Superfoods You Should Stock
As preppers, we want to make sure that we stock up on enough food for everyone in our households, but sometimes we forget that quality is just as important as quantity. If we are at a point where we have to rely on our food stock, we want to get all the nutritional value that we can to stay healthy as well. So, in addition to stocking up on canned goods, baking goods, and long shelf life items, there are a few superfoods you should stock up on.
What are Superfoods?
When it comes to superfoods, the term was made up as a marketing tool to influence food trends and sell products. In fact, they really don’t have their own food group. But, there are foods that are particularly beneficial to your health and well-being.
Superfoods are mostly plant-based foods that include some fish and dairy. These are considered superfoods because they are thought to be nutritionally dense and good for your health. They contain a variety of nutrients such as antioxidants, healthy fats, fiber, and crucial vitamins your body needs. Consuming foods that are high in nutrients (superfoods) is a great idea, but it’s important to consume a variety of nutritious superfoods, not just one or two.
Superfoods You Should Stock
Although superfoods was a term coined to market certain food products to you, there are a number of foods worthy of that title that you should stock. Here are 7 foods that may be worthy of the title Superfoods!
#1 Leafy Greens
Dark leafy greens are a great source of nutrients, such as zinc, calcium, folate, iron, magnesium, vitamin C, and fiber. In addition to being packed with nutrients, they also have the potential to reduce your risk of chronic illnesses, including heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Some of the best leafy greens to stock include:
These leafy greens aren’t always great on their own, but they make great soups, salads, smoothies, and stir fries. And, you can increase their shelf life by freezing them!
Related: How to Dehydrate Kale and Make Kale Chips
Related: Quick and Easy Way to Freeze Fresh Spinach
# 2 Berries
Over time, our bodies can build up and carry a lot of yucky things such as free radicals. The best way to get rid of the gunk is to eat foods high in antioxidants. Berries are powerhouses of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants. Eating berries is associated with a reduced risk of heart disease, cancer, and inflammatory conditions. Some of the best berries to stock include:
Berries are great to eat by themselves, but they can be added to salads, treats, and smoothies as well. You can dehydrate them or freeze them to increase their shelf life.
Related: Dehydrating Strawberries The Quick and Easy Way and How to Dehydrate Blackberries
#3 Nuts and Seeds Superfood
Rich in fiber, vegetarian protein, and healthy fats, nuts and seeds are great superfoods to have around. In addition to the above nutrients, they are also loaded with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties which protect your body against oxidative stress. I suggest stocking a variety of your favorite nuts and seeds including:
- Almonds
- Pecans
- Pistachios
- Walnuts
- Cashews
- Brazil nuts
- Macadamia nuts
- Peanuts
- Sunflower seeds
- Pumpkin seeds
- Chia seeds
- Flaxseeds
- Hemp seeds
Nuts and seeds are delicious snacks, but they are also great in salads, soups, stews, and other recipes. The great thing is that nuts and seeds have a pretty decent shelf life. In fact, you can store them in unopened packages in your pantry for up to 6-months past their best by dates, in the refrigerator for up to a year, and in the freezer for up to two years!
Related: Quick and Easy Healthy Spicy Nuts Recipe
#4 Garlic
Closely related to onions, garlic is a great source of manganese, vitamin C, vitamin B6, selenium, and fiber. Not only is garlic good for you, but its distinct flavor can add pizzazz to almost any recipe. In addition, garlic may be effective in reducing cholesterol and blood pressure, as well as supporting your immune system.
Keep garlic in a cool, dry place. Storage life in temperatures of 60 degrees Fahrenheit is 3 to 5 months.
Related: Garlic Everything You Need to Know
#5 Tumeric Superfood
Whether you like turmeric or not, you may want to stock it especially for sick days. This bright yellow spice is closely related to ginger, and it is used in India for a variety of medicinal benefits.
The active compound found in turmeric is curcumin which is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory source. Studies have shown that turmeric may be effective in treating and preventing chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. In addition, it also aids in wound healing and pain reduction.
#6 Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are root vegetables that are loaded with a variety of nutrients, including potassium (heart-healthy), fiber, and vitamins A and C. In addition to these nutrients, sweet potatoes are a great source of carotenoids which is an antioxidant source.
Be sure to store your potatoes in a dark, dry place that has a bit of humidity. Sweet potatoes can be stored for about a month. To get the longest shelf life possible, read my post Potatoes: How to Store After Harvesting.
#7 Avocado
Did you know that an avocado is actually a fruit? Many of us treat it like a vegetable, but it’s really a fruit. It’s rich in a variety of nutrients, including fiber, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats our bodies need. Additionally, they are high in Oleic acid which is linked to a reduction in inflammation in the body.
Firm, uncut avocados can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. But, if you want to keep them for up to 6-months, you can freeze them. Cut the avocados in half, peel the skin and wrap each half separately in plastic wrap. Then, place them in a freezer bag and freeze them.
