Primal Preppers? page

[OutdoorAmy]

I gotta admit. One of my guilty pleasures is the National Geographic Channel show Doomsday Preppers . . . some of them are just nuts - but some of them are just impressive and inspiring. It makes me want to make an effort to be better prepared in case of disaster - even if not an apocalyptic one - living where I do, wildfires, blizzards and floods are real and presents threats at any given time.

But how does one prepare and stay primal, especially as concerns putting food by? Most canning recipes call for lots of sugar or salt. And grains are one of the easiest foods to store for longer periods of time, but the need to rotate things in and out of what you have in stock means eating those grains before they go bad . . .

Any thoughts? Or am I the only one weird enough to think about these things?

(Though you can't get much more primal than being forced into a hunter-gatherer lifestyle following an apocalypse, right?)

[magicmerl]

Are you talking about building a 'disaster kit' using primal foods. It's pretty depressing how all of the really cheap foods that preserve for years are on the 'bad' list.

Rice is about all I have. And grow your own veges.

[OutdoorAmy]

Essentially, yes . . . and you've hit right on the problem I'm having - jerky will last for a while, rice (not the best choice, but it's gluten free at least) and home canning, but recipes without (or with low sugar) sugar and high salt don't last as long, as those ingredients provide preservative benefits . . . and since you have to rotate things out to keep them from going bad, that means you have to eat whatever you store eventually - so you don't want to get too many non-primal foods to preserve or you'll just be wasting your money or wrecking your diet.

[namelesswonder]

I still think canning on your own (with organic/locally grown produce) is better than depending on the grocery store's options. Sugar would probably be the least of your worries if something happened that warranted breaking out the rations.

[Lizzielou]

Ha, I was going to post this exact thread earlier this week and hadn't gotten around to it. I like the idea of prepping, we recently had one of our major cities in NZ totally out of action due to a major earthquake so its something quite real for us at present.

Some of my friends are stocked up with a years suply of wheat, rice, salt, sugar and the likes, and I think it only works if you are constantly using these items and replacing what you've used every month or so, that way it keeps fairly fresh. This to me is the major flaw of currently living primal, because in an emergency situation I won't care what I eat, but to cycle the stored food through with minimum of waste you'd need to eat it all regularly.

I need to put together a bit more of a kit and I was going to focus on water stores, tinned products, powdered milk etc. I suppose coconut products would store well also, coconut cream in a tin, desicated coconut, coconut flour. EVOO kept in dark, airtight containers would probably last a while too. Oh and of course a years supply of dark chocolate would be the minimum for any household surely?

Watching this thread with interest for other ideas.

[The Return of Dado]

Yo preppers beez wacks, son.

Instead of prepping you should be strength training, because if a meteor drops on me, I won't need any canned tuna.

[Lizzielou]

Yo preppers beez wacks, son.

Instead of prepping you should be strength training, because if a meteor drops on me, I won't need any canned tuna.

Dude! Laugh all you like.......Feb 2011 my SIL found herself in an unlivable home, with a year old baby and dog, no electricity, no running water, no toilet, two days worth of nappies, no dog food, all supermarkets in her city closed/destroyed, car that she couldn't get out of the garage. This went on for weeks.........

I'll be prepping thanks all the same.

[The Return of Dado]

Dude! Laugh all you like.......Feb 2011 my SIL found herself in an unlivable home, with a year old baby and dog, no electricity, no running water, no toilet, two days worth of nappies, no dog food, all supermarkets in her city closed/destroyed, car that she couldn't get out of the garage. This went on for weeks.........

I'll be prepping thanks all the same.

Look, I'm not really familiar with the customs in New Zealand. I'll admit that much.

[Quarry]

Lots of canned fish and vegetables. I am not sure I would be so concerned with optimal health in such a scenario. Besides, my teen sons get in a frenzy about World War Z if I mentioned anything that is remotely close to a survivalist situation. (World War Z is about the zombie holocaust...)

[RitaRose]

Check out Jack Spirko's podcast called (appropriately enough) The Survival Podcast. He's a prepper without falling into the "tin hat" insanity, and he's Paleo too. I found him when he had Mark on his podcast maybe as much as a year ago.