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...]
Map of Every Natural Spring in the World
I recently discovered a really interesting tool that I want to share with you guys. It's a crowdsourced map that shows you every natural spring in the world. There's all this talk about local food, but very little about local water. Natural spring water is the cleanest water in the world, and it's what we were meant to drink. Now obviously, … [Read more...]
4 Ways to Collect Water When Living Off the Grid
Amidst the chaos of phones that recognize your face, smart homes that recognize your voice, and drones that make you feel like eyes are everywhere, there is a rebellion that is cutting the cord. As the power of technology intrudes on our sapien lives, it would seem only rational that some would turn and run. When I look at the swelling movements … [Read more...]
14 Foods You Shouldn’t Store for More Than a Year
When you are setting up a survival pantry, you want to choose foods that will last. Stored properly, many foods – such as beans, pasta, and white rice – can last indefinitely without refrigeration. Other foods, however, can spoil or lose their taste in less than a year. Here are 14 foods that do not store well for more than 12 months. Since many … [Read more...]
2 Ways to Make Tasty Homemade Pickles
If you like pickles, making your own can be a fun and healthy way of preserving the abundance of your summer harvests. Pickles are a useful preservation method for a multitude of different veggies. While canned pickles usually rely on vinegar, brine, and heat for preservation, there is also a way to naturally ferment most veggies, and even some … [Read more...]
27 Essential Spices That Should Be In Every Kitchen
Whether you're stockpiling food or just organizing your first kitchen, be sure to include lots of spices on your list of necessities. By having the following essentials on hand, you'll already have all the spices you need for almost any meal. And in addition to being able to flavor your food, you'll also be able to heal many ailments. First, you … [Read more...]
25 Items to Stock From Sam’s Club
There are plenty of great emergency foods and supplies you can buy online, but if you want to stock up without spending more money than necessary, your best bet is to get a membership to Sam's Club (or Costco). It costs about $50 a year, but you'll save so much money buying things in bulk that it's more than worth it. Sam's Club doesn't have … [Read more...]
6 Ways to Dehydrate Food Without Electricity
Dehydrating foods is one of the oldest methods of preservation, and it was practiced by people around the world long before the advent of electricity. When water is removed from food, the bacteria that cause spoilage cannot grow and multiply, which means that dehydrated foods are shelf stable for extended periods. Any modern electric food … [Read more...]
10 Genius Kitchen Tricks to Make Your Life Easier
If you spend a lot of time in your home, you need to follow Household Hacker on Youtube. They make videos about the coolest kitchen and household tricks anyone has ever come up with. No matter how many of their videos I watch, I learn something new every time they upload a video. Here are their latest hacks. 1. Easily Peel an Egg - Peel a small … [Read more...]
20 Items to Kick Start Your Food Storage Plan
One of the most common reasons people never start storing food for an emergency is because they don't know where to begin. If you keep a lot of your food in the fridge or freezer, then it's not as simple as buying more of what you eat. You also need to switch to a diet mostly made up of foods that can be kept at room temperature. Still, what … [Read more...]
How to Make Hardtack (Step by Step with Pics)
Hardtack is a survival food that can sit on the shelves for years. It was first made popular during the Civil War when soldiers were given rations to take into the field. With no refrigeration or luxuries like sugar available, they were forced to survive on the very basic, bland, and incredibly hard crackers that were fondly dubbed hardtack. It … [Read more...]
18 Best Cast Iron Skillet Bread Recipes
If you're a homesteader, then learning how to make your bread is crucial. But you don't have to settle for the same bread recipe over and over again. I know I would go crazy if I had to eat the same kind of bread month after month. There are many different types of bread you can make, and one of the best ways to make it is with a cast iron … [Read more...]
6 Lessons from Living Without Running Water for 48 Hours
I'm sure many of the people reading this have plenty of emergency water, but I'll bet most of you have never had to rely on it for a significant amount of time. If that sounds like you, I recommend shutting off your tap water and living on your water storage for a couple days to see what happens. That's exactly what Misty from Simply Family … [Read more...]
