In a recent article Tess Pennington wrote “So, what happens if and when the grid goes down for an extended period of time? Aside from the aggravation of not being able to determine what is happening through traditional media channels, for the Average Joe, his problems have only just begun. Our dependency to the grid doesn’t just stop at lack of electricity in our homes to power our appliances or an inability to charge our cell phones; it is much broader and affects every aspect of our lives”.

Oh how true that statement is; most people could not survive a day without computers, refrigeration, cell phones and TV. Most people have never had to live off the grid unless they were primitive camping; and even then it was probably only for a weekend. But for some of us people planning to use our yachts as a refuge for when the SHTF, using solar is already being practiced. Some of us have already taken the steps necessary to keep the power flowing; we have built our own power grid. We have tested it in the actual real world environment and have been using it when we are away from the dock for pleasure, so we know the application and technology works.

What is a Solar Panel and How Do They Work?

Solar panels are in theory any panel that uses the sun’s thermal energy to produce electricity. A solar panel can be described as a photovoltaic panel, the term used in the industry, for panels designed to produce electricity from the rays of the sun. Despite the category of solar panel being discussed, almost all solar panels are flat. This is because the face of the panel needs to be at a 90 degree angle from the sun’s rays for the most favorable angle to absorb the sun’s rays. Solar panels are able to take in energy from the sun through an array of solar cells on their surface. Much like how a plant is able to soak up energy from the sun for photosynthesis, solar cells perform in a comparable manner. As the sun’s rays hit the solar cells on a photovoltaic panel, the power is transferred to a silicon semiconductor. The power is then changed into (dc) direct current electricity and then passed through connecting wires to finally enter a storage battery.

Types of Solar Panels

Types of panels most normally used in boating applications have either multicrystalline or amorphous thin-film cells. Multicrystalline panels are the oldest technology available and also the most powerful. When sized appropriately and matched to suitable batteries, these are the panels to use for operating large loads such as refrigeration. Amorphous thin film solar panels are only about 50% as effective as multicrystalline panels, but can be bought in flexible forms so they can roll or fold, or correspond to the shape of a yacht cabin top or bimini. They don’t normally have enough output for significant energy replenishment, but can be used to trickle charge a battery bank.

How Much Power Do Solar Cells Make?

Generally, we measure solar panels by wattage and that is how we buy them. You can buy solar panels for boats as small as 10 watts to as large as 200 watts or even larger. But it is easier to understand when we convert watts to amperage. We arrive at these values by multiplying the number of hours the panel spends in full sun (usually defined as 8 per day in Florida) times the panel’s wattage. For a 195 watt solar panel the output would be 195 x 8 hrs = 1,560 watts/day. Taking it step further, 1,560 watts/12 volts = 130 amps per day. Keep in mind that solar panels produce DC power which means that you will need a deep cycle battery bank to hold the charge. Batteries are rated by the amp hours they hold.

So what is Needed in a Solar Panel Setup?

Obviously, one or more solar panels are necessary to make the system work. In addition, you will need:

• a large bank of deep cycle batteries, the bigger the bank the better
• an inverter, choose between pure sin or modified (to be discussed in another article)
• a controller and
• proper wiring and fuses to wire the parts together.

Energy Consumption – A

My guiding principle on how many panels to buy is simple; buy as many panels as your budget and mounting location will allow. You cannot have too many. But you should complete an energy audit to make sure you are buying enough for your needs. Example, if you have 3 interior lights that draw 2 amps each and you leave them on for 24 hours per day, your consumption would be 3 x 2 x 4 = 24 AH/Day. You can generally find the amp load for appliances on a label inside a door etc.

Inverter Loads – B

An inverter is a device that coverts battery DC power to household AC power; without an inverter, unlike on a yacht, your solar panel will have little value if used at a home. But with an inverter you can use your hair dryer.

Inverter loads use DC power but they are powering AC appliances and equipment. If you need to convert watts to amps use (12watts/12 volts = 1amp).

Solar Energy Production – C

Alternative sources of power such as solar panels can replace the amp/hrs drawn from the batteries. But like the energy budget that calculated your usage you will also need to calculate your re-supply of amp hours. Remember the formula – (12 watts/12 volts = 1 amp). But keep in mind, the formula is only a gage; absolute accuracy can only be where the panel output is constant and a solar panel may at times operate inefficiently due to shading by clouds.

Solar Panel Needs

Compare the daily energy consumption in AH/Day to the solar energy production. Your solar energy production ( C ) should be greater than the consumption ( A, B ). If not, select a larger wattage panel and recalculate. Always purchase more solar panel output than you will think you will need; some planners recommend at least 30% in excess. We bought our panel from Sun Electronics in Miami, www.sunelec.com as they had the best pricing I could find anywhere online. But remember, panels must be shipped via freight as they are heavily packed to reduce the chance of damage so be sure to calculate those costs in your purchase.

Mounting Your Solar Panel

Now that you have your solar panel, where do you mount it? As we said before, mounting the panel 90 degrees to the southern sun is optimum. You will get the best energy production this way. But on boats, finding a suitable location is tricky at best. I chose to mount our panel on the top of the trawler sundeck hardtop in a horizontal manner. Here it will get the best view of the sun and be clear from the radar arch shading as the trawler turns at anchor. The angle toward the sun in not exactly at 90 degrees but it will have to do. I chose a 195 watt panel so I have almost a 50% reserve capacity in my panel to make up for the slight inefficiency of the sun’s angle. If you choose to install a panel on land, consider mouthing it on rooftops or you may design and build a platform solely for that purpose.

Wiring Your Panel

Electrical wiring is very technical and hazardous; if you are not comfortable in doing this part of the task, please consult a qualified electrician. Your panel will be prewired for attaching to your boat/house but you will need to supply the connecting cables that will also be sold by your panel supplier; they are referred to as MC4 cables. The cables will come in different lengths suitable for your needs with a male and female connector attached; you cut one connector off. (The photo shows how we have our modified solar/wind turbine system wired.) . In addition, you will also need a controller. The controller regulates the electrical flow from the panel to your batteries keeping your batteries charged yet preventing over charging. Some controllers are simple but others have LED displays showing the rates of charge etc. The more whistles and bells the more expensive it will be. Your panel supplier will be able to recommend a controller that will meet your needs. I chose a controller made by Specialty Concepts. It is simple yet does the job. And the folks at the company are a big help in helping you choose the right model for your desired panel. When you contact them, the will need to know what size panel (wattage) you are buying and what the voltage is. Check them out at www.specialtyconcepts.com. I also bought my controller from the people at Sun Electronics in Miami. And lastly, you will need the appropriately sized cables to run from the controller to your batteries and a fuse to hook the controller to the battery bank. In selecting the correct fuse, you will need to find the short circuit current for your panel and rate the breaker at 125% of that number. The short circuit rating will be found on the panel specifications. This will give you the amperage of the breaker you will need. Your controller operating manual will have guidance on these too. Having a solar panel to maintain your batteries seems like a great idea but you’ll need to have a way to monitor your batteries. I chose to also install a Trimetric 2025RV Battery Monitor; www.bogartengineering.com.This smart device is wired into your battery bank to give a real time measurement of voltage going into the bank, amps being used by your boat, the percent full charge on the bank, and the amp hours used since the last charge.

