Lisa Bedford's Blog, page 97

September Skill of the Month: Primitive Camping

I know what you’re thinking.

“There’s no way I’m going to camp out in the wilderness in a tent!”

“I’m too old to pee in the woods. I need a comfy and sanitary bathroom!”

“Primitive camping is living out of our RV.”

Well, those are valid points and I understand the need for creature comforts and toilet seats! However,  hear me out.

Learning and practicing camping skills is an important part of being prepared. It’s doesn’t have to cost a lot of money, anyone can learn these skills, and they will come in handy in a variety of survival settings.

Define “Primitive Camping”

Several years ago my family dived headlong into tent camping. Although we do like modern toilet and shower facilities, it’s really, really nice to get away from all that and head into the wilderness where going to the bathroom requires a flashlight, shovel, and a roll of biodegradable toilet paper.

When I told some friends that we were into camping, they said, “Us, too! We head up north in our RV once or twice a year!”

I can definitely appreciate the comforts that an RV or a similar camping vehicle affords, but that just isn’t primitive camping. It’s living in a tiny house on wheels, complete with modern plumbing and electricity.

Primitive camping is tent camping, plain and simple. It’s going to sleep on the ground, yes, padded bedrolls are allowed, and enjoying nothing but nature all around. It’s cooking over an open fire, settling a Dutch oven in the coals, and then sitting back, anticipating another amazing meal. There’s something about the fresh air that intensifies the appetite and, somehow, enhances the flavor of food.

The very best s’more I ever ate was cooked on a clothes hanger wire over a campfire. Ditto for my homemade chili.

Why is primitive camping a necessary skill?

Primitive camping requires many sub-skills, and each of those has an important place in survival and preparedness. Here are just a few:

Identifying poisonous plants and know how to treat the results of handling them
Know what natural materials make the best kindling
Safely start, maintain, and extinguish a fire for warmth and cooking
Select the best site for your camp
Prepare for inclement weather
Know basic first aid and how to use the supplies in a medical kit
Safely use bladed tools, including an axe and knife
Make a tarp shelter
Know how to respond correctly to changes in weather
Set up and take down a tent quickly
Cook over an open fire as well as various types of camp stoves
Understand the basics of sanitation, the health issues of unsanitary conditions, and know how to set up a toilet/latrine station

Even if you ultimately never venture out and set up that tent, knowing these skills and practicing them will still put you at an advantage in any survival situation.

A lot of space on the internet has been devoted to the topic of bugging out and bug out locations. Few people have many options when it comes to having that safe little hidey-hole. However, having these skills, along with the necessary supplies, will at least provide you with one option: living in a tent. Tent-living in a scenario like this isn’t meant to be a permanent solution, but it beats living out of your car, sleeping under a bridge, or heading to a government shelter.

Read more: Living out of a car is something millions of people do every day. Check out these tips from one such person.

An affordable option

A bug out location by any other name is a “second home”. It’s a home that will require furnishing, insurance, and security measures. Primitive camping, on the other hand, is something that anyone can afford. Tents, sleeping bags, camp stoves, fishing poles, tarps, and much more can be purchased for pennies on the dollar at thrift stores, yard sales, and through sites such as Craigslist.

Acquiring these supplies doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Our family enjoys primitive camping and we haven’t spent a fortune, but we’ve still ended up with a few items we rarely, if ever, use. I have a darling set of mini-Coleman lantern lights on a string that we’ve never once used! Start with the basics, put them to work on a weekend camping trip, and only then buy anything else.

Those extra expenses should go toward providing:

Warmth
Sleeping comfort
Security
Sanitary conditions
Maintaining a secure, cool area for food

Consider the primitive campsite you are planning and preparing for to be a back-up bug-out location. Have a number of different camping areas in mind and know ahead of time different routes to each destination.

You’ll get no closer to nature in God’s country than this.

Resources to get you started

Bushcraft 101 by Dave Canterbury
Fire Skills: 50 Methods for Starting Fires Without Matches by David Arman
Learn how to tie knots on this Animated Knots website.
Shelters, Shacks, and Shanties by D. C. Beard
Terrific blog with primitive camping advice, Survival Common Sense.

 

 

 

The post September Skill of the Month: Primitive Camping by The Survival Mom appeared first on The Survival Mom. Be sure to check it out!

A Brief Guide To Edible Weeds

That quality which makes a plant a weed is in the eye of the beholder. Where one person might see only an overgrown flowerbed, another might see the makings of a decent salad. Frank down the street is probably tearing his hair out trying to get all the nettles out of his garden, while Susan next door is not only eating them for dinner every night but has also placed an order with a fancy seed company so that she can grow dandelions and wood sorrel – on purpose.

The author’s very own overgrown flowerbed. Pictured: common mallow, peppermint, carrots and parsley all gone to seed.

The dictionary definition of a weed is a plant that grows in an undesirable spot. A potato plant could be considered a weed if it popped up in the middle of your cabbages. The class of plants commonly referred to as weeds in the United States are not without their good qualities. Weeds tend to be high in minerals and some, like purslane, are a source of omega-3 fatty acids. Once you learn to identify these plants and what they can do, you may not try so hard to pull them up.

My neighborhood in the suburbs of the Intermountain West is lousy with edible weeds. These make a tasty and healthy addition to salads and some can be substituted for spinach. Here is a short list of some of the most common edible weeds and their attributes.

Please note: It is always very important that you positively identify a wild plant without a shadow of a doubt before eating it. Some plants that are extremely poisonous often greatly resemble plants that are good to eat. (Hemlock and angelica are prime examples). This article should not be treated as a definitive work, but as a guide to help you get started. For further reading, read this article on foraging.

Woodsorrel is often confused with clover.

Wood Sorrel

Oxalis spp. Not to be confused with sheep sorrel, which is completely different. Wood sorrel has clover-shaped leaves and small five-petaled flowers that come in a variety of colors. High in oxalic acid, it has a sour, lemony taste.  It is my personal favorite “weed”.

Here’s a recipe to try:  Wood sorrel and sweet onion tart.

This purslane is growing in a traditional weedy place.

Purslane

Portulaca oleracea. While we here in the United States are ripping up purslane by the handful or trying to drown it with weed killer, folks in living in Mediterranean countries use it as a key ingredient in a number of tasty dishes. A succulent, purslane is water-rich. The slightly salty taste makes it a nice in salad, but it can also be cooked.

Because of its mucilaginous properties, it can be used as a thickener in stews in lieu of flour or other starch. Purslane is a source of omega-3 fatty acids; vitamins A, C, E, and B; and minerals such as potassium, magnesium, and iron.Where I live, purslane is fairly invasive and abundant this time of year, so I don’t imagine there will be any shortage until the frost comes.

Check out these purslane recipes and try one today!

Common Mallow is also called cheeseweed, because the seed pods looks somewhat like wheels of cheese.

Common Mallow

Malva Neglecta. A plant of many names. It is also referred to as buttonweed, cheeseweed, and dwarf mallow. Note that this is not related to the marsh mallow plant. Mallow, like purslane, is mucilaginous.

This property is particularly concentrated in the roots; the liquid obtained from boiling mallow root can be whipped like egg whites and used to make a meringue substitute, although this can be tricky as the mucilage does not behave exactly like egg whites. The leaves can also be used fresh in salads as a substitute for lettuce.

