Is Recession Preparing a New Breed of Survivalist? [Survival Today - an On going Thread #2]

May 05th,2008

[nw_arizona_granny]

Yahoo ran an interesting article this morning indicating a rise in the number of survivalist communities cropping up around the country. I have been wondering myself how much of the recent energy crisis is causing people to do things like stockpile food and water, grow their own vegetables, etc. Could it be that there are many people out there stockpiling and their increased buying has caused food prices to increase? It’s an interesting theory, but I believe increased food prices have more to do with rising fuel prices as cost-to-market costs have increased and grocers are simply passing those increases along to the consumer. A recent stroll through the camping section of Wal-Mart did give me pause - what kinds of things are prudent to have on hand in the event of a worldwide shortage of food and/or fuel? Survivalist in Training

I’ve been interested in survival stories since I was a kid, which is funny considering I grew up in a city. Maybe that’s why the idea of living off the land appealed to me. My grandfather and I frequently took camping trips along the Blue Ridge Parkway and around the Smoky Mountains. Looking back, some of the best times we had were when we stayed at campgrounds without electricity hookups, because it forced us to use what we had to get by. My grandfather was well-prepared with a camp stove and lanterns (which ran off propane), and when the sun went to bed we usually did along with it. We played cards for entertainment, and in the absence of televisions, games, etc. we shared many great conversations. Survivalist in the Neighborhood

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Those are great ideas. Can you post the link where they came from? Thanks!!

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

http://tinyurl.com/ysuwgx

How to grow a space-saving potato garden in a trash bag.
From “Fresh from the Garden”
episode DFFG-302

If you don’t have a large vegetable plot, you can grow potatoes in 10-or 15-gallon plastic containers. An even easier method is to grow potatoes in a plastic trash bag (figure A). Growing potatoes in a plastic bag is a space-saving and fun way to grow tubers of almost any variety. And since the method is almost foolproof, it also makes a great school project for young children.

[DelaWhere]

The following was published one year ago...
Did we listen and heed the warning or take the suggestions?

Preparing for a Recession?
Survival Tips and List

There’s word going around that the United States is looming toward a recession. Even though we won’t feel the effects of it for about 6 months, it is coming. How can it not with the way the dollar is dropping, the sky high price of oil, the banks are getting nervous, the stock market is dropping, people are losing their homes, and the United States so far in debt that it is impossible to get out?

The United States Is In Deep Doodoo!
Forecast: U.S. dollar could plunge 90 percent
Memories of a 77 yr old Grandma of the Great Depression
New Year 2008 may destroy USA’s struggling economy

I’m starting a list here of some things we are going to do to try to prepare for this... somehow. What did they do during the Great Depression? How did people survive? This is going to take some research. But this is what I have so far. This is my “starter” list. Numero uno is “Get out of debt ASAP.”

100 Items to Disappear First - Here is a list of the first things that will disappear off the grocery shelves.
Supplies for a Recession

1. Get out of debt ASAP. Right now the best thing to do is diversify. Have one bank for personal checking account and a different bank for savings, yet another for each business account you run. That way a crash doesn’t wipe you out.

Obviously, this is a great time to only keep in the bank what you need to pay such as the current bills, and keep the rest either at home, or converted to gold, silver, or euros. With the dollar plunging as fast as it is, the “straddle” will be gone in just a few days. WhatReallyHappened.com

