Why "A Million Calories" Is a Prepper Mistake

I've been to a lot of prepper stores over the years. I've been to emergency preparedness groups and sat and listened to how people plan. And there's one phrase I've heard more than once that always makes me wince a little.

"We just want a million calories."

That's the whole goal for some folks. Stack up enough calories to keep everybody alive, and call it done. I understand the thinking. Calories are energy, and when food runs out, energy is what keeps you on your feet. A million calories will help. I'm not going to pretend it won't.

But if that's all you're storing, you're making a mistake, and it's one that could catch up with your family right when you can least afford it.

Your Body Needs More Than Fuel

Think of calories like gasoline in a car. Without it, you're not going anywhere. But a car also needs oil, coolant, and a working battery, and if you ignore those, it doesn't matter how full the tank is.

Your body works the same way. You've got to have protein. You've got to have vitamin C. You need vitamins and minerals of all kinds. Leave those out long enough and a person can be eating plenty of calories and still be getting weaker and sicker every week.

You can't survive on one thing. That's the heart of it.

You Can't Live on Wheat Alone

Wheat is one of the best foods you can store. It's inexpensive, it lasts for decades when it's packed right, and it's incredibly versatile. I'm a big believer in it.

But you can't just survive on wheat.

The protein from beans is absolutely required. Beans belong in every food storage plan, right alongside the grains. Together they give your family something a mountain of wheat can't give on its own.

This is one of the reasons I appreciate the work The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has done on its food storage guidelines. I'm a member of that church, and they've taken all the information necessary and based their recommendations on proper nutrition. The goal is to give you the protein you need and everything else your body requires for survival, not just a pile of calories. My free Food Storage Calculator is built to match those guidelines, so the list it gives you is balanced from the start.

Learn to Use Each Staple More Than One Way

Here's the other half of the lesson, and I think it's the half people miss most often.

It's not enough to store a variety of foods. You also need to learn how to use each one in more ways than you'd expect.

Take wheat again. Most people think of it as flour for bread, or maybe as a hot cereal in the morning. Those are both good uses. But wheat can do more than that. You can sprout it. Sprouted wheat, and the wheatgrass you can grow from it, gives you vitamin C and other nutrients that dry wheat sitting in a bucket doesn't have. That's a big deal when there's no fresh produce to be had.

That's just one example. There are dozens of things you can do with any of the staples in your storage, ways to use them that go far beyond what you'd first think of. Every one of those uses you learn now is one more option you'll have when the stores are empty.

Why This Matters So Much

Picture trying to figure all of this out in the middle of a real emergency. You're tired. Everyone is stressed. Maybe the power is out. That's not the time to discover that your family is getting sick on a diet of plain wheat, or that you don't know the first thing about sprouting.

The time to learn is now, while it's easy and while mistakes don't cost much. Try a recipe or two with your beans. Sprout a jar of wheat on the kitchen counter and see how it goes. Teach your kids. Make it normal. If you'd like help thinking that through, read my article on the difference between a three-month supply and long-term storage, because the same principle applies to both. Don't just store it. Use it.

A Better Goal Than a Number

So instead of "a million calories," here's the goal I'd suggest. A balanced supply of food your family knows how to prepare, with enough protein, enough vitamins, and enough variety to stay healthy for as long as you've planned for.

That's harder to fit on a bumper sticker. It's also a lot more likely to keep you alive.

If you want to see what a balanced supply looks like for your household, the Food Storage Calculator will lay it out for one month, three months, a year, or whatever you choose. And for the things that go along with food, like water and fuel for cooking, the Family Planner will help. Both are free, there's no sign-up, and nothing you enter is saved.

A Thought to Carry With You

The Savior said that man shall not live by bread alone (Matthew 4:4). He was talking about the word of God, but I think the principle runs all the way through life. We need more than one thing to be whole, body and spirit. A storeroom full of calories without the rest is a little like a life full of busyness without faith. It might keep you going for a while. It won't carry you all the way through.