In a survival situation or during a crisis, making or preparing simple meals can be one of the best ways to conserve time, energy and resources. Being able to prepare simple meals also increases the ability to use limited skill sets for those persons who possess limited culinary skills. Throughout time soups have been the primary type of meal consumed by people with limited resources. Here are just a few of the advantages of using soup as a simple survival meal.
The Advantages of Soup for Survival
1. Soup is a cost effective and economical meal that can be made from just a few simple ingredients.
2. Soup is generally easy to cook and requires only rudimentary skills to prepare. If you can boil water and stir a pot, you can make a decent soup.
3. Soup can be adjusted easily to feed additional persons. Just add water or additional broth to “stretch” the amount of soup available.
4. Soup can also provide a variety in your diet with the addition of simple spices and flavorings or by merely changing the basic ingredients.
5. Soup requires only basic cooking and eating utensils. If you’ve got a pot, you have the ability to create a decent soup for a meal.
6. Soup is easy to serve to a large number of people. All you really need are a few cups or bowls and a couple of spoons. It can even be drank or sipped from a cup.
7. Soup requires only minimal cleanup when water resources may be limited. With less utensils to clean, you save time, energy and resources.
8. Soup allows you conserve valuable fuel sources when cooking a meal. In little more than the time it takes to boil water, you can make a decent soup.
9. Soup is also one of the easiest food items that can be fed to persons who are suffering from a number of physical ailments. Soup is great for treating persons suffering from the effects of dehydration due to stomach or intestinal disorders.
10. Soup when combined with a slice of bread, a biscuit or a few crackers can be a very filling meal for even the hungriest of persons.
There is one additional benefit of soup that is also beneficial in a survival situation or a crisis.
Very few things can make you feel better than a simple bowl of soup.
Got soup for survival?
Staying above the watered down soup line!
Riverwalker
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10 comments:
Other benefit when its cold outside - holding the container warms your hands, and breathing in the warmth warms the air into your lungs.
Down here in south Texas, ox-tail soup (caldo - kawl-doe) is a Mexican tradition in the holiday season. Beef tails, along with abbage, carrots, onions, on a big pot on the stove - mmmmm, with some homemade corn tortilla, thats good grazing friend!
Have a great weekend Riverwalker.
I need to get better at making soups. A couple things I make that could fall into that category I don't call soups but gruel. I like it but would not necessarily serve it to others.
I haven’t done much soup or stew making, but I frequently buy those Campbell’s Chunky soups when they’re on sale. To stretch them out, I like to add egg noodles, or more often, rice. I think I became addicted to adding rice to stuff after Army basic training years ago. I remember coming home on leave and making rice to mix in with the chili my mom had made for dinner! I also used to keep the MRE rice to mix in whenever I got a beef stew MRE. I think either noodles or rice are a great way to stretch a soup or stew and add some usable calories to it – if you just add broth you’re basically just thinning out your calories and adding sodium.
I’ll have to get the crockpot out and try some soups and stews now that the weather is getting winter-like.
soup is also known in herbalism as an infusion (as is tea) and in times of crisis is the cheapest available form of food for full nutrition and sustenance.
if you have vegetables that are just starting to go bad - freeze them. freeze all of your leftover bones from steaks, roasts, chicken, etc. i keep all of our starting-to-go-bad veggies and herbs in a bucket in the freezer and have another bucket for every single bone or carcass from all of our meat (beef, poultry, fish, etc.). when you start your soup, use all of the bones and carcasses and all of the almost-bad veggies and slowly simmer it all for 2-4-6-8 hours - the longer you simmer the more nutrients go into the soup broth. you can do this with only chicken, or only beef - but i have found that the broth is so much better if you use a variety of veggies and a variety of bones. also be sure to throw in a ton of garlic, vinegar WITH the Mother in it and unpasteurized honey (when they are combined they make a natural antibiotic!).
strain the broth after simmering, let cool for a few hours, put in the fridge to cool even more. after the broth has been in the fridge, you can skim all of the fat off of the top (i don't do this as the fat is beneficial as well). once properly cooled, you can freeze the broth or can it - your choice.
thanks for such an awesome post about soups RW.
your friend,
kymber
To: anonymous 7:29
There's a place in my area that serves a great caldo de pescado (fish soup)which is hard to beat. It's a small "mom & pop" operation that serves truly authentic Mexican cuisine. Great stuff when you can get it...
A friend of mine makes the ox-tail soup which is a pretty decent meal also.
Thanks anon.
RW
To: One Fly
Soup is a great way to "stretch" what's available and can be very satisfying when you're hungry.
You just need a little more practice making soup. I would suggest you check out some of the caldo de pescado recipes.
Thanks One Fly.
RW
To: Josh
It seems that great minds do think alike. I also like to add rice and pasta to a lot of "soup type" meals.
I've found that rice in combination with most anything is great. I usually like to mix leftover vegetables and rice.
Thanks Josh.
RW
To: Kymber
Those are some great tips for making broth for your soup.
Soup is the original remedy when it comes to making a healthy meal. Mrs. RW makes a great "home-made" chicken noodle soup that is hard to beat.
Thanks Kymber.
RW
Has anyone seen that canteen stove made by Canteenshop? Seems like a nifty piece of kit, an updated 'smarter' GI canteen stove. Check it out - I think I'm going to buy a few of these.
Great information on survival foods
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