Beware: If you ever let this plant in your garden on purpose, be prepared to never get it out again. Common mallow is particularly invasive. Even if you pull it up, a full plant will regrow from any portion of the taproot that is left intact.

John Kallas has a recipe for Mallow Meringue in his book Edible Wild Plants.

Dandelions. Just in case you didn’t already know what they looked like.

Dandelion

Taraxacum spp. Dandelions usually appear very first on any list of edible weeds. They have a sharp taste that is not wholly unpleasant when eaten young, but once the plant reaches maturity the sharpness becomes almost unbearably bitter. The bitterness can be alleviated by blanching or cooking.

Taste aside, dandelion greens are extremely nutritious, being high in vitamins A, C, and K, and a number of minerals including manganese, calcium, and iron. They can also be used as an .

There is more to dandelions (and all the other edible weeds, too!) than just plain in a salad. Try some of these recipes.

Stinging Nettles

Nettles don’t actually grow in my neighborhood, but I thought i would include them in this list because they are so ubiquitous and invasive in other parts of the United States.

Don’t let the name scare you away. Once cooked like spinach, the nettles loose their stings. They are also good for more than just eating! When processed using the same method used for flax, nettles produce a fine textile fiber. Many people in Europe resorted to making clothing out of nettles during the drastic shortages of the Second World War. It’s even flame retardant!

For further reading on nettles, look at this article from NPR.

Cleavers

Galium aparine Also called goosegrass or bedstraw. Unfortunately, late July (the time of writing) is past cleavers season so instead of showing you a picture from my backyard I must content myself with this wikipedia article. Look for younger plants in early spring; older plants are tough and are not edible.

Some report that the seeds can be roasted and used as a caffeine-free substitute for coffee. Here is a YouTube tutorial on making cleaver coffee.

Not everyone enjoys the taste of weed greens, preferring instead the milder flavors offered by cultivated lettuce. Still, being aware of the local flora can be extremely useful and help you find flavor in the weeds. If for any reason you must rely solely on your food storage – say, buckets and buckets of wheat – your body will still require additional nutrients, particularly vitamin C.

Imagine that there is a drought in your area and your lettuce patch succumbs to the intense heat. Mallow and purslane are exceedingly drought tolerant and will keep you in good health, should need require it.

Additional Foraging Resources

The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants by Department of the Army
Foraged Flavor by Tama Matsuoka Wong
The Forager’s Harvest by Samuel Thayer
Foraging.com — A round up of classes, websites, and more.
Foraging Texas website
Nature’s Garden: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Wild Edible Plants by Samuel Thayer
Stalking the Healthful Herbs by Euell Gibbons
Tree Finder by May Theilgaard Watts
Wild Cards: Edible Wild Foods (playing cards)
Wild Edible Fruits and Berries by Marjorie Furlong and Virginia B. Pill

The post A Brief Guide To Edible Weeds by Beth Buck appeared first on The Survival Mom. Be sure to check it out!

I’m Concerned About Water Safety. Are You?

Earlier today I sent this information to my newsletter subscribers but then decided it was too important to not share with my blog readers.

Have you seen the shocking photos and stories of the catastrophic EPA-caused river contamination? Earlier this month the EPA spilled millions of gallons of toxic waste into a river in Colorado. Wells and municipal water systems along the Animus River were being tested for possible contamination, and that water continues flowing into New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona. Soon it will reach Lake Powell and the Grand Canyon.

This is just another reminder of how vulnerable our water supply is and how inept big government entities can be, all the while assuring us they are looking out for our own good. Natural disasters, industrial and government accidents, and even terrorists attacks can compromise our drinking water. Do you know what to do if your water supply becomes contaminated during an emergency?

Over the past couple of years I have worked with Glenn Meder of Survival Still to spread the word of water safety and how to insure our families have clean drinking water in any survival situation. Glenn has just started the launch of a new training program that will be available next week, the week of August 24. This program teaches the basic knowledge everyone should have about safe drinking water in an emergency. It is a one-of-a-kind training. Nothing like it is available anywhere.

In preparation for the big launch next week (you can���t even register for this training yet), we have prepared a video training series as a free gift to you.

CLICK HERE for your first FREE video training session.

Go check it out right now. You���ll learn basic information that everyone needs to know in an emergency, including what your No. 1 priority will be. After you���ve watched the video, let me know what you think and what you’ve learned.

Also, keep in mind that other people should see this training video too. What happens if you are separated from your family in an emergency? They need to know this information in case you aren’t around. Teachers need to know this info as do people in your church. Go ahead and share this FREE video with them.

If you haven’t yet signed up for my weekly newsletter update, you can do that here to make sure you receive notices of additional water safety videos.

Again, here’s the link to the video. You’ll be asked for your email and first name, so you’ll continue receiving notices of future videos related to water safety, all free. As well, you’ll get information about a website that is devoted entirely to water safety, with more videos and resources.

The post I’m Concerned About Water Safety. Are You? by The Survival Mom appeared first on The Survival Mom. Be sure to check it out!

Will Your Food Storage Lead to Starvation? Calories Count!

Food storage is a key component to your family’s preparedness plan. There are many decisions that need to be made. Which foods are best for storage? Which will my family prefer? How do I store it properly?

Dehydrated Foods?

Freeze Dried Foods?

Every Day Pantry Foods?

MREs?

Buckets? Cans? Gamma Lids?

UReal Meat or TVP?

GMO Free? Gluten Free?

I could go on and on. Ultimately, there is no RIGHT answer. Every family’s needs are different as far as what to store. But there is ONE issue that affects us all that MUST have our attention:  Calorie Count.

Notice I did NOT say “Number of Servings.”

Food storage calories vs. Number of Servings

The majority of food and kits marketed for preparedness purposes tout their products as “30 day kits” or “100 servings per bucket” or something similar. Red flags pop up in my mind if there is no calorie count listed plainly and without research. If you can’t find the calorie count per serving, you MUST do the math yourself.

For example, there is one company (I’m not going to name names) that has what they advertise as a “One Month One Person Ready To Go Bucket” that includes 72 “servings.” Just based on the name, one would assume that a single person would be able to eat for one month, right? Let’s do the math.

I had to search for quite a while to find the calorie count information for this company’s foods. When I finally found it, it was on an unrelated website. The average calorie count per serving for the specific foods included was 185.  Multiply that by the total servings (72) and you get 13,320 calories. Divide that by 30 to get your daily allotment and you’ll discover that you get to dine on just 444 calories per day to make this kit last the full month it claims to hold.

That’s not survival. That’s slow starvation!

Based on my height, weight, age and gender, my Basal Metabolic Rate (how many calories I burn per day doing nothing but resting) is about 1,500 calories. (Determine your personal BMR by using this calculator.) In a SHTF situation where I would need to use my food storage, I would likely be very active doing what I needed to survive, not laying in bed all day. How well will 444 calories sustain me? What I would need is a minimum of 2,000 calories per day… which means this “one month” bucket would only last me FEWER THAN SEVEN DAYS.

A friend of mine owns 12 of these buckets. He thought he had a full year of food until I asked him about calorie count. He realized that based on his caloric needs, he actually had just short of three months of food in his stash. That’s less than a quarter of what he thought was on hand. Three months of food on hand is an excellent food stash. It might even be sufficient for the majority of disasters and emergencies he would face. At least now he has an accurate assessment of what is really on his shelf.

