Devastating Effect of Fast Food

Devastating Effect of Fast Food

My husband and I have been changing our life style in the way we eat. We only buy organic grass fed beef, we buy fresh vegetables from the local farmers markets, we order our soy free eggs from out of state, we have eliminated all products that contain soy, we have eliminated bread and dairy, we have eliminated fried foods (we only use coconut oil and EVOO) and we have eliminated most sugar products from our diet except for honey and our cocktail or wine. Mentally, one of the biggest changes is reducing our portion size. We share one chicken breast or one steak and if we eat out, we share only one meal. This sounds difficult but it really isn’t. We don’t miss anything with this life style change, we never feel deprived and we always feel satisfied. We do not have the ups and downs we use to experience when we ate anything we wanted.

However, with this life style change we do have a cheat day each week. We usually will make a homemade pizza on this day and a dessert like sugar free brownies or an apple crisp. We don’t eat out much since we feel our cooking is better than what we can get at a restaurant. Plus, we like trying new recipes.

Last weekend we went to a May Fair to view the arts and crafts. On the way home we stopped at a McDonalds and we shared an Angus burger, a large fry (we usually get a small) and a large sweet iced tea (we usually get a small). If we had stuck with our small we probably would have been OK. But then, the next day was Mothers Day and my husband decided to take me out to eat. For lunch we shared a greasy (probably trans fat) blackened grouper with no fries. We knew better but it was Mothers Day. That night we made our homemade pizza which was delicious but it was also more bread even though it was not made with enriched flour.

Now get this, my husband gained 4 pounds in those two days of cheating. He was devastated. It’s no wonder we were considered obese when that use to be our life style. Also, it took 5 days for him to lose the four pounds it only took two days to gain. Seeing this really brought home to us the negative and positive effects food can have on us. Cheat a little, pay a lot.

If you want to see how food effects you, simple weigh each morning when you get up. Make sure you weigh in the nude so different articles of clothing does not effect your overall weight. Record your weight each day and see how the previous day’s food and liquid effect’s your weight.

After weighing yourself for a week, you may also want to consider a life style change. If you need support, contact me.

Prepper Non-Food Items

When preppers prepare for a disaster they usually stock up on food and water. They purchase can goods from the grocery store, can their own meats and vegetables and dehydrate foods. Even though their time, effort and money go into preparing food stores, there are non-food items that are equally important.

For food items, here is a quick rule of thumb of how to prepare for a year.

There are 52 weeks in the year and 7 days per week. Figure out what foods you like, not frozen, and have 7 different types and 52 of each one so your family can have it once a week. As an example, if you like chicken, then have enough canned chicken, store bought or home prepared, for your family to eat chicken once per week for 52 weeks. If you like green beans with the chicken, then store enough green beans for your family to have once per week with the chicken.

That’s it. If you have 52 of each item to cover 7 days per week then you have food stores for your family for one year. If you don’t have that, then you have some more preparing to do. In a pinch, dry beans and rice will keep you from going hungry.

For non-food items, here is a list we have added to our supplies.

Toilet paper is an essential item. We buy Pom’s Toilet Paper from Sam’s Club. It is two ply and is a triple roll. You get 40 rolls for under $20. To figure out how many you need, keep track of how long one roll will last in each bathroom. So, if a roll lasted for 3 days, you will need 365 \ 3 = 122 rolls of toilet paper (3 cases of Poms)to supply that one bathroom for one year.

Paper towels or dish towels? That is the question. If paper towels, determine how many you need using the same method as for toilet paper. If you go with dish towels that you can wash, Sam’s Club sells them in bulk.

Plenty of Kleenex Tissue unless you plan on using your toilet paper or paper towels. Determine your consumption the same as above. Buy in bulk at Sam’s Club or Costco.

Paper Plates and plastic eating and drinking utensils since you may not have water to wash dishes.

Manual Kitchen Utensils, such as, a can opener and hand mixer.

Tooth paste and tooth brushes. Determine how many you need for a year.

Gas grill and cook stove. If you don’t have electricity, you will need a way to cook your food. We installed a 120 gallon propane tank for our grill and a two burner cook stove that will last about one and a half years. If you also want it for heat then install a larger tank.

Alternate heat source. Kerosene or propane heater, solar heat or fireplace. Install a 250 gallon tank for the kerosene and/or an appropriate sized propane container. Stock up on wood for your fireplace or wood stove.

You need to have clean drinking water. You can have a water bladder that fits into your tub that can be filled before the disaster strikes. You could also have purification tablets, a way to strain and boil water or a gravity fed water filter, such as, a Berkey.

Kerosene Lanterns are great for light and provide a little heat. You do not need to buy the special lantern oil in the stores….just use kerosene. Buy a blue kerosene container at your favorite hardware store and fill it up at your local gas station. Many hardware stores have fragrances you can add to the kerosene. Also have a smaller container to pour the kerosene into to fill your lanterns.

Make sure you have a supply of matches, candles and batteries on hand, as well as, flashlights.

Moist towelettes for bird baths.

Feminine hygiene products.

Medicinal stuff, such as, peroxide, aspirin, antibiotic cream, anbesol, etc.

Hand and bath soap, as well as, anti-bacterial hand wash.

If you are on a sewer system, you absolutely need a portable potty and a supply of hygiene bags. Do not use trash bags as they will leak and end up causing health problems. You can use a 5 gallon bucket with a toilet seat made for the bucket. You will still need the hygiene bags. You can also put kitty litter in the bag to keep down the odor.

If you are on a well for your water, it only works if you have electricity. So you need to install a manual well pump that works when you don’t have electricity. Even if you don’t have electricity for days, weeks, months or years, you will still have good drinking water which is absolutely necessary to stay alive and healthy. If you are on city water then buy the water collection barrels to collect water from your gutter system. You will still need a way to purify your water before drinking it.

Since I am a prepper, I believe you should also have a way to protect your family, your home and your possessions. If you can, buy your weapons from an individual. No city, state or Federal Government can keep you from having arms. There is no law they can pass that trumps the 2nd amendment. If they try, carry it all the way to the Supreme Court. So, stock up.

