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Homemade Groceries & Supplies

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posted on Sep, 6 2009 @ 12:54 PM
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Originally posted by whitewave

While I somewhat agree, I have a few caveats.
1) oils go rancid rather quickly and olive oil is horrendously expensive.
2) unless you have a dedicated refrigerator to store these bulk items and the guaranteed uninterrupted power supply to keep them fresh, your 5 gallons of oil will quickly turn into 5 gallons of weed killer.
3) my parents generation ate lard with every meal it seems and they still managed to live into their late 70's and 80's. I think the cardiovascular risks come more with the lifestyle than with any individual food component.

Still, if you can store the oil at a constant temperature, that would be preferable, imho.




Yes, it's best stored in a refrigerator for as long as electricity and room permits. A basement is a good second choice.

I would not make an apples and oranges comparison between our generation and our parents and grandparents. They were exposed to dangerous substances out of ignorance. Our generation is exposed to dangerous substances by design -- GM crops, cheap junk food, dangerous additives and very little exercise. I think that in the event of a real emergency, millions of unfit Americans will die. I think millions more will live shortened lives if they use old-timer products like lard. In my opinion, these views dovetail with your comments on lifestyle.

I saw your questions in another post asking about lye sources. I buy lye (for biodiesel) in bulk from Texas Natural Supply via the web. You can find many other sources just as good by googling "bulk lye".



posted on Sep, 6 2009 @ 01:18 PM
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Originally posted by antar
reply to post by Unity_99
 


That is awesome! I am going to try it, tell me does it smell good too?


I like the smell. It has a kind of honey, lemon scent and is very nice. The lemon or lime is added as a natural disinfectant and preservative.



posted on Sep, 6 2009 @ 01:27 PM
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reply to post by praxis
 


While I agree that a lot of the damage to our health is done on purpose, I also think that ideal healthy choices will be much harder to come by in a survival situation.

If you're in the wilderness you have a much better chance of killing a bear and rendering it's fat into lard than you do of stumbling across an olive grove and a cold press.

If you're able to stay in a place with electricity then your option are certainly increased as are your chances for prolonged survival. Having electricity changes everything about your situation. I dare say that it totally negates the whole concept of "surviving". You may live more impoverished or be camping in style but, with electricity, one is hardly "surviving".

If you're not in survival mode and are just being a frugal housewife then bulk storage is the way to go for perishable items. Being in a situation where you can only have what you can carry on your back or must use up within the limited time you're allowed to stay ushers in an entirely different paradigm.

Thanks for the online source for purchasing lye. I added a post on how to make your own. Some people are hesitant to make purchases online.

[edit on 6-9-2009 by whitewave]



posted on Sep, 6 2009 @ 01:31 PM
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S&F - I think we all need to learn some survival skills and how to be self-reliance to the extreme if the gov. screws us anymore.



posted on Sep, 6 2009 @ 01:40 PM
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WOW!


Thanks! I have been looking for just these items as well!

I enjoy cooking more and more, and it's more economical anyway. I also start with fundamental elements hoping to remove as much processing as I can where able.

Quick question though...

On the Lard..... what kind of meat do you find works best to harvest the fat from? I just threw away a bunch of fat off a top sirloin the other day I had used to make kabobs. And felt kinda bad thinking "I'm sure there is something I can use this for"

Second question... can you mix the lard, i.e. some pig fat, some beef fat, etc

Let me add something here that is very economical, although there are some short cuts in there that use a mix or two...


1. Kabobs - Went to the store the other day and saw beautiful kabobs ready for cooking priced at $4.00 each. I asked the lady what meat they used to make them, she pointed me to the top sirloin. I picked up a package that cost me $4.50, made three giant kabobs easy. Cost saved? ~$8.00

2. Pizza -
1 pack pizza dough mix - .42 cents for store brand, .79 cents for martha white.
1 onion - maybe .20 cents depending on what you get
Half Green Pepper - .30 cents
4 Fresh mushrooms - .90 cents maybe less depending
1 can of Hunts Tomato sauce with garlic,basil, and oregano - .53 cents (with store card)
half can of tomato paste - .40 cents
Italian Sausage if you are into meat - only needs 1/4 a pound, so around $1 or less
Pizza cheese, arguable the most expensive ingredient depending on your taste... upwards of $1.50 worth of cheese
Some Italian Seasoning... prolly .10 cents worth

Total price? Around $5.35 for a 12" pizza, which feeds my family of three and it takes only about 25 minutes from start to finish. Go veggie, and you are looking at a $4.00 pizza.

The list goes on...

Today I make bread with yeast for the first time.... Cooking is therapeutic, satisfying and costs a WHOLE LOT less than eating out.

THANKS OP!!!!





[edit on 6-9-2009 by HunkaHunka]



posted on Sep, 6 2009 @ 01:42 PM
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Originally posted by DevilJin
S&F - I think we all need to learn some survival skills and how to be self-reliance to the extreme if the gov. screws us anymore.


