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To: CottonBall
My grandmothers taught me that you need only buy five food items at the store; flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and tea/coffee. Everything else you can either grow yourself, do with out or work around. Your goal is to lower your need to buy these things.

Potatoes can be used to stretch flour in your baked goods. They have the advantage of making the bake good last longer as well. You can also use corn meal. Chickpeas can also be turned into flour. And beans can be used to make a bread or cake of a sort. (look up bean cake) Lastly you can grow wheat and grind it by hand but unless you have a water or wind mill set up it is going to eat up a huge chunk of your time and energy.

If you have bees you can use honey in place of sugar, you can also tap trees for sap and you can grow sugar beets. What you get from the sugar beets is not the refined white sugar but more a syrup that can be boiled down.

Salt, unless you live by the sea or a salt spring, is something you are just going to have to buy.

Sourdough can be used to take the place of baking soda in baked goods. It will just take longer and not be quite as light and fluffy.

You last thing is tea/coffee which some may argue about as a necessity. They have never met me when I have not yet had my coffee. :)

Yaupon holly for caffeine is about the only substitute you can grow in most of the country but you can use chicory root to stretch your coffee.

Chickpeas and sugar beets are also a good thing to feed your animals. I know a couple of people who are using chickpeas in place of soybeans for animal feed because chickpeas are not GMO while most soybeans are.

866 posted on 01/21/2024 3:46:57 PM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear ( In a quaint alleyway, they graciously signaled for a vehicle on the main road to lead the way. )
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

Good ideas. Thank you.


868 posted on 01/21/2024 6:01:18 PM PST by metmom (He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus…)
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

“My grandmothers taught me that you need only buy five food items at the store; flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and tea/coffee. Everything else you can either grow yourself, do with out or work around”

I love that self-sufficiency way of thinking.

I never heard of Yaupon holly, I assume that can be grown?


890 posted on 01/22/2024 11:49:24 AM PST by CottonBall (How cute that people think there are still elections. )
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

How to Grow and Care for Yaupon Holly
https://www.thespruce.com/yaupon-holly-growing-profile-3269333


909 posted on 01/24/2024 7:57:26 AM PST by metmom (He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus…)
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