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How to Make Meat Powder – A DIY Recipe

How to Make Meat Powder – A DIY Recipe

If they ever had to turn to their food preps out of a pure emergency, many preppers would find it extremely tough to make it through on rice, beans, and canned goods alone.  Getting the right nutrient mix and maintaining that through an extended disaster is of vital importance.  When it comes to protein, flavor, vitamins, and nutrients, meat has to be a part of the equation.  Hunting protein sources may not be a possibility.  Stored jerky has a short shelf life and can be hard to chew and process.  Freeze-dried meats are ideal, but they’re also expensive.

In this post, we will preserve and store our meat the way people have done for thousands of years by making it into meat powder.  It may sound gross, but you’ve probably already eaten it regularly when you’ve used bouillion or beef or chicken flavorings.  In our homemade product, however, we get to control the ingredients, so we’re not ingesting strange ingredients from factories around the world.  Just 3 ounces of our meat powder will add to your largely fiber beans and rice 140 calories, folate, iron, zinc, choline, magnesium, selenium, coenzyme Q10, B2, B6, and B12 vitamins, an incredible 24 grams of protein, tons of flavor and a mere 4 grams of fat.  It’s the beefy flavor addition to any meal, which will be the main reason you’re going to want to make this and get meat powder in your preps and cooking.  I will show you how to make it. Then I’ll show you how to use it.   Let’s do this…

WHAT YOU NEED

  • Beef heart.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Don’t Lose What You Store: 6 Tips To Protect Your Prepper Pantry

I don’t know about you, but sometimes it is difficult to use all the food I have stored. This year I have been placing a lot of emphasis on organizing my food storage and acquiring more food because I am concerned with the economy. When you have food stashed literally all over your house, it is sometimes hard to remember what you have and what you still need to purchase.

Tip 1: Record What You Have

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to know what you have and where it is located. I have built a simple spreadsheet that lets me know how many canned items I have in the pantry, when they expire, where the items are located, and what I need to restock. My long-term storage is under a different tab, but it contains the same information. Certain items I run out of faster than others, i.e., chicken stock, canned tomatoes, green chilis, and having a spreadsheet helps me to replenish. I tend to prefer to cook with frozen foods, so the green beans, corn, and carrots end up expiring around the same time.

Tip 2: Don’t Be Afraid to Move Long-term Storage Items to Short-term Storage

A few years ago, I stocked up heavily on long-term storage items, such as beans, rice, pasta, flour, and oats. For a couple of years, I didn’t use them. I wanted to keep them untouched in case of a serious emergency. Last year I realized that was silly. Because I track what I have, I can rotate some long-term storage items into the short-term, and this has saved my family grocery money because I kept buying pasta, rice, and beans…

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Don’t Lose What You Store: 6 Tips To Protect Your Prepper Pantry

Don’t Lose What You Store: 6 Tips To Protect Your Prepper Pantry

I don’t know about you, but sometimes it is difficult to use all the food I have stored. This year I have been placing a lot of emphasis on organizing my food storage and acquiring more food because I am concerned with the economy. When you have food stashed literally all over your house, it is sometimes hard to remember what you have and what you still need to purchase.

Tip 1: Record What You Have

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to know what you have and where it is located. I have built a simple spreadsheet that lets me know how many canned items I have in the pantry, when they expire, where the items are located, and what I need to restock. My long-term storage is under a different tab, but it contains the same information. Certain items I run out of faster than others, i.e., chicken stock, canned tomatoes, green chilis, and having a spreadsheet helps me to replenish. I tend to prefer to cook with frozen foods, so the green beans, corn, and carrots end up expiring around the same time.

Tip 2: Don’t Be Afraid to Move Long-term Storage Items to Short-term Storage

A few years ago, I stocked up heavily on long-term storage items, such as beans, rice, pasta, flour, and oats. For a couple of years, I didn’t use them. I wanted to keep them untouched in case of a serious emergency. Last year I realized that was silly. Because I track what I have, I can rotate some long-term storage items into the short-term, and this has saved my family grocery money because I kept buying pasta, rice, and beans…

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

The Basics Of Dry Canning

Dry canning is the storage of dry foods such as rice or beans in canning jars. This process is popular for long-term food storage in your prepper pantry.

If you are new to canning, dry canning is a great way to start not only a prepper pantry but a canning habit.

A great way to start is by using oxygen absorbers in dry canning (jars). Oxygen absorbers are made of a chemical compound, the active ingredient of which is a powdered iron oxide.  While they are not edible, they are not toxic. No harmful gases are created and the oxygen does not remove the fresh smell and taste of your food.

