Primal Preppers? page 3

[lexie]

I believe most Mormons practice this. I had a coworker who was Mormon and she was always looking for deals on bottled water and things like that to put aside, just in case. When her husband was laid off and took a year to find work, they barely had to spend anything on groceries, because they were already prepared. Although there's a focus on a lot of crap, you'll find a lot of helpful tips as well for something like this from Mormon websites - I believe they call it "provident living"? At any rate, I think it's a good idea, provided you don't drive yourself crazy with it.

[keithpowers]

You might also check out the pemmikan recipe on the main site here. That stuff will last nigh unto forever.

[OutdoorAmy]

You might also check out the pemmikan recipe on the main site here. That stuff will last nigh unto forever.

Will do. And LOL, nice description.

Interestingly, right after I posted this, I was listening to a paleo podcast and they talked about this very topic, so clearly other think about it . . . unfortunately they didn't have great answers - ya'll have been much more helpful!

[RitaRose]

I have a little radio with a hand crank charger and a solar panel on it. That came in really handy last year when we had that blackout for most of a day and night. It was good to be able to get the updates on what was going on. Several of my neighbors came over and we sat around the radio taking turns cranking it. It turned into a block party.

I've got one too, with all of the weather and regular stations, plus a USB port for charging stuff. Everyone kind of laughed at it, but then they all wanted to play with it. Pretty cool.

[Sabine]

Interesting study done in Scandanavia after WWII found that people will starve themselves in preference to eating food that they are unfamiliar with, when in a stressful situation. What I took from that was that I need to make sure that the items in my emergency supplies are things I will enjoy.

My family likes salmon cakes, so canned salmon is the first thing I have started stockpiling.

We all love peanut butter, so although it is a legume, and I mostly eat almond butter now, peanut butter is part of my store because it will bring a smile to our faces.

My purchasing method is to buy double of one staple each time I go shopping. I keep one unit in my pantry, and put items on my shopping list when they are gone from the pantry, but rotate forward from the emergency stores after I buy. Slowly but surely, I am getting a good stock.

[OutdoorAmy]

I've got one too, with all of the weather and regular stations, plus a USB port for charging stuff. Everyone kind of laughed at it, but then they all wanted to play with it. Pretty cool.

A hand crank and/or solar powered emergency radio with built in compass and flashlight is on my wish list - It would be so handy for backwoods camping/hiking, for power outages and all of that.

Interesting study done in Scandanavia after WWII found that people will starve themselves in preference to eating food that they are unfamiliar with, when in a stressful situation. What I took from that was that I need to make sure that the items in my emergency supplies are things I will enjoy.

My family likes salmon cakes, so canned salmon is the first thing I have started stockpiling.

We all love peanut butter, so although it is a legume, and I mostly eat almond butter now, peanut butter is part of my store because it will bring a smile to our faces.

My purchasing method is to buy double of one staple each time I go shopping. I keep one unit in my pantry, and put items on my shopping list when they are gone from the pantry, but rotate forward from the emergency stores after I buy. Slowly but surely, I am getting a good stock.

I seem to remember hearing something similar before myself. And having comfort foods can also make a stressful situation less stressful . . . (which makes me wonder how long dark chocolate will keep . . . yummy!)

That is a good plan for building a stock. Eventually like to have 3-6 months worth of food put by in case of losing income due to layoff, financial instability or natural disaster . . . my ultimate goal is to have a self-sufficient farm on a handful of acres. It would allow me (and the family I hope to share it with) to not only eat very healthfully now, but to have a more stable source of food in case something bad ever does happen.

Does anyone coupon? I tried, but found I wasn't getting my money worth (in regards to time and newspaper purchases) on a primal diet because so many coupons are just for processed, boxed foods with wheat and/or HFCS in them. So if you do coupon, what is your source to get your money's worth?

Also - how long does coconut oil keep? Does anyone know? I'm guessing pretty long . . .

