Emergency Food Supplies – Part 5

Some people say that you only need to prepare emergency food supplies for three days; some people think it’s great to prepare for a year. Most people agree that a 30 day preparation is ideal, but the longer you can prepare for the better. Make sure all food and drink preparations are made.

Don’t forget to include infant needs, if that applies. Being smart about preparation isn’t hard especially since there’s so much information about it online. To survive, be informed!

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Emergency Food Supplies – Part 4

For some people do it yourself (DIY) home dehydrating, canning, freezing is the route they want or need to take for their emergency food supplies. If that’s the case in your situation, then here are some things to know to help get you started. There’s plenty of information online to help you in your DIY preparations.

Freeze-drying food is basically taking the water out of the food and freezing it at the same time. Dehydrating foods means you put it into an atmosphere where the temperature is just low enough to dry the food – it’s not low enough to cook the food. There are machines that you can purchase for dehydrating and freeze-drying your food.

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Emergency Food Supplies – Part 3

As already mentioned, commercially prepared dehydrated and freeze-dried food is an option for your emergency food supplies. The obvious benefit of commercially-prepared food is the time factor. You won’t have to spend time with the buying and preparing of the food. Just go online and find the food that you want. Most of the stuff you’ll find is light weight and easy to store. Because of the demand of foods like this they’re being made tastier for the picky palate.

Some commercially prepared dehydrated and freeze-dried foods that you’ll find are: meats, vegetables, fruits, soups, pasta’s and even desserts. There’s such a wide variety and many times you can get a survival pack that’s made for a family to last 30 days or more.

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Emergency Food Supplies – Part 2

There are different types of long-term storage foods. There is commercially prepared and of course you could do it yourself. You can have food that’s dehydrated and or freeze-dried. There are also plenty of canned and boxed non-perishables that you can store.

Things that you can buy in bulk for long-term storage are, flour, yeast, wheat, cornmeal, pasta, beans, dry soup mix, peanut butter, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and vinegar. Check online to see how much you should store, how to store and how to prepare for the size of family that you have. Also make sure to check for infant needs, if that applies.

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Emergency Food Supplies – Part 1

One of the best ways to survive is to prepare, that includes having emergency food supplies. Although one can live longer without food than without water, food is still going to be one of the most important things to prepare. There is much information online about emergency food supplies because of the different scares that we’ve had in the last few years, Y2K and terrorist related scares.

When preparing emergency food supplies you’re going to need to cover food as well as drink. Store plenty of water for drinking, hygiene and cooking. The average person will need a gallon a day, just for drinking. That’s a safe estimate on how much to plan for. The sick, elderly, and nursing mothers may need more; you may also need more if you’re in a hotter climate. If water is stored too long you’ll have to purify it, you can boil, chlorinate or use purification tablets.

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Wild Mushrooms – Part 5

The last type of wild mushrooms that you’ll learn about here is the Puffball. So named because of the ball of spores it releases when it matures. It’s a closed mushroom that bursts open at maturity letting out its spores all at once. You can find puffballs in woods, lawns, or meadows. When you find a puffball and they have a white and fleshy appearance they’re ripe for eating. The giant puffball can grow to a foot and if you find it before it breaks, it’s good for eating.

The remaining part of the mushroom after the spores break out can be used as tinder or a styptic for minor wounds. If you have to use it for that, make sure you have some aloe to sooth as it may cause pain that can be worse than the wound itself. To make sure you’ve got a non-poisonous puffball cut it in half. It has an inner cup shape instead of a T shape.

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Wild Mushrooms – Part 4

The morchella or the true morel is a wild mushroom that is often sought out for French cuisine. Besides the value placed by chefs, they’re often hunted because of their great taste and for fun of the hunt. Another name for morels is Dryland Fish because of their similar taste to fish. Morels grow for two to three years after a forest fire but in areas where fire suppression is practiced you may be able to find them every year. The most commonly known morel is Morchella deliciosa. True morels are spongy and gray or tan in color.

Be careful when looking for morels to not be mistaken and accidentally eat a false morel which is poisonous. The false morel looks like a brown brain. The false morels will have a solid stem and the true morels have a hallow stem.

