Category: Food Storage & Cooking

Letter Re: Food Storage Expiration

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I have always wondered about food storage manufacturers’ claims about the shelf life of their products. Many claim 30 years shelf life for what they sell. Of course, the question is how can the consumer ever know that this is true? Many purchasers are dead and buried by the time 30 years pass. Who could ever go back and demand that their money be returned if it did turnout that the product had gone bad? I know one fellow who obtained No. 10 cans of wheat from a small survival food manufacturer. When he opened a can several years later, …


Letter Re: Storage Food

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Just this past year, I’ve discovered what a good storage candidate sweet potatoes are. I’m in the south, near Austin Texas and find that “Irish” potatoes do not keep well, a few months, and can not be reliably used as seed stock. Sweet potatoes seem much better. They will keep at least 8 months, probably much longer. And they reliably produce plantable “slips”. Nutrition is said to be very good, probably better than white potatoes. Up in Idaho, your mileage will almost certainly vary. I offer this as a suggestion to whoever wants to do a more extensive write up. …


Letter: Gaining Familiarity With Your Prepping Equipment

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Having basic camping supplies is a great insurance to have, just in case. It can be both camping and prepping equipment. Your tent, sleeping bag, outdoor cooking supplies, and forms of electricity-free entertainment, are all ripe for testing, as well. The last thing you want to do, in an emergency, is realize that there’s something you need and/or have overlooked. And testing your equipment doesn’t have to be a complicated ordeal. In my case, I had a friend invite me over for backyard camping, for their birthday. Great! So I brought my camping equipment in order to test it out. …


Debunking the Myth of Canned Food Expiration Dates, by T.L.

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Canned Goods Even if you’re not yet a prepper, you likely have at least some canned food goods on your shelf with an expiration date on them. Perhaps you have even taken up canning your own food. Either way, canned goods are a common staple. That is the case for good reason. However, do you really know the truth about canned food shelf life? I’m surprised by how many people seem to have a deep trust of those “magical dates” on canned foods. But what are those dates anyway? What do they mean? Myths to Debunk Various Types of Canned Food Dates …


Planning For Better Nutrition During TEOTWAWKI To Ward Off Grim Reaper- Part 2, by A.R.223

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You must plan nutrition concerns  before TEOTWAWKI. We’ve begun to look at myths, including that TEOTWAWKI will be a good time to diet. We left off right in the middle of our examination of necessary vitamins and minerals, specifically looking at the B vitamins. Let’s continue. Vitamin B (continued) A wide variety of foods contain Biotin (vitamin B7); however, beef liver, soybeans, butter, split peas, lentils, peanuts, walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, and brewer’s yeast are especially rich sources of this nutrient. Symptoms of deficiency include brittle fingernails, hair loss, conjunctivitis, and dermatitis in the form of a scaly red rash …


Planning for Better Nutrition During TEOTWAWKI to Ward Off Grim Reaper- Part 1, by A.R.223

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Knowledge And Diet Changes Required Now Planning for better nutrition during TEOTWAWKI isn’t merely about eating delicious foods we’re already accustomed to so that the transition from our present state to the coming chaos is as seamless as possible. It is really more about saving our loved ones. However, in order to save our loved ones, the aforementioned transition needs to be seamless. To make it seamless necessitates increased knowledge of nutrition as well as changes in our diet now. Our future will include the confrontation of diseases and conditions that most of us cannot comprehend. We can’t grasp them …


Prepping on a Budget- Part 2, by The Newbie

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Costco Membership Costco’s price for organic flour and bulk quality foods is unbeatable. However, the other things listed below are much less expensive at the regular warehouse. The Business Center carries both the higher gluten organic flour that is better for breads (red wheat) and the lower gluten/protein flour that is better for cakes muffins and pastries (soft winter wheat). I would buy these in addition to storing whole grains. It helps with your overall budget. Depending on how much you spend, it may benefit you to get an Executive Membership. If you have the money, it behooves you to …


Prepping on a Budget- Part 1, by The Newbie

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It’s good to prep on a budget, as economic collapse is coming. I believe many people are new to emergency preparedness. It is hard enough to come up with the funds to get a good start of just having enough food for your family and yourself. That’s alot without all of the things you need for a bug out bag, cache, and all the tools to be self sufficient. We would need a homestead and a thousand other things, if we were without modern convinces and technology. We take so much for granted, including that we can just run to pick things up at the grocery store. For those of us newer to prepping, preparing is all quite overwhelming.

