[SurviveNthrive]

I recently talked to a woman about her going on a mission. She's going to what sounds to be to be a Hellish part of Africa. They keep the stints short, weeks long and rotate them in and out because, from what I understand from another person, it's ardous, physically taxing, and there's little or no food. Because of cost and remoteness, personal baggage is limited. Fortunately, water is so vital that they do have means of acquiring fresh drinking water, but food is limited to basically what you need.

This provided me with a good mental exercise on what I'd do if I was facing a period of approximately three weeks in a place where there's protein deficiency, lots of green veggies but little else. My bags are limited, and fortunately, clothing weight and other gear is nominal. You don't go hunting and trapping because there isn't much and you'd be taking stuff out of the mouths of the people you're helping, but you'll be receiving mostly stuff to partially sate hunger but it doesn't provide the nutrition.

This is the tropics so preserved food of some form is necessary.

What I'd go with would begin with vitamins. They are light and they'll prevent and vitamin deficiency. At that point I'd be worrying about lipids and protein. Considering the environment, I'd go with Hooah Bars, part of the rations developed my the US military. My rationale, they provide some of what I need in good energy, they're scientifically designed not to have an energy dump effect, unlike chocolate, and they're stable even in terrible environments. I'd also pack some cans of corned beef because that's lipids and proteins and a lot of calories for 12 ounces. But I also noticed that canned butter has 2400 calories in just 12 ounces and canned cheese is 770 in just under 8 ounces. I'm figuring that if each person carried a few cans of each corned beef, cheese and butter you'd be splitting the cans. I'd also pack a lot of freeze dried fruit.

 

[Tirediron]

These types of excercises definatly help sort things out, a kelly kettle would be on the top of my list for that package

 

[SurviveNthrive]

It certainly got me thinking about different priorities for loads.

 

[The_Blob]

Simple carbohydrates such as fruit have higher calorie densities than vegetables because simple carbs are more concentrated and have less fiber. Fruit juice is even more concentrated than the fruit itself. A medium sized orange contains about 60 calories. A glass of orange juice has about 160 calories. Fruit and fruit juice, therefore, make great additions to a weight-gaining program.

Complex carbohydrates (starches) such as whole grains, pasta, cereals, beans, yams, potatoes and rice also have higher calorie densities than fibrous carbs. A typical restaurant sized serving of pasta contains 1000-1200 calories. Obviously, pasta and other complex carbohydrates are great foods for gaining weight.

Fat can also have a major impact on the calorie content of foods. Fats have more than twice as many calories per gram than carbohydrates or protein (9 calories per gram vs. 4 calories per gram), so foods that are 100% fat have the most calories per volume. Olive oil, which is pure fat, contains 1920 calories per cup. Any food that has a lot of fat in it will have a high calorie density. Peanut butter, for example, has 1600 calories per cup; Cashews have 780 calories per cup.

In small amounts, unsaturated, "healthy" fats are not only good for you, but they can help you gain weight more quickly than if you didn't eat any fat at all. Just one tablespoon of flaxseed oil and two tablespoons of peanut butter would add nearly 500 calories to your daily diet and you'd hardly notice that any extra food was added.

Protein foods that contain some fat will also be higher in calories. 4 oz of Chinook salmon has 265 calories and 15g of (good) fat; 4 oz of Haddock has 135 calories and only 1g of fat. Because of the higher calories and the essential fatty acids (good fats), cold water fish like Salmon are another great addition to a weight gain program.

The best proteins for gaining/maintaining muscle are the lean ones like chicken, lean beef, egg whites, turkey and fish. Cuts of red meat like round or flank steak are excellent for this and are generally more economical to purchase also.

If you have plenty of water, some supplements (weight gain & protein powders) may also be a good choice, but not for every meal nor for prolonged periods; and they generally tend to deplete a budget quickly.

 

[gypsysue]

Would it be an option to take peanut butter for protein and fat?

 

[SurviveNthrive]

Taking a look at survivalism, survival shows, and missionary work got me interested in picking up more items. Bulk carbos are the cheapest, easiest, and longest storing items I can get so I've got them in quantity. Noting the situation of limited protein and lipids and bad weather, I figure I'm doing well with the stockpiles of corned beef, canned cheese and butter, but I also have my freeze dried or dehydrated butter, milk and meats as well as TVP. This is supplemented with vitamins.

I think I'm going to pick up some more corned beef, tuna, and canned chicken pieces as well as a lot of canned butter and cheese.

 

[The_Blob]

Would it be an option to take peanut butter for protein and fat?

peanut butter DOES seem to be the best option IMHO... unless you're allergic

 

[SurviveNthrive]

Peanut butter is normally a good option, but it'd suck with available local greens!

 

[mdprepper]

Peanut butter is normally a good option, but it'd suck with available local greens!

Depends on the green. I enjoy peanut butter on green peppers!

 

[SurviveNthrive]

Peanut butter is a great option and one more thing, it comes in light containers.

 

[booter]

If you're thinking vitamins, then you're thinking along the right lines, try-EmergenC vita-packs [we lived on these when I worked for our county Water Dept.] I worked a 10-hour plus day running a chainsaw and we had to hike several miles in w/equipment everyday. Protein powder takes
up space, but doesn't weigh much, PowerBars are pricy but do the job, with all the demands on your body during stress situations you need to
be thinking of 'calories=BTU's'. You'll need; fats, carbs, and proteins, 'don't worry about your diet PRE-TSHTF' in the coming future we will all be entered into the 'Survival Olympics' for the duration.