2. Buy seeds. How will you feed yourself without having to trade for food?
3. Keep your job as long as possible.
4. Buy gold coins and silver coins. If you are going to buy gold or silver coins, avoid “collectible coins” and just go with straight metal. It is easier to get your money back out of investment coins than numismatic ones. Collector’s value will decline with the economy, so avoid the fancy ones. Stick with maple leaves, half eagles, krugerands, etc.
5. Think about how you are going to cook.
6. Invest in solar power, or build a windmill We are going to try to build a Vertical Wind Turbine
7. Stock up on nonperishable foods, canned foods, dry milk, sugar, flour, rice and beans.
8. A supply of bottled water.
9. Stock up on personal items. Soap, shampoo, toothpaste, insect repellent, candles.
10. A good axe, a few flints, large amount of matches (dip them in melted candle wax to waterproof) store in a few separate containers, and a few lighters. spade, water purification tablets, duct tape.
11. A pair of strong knives for hunting, cutting, etc. Bow and arrows. A fishing pole.
12. Comfortable warm clothing, including hats, gloves, boots, and blankets.
13. A sturdy tent or two, a few big tarpaulins,
14. Basic medical supplies like aspirin, alcohol, first aid kit.
15. A couple of guns and a good supply of ammo.
16. Two-way radios, short wave radios, watches that don’t run on batteries, and an LED flashlight. A map and compass. A bicycle.

Basicly, think about this. If the electricity gets shuff off, what will you do? How will you cook and how will you keep warm? Think about no gas at the gas station, which will reduce truck delivery of goods and supplies. The price of food is going to go up bigtime.

Our dollar bills will be worthless. Hopefully the collapse of the banking system will cause the government to be forced to print special money for the duration of the recession. We may wind up unemployed and on food stamps.

I hope they are not going to have to undig all the bomb shelters that they filled in and buried back in the 1960’s! Remember those days? I do. I can remember them passing out Government Surplus too after the Cold War ended. It consisted of powdered milk, a block of American Cheese and butter.

So the first thing I’m doing is cleaning out the pantry and taking inventory. Then I bought some storage containers at a Dollar Store. The large container only held about 8 lbs of flour though.

I think the main food that they did not have during the Great Depression was sugar and coffee. So even if you don’t use either, you could get them to trade with.

Foods that I’ve started to stock up on, buying when on sale, and storing in the top shelf of the pantry.

salt, pepper, oil, vinegar
flour, sugar, oatmeal
beans, rice
tea, coffee
dried potatoes, ie hamburger helper mixes
mayonaise, catsup
canned soups
canned meats
canned fruit
canned tuna
dried milk, water
wine, brandy

toothpaste, soap, shampoo
toliet paper, wet wipes
alcohol, peroxide, first aid kit
laundry detergent, bleach

Be encouraged. My grandmother raised 8 children during the depression.

72-Hour Family Emergency Kit from the University of Colorado
Survival Guide from Homeland Security News
Be Ready List on the Homeland Security website - The Ready Campaign has outlined the top 10 items for a basic emergency supply kit: water, food, radio, flashlight, first-aid kit, whistle, moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties, wrench or pliers, local maps, and personal items.
How to Prepare for a Financial Apocalypse: 100 Tips and Tools to Secure What’s Yours. These tips and tools will help you weather whatever economic storm comes your way.
Informing the Relatives

Here’s what my mom said when I asked her if she thought we were heading into a recession, she said, “Oh, they’re always saying that.” And here’s what my daughter said when I told her to get out of debt, she said, “Well, I asked my boss if he thought we were heading toward a recession, and he said, “A recession won’t affect the company, people will always need electricity.”

---

Hi Jen, it was good talking to you last night. When I talked to Vlad about the Amero, he said that when Russia fell into a recession that their money was switched too. He said that their government announced that people would have 3 days to go to the bank and switch their money to the new currency, and they were only allowed to switch so much.

He also said that he can remember riding on a bus during the winter, and people had stuck the old money on the frosted windows of the bus. He said it sure was strange. The old currency was worth nothing.

So maybe they will do a switch in the states too. He said all we can do is “stay informed”

Think positive, this ‘slow motion train wreck’ is good for the U.S.

So it’s pretty much up to you whether or not you prepare for a recession, but even as a Girl Scout, when I was younger, the Girl Scout motto was, “Be Prepared.”