Panel Operation

So we have now installed a 195 watt solar panel coupled with an 1800 watt inverter and a battery bank with 443 amp hours aboard our boat. We ran our tests at anchor with clear skies. Using the worksheets attached I concluded that our power consumption is 112.5 amp hours per 24 hours. The freezer alone is the biggest draw using 60 of the amp hours followed by the refrigerator. On a clear Florida summer day, the solar panel can supply 100% of the boats needs from sunup to sundown; we only lose approximately 40 amp hours overnight, but the panel will bring it back to full after a few hours of sunlight. When relying upon alternative energy, you must always be aware of your surroundings and how much energy you are consuming. For instance, our previous anchor light consumed 20 amp hours in a 10 hour period; replacing it with an LED light uses only .2 amp hours. When the SHTF, I think we’ll be able to maintain our lifestyles to a relative degree of normalcy. In future articles, I’ll discuss how to choose an inverter and how I have supplemented the solar panel with a wind turbine.

Fair winds,

Mike

Special thanks to Mike for taking the time to share his preparedness endeavors with us and helping us learn how being self reliant is possible, we just have show some initiative.

What makes us boaters the people we are?  Why do people go to the expense of owning a boat?  US country singer/songwriter Kenny Chesney has a song titled Boats on his CD Lucky Old Sun.  In the song he sings:

“Boats…. vessels of freedom, harbors of healing…boats, twenty years of a landlocked job was all that Tom could take….. sitting at his desk all alone and depressed (he) says this just can’t be my fate, ….went home that night and told his wife (that) you can tell all of your friends it’s been real but it ain’t been fun (so we are) gonna get us one of them…boats… vessels of freedom, harbors of healing…boats”.

I’ve listened to that song a hundred times and it gets better each time.  He found the words I’ve always known were there but never could quite find them.  Good for him!

As a boater I find it sometimes becomes hard to explain to non-boaters what the love affair is all about.  Perhaps it’s a sickness; at least it’s a bug.  Some of us use our boats as a home, treating her like a member of the family.  I do have a habit of talking to our boat; she speaks back but in ways only I can hear.  She has become a refuge of sorts, a protected port.  Sleeping in a motel room when I’m on the road just isn’t the same; I can’t wait to get back to my baby.

I have friends that use their boats for an escape from life’s uncertain path, relying on their boats to unwind from everyday stress.  They take their sailboats, trawlers or motoryachts out to feel the wind on their faces, the sun on their backs; their boats bring them peace.  Other friends, have their boats equipped to make a living from the sea, as do the many shrimpers and charter boat Captains that ply the waters of our Florida coast.

Our boat has become a life ring of sorts, protecting us from the “stormy weather” that waits at the cabin door.  She offers us a mobile platform to escape the coming collapse and likely civil unrest that will surely follow.  She provides the warmth from the cold and protection from the rains.  My lady is a small city afloat offering luxurious accommodations, water making and power generation capabilities as well as having a complete waste treatment system.

But as a full-time waterman, I can say it’s more than what it seems. Yes, it’s a state of mind. Leaving the world behind, knowing you have everything you need to sustain yourself and your crew for weeks on end.  If I want to stay in one place, I do; if I want to leave, I can do that too.  Oh boats can be trouble and they take tons of work to maintain but we boaters consider it a labor of love.

You just can’t place a price tag on the feeling when you are at the helm, everything works as designed, the air is crisp and the sea is calm.  It takes only one good sunset to make it all worthwhile.  And as far as escaping from the coming collapse of our culture, you could not do it any better way.

Until the SHTF I am going to enjoy one of life’s simple pleasures; there is little use worrying over when it will happen.  But when the time to bug out is upon us, I’m going to do it in style.

Mark Twain, an American author eloquently said “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Spanish philosopher Jose’ Ortegay Gasset once said, “Tell me the landscape in which you live, and I’ll tell you who you are.”
That pretty much sums it up.  Fair winds.
Mike

Personally, my overall goal in being prepared is to be ready for a long-term grid down disaster. That being the case, my family is taking steps to acquire supplies and tools that involve a more all-emcompassing emergency supply in order to be self-reliant.

5 Most Expensive Preps

There are times in our quest for preparedness where each of us will see the need to invest in certain preparedness items that are expensive, but necessary for our survival. Before any monetary investment is made, my husband and I discuss the importance of the item, why we need the investment, if it is versatile, and how it can benefit us in an emergency. Our stored food supply is the largest investment we have made thus far, however, I believe that you are more interested in the other items we have invested in. So without further adieu, here are the 5 most expensive items we have purchased:

1. Undisclosed – Firearms and ammunition
2. $750 – Custom-made copper still made by www.LNLProtekt.com
3. $429 + extra parts – Country Living Grain Mill at www.Directive21.com
4. $285 – Royal Berkey Water Filtration System at www.Directive21.com
5. $200 – 21 quart American Pressure Cooker can be purchased here.

5 Cheapest Preps 

To be clear, I need you to understand that I am not made of money. Like most of you, my family had to sacrifice a great deal to get the items we have stored away. We cannot always afford the “best of the best” so to speak and are always on the lookout for great deals. We typically go to stores such as the $1 store or to Big Lots to see if we can find some good deals or wait until the end of the season to sweep up on clearance deals. That being said, here are 5 of the cheapest preps we have found so far:

1. $1-$5 – Homesteading and preparedness resources from discounted book stores.
2. $5 – 2 cases of canning jars from Craigslist.
3. $1 Emergency sewing kit for the bug out bags from a craft store.
4. $.50 Macaroni and cheese  on clearance at a grocery store.
5. Free fabric that someone was giving away.

5 Homemade Preps

One of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves is the knowledge of how to survive on our own. The end result is the satisfaction of knowing that I have learned skills to keep my family’s needs met.

1. Survival bars
2. Water proof matches – Re-purpose spent candles by melting  them down and dipping the matches into them.
3. Fire starters
4. Refrigeration
5. Homemade stove

For over a year now, my wife and I have been actively prepping for the collapse of the system that we all have grown to believe could never fail.  We often see others afflicted with the normalcy bias; something so terrible it could never happen to us here.  Wrong, it can and will.

Both my wife and I are entrepreneurs, and make our living from the sea.  Boats and yachts are our life; we sleep aboard a boat and work aboard one almost every day.  So when the process of prepping began, it was no question that the sea would provide our getaway plan; it’s what we know best.

We own a 44 foot motor yacht and keep it docked on the southern US coastline in a small fishing village.  (I’ll not divulge any location specifics as I must maintain my confidentiality.)  We are about ½ mile from the open waters of the sea.

When beginning our prepping process, we prepared a list of priority items.  A year’s supply of freeze dried foods, instant foods, boat maintenance equipment, survival gear like guns and ammo and normal household supplies were  placed on the list, most things any prepper would do.  We even have items like sprouting seeds, instant orange juice, and a year’s supply of coffee to provide some semblance or normalcy.  We carry 500 gallons of diesel fuel and have a 400 gallon fresh water storage capacity.  All of these are stored aboard.

