ONE MONTH IN A BOX

ONE MONTH IN A BOX

by Robert Waldrop

One 20 quart size powdered milk (4 pounds)

One 10 lb bag rice

Two 4 lb bags beans

Two 3 lb bags of macaroni

Three 13 ounce quick oats

Two 5 lb bags flour

One 8 ounce baking cocoa

One 4 lb bag of sugar

One 10 oz baking powder

One 8 oz baking soda

One 4 lb jar of peanut butter

One 1 qt bottle of syrup

30 miscellaneous cans (soups, vegetables, chili, etc.)

One bottle hot sauce

One bottle soy sauce

9 miscellaneous spice bottles

2 vitamin bottles

One 4 ounce bottle of vanilla extract

One 4 ounce bottle of yeast

One 16 oz bottle of jalapeno peppers

One copy Better Times Cookbook and Almanac of Useful Information for Poor People
I found a 23 inches by 21 inches by 10 inches computer box, and all of above food fit into the box, with the lid folding flat and would fit underneath a bed or table. .

The above would provide the following daily servings: (for one person)

2-1/2 cups milk

1-1/2 cups cooked rice

1-1/2 cups cooked beans

1-1/2 cups cooked macaroni

1 cup cooked oats

1 cup flour

4 Tbs. peanut butter

1 miscellaneous can of food Plus daily sugar and spice
I am not in the business of giving nutritional advice, but it seems that if a half gallon or so of cooking oil, another can per day and a serving of fruit juice (equivalent of another can) are added, which wouldn’t fit in this space, you’d be all right for a month. Depending on the assortment of cans, a variety of stuff can be made from these ingredients, including cinnamon rolls, oatmeal cookies, peanut butter cookies, tuna casserole, etc.

CONCENTRATED FOODS

CONCENTRATED FOODS

The fiirst European settlers in this country were ignorant of the ways of the wilderness. Some of them had been old campaigners in civilized lands, but they did not know the resources of American forests, nor how to utilize them. The consequence was that many starved in a land of plenty. The survivois learned to pocket their pride and learn from the natives, who, however contemptible they might seem in other respects, were past masters of the art of going “light but right.” An almost naked savage could start out alone and cross from the Atlantic to the Mississippi, without buying or begging from anybody, and without robbing, unless from other motives than hunger. This was not merely due to the abundance of game. There were large tracts of the wilderness where game was scarce, or where it was unsafe to hunt. The Indian knew the edible plants of the forest, and how to extract good food from roots that were rank or poisonous in their natural state; but he could not depend wholly upon such fortuitous findings. His mainstay on long journeys was a small bag of parched and pulverised maize, a spoonful of which, stirred in water, and swallowed at a draught, sufficed him for a meal when nature’s storehouse failed.

Pinole.—All of our early chroniclers praised this parched meal as the most nourishing food known. In New England it went by the name of “nocake,” a corruption of tlie Indian word nookik. William Wood, who, in 1634, wrote the first topographical account of tlie Massachusetts colony, says of nocake that ”It is Indian corn parched in the hot ashes, the ashes being sifted from it; it is afterwards beaten to powder and put into a long leatherne bag trussed at the Indian’s backe like a knapsacke, out of which they take three spoonsful a day.” Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island, said that a spoonful of nocake mixed with water made him “many a good meal.” Roger did not affirm, however, that it. made him a square meal, nor did he mention the size of his spoon.

In Virginia this preparation was knowm by another Indian name, “rockahominy” (which is not, as our dictionaries assume, a synonym for plain hominy, but a quite different thing). That most entertaining of our early woodcraftsmen, Colonel Byrd of Westover, wlio ran tlie dividing line between Virginia and North Carolina in 1728-29, speaks of it as follows:

“Rockaliominy is nothing’ but Indian corn parched without burning-, and reduced to Powder. The Fire drives out all tlie Watery Parts of tlie Corn, leaving the Strength of it behind, and this being very dry, becomes much lighter for carriage and Iess liable to be Spoilt by the Moist Air. Thus half a Dozen Pounds of this Sprightful Bread will sustain a Man for as many Months, provided he husband it well, and always spare it when he meets with Venison, which, as I said before, may be Safely eaten without any Bread at all. By what I have said a Man needs not encumber himself with more than 8 or 10 Pounds of Provision, tho’ he continue half a year in the Woods. These and his Gun will support him very well during the time, without the least danger of keeping one Single Fast.”