Buy an ATV (Four Wheeler) that has a distributor with points and plugs (EMP Proof). They make these special without electronics for the same price but you have to ask for them. If you rather have a car, buy an older one that does not have any electronics on it, such as, an electronic ignition.

The above is not a big deal unless you need it and don’t have it. If you are a tent camper you already have your starting supplies. Just keep adding to it.

Walk through each room of your home and ask, ‘If I had to rely on my supplies for one year, what do I absolutely need. Then, stock up a supply that will last you for a year. That’s all there is to preparing a survival list.

Another test you can do is imagine you do not have electric, water or sewer. Now, what food and non-food items would you need to survive. If you think this is far fetched, ask the people of New York and New Jersey who survived Hurricane Sandy.

Here are some businesses that can help you get prepared.

www.carolinareadiness.com
www.samsclub.com

Canning without the Heat

When we first began canning we were living in a condo and did all of our canning in our kitchen on an electric stove. If we didn't run the air conditioner, the house became hotter and if we did run the air conditioner, it simply ran more which cost more money .... to can.

Then we moved into a house that has a small covered back porch (7 ft x 14 ft). We bought a two burner propane stove to put on the porch and connected it to our 30 gal propane tank from our camper. This works great because we can can in any weather and all of the heat stays outdoors. We have two pressure canners and two water bath canners so we can get more done in a shorter period of time.

The biggest inconvenience of this is I am in my mid 60's and those propane tanks just keep getting heavier and heavier. So, I had a 120 gallon propane tank installed and connected my two burner stove, as well as, my grill. At 80% capacity the tank holds 96 gallons of propane and will probably last 1 1/2 to 2 years. When I need more propane, I simply call and they deliver the propane directly to my house.
This set up is not just good for canning and grilling. As a prepper, it meets our requirement for alternate cooking methods in a lights out situation. And with a 120 gallon propane tank, we will not worry about ice or snow storms knocking out our power or a longer term outage caused by some natural or man made disaster.

My 30 gallon propane tanks will still be used for my camper, as well as, to connect to an energy efficient propane heater to use in emergency situations. I have two 30 gallon and one 20 gallon propane tank to provide for emergency heat. I will also buy more propane tanks if I can find them at yard sales.

Using propane tanks inside your house is a little more dangerous so make sure you have monitors set up close to the tank to detect any leaks. You can use a soapy solution to check your connections to ensure there are no leaks. You can also have the gas company install a quick disconnect connection so you can hook up a heater in a room of your choosing. This is the safest method of using propane inside your house.

So, look at your situation for canning and long term cooking and heating alternatives. Pick a solution that best meets your needs but by all means, be prepared.

Home Made Pizza Recipe

I don't remember where we got this recipe from but it is fantastic.

This is our favorite pizza recipe. Ever since we started making this recipe we have not bought a pizza out. The recipe for the dough makes two 12" - 14" pizza's.

Pizza Dough

1 cup warm water

2 tbl honey

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbl yeast

1 cup bread flour

1/4 cup olive oil

2 1/2 cups flour

Instructions:

Pour in warm water. The water should be about 85 to 115° F. Test it with your hand. It should feel very warm, but comfortable. Add the honey and salt. Mix on low for about 20 seconds. Add the yeast and mix on low for another 5 seconds. Add 1 cup of flour, mix on low for 10 seconds. Add the olive oil and mix until blended (about 15 or 20 seconds more). Add the rest of the flour (and any other additions) and mix on high for about a minute or two. The dough should turn into a ball and roll around the processor. If the dough does not ball up because it's too dry, add water one tablespoon at a time until it does. If your mixture is more like a batter, add flour one tablespoon at a time. Adding water or flour as needed to get the right consistency will assure you always get a perfect dough. Just remember to do it in small amounts. Once the dough is balled up, place the ball on a floured board and knead for about a minute. This builds the gluten which helps the dough to rise and become fluffy when cooked. Place the dough in a plastic grocery bag or a covered bowl and store in a warm, dry area to rise. After about 45 minutes the dough should have about doubled in size. Show it who's the boss and punch it down. That's right, give it a good smack so it deflates. Let it rise for another hour to an hour and a half. The dough is now ready to be rolled out. You can punch the dough down one more time if you want and wait another hour or two before rolling out. The choice is yours. Flour your surface and roll out your dough to the thickness and size you need. This dough can also be made in advance and refrigerated for a day or so, or even frozen. Be sure to let the dough come to room temperature before using. Topping 1 can Tomato Paste 2 tablespoons mashed baked garlic 1 can of Rotel drained 2 tbl basil pesto Sprinkle & spread EVOO on the unbaked dough Spread Topping over the unbaked dough  Add your toppings (Pepperoni, Hot Italian Sausage cooked and drained, sautéed Onions and Black Olives) Cover with mozzarella cheese We buy our cheese from Pete & Fran who make Fresh Homemade Mozzarella Cheese. It is the best cheese you can buy for pizza. They do not have a web site but their phone number is 239-940-0901 and you can find them at the following farmers markets. North Carolina (Waynesville, Asheville & Silva) and Florida( Bonita Springs, Marco Island, Cape Coral, Fort Myers & Sanibel) Bake at 400 degrees for 10 – 12 minutes

Banana Nut Bread Recipe

This is the best addictive recipe we have ever tried for Banana Nut Bread. It is easy and quick to make for breakfast or dessert.

2 bananas - mashed
1 box yellow cake mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup water
1 pkg (small) instant banana pudding mix
walnuts on top - I also mix some in
pour into an ungreased loaf pan
Bake at 350 for 35-40 min

Grocery Store vs Farmer

A nice clean grocery store is a joy to shop in. Everything is laid out in straight rows or stacked perfectly so it is appeasing to the eye. You have multiple brand choices and you see the store brand becoming the dominant brand and the cheapest. If the grocery store has their own butcher shop, you can get some great deals on meat with their store sales.