Using a yacht as a getaway vessel gave us some advantages.  It allows us to retreat to remote locations that only a boater will be able to get to; we will then be out of reach of some 95% of the population.

Using freeze dried foods takes water and we carry a finite supply, or we did.  We have now installed a reverse osmosis watermaker aboard our boat too.  We can now turn salt water into drinking water at the flip of a switch.

But a water maker takes power to run and we have a limited power supply, or we did.  Recognizing that we must conserve diesel fuel by not operating the generator any more than necessary, we have installed both solar panels and a wind turbine.  These can keep the boats 12 volt power supply at 100%. An inverter converts battery power to 120 volt ac power to operate the yacht’s refrigeration.

We have selected a getaway anchorage on the leeward side of an island not too far from us. The anchorage offers good protection from possible storms, and allows us good visibility to observe other boats approaching.  The island is only accessible by water and has only several part-time inhabitants.  The mainland is over a mile away.  It’s not likely too many boats will be out when the SHTF.

The island is abundant in deer and wild turkeys and my shooting skills are right on target.  Fish, crabs and shellfish are also abundant too.  I was raised on the coast so fishing and hunting is a natural.  Fresh game or trout for dinner anyone?

So when the SHTF, you may be retreating to a cabin in the hills; we will be living off the sea.

Fair winds.

Mike

Last week, we discussed essential fats and oils to store in our deep larder. Another layer we need to focus on for our long-term dietary needs is a protein source capable of being stored long-term for shtf emergencies. Legumes are the most versatile option for storable proteins. Best of all, they are low cost and have the capacity to last a decade if properly stored. So, why do we need protein in our regular diets?

In general, it’s recommended that 10–35% of your daily calories come from protein. When beans are accompanied with a grain source such as rice or quinoa, it becomes a complete protein. Having protein in your diet not only provides energy, but also creates a special form of nitrogen that the body cannot get from carbohydrates or lipids. In the case of starvation, the body may actually “eat itself” (called wasting) to acquire the necessary amino acids, or borrow the amino acids from the immune system or body functions to meet its protein needs. Beans, peas and lentils are the richest source of vegetable protein, as well as a good source of fiber, calcium, and iron. Aside from using legumes in the usual manner, legumes can also be ground into an alternative flour source, sprouted for a fresh vegetable source, or made into spreads such as hummus. To learn more about why having a protein in your shtf diet is essential, click here.

Like most of our preparedness foods, beans should be stored in the absence of the enemies: oxygen, moisture, insects and sunlight. Beans in their original plastic packaging have roughly about 13 servings and a shelf life of 1 year or more. However re-packaging the dry goods in heavy duty Mylar and/or plastic containers can prolong legumes for up to 10 years or longer! Ensure that you have proper storage conditions or else your hard work could be all for nothing. Beans that are improperly stored could lead to rancidity of bean oils, color fade and an overall “off” flavor taste. To make the most of your legume storage, consider these 5 tips:

1. When storing larger amounts of food, plastic containers, #10 cans, or Mylar-type bags are best for long-term food storage.
2. If you are using one of the above long-term storage containers, you can keep the beans in their original packaging, or remove the plastic wrapping and pour the contents into a long-term container and properly seal.
3. Oxygen absorbers should be used to remove oxygen from the packages to extend shelf life and minimize off-flavors caused by oxidation.
4. For smaller quantities of storing beans, consider using canning jars. Ensure that the jars are stored in a dark place.
5. Like most stored foods, colder storage temperatures will increase shelf life. 40-75 degrees Fahrenheit is the ideal temperature range for keeping your long-term food storage safe.

Lentils have the highest nutrition value of legumes next to soybeans, so keep this in mind when purchasing for long-term storage. Further, consider the cooking time that legumes require. Larger beans take more time cooking and may require more of your fuel source to cook them. If this is an issue, purchase smaller legumes such as lentils and split peas. They cook faster, thus decreasing your fuel usage. Soaking beans for 6-12 hours can also reduce the cooking time by about one half, saves vitamins, minerals and proteins which can be lost during hours of cooking.

Those of you planning on putting away bulk quantities of beans may want to consider finding a super store or larger scale grocery store near you. These stores typically carry the 25 lb. bags of beans. Further, the Latter Day Saints have food storage warehouses that usually carry legumes and an assortment of other food related items. Check online to see if one of these LDS warehouses are near you. By far, the larger quantity bags will be a better investment compared to purchasing mass amounts of the smaller bags. If you want to purchase these items online, doing a simple search for “buy legumes in bulk” will connect you many online companies that can take your order.

Preps to Buy:

[In Quantity]

• Lima Beans, Dry
• Soy Beans, Dry
• Split Peas, Dry
• Lentils, Dry
• Dry Soup Mix, Dry
• Chickpeas, Dry
• Black beans, Dry
• Navy Beans, Dry
• Sprouts

Action Items:

1. Get smart about survival and research the importance of having certain food sources in your diet.
2. Use the Ready Nutrition Food Storage Calculator to find out how much protein you need to add to your storage supply.
3. Bear in mind, daily caloric intakes are different with each person, so research how many calories you need to stay at your optimum health.
4. Those with special needs (such as pregnant women) are advised to get more protein sources, so keep this in mind when purchasing.
5. Learn how to package and store your bulk foods for long-term storage.
6. Store your purchased products in a suitable environment where it is not exposed to natural elements. Click here to learn about your food’s worst enemies.

MESSAGE FROM TESS

Hello Everyone,

Can you believe that we are 18-weeks away from completing our 52-weeks to preparedness? I hope the preparedness tips and suggestions that I send to you each week have helped. Do you feel more confident in your preparedness supplies?

At our 34th week, we are still concentrating on getting smart about our survival. Legumes will be the main topic of today where we will discuss why having this protein source is so essential to your diet and your food storage, as well as touch on which legumes have the richest sources of proteins and nutrition.

For any Texans or Southerners out there, now is the time to make your way to the Self Reliance Expo in Dallas, Texas this weekend. It is a great way to see new products, as well as hear new opinions on prepping and homesteading.

Do you feel compelled to help your friends and family become more prepared for emergencies? They can easily begin their own preparedness journey using our food storage calculator on Ready Nutrition and create a customized chart telling them how much food storage would be required to sustain their family in the face of an emergency. Moreover, do the best thing for them and send them the 52-Weeks to Preparedness series.

If you haven’t already, follow us on Twitter or Facebook. I love to interact with the preparedness community, because, after all, we are all in this together!

Best Wishes,

Tess Pennington

Be the change you wish to see in the world.

PREP OF THE WEEK

Week 34 of 52: Essential Legumes

Ideally, in and extended emergency, many of us would prefer to be living in a self-reliant environment where we have access to fresh foods and meats. However, since we are preppers, we are making preparations to have back ups for our back ups. If, for some reason, our homesteading environment isn’t thriving, we will need to fall upon on our food pantry. Therefore, we want to have a well-rounded pantry to meet all of our dietary needs.

Last week, we discussed essential fats and oils to store in our deep larder. Another layer we need to focus on for our long-term dietary needs is a protein source capable of being stored long-term for shtf emergencies. Legumes are the most versatile option for storable proteins. Best of all, they are low cost and have the capacity to last a decade if properly stored. So, why do we need protein in our regular diets?