TIP: Learn more about common food storage myths by reading Top 10 Food Storage Myths and watching the embedded videos.

Another example of a food storage plan that is shy of providing the necessary calories is a blog post claiming that you can “feed your family of four for one year for less than $300.” It included a specific list of very simple items to buy, how to cook and serve it, and even how to store it. Overall it contained good information, except for one thing: when I did the calorie math, the “one year for four people” provided under 100 calories per person per day! Based on a flat rate of 2,000 calories per day, that one year plan would last that family of four only 16 days! If you want a two-week food stash, it’s an excellent option. But I fear for those who falsely believe they have a full year of food on their shelves.

When it comes to food storage plans, companies, and claims, be skeptical and remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

How to figure food storage calories for your family

So what should you do to ensure you have enough food storage?

Decide how how many weeks, months or years of food you want to have as part of your preparedness plan.
Calculate the number of calories needed for each member of your household.
Go through your current food stash and do the calorie math.
If you’ve planned your food storage around specific recipes, how many calories per serving will those recipes provide?
Determine if you have enough food or if you need to add more.
Through use and rotation, continue to keep track of your total calories on hand and make purchases as needed.

It’s is important to note that I am not saying that you shouldn’t buy foods that “hide” their calorie counts. Some of them are good quality, tasty, and/or economical choices despite the lack of full disclosure about calories. You just have to know how many calories are in each of those servings so you can make an informed choice on both the dollar value and how long it will truly last your family.

Two companies that I believe are the best at getting calorie information front and center are Thrive Life and Augason Farms. Check them out for your future food storage purchases.

Have you worked out a calorie count for your food stash?

Refine your food storage pantry with these resources

“A Round-Up of Food Storage Resources“
Food Saver — vacuum system for storing food long-term
Food Saver Mason jar sealer
Food Storage for Self-Sufficiency and Survival by Angela Paskett
Oxygen absorbers, 100 cc
Prepper’s Guide to Food Storage by Gaye Levy
The Preparedness Planner (Print this out and prepare a customized planner!)
The Prepper’s Cookbook by Tess Pennington
Survival Mom: How to Prepare Your Family for Everyday Emergencies and Worst Case Scenarios by Lisa Bedford

 

The post Will Your Food Storage Lead to Starvation? Calories Count! by Amy VR appeared first on The Survival Mom. Be sure to check it out!

Top 10 Food Storage Myths

The internet is full of websites that give information on survival topics, including food storage. There are dozens and dozens of books that will teach you “the right way” to store food and YouTube videos galore. Most contain valid, trustworthy information, but mixed in with that are a number of food storage myths that many people accept without question.

Here are 10 that I take issue with, and I explain why.

By the way, following Myth #10 are 2 short videos that review these myths.

Myth #1:  You should stock up on lots of wheat.

When I was researching foods typically eaten during the Great Depression, I noticed that many of them included sandwiches of every variety. So it makes sense to stock up on wheat, which, when ground, becomes flour, the main ingredient to every bread recipe.

There are a couple of problems with the focus on wheat in virtually all food storage plans, however. First, since the Great Depression years, most of the wheat produced in the United  States, is now genetically altered (GMO), which may be one reason why millions of people now have various health issues when they consume wheat.

The second issue is that wheat isn’t the simplest food to prepare, unless you simply cook the wheat berries in water and eat them as a hot cereal or add them to other dishes. In order to make a loaf of bread, you have to grind the wheat, which requires the purchase of at least one grain mill. Electric mills are much easier to use and, within just seconds, you have freshly ground flour. However, you’ll probably want to add a hand-crank mill to have on hand for power outages. All together, 2 mills will end up costing a pretty penny, depending on the brands you purchase.

Then there’s the process of making the bread itself, which is time consuming.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t store wheat, and, in fact, I have several hundred pounds of it myself. The emphasis on wheat as a major component in food storage is what I have a problem with. In retrospect, I wish I had purchased far more rice and less wheat. Rice is incredibly simple to prepare and is very versatile. It, too, has a very long shelf life.

Myth #2: Beans last forever.

While it’s true that beans have a long shelf life, they have been known to become virtually inedible over time. Old-timers have reported using every cooking method imaginable in order to soften the beans. A pressure cooker is one option but, again, some have told me that doesn’t even work!

Another option is to grind the beans and add the powdered beans to various recipes. They will still contain some nutrients and fiber.

Over the years, I’ve stocked up on cans of beans — beans of all kinds. They retain their nutrients in the canning process and are already cooked, so there’s no need to soak, boil, pressure cook, etc. You can always home can dried beans, and if you have beans that have been around for more than 10 years or so, canning them is a super simple process and insures they won’t become inedible.

Myth #3: If they’re hungry enough, they’ll eat it!

Have you ever fallen in love with a recipe that was easy to make, inexpensive, and your family loved it? You probably thought you’d finally found The Dream Recipe. And then you made it a second time, then a third, then a fourth. About the 8th or 9th time, however, you may have discovered that you had developed a mild form of food fatigue. Suddenly, it didn’t taste all that great and your family wasn’t giving it rave reviews anymore.

When it comes to food storage, don’t assume that someone will eat a certain item they currently hate, just because they’re hungry. If you stock up on dozens of #10 cans of Turkey Tetrazzini, sooner or later the family will revolt, no matter how hungry they are.

Myth #4. All I need is lots and lots of canned food.

There’s nothing wrong with canned food. In fact, that’s how I got started with food storage. However, canned food has its limitations. A can of ravioli is a can of ravioli. You can’t exactly transform it into a completely different dish. As well, canned food may have additives that you don’t care to eat and, in the case of my own kids, tastes change over time. I had to eventually give away the last few cans of ravioli and Spaghetti-O’s because my kids suddenly didn’t like them anymore.

Be sure to rotate whatever canned food you have, since age takes a toll on all foods, but, as I’ve discovered, on certain canned items in particular. My experience with old canned tuna hasn’t been all that positive, and certain high-acid foods, such as canned tomato products, are known to have issues with can corrosion. Double check the seams of canned food and look for any sign of bulging, leaks, or rust.

Lightly rusted cans, meaning you can rub the rust off with a cloth or your fingertip, are safe to continue storing. However, when a can is badly rusted, there’s a very good chance that the rust has corroded the can, allowing bacteria to enter. Those cans should be thrown away.

Worried about the “expiration” date on canned food? Well, those dates are set by the food production company and don’t have any bearing on how the food will taste, its nutrients, or safety after that date. If the food was canned correctly and you’ve been storing it in a dry and cool location, theoretically, the food will be safe to consume for years after that stamped date.

Myth #5: I can store my food anywhere that I have extra space.

Yikes! Not if you want to extend its shelf life beyond just a few months! Know the enemies of food storage and do your best to store food in the best conditions possible.

TIP: Learn more about the enemies of food storage: heat, humidity, light, oxygen, pests, and time.

I emphasize home organization and decluttering on this blog, mainly because it frees up space that is currently occupied by things you don’t need or use. Start decluttering and then storing your food in places that are cool, dark, and dry.

Myth #6: My food will last X-number of years because that’s what the food storage company said.

I have purchased a lot of food from very reputable companies over the years: Augason Farms, Thrive Life, Honeyville, and Emergency Essentials. They all do a great job of processing food for storage and then packaging it in containers that will help prolong its shelf life.