The real problem with grocery stores is not the store itself but with some of the products they sell. All can goods have BPA and preservatives I can't even pronounce. The produce looks good due to the chemicals constantly sprayed on them because they are usually harvested several days before they reach the grocery store display case. Many times I have witnessed fresh vegetables already becoming wilted and potatoes becoming a little soft and just a day or two from sprouting. We found the eggs with thin shells and light yellow, weak yokes. It made us wonder what they were feeding these chickens. What really gets me is when some vegetables, like sweet red bell peppers are severely overpriced at $2.00 per pepper.  Have you ever experienced any of this?

We started going to a local farmers market on Wednesday and Saturday. We visited each booth to look at their offerings and to talk to them to see if the products came from their farm or if they were buying at a larger farmers market and reselling (grocery store). We connected with a farmer whose farm is about 15 miles from us and he sells in bulk even cheaper than his prices at the farmers market. As an example, we purchased a bushel of sweet red peppers, picked that morning, for $25. This worked out to be about .50 per pepper where that same pepper bought individually at the farmers market would cost $1.00. So, you wonder, what in the world do we do with a bushel of peppers. You know, during the winter, that same pepper will cost $3 - $4 for a single pepper. So, we clean them, chop them up and dehydrate them. Then they are put in a half gallon Ball Jar and vacuum packed. When we need a sweet red bell pepper for soup, stew, chili or pizza we simply take what we need from our dehydrated supply and re-vacuum pack the jar. By the way, we bought 4 bushels and ended up with 3 3/4 half gallon jars.

But that's not all. We buy a bushel of Roma tomatoes for $5 and a bushel of regular tomatoes for $10. These end up as tomato sauce, tomato paste, canned tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, chili and sun dried tomatoes. Then you can dehydrate or can snap beans, peas, sweet potatoes and potatoes. We also bought the biggest blackberries we've ever seen. We juiced these and made blackberry jelly. No BPA and no preservatives.

Now, the greens are ready to be harvested and we can't wait to can and dehydrate them.

Our farmer friend turned us on to a neighbor who sold eggs from free roaming chickens. We went to their house and sure enough, chickens were roaming around the yard and field. We bought 2 dozen of the biggest most beautiful eggs you have ever seen. The shells were thick and the yokes were a dark rich yellow. And, the best part is they only cost us $2.50 per dozen. Now, we do not buy eggs from any other place.

We still shop at the grocery store but for very selected items. Like, sirloin roast when it is on sale so we can cut it into kabobs and can it or ground it into hamburger for canning meatloaf. Watch for the Whole Beef Sirloin Tip which looks like a shoulder or butt to be on sale. We bought 4 this week for $2.98 lb. I cut two up into kabobs for canning and had the store ground the other two into hamburger for canning ground beef and meatloaf. The store does not charge for this service so we end up with ground sirloin cheaper than what you can buy out of the display case on sale. However, we buy our sausage and brats from a local farm.

We grind our own flour for bread and corn for cornbread and we make our own milk from Moos Powdered Milk which can be bought at places, like, CarolinaReadiness.com

If you don't already, learn how to can and dehydrate to take advantage of the plentiful food during harvest. And remember that different produce is harvested at different times of the year. It can keep you pretty busy.

So, by being selective you can support both your local grocery store and your local farmer.

Good shopping and eat healthy.

Privatizing Cities

I was watching Fox News on Saturday Sept 8, 2012 and they began talking about our government discussing plans to privatize the cities in the United States. Can you believe this? As much as our government rails against corporations and now they want them to take over and run our cities. What's going on here?

Are our politicians so crooked now that every city is going bankrupt because of the ungodly pension plans they have agreed to and participate in. It seems the regulations should be on government and not on business. I don't know of a single corporation that went out of business because their pension plan caused them to implode like our public sector is doing. So, now they have a brilliant idea. Let the corporations run the cities and the politicians will dictate to the corporations how they will operate. Kind of like what our government is doing now. Unfortunately, every business the government has tried to run has gone bankrupt. So why should this be any different. It will just be on a larger scale.

They point out the success of cities in Europe and Hong Kong so you will feel more comfortable with the idea. Remember, this is for you. This is to Help You. Remember what Ronald Reagan said was one of the biggest Lies is when the government says 'We're the government and we're here to help'. Watch out. They may be here to manipulate and use you into doing something you would never agree to if you knew the truth but the only help you will get is to further their agenda.

When I first started my career in computers (a few years ago), the company I worked for ran the payrolls for mining towns all over the country. Are you familiar with mining towns? Well, the mining company owns everything in the town. The grocery store, gas station, clothing, shoes, movie theater, bank, furniture, car dealerships, everything. If you work for the company, you are given a line of credit and you can go to any of their stores and purchase what you need on credit. Come payday, your check stub will show deductions for everything you purchased, show the balance of how much you still owe and your check will be printed with big fat zeros. Remember, you don't need money because everything is available on credit ..... as long as you don't leave the town limits. You are virtually a slave until you die.

Also, have you ever lived in a Planned Neighborhood. The Homeowners Association controls everything that goes on in that neighborhood. Even though you paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for the house, you have very few rights about what is done to that house. And, if you don't keep up your property to their standard, you could get into some serious legal trouble.

So, how great would it be to live in a city owned and run by a corporation. How much say would you have about anything?

I don't think you will have a choice about living in a privatized city. I think it will just happen and you will hardly notice. And then, little by little your rights will be eroded until you won't recognize the city or country you are living in. Kind of like what is happening now. And to think, our politicians think this is progress.

Personally, I do not want to live in a Privitized City run by some corporation. What would be nice is to change the way we elect politicians. Do not elect anyone to public office unless they have a minimum of 25 years experience in business and have some strict guidelines so politicians cannot run amuck. Basically, require them to have a balanced budget and do not allow them to be exempt from any laws they pass.

That should do it.

December 21, 2012

My wife and I subscribe to a lot of news letters. Not just any news letters but ones that are vetted by us to be people with tremendous experience, success and political or business contacts. We pay close attention to their advice about what is coming and their recommendations on how to prepare to survive the End of America as we know it. Sometimes it seems like it is a quest for us searching for more knowledge.

