10 Emergency Raw Vegan foods for when you’re snowed in

Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past couple of weeks, you may have noticed there’s been a bit of snow outside. I must admit, I’m one of those people who scoffs when they see panic buying going on in supermarkets, but my devil-may-care approach left me somewhat unprepared when the country ground to a halt this week.

My usual vegbox delivery didn’t turn up (understandably!) and I found myself scrabbling about in the cupboards wondering what I was going to eat for the next few days.

I soon realised that I was – quite by accident – fairly well-prepared for any eventuality, so I thought it would be a good topic to write about.

So, here are my top ten tips for staying stocked up in the snow!

1. Sprouts

I’m not talking Brussels sprouts here (although they would be pretty handy in an emergency too) – I mean those groovy little seeds and pulses that will sit in the cupboard for ages, just waiting for you to add a little water so they can grow into superfresh, supercharged superfoods whenever you need them.

Surely they must be the all-time number one emergency go-to food?

I like to maximise storage space by filling the cupboards with jars of sproutable seeds, rather than tins of dead pasteurised food.  That way each jar has the potential to triple or quadruple itself in quantity, giving you an abundant supply of fresh vibrant living foods.  You don’t get that with a tin of mushy peas, do you?

2. Seaweed

I always keep a huge bag of sea spaghetti that I get from Funky Raw – I call it my Apocalypse Spaghetti because I’m sure it would see me through the darkest of days! I get a 1 kg bag and it seems to last forever.

I take out a handful whenever I need it, soak it in water then marinate it to soften and add flavour (it’s pretty bland on its own). It’s a fantastic source of minerals, which is handy if you’re running low in green veg.

That pic has just reminded me of another surefire winner when it comes to emergency food – fermentation.  I always have a big jar of fermented veggies on the go (eg sauerkraut or kimchi) – it’s amazing for adding flavour and substance to even the more boring of salads.  Not to mention all those lovely live probiotics to boost your immune system while you’re stuck indoors.

Other handy types of seaweed I like to keep in the cupboards are: wakame, nori, Irish moss, kelp and dulse.

3. Fresh fruit

Some types of fruit, such as apples and melons, will store well for fairly long periods of time. It’s also handy to keep a good supply of bananas in, in varying degrees of ripeness.

4. Frozen fruit

I have a shelf in the freezer dedicated to bags of frozen berries. They’re becoming very widely available in the supermarkets these days (you’ll probably find them near the frozen desert section), although sadly there never seems to be any organic options. I’ve even seen bags of frozen coconut pieces in Sainsbury’s, which are very useful for blending into smoothies and soups.

5. Frozen veg

Don’t forget you can freeze leafy green veg and chopped up root veg like carrots and ginger – you can even store them in handy smoothie-sized bags ready to blend up for a refreshing drink. Whenever I have a surplus I fill a few containers up and keep them for those times when the cupboards aren’t so flush.

6. Dried fruit

Dates and figs are great dried fruits to have on hand for a speedy sugar supply. I prefer these over fruits like raisins and sultanas, as the latter tend to have sulphites and oil added to them. If you’re careful with your suppliers of dates and figs then you can avoid these additives.

Soak them in a jar of water to rehydrate them, and keep them in the fridge for an emergency fast carb supply.

7. Coconut

Dried coconut flakes, coconut sugar and coconut oil are great store-cupboard stand-bys. Coconut flakes can be used to thicken smoothies, or blended into tea/coffee as a milk substitute, and coconut sugar is a nice light healthy sweetener.

I always have big tubs of coconut oil in, as it’s so versatile – I use it for my teeth (oil pulling/swishing) and on my skin as a cleanser/moisturizer. Oh and I also eat it of course 😉 You can spread it on crackers as a butter substitute, or if you cook any of your food it’s a good stable saturated fat.

8. Dried herbs

I love my herbal teas, especially in the winter when I’m feeling the chill, so I always have cupboards full of various herbs. I usually stockpile in the Spring and they seem to last me all year round. Nettles, dandelions and radish greens are among my favourite freely-foraged foods. They can be added to smoothies or you can make some warming tea with them.

I also have a seemingly endless supply of wild garlic (both frozen and dried) that I foraged from some local woods last year, which is ideal to add to salads and soups.

9. Wheatgrass

Another sure-fire Apocalypse food, you can buy huge big bags of wheatgrains at a very low cost, and as long as you have access to soil and water you can grow trays of lovely fresh microgreens no matter what kind of weather’s out there.

10. Green powders

If you decide not to go the fresh wheatgrass route, an easy substitute (albeit a lot more expensive) is to buy green superfood powders for adding an easy mineral boost to smoothies. You can get mixtures such as Vitamineral Green or Pure Synergy, or individual greens like wheatgrass and barleygrass etc. I also like algaes such as chlorella and spirulina.

Beware some of the new fancy superfood blends that are finding their way onto supermarket shelves lately – close inspection of their ingredient list often reveals quite a few cheap fillers! Always got to keep one step ahead 😉

So there you have it – my guide to the best emergency rawfood supplies for when the next snowstorm hits!

Did I miss any out? What are your favourite stand-bys in times of shortage?  Let me know in the comments!