However, once the food gets to your house, only you are in control of how that food is stored. Yes, under proper conditions, food can easily have a shelf life of 20 years or more, but when it’s stored in heat, fluctuating temperatures, and isn’t protected from light, oxygen, and pests, and never rotated, it will deteriorate quickly.

NOTE: When food is old, it doesn’t become poisonous or evaporate in its container. Rather, it loses nutrients, flavor, texture, and color. In a word, it becomes unappetizing.

Myth #7: Just-add-hot-water meals are all I need.

There are many companies who make and sell only add-hot-water meals. In general, I’m not a big fan of these. They contain numerous additives that I don’t care for, in some cases the flavors and textures and truly awful, but the main reason why I don’t personally store a lot of these meals is because they get boring.

Try eating pre-made chicken teriyaki every day for 2 weeks, and you’ll see what I mean. Some people don’t require a lot of variety in their food, but most of us tire quickly when we eat the same things over and over.

These meals have a couple of advantages, though. They are lightweight and come in handy during evacuation time and power outages. If you can boil a couple of cups of water over a rocket stove, propane grill, or some other cooking device, then you’ll have a meal in a few minutes.

TIP: Store a few days worth of just-add-water meals with your emergency kits and be ready to grab them for a quick emergency evacuation. Be sure to also pack a spoon or fork for each person and a metal pot for meals that require cooking over a heat source.

However, for a well-balanced food storage pantry, stock up on individual ingredients and fewer just-add-hot-water meals.

Myth #8: I can stock up on a year’s worth and won’t need to worry about food anymore.

That is probably the fantasy of many a prepper. Buy the food, stash it away, and don’t give it a thought until the S hits the fan. There’s a big problem with that plan, however. When everything does hit the fan and it’s just you and all that food:

Will you know how to prepare it?
Will you have the proper supplies and tools to prepare the food?
Did you store enough extra water to rehydrate all those cans of freeze-dried and dehydrated foods?
Do you have recipes you’re familiar with, that your family enjoys, and that use whatever you’ve purchased?
What if there’s an ingredient a family member is allergic to?
Does everyone even like what you’ve purchased?
Have any of the containers been damaged? How do you know if you haven’t inspected them and checked them occasionally for bulges and/or pest damage?

If you’ve purchased a pre-packaged food storage supply, the contents of that package were determined by just a small handful of people who do not know your family, your health issues, or other pertinent details. These packages aren’t a bad thing to have on hand. Just don’t be lulled into a false sense of security.

Myth #9: Freeze dried foods are too expensive.

Yes, there is a bit of sticker shock initially when you begin to shop online at sites like Thrive Life, Augason Farms, and Emergency Essentials. If you’ve been used to paying a few dollars for a block of cheddar cheese and then see a price of $35 for a can of freeze-dried cheddar, it can be alarming.

However, take a look at how many servings are in each container and consider how much it would cost to either grow or purchase that same food item and preserve it in one way or another, on your own.

The 3 companies I mentioned all have monthly specials on their food and other survival supplies — that’s how I ended up with 2 cases of granola from Emergency Essentials!

Myth #10: This expert’s food storage plan will fit my family.

The very best food storage plan is the one that you have customized yourself. By all means, use advice given by a number of experts. Take a look at online food calculators, but when it’s time to make purchases, buy what suits your family best. What one person thinks is ideal for food storage may leave your kids retching.

Lots of resources to help you with your food storage pantry

“A Round-Up of Food Storage Resources“
Food Saver — vacuum system for storing food long-term
Food Saver Mason jar sealer
Food Storage for Self-Sufficiency and Survival by Angela Paskett
Oxygen absorbers, 100 cc
Prepper’s Guide to Food Storage by Gaye Levy
The Preparedness Planner (Print this out and prepare a customized planner!)
The Prepper’s Cookbook by Tess Pennington
Survival Mom: How to Prepare Your Family for Everyday Emergencies and Worst Case Scenarios by Lisa Bedford

Want this info on video? Here you go!
Food Storage Myths, Part 1: Myths 1-5

Food Storage Myths, Part 2: Myths 6-10

Never miss another Survival Mom article or video!
 

The post Top 10 Food Storage Myths by The Survival Mom appeared first on The Survival Mom. Be sure to check it out!

13 Clever Ways to Get Non-Preppers On Board

Prepping works best when an entire community is doing it together, but this is extremely rare and not easy to achieve This is especially true when our neighbors, family, or friends aren’t at all interested. Yet. Still, we care about them and want to see them able to care for themselves in the event of an emergency, power outage, or natural disaster. Here are a few ways to get your preparedness missionary mojo in motion and get those non-preppers on board.

Don’t Make Prepping Fear Based

Preparedness is more than huddling in a bunker with a bunch of canned food for fear of social collapse or natural disaster. Rather, it is a variety of skills and lifestyle changes. Most non-preppers can see their way to making a few of these changes (baby steps) or gaining a few of these skills, but not when offered to them with a steaming helping of dread.

There are many reasons to live a preparedness lifestyle, and most of them don’t sound like fun. Many people try to avoid thinking about unpleasant things happen to them. They feel like they aren’t in control of those situations and so there isn’t anything they can do about it anyway. In most cases you have lost them before you get the word “prepared” out of your mouth.

Discuss how preparedness gives you better control of potential situations that come your way. Talk about the benefits of being prepared.  People who are prepared save money. People who are prepared often live a healthier lifestyle. They exercise more. They spend more time outside. Preparedness gives children creative activities to do during the summer. It also gives families skills to build on and draw from.

Appeal To Their Passion

The fun thing about preparation is that it breaks down into smaller topics. Each of these topics sound like a piece of common sense on it’s own. It’s easier to get people to commit to a single aspect of preparedness that they might enjoy, rather than to all aspects of it at once.

If a friend has no interest in food storage, they may still have an interest in first aid. Others may have an interest in learning how to can and store their own food, but no interest in owning a fire arm. In each of these cases, while not taking on a full preparation lifestyle, each friend will be taking on a preparation skill. Eventually, further down the road, they may want to learn more about self defense and building a basement full of home grown canned goods, but until then, encourage them in the aspect of preparedness they have chosen.

You can also share how your preparedness has helped you in your life. Did you ever lose a job or hit a rough patch and have storage to fall back on? Did you ever have to live for a week without running water because of street construction or well problems, or live with drought-induced water restrictions? Talking about these experiences in a conversation they fit into can be powerful and may reach your friend sooner than worrying about a future that may or may not come.

Offer Classes

Before I became a person that prepped, I had a friend teach me all about buying in bulk. I had a roommate that taught me the virtue of making my own jam and canning. My parents weren’t really into prepping when I was younger, but they did provide me with self defense lessons, lessons in money management and a backyard garden to learn on.

Most of the time, a lifestyle of preparation doesn’t start with someone waking up in the morning and thinking it’s high time they started a backyard farm. Often, it’s a lifestyle that grows with our situation in life and little lessons along the way. Be one of the people that makes the little lessons available. Classes for non-preppers could include:

Eco Friendly

You can teach natural fertilizers for a garden. You can promote electricity free cooking or solar power energy. While many people aren’t sure about the idea of preparation, they do want to help the environment and currently these are methods used to accomplish both.

Healthy Living

This could include learning to make your own cleaners. They don’t cost as much and if your child chooses to drink the vinegar or lemon juice, it’s not the danger that drinking commercial cleaners is. You could also teach people how to cook a hearty, healthy meal from dry foods such as split peas and pinto beans. You might even toss in a few more “exotic” items such as sprouting your own seeds.