Dry goods paired in a jar with oxygen absorbers make for an easy way to get started canning. The oxygen absorber has two purposes. It will remove oxygen so little critters don’t live in your food reserve, and it will help your food stay fresh.

Dry canning in jars does not require heat to seal the lid. The job of sealing the lid takes place with the help of the appropriate oxygen absorbers. To get started, you’ll need oxygen absorbers, canning jars with rings and lids, and food to dry can. We started dry canning with beans because we like them, they are fairly inexpensive and easy to come by at any store.  Start with clean canning jars by boiling them and allowing them to dry thoroughly. Add your dry food and add the appropriate oxygen absorber inside the can and seal. The absorber does the job of sealing the can properly. You’ll hear a pop when the absorber has sealed the lid.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

5 Reasons Why Home Freeze Dried Food is Better Than Store-Bought

5 Reasons Why Home Freeze Dried Food is Better Than Store-Bought

Freeze-dried food is an excellent addition to an emergency food supply.  If properly stored, it can last up to 25 years, maintains 99% of its original nutritional quality, and is very easy to prepare in an emergency with just hot water in under 10 minutes.

You can buy freeze-dried food directly online, but making your freeze-fried food is now possible and extremely easy.  Admittedly, there is a considerable upfront cost for one of these devices, but it will pay for itself in a short amount of time which we’ll discuss in just a moment.

So what advantages does home freeze-dried food have over store-bought?  In this blog, we’ll look at five things you should consider before you start the process of building out a sizeable freeze-dried food inventory.  I just recently did a video about building a one-year food storage setup and I’ll be adding a considerable amount of freeze-dried food to it shortly as I want food stored away that is already cooked in advance and ready if there’s a major event or emergency.  I’ve also done blogs in the past that go into a much deeper dive covering the freeze-drying process, which I’ll link to in the cards above and the description section below if you want to check those out.  So let’s jump in.

If you’re starting with developing your food inventory, there’s nothing wrong with picking up the typical Mountain House or other brands of freeze-dried food.  I just found over time that these items we’re about to cover were selling points for me as to why investing in one of these machines made more sense in the long run.  If you want to check out the Harvest Right Freeze Dryer anytime during the blog, you can check them out on my website at www.cityprepping.com/freezedryer

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

city prepping, prepping, preparations, freeze-dried food, food storage,

Marti’s Corner – 11

Marti’s Corner – 11

NOTES:

* Here is a packet of seeds like the one I mentioned last week. There are 40 different varieties of seeds. They are 100% heirloom. This means that you can save the seeds from year to year. There is a 5-year shelf life if kept in a cool, dark place. There is a 30-year shelf life if kept in the freezer. AND there are a gardening book that comes with it—16,500 Heirloom Vegetable Seeds 40 Variety Kit. The cost is $35. You cannot buy 40 seed packets for that price. But, in some of the varieties, you only get a few seeds. For example, bush beans only have 12 seeds included. Zucchini has only 8 seeds.  Anyway, check it out. Even though you only have 8 zucchini plants, just 1 or 2 zucchini, let go to seed will give you dozens of seeds for future use.

* Here is another choice Spring Garden Bundle. The number of seeds is not listed but probably similar.

Picture of lots of seeds

* One last choice from Seed Armory.

* I wanted to share this video by my friend, Kris. He has been getting his family prepared for a while now, as you can see from this site. He just finished this video:  How to Build 1 Year of Food Storage – Ultimate Guide – YouTube. Everything you need to know and all the “how to’s” included!

* I just found this website. Mary’s Nest: Mary’s Nest – YouTube She has videos on EVERYTHING: sourdough starters, stocking a pantry, how to preserve crisp pickles, homemade yogurt, natural remedies for colds and flu. It’s a treasure trove of information. Check it out!

LONG TERM FOCUS: Rice

Rice

If you are still unsure about packing rice, here is a YouTube video to show you how. How to Store Bulk Rice – YouTube

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

 COOKINGFIRST AIDFOODGARDENINGMARTI’S CORNERSKILL, city prepping, prepping, preparations, food preparations, food storage

 

How to Build 1 Year of Food Storage – Everything You Need to Know

How to Build 1 Year of Food Storage – Everything You Need to Know

I am going to go through everything you would need to know to set up a food storage supply that would provide enough for one person for 1 year and could last up to 25 years if properly stored.  I’ll cover the specific food and storage items you should buy, where I bought these items, how to properly store them, and where to store them all.  By the end of this article, you’ll have all the information you’ll need…all the guesswork will be removed.  I worked with a consultant on this article that has been prepping since the 1970s and she’s shared a lot of lessons she’s learned over the years while storing food that we’ll cover.

