11 Essential Food Items for Quarantine Preparation

Helping Scott navigate this difficult time with his dental practice is just one of my many duties. These unpredictable and stressful times require me to be on top of my game at my other job—housekeeper! While juggling everything else, I’ve been preparing for a quarantine that could last up to three months, just in case! When it seems like chaos has taken over, I try to rely on my motherly instincts and my years of experience stocking a pantry for nine hungry people. So I thought this would be a great time to share my list of 11 essential food items to get you and your family through a quarantine!

In about two weeks, we’ll start planting our garden. That means we probably won’t see the harvest from that garden until June. We still have some canned goods from last year, quite a lot of meat in the freezer, and fresh eggs daily from the chickens. What we needed to stock up on were starches and items that are high in protein and calories. Come to find out, they are beginning to ration some of these things at some of the grocery stores.

• Rice lasts for a while and provides a great, healthy filler when you’re running low on other ingredients.

• Beans go great with rice to make a meal fully balanced with protein and carbs. Protein is one of the essential building blocks of nutrition.

• Nuts of all kinds are perfect for these scenarios. They are high calorie, high fiber, and full of nutrition.

• Dried Fruit are a super yummy addition to your bowl of nuts. If fruit trees aren’t ready to harvest this will get you by for a few months. It’s a very good idea to dry your own fruit by the way. The result is a super nutritious and tasty snack.

• Potatoes keep well and lend themselves to a variety of recipes and dishes!

• Granola can be easily purchased or made at home!

• Protein bars will last for months if you keep them in the package. Good to have around, especially when there’s a lot of hungry mouths around!

• Flour is of course one of the staple ingredients. You can use this to make your own pasta and bread if the going really gets tough.

• Dried Pasta is non-perishable and, like rice, adds bulk to the meal.

• Peanut Butter is high in protein, fat and calories, and it will keep well if not opened.

• Canned Tuna and/or Salmon are non-perishable until opened and provide excellent nutrition. Great item for storing indefinitely.

For more tips on using canning, preserving, and making recipes from home-grown ingredients, check out my Harvest Cookbook!