The Moravian missionary Heckewelder, in his History, Manners and Customs of the Indian Nations, describes how the Lenni Lenape, or Delawares, prepared and used this emergency food:

“Their Psindamooan or Tassmanane, as they call it, is the most nourishing- and durable food made out of the Indian corn. The blue sweetish kind is the grain which they prefer for that purpose. They parch it in clean hot ashes., until it bursts, it is then sifted and cleaned, and pounded in a mortar into a kind of flour, and when they wish to make it very good, they mix some sugar [i.e., maple sugar] with it. When wanted for use, they take about a tablespoonful of this flour in their mouths, then stooping to the river or brook, drink water to it. If, however, they have a cup or other small vessel at hand, they put the flour in it and mix it with water, in the proportion of one tablespoonful to a pint. At their camps they will put a small quantity in a kettle with water and let it boil down, and they will have a thick pottage. With this food the traveler and warrior will set out on long journeys and expeditions, and as a little of it will serve them for a day, they have not a heavy load of provisions to carry. Persons who are unacquainted with this diet ought to be careful not to take too much at a time, and not to suffer themselves to be tempted too far by its flavor; more than one or two spoonfuls, at most, at any one time or at one meal is dangerous; for it is apt to swell in the stomach or bowels, as when heated over a fire.”

The best of our border hunters and warriors, such as Boone and Kenton and Crockett, relied a good deal upon this Indian dietary when starting on their long hunts, or when undertaking forced marches more formidable than any that regular troops could have withstood. So did Lewis and Clark on tlieir ever-memorable expedition across the unknown West. Modern explorers who do their outfitting in London or New York, and who think it needful to command a small army of porters and gun-bearers when they go into savage lands, might do worse than read the simple annals of that trip by Lewis and Clark, if they care to learn what real pioneering was.

It is to be understood, of course, that the parched and pulverized maize was used mainly or solely as an emergency food, when no meat was to te had. Ordinarily the hunters of tliat day, white and red, when they were away from settlements or trading posts, lived on “meat straight,” helped out with nuts, roots, wild salads, and berries. Thus did Boone, the greater part of two years, on his first expedition to Kentucky; and so did the trappers of the far West in tlie days of Jim Bridger and Kit Carson.

Powdered parched corn is still the standby of native travelers in the wilds of Spanish America, and it is sometimes used by those hardy mountaineers, “our contemporary ancestors,” in the Southern Appalachians. One of my camp-mates in the Great Smoky Mountains expressed to me his surprise that any one should be ignorant of so valuable a resource of the hunter’s life. He claimed that no other food was so “good for a man’s wind” in mountain climbing.

In some parts of the South and West the pulverized parched corn is called “coal flour.” The Indians of Louisiana gave it the name of gofio. In Mexico it is known as pinole. (Spanish pronunciation, pee-nolay; English, pie-no-lee.)

Some years ago Mr. T. S. Van Dyke, author of The Still Hunter and other excellent works on field sports, published a very practical article on emergency rations in a weekly paper, from which, as it is now buried where few can consult it, I take the liberty of making the following quotation:

“La comida del desierto, the food of the desert, or pinole, as it is generally called, knocks the hind sights off all American condensed foods. It is the only form in which you can carry an equal weight and bulk of nutriment on which alone one can, if necessary, live continuously for weeks, and even months, without any disorder of stomach or bowels. . . . The principle of pinole is very simple. If you should eat a breakfast of corn-meal mush alone, and start out for a hard tramp, you will feel hungry in an hour or two, though at the table the dewrinkling of your abdomen may have reached the hurting point. But if, instead of distending the meal so much with water and heat, you had simply mixed it in cold water and drunk it, you could have taken down three times the quantity in one-tenth of the time. You would not feel the difference at your waistband, but you would feel it mightily in your legs, especially if you have a heavy rifle on your back. It works a little on the principle of dried apples, though it is quite an improvement. There is no danger of explosion; it swells to suit the demand, and not too suddenly.

Suppose, now, instead of raw corn-meal, we make it not only drinkable but positively good. This is easily done by parching to a very light brown before grinding, and grinding just fine enough to mix so as to be drinkable, but not pasty, as flour would be. Good wheat is as good as corn, and perhaps better, while the mixture is very good. Common rolled oats browned in a pan in the oven and run through a spice mill is as good and easy to make it out of as anything. A coffee mill may do if it will set fine enough. Ten per cent. of popped corn ground in with it will improve the flavor so much that your children will get away with it all if you don’t hide it. Wheat and corn are hard to grind, but the small Enterprise spice mill will do it. You may also mixm somc ground chocolate with it for flavor, which, with popped corn, makes it very fine . . . Indigestible? Your granny’s nightcap! . . You must remember that it is “werry fillin’ for the price,” and go slow with it until you have found your coeflicient. . . .