I realize it can feel a bit overwhelming when you start.  There’s a lot to do and to buy.   But just remember, you can move at your own pace and don’t have to buy everything at one time, but rather over time if you so choose.  So let’s jump in.

So here’s what we’ll cover:

  • Types of pantries
  • Calorie considerations
  • What food to buy
  • Where to buy everything we’ll discuss
  • How to store food
    • We’ll cover where to store the food, mylar bags, oxygen absorbers, buckets, storage totes, labeling, and other considerations.
  • Keeping track of inventory along with rotation
  • Recipes
  • Cooking and water
  • Additional considerations

Types of pantries

Before we jump in, let me point out that there are 2 types of long-term food storage pantries: a working pantry and a long-term pantry.  A working pantry is rotated on a constant basis following the old prepper adage of “Eat what you store and store what you eat”.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

 

Marti’s Corner – 07

Marti’s Corner – 07

Marti's Corner at City PreppingHi Everyone,
Being prepared means trying to plan for a variety of contingencies. Having no power is one of those possibilities. I’m sure that most Texans could NEVER have foreseen having no power in the middle of freezing weather. In Texas!!!! Now is a good time to ask, “What if that happened here?” My Indiana peeps are saying, “And your point is….????” California peeps—– could you stay warm? Could you cook dinner? As our hearts reach out to friends and family who are experiencing these extreme difficulties, just keep in mind that you could be next, whatever the disaster may be. THAT’S why we prepare.  This woman’s wet hair froze as soon as she stepped outside | Your Morning – YouTube

NOTES:

* Garden Update. I have planted some of my broccoli seedlings and cauliflower seedlings into the ground. My other plants are just hanging out, waiting for March 1. I’ve been leaving them outside at night unless the temps are in the low 40’s, then I bring them in. They are actually okay as long as it doesn’t freeze. But I’m still babying them along.

* Facebook Page: Our Prepared Community also has a ton of information. If you click on the videos button, you will see about 25 videos covering everything from natural remedies to evacuation plans. It’s a great resource! Here is a link to the Water Sanitation Class.

LONG TERM FOCUS: Lentils

Lentils are legumes – cousins to beans. Lentils can be green, red, yellow, black or brown. They are full of nutrients with no fat and lots of fiber and protein. Lentils cook much faster than dry beans and don’t need to be soaked. To cook, just rinse and boil 3 cups of water to 1 cup of lentils. They are tender in 15-20 minutes.

SHORT TERM FOCUS

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

city prepping, food storage, marti’s corner, prepping, preparations, emergency preparations

5 Ways To Store Meat Without A Refrigerator

Those on homesteads have mastered the art of preserving that meat too so it won’t go to waste without a refrigerator!

We live in a world where it has become extremely important to prepare your family for disasters. It would be unfortunate to have all of that leftover Thanksgiving turkey go to waste in the event that the power grid goes down or an ice storm knocks out your electricity.

To prepare for these situations, many people are beginning to realize the importance of not wasting food and keeping stored food on hand.

Curing – Salt curing is personally my favorite way to preserve and store meat without a refrigerator. It involves quite a bit of time and effort but it’s not too bad once you’ve done it a few times. Traditional favorites like sausage, bacon, and pastrami were preserved by salt curing. It’s also a cheap and easy process to master perfect for the new homesteader. You will need a cool area and a place where meats can be hung out of the way. Some curing recipes are used in combination with smoking for flavor. Be sure to stock up on a lot of salt for your prepper pantry if you find you enjoy this! Check out this method if you want to give it a try!

2. Smoking – This is also a favorite way to preserve meat. This is common in areas with too much humidity to dry meat (jerky). Smoking fish is also another way to preserve your catches. Please keep in mind that modern recommendations are to consume smoked meat sparingly as smoke may contain carcinogens. That being said, it may still be a good choice for some of your harvest or an emergency situation. Smokers can be purchased or made at home. Obviously, this method is better suited to those with access to a backyard.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

No Canning Jars? No Problem! Dehydrate Instead!

No Canning Jars? No Problem! Dehydrate Instead!

Since we are all experiencing a shortage of canning jars, we should all brush up on our dehydration skills, just in case all those tips to find jars still turns up nothing.

