MAKE YOUR OWN MEALS IN A JAR FOR PREPPING>

oven canning

here [link to raising3dinosaurs.blogspot.com]

and here
[link to aworkingpantry.blogspot.com]

Incidentally...

The first meal ever to be bottled (long before canning) was...

CHICKEN MARENGO...the world's first "ready made meal

...And, incidentally, this was exactly what it was designed for. So, when it is served in a restaurant piping hot, remember, this is NOT how it was supposed to be. It is supposed to be diced and served ice cold from a wine bottle.

Chicken Marengo was first bottled by Napoleon in bulk to allow his army great range and movement, so that they would not be bogged down by supply problems circa 1800AD.

For all of the beans, rice and whatnot that you feel are to old, grind them up and use them in bread( replace 1 cup or the equivalent in your recipe).I did this with pinto beans and made a denser bread, a good thing in lean times.

I have a small stash of stuff I've been picking up at Big Lots (my husband doesn't believe anything will happen) so I'm on my own here.

I'm cooking up some Wild Rice Bear Creek soup right now I bought for $3 a bag. I'm sure it's not the healthiest soup for you but it beats eating my yorkies.

They also have alot of Bob Mill's products.. Steel Cut Oats, Granola, several different type of bean soups etc. for $3-5

I with you AW hubby is the same. I got some LT Heirloom/Organic seeds stored. I would say that most people where I live are asleep to what's going on, butI am a Mom and I have a responsibility to my kids. That's how I look at it. I will do what I can as long as I can.

Did you soak them? After you soak beans(they are the worst for getting hard over time), then you TOSS the water. That water will contain enzymes that will make the bean tough upon cooking. Then you fill up the beans with fresh water and cook them.
[link to www.nourishingdays.com]

If you have bad luck, then usually some aspect of your skills needs honing (sharpening).

Many preppers germinate the beans, for what that does is makes them even more nutritious. You only do this slightly.
[link to www.nourishingdays.com]

If you just can't figure it out, switch to lentils. They hydrate quickly. They are almost as nutritious. Lentil and rice make a complete combination of essential amino acids. That's why tribal people around the world combine corn and beans, beans and rice, because the combination of both will lead to proper nutrition. Eating only this or that will eventually lead to issues like cachexia and overall malnourishment.
[link to www.livestrong.com]
[link to en.wikipedia.org]

Last Edited by Don'tBeAfraid on 01/27/2013 10:26 PM

Everybody should already have experience with cooking beans and rice in tasty ways.

Again, that stainless steel pressure cooker....

Kidney beans contain a toxin that is removed in a rolling boil for ten minutes... before drying again to be ground into a bean flour.

Garbanzo beans (chick peas) good to go dry.... falafel is a favorite of mine.

Everybody should have gone through dry runs of all the things/techniques they'll need to be doing ITSHTF.

Living in Hurricane Land has been a boost in doing just that...

Falafel is an excellent survival food from the Middle East from combining fava beans and chickpeas and fried in oil to make a veggie burger. It's often eaten with pita bread, which I believe is ideal for preppers rather than loaves. Then a dollop of a vinegarette of onions and cuccumbers, perhaps some fresh basil, and a goat cheese or sour cream. It's delicious. All of those things could be grown or raised on your homestead.


At the end, she says, "Hoda hafez", which in Persian means God bless you. Though I am a devout Christian, we can learn things from Jews and Muslims, and it's good to find some commonality despite out many differences.

NOTE: Oil is a critical resource for preppers. Most likely in the USA, we'll be using canola which is expressed in large amounts from rapeseed. It also could be used for lamp oil, though sesame would be better, rapeseed is more suited to the USA climate. Don't purchase GMO rapeseed. The fodder left from heirloom rapeseed can be eated by your livestock, but they despise GMO rapeseed leftovers.

All people breaking sod, and that is an AWFUL job, will use rapeseed, for it busts up and penetrates the soil with its root system. Most suburban homes in the USA are built on spent farmland, and hence have low nutrients in the clay soil and lack humus. You must have rapeseed in your prepper supplies.
[link to ir.library.oregonstate.edu]

The only other way to bust clay sod is river sand. It places tiny sand spaces between the clay plates of your soul. Since it's not burned up by the breakdown of humus, it will permanently alter the soil i.e. called friability.

Otherwise, fat will be very rare and sought after since the only animals in nature that produce it in large numbers are geese or the extremely rare bear to be caught. Pork fat and some beef fat will be used. Pigs were almost always free range in frontier times resulting in better meat and healthier pigs with less parasite issues. It's why we have feral pigs today.


Most game animals like rabbit and squirrel are very lean, and so chewy, and provide less calories. They're important to supplement but will be eaten fast post-collapse, and in doing so, may severely curtail their numbers the next season.

Last Edited by Don'tBeAfraid on 01/27/2013 11:23 PM