Post by missj on Aug 15, 2012 0:27:48 GMT -7
I got to thinking today (it's bound to happen eventually) about the ratio of carbs to protein in my survival preps.
I think most of us know that fats will be a MAJOR deficiency/problem with our food storage planning ....but proteins deserve consideration as well.
So I've spent the last 5 hours or so doing a bunch of research and I thought I'd just share with y'all what I've learned. Don't ask me to quote sources...I won't remember. This is just basic general info and basic math anyways...easy to find for yourselves if you want.
The USDA recommends 10-35% of your daily calories should come from proteins. You'll probably find that most balanced diets recommend around 15% protein.
What does that LOOK like on your plate? It can be confusing since, for instance a food like dried beans is not 100% protein or 100% carbs or 100% fiber...it is a combination of the 3 that varies depending on the bean.
anyways...
it turns out that if you take 2 basic foods like white rice and pinto beans you want to have approximately a 3:2 ratio of rice to beans to achieve the proper 15% protein ratio (actually that would be closer to 12.5% but I'm going for easy to use ballpark figures here).
That ratio is based on dry weight, not volume or cooked weight. So for instance you would want3 ounces of dried rice and 2 ounces of dried beans. Coincidentally, that would be about 500 calories which, for many of us is one meal.
You could pretty easily hit the target 15% protein with the addition of just a tiny bit of meat....say an ounce or two of tuna, or chicken, or squirrel added throughout one day will bring you squarely into the 15% protein zone.
Unfortunately, that doesn't even begin to solve the problem of fats, which is a story for another day.
And don't forget your "micro nutrients" which aside from a bountiful garden, a daily multivitamin is your best bet (and easiest to store).
I think most of us know that fats will be a MAJOR deficiency/problem with our food storage planning ....but proteins deserve consideration as well.
So I've spent the last 5 hours or so doing a bunch of research and I thought I'd just share with y'all what I've learned. Don't ask me to quote sources...I won't remember. This is just basic general info and basic math anyways...easy to find for yourselves if you want.
The USDA recommends 10-35% of your daily calories should come from proteins. You'll probably find that most balanced diets recommend around 15% protein.
What does that LOOK like on your plate? It can be confusing since, for instance a food like dried beans is not 100% protein or 100% carbs or 100% fiber...it is a combination of the 3 that varies depending on the bean.
anyways...
it turns out that if you take 2 basic foods like white rice and pinto beans you want to have approximately a 3:2 ratio of rice to beans to achieve the proper 15% protein ratio (actually that would be closer to 12.5% but I'm going for easy to use ballpark figures here).
That ratio is based on dry weight, not volume or cooked weight. So for instance you would want3 ounces of dried rice and 2 ounces of dried beans. Coincidentally, that would be about 500 calories which, for many of us is one meal.
You could pretty easily hit the target 15% protein with the addition of just a tiny bit of meat....say an ounce or two of tuna, or chicken, or squirrel added throughout one day will bring you squarely into the 15% protein zone.
Unfortunately, that doesn't even begin to solve the problem of fats, which is a story for another day.
And don't forget your "micro nutrients" which aside from a bountiful garden, a daily multivitamin is your best bet (and easiest to store).