Category: Food Storage & Cooking

Attaining Food in Urban Locations (From Land and Sea)- Part 3, by Cracker Makk

TURTLES / CATFISH My grandfather ran trot lines all through the year, when I was just a boy. He loved catfish and fresh water turtles. He claimed that turtle, or “cooter” as it is known by the Seminoles, was the best meat in the everglades. It is soft, tender, and sweet. There are a variety of turtles (box, alligator snapping, and softshell to name a few) in freshwater lakes, ponds, canals, and streams, and they are all great eating. My uncle and I always ran trot lines when we went camping. You can run them in salt or fresh water. …


Attaining Food in Urban Locations (From Land and Sea)- Part 2, by Cracker Makk

EGRETS / HERONS Egrets, curlews, and sandhill cranes are also excellent sources of protein and are so delicious that the Native Americans preferred them to over all other bird species. They are protected by the Department of Fish and Wildlife but are very plentiful and may aid in your survival when things get bad. Remember when desperate times present themselves, food is food. This article isn’t about what is legal to eat; it is about what is edible and how it can be obtained. The best places to find these three types of birds are golf courses, parks, and low …


Attaining Food in Urban Locations (From Land and Sea)- Part 1, by Cracker Makk

If it has hair, feathers, or scales, it is edible. In the desperate times that lay ahead, people are going to have to make a choice. They’ll either become self-sufficient and revert back to the practices of our ancestors (the hunter/gatherers) or stand there with their hand out and wait for something that isn’t coming. You need to learn how to keep your body nourished and feed the ones you love. The truth is there are food sources everywhere around us that are easily obtainable with a little patience and technical know-how. However, many people in this country have become …


Letter Re: Eating after TEOTWAWKI

HJL, I get excited to read each daily posting. I think how I could make it better and more applicable to my “plan”. I read another very thought provoking article, Eating after TEOTWAWKI, where the author talks about growing a garden and some environmental issues he has run into. What to grow and how much of each is certainly a question all of us have. JWR and many others in this blog have addressed sweat equity and the idea that one knows more not by reading but through experience. In my ten years of gardening, I’ve also experienced my fair …


Eating after TEOTWAWKI, by Midwest Prepper

I just want to say upfront, this article is not all inclusive by any means. I am not a master gardener, and there is so much information out there that can be gathered and much of it is at your fingertips right now, so use the time we have left wisely. I realize that everybody’s definition of how much you are going to eat is different. I am just using examples here. When you were in school and found out about a test coming up, did you start studying as soon as you could or did you just cram the …


Raising Angora Rabbits as Part of a Well-Prepared Homestead, by J.R.

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Previous Survivalblog articles have focused on raising meat rabbits as part of a well-prepped homestead. Raising multi-purpose angora rabbits takes this aspect of preparedness to the next level. I’ll start with a quick review of the benefits of raising meat rabbits and then transition into the advantages of raising angora rabbits. Rabbits are indeed the most efficient of domestic livestock in converting feed to growth, meaning that it takes less feed per pound of mass produced to grow them out than it does for other animals. They are manageable in an urban situation, even an apartment, where other livestock are …


My Experiences And Lessons Learned As A Suburban Prepper- Part 2, by CGman

Lessons Learned and Important Experiences (continued) Food and animals. When you start storing food and grains, be prepared to defend it against hungry critters. I’ve had a mouse that got into one of my bug out bags and ate through all the MRE packages. (I now store all dry goods in plastic totes.) I’ve had neighborhood dogs smash through fences to eat my chickens. (I now use chicken wire with electric wire on the outside.) I bought full-size metal trash cans to hold dog, fish, and chicken food and keep it away from rodents. I lost numerous fruit and other …


Letter Re: Harvest Right Freeze Dryer

Hugh, If the purpose is having a year’s supply of food in a root cellar for the next 25 years “just in case” that you never intend to eat until doomsday, the Mountain House products are less expensive and a lot less work, since you can just store the cans after you receive them and forget about them. I got my Harvest Right mainly because I was throwing away too much really good food. I don’t grow my own but buy from local organic growers. There is always more than I can eat before it spoils, and one point Harvest …


