Survival Food

Are Freeze Dried Foods Right For You?

March 13, 2024 by Seasoned Citizen Prepper

For most of us “regular” people, food storage consists mostly of canned food along with others such as rice, beans, powdered milk and potatoes. Frozen food also is thrown in the mix along with whatever is growing in the garden.

These foods are the mainstay of my food storage program, however I have started adding freeze dried and dehydrated foods as well.

Why? Well, freeze dried foods have some definite benefits.

They store for a very long time – upwards of 25+ years. They are also lightweight as they contain no moisture. Freeze dried food can be transported easier than bulk canned goods. Preparation of this food is relatively easy as water needs to be added, heated and that is it. Water is an integral part of the preparation compared to canned food.

There are two categories of freeze dried food I am currently ordering, breakfast and meats. I have been putting back Mountain House Scrambled Eggs with Bacon along with a variety of Mountain House meats. I found that my food storage program was lacking in breakfast foods and meat. I cannot have chickens or other farm animals on my property.

Most of those I have tasted were decent to good. Mountain House is not the only producers of freeze dried foods. There are many out there and I have tried a few and found them pretty good.

However, it’s important to remember that no matter what you choose to do about freeze-dried food, it should really only be a part of your overall food storage plan. The reality is, your survival food list should incorporate short-term, canned, freeze-dried and several other kinds of food, to ensure that you have a balanced, nutrient-dense diet.

How To Increase Your Food Storage On a Budget

March 13, 2024 by Seasoned Citizen Prepper

One of the areas which I feel a need to concentrate on is food storage. I have a lot of food stored to the point which my wife makes some snide comments. Regardless, I plan to get A LOT more.

The main foods I store are what I am sure you have in your kitchen cabinets right now – a lot of canned goods and other foods you can buy at your local grocery store. That is my message in this post is there is not a need to buy expensive freeze dried food to have a decent level of readiness.

Now – I do have freeze dried food stored and if money is available then by all means purchase some. More on freeze dried food like Mountain House meals another day.

Stocking up on food is not rocket science. Store what you eat and eat what you store.

Here are a few things to consider when stocking up:

Buy on Sale – We are all on budgets. I get the sale papers for three grocery stores in my area and scour through them every Tuesday. I highlight those items that are good deals. During the week I visit each store and buy multiples of each item selected. The quantity is based on how good the deal is and how much money I have.

A couple of examples:

Del Monte canned corn on sale BOGO (buy one get one free) – regularly $1.39 per can – now about .69 cents

Store brand canned fruit on sale for .60 each – regularly $1.00 each

Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup on sale 2/1.00 – regular price .99 cents per can

Buy in Quantity – My goal is to buy as much as I can with the money I have available. One guide to follow to just save money is to purchase the amount that will last until the item goes on sale again. If you pay attention many common items go on sale every 3-4 weeks…. consistently. What I recommend is purchasing 2 months worth per month and then one month later purchase 2 months worth again when on sale. You will be surprised at how fast your stockpile will build.
Buy What You Like – This is common sense but needs to be said. Don’t buy stuff just because it is cheap. Buy what you like.
Consider Comfort Foods – Should something happen and the stress level is high have comfort foods in your stores will be, well, comforting. Some examples might hard candy, bottles of Gatorade, and chocolate. Especially if there are kids around comfort foods can assist in relieving some stress.
Look at Expiration Dates – Check expiration dates on the foods you are stocking up on. Some brands have longer lives for the same foods. Also – stores may not rotate there products well and typically the oldest stuff is at the front of the shelves. I often reach to the back of the shelves to get the freshest stock.

.69 cents here and .50 cents there can add up. If you can save 40% by purchasing ONLY sale items that means you can bring home $100 worth of groceries for $60 dollars. Do this week after week, month after month and the dollars really add up.

Coupons can also save you a lot of money although they can be very time consuming. I used to coupon A LOT. I did find that I was buying stuff that 6 months later I never used. Several stores in my area have put strict policies on using coupons as well.

In summary – To keep it the simplest and most effective: “store what you eat and eat what you store.”

How To Harvest Your Winter Squash (and save the seeds)

March 13, 2024 by Seasoned Citizen Prepper

Winter squash is a wonderful plant. Super easy to grow and store. Not only are the fruits of the plant edible (yes, technically it is a fruit) but the shoots, leaves, tendrils can be eaten as greens, cooked or raw. The seeds can be ground into paste, meal, flour, pressed into an oil, crushed to create a nut butter, eaten raw or dried and seasoned to create a delicious snack. Even squash flowers are edible!

I usually plant mine at the edge of the garden and point them into the horse pasture. The horses eat the grass around them but never damage the vines or fruit. Squash are also part of the Native American “Three Sisters”, comprised of corn, squash and beans. These three crops were staples of the Native American diet. Planted together the beans climb the corn stalks and fix nitrogen into the soil and the squash shields the ground keeping weeds to a minimum.

Two weeks before harvest, cut your squash vines 2-4” above the fruit. Let them dry in the garden to harden off their skins. Before a hard frost, gently gather them up and store them in a dark place. Cool and dry is not as important as dry. They store better in the attic than in a damp basement. If you bruise one or the stem breaks off, use those first. Squash will often store until spring.

The seeds are very easy to save, just clean, dry and put them in an envelope for use in the spring. It is often advised to plant only one variety of squash at a time because they will cross pollinate. Male and female blossoms are on the same plant. If bees are not prevalent in your area, hand pollinating may be an option.

Squash can be eaten raw, cooked in a variety of ways, made into soups or sweet bars. Just find a recipe book and start looking for something that suits your palate!

