Fameal: A Long-Lasting Survival Food You Should Make For Your Stockpile

This article was originally published by F M on www.askaprepper.com

 

Fameal is a survival food introduced in severe conditions such as famine, and it was initially administrated to the starving migrants.

Similarly, preppers can use this highly beneficial food in dark times. The foodstuff is a corn bean mix with additional nutrients.

NGOs use this type of meal for feeding people in their food programs because it is cheap and nutritious.

It is similar to the Super Cereal and Super Cereal Plus supplied by WHO (World Health Organization) that contains Wheat-Soy-Blend prepared for children 5 years of age and adults (Nguyen, 2014), and UNICEF (The United Nations Children’s Fund) that especially prepares this supplementary food for infants and young children of 6 months or above.

Ingredients

You can find it in a grocery store, but fameal can be easily prepared at home as well with daily use food items as listed below.

Surprisingly, these easily available ingredients include wheat or cornmeal, any bean meal, any sort of cooking oil, sugar, salt along with a small amount of multivitamin.

Combine all these ingredients in definite portions as explained underneath:

1. Take 50% by volume of wheat meal or cornmeal.
2. Take 30% by volume of any bean meal. It can either be from lentils or soy, whichever is convenient for you. Lentil meal can also be easily prepared at home.
3. Take 10% by volume of cooking oil.
4. Take 10% of sugar and some salt to taste.
5. Finally take a multivitamin tablet and grind it to form powder.
6. Combine all these ingredients.

How To Prepare And Consume This Food?

1. As a Paste or Porridge

Fameal is itself is in a powdered form that can be simply prepared by adding boiling water in 1:3 proportion.

Just mix it gradually to avoid any lumps. Subsequently, cover and allow it to cook for at least 8 to 10 minutes.

You can also prepare it in a microwave oven. Just mix the powder with water and keep it in the microwave for a minute or so.

Once done, it can be consumed in the form of thin paste or as porridge by adding milk powder to it.

2. As a Flour for Confectionary

The other way can be to use it as flour in powdered form.

Dry and long-lasting foods such as fruit cakes, hardtack, sourdough and much more can be baked in the same way using fameal.

3. As a Complementary Ingredient for Other Dishes

You can thicken it up to make several dishes out of it such as dumplings or pancakes.

Moreover, it can also be used as a thickening agent in soups and casseroles.

You just name it and it will serve you as a base for any dish because it is made of essential storage foods.

Plus Points

The best thing about it is that it’s extremely healthy because it is a perfect blend of carbohydrates, proteins, fat, vitamins, and minerals in good proportions.

Honestly, it not only tastes good but also is a filling and satisfying food. Use it to prepare a satiating meal promptly when SHTF.

Long-Lasting Fameal Recipe

1. Fameal Bars

These bars are highly nutritious, easy to make and require ingredients that are readily available from your storage foods. So let’s get started:

Ingredients

• 100 g fameal
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons nuts of your choice (I’ve used almonds and walnuts seeds)
• 2 tablespoons seeds of your choice (I’ve used sesame and flax seeds)

Preparation (makes 2-3 bars)

1. Combine all ingredients (except brown sugar) in a non-stick pan and roast them for a few minutes.

2. Now add brown sugar. Mix constantly and let the sugar melt at low to medium flame.

3. When all ingredients have combined well, turn off the flame and dish it out on parchment paper. Then press it and shape it out.

You can either use hands or a knife. You can also cover it with that for storage.

How Can Fameal Be Stored

Fameal also contains oil and sugar. Oil offers an air-tight seal by being a barrier between air and the food itself.

On the other hand, sugar helps to preserve the color, texture and flavor of the food (Williams, 2020). Both these ingredients also alleviate or prevent the microbial activity in food.

Thus, they act as a preservative for keeping the meal fresh for a longer time. However, these are present in less amount.

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So, there should be some ways to store it for at least a few months:

1. Usage of Air-Tight Containers

Generally, whole grain flours and meals spoil speedily as compared to intact grains. This is because its protective bran layer has been damaged, enabling oxygen to react with the grain particles.

Moreover, heat and moisture can further contribute in its spoilage. Thus, the best way to store such an item for up to 3 months is by using an air-tight container having tight-fitting lids which should be placed on a cool and dry shelf. You can use canisters made of glass, plastic or aluminum.

If the meal is in fewer amounts, a zip-lock plastic bag can also work well. These sealed containers will help to maintain the freshness of food by preventing the grain particles from absorbing moisture and reacting with oxygen.

2. Using Mylar Bags

Preppers can safely store fameal for really long-term in Mylar bags, and can consume it in emergency situations, for instance, when SHTF.

First of all, decide the amount of fameal you want to store. These bags come in different sizes. You can also make customized pouches by cutting them into the required size.

Then, fill it with the appropriate amount of fameal you want to store and leave some space. Add an oxygen absorber in it so that the iron does not react with oxygen and spoil the food. Next, remove the air by squeezing the empty part of the bag towards outwards. Finally, seal the bag.

If you do not have appropriate equipment for that, an iron or flat iron (also known as a hair straightener) will work well. When labeling the pouches or bags is extremely important to remember what has been placed inside them. You are required to put these in buckets as they are not rodent-proof.

The shelf life of grains is 20 – 25 years. However, when it comes to flour or meal, it is reduced to up to 5 years. Still, this is a lot.

So just follow these simple steps and store your buckets in a cool, dry and protected place for long-term.

Additional Tip for Storage

Make sure to label your meal bags or containers with the purchase or manufacturing dates of their ingredients.

This way you will be able to track its shelf life for its freshness.

Final Words

Preppers should add fameal to their stockpile as it is an efficient mix of vital nutrients in good proportions which makes it a wonderful option to choose as a meal. It possesses grains in highest percentage which are rich in carbohydrates, and you know that is the primary source of energy.

Besides this, it possesses proteins, fats and multivitamins and minerals which makes this food a balanced and highly nutritious meal!

You see its basic preparation does not require much time and it can serve you versatile meals. Considering all these crucial points along with the fact that fameal is cheap and long-lasting, this could be one of the best-stored foods for preppers.

 

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