We have learned a lot about our political process. Some enlightning and some disappointing. Every once in a while a revelation will be presented to us that scares us to the depth of our souls and we feel it is imperative to warn others. We believe there is much more happening than what we see on ANY news channel .... even Fox. I remember in the movie 'A Few Good Men' the statement that 'You can't handle the truth'. I feel this is true for most of the American public.

We have heard many times that the dollar would lose its status as the reserve currency but we have never heard of a date when this would happen.

A news letter we recently received described how the Petro Dollar came into existence. Basically, Richard Nixon made a deal with Saudi Arabia that if they would only accept dollars for their oil, from any nation, then the United States would guarantee their protection from all enemies. Saudi Arabia then convinced all the other Arab oil producing states to do the same. This meant that everyone had to convert their currency into dollars, at the current exchange rate, to buy oil. All the U.S. had to do was print more money to supply all these countries with dollars to buy oil or buy more cheap products from these countries to supply them with dollars.

Iran, which is the second largest oil producing state, said in January 2012 that on December 21, 2012 that the Arab States, led by Iran, would begin accepting other currencies for the purchase of oil. You haven't heard this on the news, have you? We have been told that the issue with Iran is nuclear weapons. It is estimated that it would take Iran 10 years to produce just two nuclear weapons. The U.S. has over 2,000. Pakistan, Indian and North Korea already have nuclear weapons. Would Iran risk annihilation by the U.S. just to destroy Israel?

Eliminating the Petro Dollar is a much greater weapon of mass destruction than a nuclear weapon. Now you know why Iran is such a threat and why the U.S. needs to do something to stop that from happening.

This means that we will not be selling dollars (our debt) to other countries after December 21st. This also means that our economy collapses and 2013 and a few years after, are going to be horrible years. This is much more effective than a nuclear weapon. We cannot even imagine the negative effect this will have on America and our lives. But, what it will mean is, 'The End of America' as we know it.   

Sept 20, 2012 Update

The Fed has decided to pump 40 Billion Dollars per Month into our economy till our economy recovers. What this really means is that No One is buying our debt anymore. This also means the more money the Fed prints, the more our dollar is devalued and the higher inflation will be. Everything is going to cost a lot more.

So, do you think this is bunk or does it make sense? To ignore it is like playing Russian Roulette.

If you haven't been preparing, then you had better get into high gear.

We would rather be prepared than play Russian Roulette.

Canning Pork Tenderloin

This is not an exciting subject but a lot of people do not realize you can can pork. This is very simple.

I bought two pork tenderloins at Sam's Club for $1.99 lb. One was 7.71 lbs for $15.34 and the other was 9.53 lbs for 18.96. These are the big tenderloins, not the two per package for $4.95 lb. that are already trimmed out.

I trim all of the fat off of the tenderloin and then cut nice center cut pork chops off of the tenderloin. We vacuum packed and froze 8 pork chops for 4 meals and cut up the other pork chops into kabobs.

We sterilize our jars and lids and cold pack our pork. This simply means we stuff the raw pork kabobs into the jars to within one inch of the top of the jar, seal it with the lid and put it into our pressure canner @ 15 lbs pressure (we are at 3,000 ft elevation) for 75 minutes. It cooks in its own juices and it is absolutely delicious.

That's it.

We canned 11 pints of pork kabobs and as I mentioned earlier, froze 4 meals of 8 center cut pork chops.

Now, do the math.  It cost $34.30 for the two pork tenderloins that made 15 meals @  $2.28 per meal for two people. Not bad.

Fines Creek Bluegrass Jam

The Fines Creek, NC  Bluegrass Jam was held on Friday, August 24 and Saturday, August 25, 2012 at the old Fines Creek School.  If you didn’t get to attend this event, you missed some great entertainment.  The bands featured included -

·         Steve Brown & Hurricane Ridge  (my space)

·         High Windy    (website)

·         The Ross Brothers    (facebook)

·         Monroeville    (website)

·         Leroy Troy    (website)

·         Eddie Rose and Highway 40  (website)

·         Buncombe Turnpike   (website)

If you have never been to a Bluegrass Jam, you would find it to be a unique and pleasurable experience. Instruments showcased are fiddles, guitars, banjoes, mandolins, harmonica and bass fiddle. What really blows you away is the level of talent of these musicians. These guys are amazing.

The event was held outside with the bands performing on a covered porch 8 – 10 feet off of the ground so they would be visible to everyone. The audience had three tents to sit under in case of inclement weather but that did not interfere with the view of the performing bands.  Between the bands and the audience was a 24 x 24 foot cement pad that was sanded down for the cloggers and anyone else wanting to join in with the dancing. On Friday night adult cloggers entertained and on Saturday night a youth clogging group had the audience fully involved during their dance routine.

There were several food vendors present and tables were set up for the entertainment groups to market their CD’s and merchandise. We bought several CD’s, a shirt and three slices of fudge which was absolutely fantastic. You could also bring your own cooler if you wanted to picnic while listening to the music.

The event started earlier in the day when it was warm but by 9 PM everyone was putting on sweaters and jackets. Very unusual weather for August but that did not cool down the enthusiasm of the musicians, dancers  or the audience.

This is real, down to earth music in some of the most beautiful mountains you'll ever see. If you are interested in attending next year, mark this web site to keep track of the dates and the entertainers when it is posted …. www.finescreek.org  

I hope to see you there.

Staying Warm without Power

Have you thought about how you would stay warm if the power goes off in January and doesn't come back on? Do you have a generator or a kerosene heater and a supply of fuel? Do you have a fireplace and a supply of firewood? If you don't have any of those or you run out of fuel, then you may want to resort to long johns and layers of clothes. I personally do not like to have on a lot of bulky clothes since I find them to be uncomfortable.