In general, it’s recommended that 10–35% of your daily calories come from protein. When beans are accompanied with a grain source such as rice or quinoa, it becomes a complete protein. Having protein in your diet not only provides energy, but also creates a special form of nitrogen that the body cannot get from carbohydrates or lipids. In the case of starvation, the body may actually “eat itself” (called wasting) to acquire the necessary amino acids, or borrow the amino acids from the immune system or body functions to meet its protein needs. Beans, peas and lentils are the richest source of vegetable protein, as well as a good source of fiber, calcium, and iron. Aside from using legumes in the usual manner, legumes can also be ground into an alternative flour source, sprouted for a fresh vegetable source, or made into spreads such as hummus. To learn more about why having a protein in your shtf diet is essential, click here.

Like most of our preparedness foods, beans should be stored in the absence of the enemies: oxygen, moisture, insects and sunlight. Beans in their original plastic packaging have roughly about 13 servings and a shelf life of 1 year or more. However re-packaging the dry goods in heavy duty Mylar and/or plastic containers can prolong legumes for up to 10 years or longer! Ensure that you have proper storage conditions or else your hard work could be all for nothing. Beans that are improperly stored could lead to rancidity of bean oils, color fade and an overall “off” flavor taste. To make the most of your legume storage, consider these 5 tips:

1. When storing larger amounts of food, plastic containers, #10 cans, or Mylar-type bags are best for long-term food storage.
2. If you are using one of the above long-term storage containers, you can keep the beans in their original packaging, or remove the plastic wrapping and pour the contents into a long-term container and properly seal.
3. Oxygen absorbers should be used to remove oxygen from the packages to extend shelf life and minimize off-flavors caused by oxidation.
4. For smaller quantities of storing beans, consider using canning jars. Ensure that the jars are stored in a dark place.
5. Like most stored foods, colder storage temperatures will increase shelf life. 40-75 degrees Fahrenheit is the ideal temperature range for keeping your long-term food storage safe.

Lentils have the highest nutrition value of legumes next to soybeans, so keep this in mind when purchasing for long-term storage. Further, consider the cooking time that legumes require. Larger beans take more time cooking and may require more of your fuel source to cook them. If this is an issue, purchase smaller legumes such as lentils and split peas. They cook faster, thus decreasing your fuel usage. Soaking beans for 6-12 hours can also reduce the cooking time by about one half, saves vitamins, minerals and proteins which can be lost during hours of cooking.

Those of you planning on putting away bulk quantities of beans may want to consider finding a super store or larger scale grocery store near you. These stores typically carry the 25 lb. bags of beans. Further, the Latter Day Saints have food storage warehouses that usually carry legumes and an assortment of other food related items. Check online to see if one of these LDS warehouses are near you. By far, the larger quantity bags will be a better investment compared to purchasing mass amounts of the smaller bags. If you want to purchase these items online, doing a simple search for “buy legumes in bulk” will connect you many online companies that can take your order.

 Preps to Buy:

[In Quantity]

• Lima Beans, Dry
• Soy Beans, Dry
• Split Peas, Dry
• Lentils, Dry
• Dry Soup Mix, Dry
• Chickpeas, Dry
• Black beans, Dry
• Navy Beans, Dry
• Sprouts

Action Items:

1. Get smart about survival and research the importance of having certain food sources in your diet.
2. Use the Ready Nutrition Food Storage Calculator to find out how much protein you need to add to your storage supply.
3. Bear in mind, daily caloric intakes are different with each person, so research how many calories you need to stay at your optimum health.
4. Those with special needs (such as pregnant women) are advised to get more protein sources, so keep this in mind when purchasing.
5. Learn how to package and store your bulk foods for long-term storage.
6. Store your purchased products in a suitable environment where it is not exposed to natural elements. Click here to learn about your food’s worst enemies.
   

   ---

WHAT WE’RE UP TO

In the Home:

Well, I tried my hand at dehydrating eggs this week. I don’t know what happened, but my dehydrated eggs looked nothing like the how they were supposed to. I was planning on serving the kids the dehydrated eggs for breakfast to get their unbiased opinions, I didn’t have the heart to force that upon them. Oh well, back to the drawing board. I’ll keep trying and get back to you on any progress.

I have also been updating the kids emergency i.d. cards and their personal preparedness kits that go in their backpacks for school. I read something the other day, that in an unexpected emergency where the lights go out, most people wish they had a flashlight to maneuver around in the dark with. I can rest assured knowing that my kids have a flashlight plus some!

Family Preps:

No new preps this week aside from a few sanitation items I saw on sale and of course another bag of toilet paper. When the shtf, you know you are going to want to have that on hand. So far we have about a 6 month supply of toilet paper, but in my opinion, that isn’t enough. So, each time I’m at the store I grab another bag of toilet paper. Slowly and surely, it’s adding up. I just have to stay the course.

In the Garden:

I started my Spring garden this week. So far, I have planted a salsa garden with Amish tomatoes, Cherokee purple tomatoes, 2 different types of peppers, jalapeno peppers, cilantro as well as a bed of greens like spinach, lettuce, carrots and onions. I can’t make my garden as large as I’d like because we plan on moving in the summer. So this will be my last garden in Houston.

Hopefully, the weather will be kind and we will not have drought-like conditions for multiple months on end. Cross your fingers for me, I’m dying to make fresh salsa this year!

 RECENT ARTICLES

Don’t Break the Bank: Using Coupons to Stock Up Your Pantry
When the Grid Goes Down, You Better Ready!

STATS AND FACTS

Have you considered planting by the moon cycles? Lunar gardening is based on the moon’s gravitational effect on the flow of moisture in the soil and plants.  Ancient gardeners noticed that when they planted seeds at certain times during the month they grew better than other times. Many people believe that planting by the phases of the moon gives you larger and tastier vegetables.

So when do you plant?

• First Quarter (Waxing): Plant vegetables that produce above ground leafy parts and produce seeds outside of themselves. Some of these vegetables are spinach, lettuce, cabbage, and broccoli.
• Second Quarter (Waxing): Plant above ground producing vegetables that produce seeds inside such as beans, peas, tomatoes, and squash.
• Third Quarter (Waning): Plant your root crops such as onions, potatoes, beets and carrots.
• Fourth Quarter (Waning): This is the best time to cultivate, weed, and to turn your compost.

LETTERS TO TESS

Do you have a preparedness question? One of the perks of my job at Ready Nutrition is to address questions and/or concerns that you may have with your prepping endeavors. Feel free to ask anything that is on your mind because no question is too big or small. You can email questions to: getprepped@readynutrition.com

This week’s question addresses my own preparedness endeavors:

 Dear Tess,

Thank you so much for all the information you give to us each week. I hope I am not being to forward, but I was wondering what the most expensive preparedness item you have bought is?

Lena M.

Answer:

Hi Lena,

You are not being forward at all. In fact, I specified that no question is too big or too small. Something I have noticed is that one’s idea about preparedness varies from person to person. By far the largest investment I have made is my food supply.