Since we are all experiencing a shortage of canning jars, we should all brush up on our dehydration skills, just in case all those tips to find jars still turns up nothing.

Dehydrating is one of the most economic ways of storing long-term food supplies. Best of all, when you grow your own food sources, you get even more out of the investment.

The dehydration process essentially removes the moisture from foods to preserve them for much longer. Everyone is familiar with jerky (see our recipe here), which is simply dehydrated meat, but because of the nationwide canning jar shortage, dehydration could be the next best thing! Best of all, it’s a way to frugally stock up the pantry and uses fresh food. Best of all, the dehydration process does not diminish the quality or nutritional content of the food.

Get more dehydrating recipes with our best-selling Prepper’s Cookbook.

Choosing a Dehydrator

We have a LEM dehydrator (and meat grinder, and pressure canner) because we like the brand.  The products are reasonably priced and have not had any quality concerns with any of the products. You can et a dehydrator in almost any brand you would like on Amazon, or you can go straight to LEM’s website. (Last I checked, pressure canners are on backorder, but the dehydrators were in stock). If you want to try dehydration foods in lieu of canning this year, consider which dehydrator you would like.

The Excalibur: Food Dehydrating Made Easy {Plus Tasty Recipes}

Prepping on a Budget: 4 Food Dehydrators under $75

There are two types of dehydrators:

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

What It’s Like to Live Without a Refrigerator and How to Adapt

What It’s Like to Live Without a Refrigerator and How to Adapt

Have you ever wondered what you would do if you had food items that needed to be kept refrigerated, but did not have a refrigerator or even a cooler? Maybe some of you have experienced your fridge not working

One of the most inconvenient things I’ve had to adapt to is not having the means to keep my food cold. In Venezuela, I had a couple of fridges and a chest freezer. 

Why don’t you have a refrigerator?

The standard of living here is just different. With the cost of energy here, having a laundry machine is not worth it. This country has the potential for hydroelectric, but that would require energy transporting. And energy transporting is expensive because of the rough terrain. 

The same goes for a refrigerator. Many rentals here now do not have refrigerators or laundry machines, or any appliances. Renting a place with furniture? I wish. The half-million Venezuelans who came by the payloads two years ago have already taken up residency in the better vacancies available. 

Many of you probably do not have to worry about a lack of refrigeration in your current situation. Perhaps some of you have even acquired extra refrigerators and other supplies in the event that you should need them. Where I am, and in my current situation, that is not possible.

How do you manage without a refrigerator?

The grocery store is within walking distance, and I can walk to the Mom and Pop shop around the corner. Living without a fridge means I have to do that nearly every day if I buy foods that need refrigeration. I don’t want to have to do that, but I will do what is necessary to feed my boy and myself.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

15 Shelf Stable Foods To Stock Up On Now

15 Shelf Stable Foods To Stock Up On Now

As winter approaches, finishing touches should be made to our winter preps. To help make sure we have what we may need in the event of a major power outage, snowstorm, or another emergency, store some shelf-stable foods to make sure you have enough to eat.

As winter approaches, finishing touches should be made to our winter preps. Many of these food types were covered extensively in The Prepper’s Cookbook, but it’s important to have the basics on hand and ready. To help make sure we have what we may need in the event of a major power outage, snowstorm, or another emergency, store some shelf-stable foods to make sure you have enough to eat.

1. Oils

Cooking is difficult without some fats, so stock up on coconut oil, ghee, or olive oils to cook with. Olive oil can go rancid after two years so make sure you use it up as you purchase more. Coconut oil is very heat stable, and because it’s low to oxidize, it means that it won’t go rancid as quickly as other oils. It can last up to two years as well, and it provides fast energy. You can add some to tea or coffee for a boost of quick nutrition and calories as well.

2. Canned Vegetables

Store canned vegetables that you actually like. If you hate peas, don’t buy them You won’t eat them and there are other available to purchase. Corn is a great option. Corn is both a grain and a vegetable: the only difference is that as a grain it’s dried before harvesting. Buy organic corn in cans to help ensure it’s not genetically modified as most corn is GMO. 86% of the world’s corn is GMO, so to avoid that, look for organic.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

U.S. Farms Are Facing Their Worst Crisis In A Generation – And Now Here Comes Another Monster Storm

U.S. Farms Are Facing Their Worst Crisis In A Generation – And Now Here Comes Another Monster Storm