Saving Money

Many young couples and new parents are looking for ways to eat healthy without breaking the bank on fresh produce. Teach the benefits of an apartment garden. Help them learn how to combine canned goods to make a nutrient rich meal. You can also help them learn the value of the cloth diaper, the meal plan, and shopping for ingredients rather than pre-made convenience meals.

Teach the benefit that comes from knowing how to repair something. This could include computer repair, car maintenance, or patching up old jeans. Also help them discover the best ways to reuse an item (formula canisters make great planters) or find items for free (think samples). Did you ever think of using free formula samples for your baby’s 72 hour kit?

Physical Exercise

Nothing gets you in shape like outdoor preparedness. Hiking, camping trips, and canoeing are only a few activities that would be both helpful in an emergency situation and help you drop those pounds. If you have a health conscious friend, show them what nature has to offer them rather than that gym membership.  This could bring up other topics, like having enough water during a hike or how to use a compass because you took a wrong turn at that rock back there.

This is a natural place to teach about other long-term storage foods and methods. Nothing spoils a canoe trip like finding those fresh, tasty brownies in your bag are a soggy mess because the ziploc wasn’t quite sealed – unlike a mylar bag. Likewise, a breakfast recipe for crepes using dehydrated eggs and milk along with water and some freeze-dried berries is much more inviting than trying to get newbies to eat just scramble the dehydrated eggs and eat them that way.

Self Defense

Self defense isn’t just owning a gun or taking a martial arts class. Situational awareness and using body language to reduce the chances of becoming a target are important too. You can discuss what hair styles or types of clothing help an opponent rather than the person being attacked.

All these things are also a part of self defense.

Address Potential Concerns
Budget

Many people have difficulty seeing their way to a preparedness lifestyle if they are living paycheck to paycheck. They feel the need to address the problems now rather than a distant future. Talk about how prepping reduces costs and (eventually) eliminates debt.

Space

In order to store food or emergency items, there needs to be space to put it. Many people live in apartments or condos. They have bought storage space for things they no longer use. They may have so much in their living area they feel that  they can’t store. Share tips on how to hide storage, make space and minimize what is already in their home.

Meal Preparation

It’s great to have storage, but will your family eat it? Can you cobble it together into a decent  meal? Will it be nutritious? You could respond to this concern with recipes, shopping lists and cooking classes.

Encourage them to use their food storage regularly. Days they have to go back out for a meeting or an after-school activity with the kids, use food storage to make a fast, and healthy meal. Or when those veggies they “just bought” are all moldy, pull something from food storage to finish the meal.

Getting Started

It’s not easy to start a storage system. There are wrong containers to store water in. There is learning about the proper temperature and lighting for your storage area. There are all the costly mistakes that can go along with just beginning to learn and act at the same time. Give your friends the benefit of your experience.

Have Handouts 

Send your  workshop participants away with an outline of what you just went over. Have them available for those that may be interested in starting out. When people have a plan to follow they are more likely to follow through with it.

Helpful Websites

Red Cross – www.redcross.org

Food Storage – www.foodstoragemadeeasy.net

Food Storage – www.foodstorage.com

Budgeting – www.practicalmoneyskills.com

Self Defense – www.functionalselfdefense.org

Basic prepping information for beginners

52 Prepper Projects by Dave Nash
Countdown to Preparedness  by Jim Cobb
Food Storage for Self-Sufficiency and Survival  by Angela Paskett
The Pantry Primer: How to build a one year food supply in three months  by Daisy Luther
The Preparedness Planner (Print it out for a customized plan!)
The Preppers Blueprint  by Tess Pennington
The Prepper’s Pocket Guide  by Bernie Carr
Survival Mom: How to Prepare Your Family for Everyday Disasters and Worst Case Scenarios by Lisa Bedford

 

The post 13 Clever Ways to Get Non-Preppers On Board by Teraesa Farrell appeared first on The Survival Mom. Be sure to check it out!

Foot Care, or You’ll Never Escape the Zombies With Blisters on Your Feet

OW. Just, seriously…OW. I spent last week at Scout Camp with my son, which was fun, except for my feet.

I know good quality, properly fit shoes are important. I know new or poor fitting shoes can cause blisters and other problems. I know wet shoes / feet are Very Bad, and summer camp can be both rainy and hot. I planned for all of this.

Before camping, I wore my hiking sneakers and sandals, both good brands, enough to be certain they wouldn’t cause blisters. I bought athletic sandals, the kind with closed, protected toes, for when it was really hot. I had a combination of good quality athletic socks and wool socks.

So why OW?

I didn’t notice my new sandals lacked built in arch support. And while the hiking sneakers were fine for a day, they were not comfortable enough for an entire week. After all, I did plan on alternating them with my sandals (the ones with no arch support). And it’s a universally known fact that something will be left by the front door when anyone leaves for a trip. In this case, it was my hiking boots.

The very first day, I injured one foot. I wasn’t carrying much weight in my backpack – little beyond water, sunscreen, and bug spray – and we were just walking on packed-dirt roads. No running, no extreme sports. After a week, I’m pretty sure I need to see a podiatrist and it will probably be weeks or even months until it is fully healed.

Can you imagine the damage that being unprepared, walking long distances, and carrying a heavy pack in a SHTF situation could inflict?

Basic Foot Care – SHTF or normal life

In a SHTF situation, you will almost certainly be hiking long distances carrying a heavy backpack. The guidelines for backpacking foot care are more stringent than for every day life since the distances walked and amount carried are so much greater, but following the basics of these guidelines every day definitely can’t hurt.

Backpacking foot care isn’t rocket science. Feet need to be warm, dry, and supported. Your shoes (and socks) need to fit and be appropriate for the task.

Prepare your feet for activity. If you wear dress shoes to work every day and flip flops or sandals on the weekend, don’t expect to just slip a pair of hiking boots on over your dress socks / nylons and start walking. At the very least, you must make sure your toe nails are clipped (but don’t risk an ingrown toenail) and pack a small foot first aid kit in a waterproof container such as a Ziploc baggie.

Foot First Aid Kit

Moleskin and tiny scissors, or duct tape (wrapped around a pencil)
Alcohol pads
Safety pin
Lubricant (such as Bag Balm) or powder
Benzoin swabs
Corn pads
Gauze pads and tape

Choosing good socks

Good socks are easy to overlook. It seems kind of weird, but there really are special purpose socks. Clearly, some are thicker than others. Liner socks are thin like dress socks and are worn under thicker socks to help prevent blisters. Some hiking socks are designed so they function like a sock and sock liner combined.

Athletic socks of today are not the tube socks of yore. They have wicking fibers, areas designed to provide more (or less) support and breathability, and more. In addition to cotton (not the best hiking choice) and wool, there are nylon, hybrid, and high tech fibers. They also come in a variety of heights from low cut to knee socks. Make sure your socks are higher than the top edge of your shoes to prevent chaffing and rubbing.

Once you choose good socks, make sure to wear them when you try on your new hiking shoes. Socks really do affect the way they fit.

Choosing good shoes

One site I looked at said “properly fitted shoes don’t need to be broken in.” Well, yeah, sure…but. Depending on what you normally wear, a “properly fitted” pair of trail shoes may feel entirely wrong. It can take a little time to adjust to how they are meant to feel.