Certain Economic Collapse

The economic collapse isn’t like a “possible” Y2K thing. It is 100% for sure going to happen. The question is when. It is going to start when our debt clock hits 20 trillion. Forecasters have more firmly established the date as 2021. This means we are running out of time. We don’t have to just worry about the dollar being worthless. We need to realize we could very well face hyper inflation. So being prepared, even if order is kept, is critical…


Household Basics in TEOTWAWKI- Part 10, by Sarah Latimer

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We’re continuing this section of the series on household basics, and I’m sharing my research on oil. I didn’t expect it would be a three-part section, but I did spend a lot of time researching and testing it, so you are joining me on this journey and getting the plan. I’ve shared that we have a Piteba seed/bean/nut oil expeller press that we plan to use as our primary means for oil. I’ve ruled out GMO grains and also lard, though I might use some beef tallow but want to keep it to a minimum for health reasons. Tallow is …


The Human-Powered Veggie Garden- Part 2, by J.A.

Deep Digging and Rock Removal The second round of digging is the hardest work of the whole project. The process is much like the first round, except the goal is to be able to bury the whole head of your shovel in loose soil when you are done. This time, if you hit a rock in the process of achieving that, it has to go. As you back up, some of the rocks will expose an edge you can get under with the shovel. This is where buying good tools, and sharpening your shovel is really going to pay off. …


Household Basics in TEOTWAWKI- Part 9, by Sarah Latimer

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Last week, I began this part of the series on the subject of oil in TEOTWAWKI. I rejected the GMO oils, namely corn and canola oil, for health reasons. I spoke about my favorite oils– coconut and olive, for their many uses and health benefits, and I explained my inevitable problem with their inaccessibility or short supply. I also shared that we own a Piteba nut and seed oil expeller, which is designed to produce consumable oils from many types of seed, nut, and bean sources. Health and Storage Issues With Lard Now that you are caught up, let me …


Wertz’s Farm Market Canned Meat, by Pat Cascio

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I’d like to clear up a misconception that some readers have. Number one, I’m still not Jim Rawles; many readers just refuse to understand this. I am who I say I am, and you can Google my name if you’d like. Secondly, neither Jim Rawles nor Hugh Latimer have ever once demanded that I write an article on any product or, for that matter, ever asked me to not write about any product. Third, I am not an employee of SurvivalBlog. I am an independent journalist. I write articles for SurvivalBlog, and if Mr. Rawles or Mr. Latimer like my …


Household Basics in TEOTWAWKI- Part 8, by Sarah Latimer

I’m continuing my journey to consider some of the pantry basics (beyond meat, eggs, dairy, grains, fruits, and vegetables) that I will want to have available in the event of TEOTWAWKI. We’ve covered other pantry essentials, including baking soda, yeast, vinegar, salt and pepper (and other spices and herbs), coffee, and sugar/sweeteners to determine how we will provide them for our families in a TEOTWAWKI scenario. Some of these we will have to have stock piled, barter for, or find alternatives for, until they are manufactured again. Yet, other items are those we can make or produce for ourselves. This …


Letter Re: Regarding Maple Syrup

Sarah, Yup, you got that right regarding maple syrup. We keep a gallon or two of maple syrup in our refrigerator/freezer and in our stand-up freezer in the basement. Both of those appliances are part of our core systems powered by 2Kw of solar panels. Backup inverters are stored in galvanized cans for hard times. So barring misfortune we will still have refrigeration during SHTF. Maple syrup is available in a variety of forms, including the favorite liquid (classification based on color) and crystallized candies. I often add it to recipes calling for sugar and highly recommend it be used …


Two Letters Re: Coffee

Hi Sarah, I took great interest in your article about coffee, as I am one who loves a good cup or two of coffee daily. My concerns in a SHFT would also be how do I ensure that coffee would be available. Currently, I keep 10 lbs on hand of whole bean coffee. I do not refrigerate or freeze as I thought that would destroy the flavors. The coffee is in 2.5 lb bags and rotated. I purchased a hand grinder and also bought a French Press, which makes delicious coffee and uses no electricity. My setup is fine for …