If you only had to eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be? Most of us like to say things like chicken or sushi (mine's pizza), but in reality, if we have to have food that will last for the rest of our lives, we'll need to have choices that last a long time on the shelf or can be replenished cheaply through trading.

What should you consider in the top ten of your survival foods? Check out the list below.

1. Canned Alaskan Wild Salmon – Rich in protein and healthy fats like omega 3s. Like tuna fish, you can eat canned Alaskan wild salmon right out of the can, without cooking. If refrigeration isn't an option, plan to share one can of salmon with 2-3 other people at a time, so nothing goes to waste.
2. Brown Rice – High in calories and protein, as well as essential vitamins and minerals like iron. As a dry, non-perishable food, brown rice also has a long shelf life making it a great survival food. “Brown rice hot cereal” is a far better choice because it cooks in just 5 – 8 minutes and is still packed with nutrients and high in calories (one cup of brown rice hot cereal provides 600 calories, 12 grams of protein, and 16% daily value for iron and is easily rationed out in to smaller portions).
3. Dried Beans – Kidney beans, black beans, garbanzo beans, lima beans, pinto beans, and others are all high in calories, contain a fair amount of protein per serving, and also several essential vitamins and minerals. Dried beans come in packages larger than canned beans but for the amount you get weigh quite a bit less. Finally, dried beans have a long shelf life. Dried beans will stay good in the back of your car, your office survival kit, and of course your pantry of survival foods at your home or cabin.
4. Bulk Nuts – Look for the bulk seed/nut area of your grocery store, and specifically for unsalted, and unshelled. Peanuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, and a number of other nuts / seeds typically sold in supermarket bulk foods section are high in essential vitamins and minerals, essential fatty acids, and have a fair amount of protein. At the same time, invest in air-tight food storage containers, such as glass jars.
5. Peanut Butter – It's packed with protein and essential fatty acids, as well as contains many essential vitamins and minerals (such as copper and iron). Just a couple tablespoons a day of peanut butter can help a person survive a period of limited food.
6. Trail Mix – A favorite of hikers, trail mix has a variety of ingredients, raisins, peanuts and other nuts, and often pieces of chocolate, and sometimes dried fruit and berries. The simple sugars in the raisins, chocolate and dried fruits can be a quick mood booster and source of short term energy.
7. Energy Bars and Chocolate Bars – There's an energy bar nowadays for every taste. Look for brands with a high calorie count as well as plenty of protein and a wide range of nutrients. Chocolate bars – Chocolate can be a quick source of energy and a great morale booster, while also being generous in calories.Beef
8. Jerky – Dried meat, if you remember, is a long time proven survival food used by Native Americans and American pioneers alike, and also used by primitive tribes around the world. While these primitive tribes use smoking and sun drying methods to create “jerky”, today commercial methods of drying meat do this on a much larger scale.
9. Coffee / Instant Coffee – Coffee doesn't have to be a top priority, but being able to grab it will be something more than one person in your party is likely to be thankful for. It's a quick mood booster and good for morale.
10. Sea vegetables / Powdered Super Greens – A popular item selling in health foods stores today are the sea vegetables that come in powdered form, or pill. In a time of catastrophic disaster, most communities are going to be hurting for fresh produce. Sea vegetables are a super food, packed with vitamins and nutrients and health benefits that help boost immunity, provide tissue repair and wound healing, and can even have anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties.

Having an ample supply of food is, of course, a good idea, but this list gives you multiple reasons that the type of food you have stored is just as important as the food itself. After all, you may not be eating anything else for weeks or even months.

Keeping healthy in that amount of time is difficult in the best of times, let alone when you've had nothing but rice and beans for months.

Stock up on algae pills, which will provide a huge vitamin boost. Coffee will go a long way toward making a bad situation just a little bit better, and if you've managed to give up your caffeine addiction you now have something to trade.

This is a very in-depth list that will no doubt be very useful. To read the whole article, check out Secrets of Survival.