It's that time of year again, and dandelions are everywhere. A few weeks ago I made a lost with a list of things to do with dandelions. Naturally, a few days later I came across another idea that I would have added to the list if I'd thought if it: dandelion soda! I almost edited my post, but this soda turned out so good that I decided to make a … [Read more...]
How to Make Hard Candy With Just 4 Ingredients
Everybody knows kids love candy, but there's something they love even more: candy they made themselves! That's my experience, anyway. When I was a kid, my mother taught me how to make candy at home, and I was so excited by the idea of making candy from scratch that I thought it was the tastiest thing ever. Now that I'm a parent, I have the … [Read more...]
3 Ways to Preserve Food Without Electricity
Anybody who wants to live off the grid knows the importance of long-term food storage. But here's the problem: If you're living off the grid, you might not have electricity, which means you can't store your food in a fridge or freezer. It also means you can't use dehydrators, and you can't use electric ovens to heat your canner. You might not even … [Read more...]
11 Dangerous Food Storage Mistakes
If you’ve decided to prepare your family for a disaster, storing food will probably be one of your first major projects. Having emergency food on hand can help you get through anything from snowstorms to economic hardship, or even large-scale disasters. Storing food at home is fairly easy and affordable if you take your time and do it right. If … [Read more...]
3 Reasons To Start Canning Meat
My husband is friends with a guy who loves to grill out. Just loves it. Every holiday and most weekends, he heads outside and grills hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks, chicken, sausage, or really anything made of meat. He's one of those guys who has to have some meat with every meal. Like us, he's also a prepper, and one day he showed us his food … [Read more...]
Ultimate Rainwater Harvesting System
If you want to be as self-reliant as possible, one of the most important things you can do is figure out where to get your water from. If you're lucky, you have a stream or a reliable well on your property. Otherwise, you should look into a rainwater harvesting system. I've seen a lot of cool setups, both in person and online, but the one in … [Read more...]
7 Ways to Bake Bread Without Electricity
For anyone trying to increase their self-reliance, learning to bake bread is often one of the first goals. Bread making isn’t difficult and it’s a great way to save money. It’s also a great survival skill. It doesn’t have to stop there though. If you want to take this skill a step further, you should learn how to bake bread without a … [Read more...]
Food Storage Shelf Life: How Long Will It Really Last?
There are plenty of foods designed and processed for long-term storage. But what about everyday foods from the grocery store? Anyone prepping for a catastrophic event is thinking about long-term survival foods. These are foods manufactured, processed, and packaged in a way that makes them shelf-stable for up to 20 or 30 years. They’re good … [Read more...]
27 Foods That Last For Decades
If you're stockpiling emergency foods, hopefully you have a system for rotating that food. My husband and I have a room with metal shelving units sticking out from the wall, so it's easy to pull old cans and boxes of food from one side while putting foods we just bought on the other side. There are some foods, however, for which our system is a … [Read more...]
Dutch Oven Cooking: The Complete Guide for Beginners
There are articles all over the Internet about the new kitchen gadgets you "absolutely must have in your kitchen". Unfortunately, the vast majority of these gadgets are single-use appliances and are cheaply made. If you’re serious about cooking delicious meals from scratch, you don’t need the latest plastic gizmo. You need a few quality kitchen … [Read more...]
5 Off Grid Kitchen Gadgets You Need
Setting up an off-grid kitchen is easier said than done. Most rely on electricity and electronics more than they realize (ovens, blenders, mixers, timers, and so forth). But with the right tools, you can do you everything you would do with an "on-grid" kitchen. In this video, Stacy from Off Grid with Doug & Stacy shares five of her favorite … [Read more...]
Diatomaceous Earth: The Miracle Mineral With Dozens of Uses
So what exactly is diatomaceous earth (DE)? Well, it's the fossilized remains of small aquatic organisms that are usually found in the bottom of rivers, oceans, and lakes. These little organisms are called Diatoms. To create DE, these Diatoms are ground up to create a smooth food grade powder that is easy to use in a multitude of ways, from skin … [Read more...]
18 Strange Meals People Ate During the Great Depression
The great depression brought out both the resiliency and ingenuity of literally millions of people. With few options, people had to make do with what was on hand. Clothes were sewn with spare flour sacks and shoes repaired with cardboard. Food, however, is where things got really interesting. Some foods were still plentiful and reasonably … [Read more...]
Why You Should Store Wheat Berries Instead of Flour
There is a debate among homesteaders about which form you should store your wheat in - whole berries or ground flour. One camp touts the many uses of raw berries while the other side praises the immediate use of the prepared flour. So which is better? There is no real right answer. As with so many other things in life, it comes down to your … [Read more...]
7 Ways to Bake Without an Oven
Play with your food! It’s time to start experimenting with different baking methods that don’t require a traditional oven! That means getting your hands messy, buying some new toys, and deep diving into some YouTube videos... for science. Remember, bread making and primitive baking go back centuries before electricity was even invented. We don’t … [Read more...]
Farming Insects for Easy Superfood Nutrition and Livestock Feed
Modern western culture may irrationally view eating insects as a disgusting idea, but insects are an extremely abundant source of high quality calories and nutrients, and humans have been feasting on these high protein superfood creepy crawlies since our species emerged. These days, eating insects is called “entomophagy” and can refer to the … [Read more...]
9 Ways to Preserve Dairy for Long-Term Storage
Keeping your "perishables" from perishing can be tricky. Most chickens don't produce eggs all year, and homestead cows go through dry periods. How do you make sure you have enough milk, eggs, butter, and cheese to keep your family eating well all year round? Here are 9 methods... 1. Freezing Freezing is a dependable way of extending shelf … [Read more...]
