comfort food, morale, preparedness, survival, prepper, food storage
Preparedness

5 Morale Boosting Foods With a Long Shelf Life

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Any high-stress disastrous event will create a definite morale issue for most people. The absence of normal life comforts combined with potential life-altering conditions will wreak havoc on people – especially children. Having as part of any food storage system some specific foods to boost – even just a little – the morale of friends and family is simple and inexpensive.

Here are 5 morale-boosting foods with a long shelf-life:

Jelly Beans – Jelly Beans provide an explosive amount of flavors as well as a sugar rush. Shelf Life: 1-2 years.

M&M’s – Chocolate is one of the most popular comfort foods. M&M’s themselves are a popular favorite. Shelf Life: 1 year

Starburst – A fruity fix when times are tough? Starburst fit the bill perfectly. Shelf Life: 2-3 years.

Peppermint Hard Candy – Long lasting with an intense peppermint flavor. Shelf Life: 12-18 months.

MRE Cakes – Candy is great but MRE cakes will provide a smile when it seems impossible. Shelf Life: up to 7 years.

It would be recommended to store all of these foods – even the MRE desserts –  in a vacuum sealed bag via a Foodsaver to extend life as far as possible.

While there is not a food in existence that can fix property destruction and heal wounds – the mental anguish often associated with disasters may be lessened just a bit – with morale boosting foods.

What’s your favorite?

Rourke

 

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33 Comments

  2. Tom Jackson says:

    Where do you get your shelf life numbers? I know for a fact that M&M’s last more than a year especially when vacuum packed in canning jars using a Foodsaver

    Reply
      1. SingleMom says:

        I thought I’d be safer buying Nestle chocolate chips. Got 2 of those giant bags from Sam’s Club, carefully poured them into jars. When I went to make cookies 6 weeks later, every last chip was gone. Now I hide them.

        Reply
    2. dmwalsh568 says:

      Definitely agree here…while I have some vacuum packed for LTS, I tend to overbuy on M&M packages and have opened 3 year old bags that taste as fresh as new. Just the regular retail package (well, the 56 ounce wholesale club package, but you get the idea…)

      Reply
      1. SingleMom says:

        Don’t try that with Hershey’s kisses. They pick up the flavors around them and get really nasty after a year if you don’t have them securely repackaged. Won’t make that mistake again!

        Reply
  3. SingleMom says:

    Any form of chocolate is a necessity for me, but I had some mini candy canes that I put in a Foodsaver bag, and they were still good after 5 years. Made the mistake of trying the same thing with gummy bears. Six months later they were a solid mass with the texture of old air-dried gum drops. But definitely experiment with comfort foods! You won’t realize how much you need them until they’re not there.

    Reply
    1. SingleMom says:

      I forgot about the candy corn. I put mine in jars but didn’t vacuum seal them, and they’re still going strong 4 years later.

      Reply
  5. Gramma says:

    re: shelf life of chocolate

    As an experiment, I ziplocked a chocolate bar == fair trade and organic, naturally == then vacuum-sealed it, and placed it in a Mason jar with double gaskets.

    It lasted the better part of the morning.

    Reply
    1. CaptTurbo says:

      I would have exactly the same problem with those. I would starve to death looking at a jar of jelly beans but that jar of chocolate wouldn’t last the day.

      Reply
  6. Brad M says:

    Let me begin by saying Gramma…. I literally LOL’d at work and fell out of my chair.

    Chocolate is an incredible comfort food. Remember the GI’s in WWII handing them out to kids and adults? Good Chocolate can keep for a long time on a shelf in a good environment, but if you add nuts or whatever then you lose that shelf life as the oils in the nuts will go rancid. You can find instructions on how to make chocolate from good Cocoa powder as well, and it will store longer.

    If your storing chocolate then don’t forget the nylons too 🙂

    Reply
    1. Pam says:

      Absolutely, Vacuum packed baking cocoa and plenty of sugar, including powdered sugar. Brownies, fudge, cake, frosting, pudding, cream pie, syrup, hot cocoa, ice cream, chocolate milk and more. And nobody is inclined to eat a spoonful of cocoa powder.
      However, it takes time and effort to make delicious. In most cases, in an already stressful situation, this would simply add more stress instead of relieve it. Powdered cocoa definitely belongs in the pantry, perhaps in front of the gallon jar of Jolly Ranchers. Personally, I prefer candy I can chew but it just doesn’t last as long.
      In the late eighties, we inherited an unopened 35 pound tin of “hard candy” from the Viet Nam war. In 2012 a decision needed to made whether to allow it to continue taking up space – we opened it. The candy was basically Dumdums without sticks wrapped in thin cellophane. And as good as any hard sucker you get at the bank today. Resealed and saved.

      Reply
  7. Illini Warrior says:

    one year storage on peppermint hard candy ?? – it’s almost pure sugar … they are finding hard candy in long lost CD shelters from the 1960s – still good to goooooooo

    Reply
    1. Hiwayman387 says:

      I can remember buying pineapple flavored lifesavers from Civil Defense stockpiles packed in the 60s in the mid to late 80s ! They came in cardboard paper barrels that were 25 years old then.