Survival Biscuits [these are incredible]

March 13, 2024 by Seasoned Citizen Prepper

Food is my major concern when looking at my preps. I feel like I could just never have enough. At this point I have a large variety of types of food including common grocery store items as well as dehydrated and freeze dried.

I stopped by a local Sunbeam Bread Outlet store and saw a display of different bread mixes. What caught my eye was these were “Just add water“.

I picked up a few for $1.29 each and just tried the biscuit mix Sunday morning. Super simple to make. Like I said – “just add water” and then cook.

For the prepper this is a simple food prep that can be put back inexpensively requiring few supplies to prepare. Like most things – the true date which the product could not be eaten is likely well beyond the given date.

Anyways – the biscuits turned out great. My wife cut the dough a little thin but they tasted great.

There are many simple and cheap food preps out there that can make a world of difference when the time comes, and should definitely be included on any survival food list.

Gardening and Our Off Grid Greenhouse

March 13, 2024 by Seasoned Citizen Prepper

A greenhouse is not essential to gardening, but it sure makes a difference in being able to start plants earlier. It also may even be able to give you the option of trying plants suited to a zone or two warmer than you could produce without a greenhouse.

This off-grid greenhouse is tucked into the west and north sides of the hill, leaving it with both east and southern exposure, an ideal location. The greenhouse itself has the clear roof panels. It was built first and the larger building with the solar array was added later—more on that tomorrow!

The asparagus fronds left to go in August shield it on the south face from the intense heat that time of year.

Note to the left of the greenhouse how the grapevines stretch out along its face. These also shield the greenhouse during summer on its south face, as do the berry plants next to the front door which faces east.

On the flat, tillable acreage is the garden. Horse drawn implements are lined up along the fence.

They also had a single horse breaking buggy. When I first saw it, I thought it was a fore cart (A horse drawn cart which is used to hitch other implements too. That way you can use more modern farm implements. Some fore carts have battery power and even gas engines to run modern equipment.) as I have one that I have used not only for breaking horses to drive, but to haul logs from the woods up to the wood lot.

Mine is a convertible fore cart using both a pole for a team or thills for a single horse. Many Amish mow their lawns with a fore cart hitched to a series of reel mowers. A fore cart is the way to go if you are actually going to use horses.

They had a 7 foot deer fence around the extensive gardens. Costly, but necessary if want a harvest in the wilderness. An antique wheel barrow adds to the ambience.

An old drive through granary was converted to common storage and garden tool storage.

Having taken a tour of the greenhouse and gardens, the last leg of our journey on this homestead will be the home based businesses that allow the residents to remain on the homestead without an outside income.

This is part of an off grid series, where I take you on a tour of the off-grid home without solar assist and a walk around the farm.

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out the other posts featuring their: home without electricity, masonry heater, off grid water system, and homestead businesses.

My hope is that you will enjoy the experience as much as I did and perhaps learn, or remember, a bit of an older/newer lifestyle.

Carne Seca Adovada Soup [Recipe]

March 11, 2024 by Seasoned Citizen Prepper

This was completely an experiment in using only storable items, I’m surprised that it worked out as well as it did.

This is DEFINITELY going to be a lot better if you use homemade, air-dried beef jerky vs. the commercially-made stuff. If you have to use ‘store’ jerky, I’d go for the ‘steak nugget’ style before the flat strips.

Dried Ancho and Pasilla chile peppers are available at every supermarket in areas that have any sort of Latin-American populations, or online. They are very flavorful, but not at all ‘hot’. (Chiles de Arbol can hurt you – not all dried peppers are mild)

They are also pretty cheap flavor-enhancers. If you prep them by breaking off the stem-ends, pouring out the seeds and vacuum-sealing, the 25th Century archeologists who discover your stash will probably say “MMMMM.. tasty…”

This is NOT a quick MRE-type meal. Just like our ancestors, if you’re going to use dried, preserved ingredients, it will take a while, and you may have to plan in advance.

Ingredients:

“big handful” (or 2) of homemade beef jerky (“Carne Seca” in Spanish – a popular Mexican ingredient)
“handful” of dried Ancho and/or Pasilla chiles
heaping tbsp. of dried Oregano leaves
about a tbsp. of ground cumin seed
1-2 tbsp. dehydrated onion flakes
1 tbsp. granulated garlic
water
chicken stock or bouillion (optional)
salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:

In one container, cover the jerky with boiling water, and let sit 3-4 hours to rehydrate.
In another container, add chiles, oregano, onion and garlic, cover with boiling water and let sit to rehydrate. Refrigerating #’s 1 and 2 overnight (covered) is not a bad idea, if possible.
Grind up the chile/herb/onion/garlic/water into a thick sauce. “Abuelita” (grandma) probably used a lava-rock mortar and pestle for this. A hand immersion blender, or a food processor or a blender will work faster under ideal circumstances.
Drain the meat (save liquid) and add rehydrated meat to the chile/herb sauce.
Add the meat-rehydrating liquid, if needed, until everything is submerged.
Let the meat marinate, refrigerated, as long as possible. 2 or 3 days is not a bad idea.
When ready, dump the whole batch into a pot, add water (or chicken stock) until everything is covered.
Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, simmer covered 2-3 hours, checking liquid level – add more if needed (especially if on an open fire)
Let it simmer, uncovered, another 10-15 minutes, to thicken sauce.

This was surprisingly good over rice and black beans with homemade corn tortillas. The meat isn’t ‘fall apart tender’ like a normal pork shoulder Carne Adovada, but much more than just “acceptable” or “MRE” quality.