Fortunately, we live in a farming community and some of the stores cater to the farmer. One such store near us is a gas station/restaurant/hardware/convenience store. I think they have been in business for about 50 years. You can tell this business caters to the farmer because the only clothes they carry are coveralls and overalls both non-insulated & insulated with matching jackets. My wife and I bought the Insulated Bib Overall because we felt the Insulated Coverall's may get too hot for us. We would rather put on light layers on our upper body if we need it. A nice feature of the overalls is the legs unzip almost to the hip which allows you to put them on or take off with shoes or boots on. They are also weather resistant which is important for staying warm.

http://www.berneapparel.com/

If you are comfortable with the clothes you already have, that's great. They are predicting a cold winter so it is always better to be prepared.

Peach Jam

We couldn't resist. Peaches are just coming in and we just had to buy some to make jelly and to just can. Today we made the peach jam so I will tell you the process we used.

1.  Wash the peaches
2.  Peal the peaches and remove the pit
3.  Cut up the peach and place in the blender (You can remove the red where the pit was but we leave it)
4.  Chop up to a desired consistency

Ingredients

4 C of chopped up peaches
2 tb of lemon juice
1 pkg powdered pectin
5 1/2 C Sugar

Put peaches, lemon juice and pectin in cooking pot
Bring to a rolling boil on high heat, stirring constantly
Add sugar and mix well
Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly
Remove from heat and let sit for 1 minute
Skim foam off of top
Ladle peach jam into hot jars, wipe the rim, place on a lid and ring
Place into a hot water bath and cover with 2" of water
Boil for 20 minutes (We are at 3,000 ft elevation)

This recipe makes 4 1/2 - 12 oz jars

Apple Jelly and Applesauce

We bought 2 pecks of Ginger Gold Apples with the intent of only making Apple Jelly. So, we filled up our fruit steamer with washed whole apples and steamed the juice out of them. We looked at what was left of the apples and we decided .... why waste it. So, my wife put the apple remains into her Blend Tec 3 HP blender and pulverized the pulp, seeds and skin into applesauce. She added a little cinnamon just for flavor. You know, I have had lawnmowers with 3 hp motors. Here's the remaining recipe for her applesauce.

Put the applesauce into a pot and bring to a boil for 1 minute.
Pour the applesauce into hot pint jars, add the lids and tighten.
Place in the water bath and cover the jars with 2" of water.
Because we are at 3,000 ft elevation, we boil in the water bath for 20 minutes.
That's it.



Apple Jelly

4 C        Apple Juice
3 C        Sugar
1/2  B    Powdered Pectin

Add the pectin to the juice and bring to a rolling boil on high heat
Add sugar, bring to a rolling boil and boil for 1 minute
Pour into hot jelly jars, add lids and tighten
Place in a water bath with the jars covered with 2" water and boil for 20 minutes (3000 ft elevation)
You're done.

USA Drought

We heard that the corn crops were devastated in the U.S. due to the drought. We also heard that the ranchers were cutting back on the size of their cattle herds because of the drought. Because of the shortage of corn, it will be more expensive to feed the remaining cows and other animals. Ranchers are dumping their cows on the market because they will not be able to afford to feed them. That has caused a glut of beef to hit our markets with some great prices for the consumer.

So, what do you think is coming?

Because of all the events taking place we stopped by our friendly Farmers Co-op to pick up 50 lbs of yellow food grade dent corn and 50 lbs of white food grade dent corn ($13.50 & $15.25). We grind this into cornmeal. How much does cornmeal cost you at the store? I told the girl behind the counter that we wanted to buy before the prices went up. She said, Oh, we have had good rain so that doesn't effect us. In one sense she is right. The corn around here is 9 - 10 foot tall and amazingly green. Beautiful. The corn bought at the farmers market is full and super sweet. But, if the corn in the rest of the U.S. is devastated, what do you think will happen to our corn. It will be going to the rest of the country, for ethanol and for export. Once a shortage is created, prices go up. It's coming.

The other day, we noticed that Ingles had sirloin tip roast on sale for $2.28 lb. Guess what? Is this caused by a glut of beef? It doesn't matter, we bought about 25 roast over a two day period while they were on sale. We cut them up into cubes (kabobs), stuffed them into pint Ball jars and canned them. We also had some for dinner and you would not believe how tender they were. Sometimes we will grind it up into hamburger that is about 3 -5% fat, make patties for the freezer or a meatloaf mix, stuff that into pint jars and can it. This is our hedge against inflation.

I was in Ingles today, a day after the sale. Sirloin tip kabobs were selling for $7.50 lb. You do the math. When the beef shortage finally hits, how much do you think those same kabobs will be selling for?

Fortunately for me, they still had Boston Butt's with bone in on sale for $1.98 lb. We bought two the other day so I bought two more. My wife cooks it in a crock pot overnight and the next morning, you got it,  we pull it apart, stuff it into Ball jars and can it. This is the best barbecue pork you have ever eaten.

Unfortunately, people see the prices as a normal fluctuation. Prices go down and prices go up. No big deal.  But if you pay close attention, prices keep creeping up all the time. I would much rather be eating sirloin tip kabobs for $2.28 lb any day.

If you want a hedge against inflation, then watch for your sales. Basically, any meat under $3.00 is a good buy. You can buy and freeze it whole, cut it up or grind it up and can it.

Need help? Get in touch with us. We'll be happy to help.

smokeymountainprepper@gmail.com

About This Blog

We live at the foot of the Smokey Mountain National Park and the Great Cherokee Nation.  My wife and I are in our mid 60's and we are, what would be considered, Preppers. We do not prepare for any particular event but for any event that could cause us to be without power, food, water and sanitation for any length of time. We want to be self sufficient and not worry about having to venture out into a world of crazies (zombies) trying to find supplies for our family.

Not only do we prepare for ourselves but we also prepare to barter for what we or someone else may need. We prepare for the worst and hope for the best. If we pass before we use any of our stores, then so be it, but if a disaster strikes, then we will be prepared to provide for ourselves.

Believe me, we are as well prepared to provide for ourselves, as we are, to protect what we have. To think that we are older and vulnerable would be a terrible mistake by anyone foolish enough to approach us with evil intent. We are both trained for close combat encounters, as well as, proficient with our weapons. We can help you and your family achieve this also.