Other Superfoods Posts to Check Out
If you want to learn more about foods you should stock, or other superfoods, check out some of these other posts, below:
- Health Benefits of Nuts
- Why You Should Stock Sauerkraut
- Garlic Everything You Need to Know
- Sweet Potatoes Everything You Need to Know
- 21 Reasons Why I Store Garlic
- Avocados Everything You Need to Know
- Coconut Oil Everything You Need to Know
- Chia Seeds What You Need to Know
Final Word
Remember, stock what you eat! Just because it’s a superfood doesn’t mean you should stock it if you or your family don’t like to eat it. It won’t do you any good if you don’t eat it. Stocking up on both long-shelf-life items as well as superfoods is crucial to your health and survival. Make sure you have quality as well as quantity in your food stock items. Let me know about your experiences with these or other superfoods your family enjoys. Please keep prepping, we must. May God Bless this world, Linda
Copyright Images: Healthy Super Foods Deposit photos_448278326_s-2019
We love all of these. And have most of them in our storage. One other greens that we like is mustard greens. We do like turnip greens as a veggie here where we live. I grew up on turnip greens, collard greens and mustard greens. They are all good. I like Spinach raw in a salad. I’ve also eaten it in quiche and quesadillas. It’s good like that. I’m not big on plain cooked spinach. Hubby loves it.
Hi Deborah, I only like fresh spinach in a salad or in smoothies. It tastes great in quiches and quesadillas! My other used to cook spinach, nope, I gagged on it. She tried to add lemon, nope, nada! I have never had mustard greens, I need to up my game!! Linda
I use a bit of pepper vinegar on my greens. I can’t eat spinach cooked either. The texture is what I can take.
Hi Deborah, I will have to try that. Thank you!! Linda
Stocking these on a regular basis is great. I won’t eat cooked greens though! I wasn’t raised with cooked greens and the texture is just wrong for me!!
I purchased a seed vault for my long term storage. The company indicates that the seeds are viable for 15-20 years if they are kept refrigerated. We’ll see! In a SHTF situation, I will be able to grow a garden to some extent.
I have quite a bit of ginger and turmeric dried. I love to combine the two into a tea. I will mention that it is fairly easy to grow your own ginger. I have not tried growing my own turmeric, though.
Hi Leanne, I’m a fresh green person as well. I have a lot of seeds as well, I’m hoping they will germinate as the years go by. Linda
Good Morning Linda. It must be a southern thing because I grew up eating mustard and turnip greens, collards, kale etc. You name it, if it was green, my mom cooked it. She always had a huge garden, even here in Colorado, and canned most of what she grew for the winter months. Of course, we lived (at that time) at a lower altitude than I presently do). I can’t get anything to grow because my summers are not hot enough and the season is super short. Although, I might try some broccoli this year and see how it does. Even my dog likes greens of all kinds, lol. Spinach, I love it no matter what. Don’t care much for it raw, but I have been known to open a can and eat it straight from the can. I can picture everyone gagging right now, lol. Sorry.
HI Pam, yeah, I would be gagging eating it raw from a can. It’s weird, I love freshly cooked asparagus, but growing up we ate canned asparagus, those were the days! LOL! Linda
Pam, have you tried growing beets? They are TRULY SUPERFOOD and will take cooler growing conditions! Yes, broccoli or any of the cole crops (cabbage, nappa cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, kale, turnips, etc., etc.) might do well where you live as well as edible podded peas. I love to grow the cute little shanghai “baby” bok choy for stir fry. We planted them accidentally waaaay late in our growing season last year, and they came along perfectly in the cooler weather, even though we expected they wouldn’t. We were harvesting them until the end of November in an area that usually ends gardening by the beginning of October! They are super yummy for stir fries, too! I am anxious to see if any over-wintered when the snow is gone in early spring!
Any cole crop contains sulfurophane, which is a anti-cancer, liver health promoting constituent of the plant’s natural chemistry, too. 🙂 If you search seed catalogs for what seeds do well in cooler climates, I am certain you will find some things that will grow in your area, though it won’t all be based on tomatoes, peppers or melons and squashes…at least not many.
Oops, forgot to mention that Amaranth leaves make a wonderful cooked “greens” for side dishes. We learned this in Uganda, when we were doing some short-term missions work there. The cook it and call it “Marantoos”. It’s SO YUMMY with sauteed onions and garlic! Amaranth is super-easy to grow, as well, though I don’t know about cooler climates…not sure on that one, but I know it grows pretty large in UG and in the Carribbean…i,e, tropical conditions. WE were absolutely delightedd when we FINALLY found out what that Uganda “greens” dish was called in English so we could grow it at home!!
Isn’t it weird how various foods (like the spinach comments) affect different people! I just read somewhere that Julia Child wouldn’t allow cilantro in her kitchen–to her (and many others, apparently) it tastes like soap! You might try creamed spinach–sauté a small chopped onion and a clove or two of minced garlic, add some cream and simmer it down until thickened a little, then add the blanched, squeezed-out spinach. I do it with other similar greens, too, including nettles! (DH thought it was creamed spinach…)
You could also try drying greens–then crush or powder them to add to soups and stews, where the texture won’t be noticeable.