I've read that rubbing oil on eggs can increase their shelf life up to a year (esp. if kept in a cool dark place, like a fridge or root cellar) because it blocks the air from permeating the porous shell. I've yet to try it - but at least eggs let you know pretty well if they've gone bad.

[Isfahel]

My husbands super "preparanoid", a word we coined for prepper/paranoid, and he keeps wanting to buy canned food. I don't like to eat canned food for obvious reasons... My plans is to learn to can meat, anyone do that? We've got a freezer crammed full with two pigs we just butchered, are planning to kill several deer here in a month or so, plus have a Jersey bull that needs to die in the next few months as well. We also live out in the middle of nowhere and loose electricity fairly often, which means bad luck for freezers. Veggies are easy to can, not that I've done that enough, it was just too hot to can this summer, but I'm not sure about meat.

[tanstaafl]

I haven't done it yet, but I have a book that shows how to can meat so I know you can. For foodstorage right now I am buying lots of tuna and some other fish like salmon. One of the fun things about Paleo is trying new things. Turns out I love kippered herring.

[Crabbcakes]

I believe most Mormons practice this. I had a coworker who was Mormon and she was always looking for deals on bottled water and things like that to put aside, just in case. When her husband was laid off and took a year to find work, they barely had to spend anything on groceries, because they were already prepared. Although there's a focus on a lot of crap, you'll find a lot of helpful tips as well for something like this from Mormon websites - I believe they call it "provident living"? At any rate, I think it's a good idea, provided you don't drive yourself crazy with it.

You are right. I was with the Latter-day Saints for 19 years, and they do food storage for a lot of reasons. It is a tenet of the faith and culture to be prepared for times of lean, no matter who/what/how they happen. I have a partial one and it is awesome to not worry immediately about fighting folks at the grocery store in the teeth of something nasty.

You need to make this an extension of your kitchen cupboards. One of the first things they teach is that you only store what you actually use and eat, so even tho the Mormons are big into grains and grain grinders and such, no two food stashes will look the same. What you do not know is that the LDS have local canneries - they have access to professional food canning equipment - as in s/steel cans of all the different sizes, along with nitrogen-pack equipment and such, so members can actually "can" their own beef stew and all that - they take this so seriously that they have spent the money to make this available to their members. And not only food goes into cans - dry pet food is also canned, as cans are mouse-proof.

They also put needs into different "tiers", as in 1. a 72-hour kit if you need to bail from your property and 2. storage if you can remain at home. Starting from zero and looking at the one-year-needs list is daunting. My suggestion is to work up from 7 days to 2 weeks, to 1 month, to 3 months, to 6 months, and then double that. By then you should have a good grip on a lot of things.

Also - do a dry run. Do not grocery shop for 7 days and see what is problematic. The LDS also incorporate the food storage into the weekly diet at the sell-by dates get close, so there is no waste.

I bought 2 fifty-gallon drinking water barrels with pumps during my time there, and that was the best deal ever.

[Ingvildr]

I live in NW Washington state and here winter storms can be problematic. We get arctic storms with hurricane force winds and temps in the single digits, not every year but frequently enough to make it a consideration. It is not unusual to have power knocked out for up to a week in very frigid temperatures. Neither gas(electonic ignition) nor electric heat work. I grew up with the assumption that there should be at least a months worth of food in the house if not two or three. Growing up in a farming community canning, freezing, dehydrating and pickling are all part the normal way things are done. I do medieval historical re-enactment and have the camping gear associated with that so cooking and lighting in an emercency are not a problem and the kids are already familiar with the safety rules associated with candle lanterns and propane stoves. If I had to leave home in an emergency my gear is a lot more solid and durable than standard camp gear and I'm well practiced at packing it. Part of the fun of my re-enactment is figuring out ways to make food that doesn't require refridgeration and is still yummy while camping. I'm not a prepper as such, but putting food by was just a normal part of growing up for me. I think a water filtration device is probably most needful to add to our gear at the moment.