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Wild Mushrooms – Part 3

Another type of edible wild mushrooms is the Cantharellus also known as the Chanterelle. You can find Chanterelle mushrooms in North-America, Asia, Europe and Australia. The species most commonly known is the Yellow Chanterelle. It’s yellow or orange in color and is shaped like a funnel. It smells fruity and tastes peppery making it a tasty option.

Beware when looking for Chanterelle mushrooms because there are look-a-likes that are harmful. The Omphalotus olearius or more commonly known as Jack-O-Lantern is a highly toxic mushroom that you would be sorry to mistake for a Chanterelle. Before looking for any kind of Chanterelle, make sure that you know what you’re looking for so you won’t make a possibly deadly mistake.

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Wild Mushrooms – Part 2

Perhaps one of the most interesting wild mushrooms is the Laetiporus sulfurous, or the Chicken Mushroom. Named Chicken Mushroom because of its taste which is similar to chicken, it can grow to be very large in size and very bright in color. Depending on which type of chicken mushroom you’ve found it can be bright orange or salmon in color. It also may have a white edge.

Chicken Mushrooms are actually a polypore and don’t look like an umbrella, but more like a group of lettuce leaves connected in the middle. There are no Chicken Mushroom look a likes so if you find one, be happy and don’t worry about poison. If you find it dry – it’s past eating. It should be a moist, soft mushroom. It grows most commonly in the fall, but you can find it in the spring and summer.

For more information on wild edible mushrooms and plants, click here.

Wild Mushrooms – Part 1

In the need to survive you might be forced to find food in a form you wouldn’t normally think, wild mushrooms. In nature mushrooms have very specific purposes. There are so many different kinds of wild mushrooms and they require different settings to grow. Some only grow under a specific tree. Others won’t grow under that three, but will under another. Some wild mushrooms help in the process of death and life in nature. They help the decay process of things like leaves and other natural pieces.

There has been no scientific testing to mushrooms to test the toxicity of them. Mushrooms are called edible or not because of someone eating them and not having adverse consequences or becoming ill or dying after eating something. The only way to make sure you fall into the first category is to know for sure what types you can eat to survive.

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Survival Fishing – Part 5

If you aren’t nature savvy and don’t know how to do any of this, but need a meal or two you can always try chop fishing. Take a blunt object (if you have a machete use the back side of the blade) and hit the fish. At night you can use a light to attract the fish (flashlight, watch, mobile phone).

Survival Fishing is a skill that would prove very useful if you are in a desperate situation. If you’re in nature you should be prepared to use this skill. Make sure you have the proper tools to fish so that it’s easier for you and takes up less energy, something you need to conserve in survival.

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Survival Fishing – Part 4

Another very effective way of survival fishing is using fish poison. It allows you to be unseen by the fish while it’s working. You can also kill multiple fish at once. Be sure to gather all the affected fish, because you don’t want to send dead fish downstream.

There are plants you can find in warmer weather climates that will stun or kill fish, but won’t harm the person eating it. Some plants you can use are: Lime, Nut husks, Tephrosia, and Duboisia Rotenone is a fish poison that works best in water that’s 70۫ F or above. It works slowly in 50۫ F to 70۫ F water, and doesn’t work at all below 50۫ F water.

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Survival Fishing – Part 3

If the water you’re near isn’t more than waist deep you can spear fish. To make the spear, you can use a sapling that’s been carved to a sharp point, or you can attach sharp metal, or sharp bone or a knife.

To spear fish you need to get the spear into the water and slowly get close to the fish. Then you should thrust the spear into the fish. Make sure not to throw the spear because you can’t afford to lose it. Don’t pick up the fish with the spear, it may come off, hold the spear in one hand and grab the fish with another.

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Survival Fishing – Part 2

Another long term survival fishing technique there are a few ways to catch fish. If you set up a trap you can wait for the fish to come to you. There are a couple kinds of traps that I’ll try to explain to you. Fish baskets are one way to go. You use supplies found in nature, long sticks and vines. You make a long circular trap with the top closed and a whole in the bottom for the fish to swim through. Use shorter sticks at the bottom to make a sort of funnel so the fish can’t get out once it’s in.

For long term try a pool or shore trap. Build it when there’s a high tide at the low tide line. Fish tend to get near the shore when the tide comes in and move along shore. Where you may have logs available build a box with the side facing the water open. Use more logs to make a channel into the box.