You should be as serious about your families survival as we are. If a disaster is large enough, do not expect any help from your government. They could barely handle New Orleans. Do you seriously believe they have gotton any better? That is the reason for this blog. To help you prepare and give you suggestions to help you prepare for a worst case scenario. Our goal is to keep you and your family out of the FEMA Camps and to keep you from coming to us for help when a disaster strikes. We want you to be prepared.

Think about these two things.

1.    Noah did not allow anyone on the Ark he did not prepare for. Noah and his family prepared for years  building the ark and gathering food for all the different animals and his family to sustain them for one year. Now close your eyes and imagine Noah and his family pushing ladders off of the Ark of people trying to gain access and ignoring the plea's of his friends and neighbor's to save them. It simply wasn't possible to save just one without saving all. Number 2 tells you why Noah could not save even one.

2.    For every meal we give away to someone who did not prepare, reduces the time of our survival. As a family of two, if we have prepared to provide for ourselves for six months and we 'save' another couple, we just cut our survival time to three months. If you have a real tender heart, you may cut your families survival time from a few months to just a few days. As harsh as this is, keep this in mind.

So, now you know who we are and why we have a blog. It has taken my wife years to get me to even write a blog. I would be happy just being a hermit. I don't even have a cell phone. My wife has one.

I designed and developed computer systems for a Fortune 50 Company and I think that cured me of being a social net worker. But, I am inquisitive and I do a lot of research on the internet and try a lot of self preservation stuff, like, personal & home security, solar and hydro power. My wife's background is in Real Estate and Insurance. She is now into health, gardening, seed preservation, herbs, herbal medicines, cooking, canning and dehydrating.  We are not experts about anything, but we like to share what we know and have tried. If we can't answer your questions, we know someone in the Prepper Community who probably can.

We welcome your comments, suggestions and critiques.

Welcome to the Prepper World. The only thing worse than being a Prepper is not being prepared.

Our Email:       smokeymountainprepper@gmail.com

Alkaline Water

In 2009 we were on our way back from a 3 month camping trip in Alaska and was working our way back down the west coast. We ended up in Palm Springs, Ca and attended a street festival where we were introduced to Alkaline Water. The first sip got our attention because it tasted sweet and refreshing without all the chemicals we were use to. We began by buying a bottle at a time and doing some research on the Alkaline Water Machines. We bought our machine from Life Ionizer and began, what became a life style change.

When we first started drinking water from our own machine we had it set on a PH level of 8. Both my wife and I began detoxing but because my body was more polluted than my wife's, I went thru a more interesting detox than her. We both had flu like symptoms but hers lasted only about a week where mine lasted for two weeks. Also, the back of my calves on both legs developed a rash and got pretty raw. It was uncomfortable, painful even, to wear long pants. But, I stuck with it and after about two weeks, my flu symptoms and my rash cleared up. Now, if we even go to visit friends or family, we carry two to three big bottles of alkaline water with us. And, if we go on a camping trip, even in our tent, we carry our machine with us. Why? Because we have not been seriously sick since we have been drinking the alkaline water. We are both in our mid 60's and we both have normal blood pressure and no heart or diabetes problems. That alone is reason enough for us to continue drinking our Alkaline Water.

Before now, have you ever heard of Alkaline Water? Do you know of it's health benefits? If you are on city tap water, here is just one of the over 300 reasons to drink healthy water.





Another reason would be arsenic but I wouldn't worry because the FDA says it is in quantities small enough to kill the bugs and germs but is safe for human consumption. hummmm   How about a little fiber with your water. If that doesn't excite you, how about chlorine. I know you can smell and taste it in your tap water. But don't worry, even though it dries out your skin, it's safe to drink, also. I guess the drying properties of chlorine only works on the exterior. hummmm  Many people have started drinking bottled water but just how safe is that. A lot of the bottled water also comes from a tap.

Our bodies, through thousands of years of evolution, knows what is good for it and what is considered a foreign toxin (poison). It wraps up the toxins to safe guard our organs and then expels them from our bodies or saves them as fat cells until it can expel them at a later time. Unfortunately, we put so many toxins into our bodies, it has a difficult time keeping up expelling everything that is not healthy for us.  We don't even have to think about this because our bodies does this automatically for us. But, instead of me trying to tell you all the research that has been done on the health benefits of Alkaline Water, you can go here to find out all about it. FYI - In Japan, the Alkaline Water Machine is considered a medical device.

www.lifeionizer.com/healthtrip

This is our web site because we liked the water so much we became dealers. If you are interested, you will notice Life Ionizer has a zero down finance plan.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Power Grid

Hundreds of millions without power after Indian grid goes down for second time in 2 days

Rajesh Kumar Singh / AP

Heavy traffic clogged streets in central New Delhi, India, on Tuesday following power outages and rain.

This was posted on MSN on July 31, 2012.

It is important to realize this is not a problem that only happens someplace else. The U.S. power grid and basically our entire infrastructure is aging and not being improved upon. With all the taxes that are collected and all the lotteries being played, there is little to no money to upgrade and maintain our infrastructure. All of the money appears to be going toward government salaries, expenses, benefits and social programs. So now we need to raise taxes for much needed projects but as soon as that happens, the money will be gobbled up by government salaries, expenses, benefits and social programs. What in the world has gone wrong here.

We already have rolling brown outs in some states because their consumption is greater than what they are generating. It would not take very much to jeopardize our entire system. Can you even imagine what it would be like if we lost out entire power grid for any length of time. For one thing you would not know what happened or how long it would be down. Remember, no power and you lose -

TV, Radio, Phones (Land Lines and Cell), Water, Sewer, ability to Cook, Heat, Air Conditioning, Traffic Lights, Restaurants and 911. You would also lose the ability to purchase gas for your car so you could escape to someplace else that didn't have power or the ability to purchase kerosene to heat with.

Yowzer. Oh, I forgot, we all suffer from Normalcy Bias. This is when we think that it has never happened before so it won't happen in the future. Or, don't worry, our government would never let this happen. Or, don't worry, it's only temporary. If we all whine in unison and loud enough, surely, our services will be restored. Go fish.