But the most expensive investment I have made into a single object is a copper still. For me, I am extremely concerned about medical emergencies, as well as having a fuel source. My husband and I decided that this was something we wanted to invest in. We have a friend who is skilled in welding and had him design the still. The finished product is 6 feet tall and cost about $750. With this item, in a long-term emergency we will be able to distill water, produce fuel-grade ethanol, alcohol for consumption, and make medical antiseptic. So, with all of it’s uses, it’s a pretty good deal. If any of you are interested, here is the website: www.LNLProtekt.com.

Hope this helps!

Tess Pennington

Be the change you wish to see in the world.

So, what happens if and when the grid goes down for an extended period of time? Aside from the aggravation of not being able to determine what is happening through traditional media channels, for the Average Joe, his problems have only just begun. Our dependency to the grid doesn’t just stop at lack of electricity in our homes to power our appliances or an inability to charge our cell phones; it is much broader and affects every aspect of our lives.

We are regularly inundated with news reports covering outages that last several days or weeks resulting from inclement weather like snow storms or hurricanes, or heat waves in southern states that threaten to overload the system. During those times, when entire metropolitan areas or regions experience black outs, we get a glimpse into what a truly widespread emergency might look like. It is often the case that the first thing residents of affected areas do is rush to grocery and hardware stores hoping to acquire critical supplies like food, water, batteries, flashlights and generators. And while these supplies acquired at the onset of crisis may provide short term sustenance, any long-term grid-down situation that lasts for many weeks or months will prove dangerous, and perhaps fatal, to the unprepared.

Consider, for a moment, how drastically your life would change without the continuous flow of energy the grid delivers. While manageable during a short-term disaster, losing access to the following critical elements of our just-in-time society would wreak havoc on the system.

• Challenges or shut downs of business commerce
• Breakdown of our basic infrastructure: communications, mass transportation, supply chains
• Inability to access money via atm machines
• Payroll service interruptions
• Interruptions in public facilities – schools, workplaces may close, and public gatherings.
• Inability to have access to clean drinking water

Neil Swidey, in his article What If The Lights Go Out?,  indicates that the grid may be ill-equipped to meet all the enormous challenges it faces in this day and age.

The last widespread outage in the Northeast, the great blackout of August 2003, showed how intimately interconnected and alarmingly fragile our power grid is. How else to explain the way a problem starting in northeastern Ohio quickly cascaded into a blackout affecting 50 million people  across the northeastern United States and parts of Canada? How quickly? Between the moment a power surge came rushing out of Ohio and the moment Manhattan began to go dark, exactly 10 seconds had passed.

..

If our society is more reliant on power than at any time in history – without it, we’ve got no commerce, no communications, no clean water – and if power becomes less reliable in the future, the big question is: Will we be able to hack it?

..

THE TROUBLE with the future of power isn’t that there is one big problem that could croak us. It’s that there are a host of them, any one of which could croak us.

Neil Swidey has grouped these potential grid-down antagonizers into three categories:

1. Extreme Natural Disasters

This includes earthquakes, hurricanes, snow storms, thunderstorms as well as massive solar storms that have the potential to seriously damage the electrical grid. You don’t think it could happen? In the article provided above, the author states, “It took just 90 seconds for a 1989 solar storm to cause the collapse of the Hydro-Quebec power grid, leaving 6 million Canadians without power for up to nine hours. A 2008 NASA-funded report noted the risk of significant damage to our interconnected grid in light of the forecast for increased solar activity. The 11-year solar cycle is expected to peak in 2013, and just two weeks ago we saw one of the biggest solar-radiation storms in years.

2. Acts of Terrorists

This category includes, but is not limited to a physical attack on the bulk power system, either at its source of generation or somewhere along its transmission route, cyber attack on the computers controlling our interconnected grid, electro-magnetic pulse, or EMP, weapon. Have you read One Second After by William R. Forstchen? EMP’s will create long-lasting damage that would incapacitate electronic systems across the country and forever change our way of life. Cyber-threats are another concern and someone with serious hacking skills could easily take out computers, networks or information stored therein to cause lasting damage to our way of life.

3. The Ailing Grid

Our ailing power grid is almost as sick as our failing economy. With one malicious event, be it man made or by natural means, it is down. Swidey compares the grid infrastructure  to being as old and stooped as a pensioner. As it is upgraded and its capacity is expanded, our rapacious need for more electrical power races to max it out once again.

A wide-spread emergency, such as a massive power surge, solar flare or rogue electromagnetic pulse (EMP) detonation have the capacity to render our entire power infrastructure useless. Transformers and other key elements on which the grid depends could be permanently damaged as a result of massive electric surges.

In an event such as this our immediate problem will be finding a way to order, manufacture and take delivery of the components needed to replace the faulty ones. Most of the parts made for our electrical grid are made in China – and many are decades old. According to Congressman Roscoe Bartlett, who recently warned people to get their families out of major cities because of concerns about the stability of the grid, it would take months to get the parts shipped to this country and replaced.

During the outage, millions would be adversely affected, with some like Frank Gaffney, president of the Center for Security Policy, suggesting that within a year 9 out of 10 Americans would be dead from starvation, disease and violence.

Ladies and gentleman, if there’s one thing that can cause the veritable “S” to hit the fan, this is it.

So how do we remedy and/or prepare for a grid down scenario? Think retro – like pioneer retro- and by that we have to go way back to when we were not so dependent on the luxury of on-demand energy in its various forms. When preparing for a grid-down scenario, we must comprise different contingency plans for short-term and longer-term issues. That being the case, we have to admit to ourselves that it could last longer than we expect and much more than just a minor inconvenience. Therefore, the best way to prepare is to start with your basic needs. That is the need for light, heat, water, and food. Some preparedness items to stock up on are:

• Alternative fuel sources such as solar and diesel, wood for burning.
• Food preservation supplies – dehydrators, canners, smokers, fermenting/pickling supplies. To learn more, click here.
• Bulk food – Canned, freeze-dried, dehydrated or dry goods.
• Water filtration supplies, rain harvesting supplies and large quantities of stored water.
• Light sources: Lanterns, flashlights, candles and matches and alternative light sources
• Batteries and chargers
• Emergency stove – solar oven, rocket stove, camping stoves, etc.
• Wood burning fire place – Central air heating systems, even if they use natural gas or propane, depend on electricity for the blower that will circulate the heated air. When the grid is down, this system will not work. Having a wood burning fire place is an alternative to central heating systems.
• Cash money and/or silver or gold currency.

The vulnerability of our grid is nothing new to preppers. Some have seen this problem coming for a long time and changed their entire ways of life by going off-grid. They have found alternative sources such as solar, wind and diesel to power their homes and machinery. A majority of us, who have not gone off-grid, are making a concerted effort to avoid dependence on this ailing infrastructure and preparing for life without it. That being said, all we can do is stay the course, prepare accordingly and continue on.

Now more than ever shopping efficiently and reducing costs wherever possible is a crucial component of managing a household. The current economic climate means that even cutting a few dollars off your grocery bill every week can make a big difference long term, and coupons often offer much more than that. Coupons allow you to stock up your pantry with items that will last for a long time when they are on special, saving a significant amount of money than waiting till you need them.