My hiking boots are considerably more snug than the slip on shoes I normally wear running errands, for example. I bought one pair of athletic sandals that were very comfortable in the store, but I later realized were too loose for their intended use. (They stretched out to much for continued use within two days of camping / hiking.)

But don’t – do not – buy a pair that hurts or doesn’t fit quite right thinking that will improve with time and wear. It won’t. Think about the last pair of shoes you bought that “almost” fit. Did that ever change? No? They still hurt or you got rid of them? Do you really think the result will be any different with hiking shoes? So, save the pain and money and take the time to find a pair that truly fit.

Then take the time to break them in. Think about any good boots or shoes you have owned. As you wear them, creases develop where your body bends, such as the balls of your feet and your ankles. Other areas stretch to fit your feet. When you wear the shoes for a little while, they are simply more comfortable.

Note: Many people can use low cut trail sneakers or shoes instead of hiking boots that provide ankle support, but ankle support is good for beginners, for longer trails / heavier packs, and for anyone with weak ankles.

On the trail

Dirty, wet feet are not happy feet. Sometimes conditions conspire so you end up with wet feet, and dirty feet are almost impossible to avoid. But that doesn’t mean your feet have to stay wet, or filthy.

Simple steps to fight wet feet on the trail include having a change of socks and letting wet ones dry on the outside of  your backpack. Wearing “camp shoes” instead of “trail shoes” when you stop for a break or the night is another way to let your shoes, socks, and feet all air dry a bit. (Camp shoes can also come in handy for crossing creeks and similar water hazards.)

Note: Going barefoot in camp or wading in a creek is appealing, but hidden rocks, roots, and other hazards can easily lead to cuts, scrapes, and infections.

In addition, any time you stop, even for just a few minutes, take the chance to empty rocks, sand, etc. out of your boots before the rubbing causes damage. If you can feel something in your shoe, take the time to stop and fix it before it gets worse. Unless there is actually a zombie on your heels, it’s better to spend two minutes removing, emptying, and relacing your boots instead of having an injury slow you down for hours or days later.

If you start to have trouble and can get out to a store to buy supplies to fix it, take the time to do so. I took an hour out of camp to buy a cheap pair of sneakers and a set of gel arch supports. Without them, I probably would have had to leave camp for medical reasons by the end of the second day.

Every Day

I think it’s fairly easy to see how this could be as helpful for a day shopping at a mega-outlet-mall or chaperoning a school field trip as it is for an SHTF situation. So do your feet a favor. Take a few minutes to pamper them. They support you every day.

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The post Foot Care, or You’ll Never Escape the Zombies With Blisters on Your Feet by Liz Long appeared first on The Survival Mom. Be sure to check it out!

Foraging and Harvesting Wild Asparagus

Fresh asparagus is so good, and even better when its free. Right now its about $2.99 a pound at our local stores – but it’s one of natures most delicious wild (free!) edibles! In late spring in northwest Indiana, I go out and spend time foraging wild asparagus.

It generally comes up in late April to early May, depending on how warm the spring has been. Sometimes its difficult to spot asparagus because it can blend in with tall grass, so by the time it’s recognized, its too late to harvest.

Finding asparagus plants

To combat that problem for those who have never hunted wild asparagus, I recommend looking (in the fall) for mature plants that have gone to seed. You can find pictures of mature asparagus that has gone to seed on the internet or in a plant book. It becomes fairly tall (averaging three feet), almost “fernlike”, and gets a bushy top. As it ages, it goes from green to yellowish or brown.

The seeds look similar to dill seed in the beginning, and develop into a round green pod. They look like a pea, and can even turn an orange color.

I’ve noticed that asparagus tends to follow telephone lines, fence posts, and fencing. My theory is that birds ingest the seed, sit on the telephone poles and old fencing, and well…just poop it out. The following spring, that’s where its going to grow. If you can spot those plants and remember where they are, then you know where to forage in the spring.

Once spring is here, I look for the old plant. By this time, its a beige to off-white scrubby looking piece of brush. However, almost all the weeds look that way, too. I think old asparagus seems to be more like a reed at the base, and to fold over instead of breaking off at the bottom.

I sometimes put a marker of some sort for me to recognize a particular spot. This marker won’t mean anything to someone else, but it will to me. I don’t use anything that would cause someone to notice, so it could be a big rock or a nail head sticking out of an old fence post. Use your imagination.

Harvesting wild asparagus

When wild asparagus first comes up, it will be within a foot or so of the original plant. I gently turn over old grass and brush, and look underneath for the new growth. Many times, it looks purple or mostly purple with a little green. As it grows taller, it looks all green. Its tall, slender, and has triangular patches along its stalk. It gets pointy at the top, and has a head of seeds.

I pick it when it is around 6 inches or so. This stuff grows FAST. When the county trucks come around and mow along the edges of the roads, the asparagus grows faster than the grass, so it really stands out shortly after mowing. In fact, the more you cut it down, the more it wants to grow!

As it matures, it develops “branching”. It still can be harvested, but it starts getting tougher toward the bottom. I take only the more tender upper part, or cut away the tougher portion at home. Once it looks like a tree, I just let it go to seed.

I have taken home with me branches with seed that are ready to drop to “seed” my own property. If you don’t want to do this, many farm stores and garden centers sell asparagus root to plant in your garden. The drawback is that it takes about three years to get the asparagus big enough in diameter to harvest. I’ve also had my husband rototill right over the roots and kill them.

Preparing asparagus

To prepare the spears, I clean them with fresh water, pat dry, then take a large bowl and toss them with a little EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) and whatever spices I want to add. I like seasoned salt, garlic powder, or even Lemon-Pepper. Then I put foil down on the preheated grill and let them cook. I think a little char on them is quite tasty.

Sometimes, I make pasta, and add my grilled asparagus pieces along with other fresh vegetables and a chicken breast, and voila…a healthy and scrumptious dinner.

Freezing it for later

If I want to freeze it, there are two methods. You can blanch it to stop the enzymes from degrading the spears, and retaining the color and texture. After blanching, place it in ice water to stop the cooking. Pat dry. and place in freezer bags.

You can also vacuum seal the asparagus (which I do), then you can eliminate the blanching. I’ve done both and prefer the vacuum sealing because ice crystals still manage to form in the freezer bags.

The final question

I know someone out there is going to ask the question, “Why does my pee smell bad after eating asparagus?” It’s because digestion breaks it down into sulfurous amino acids. So, no, you are not getting a UTI, it’s just the small price you have to pay for enjoying this spring delicacy! Foraging wild asparagus is just one more survival skill to add to your collection!

Want to learn more about foraging? Check out these recommended resources!

The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants by Department of the Army
Foraged Flavor by Tama Matsuoka Wong
The Forager’s Harvest by Samuel Thayer
Foraging.com — A round up of classes, websites, and more.
Foraging Texas website
Nature’s Garden: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Wild Edible Plants by Samuel Thayer
Stalking the Healthful Herbs by Euell Gibbons
Tree Finder by May Theilgaard Watts
Wild Cards: Edible Wild Foods (playing cards)
Wild Edible Fruits and Berries by Marjorie Furlong and Virginia B. Pill

The post Foraging and Harvesting Wild Asparagus by Mary Blandford appeared first on The Survival Mom. Be sure to check it out!