Now for the application. The Mexican rover of the desert will tie a small sack of pinole behind his saddle and start for a trip of several days. It is the lightest of food, and in the most portable shape, sandproof, bug and fly proof, and everything. Whenever he finds water he stirs a few ounces in a cup (I never weighed it, but four seem about enough at a time for an ordinary man), drinks it in five seconds, and is fed for five or six hours. If he has jerky, he chews that as he jogs along, but if he has not he will go through the longest trip and come out strong and well on pinole alone.”

—Shooting and Fishing, Vol. xx, p. 248

God’s Recipe / Survival Bread

This makes 8 equal parts weighing ½ Lb each. One ½ Lb loaf per person per day… AP

God’s Recipe / Survival Bread

Required ingredients / amounts

Ingredients for 8 days (1 person)
Aprox. Weights
2 ½ cups Wheat (hard red winter)  17-½ oz
1 ½ cups Rye (whole grain)  10-½ oz
½ cup Barley (whole & hulled)  3 3/8 oz
2T Pinto Beans (uncooked)  < 1oz
2T Great Northern Beans (uncooked) < 1oz
2T Red Kidney Beans (uncooked) < 1oz
¼ cup Green Lentils (uncooked)  1 ¾ oz
¼ cup Millet (whole & hulled)  1 ¾ oz
½ cup oil
1 cup Honey
4T yeast
2tsp Sea Salt
Water 2 to 6 cups

• DO NOT use preground ingredients as the ratios would be wrong and would upset the balance

• DO NOT mix large amounts of bulk ingredients in the same container because the smaller ingredients will settle to the bottom and cause an imbalance. Proportional amounts may be combined in one container ONLY if the entire contents are to be milled at one time.

1 Grain grinding mill with a hand crank
Grind the ingredients to fine flour, divide into 2 equal parts. Half is to be used to make 4 cakes weighing ½ lb each
Into a small bowl
1 cup lukewarm water, add, and stirring to dissolve 1 Tbsp Honey,  1 Tbsp. Yeast set aside and let grow for 5 minutes.
Into a large bowl
Flour, 1 tsp Sea salt
Stir and add:
¼ cup oil
½ cup oil
1 cup water
Add yeast to mixture and stir well
Add more water if necessary to make moist drop cookie type dough

Spread evenly in an oiled 11” x 15” x 1” pan. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
Bake at 375° for 15 minutes
When cool cut into 4 equal parts weighing ½ Lb each
The texture of the bread will be similar to banana bread
1 Quart of Honey (32oz) weighs 3lb. (48oz)
Honey is sold by weight
This recipe uses volume measurements NOT weight.

MILLING – GRAINS – BAKING TIPS

Emergency Survival Bar

This came from waltonfeed.com a while back, cant find it there anymore…

• 3 C. cereal (oatmeal, cornmeal, or wheat flakes)
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3 T. honey
• 2 1/2 C. powdered milk
• 1 C. sugar
• 1/2 C. Jello (optional)
• 1/4 C. water
• add raisons if you like

Place all dry ingredients except Jello in a bowl. Bring water, honey, and Jello to a boil. Add to dry ingredients. Mix well. Add water a little at a time until mixture is just moist enough to mold. Place in a small square dish and dry in the oven under very low heat. Wrap and store. This will make 2 bars, each containing approx. 1000 calories or enough food for one day. These will store for a long time if they are cooked until quite dry, and are excellent for emergency packs, etc. Eat dry, or cooked in about 3/4 C. water.

Vicki Tate

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Just for fun, the web page author did a nutritional analysis of the above recipe’s contents using rolled oats and powdered milk fortified with vitamin A. He found this to indeed be a very nutritious bar. One bar contains only half of the nutrients of the whole recipe and therefore you may wish to set aside two bars per day to get the following:

NUTRIENT                                   PERCENT RDA
---------------------------------
Food energy              74%
Protein                 135%
Total lipid (fat)        12%
Carbohydrate, by diff.   93%
Total saturated fat       8%
Cholesterol              10%
Sodium                  441%
Total dietary fiber      60%
Vitamin A               121% (If Vit A fortified powdered milk is used.)
Ascorbic acid            16%
Thiamin                 154%
Riboflavin              191%
Niacin                   16%
Vitamin B6               38%
Folacin                 113%
Vitamin B12             114%
Potassium               177%
Calcium                 218%
Phosphorus              308%
Magnesium               116%
Iron                     80%
Zinc                     90%
Pantothenic acid         75%
Copper                   55%
Manganese               212%
Linoleic acid (18:2/n6) 122%
Linolenic acid(18:3/n3)   9%
Histidine               234%
Isoleucine              491%
Leucine                 615%
Lysine                  610%
Methionine+Cystine      396%
Phenylalanine+Tyrosine  630%
Threonine               563%
Tryptophan              503%
Valine                  488%

