5 Reasons Why Cricket Flour Needs to Be Part of Your Prep

If you haven’t heard the buzz surrounding the latest entry into the competition for your protein purchasing dollar, cricket flour is for real and should definitely earn a place in your prepping stores.

What Is Cricket flour?

Cricket flour is made from, well… crickets. Ground up, dried crickets. According to CricketFlours.com, “Generally, the dried crickets are… ground using two different grinding or milling machines.  The first machine is set to a coarse grind.  Once the crickets have been placed in the first machine, the coarse cricket flour is then sifted to remove the lighter content which consists of legs, wings, etc. and is removed from the final cricket flour product.  Next, the remaining coarse cricket flour is placed in the second milling machine which is set to a fine grain size to produce a smooth and fine cricket flour.

Each company will use proprietary processes ranging from the cricket feed, the freezing processes, drying processes, and final grinding procedures as well.  However, most cricket flour production processes will follow this general framework.”

#1 Cricket Flour is Nutritious

According to a recently released UN report entitled Edible Insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security highlighted the health benefits of eating insects, citing their favorable nutrition profile with many high in protein, good fats, calcium, iron and zinc.

Here’s how cricket flour stacks up against some other common foods –

Cricket Flour Nutrition

#2 It Has a Long Shelf Life

At two years, cricket flour lasts twice as long as all purpose flour (12 months) and four times as long as whole wheat flour (6 months) and can be used as a partial substitute for them.

#3 It Has a Neutral Taste

Since it has a neutral flavor, it is an easy addition to many recipes that you already make.

#4 Cricket Flour is More Sustainable

If you’ve watched the latest season of wildfires and water shortages with concern, buying cricket flour is a way that you can invest in a protein source that has a much smaller environmental footprint.

Graphic: ExoProtein.com

#5 Everybody’s Doing It

Eating insects is something that 80% of the world routinely does on purpose. Actually, it’s estimated that humans inadvertently eat up to one pound of insects each year, mixed in with other foods. It’s really only North Americans and Europeans who turn their noses up to bugs. Besides, if the SHTF, having a comfort level with eating insects will make foraging for other insects easier if needed.

Where can I buy cricket flour?

Cricket flour isn’t widely available locally, but you can find it online.

Cricket flour protein bars anyone? if you’re having trouble imagining how to use cricket flour, a company called Exo has made it easy for you to try it in these tasty protein bars. Currently available in Cocoa Nut, Blueberry Vanilla, Peanut Butter & Jelly, and Apple Cinnamon flavors.

Source: 5 Reasons Why Cricket Flour Needs to Be Part of Your Prep by Mark Taylor via Ready Tribe - Don't Just Survive, Thrive!.