Our government has been constantly warning us of all the possibilities of the threats to our power grid. Have you not been paying attention or did you think they were just doing 'What If's'? Solar flare's that could damage our satellites and power grid, a nuclear explosion high in our atmosphere that would have the same effect as a massive solar flare, an internet attack on our power grid, a terrorist attack on key facilities and a strain on our entire power grid caused by demand. Our government has even told everyone to have at least a 72 hour supply of food and water for each person. If you are on sewer, you had better plan for your sanitation needs, also. If a disaster lasted longer than the 3 days of food and water you have, are you prepared to move your family into a FEMA Camp like the New Orleans Super Dome?

This CME occurred on Friday August 31, 2012.  
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48902487/ns/technology_and_science-space/

Pay close attention to what could happen with a direct hit on Earth. Especially notice how casually the effect on the power grid is mentioned so as not to alarm you.

About a 1/2 of a percent of the population would continue as though nothing happened. It would be a small inconvenience but overall, it's OK. They would have clean drinking water, food, light, sanitation and heat to continue life indefinitely. I'm not talking about the rich here. The other 99 1/2 percent, including the rich, would be in a total panic. Which group would you be in?  Would you want to venture out looking for supplies in a situation like that?

It cost so little and is so easy to prepare ahead of time it would be embarrassing for a disaster to happen and find yourself not prepared. If you want to just check into being prepared, just a little bit, then check out these sites.

http://www.carolinareadiness.com/


http://www.honeyvillegrain.com/


http://www.samsclub.com/


There are are lot of preparedness sites where you can buy supplies for long term storage. From individual meals to 72 hour kits to a years worth of supplies. All you have to do is take the time to, Just Do It.

Emergency Water

In a disaster situation one of the most important and necessary items to have is clean drinking water. It is always better to plan ahead than trying to figure something out when you are under a lot of stress.

Gravity Water Filters

There are several gravity water filters you can choose from. I have a Berkey gravity fed water filter that can produce about 30 gallons per day. A set of filters will provide about 2,000 gallons of clean water which is great for a long term water solution. Here is just one of the sites where they can be            purchased   -  http://www.getberkey.com/berkey-water-filter-systems/

Personal Water Filters 

You can also purchase personal  water filters at Prepper Conferences, Gun Shows and camping supply stores. These are great for emergencies, hiking or if you enjoy primitive camping.

I’m Dying of Thirst Water

I would only use this method in an extreme emergency. If you can find a river, stream or pond (flowing water is better), find an area where the bank is somewhat sandy. Dig a hole about 2 – 3 feet from the water’s edge and it will fill up with water filtered by the sand.  This filtered water     will keep you alive and hydrated. Do not drink directly from the river, stream or pond as you will       suffer greatly.

Purify Water (Boil)

Collect water from some source and filter through a shirt or a better option would be a coffee   filter. Heat the water until it comes to a full boil and boil for about 5 minutes. Let cool and drink.

If you do not have electricity, do you have a means of heating your water to sterilize it? Consider one of these -

Camping stove with bottled gas
Sterno stove
Solar Oven
Cured wood to make a wood fire

Distilled Water

Distilled water is simply water that is turned into steam which is then condensed back into a liquid. The impurities stay in the pot as they are too heavy to travel with the steam. One way of making distilled water is by using a fruit steam juicer. This consist of a bottom pot that will hold the impure water to be steamed, a middle pot that looks like a bundt pan with a drain hose that will collect the distilled water and a top pan/pot that will hold ice or cool impure water so the steam can condense on the bottom of the pot and drip back into the middle pot. Simple enough. The biggest problem with this method is the ice or water in the top pot must be changed often as it gets hot. It takes a lot of time and energy (fire) to get a significant amount of distilled water.

Another method is to use a pressure cooker. Put a heat resistant plastic tube over the escape vent on the top cover and put a stainless steel tube in the other end of the plastic tube. Then the tube should coil down into a bucket of cool water and come out the sealed side of the bucket. The water coming out of stainless steel tube will be your distilled water. Again, you must keep cool water in your bucket with the tube in order to condense the steam.

Purification Drops

You can buy liquid purification drops at most stores that carry camping equipment.

Water Bladder

A water bladder can be bought at camping or survival stores. This can be filled to provide you with water through short time emergencies until services are restored.

Containers

At the first sign of an emergency or potential emergency, fill every container you have including the bath tub(s). These will help with short term emergencies.

Do-It-Yourself Projects

For all you do-it-yourself types, here are some things that may interest you.

In this blog you will discover how to make –

            Laundry Detergent

            Fabric  Softener

            Graham Cracker Pie Crust or Vanilla Wafer Pie Crust

            Croutons

            Bread Crumbs

            Dehydrated Sweet Potatoes

            Canning Butter

            Save all Glass Jars and Bottles (No BPA)

            Dehydrated Pineapple

Recipes for

            Pineapple-Strawberry Jelly-Jam

            Pineapple Jam

Laundry Detergent

As inflation continues, one of the things we hate spending money on is Laundry Detergent and Fabric Softener. You know Borax is all natural and has been around for a long time and Arm & Hammer is well known for its qualities. The Zote and Fels-Naptha bar soap have excellent stain removing qualities. Combined, the three together make an excellent laundry detergent. Also, in certain disaster situations, you could use this as a Barter Item.

Ingredients

            ½ cup borax

            1 cup of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda

            1 bar of Zote or FELS-NAPTHA (Heavy Duty Laundry Bar Soap)

Mix

            Hand grate 1 bar of soap in a pot of water & heat on stove to melt.  Do not boil.

            Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full with water

                          (Purchase at Lowe's or Home Depot w/ Gamma 'screw on' Lid)

            Pour melted soap into bucket

            Add borax

            Add Arm & Hammer

            Stir well

            Fill bucket with water, stir and let sit overnight

Next day

            It becomes a gelatinous goo.  Mix well

Usage

            Fill your laundry container (bottle) half full with concentrated detergent and fill

                           with water.  Shake well.

            Use 2/3 cup in a top load machine

            Use ¼ cup on a high efficiency machine

Note:   A 5 gallon bucket of concentrated detergent should last about 1 year. 