August Skill of the Month: Foraging Skills

The skill and art of foraging goes back to the days of Adam and Eve when, in the garden, they had every edible plant imaginable at their disposal. I imagine they tasted everything they saw and figured out which flavors they liked and which they didn’t.

Well, foraging really hasn’t changed all that much. There are nuts, medicinal herbs, mushrooms, berries, roots, and leafy plants that are all edible and nutritious. Foraging is a skill, however, that has been long forgotten by most of us. Our grandparents and great-grandparents may have known to harvest dandelions for dandelion wine and salads and might even have known to pick elderberries to make wine and cough syrup, but now with most Americans living in cities of all sizes, we’ve become distanced from both the knowledge and the plants themselves. Foraging skills have almost been lost to history.

Foraging safety first

Years ago I taught a survival class for kids at Cabela’s, and one day while we were talking about the dangers of eating wild plants, a parent spoke up and said, “When I was an Army Ranger, we had to pull more guys out of the field for getting sick from something they ate than for any other reason.”

When we’re hungry enough and see plants all around us, it’s natural to think, “I could stay alive by eating that!” If it comes down to eating insects or a handful of a green plant, most of us would pick the plant! The problem with that thinking is that only 5-10% of all plants are edible! The rest are either poisonous or unpalatable.

Thus, knowing how to safely forage is a must.

Begin with a foraging guide that has clear photos and detailed descriptions of edible plants. The descriptions should also contain information about any deadly look-alike plants. Elderberries are wonderfully edible and medicinally useful. However, the berry and plant are easily confused with water hemlock and pokeberries, or pokeweed. A good guide book, website, or app will spend plenty of time listing warnings about dangerous look-alikes, as well as potential dangers of the edible plant itself.

A few recommended foraging guides and sites are:

The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants by Department of the Army
Foraged Flavor by Tama Matsuoka Wong
Forager’s Harvest website
The Forager’s Harvest by Samuel Thayer
Foraging.com — A round up of classes, websites, and more.
Foraging Texas website (Many of the plants listed here are found in many other parts of the country.)
Nature’s Garden: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Wild Edible Plants by Samuel Thayer
Stalking the Healthful Herbs by Euell Gibbons
Tree Finder by May Theilgaard Watts
Wild Cards: Edible Wild Foods (playing cards)
Wild Edible Fruits and Berries by Marjorie Furlong and Virginia B. Pill

There are many, many foraging and wild foods websites and blogs on the internet. As you browse through them, apply the same criteria to their information as you would that found in a book: very clear photos and illustrations, detailed descriptions, and plenty of time spent discussing and describing dangerous plant look-alikes.

Phone apps are a wonderful thing and I have several of survival and prepper related apps on my own phone. There are a number of apps related to foraging as well. However, just recently an Idaho family was poisoned when they ate poisonous mushrooms by mistaking them for edible ones based on information on an app.

TIP: Regarding foraging for mushrooms, expert Dr. Mart “Merriweather” Vorderbruggen of Foraging Texas recommends leaving those alone until you can take a class on identifying wild mushrooms and are an experienced forager.

The universal edibility test

If you can’t find the plant in a trusty book or on a reliable website and you’re in the wilderness or a foraging area wondering whether or not a plant is safe,  the Universal Edibility Test is an option. It’s laborious and, frankly, would be a pain in the neck if my life depended on it, but knowing the process gives you a good idea just how difficult it is to discern an edible plant from one that could kill you.

Step 1: Take the plant apart.

Separate the roots, leaves, stem, berries, flower/bud. Some parts may be edible, but unless you test each part separately, you may not realize that you’re holding an intensely nutritious root but poisonous leaves — or the other way around!

Make sure the plant is free of mold, fungus, or is infested with insects.

Step 2: Smell each part of the plant.

If any part gives off an unpleasant odor, assume it won’t be safe to ingest.

Step 3: Check to see if each part irritates your skin.

During this time, don’t eat anything else to avoid food/plant interaction or confusing a reaction to a food with a reaction to this new plant. If the plant irritates your skin, then it won’t be healthy to consume or use medicinally. Take one part of the plant and rub it on in the inside of your wrist or elbow. It may take several minutes or even a few hours before you see a reaction.

Possible reactions are:

Burning
Itching
Numbness
Rash or other obvious irritation

If your skin shows no reaction, then move on to Step 4.

Step 4: Prepare the plant as you would for cooking.

Some plants become safe to eat once cooked. Boiling is a good method for this step. If you can’t cook the plant part, then you’ll have to continue with it raw. Once boiled, or using a raw piece of the plant, rub or hold it to your lip for a few minutes. If there’s any burning or painful sensation, the plant part isn’t safe to eat.

Step 5: Take a small bite.

Hold a small bite of food in your mouth for a few minutes to see if there’s any unpleasant reaction, such as burning or tingling. If there is, spit it out and rinse your mouth out with water. By this point, you just wasted possibly several hours to learn that a single part of the plant isn’t safe to eat!

Step 6: Chew — but don’t swallow!

That’s right. It still isn’t safe to ingest that small bite of plant. Chew and then hold it in your mouth for 15 minutes, again to see if there’s any burning, tingling, or other weird sensation. If there isn’t, you can finally swallow that bite!

Only at this point can it be somewhat safe to assume that the plant part you just chewed and swallowed is edible and safe to eat. Survival experts recommend waiting another few hours after that first bite before eating any more of that particular plant part. After this entire process, it’s possible that you may have encountered a plant that isn’t safe to consume in large quantities, but you may not discover that until days or weeks later.

I’ve included the Universal Edibility Test as an illustration of just how hard it is to identify a safe plant on your own! Foraging is great and is becoming a bit trendy, but to head out and harvest plants without knowing exactly what it is you’ll be consuming is dangerous.

A note for parents

Teaching kids about foraging is great but it’s even more important for them to know how dangerous plants can be. Kids at about 7 or 8 can remember the basic steps for the Universal Edibility Test, as a precaution, but it’s even better for them to tag along as you look for safe, edible plants. Berries, in particular, look enticing and since kids are used to eating berries of all kinds, they might easily assume that all berries are going to be yummy. However, there are a number of very poisonous berries out there. Just to name a few:

Mistletoe
Holly berries
Pokeweed berries
Belladonna

Enjoy discovering edible plants in your area

While I envy folks up north who find wild asparagus and burdock, there’s still plenty of great plants in my part of Texas. I just have to learn what they are and then get out and look for them! The same is true of your area. No matter where you live, even in the hottest deserts of the U.S., there are edible plants everywhere.

The website Foraging.com has listings of classes and local experts. If you’re lucky, you’ll find something near you. Otherwise, search online for the name of your town/area and “wild plants” or “foraging” or “edible plants”. Those searches will result in websites and other resources to get you started.

Some of the most common and widespread plants that you may very well find are:

Acorns
Amaranth
Cattails
Chickweed
Dandelions
Fireweed
Kelp
Lamb’s Quarter
Mallow
Pine
Plantain
Prickly Pear
Purslane
Wild blackberries, raspberries

Foraging ethics

When we visit the homes of our friends, there are certain, unwritten rules that we follow, right? If you invite my family over for dinner, my kids know better than to rummage through your fridge and I promise not to check out the contents of your medicine cabinet!

When you’re out foraging, do the same thing. More and more folks are figuring out that foraging is an enjoyable and rewarding hobby, but as they begin filtering out into the deserts, forests, and other wild areas, it’s easy to forget that you are, in fact, a guest.

