The Preparedness Pro has a great post on Preparedness On A Budget. She really knows her stuff as she eats, sleeps and drinks being prepared, and has been doing research on it for many years. She also teaches a variety of preparedness classes (she lives in Utah). If you want to start preparing for emergencies, give her post a try, she has some good ideas!
boys were young I found that taking them for a walk opened communication. When my boys were little we never went for walks, but "adventures," which they always ended up being. When my boys were teenagers they grew to be 6' 8" tall. My younger son especially, would walk fast with a long stride, and he talked even faster. Keeping up with him was a real challenge and got my heart rate cranked up. We would discuss things that were on on their minds, and they could sort out and solve their problems.
I have been needing to make a emergency car kit and decided it was time to get it done. I have been concerned about what type of food it should contain that I could leave in the car all year round--even through our 110'+ summers (a locked car gets even hotter). I went through my huge 4 inch binder of emergency preparedness information that I have collected over the years and found a comment that was after a post. I believe the post was on survivalistblog, with the comment made by anonymous. The answer to my food dilemma is lifeboat rations. I just Googled "lifeboat rations" and there was a list of places that had them. They will withstand the extremes of hot and cold, which will cover just about anyplace. Most are said to be tasty and cookie-like, and full of calories, which is what is needed. They are pricey, but will last 5 years, I think well worth the insurance against an emergency.
The Survivoristblog has an interesting list of seven websites where you can learn more about food storage here. There is a food storage calculator (ie--how many people in the family equals this much food storage), ways to start purchasing, ten ways to build it up, and videos.
It's important to keep track of your, and your family's, medical history, especially for children and the elderly. You never know when a medical crisis will happen. Children are required to have certain shots to be able to attend school. The elderly may live out of town and you may not know what medications they are taking and who their doctors are. If you have one notebook to keep all of the information in, it will bless you when the need-to-know arises. A medical journal will help hospital staff in the event of an emergency, when your mind may not be clear with the answers that are needed. But, if you have written down the information and placed it into a binder, then assistance is in-hand. A binder is easy and quick to grab and take it with you. With a binder, it is easy to insert new pages when necessary. Have everyone in the family understand what the journal is and what it is for, even children will understand the importance. What do you include in a medical journal? Many things. This is just a partial list. Post a comment if you would like to add more.
Have you been buying, or thinking of buying, gold or silver for "tough times? I had thought about it, and read where you could collect dimes that were 90% silver, if you could find those with dates of 1964 or earlier. That was when the government started sandwiching copper in the middle. I was disappointed that I was way too late to find many of these more valuable dimes in the change that I'd get at the store. James Wesley, Rawles (author of "Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse" and is the editor of SurvivalBlog.com) said, "In February, 2010 it was announced that the Obama administration had endorsed a change in the metal composition of pennies and nickels." So, that means that the base metal in our current nickles will become more valuable. If you are interested in knowing more about this, go to Prepare To Survive In California's blog to read what James had to say. This is the time to stock up on nickles, before they disappear.
h you.
Have you noticed how products at the market are shrinking? I have used recipes that I have had for many years that called for a 16 ounce can of something, but today they only sell 14 ounce cans. Recently, I bought a 6-pack of paper towels, thinking that I was getting the better deal. Not so--there were fewer sheets per roll. Toilet paper is now thinner width-wise (unless you buy a special huge roll), and yesterday I was thinking that the toilet paper "squares" are even shorter. Sometimes I will buy a box of food, but the inner bag is much smaller than the box, when it used to be full. We won't even go into cost increases! We may need to re-think some of our year's supply of various items to make sure these smaller products will actually cover our 365 days of needs.
Do you have enough food to last a week or two in an emergency? One would expect that people in snow country would keep plenty of food on hand, just in case a big snowstorm blew in (which happens every year). Apparently not, according to one blogger. Miss Celie, in Baltimore, Maryland, stopped at the store on her way home from work--see what she found! I think the majority of people there aren't prepared for emergencies. It's the same thing where hurricanes are common--the stores are cleaned out just before the bad weather hits. I urge everyone to stock up so that you would have enough food to last at least two weeks, for emergency purposes.
they want, will pay for and pick up the order. These items are sold in #10 cans, pouches, or in bulk.
saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
A question was posted a few days ago and I will address it here. The question was: could they can their own recipe of meatballs, which used venison, eggs and Parmesan cheese.