Most people underestimate the benefits of using coupons and overestimate the time taken and consequently do not make use of this valuable resource. However, if you know just where to look, finding coupons that give you significant savings for your grocery shopping is an easy, even fun task that is well worth the time required.

It is true that to find the best deals available it often takes careful research. In the past, this would involve going through multiple newspapers and magazines, looking for suitable savings and then clipping these out. The modern age makes this a much simpler process. Many supermarkets and stores offer coupons directly on their websites and give you the ability to load them onto your loyalty card, removing the need for the use of physical coupons. Printable coupons are another source. Many websites, such as coupons.com and smartsource.com offer a wide range of coupons from many different manufacturers. Additionally, these sites and similar ones offer the ability to search their coupon database by category and many give you the chance to filter their offers to ones that are available to you locally.

If you do not have the time to research multiple different sites for the best and most recent coupons, then do not be concerned. There are many online sites and blogs where people are more than happy to share their own findings with you, presenting the best offers from a wide range of sources in one easy location. Two such sites that offer this is Penny Pincher Gazette, which collates coupons from three online coupon sites and links these with local discounts. Additionally, if you are looking for ideas for how to incorporate these specials into your meal planning, the site offers a range of recipes and cooking articles that use some of the coupons that are featured.

When you go grocery shopping, there is a tendency to buy on a whim. This can often result in more being spent than if you go to the store with a plan as to what you are going to buy. Using coupons involves a degree of pre-planning; it starts you thinking about what meals you want to make during the week, what you need in your pantry and what you already have. This change in behavior alone has the ability to significantly reduce your spending.

Coupons are fantastic for week-to-week shopping, but they are more useful in the event of stocking up your pantry. In running a household, it is important to keep a substantial stock of food, particularly food that does not get bad quickly and will store for many months. Many of the items that are available through coupons are those that will last a significant amount of time, such as canned goods, and the discounts will often allow you to buy them in bulk. This adds up to a significant saving. Additionally, many coupons are specials such as ‘buy two, get one free’. As canned items don’t go bad, it’s great for stocking up.

Using coupons is a fantastic way of taking advantage of specials and stocking up your pantry without breaking the bank. Each coupon may only save you a few dollars at best, but they soon add up, especially if you tie the use of coupons in with specials that are present at your local store. Once you begin to use coupons, you will be surprised at how much you save, especially if you make use of websites that offer a wide range of different coupons. You will find yourself thinking about what you buy more, and weighing up the benefits of one item versus another. These benefits are significant, and well worth the time that is taken to find the coupons initially.

This post was written by Ella Davidson of Coupons.org. Coupons provides authoritative couponing how-to guides as well as top-retailer coupons and deals.

MESSAGE FROM TESS

Welcome to the 33rd week of our 52 weeks to preparedness series. As you continue to share your thoughts and this newsletter, we continue to grow as a community. Speaking of growth, I have some great news! On February 9th, I will be discussing preparedness on the Lew Rockwell Radio Show.  I hope you get a chance to listen as I discuss prepping with Lew, a powerhouse in the alternative news sector. I will send out reminders on my Facebook and Twitter pages. For any Texans or Southerners out there, make sure to come say hi at the Self Reliance Expo in Dallas, Texas next weekend. It is a great way to see new products, as well as hear new opinions on prepping and homesteading.

This week in our newsletter, we are pressing on with concentrating on bulking up your emergency food storage by highlighting the importance of fats in your food reserves. We will cover some of the best fats to store and how long their shelf life typically lasts.

Do you feel compelled to help your friends and family become more prepared for emergencies that may come their way? They can easily begin their own preparedness journey using our food storage calculator on Ready Nutrition and create a customized chart telling them how much food storage would be required to sustain their family in the face of an emergency. More important, do the best thing for them and send them the 52-Weeks to Preparedness series.

Best Wishes,

Tess Pennington

Be the change you wish to see in the world.

PREP OF THE WEEK

Week 33 of 52: Essential Fats and Oils

More or less, we live a very blissful reality where strenuous physical activity is not required. Due to this sedentary lifestyle, obesity has become a major health factor in our country. As a result, the government and multiple health organizations have advocated restricting fats in your diet. As much as we would like to eliminate these fats, in a SHTF reality, this food source will actually serve a purpose in our survival.  So, why are fats so important in your diet? How can our survival be dependent on our fat intake?

 Bear in mind, a 2,000 calorie per day diet equals 67 grams fat and 75 grams protein per day. No matter how afraid we are of fats, having substantial fat sources in our storage is vital. Here’s why:

1. Fats are an essential component in any diet for proper vitamin absorption. Specifically, Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble, meaning they can only be digested, absorbed, and transported in conjunction with fats.
2. Fats also plays a vital role in maintaining healthy skin and hair, insulating body organs against shock, maintaining body temperature, and promoting healthy cell function.
3. They also serve as energy stores for the body.
4. Fats are also sources of essential fatty acids, which are an important dietary requirement and also serves as a useful buffer towards a host of diseases. (Source)
5. The USDA suggests that about 30-35% of your daily calorie intake should come from fat.
6. Fats are one of the 4 Things You Must Eat To Avoid Malnutrition.

We need to be smart about our survival. In the article, Vitamins, Minerals, and Surviving, the author wrote about a man who died in a survival situation living primarily on small game:

I remember one old grizzled survival instructor who commented about the victim, “He starved to death on a full stomach.”

The instructor went on to say that the man might have survived, if he had the guts, if he had only known more about nutrition, “A rabbit is a lean critter. Not much fat on ‘em and a man in a survival situation needs fat and oils. See, that man was only eating the lean flesh of the animal. He discarded the other parts that may have kept him alive. If he had eaten the contents of the rabbit’s stomach, which contains essentially green leafy grasses, (vitamins B, C, E), the rabbits eyes (which contain salt), along with the liver, heart, and kidneys (which contain vitamin A), as well as other vitamins, he might have made it. I suspect he just plain didn’t know about it. Or, he didn’t like the idea of eating a critter’s innards. Keep in mind, in a prolong survival situation protein along won’t keep you alive”

Best Types of Fats to Store

• Infant formula – The oil content in this food source makes it a viable choice for a shtf fat source. An unopened can of powdered infant formula has a shelf life of 12 months. Once a can of formula has been opened, it should be used within a month and then discarded.
• Ensure - This supplement drink has 6 grams of fat, which provides your body with 9 percent of the recommended daily intake. The powdered version of Ensure will last longer than the pre-made drink. Plan on a can of powdered Ensure to last the same as a can of infant formula, which is roughly about 12 months.
• Oil – The plant based oils are best to store in your emergency supplies. A light colored oil, such as vegetable or olive oil can last up to a year, if stored properly. Once it’s opened, the oil could turn within a matter of weeks or months depending on how it was processed and the storage environment.
• Peanut butter – Any type of butter made from nuts is a healthy source of fat and if stored properly can last up to 12 months.
• Nuts and seeds – Because of the high oil content in nuts and seeds their shelf life is usually affected. Nuts and seeds typically last about 12 months.
• Crisco – With a shelf life that ranges from 2-8 years, this fat source is the longest lasting. That being said, it is probably the most unhealthiest of the choices.
• Mayonnaise – Mayonnaise has a relatively short shelf life of 6 months. Therefore, if you plan to stock up on this, ensure that it is frequently rotated in your food supply.
• Salad dressing – Salad dressing lasts anywhere from 9-12 months.
• Canned meats - Some canned meats, such as spam, fish and canned ham can also provide an adequate source of fat for your survival diet. Due to the high salt content of some of these canned meats, they have a relatively long shelf life of anywhere between 2-5 years.
• Chocolate - Although chocolate is considered a high-calorie, high-fat food, it does provide some health benefits as well. Most of the studies done used no more than 100 grams, or about 3.5 ounces, of dark chocolate a day to get the benefits. Studies have shown that dark chocolate lowers blood pressure and cholesterol levels as well as provides more antioxidants than blueberries. A chocolate has a shelf life of 12 months, however, if the chocolate is repackaged in Mylar or stored in a plastic container, it could last much longer.