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Survival Fishing – Part 1

If you need to survive in the wilderness there are many skills that will prove useful, including survival fishing. You’re going to need to eat to keep up strength, if you’re near water with fish that will be a good supply of energy and nutrition. There are many types of survival fishing. This week we’ll go over the types of survival fishing some for short term situations, some for long term situations.

You may not have planned to be out in the wilderness so this week we’ll cover a couple of ways of survival fishing that can be done with little or no preparation. If you’re planning an outing in nature make sure you’re prepared for the worst situation. Have some small and light tools that are easy to pack and carry.

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Plants used for medicine

The plant of the Arctium lappa, or Great burdock, can be used as an anti-bacterial along with many other uses. It is a detoxifying herb that is in the forefront of Chinese and Western herbal medicine. You can crush the seed and use it on bruises or make a poultice and use it on ulcers, sores and bruises. Something interesting about this plant: it’s been said to help with balding when you drink the juice.

Plants used as medicines can be found all over the U.S. For over all health try using a tonic. Tonics bring over all health and do it in a slower and steadier way than a stimulant. Some tonics that you can find are: Acer saccharum (sugar maple), Allium ampeloprasum, (wild leek), and Allium schoenoprasum sibiricum, (giant chives). You can purchase major plants and herbs at a local store or you can search online for what you’re looking for.

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Plants Used for Medicine - Part 4

Petroselinum crispum, which you know as parsley has many different medicinal uses. You’ll see the leaves used mostly as a diuretic to treat stones. It also can be used in cases of jaundice, cystitis, and dropsy.

The leaves can also be used to release toxins from the blood and is a good way to treat rheumatism. When you make a poultice of the leaves you can use it to treat stings and bites.

A word of caution: pregnant women should not use parsley as it will cause the uterus to contract and may cause a miscarriage.

Plants used for medicine are commonly sought so that a natural medicinal approach can be taken when possible. The Asclepias syriaca, or milkweed has a use for many people across the globe and they probably don’t even know it. The milky latex from the plant can be used to treat warts. Use it daily for a few weeks to see the best results.

Be careful when using milkweed as some uses may be toxic.

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Plants Used for Medicine - Part 3

Some everyday plants can be used for medicine. Some that you might eat for a snack might do more than fill you up. The Juglans regia or more commonly known as the walnut has many, many medicinal uses. The leaves can be used for constipation, chronic cough, asthma, diarrhea, and skin ailments. The bark and root bark can be used for cleaning wounds and getting rid of dead and diseased skin tissue.

A healing plant that you probably already have in your cupboard is Thyme or Thymus vulgaris. A tea can be made by boiling the leaves in water and letting it steep for ten minutes. Thyme is mostly commonly used as a meat preservative, but fresh Thyme in a tea can be used as an antiseptic, antibacterial, as an expectorant and to treat coughs.

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Plants Used for Medicine - Part 2

No one likes pain, the market for pain relief is huge. When looking up plants used for medicine many specific plants were listed for the use of pain relief.

Agastache urticifolia, commonly known as, giant hyssop, is a known analgesic. Giant hyssop is found in the western United States. It requires lots of sun, and a light, sandy soil. To use it for pain relief use dried leaves to make a tea. It will also help with measles, colds and rheumatism.

Cornus Canadensis, also known as creeping dogwood is another analgesic with other positive uses. For using creeping dogwood as a pain reliever, try the stems and leaves. You can make a tea out of them. Drinking the tea of a creeping dogwood could also help you with kidney and lung problems, fevers and coughs.

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Plants Used for Medicine - Part 1

Many people want to know what plants are used for medicine so they can go a more natural route in the healing process. Other people realize that there may come a time when normal medical help is unavailable, and knowing what plants can be used for survival medicine could be life-saving.

There are plants out there used in herbal medicine and even regular medicine. Even though we have used many, about only 2% of the 250,000 estimated types of plants on the Earth, are used.

Some plants are being mass produced and sold at your local drug store or grocer. Common ones are: ginsing, echinacea, and ginko. You’ve probably heard about these plants before. This week you’ll learn about some not so common herbs and how they can help you.

For more information about medicinal plants, click here.