L. Davis writes: To keep the weevils out of flour, cornmeal, rice, dried beans and spices put some dried bay leaves in the storage container.
My aunt told me there is something in the bay leaves that kills the weevils as they hatch since they’re already in so many of the products that we purchase. She came to my house and saw that I stored my flour, cornmeal, etc. in the refrigerator and freezer and told me to get them out of there and stick a bay leaf in the canister and all would be well - I’ve used this for over 20 years now and haven’t had a single problem - except for those times I didn’t put a bay leaf in something.
Also, if you do get an infestation sterilize your flour, etc. by pouring the flour (for instance) on a cookie sheet and heating in an oven to 140 degrees, stir while it heats, sift then repackage.
Hope this helps someone.

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Granny posts the best searches. She’s the only one I know to save the search terms. I can’t count how many times I’ve found a web page and later didn’t remember the search terms that I used to get there! :P

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Thank you for the writer pings. Very practical and useful information here.

[Wneighbor]

Cream Cheese & Jam:

This was both my kid's favorite sammiches growing up. We didn't do PB&J, we did CC&J. Both kids *favorite* jelly for the sammich was my homemade peach wine jelly. Now anybody that's ever had a chemistry class in their lives, or even basic science knows that alcohol boils at much lower temp than water. So, if you make jelly and boil the stuff the alcohol is gone! But, I got a call from the school one day. It seems they thought wine jelly was a problem. ~sigh~ and we pay those people to teach our kids.

[DelaWhere]

Sure can (actually thought I had but I must have been distracted) ;)

OldRecipeBook.com

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Almond butter is so much better for you than peanut butter. Peanuts easily get rancid and often contain aflatoxin which causes cancer!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aflatoxin

Be sure you get Italian raw almonds. California almonds are treated with a deadly chemical, even though they are labeled “raw.”

Stupid California legislature!!!!!!

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Live on Less and Love It
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2129863/posts

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

“11. The baby formula is locked up because thieves resell it on the black market. Ditto for the cough and cold medications, smoking-cessation products, razor blades, and batteries.”

Granny what did you say about baby formula in small stores that was out of date or something? It was on the last thread. I hope you remember, I don’t have the laptop with me today.

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

I’m printing that.

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

CC&J always reminds me of my grandmother. Thanks Grandma!

[DelaWhere]

Me too...

I’ve got to try some of these even if I don’t have to like:

Milk - Believe it or not, 1 1/2 lbs of zucchinni, peeled and pureed, will replace 2 cups of milk when baking.

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

A lot of vegetarians and others substitute ground flaxseeds with water for eggs. I’ll post the exact proportions later.

[DelaWhere]

LOL you wouldn’t have had that problem if your kids had my youngest daughter for a teacher...

She is the one who wanted a milking dairy goat when she was in the 10th grade. Made cheese, yogurt, ice cream, sour cream, etc. Always wanted to try things and figure out how they worked. Now she is a wife, mother of 2 and 5th year of teaching. (Neat part is that they live only 500’ away - teaching also gives her time in the summer to help dad with chickens, garden, etc.)

Anyway, she would have known about the boiling point of the alcohol and that just the yummy flavor is left behind!

[DelaWhere]

Dinner Recipes and Snacks

You are here:
Old Recipe Book >> Dinner Recipes

Kids and Cooking
Even when my kids were little, I tried to teach them how to cook. I didn't want them leaving home, and living off the fast food joints for the rest of their lives.

But I don't want them living off of Hamburger Helper either, (even though sometimes it can be a quick dish to cook up.) So I've included some easy teen recipes, especially when it comes to snacks, like the Refrigerator Biscuits page. They use to call them Bake and Eat Biscuit Tubes.

Anyway, nowadays, people think women are miracle workers when it comes to putting food on the table. How easy it is just to give my kids ten bucks to go down to the local pizza shop for supper, but then two hours later they're hungry again, and ready for that late night snack.

Kitchen Tip: For quick and handy seasoning while cooking, keep on hand a large shaker containing six parts of salt and one part of pepper.