            The box of Borax and the Arm & Hammer will probably last 10 + years.

            Add up the savings on that.

Fabric  Softener

1 gallon of white vinegar  (Sam’s Club, Costco, Grocery Store)

½ oz bottle of fragrance oil (Purchase at Wal-mart in the Candle Making section)

Pour the bottle of fragrance into the bottle of vinegar.   Shake well.

Use as you would the regular fabric softener you buy in the store.

When used in your laundry you can smell only the fragrance and not the vinegar.  It also removes static from your clothes.

Note:         If you don’t like a fragrance in your clothes then just use the vinegar.  

                 Your clothes will not have a vinegar smell.

                 Also, if you do an Internet search on the uses of White Vinegar, you will find

                             a ton of useful information for uses of vinegar.

Graham Cracker Pie Crust or Vanilla Wafer Pie Crust

Have you ever bought a Graham Cracker Pie Crust or a Vanilla Pie Crust at the store? It's Pretty expensive.

We watch for sales on Graham Crackers and Vanilla Wafers and buy as many as we can. Off brands are cheaper and work just as well. Check with your discount grocery. We put them in our blender and pulverize them. Then we put them in a quart or ½ gallon Ball jar and vacuum            pack it. When you need either a graham cracker or a vanilla pie crust, remove the amount you need for the crust and re-vacuum the jar.

Croutons

I hope you never throw bread away. We do this with our homemade bread but you can use store bought bread also.

When you think bread is no longer useful for sandwiches but it is not yet moldy, cut it into           squares, place on a baking sheet, sprinkle with olive oil and your favorite seasonings and bake         on low for about 10 – 12 minutes until dry.

Put your dry croutons in a jar and vacuum pack.

Bread Crumbs

When your bread is no longer useful for sandwiches, break it apart, throw it into your blender and pulverize it into bread crumbs.

Spread the bread crumbs out on a cookie sheet and bake on low for 10 -12 minutes stirring occasionally with a spatula. 

Put your bread crumbs in a Ball jar and vacuum pack.

Dehydrated Sweet Potatoes

Boil the sweet potatoes until fully cooked. Cool, peel and mash. Spread the mashed sweet           potatoes about an 1/8 of an inch on wax paper and dehydrate until completely dry. Break apart,      put in your blender and pulverize. You’ll be amazed at how many sweet potatoes you can get             into a ½ gallon jar. Vacuum pack.

To re-hydrate, remove the amount of sweet potatoes you think you need. Add water a little at a time until you get the consistency you like. Add butter, cinnamon or nutmeg and enjoy.

Re-vacuum pack your jar.

We usually do this during the sweet potato harvest so we can buy in bulk.

Canning Butter

Recently in Norway they had a shortage of butter. A pound of butter cost $32.00   

Did you hear the one about the U.S. is suffering a drought, corn and grain prices are exploding and cattle herds are being reduced. Don’t think for a minute that the problem in Norway could not happen here.

So, here is our hedge against high butter prices.

We buy butter anytime we can find it on sale. Especially at Sam’s Club and Costco. We buy equal amounts of salted and un-salted.

Process

Wash your jars, half pint or pint, and place in the oven heated to 225 degrees.

Place your lids in a pot of water and heat but do not boil.

Melt the butter but do not boil it. The ghee (foam) should float to the top.

Spoon off the ghee and save for putting on toast of other uses.

Ladle the clarified butter into your heated jar, wipe off the jar rim with a paper towel damp with           vinegar, place a hot lid on top and tighten with a screw lid.

The top should seal as the jar cools.

You will notice a separation of the butter fats and liquid in the jar.

After the top seals and the jar is cool enough to handle, give the jar a good shake to combine the           contents.  Shake the jar about every 15 minutes until it sets up.

You’re done.

This butter does not have to be refrigerated. Simply store the jars of butter in your climatized    prepper room.

Enjoy.

Save all Glass Jars and Bottles (No BPA)

Because of the BPA issue, we save all of our glass jars for food storage.  We do not use plastic    containers unless they are BPA Free. BPA is also in every canned product. So, we do our own           canning of vegetables, fruits and meat.

Dehydrated Pineapple and Pineapple Jelly

We were in Big Lots one day and noticed that a can of Libby’s Pineapple was on sale for $1.00    each. It normally sells for around $1.69 per can. So, we bought every can of Pineapple.

We drained and reserved the juice and spread the pineapple out on our dehydrator trays (we     have an Excalibur 9 tray Dehydrator).  The pineapple is dehydrated until dry and then stored in a Ball jar and vacuum packed. Did I mention we have a Food Saver vacuum packer.

We use the reserved pineapple juice to make jelly.  Recipes follow.

 Pineapple-Strawberry Jam

1 ½ c. Whole Strawberries

1 (12 oz) can unsweetened pineapple juice

3 tbsp Lemon Juice

1 tbsp butter to minimize foaming

1 box powdered Fruit Pectin

4 c. Sugar

Wash, hull and quarter strawberries – measure 2 cups.

Mix berries, juices, butter and pectin in a flat bottom pot.

Place over high heat and stir until mixture comes to a full boil.

Stir in the sugar and return to a rolling boil.

Boil vigorously for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Skim and discard the foam from surface.

 Ladle jam into hot sterilized jars.

Seal with hot lids and rings. Makes about 6 (8 ounce) jars of jam.

Pineapple Jam

            Ingredients

            2 cans of crushed pineapple with juice and enough water to make 6 ½ cups

            6 cups sugar

            2 envelopes (boxes) of dry pectin

            1 tbl butter reduces foaming

            Directions

            Pineapple in stock pot

            Sprinkle pectin over pineapple

            Stir  well

            Bring to a full rolling boil

            Add sugar and stir to a full rolling boil

            Boil for 1 minute to activate pectin

            Ladle into jars

            Wipe rims

            Finger tighten tops

            Place in hot water bath canner and turn up heat

            Place lid on canner and set timer for 10 minutes (5 minutes to begin boiling & 5 minutes

                           to boil)

            Makes 9 half pint jars