Letter Re: Harvest Right Freeze Dryer

Dear Mr. Latimer, Having said that you have tried the home freeze dryer personally, I would like your opinion on a dilemma. If you could purchase Mountain House products at 70% off retail or spend the money on the dryer, which would you opt for? Thank you for your response and for all you and JWR do. – T.M. Hugh responds: Without question, I would choose the freeze dryer, but cost has very little to do with this decision. Practically all commercial freeze-dried foods have high sodium contents as well as other ingredients that we just don’t add to our …


Energy, Efficiency, and Frugality, by Redoubting Thomas

There are many considerations when worrying about a “grid down” situation. Here are some thoughts worth considering: Frugality “Black Friday” is coming shortly, so you might want to make a wish list and maybe even store it in the “saved for later” section of your Amazon shopping cart; you will get a notification for price changes. Sometimes an item will drop 30% for a sale or no known reason. Do the same with your “prepper wish list” but also have a budget and price point in mind. If things fall apart soon, this might be a last chance to stock …


Letter: Sassafras FDA info incorrect

HJL, The information from G.G. that referenced Sloan Kettering’s info on FDA banning Sassafras, is incorrect . In fact, Sassafras is used in food and can be purchased as a tea online from Pappy’s in Ohio. The food safe version is Safrole free; it is the oil that is carcinogenic. – Annie in Amish country Sassafras Still brewed the old fashion way from sassafras root bark (Sassafras albidum). Pappy’s Sassafras Tea is also very healthy for you as it is Safrole Free, Caffeine Free, Sugar Free, contains 0 Carbohydrates and Less than 1 Calorie per serving! From Pubchem: PubChem CID: …


Letter: Grain Milling Muscles

JWR and HJL: We bought a grain mill—the Wonder Mill Junior to be specific–from one of your advertisers and we are pleased with the purchase. However, I must warn my fellow readers that if you have bought one of these and just threw it on the shelf alongside your the stack of #10 cans and food storage buckets, then you made a mistake. Unless you regularly start your Ford Model T with a hand crank, then you are in for a morning-after surprise. This is another example of the importance of “practicing your preps.” A seven year old cannot turn …


Letter Re: Sources for MRE Rations

Hello Hugh, I’ve been reading SurvivalBlog for many years and have had a few of my articles posted in the past. This is the first time I’ve written since you took over as editor. You’re doing well, Hugh. I am in the market to buy Meals, Ready-to-Eat (MREs) as a source of Bug Out Bag (BOB) food storage, along with pre-positioning some at my intended retreat locations. There are so many options and it is difficult to determine what is best, or even which are the best value for the money. Amazon is flooded with all manner of brands and …


Reality Checks for a Grid Down Scenario, By Blueleader

I sometimes hear misguided individuals who repeat the statement going around that if the grid goes down we will be thrown back to the days before electricity: The 1880s. The prevalent thought is that folks back then did fine so it wouldn’t be so bad for us to simply revert to that level of technology. Well, what if we examine your day in a post grid failure scenario? Here is a reality check for you to consider: Let us say you get up ‘the day after’ and you’re cold. Bummer. Well, in the 1880s if you got up and you …


Letter Re: Sources of Vitamin C in a Post-SHTF World, by Okie Ranch Wife

Sir: There are a couple of sources of Vitamin C that are not common knowledge. If you are an oldtimer like me you may remember the name Euell Gibbons, the spokesman for Grape Nuts cereal. His catchphrase was “Ever eat a pine tree? Many parts are edible.” He wasn’t kidding. The inner bark of a pine tree is a great source of Vitamin C, Thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin A and other beneficial properties like Protein and fat, yes fat one of the things everyone needs to survive. How to get it? Take a branch the size of your little finger (this …