The combination of the wettest planting season in U.S. history, a catastrophic trade war with China and economic conditions that are brutal for small farms has produced a “perfect storm” for U.S. farmers.  Farm bankruptcies have already risen to the highest level in 7 years, but many expect that they will soon surge to all-time record highs.  Due to the incredibly wet weather, millions upon millions of acres of prime U.S. farmland will not be planted with crops at all this year.  And millions of acres that do get planted will yield a lot less than usual because of the wretched conditions.  Meanwhile, the U.S. will export far less corn and soybeans than usual this year due to our trade conflicts with China and Mexico.  With much less international demand, U.S. farmers are going to have an increasingly difficult time trying to make a profit on anything they are able to grow.  In the end, thousands of farmers will not be able to recover from this crisis and will be forced out of the industry for good.

According to USA Today, “a near biblical parade of misfortune” has created “the worst farm crisis since the 1980s”…

American farmers already plagued by a near biblical parade of misfortune that includes years of low prices and a trade war with China are now grappling with record Midwest rain that will likely prevent a large portion of this year’s crop from even getting planted.

The troubles have created the worst farm crisis since the 1980s, when oversupplies and a U.S. grain embargo against the Soviet Union forced thousands of farmers into bankruptcy, experts say.

So we can definitely say that this is the worst farm crisis in a generation, but the truth is that this crisis is far from over.

 …click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Due To Cataclysmic Flooding, Millions Upon Millions Of Acres Of U.S. Farmland Will Not Be Planted With Crops This Year

Due To Cataclysmic Flooding, Millions Upon Millions Of Acres Of U.S. Farmland Will Not Be Planted With Crops This Year

It looks like 2019 could be the worst year for U.S. agriculture in modern American history by a very wide margin.  As you will see below, millions upon millions of acres of U.S. farmland will go unused this year due to cataclysmic flooding.  And many of the farmers that did manage to plant crops are reporting extremely disappointing results.  The 12 month period that concluded at the end of April was the wettest 12 month period in U.S. history, and more storms just kept on coming throughout the month of May.  And now forecasters are warning of another series of storms this week, and following that it looks like a tropical storm will pummel the region.  As Bloomberg has pointed out, we have truly never seen a year like this ever before…

There has never been a spring planting season like this one. Rivers topped their banks. Levees were breached. Fields filled with water and mud. And it kept raining.

Many farmers just kept waiting for the flooding and the rain to end so that they could plant their crops, but that didn’t happen.

At this point it is too late for many farmers to plant crops at all, and it is now being projected that 6 million acres of farmland that is usually used for corn will go completely unsown this year

There has never been weather like this, either. The 12 months that ended with April were the wettest ever for the contiguous U.S. That spurred other firsts: Corn plantings are further behind schedule for this time of year than they have been in records dating to 1980 and analysts are predicting an unheard-of 6 million acres intended for the grain may simply go unsown this year.

 …click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

American Soil Is Being Globalized: Nearly 30 Million Acres Of U.S. Farmland Is Now Owned By Foreigners

American Soil Is Being Globalized: Nearly 30 Million Acres Of U.S. Farmland Is Now Owned By Foreigners

All across America, U.S. farmland is being gobbled up by foreign interests.  So when we refer to “the heartland of America”, the truth is that vast stretches of that “heartland” is now owned by foreigners, and most Americans have no idea that this is happening.  These days, a lot of people are warning about the “globalization” of the world economy, but in reality our own soil is rapidly being “globalized”.  When farms are locally owned, the revenue that those farms take in tends to stay in local communities.  But with foreign-owned farms there is no guarantee that will happen.  And while there is plenty of food to go around this is not a major concern, but what happens when a food crisis erupts and these foreign-owned farms just keep sending their produce out of the country?  There are some very serious national security concerns here, and they really aren’t being addressed.  Instead, the amount of farmland owned by foreigners just continues to increase with each passing year.

Prior to seeing the headline to this article, how much U.S. farmland would you have guessed that foreigners now own?

Personally, I had no idea that foreigners now own nearly 30 million acres.  The following comes from NPR

American soil.

Those are two words that are commonly used to stir up patriotic feelings. They are also words that can’t be be taken for granted, because today nearly 30 million acres of U.S. farmland are held by foreign investors. That number has doubled in the past two decades, which is raising alarm bells in farming communities.

How did we allow this to happen?

And actually laws regarding land ownership vary greatly from state to state.  Some states have placed strict restrictions on foreign land ownership, while in other states it is “a free-for-all”

 …click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Olduvai IV: Courage
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Olduvai II: Exodus
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