      Reply
  8. Dusty says:

    As far as I”m concerned a productive day and good healthy food is all I need to keep my morale up. What are you going to do if you can’t get your morale boosters?

    Reply
    1. Illini Warrior says:

      I’m hoping the hard candy I have sealed away will boost my morale in another way – I might not be able to feed the neighborhood kids – save their lives – but handing out a piece of candy could give them a little hope for that day ….

      Reply
      1. SingleMom says:

        People find comfort in different ways. I’m thinking that during hard times, a random piece of candy could make a big difference.

        Reply
  9. PR says:

    I use a vac master to seal peppermint lifesavers in 8×10″ sheets. These pack easily and I’ve yet to open a sheet that didn’t taste as good now as way back then. Sam’s Club often has lifesavers in bulk along with other hard candies. PR

    Reply
  10. Lightning says:

    Rourke- those pictures make me feel like I can reach in and grab some jelly beans (and I don’t ever like them-smile !!) You all made me laugh tonight-see this candy is good medicine !!!
    I agree one must hide it -even from oneself -but yes candy will last years.
    I opened peanut butter from 6 years ago yesterday and it was just fine-tasted great !!
    Folks its zero with a wind chill of minus 8 here tonight-brr. Time for some hot chocolate !!! Lightning

    Reply
  11. joyce says:

    Oh Lightning… you got that right! This WAS a fabulous laugh on this Friday night 😂

    Brad M… your reaction was part of the merry mirth enjoyed as i read 😂

    Gramma… too much for me to not laugh out loud 😂 (DH is giving me looks…)

    For me, sweets aren’t what i crave… sour/salty suck me in when i need a comfort food… think a gallon jar of dills on the counter of an old general store OR a handful of hand cut salted potato chips. Don’t get me wrong, i do love a bit of chocolate or even cotton candy now and then, (cotton candy mom, really!?!) But where a sweet tooth will finish off a whole bag of what ever, i still have over half the bag of coffee m&m’s DH gifted me with over a year ago… my “vice” usually isn’t sugar. Yep, my Halloween candy lasted almost all year as a child 😂 (i have a small supply of “nips” put by as well as miscellaneous sweets for those i hope to have near.)

    THIS post HAS made me stop to think “what would i miss more than other stuff” if we were an extended time without supplies of goods we take for granted? After food i mean…. #1-BOOKS, and the written word in periodicals, letters and inspirational articles/blogs. Makes me think of making a book of copied posts and comments from 1776Patriots (and a few others i read,) to feel the community we enjoy so often. #2- i would miss fabric, yarn and threads of color. When i read “The Hiding Place” i was struck by Corrie’s use of embroidery in prison and the help it was to her heart. Besides, sewing is definitely a past time with purpose. (Still trying to figure out how to convince DH i “need” a treadle sewing machine 😛) #3- The SOUND of music… being able to play the wide variety of music one has learned to love in their lifetime AND share it with the young ones.

    What say the rest of you? If we only knew now what one would miss unexpectedly…

    Have a great weekend all…

    Reply
  12. SingleMom says:

    Anyone who can play music will be welcome at my BOL, even if they have no other skills! The generations before mine had either excellent singing voices or learned to play multiple instruments. When my cousins and I were born, no one felt it was necessary to teach us any of them. I do have a handful of songbooks in my preps with old songs and traditional hymns, but they won’t do much good if we don’t have anyone who either knows the tune or can read music. Good topic to mention, Joyce!

    Reply
  13. Neil says:

    Jeezzee I thought everyone knew the best food saver is a Christmas Fruitcake have you not heard the storage times people have had them and weren’t spoiled years.

    Reply
  14. joyce says:

    Yummmmm Neil…fruitcake either made with fermented fruit or soaked in brandy, whiskey or other appropriate liquor IS a long keeper! The old fashioned fruitcake my grandmother made had cotton/citrus peel and other sharp flavored spices that are definitely a hard sell to most untrained palates. HOWEVER, the mellow flavor of a fermented fruitcake is my favorite. To ferment the fruit, sugar is added to it, (peaches, pineapple, cherries or other firm locally available fruit.) Then, over the course of a couple months, one stirs the mixture daily, enjoying the bloom of alcohol that develops from a raw, hard smell to the mellow sweet aroma that combines with nuts, and the cake that holds it all together, into a wonderful treat that is life-changing. (Yep…you never look at fruitcake the same 🙂 )

    Having no experience with the freeze dried ice cream, i have wondered if it is worth the cost to have some put by. What do those of you who HAVE had this think?

    Sitting here at our kitchen table watching the new storm “Mateo” start up with just a few fluffy flakes so far. Feeling content to have no need to rush out and join the crowds at the stores.

    Stay safe all…

    Reply
    1. SingleMom says:

      I’m that rare person who loves any fruitcake — good, bad, or indifferent. But I have to admit I was wondering what kind of recipe Grandma made with cotton. Thought at first it was one of those Southern things we Yankees don’t know about.

      Reply

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