Those that live in a homesteading environment and want to provide their own sources of fat should consider the following:

Whole Milk – Milk from animals can provide essential fat to our diets, and can also be used for cooking, making cheeses and other dishes.
Eggs -  Eggs have 5 grams of fat per egg. I am including this in the list as I believe that fresh eggs would provide an adequate amount of calories, protein and fat if consumed on a regular basis.
Fatty fish -  If you have a water source on your property, consider stocking it with a fish source. Many homesteaders have found great success in stocking their ponds with : Tilapia, Channel and Blue Catfish, Hybrid Stripers, Largemouth Bass, Trout, Bluegill, and Freshwater Shrimp. Other sources of fatty fish are: salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring, trout, and sardines. Ensure that you have fishing gear to get those fish with.
Nut trees – Look for the dwarf variety of nut trees (and fruit trees). Dwarf trees bear their fruit earlier than the standard varieties, and can produce higher yields in a shorter period of time. They have also been known to be more adaptable. Mother Earth News has a great article if you are interesting in learning more.
Fruit trees – Specifically avocado and olive trees provide a substantial amount of healthy fats for the body. Obviously, the following examples are region specific and prefer a Mediterranean-like climate, however check with the USDA zoning map to see if you can can plant them in your area. Living in the coastal South, I have seen many gardeners who have grown avocado trees.

To learn more about these different sources of fat, click here.

In an amazing homesteading reference, The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emry, she indicates that fat can also be used as a preservation method:

“The fat seals the air out… After slaughtering a hog, the fat was rendered into lard. Those cuts of the hog that were not cured for smoking, or made into sausage, like the shoulder, were fried. While still hot, these slices of pork steak were preserved through the winter by larding . In a large crock, layer on layer of the fried steaks was covered with hot lard. This meat was then used through the winter by scraping the lard off each layer. The amount necessary for a meal was removed and reheated. The used lard was reused in pies or other baking or cooking and ultimately for soap.”

To conclude, in a SHTF reality our diets will be very different from how they are today. Our activity levels will be centered around physical activities to promote our survival and as a result, our diets should reflect those changes. Continuing to have fat in the diet can help physiologically, as well as psychologically. Ensure that you have incorporated enough fats into your survival supplies.

Preps to Buy:

• Infant formula
• Ensure powdered drink
• Shortening such as Crisco
• 2-gallons of vegetable oil
• Mayonnaise/salad dressing
• Peanut butter
• Canned meat
• Chocolate

 Action Items:

1. Get smart about survival and research the importance of having certain food sources in your diet.
2. Use the Ready Nutrition Food Storage Calculator to find out how much fats need to added to your storage supply.
3. Store your purchased products in a suitable environment where it is not exposed to natural elements. Click here to learn about your food’s worst enemies.
   

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WHAT WE’RE UP TO

In the Home:

This week I have been doing a major re-org of the house. I have no idea how my home and specifically, my closets have become so cluttered and unorganized. I become a very scary version of myself when my environmental wellness goes awry. Needless to say, I have been doing some pre-Spring cleaning.

Family Preps:

This week I found a few deals at the grocery store. I bought 4 boxes of cereal that were on sale as well as some organic apple cider that still has the “mother” in it. Having the mother, I can learn to make my own.

In the Garden:

My sister has decided to plant a garden and I have helped her in setting up her beds, talked about companion plants, composting and how to acquire earthworms. I love gardening, so it’s nice to see someone else finding the passion as well.

My cabbages that I planted this fall are finally ready. We picked one and I made a stir fry with it. What is it about fresh produce from the garden tasting better than store bought? I think that’s why I work so hard at it. The taste is worth the trouble.

RECENT ARTICLES

 Survival Food: Fat Sources For a SHTF Diet

STATS AND FACTS

Who’s watching the Super Bowl this weekend? I know that was a ridiculous question. I thought that instead of preparedness facts this week, I’d send out some Super Bowl facts for you to throw out this weekend.

1. For the first time in NFL history, we’ll have two former Super Bowl MVP quarterbacks starting against each other. Eli Manning, who won Super Bowl MVP back in 2007, vs. Tom Brady, who won Super Bowl MVPs in 2001 and 2003.
2. It is expected that 325.5 million gallons of beer will be drunk by Americans during the Super Bowl and eat a total of 90 million pounds of chicken wings!
3. This is Bill Belichick’s fifth Super Bowl appearance, right? Well get this, Belichick is now second in NFL history for most Super Bowl appearances.
4. As the New England Patriots won three Super Bowls in four seasons, from 2001-2004, that makes the Patriots an NFL dynasty.
5. Tom Brady, who is Peyton Manning’s biggest rival, and Eli Manning, who is Peyton Manning’s little brother, will both be playing against in each other in Peyton’ stadium for Super Bowl XLVI.
6. Brady will also be tied for most Super Bowl wins of all time with quarterbacks Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana.
7. Did you know that the single most expensive ticket from the 2011 Super Bowl was $15,946, for a seventh-row seat on the 50-yard line?
8. The shortest Super Bowl commercial of all time was a half-second long during Super Bowl XLIII, back in 2009.
9. The longest Super Bowl commercial lasted two minutes, starring Eminem driving a Chrysler 200 throughout the city of Detroit.
10.  The most expensive Super Bowl commercial cost a total of $3.5 million for this weekend’s upcoming Super Bowl. I wonder what it is?

Have a great weekend everyone!

LETTERS TO TESS

Do you have a preparedness question? One of the perks of my job at Ready Nutrition is to address questions and/or concerns that you may have with your prepping endeavors. Feel free to ask anything that is on your mind because no question is too big or small. You can email questions to: getprepped@readynutrition.com

This week’s question addresses how much long-term storage of coffee:

Tess,

I cannot go through TEOTWAWKI without coffee. I heard that coffee lasts about 1 year. Do you know any tricks to extend the shelf life?

Ray

Answer:

Ray,

I’m with you on this one! Coffee is a must-have for me in the morning and I cannot imagine starting my day without it. You are correct in that roasted coffee lasts about 12 months stored. However, here’s a trick you might find useful: If you purchase “green” coffee beans, that is, unroasted coffee beans, the shelf life can extend up to 20 years! Buying green coffee beans and storing in sealed containers/packages with oxygen absorbers can assist in keeping the coffee beans fresh while stored. This would also make a great bartering item in a long-term emergency.