We shouldn't need the threat of gov to become self-reliant... it should be the highest moral taught to our children.



posted on Sep, 6 2009 @ 01:49 PM
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I also find it satisfying to make my own. Somehow food just tastes better if you grow (or forage) your own and prepare it with your own hands.

Processed pre-packaged foods is not only outrageously expensive but nutritionally deficient. You might as well just eat the package it came it for all the nutrients you'd be getting.

I'm starting to see a lot more 20 something year olds with health problems that used to not show up except in people in their 50's and beyond.

Making your own supplies and groceries can be a family project instead of watching TV. Gets kids used to the idea that they have options other than just buying stuff, let's them know that food doesn't grow on grocery shelves, and lets you have quality family time doing something other than getting the group brainwash in front of the boob tube.



posted on Sep, 6 2009 @ 01:52 PM
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Originally posted by HunkaHunka

We shouldn't need the threat of gov to become self-reliant... it should be the highest moral taught to our children.


Well said! I regret that I have but one star to give for that declaration.


And to answer your question: Pig or beef fat is what I'm most familiar with although most animals have some fat on them. I wouldn't and haven't mixed different animal fats. Don't know why. It just seems intuitively wrong to me. There may be no harm in doing so but, truthfully, I just don't know.

Maybe someone else knows more on the subject and would be willing to educate us? Anybody?

[edit on 6-9-2009 by whitewave]



posted on Sep, 6 2009 @ 01:52 PM
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reply to post by whitewave
 
.

Thanks! I will have to pick some up tomorrow when I do my weekly food shopping. I am going to try a couple of these things this week to see how it turns out
.



posted on Sep, 6 2009 @ 01:54 PM
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reply to post by mblahnikluver
 


Glad to hear it. Please report back what your experience is with making and using these things.



posted on Sep, 6 2009 @ 02:47 PM
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Originally posted by HunkaHunka

Originally posted by DevilJin
S&F - I think we all need to learn some survival skills and how to be self-reliance to the extreme if the gov. screws us anymore.


We shouldn't need the threat of gov to become self-reliant... it should be the highest moral taught to our children.


True but I think convenience has led us astray from our most basic need - to survive with simply food, water and shelter. I notice it myself when I visited my mother last Spring and the electricity went out (country living) - I, as others, panicked because I did not have my computer. The family got extremely bored because of no television. My sister was angry because her cellphone wouldn't work. Each person stayed in their rooms alone. My mother slept it off. I laid in my own bed anxiously waiting for the electricity. My sister went in and out of rooms to get a signal. It was a very depressing time. Now that I look back on it, I cringe at the dependence we - well, I have as I will speak for myself and not others - I have toward technology. I thought to myself - I am not free if I am dependent on anything I can't control, and now I do read survival books, and use my computer a lot less. I've always been a reader, but if I wasn't in college, then work, then reading, I would go and hang out online. And it is so convenient! We have become sedentary enough that some of us rarely do go outside because the world - a non-judgmental world - is here, online. How come we can't stop and enjoy the nothingness. How come we must find a distraction to numb our minds from developing ourselves through whatever we find most necessary to our survival when, in truth, it is not?

Another story was the time a friend of mine and I went fishing and he was disturbed by the silence, although there were frogs, grasshoppers, and the highway of passing cars all there for music. He was so used to vehicles sounding, the chattering of people, the blaring television, the ringing of his phone, the clicking of the mouse and the clickety-clacking as he internet surf aimlessly. He had been brought down to something so simple - fishing - and so majestically rare - peace - that he could not handle it. He tried to make conversations but I was mesmerized by the silence and refused to speak. It was so comforting. He went to the car nearby and got his Ipod out to listen as we fished.

My point is that what if the complexities of our world were torn down and we had the most basic things and we would have to survive without those little conveniences we have, when does it ever become apparent to some that this is what they are missing? Simplicity. I don't mind if the threat of the government is what people need to learn survival skills. Being a nature-lover, I had long before desired to do this but never did put in the effort. That is a failing on my part, but it is better late than never.



posted on Sep, 6 2009 @ 02:52 PM
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A good toothpaste recipe would be handy, I have a few I'm going to try soon but nothing I've really tried.

I'll share a recipe for mead though. Mead is really easy to make, and very very very cheap.

1 pkg yeast
Gallon of water
1 lb of raw honey
some blueberries, or rasins, or yeast nutrient.
orange wedge
2 one gallon water jugs, the plastic kind works fine
balloons
duct tape

This is for basic mead, the honey imparts the flavor, the blueberries and the orange wedge feed the yeast and the orange juice evens the sweetness out. Although, the choice of nutrient will slightly alter the flavor.

Get some water heated up, not hot but warm enough to soften the honey. Put your jar of honey in, the whole jar not just the honey. Now pour your honey into one of the jugs, then fill it 3 inches from the top with the warm water.

Start the yeast really quick, be gentle with it.