Garlic–I’ve never had luck with long-term storage, they either dry out or sprout. Most of mine I now do in a garlic fermenter to make black garlic, but I also pickle quite a bit for cooking. Just peel the cloves, pack into jars, fill the jar with hot white vinegar, and cap. I’ve kept some for as much as a couple years, and it’s still good. Just take out what you need, rinse it, and you never taste the vinegar.
Sweet potatoes–should be able to store these for well over a month. This might not apply to grocery store sweet potatoes, though. Problem is, sweets shouldn’t be kept in a cold (or even cool) location, and that usually does happen to grocery store sweets–so they won’t keep well once you get them home. If you raise, or can buy, fresh sweets, spread them out for a week or so in a fairly warm place to “harden up” right after harvest–then store them in a not-too-cool location. A box in a closet or under a bed works fine for me. They generally last well towards spring. (Small or skinny ones will dry out, so use them first–and check for any that might have had a nick or a bad spot that’s spoiling.)
Turmeric–if you don’t care for the flavor, try getting the capsules–we take one morning and night. You can even get a capsule-filling kit, buy empty capsules, and fill them yourself with powdered turmeric (with a little black pepper mixed in, which enhances its absorption).
Hi Rhonda, I love sweet potatoes, my husband does not. I love just about every vegetable, I could easily be a vegetarian, Mark nope not so much! Linda
Linda, Right now in my Florida garden I have collards, turnip greens, and kale I love these yummy greens I was brought up eating these healthy foods. I still can’t get my collards to taste like my mama’s.
Hi Deborah, do you think it depends on the air or soil where they are planted? I don’t know, I was never raised on those. Linda
This popped up on my email and just thought I’d check it out again! I went to get some fresh garden seeds for a few veggies and herbs on my deck. My garden store also sells lots of sprouting seeds and microgreen seeds. Good to have on hand as I can grow those year round.
Hi Leanne, I’m just getting into sprouting seeds and microgreens. I hope to show people how I’m doing it. I think we all need to sprout seeds. I’m reading about how healthy they are as well. I love learning! Linda
Hey, Linda: I am very anxious to learn about sprouting microgreens! Pls. share as soon as you are ready to, as there are lots of us preppers out here that would like to know how to grow fresh greens for health, should we ever be stranded in another lockdown or lacking access to grocery stores! For now, our family just sprouts organic mung beans, which end up tasting a bit like green peas. They go on sandwiches and salads, or whatever, and we all like them a lot. 🙂
sprouting seeds like broccoli, alfalfa and many others are great to stock in food storage stash. They are a quick source of fresh food & many sprouts are true powerhouses of nutrition having many times the nutrition of their mature counterparts.
Hi JoEllen, that’s what I have been reading. I bought the stuff, now I will take pictures to show others how to do it. There are so many ways you can sprout, it’s amazing. Linda
Linda, One way I can eat cooked greens, turnip, mustard, wild lettuce, plantain (herb), dandelion,Even POKE. was to, and currently is in small amounts…. Cook gren chosen per common instructions..for the green….(poke involves washing and rinsing discarding water several times) drain greens.. as well as possible, i put in a colander and press..put in a well greased iron skillet..with about a tablespoon of bacon fat..(Bacon grease or lard works fantastic) whip/beat 3 eggs w/ amount of salt for eggs….have ready to add…. as greens are heated dice them with a spatula and cut into small pcs.once water is cooked out of greens add eggs and cook til eggs are done. may use salt, pepper, or pepper /hot sauce if desired.This works with even purchased canned greens. It would be a good way to test the recipe for tolerance and cheaper. than waiting and growing a selection a family will not eat.
Your list of superfoods is true, unfortunately for me,there is only one food i can eat on the list! i can tolerate turmeric in a capsule and use it for arthritis flares.it along with most of the other things on list cause gastric distress in extreme measures. I am just glad not truly allergic. It is believed that some peoples intolerances to certain foods is because of chemical contaminations..
While I have this chance to tell you.
….if someone you know suddenly has graying hair and has blood vessels bursting in their hands-it is likely a copper deficiency. was informed by a medical professional that Copper deficiency is the #1 cause of stroke in women…this was before the current “illness and mass injections” One can evalulate their intake by looking up copper rich foods and estimating how may of these you consume daily to get a daily requirement.
Hi Denise, thanks for the tips on the “greens”, we can all use new recipes! I had never heard of a Copper deficiency, yikes, thanks for the heads up!! Linda
You can also use zinc (think avoiding/killing off viruses) that is balanced in the supplement with copper. Jarrow makes a great version of this supplement and not overly expensive. Of course, sometimes we prefer to save money and just buy the Vitacost brand of the same. These formulas are already balanced for you, and since Zinc and Magnesium are the two most common mineral deficiencies in the USA, then you are safe to take according to directions without worry.
I hope this is helpful to someone!!
Joyce Stotts, Certified Natural Health Professional
since 2006
Joyce, Yes i use zinc lozenges where possible, because of a prior surgery that interferes with my absorption..and fight to keep my Mag levels up.. have found I tolerate citrate forms best. I have had to double my copper intake to keep blood vessel integrity in my hands.. I have a short term back up for these.Thanks for posting vitacost as one form that has acceptable levels.