO THE VEGAN MINDSET...  I eat and really like animal protein...

However, I do see a future in which animal protein will be much harder to find and having other protein sources makes a lot of sense for a prepper... Hence this article:

http://www.survivopedia.com/non-meat-protein-sources-for-your-survival-stockpile/

Many of these sources are available to us now and can become part of our prepping plans and stockpile lists...

[Jerry D Young]

I agree, TWP. I prefer a significant amount of my protein needs to come from animals. And I have always known that meat would be somewhat scarce in any major disaster if the infrastructure is interrupted. So I have stocked a much higher ratio of meat to non-meat sources of protein than many.

But I had a bit of an epiphany sever months ago. It occurred to me that rather than having non-meat protein sources the way they are usually stored by preppers; beans plus rice; peanut butter; and several other items; that if I went ahead and learned about Vegan nutrition and gathered recipes, I could then decide what to stock up on to be able to prepare these meals, which would be balanced, and provide me with what I need nutritionally. Except the protein, even though complete in these meals, is still not quite the same as having meat. (This is definitely my opinion, and many will say protein is protein. That is fine. I will still continue my preps my way.)

But since the meals are otherwise very good, and do have the other nutrition I need, I now plan, when meat is scarce, or I need to preserve my supplies, I will go ahead, (rather than reduce my protein intake, or eat some foods and combinations that I really do not care for, just to get the protein) and prepare Vegan recipes and simply add some meat to them. That way, it satisfies my cravings for meat, adds high grade protein, and gets the amount of protein I will need in extreme circumstance up to the 100+ grams per day level I want.

I get the best of both worlds. Carefully planned out nutrition, with the addition of the high grade protein, and still conserve resources.

The downside (and there are always downsides) is that many of the Vegan recipes require ingredients that do not lend themselves to long term storage. So I will have to be selective on what recipes I will want to use, based on ingredient availability from LTS supplies. I believe it is doable and am implementing the concept now. Though slowly. Still learning.

Just my opinion.

[TWP]

...
The downside (and there are always downsides) is that many of the Vegan recipes require ingredients that do not lend themselves to long term storage. So I will have to be selective on what recipes I will want to use, based on ingredient availability from LTS supplies. I believe it is doable and am implementing the concept now. Though slowly. Still learning.
...

Jerry, do you have a list of the foods which don't store well?  I'd add these to my garden/greenhouse seed stores, if possible.

[Jerry D Young]

I do not, believe it or not. But I will put one together as soon as I can.

But for the moment, the list includes the standards that most of us have come to learn.

Avocado

Almost all of the leafy foods such as lettuces and most cabbages.

Many, even most, of the tropical fruits in the forms suited to Vegan dishes.

Many of the more esoteric grains that are available in stores, but are not commonly put up in LTS packaging. (DIY might work.)

Many of the import sourced only items that lend taste and appearance to some of the dishes, including some spices, herbs, and such.

That is all I can think of off the top of my head. Some can be grown in greenhouses and such, others, if seed is obtained, in open gardens. Avocados and citrus fruits can be grown if in the deep south. Some miniature citrus, of course, as well as miniature bananas, can be grown in greenhouses, though not usually in the kind of quantities that make them a food as opposed to the occasional treat.

Just my opinion.

[TWP]

Thanks Jerry,  fortunately, Avocado is not one of my favorite foods and I can live without it.

I've seen miniature orange and lemon trees, and you're right, they don't produce much.  Enough to boost yout Vit. C levels, but not for much else.

[edit] spullink bud, me go skool larn goot.

[230gr]

Most meat is what’s called a complete protein; that is, it has all 20 amino acids. Most non-meat sources aren’t, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t get all of them. You just have to eat more than one protein source.

Complete proteins have all 20 amino acids, fortunately, the body can produce all but 9 amino acids (called essential amino acids) which are needed in roughly equal amounts. Certain foods have incomplete proteins which can eaten at, or near the same time, to have the benefits of a complete protein. This can be fairly easily allowed for in storage preps but about when they run out and what you eat comes out of your garden? 

A classic combination like rice and beans would be great. Most beans are low in methionine and high in lysine, while rice is low in lysine and high in methionine but together you have a protein content on par with that of meat. But few of us can grow rice, however, the protein in wheat is pretty similar to that of rice, in that it’s only deficient in lysine. Chickpeas have plenty of lysine, giving us all the classic Middle Eastern staple hummus and pita bread. Legumes like beans, lentils, and peanuts combined with grains like corn (an American Indian staple), wheat, or rice for a complete protein. Except for rice and peanuts, I can grow these here in the North.

While beans are normally low in the amino acid methionine, soy bean is a complete protein and a go-to substitute for the meat in the orient. I can grow them too.

 Ezekiel Bread, a combination of wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt is a source of complete protein rated 84.3% as efficient and comparable to that of milk or eggs. Lentils are similar to the amino acid profile of other legumes such as kidney beans or black beans which can be substituted for them.

The total protein content of spelt varies (a relative of wheat) is around 14.3% while soft wheat is 10.5% and spring wheat is 9.1% but similar to durum wheat at 13.8%. The sequence of Amino acids also differs between spelt and wheat, spelt containing more cystine, isoleucine, leucine, methionine and neurotransmitters, phenylalanine and tryptophan. Because it yields less and each individual grain of spelt, unlike common wheat, is covered by a tough, tenacious outer husk which requires removal before being milled into flour, I would go with a durum type wheat like the Khorasan wheat   that I grow, Kamut, which is, in fact, an ancient type of durum wheat.