Everyone in the Survival community has seen the Survival ration bars. Mainstays, Datrex and others. I have eaten the mainstay bars before. Not bad really. Very dry though. Also the bars have many ingredients I’m not going to eat. Not only is it not paleo it’s full of chemicals. There is a better homemade version going around mostly made with oatmeal. I saw that recipe recently on a website. While reading the article my mind was already working. I began thinking about how to make a paleo survival ration bar immediately. I made a test one to give to people to try. The reactions to the paleo survival ration bar were good enough to run with for me. So let’s make a paleo survival ration bar.

Paleo Survival Ration Bars — Paleo Survival Ration Bar

Ingredients

Like always I like to use the fewest ingredients as possible. This time I hit a home run with the paleo survival ration bar. I managed to make a paleo survival ration bar with only 4 ingredients. No funky preservatives in here. No grains, no dairy and no legumes. Making this 100% paleo.

2 cups of Dried Dates.
2 cups Unsweetened Shredded Coconut.
8 tbsp of Coconut Oil.
2 Packets of True Lemon.

For those that aren’t familiar with True Lemon it is crystallized lemon. This way you get the lemon flavor without adding moisture or artificial ingredients.

Making Them

Dried Dates Paleo Survival Ration Bars — Dried Dates

You’re going to need a food processor to make a paleo survival ration bar. The better it is the easier it will be. Mine was not powerful enough to chop up the dates all at one. I had to run them in small batches. Leaving out the dates to come to room temp might help. If your food processor is big enough you can run all the ingredients for the paleo survival ration bar at once. If not follow my directions. When you have ran all the dates through the food processor set them aside.

Shredded Coconut Paleo Survival Ration Bars — Shredded Coconut

Next we need to start combining the ingredients. I mixed coconut oil and flakes with the processed dates in small batches. Run the processor until the mixture has a creamy consistency. Once all the dates have been mixed with the coconut flakes dump into a bowl.

Paleo Survival Ration Bars Mixture — Paleo Survival Ration Bar Mixture

I had some coconut flakes that couldn’t fit into the food processor so I mixed by hand in the bowl. At this point I also added in the true lemon. I waited to sprinkle it to spread more evenly. The first time I made it I put the true lemon in the food processor. It didn’t mix evenly and some bites were more lemony

Next you need to spread the paleo survival ration bar on a cookie sheet and form into a bar shape. Try to get even on the sides. After I formed it I made some cuts in it to help with breaking it. When it’s set and chilled it is very hard. Next we need to place it in the freezer to set. I placed the paleo survival ration bar in while writing this so about thirty minute should do.

Paleo Survival Ration Bar

So a Mainstar Bar is 3,600 calories and the homemade one is 3,000. My paleo survival ration bar comes out to be 2,085. Which is enough to keep you alive for 1~2 days. Going the the estimates found online without refrigeration this should last 6 months~1 year. No expiration if kept frozen. So not exactly a put and forget item, but close. Why would you let this sit that long though. You wouldn’t after you try it.

I took a paleo survival ration bar to Crossfit and let a coach try it. She never turns down any food and liked it. I took it mostly to eat post workout. I met up with a friend after and let her try it. She tried my paleo survival ration bar and the paleo simplified bar. She prefered mine over the paleo simplified one. Dave from The Shepherd School tried one out at the land and he really liked them. I’ll have a video up on it soon.

The flavor is like a lemon bar. Exactly what I was aiming for. I can taste the coconut and the lemon mostly. The dates mostly just add sweetness. The coconut oil adds a creaminess to them. They taste great. I’m mildly surprised by how good they are. I’ve tried coconut bars before in the past and they were atrocious. Like nauseatingly bad. The problem with these ones would be in not devouring them all in one go. They may be paleo but 2k of calories is too much.

As a paleo survival ration bar I think I nailed it. Keep some in the freezer for camping trips. If you are bugging out grab them and go. They will last a year and if a disaster last longer than that we are in serious trouble.