12 Inexpensive & Healthy Pantry Items that NEVER Expire [for at least 10 years]

You don't need to be a "prepper" in order to have a well-stocked pantry filled with food that will feed you and your family long-term.

There are some basics that I recommend always having on hand (these are the "convenience" items that won't quite last as long) plus long-term items to stock up on that will store well on the shelf for 10+ years.

Time Stamps
0:00 - Short-Term Food Items
1:38 - Convenience Items
2:37 - Condiments
3:53 - Dry Beans, Lentils & Peas
6:25 - Protein
8:08 - Pasta
10:40 - Long-Term Food Items
10:49 - Grains & Rice
12:31 - Sweeteners
14:20 - Vinegar
15:25 - Coffee & Cocoa
17:38 - Fruit
19:20 - Extracts
20:16 - Salt

**********************

**********************

My Books:

**********************

Howdy! I'm so glad you're here. I'm Melissa from Pioneering Today and a 5th generation homesteader where I'm doing my best to hold onto the old traditions in a modern world and share them with others.

Click any of the below links for FREE resources and training to help you on your homestead!

**********

#pantrystorage #foodstorage #longtermfoodsupply

[witness]

Our whole concept for the last twelve years has been to gradually becoming more self sufficient and independent. First it was just extra stored food mostly canned from the store, along with extra flour, rice, beans, etc. Nowadays we're in our 70s raising 2 teenage daughters and are thriving on a 11 acre homestead. Now we have 10, 000 sf of no-till garden which is producing unbelievable amounts of food. We have 20 laying hens, growing 40 meat chickens, and can about 800 quarts a year. Our long-term storage is all in mylar with oxygen absorbers. 3 emergency water sources, backup off grid solar and purchasing a Harvest Right freeze dryer this year. We're still eating canned foods from 2019 and 2020. God has blessed us with good health and a path to be successful in our homestead and life. I always enjoy your videos.
I highly recommend a no-till garden to anyone that is starting to garden.
Thanks Melissa great video

[happycya]

When you soak your beans that are older add some baking soda to the water. It will help them soften and cook all the way through.

[eileengreene]

We had ten year old beans i was about to throw out when my good friend told me an amazing remedy! After rinsing your beans, place them in a large bowl and pour BOILING water over them…add some salt, let sit overnight. Next morning, rinse the beans, place in a slow cooker, pour boiling water over them again, add salt and allow to cook on HIGH for 3-6 hours till thoroughly cooked. These turned out FANTASTIC….and made wonderful Chile. Now….not sure what the nutritional benefits are with ten year old beans…..but if my family is hungry…..and things in the world have turned upside down, I’m just going to be very happy to have those beans!

[celticteigyr]

Dried beans that are too old can be made into bean flour- great for breading, binding (meatloaf), and thickener. You can also stretch out hamburger if meat is tight budget. 1 cup of whole dried pintos = 1 cup flour, 1 cup garbanzos = 2 cups flour, 1 cup black beans = 1 1/3 cups flour, 1 cup of navy beans = 1 1/4 cups flour.

[susanstanley]

I tapped one of my maple trees for the first time this year. I got aprox 6.5 gal of sap and turned it into aprox 2 pints of the purest sweetest syrup in a few hrs.I use it as a natural sweetner for my tea.There is food all around us for free.

[materialgirl]

Me too my parents went through the great depression, it left such a lasting impact on them. It changed their life. I heard such stories that they were so hungry that my grand mother had to put a lock on their refrigerators. My parents said they lived on pasta and beans beans and pasta. My mothers father got together with all males in family and went up state and hunted their food while making moonshine.

[glf]

One thing you can do with old beans is grind them to make up bean burgers with mixed veggies, etc. or even a bean base soup. Having them ground up would make the difference. My mother was a depression baby/child and taught me tons of things she learned while being raised on a farm.

[loue]

My dad lived during the depression so he was always saving everything and we had a huge garden. And canned or fermented everything. We had a basement full of potatoes. Lol.

[jjbryan]

My mom grew up literally dirt poor and she always had a lot of food available to eat/fix. Almost an obsession. We are lucky we have never known hunger here in this time and age.

[cathleencaratan]

I’m laughing when you said that freeze dried fruit would last for a long time. My first run after the bread run was sliced strawberries. The vultures…I mean my children decimated them in minutes. LOL!

[jlm]

Your husband is a very blessed man... He obviously has a great support system... Thank you for the helpful information... God bless you and your family.

[brendajohnson]

Grow flowers and build your own bee hive. Bee keeping is a very nice type of thing to have and do. I love bees in my gardens and I leave the greenhouse open to where there are flowers or pollination is needed like my veggies.... Now I buy small bags of grains and grow them into more grains. I have chickens and doing this helps to. Chickens love fermented grains.

[Richardofdanbury]

Regarding commercial pasta I would recommend that when brought home from the grocer that you place the packages in the freezer for 24 to 48 hours to kill any critters or eggs before repackaging in your own airtight and air excluded containers. We've had too much pasta go to the chickens in the past until we routinely started doing this.

[sharonsalyer]

I have personally used dried beans that were 7 plus years and haven't had any problems with them being to tough. I did once cook up some mixed beans that once had one type of bean in the blend that was too tough. But if you get beans that are too tough you can grind them into flour and make refried beans or add the flour into foods you cook to add nutrition.

[michaelmonaghan]

When I lived in Washington State I would top a couple thousand Stinging nettle plants, dry into powder. Delicious and probably the most nutritive plant in the Youth formula I call it, been doing this for years and this Stinging Nettle plant keeps me youthful at 56 and I have not been to a doctor in 30 plus years sense I left the Army. Holy Basil is another adaptagen.

[highlandscommunityclub]

We ate all of our 11 year old dried beans and they were fine! No issues at all. No super special packaging. In Mylar bags, no oxygen absorbers. Stored in a cool dark place. I like to can my beans now, but still have dry.

[vincentanguoni]

My father also grew up during the depression... He used to tell us to eat everything on the plate cause there may not be food tomorrow...
He never insisted..

[snookiegood]

Went gluten free to support my daughter a couple years ago...was not intolerant then...when I tried putting it back in my diet, issues showed up. Good Luck!

[melindamcclain]

I have stored dry beans that are 6 years old. Just cooked them yesterday and they cooked just fine. I store most of my dry goods in 2 liter soda bottles with oxygen absorbers.

[Jennuine_food]

that rice ramen is fantastic. it's organic and gluten free. my kids love to make it and stir in a bit of bouillon, a handful of dehydrated veggies and sometimes add an egg.