Cap the jug and shake it like your were a 13 year old boy. This takes a while, like 10 minutes, you want all the honey dissolved.

Throw in your berries, give a squeeze to your orange and then toss in the orange with the juice.

Give it another good shake, you want to aerate the jug.

Once the yeast is bubbly, toss it in with the honey water, this makes what's called "must"

Poke a hole in the top of one balloon with a needle. This is your ultra-ghetto airlock.

Remove the lid from the jug, and attach the balloon, duct tape that puppy on good and tight.

Now put your jug in a dark, cool place and wait. You should start seeing bubbles within a few hours, but if it takes a couple days I wouldn't worry too much. Mead is really flexible. Leave it there for a couple months and then, if you want and ONLY if you want, siphon it out to the other jug. Put another balloon on top and wait longer. It will settle down in this time and mellow out quite nicely.

Voila, viking drink.



posted on Sep, 6 2009 @ 03:04 PM
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It's so refreshing to see that some people can still enjoy the simple things in life. There is a great peace and satisfaction that comes from being self-reliant.
It also helps to still a fearful heart knowing that you can weather any storm. The threat of food shortages is quelled knowing you can identify plants, hunt, trap, etc.

Our family used to go to a particular lake in Oklahoma to camp on a regular basis. My sister would get up before any of us so that she could spend an hour putting on her makeup. I always thought this was silly and pointless. She refused to get in the water because her makeup would run. She missed out on so much fun because she bought into the lies that women are not okay just the way they are.

Once when her young son had a febrile seizure in the living room she became so overcome with fear that she literally stood there flapping her arms and screaming while I positioned the child to prevent aspiration and called 911. Lack of knowledge can make you fearful and useless in a crisis.

The idea behind my posting information on how to be self-reliant is to empower people so that they don't have to be afraid. I hope that everyone would share their power (knowledge) so that we can all calmly face the days ahead.



posted on Sep, 6 2009 @ 03:09 PM
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reply to post by Mr Headshot
 


Oh this is very good, MrHeadshot! And much cheaper than my recipe for mead (which uses 5 gallons of honey). Thanks so much for this.

I think even the Muslims can drink mead since their religion only prevents them from imbibing in the fermentation of grains (not honey).


Something for everyone.



posted on Sep, 6 2009 @ 03:14 PM
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reply to post by Mr Headshot
 


A good toothpaste recipe would be handy, I have a few I'm going to try soon but nothing I've really tried.

Salt and baking soda or salt and cream of tartar make a good whitening abrasive for toothpowder. Lemon juice or pineapple juice helps to remove plaque. Hydrogen peroxide whitens teeth.



posted on Sep, 6 2009 @ 03:17 PM
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reply to post by Mr Headshot
 


Hey, thanks! I'm going to try this. What kind of alcohol percentage can I expect to be rewarded with if I follow your method and drink it as soon as it's ready?



posted on Sep, 6 2009 @ 04:57 PM
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Great thread White Wave
S&F

Heres a toothpaste recipe
Easy- Wet toothbrush, dip into a small amount of Baking soda. Works great. adn while you might think Baking soda would taste bad, when you are done brushing, its surprisingly fresh tasting.

Recipe for deoderant- This works well, we use it all the time.

dip a puwder puff or cotton ball in cornstartch, and daub on damp under arm.

while it has no scent, it does repel the bacteria that causes body odor quite nicely



posted on Sep, 6 2009 @ 05:53 PM
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reply to post by DevilJin
 


Funny thing is that you don't have to have technology to become sedentary and complacent.

The Cherokee became a very sedentary tribe during times of great bounty. They were chastised for this by some of the elders as well.


It's a very human thing. It starts with the pattern recognition the mind does. The mind will waste no time on something it recognizes already and has determined is not a threat, to the degree that you won't even see something which is right in front of your nose.

Same thing with convenience as you have pointed out... once we get the feeling of security, we never go back to check on it, and thus become "dependent" until a moment of shock when our sense of security is pierced.

There is ultimately nothing we can control.... that's just part of learning to be human. However, that's where the serenity prayer comes in... to be able to discern between those things we can do something about and those we can't.



posted on Sep, 6 2009 @ 06:07 PM
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makes perfect sense that the store was destroyed/unavailable but i have all the nescessary ingredients laying around ahead of time to make the things i cant buy at teh store now.



posted on Sep, 6 2009 @ 06:14 PM
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Originally posted by Rossa
Great thread White Wave
S&F

Heres a toothpaste recipe
Easy- Wet toothbrush, dip into a small amount of Baking soda. Works great. adn while you might think Baking soda would taste bad, when you are done brushing, its surprisingly fresh tasting.

Recipe for deoderant- This works well, we use it all the time.

dip a puwder puff or cotton ball in cornstartch, and daub on damp under arm.

while it has no scent, it does repel the bacteria that causes body odor quite nicely


I agree. Baking Soda is a great supply to have.

Anyone can find a list of it's helpful capabilities here:

Baking Soda Book - provides free examples



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