Green coffee can be purchased at websites such as:

www.SweetMarias.com

www.GreenCoffees.com

With the green coffee beans, you will have to roast and grind them yourself. YouTube can give you some video tutorials on this subject. I have used my whirley pop to roast coffee with great success. You can read more about it here. If I may, I’d like to offer an important piece of advice on roasting coffee beans. You need to be very attentive to the beans while they are roasting and make sure that they do not burn. If they burn, the flavor of the coffee is affected. And regarding a coffee grinder, if the electricity goes out, you may want to consider having a back up and purchasing a manual grinder. I bought mine at www.Cabelas.com.

Hope this helps and Happy Roasting!

Tess Pennington

Be the change you wish to see in the world.

Bear in mind, a 2,000 calorie per day diet equals 67 grams fat and 75 grams protein per day. No matter how afraid we are of fats, having substantial fat sources in our storage is vital. Here’s why:

1. Fats are an essential component in any diet for proper vitamin absorption. Specifically, Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble, meaning they can only be digested, absorbed, and transported in conjunction with fats.
2. Fats also plays a vital role in maintaining healthy skin and hair, insulating body organs against shock, maintaining body temperature, and promoting healthy cell function.
3. They also serve as energy stores for the body.
4. Fats are also sources of essential fatty acids, which are an important dietary requirement and also serves as a useful buffer towards a host of diseases. (Source)
5. The USDA suggests that about 30-35% of your daily calorie intake should come from fat.
6. Fats are one of the 4 Things You Must Eat To Avoid Malnutrition.

We need to be smart about our survival. In the article, Vitamins, Minerals, and Surviving, the author wrote about a man who died in a survival situation living primarily on small game:

I remember one old grizzled survival instructor who commented about the victim, “He starved to death on a full stomach.”

The instructor went on to say that the man might have survived, if he had the guts, if he had only known more about nutrition, “A rabbit is a lean critter. Not much fat on ‘em and a man in a survival situation needs fat and oils. See, that man was only eating the lean flesh of the animal. He discarded the other parts that may have kept him alive. If he had eaten the contents of the rabbit’s stomach, which contains essentially green leafy grasses, (vitamins B, C, E), the rabbits eyes (which contain salt), along with the liver, heart, and kidneys (which contain vitamin A), as well as other vitamins, he might have made it. I suspect he just plain didn’t know about it. Or, he didn’t like the idea of eating a critter’s innards. Keep in mind, in a prolong survival situation protein along won’t keep you alive”

Best Types of Fats to Store

• Infant formula – The oil content in this food source makes it a viable choice for a shtf fat source. An unopened can of powdered infant formula has a shelf life of 12 months. Once a can of formula has been opened, it should be used within a month and then discarded.
• Ensure - This supplement drink has 6 grams of fat, which provides your body with 9 percent of the recommended daily intake. The powdered version of Ensure will last longer than the pre-made drink. Plan on a can of powdered Ensure to last the same as a can of infant formula, which is roughly about 12 months.
• Oil – The plant based oils are best to store in your emergency supplies. A light colored oil, such as vegetable or olive oil can last up to a year, if stored properly. Once it’s opened, the oil could turn within a matter of weeks or months depending on how it was processed and the storage environment.
• Peanut butter – Any type of butter made from nuts is a healthy source of fat and if stored properly can last up to 12 months.
• Nuts and seeds – Because of the high oil content in nuts and seeds their shelf life is usually affected. Nuts and seeds typically last about 12 months.
• Crisco – With a shelf life that ranges from 2-8 years, this fat source is the longest lasting. That being said, it is probably the most unhealthiest of the choices.
• Mayonnaise – Mayonnaise has a relatively short shelf life of 6 months. Therefore, if you plan to stock up on this, ensure that it is frequently rotated in your food supply.
• Salad dressing – Salad dressing lasts anywhere from 9-12 months.
• Canned meats - Some canned meats, such as spam, fish and canned ham can also provide an adequate source of fat for your survival diet. Due to the high salt content of some of these canned meats, they have a relatively long shelf life of anywhere between 2-5 years.
• Chocolate – Although chocolate is considered a high-calorie, high-fat food, it does provide some health benefits as well. Most of the studies done used no more than 100 grams, or about 3.5 ounces, of dark chocolate a day to get the benefits. Studies have shown that dark chocolate lowers blood pressure and cholesterol levels as well as provides more antioxidants than blueberries. A chocolate has a shelf life of 12 months, however, if the chocolate is repackaged in Mylar or stored in a plastic container, it could last much longer.

Storing fats are good for short-term emergencies, however if you are planning for extended or long-term emergencies, it is advised to get your fat sources by natural means. The following list are fat sources that one can get living in a homesteading environment and most importantly, your health will be far better off:

• Whole Milk – Milk from animals can provide essential fat to our diets, and can also be used for cooking, making cheeses and other dishes.
• Eggs – Eggs have 5 grams of fat per egg. I am including this in the list as I believe that fresh eggs would provide an adequate amount of calories, protein and fat if consumed on a regular basis.
• Fatty fish – If you have a water source on your property, consider stocking it with a fish source. Many homesteaders have found great success in stocking their ponds with : Tilapia, Channel and Blue Catfish, Hybrid Stripers, Largemouth Bass, Trout, Bluegill, and Freshwater Shrimp. Other sources of fatty fish are: salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring, trout, and sardines. Ensure that you have fishing gear to get those fish with.
• Fresh animal fats from animals. Livestock, wild animals can be used as a source of fat. These natural fats can be rendered for other uses or preserved through canning to have a natural source of fat on hand.
• Nut trees – Look for the dwarf variety of nut trees (and fruit trees). Dwarf trees bear their fruit earlier than the standard varieties, and can produce higher yields in a shorter period of time. They have also been known to be more adaptable. Mother Earth News has a great article if you are interesting in learning more.
• Fruit trees – Specifically avocado and olive trees provide a substantial amount of healthy fats for the body. Obviously, the following examples are region specific and prefer a Mediterranean-like climate, however check with the USDA zoning map to see if you can can plant them in your area. Living in the coastal South, I have seen many gardeners who have grown avocado trees.

To learn more about these different sources of fat, click here.

In an amazing homesteading reference, The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emry, she indicates that fat can also be used as a preservation method:

“The fat seals the air out… After slaughtering a hog, the fat was rendered into lard. Those cuts of the hog that were not cured for smoking, or made into sausage, like the shoulder, were fried. While still hot, these slices of pork steak were preserved through the winter by larding . In a large crock, layer on layer of the fried steaks was covered with hot lard. This meat was then used through the winter by scraping the lard off each layer. The amount necessary for a meal was removed and reheated. The used lard was reused in pies or other baking or cooking and ultimately for soap.”

To conclude, in a SHTF reality our diets will be very different from how they are today. Our activity levels will be centered around physical activities to promote our survival and as a result, our diets should reflect those changes. Continuing to have fat in the diet can help physiologically, as well as psychologically. Ensure that you have incorporated enough fats into your survival supplies.