Today I was thinking about all of the things I have done to be prepared for emergencies. I have done a lot--I have my year's food supply, I have various ways of cooking without power, I have most of my first aid stuff, and I have my bug-out bag. The food storage really needs a bit more variety; my first aid stuff needs to be organized and finished up; and my bug-out bag needs to be revamped, since I have learned more about what to include in this bag. After thinking about all of these needs, I started to get overwhelmed. Has this happened to you? What did you do? Where do you begin? It's all important and I guess that's the problem. I am sure there are others that could benefit from your answers, especially those that are new to preparing. Please share what you have learned and what has worked for you!
There has been much discussion about reusing canning lids. Manufactures say that they should not be used more than once. Many people that home can food have stated that they have reused their lids several times. When I grew up on the farm, I remember my grandmother (my teacher) taking previously used lids from a shoe box and putting them in the boiling water in a pan. When you are on a farm and quite frugal, many things are reused. We couldn’t run to town when we wanted lids for canning.
I experimented with a batch of meatballs and a batch of diced chicken breasts the other day. I put up 18 wide mouth pints with used lids. Of the 18 pints there was one that did not seal. This provided us with dinner that night and 17 jars for future dinners. Not a bad average if I do say so.
Everyone has to make their own decision about reusing lids or not when canning.
Happy canning,
--Bill
ot pressure canned, but the butter is heated until melted, put into sterilized jars, and then the lids "seal" when it cools. There is some concern by the government that butter is not to be canned (the reason is that they have not done the research on it to give it their approval). Many people have been using this method of canning butter for many years and have never had a problem. I was going to "can" butter and I purchased ten pounds when it was on special, but I never got beyond that because I was sidetracked, again. You can buy commercially canned butter, but it is very expensive.
A few weeks back I had the privilege of teaching this principle to three young mothers while putting up Italian Meatballs. We discussed the processes and procedures of canning, and then the subject got around to knowing what we were putting in our bodies. Two of the ladies were expecting babies in the near future and were concerned about all the preservatives in much of the food purchased in retail stores. When we finished the session, it was well understood that the home-canned products were natural and wholesome.
A few days ago I receive the wonderful confirmation that the labor put forth that d
ay was definitely worth the effort. A few jars of the meatballs, plus pears, were sent to my daughter, who was recovering from surgery, when Grandma went to help out. My daughter has two energetic boys (4 and 6 years old) and a beautiful 4 month old daughter to care for.
Our six year old grandson called and told me that his daddy made Meatball Sandwiches for dinner and they were wonderful. When asked how daddy made them he said that they were put in sauce (home canned pasta sauce) and then on rolls. When asked if they were as good as the sandwich shop, he stated BETTER! His father was in the background and said to send more pears. They loved them.
It does a body good to know that you are providing products that are wholesome and healthy. I encourage each person to continue with your quest to become more self sufficient and put food aside throughout the year. As I have said before, “Canning is not just for the summer harvest.”
We encourage you to comment to any of our postings and also send us your pictures with a write up. It’s likely to show up on the blog. Send your information to "prep4emergencies@gmail.com".
Thanks, Bill
I am returning home this week and will post Friday. This is a picture looking from the back of the house where I am now, in Sandpoint, Idaho (an hour south of the Canadian border). Thank you for your patience.
A couple of days ago I had the distinct pleasure of teaching this very principle to three young mothers who had trepidations about canning proteins. Each had processed jams and jellies, but never any meat products. We began with instruction on the importance of sanitation and safety when handling proteins.
There is no real reason to fear canning low acid foods like vegetables, proteins, or one pot meals (meatballs, diced meats, stews, soups, etc.). If you follow the basic instructions provided for processing these items and use a pressure canner, there will be no problems. Purchase your special buy items in bulk, process them immediately or freeze them and put them up when you have time. Or, better yet, gather some friends and have a canning party. One day of friendship and fun will provide many quick and pleasant meals. We were able to can Italian Meatballs, Spicy Mexican Meatballs and Diced Chicken Breasts. The recipe for Italian Meatballs was posted previously. (Additional recipes will follow next week).--post by Bill.
rate on canning is the truck-load of fruits and vegetables that are available at Farmer's Markets or from your own garden. Last summer I got the canning bug and canned everything, and my power bill reflected it. During the summer there is enough strain on the power grid, so I will do some of my canning during the winter. I still have frozen tomatoes to process into spaghetti sauce, which we use a lot of. This is another way to ease summer canning when there are just too many tomatoes!
Now is a good time to plan what garden produce you want to can or freeze next summer. The seed catalogs are arriving in mailboxes and the vegetables look so good! Ordering seeds now is easy--if you wait too long into the spring, the seeds you want may be sold out. Try some different vegetables that are new to you. Try growing some beans that are used dry, for hardy soups later on (food storage). If you will be canning or freezing vegetables, make sure they state on the label that they are for canning and freezing--otherwise, they will likely be mushy and unpalatable after all of your hard work.
