Dry and Powder

There are so many things to think about when we are trying to stock our long term pantries.  You don't want to stock things you will never use - AND you want to have plenty of what you do use.
There may come a time in the near (or distant) future, that we will have to become self sufficient through NO real choice of our own!  The world is scary, and we just never know what can happen week to week.

We all seem to have our freezers full - and that is wonderful, unless we are without power for a long while (and do not have generators).
Home canned goods and even store canned goods can pretty much all be eaten straight from the jar or can if we HAD to!

I figure if the worst happened I can heat foods up over a gas grill or a wood fire.  You could cook in a fireplace as well.
I like having powdered and dehydrated goods on hand as well.  Many people dehydrate about everything do to little storage area.  You can get a whole lot of food in a quart jar when it's powdered or dried!

POWDERED
Things I keep on a normal basis:

Milk and buttermilk
Butter
Horseradish
Cheddar cheese
Eggs
Ham - beef - chicken seasonings
Potatoes
Homemade cream of soups
Spices and herbs


DRIED OR DEHYDRATED
I keep:

Herbs and spices
Mushrooms
Squashes
Onions
Green beans
Potatoes
Celery
Tomato skins (also goes under powdered)
Vegetable soup mix (I buy by the gallon)
Berries - raisins, craisins, and other dried fruit

Zucchini and yellow squash are easy to dehydrate.  Great for soups.

 

Tomato skins dried and powdered.  Great for seasoning.  I do this with all my herbs I grow as well

 

I consider a lot of things for dry storage.  In my opinion, ANY dried beans or peas go in this category, also rice, and pasta.  They can all be kept in dark dry locations for ages and ages.

I like using jars of all types and sizes for my kitchen pantry storage of beans, rice, pasta, oatmeal, etc. (gallon jars are also used for my long term storage).  The cabinet holds all my flavor extracts (I am an extract junky!).

Not all spices and herbs are dehydrated at home.  I like to keep several large containers of store bought spices as well.

Another item that I deem an absolute necessity is SALT.  I keep iodized salt, Kosher, canning, and several grades of pink Himalayan salt (fine grind to coarse).  At present time I probably have 25 lbs. of salt on hand.  It is great for pickling, preserving, seasoning, and can even be used for health reasons.  Salt is a great barter item in desperate times.

ALSO I think sugar, flour and grains are important to keep as dry goods.   Oats are good and healthy to eat, great to cook with and can be ground into flour if necessary. 
Sugar is so important in preserving and flavoring. (It's a great barter as well)
Rice and dried corn can also be ground into flours if necessary. 
Wheat berries are a wonderful addition to long term storage (they last for years and years), and can be ground.
I think of coffee and tea as dry storage items as well.

Of course I like to keep other things like baking soda and baking powder on hand.
My WANT LIST includes powdered honey and vanilla (I have a tiny bit of powdered vanilla).  I will be adding those things in the near future (among other things).

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There really aren't too many things that can NOT be dehydrated.  I have heard of people scrambling eggs and drying, cottage cheese, canned and frozen fruits and veggies, meats - you name it!
Once dried, about anything can be powdered.  They kind of go hand in hand.


What items do you like to keep on hand that are dried OR powdered? 
What items do you dehydrate yourself? 
I know I for one, am eager to learn what others do - it is so helpful to me in planning my future preps!  I am sure it will help others as well.

LET'S BE PREPARED FOR WHATEVER MAY COME OUR WAY!