Dinner Recipes

Easy Beef Stew - Easy to make, my own recipe
Easy Casseroles - All old recipes I have for casseroles are here
Easy Chili Recipe - My own recipe for chili, not hot
Chicken Recipes - How to fry chicken
Chinese Sweet & Sour - Easy to make sweet and sour, chinese teriyaki wings
Eggplant Recipes - What to do with eggplant?
How to Make Egg Rolls - My own recipe, had it for years.
Ham Recipes - How to cook a ham. Ham reciepes
Jambalaya - Easy to make rice dish, or try the original
KrautBurgers - Kraut burgers are one of our favorites!
Meat Pies - Original recipe for meatpies
Meatloaf Recipes - From basic to fancy meatloaf
Pork Recipes - My easy Pork and Potatoes
Potato Recipes - Mashed, baked, and twice baked, scalloped too.
Fried Potato Recipes - Different ways to fry potatoes, even hash browns
Sweet Potato Recipes - All kinds of reciepes for Sweet Potatoes
Sweet and Sour Recipes - My favorite easy dishes and how to make Chow Mein
Spaghetti and Sauce - Spagetti sauce from scratch, homemade Ziti and Lasagna
Taco Recipes - Favorites like taco salad, taco casserole etc.
Zucchini Recipes - Try stuffed Zucchini

Favorite Easy Snacks

Chex Snack Mix - Party Chex mixes for the holidays
Crispix Snack Mixes - All varieties of Crispix Snacks
Corn Dogs Recipe - My own recipe I've had for years
Pizza & Pizza Sauce - Recipes for pizza sauce and pizza crusts
Refrigerator Biscuit Recipes - What to Make with refrigerater biscuits
How to Make Sloppy Joes - Simple reciepe, I've had for years
Deepfried Vegetable Batter - Batter to dip your veggies in, to fry
BBQ and Tartar Sauce - All types of homemade sauces
Make Mayonaise - Different recipes I have come across for Mayonnaise

How to get your kids to eat their bread crust.
This is a trick that comes from my mom. When your toddlers are eating everything but the crust, then this is what my mom did.

She would take the long strips of crust, and holding it on the table, began to wrap it in a circle, till it looked just like a cinnamon roll. Then she added a dab of butter or jelly on it and handed it back to us to eat, which we did, every time.

Cooking Tips and Tricks
Included are cooking tips and tricks to get you in and out of the kitchen in a hurry, but the best tip is to "do the dishes while you're cooking." The first thing you should do when you go in the kitchen is make a sink full of hot soapy water, and as you use your cooking utensils, wash them.

I have created this Dinner Index page, so you will be able to easily navigate through the different recipes. You will find some traditional recipes, that are simple to make, and I have tried to add only recipes that have the fewest of ingredients.

___________________________________________

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Another cool cookbook, Granny!

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

http://www.scribd.com/doc/12275903/Bills-Budget-and-Education-Guide#document_metadata

Bills Budget and Education Guide
Managing your expenses within the framework of a budget is necessary to survive financially. A budget is the best way to break the crippling cycle of debt. U.S. consumer debt has reached epidemic proportions. According to the Federal Reserve, Americans have accumulated more than $2 trillion in consumer debt and charged more than $740 billion on their credit cards.

Just posted! 17 pages, very helpful information.

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

http://www.scribd.com/doc/7038309/indian-cuisine-cookbook
Indian Cuisine, free cookbook.

[Wneighbor]

Anyway, she would have known about the boiling point of the alcohol and that just the yummy flavor is left behind!

Your daughter and mine would get along famously it sounds like. The funny part of the escapade was that I had explained to my daughter about the boiling points of water and alcohol. She then told the teacher what I'd said. Teacher did not believe her.

Sometimes I don't talk so polite when people are stupid. Teacher argued with me. I told her how the cow ate the cabbage. She was a neighbor to one of my uncles who had taught biology at the high school and gone on to be school principal. I called him in on the discussion, not very nicely, and had him confirm my story. Teacher thought I was a dumb hick. Sometimes I am also not remorseful that I have spoken impolitely to people.