Rule 1: Forage only where you have permission to do so.

Check out your city, county, and state laws, but it’s illegal to forage in most of those areas. Federal lands as well. (The next time you hear that the federal government has “set aside” another few hundred thousand acres for “the greater good,” well, that land has just been stolen from the American people and you have no right to be there or utilize it in any way. Think about that.)

Rule 2: Don’t get greedy.

Just as you wouldn’t come to my house and eat half the lasagna, don’t take more of any particular plant than you can reasonably use within a short period of time. Harvest just a few leaves or sprigs, use a sharp knife for cutting, and then move on.

Rule 3: Be a good steward of nature.

We’re all adults here and no one should need a reminder, but don’t leave trash in your wake. Be respectful of the plants, the property, and any animals you might encounter. If you want a foraging area to continue to be available to you and to others, then treat it as carefully as you would your own.

So, let’s learn to forage!

Knowing, for sure, the safe, edible plants in your neck of the woods could become important in a survival scenario. Knowing the medicinal uses of these plants is just as important.

Get your guidebook ready, put on some walking shoes, grab a bottle of water and a few plastic bags to hold your harvest, and get out there!

Check out these recommended resources

The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants by Department of the Army
Foraged Flavor by Tama Matsuoka Wong
The Forager’s Harvest by Samuel Thayer
Foraging.com — A round up of classes, websites, and more.
Foraging Texas website
Nature’s Garden: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Wild Edible Plants by Samuel Thayer
Stalking the Healthful Herbs by Euell Gibbons
Tree Finder by May Theilgaard Watts
Wild Cards: Edible Wild Foods (playing cards)
Wild Edible Fruits and Berries by Marjorie Furlong and Virginia B. Pill

Never miss another Survival Mom article!
 

The post August Skill of the Month: Foraging Skills by The Survival Mom appeared first on The Survival Mom. Be sure to check it out!

Tomatoes: The Overlooked Survival Food

On my list of the Top 10 Foods for Stocking Up, I impulsively added tomatoes as #6.  During the past few days I’ve been keeping an eye on the foods we most often eat, and sure enough, tomatoes are a big part of our diet.  Sunday we dined on tacos and tostadas, both topped with salsa.  The next night we gorged on take-out pizza with a delicious tomato sauce flavored with red wine.  Ketchup is the life blood of my kids’ lunches, and some of my favorite soups are tomato based.  It’s no wonder that I stock up on tomatoes and tomato products.

Reasons to stock up on tomatoes

One reason I’m glad to include tomatoes as a major part of my food storage is that they contain healthy doses of Vitamins A and C and are wonderfully low in calories. Tomatoes are a natural diuretic, being 90% water themselves, and can help flush toxins out of your body.  On top of all that, they’ve been found to contain lycopene, an amazing element that combats cancer.

The peak season for growing your own tomatoes is in the glorious, hot days of summer, but they’re available at the market year round.  If you can get your hands on a large number of fresh tomatoes, here are some options for you, other than letting them rot in your vegetable drawer!

Oven Dried Tomatoes

What a delicous way to preserve your tomatoes, and this couldn’t be simpler.  Wash your tomatoes and slice them about 1/2″ thick.  Toss them with salt, pepper, and olive oil and place them on a baking rack.  Bake at a very low temperature, 225 degrees, for at least 2-3 hours.  You’ll know they’re done when they feel like soft leather and are chewy.  For long-term storage, you can seal them in either canning jars using a jar sealer attachment and a Food Saver or in Food Saver bags. Since the dried tomatoes will still have a degree of moisture, I don’t recommend storing them for much longer than 3-6 months.

Dehydrated Tomatoes

Again, wash and slice tomatoes, but this time, layer them on dehydrator trays.  If you’re new to food dehydration, read this.  Tomatoes will need a good 6-12 hours of dehydrating time, and when they’re finished, they’ll be crispy. Far more moisture is removed using this method than oven drying, so these crackly tomato slices will have a much longer shelf life. Use the canning jar/jar sealer method with a Food Saver. That is my preferred method for storing dehydrated tomato slices.

Homemade Tomato Powder

The first time I heard of tomato powder, I thought, “Huh?”  It turns out that this is a great ingredient for adding tomato flavor and nutrients to soups, chiles, stews, salad dressings, and more, and it can be quickly rehydrated as tomato sauce. Add more powder for a thicker sauce.

Stored in the fridge, tomato powder will last indefinitely.  To make your own, seed your tomato slices before dehydration or not. I leave the skins on and the seeds in. Place the slices on dehydrator trays, making sure they don’t overlap and dry until very, very crispy. This will take several hours.

Once you have crispy tomato slices, break them into small pieces and turn them into powder using your food processer or blender.  I use my Magic Jack and get great results.

The Paranoid Dad’s Not-So-Secret Salsa Recipe

We love this fresh flavored salsa.  You can add cilantro, if you like.  I love cilantro, but Parnoid Dad says it tastes like dirt.  Go figure.

In a saucepan over low heat, combine these ingredients until thoroughly heated:

3 T. oil

3 T. vinegar

3 t. salt

3 t. sugar or preferred sweetener, to taste

3 cloves garlic, pressed

Pour warmed liquid into a bowl and add 1 large can tomatoes (chopped or pureed), 1 chopped white onion, and chopped jalapenos to taste.  I also add a handful of chopped cilantro. Add a nice big bag of tortilla chips, and dinner is served!

Make-it-Yourself Ketchup

Yes, you can make delicious, homemade ketchup, seasoned just the way you like it!  I’ve found that some store brands are too sugary, and the sugar free brand is quite pricey. This is the recipe I included in my mini-book, Switch From Store-Bought to Homemade, available as a free download!

Lisa’s Homemade Ketchup

6 oz. tomato paste

1/4 c. honey*, or to taste (I also sometimes use sweeteners when I want to cut down on carbs and calories.)

1/2 c. white vinegar

1/4 c. water

3/4 t. salt

1/4 t. onion powder

1/4 t. garlic powder

Whisk all these ingredients together in a medium size saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for 30 minutes and allow to cool before pouring it into a container. We use squeeze bottles but you could also recycle old ketchup bottles for this use.

Home canned tomatoes

Tomatoes are one of the easiest foods to can, even for beginners. Other than learning how to make jelly and jam when I was a kid, canning tomatoes were the first food I ever officially canned. Since you use the simple water-bath method, there’s no need to calculate pressure or timing based on your elevation.

Here are simple instructions for canning your own tomatoes.

With all these options, it’s very, very easy to stock up on tomatoes in your food storage pantry. They’re versatile, delicious, and I’ll bet you and your family can’t go much longer than a week or two without eating something made from tomatoes!

Are you new to food storage? Check out these tutorials as well as my full-length family survival manual, Survival Mom!

Simple Food Storage Meals for Tight Times
Top 10 Foods for Stocking Up
The 6 Enemies of Food Storage

For even more, here’s a page full of more links and videos!

Even more food storage resources!

Food Saver — vacuum system for storing food long-term
Food Saver Mason jar sealer
Food Storage for Self-Sufficiency and Survival by Angela Paskett
Oxygen absorbers, 100 cc
Prepper’s Guide to Food Storage by Gaye Levy
The Prepper’s Cookbook by Tess Pennington

This article updated on August 2, 2015.

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