Category: Food Storage & Cooking

Letter Re: Food Items Past Expiration Dates

Hugh, I have been an avid reader of SB for about five years now. It amazes me that folks with what appears to be good common sense are throwing away products they have used to start or continue their prepping activities. Most of these comments say they are tired of throwing out stuff that has gone past its expiration date. With all the long-term storage info available on this site, I cannot for the life of me understand how someone would do this. With good storage rotation practices, first-in first-out, store what you eat and eat what you store habits, …


Motorizing a Country Living Grain Mill for 12-volt Battery and Solar, by I.S. – Part 2

We’re continuing the instructions for motorizing a Country Living Grain Mill that can run on battery- or solar-generated power. Part 1 dealt with the full list of material and the first step, building the base board. Here, we continue with instructions. Create and Prepare the Motor Mounting Board. This is a critical but confusing step, so pay attention! Cut a 6-1/2” x 9-1/2” piece of 3/4″ plywood. The longer sides will be the front and rear. Mark one flat side as bottom. You will mount the hinge to the bottom and the motor to the top at opposite ends. Think …


Motorizing a Country Living Grain Mill for 12-volt Battery and Solar, by I.S. – Part 1

Introduction The Country Living Grain Mill is a robust mill that will last for generations and is a fine choice for any home or retreat. It has been designed to be motorized easily, however the manufacturer’s motorization kit is expensive and operates on 115 volt AC power, thus requiring grid power, an inverter, or a generator. The following article will describe how to power your Country Living Grain Mill from 12 volt batteries or solar panels for less than $200 (excluding the power source and associated wiring). Currently, all necessary materials are readily available. Tests have shown this setup can …


Food Security in Beans and Peas, by CJ

In recent years, I have thought a lot about food security. Food security means not relying on a “just in time” (JIT) delivery system that would, not could, fail in the event of a major national disaster. Just in time delivery is part of an automated inventory control system used by major grocery store chains. It allows a store to only order and stock in the warehouse what has been predicted to sell within a given time period. The advantage of this system for the local store is less waste and spoilage, and a smaller warehouse footprint provides an overall …


Letter Re: New Kind of Bucket List

HJL, I would like to add to the article of the “New Kind of Bucket List“. When stacking buckets I use 1/4″ thick plywood squares a little bit bigger than a 5 gal. bucket about 13″x13”, this way any size bucket can stack. It helps prevent cracking on the inner part of a llid. I also being older and having weenie upper body strength, have been sealing dry goods in smaller sizes and placing in smaller buckets. One little bucket can have a variety of 1,2, or 3 pound bags of food rather than a 40 pound of only one …


Scot’s Product Review: MRE Depot Foods

MRE Depot is one of a number of vendors that sell storage foods aimed at preppers. As the name implies, they sell MRE’s, but they also carry a number of other items of interest. While MRE’s are useful, and I think everyone should have some, the other items are, in my view, more important, as MRE’s alone are going to make for a boring diet. MRE Depot was kind enough to send six different items for me to review, and I added a seventh from my personal stores. When I write about food, I need to give more than just …


A New Kind of Bucket List, by C.W.- Part 2

Now that I have explained the advantages and disadvantages of using a bucket system for storing preparations, allow me to share a few other ideas that may also be of interest, should you decide to attack your household with buckets. I believe that families who have homes that are kept clean and organized will be much better prepared for whatever comes at them. We all know friends or relatives who have lots of stuff (a.k.a. chaos), yet they have little idea of how to find an item when they want it or need it. So, off they go to the …


A New Kind of Bucket List, by C.W.- Part 1

I rarely let a day go by without checking in to see what I can gather from reading the latest at survivalblog.com. Through reading this blog, I have gained valuable information and been motivated to do much in preparation for the inevitable difficulties ahead. In addition, I have felt encouraged to grow emotionally and spiritually. I truly am inspired and strengthened by the written contributions and the expertise of the editors. Thank you so very much! Since you are now reading this website, you most likely fall into one of the following categories: a new visitor who just happened onto …


Scot’s Product Review: Valley Food Storage Meals

The angst of buying the right storage foods made me feel as if I was stuck in a drama, so I turned to Shakespeare and found a suitable quote in The Comedy of Errors: “Unquiet meals make ill digestions.” Although it wasn’t his best play, by a long shot, and the character had more on her mind than food, the thought does have some application to my household. I mentioned in another review that my wife is a pretty intense food person, who loves gourmet meals and is a serious cook. My ten-year-old son is surprising in liking a large …


Letter Re: How To Obtain Protein From Alternative Sources Without A Firearm

Just a note about small animals: Don’t count on them for the bulk of your diet. Take for example crayfish: The calories for your effort may be very small. There are approximately 3.5 calories in a crayfish tail. (There’s more if you eat the head but not much more.) I’ve seen traps bring in around 50 crayfish on a good day. Therefore, for enough crayfish for a 350 calorie snack, you’ll need at least two traps, and that’s on a good day. Double that for average days. If you want 1/4th of your calories of a family of four to …


Letter Re: How To Obtain Protein From Alternative Sources Without A Firearm

JWR/Hugh, I loved this article about alternative means for obtaining food. Much of the information was repeat for me, as I do a lot if those things already. I would add as a point for anyone trying to get into trapping that unless you are in a very target rich environment, trapping has a low rate of return. Typically, traps will catch something 1 out of 5 or 1 out of 10 times. Either the animal misses it, or a non-target animal trips the trap. I would recommend having multiple traps (like 6 or 12) and some snare wire around …


How To Obtain Protein From Alternative Sources Without A Firearm, by Rockvault

We, Americans, like our protein, and in a prolonged hunker-in-place situation one of the many inconveniences we will be faced with will be the difficulty in enjoying our nightly beef, pork, chicken, or fish, let alone finding enough protein to maintain the health of ourselves and families. Sure, vegetarian-based diets can keep you alive, but even in a TEOTWAWKI situation why go without meat when it might not be all that hard to source and may be local to your home, camp, or hide-out, too. First, let’s go over some assumptions. Let’s recognize here that we’re at least six months …


Letter Re: Preparing Game Meat For The Table

Greetings, I read this article with interest and found it full of good information. However, there are a couple of points that I was concerned with and feel compelled to share my opinion as well. I am concerned by the statement that game meat fat should be removed and is “nasty”. I feed my family strictly subsistence caught meat and fish. Yes, a bear eating salmon will smell of salmon; however, a bear eating berries will have delicious meat. The vast majority of the time, the fat on moose, caribou, bear, muskox, deer, goat, and other animals is not “nasty”. …


Preparing Game Meat For The Table, by Kestrel

As a hunter I’ve often heard the question, “Doesn’t ____ meat taste gamey?” I get this question from people who have never eaten game meat or from those who have eaten improperly-prepared game. The word “gamey”, to me, speaks of meat with a rotten flavor. I’ve had spoiled meat before, and it does indeed taste “gamey”. My usual response to the above question is that wild game just has a different, often stronger, flavor than the beef that we are used to in this country, but there is no reason it shouldn’t be delicious. In this article I will give …


Scot’s Product Review: Legacy Premium Food

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If anyone out there isn’t convinced that we need to store food for an emergency, then they might not have been paying attention to the news. With the need clear, the question we each must ask is, “What kind of food should we store?” Personally, I like a variety of foods– fresh, dehydrated, freeze dried, grocery store cans and boxes, and retort packed foods, which include MRE’s. I even think frozen foods are good to have, though if the power goes out, that’s the first thing to eat. Each type has advantages and disadvantages, based on how easily and long …