Probably the biggest problem is the low vitamin C. However, in a pinch, a person could live a long time off these bars alone. They are also a bit short in the calorie department, but are excellent in protein, over half of the B vitamins, and excellent in the minerals category. These bars, no doubt, nutritionally beat many of the expensive bars you can purchase from the different companies, and properly sealed would probably last as long.

Al

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Copyright 1993 by Peggy Layton and Vicki Tate These recipes may be freely used for non-profit purposes as long as the book source and author remain intact. Express permission of the author, Vicki Tate, must be received for commercial profit.

Updated: 28 Nov 96

100 Items to Disappear First in an Emergency

This list has been around for a long time but it is still a good starting point for prepping and a insight into what can be good trade and barter items. – AP

100 Items to Disappear First in an Emergency

1. Generators (Good ones cost dearly. Gas storage, risky. Noisy…target of thieves; maintenance etc.)
2. Water Filters/Purifiers
3. Portable Toilets
4. Seasoned Firewood. Wood takes about 6 – 12 months to become dried, for home uses.
5. Lamp Oil, Wicks, Lamps (First Choice: Buy CLEAR oil. If scarce, stockpile ANY!)
6. Coleman Fuel. Impossible to stockpile too much.
7. Guns, Ammunition, Pepper Spray, Knives, Clubs, Bats & Slingshots.
8. Hand-can openers, & hand egg beaters, whisks.
9. Honey/Syrups/white, brown sugar
10. Rice – Beans – Wheat
11. Vegetable Oil (for cooking) Without it food burns/must be boiled etc.,)
12. Charcoal, Lighter Fluid (Will become scarce suddenly)
13. Water Containers (Urgent Item to obtain.) Any size. Small: HARD CLEAR PLASTIC ONLY – note – food grade if for drinking.
14. Mini Heater head (Propane) (Without this item, propane won’t heat a room.)
15. Grain Grinder (Non-electric)
16. Propane Cylinders (Urgent: Definite shortages will occur.
17. Survival Guide Book.
18. Mantles: Aladdin, Coleman, etc. (Without this item, longer-term lighting is difficult.)
19. Baby Supplies: Diapers/formula. ointments/aspirin, etc.
20. Washboards, Mop Bucket w/wringer (for Laundry)
21. Cookstoves (Propane, Coleman & Kerosene)
22. Vitamins
23. Propane Cylinder Handle-Holder (Urgent: Small canister use is dangerous without this item)
24. Feminine Hygiene/Haircare/Skin products.
25. Thermal underwear (Tops & Bottoms)
26. Bow saws, axes and hatchets, Wedges (also, honing oil)
27. Aluminum Foil Reg. & Heavy Duty (Great Cooking and Barter Item)
28. Gasoline Containers (Plastic & Metal)
29. Garbage Bags (Impossible To Have Too Many).
30. Toilet Paper, Kleenex, Paper Towels
31. Milk – Powdered & Condensed (Shake Liquid every 3 to 4 months)
32. Garden Seeds (Non-Hybrid) (A MUST)
33. Clothes pins/line/hangers (A MUST)
34. Coleman’s Pump Repair Kit
35. Tuna Fish (in oil)
36. Fire Extinguishers (or..large box of Baking Soda in every room)
37. First aid kits
38. Batteries (all sizes…buy furthest-out for Expiration Dates)
39. Garlic, spices & vinegar, baking supplies
40. Big Dogs (and plenty of dog food)
41. Flour, yeast & salt
42. Matches. {“Strike Anywhere” preferred.) Boxed, wooden matches will go first
43. Writing paper/pads/pencils, solar calculators
44. Insulated ice chests (good for keeping items from freezing in Wintertime.)
45. Workboots, belts, Levis & durable shirts
46. Flashlights/LIGHTSTICKS & torches, “No. 76 Dietz” Lanterns
47. Journals, Diaries & Scrapbooks (jot down ideas, feelings, experience; Historic Times)
48. Garbage cans Plastic (great for storage, water, transporting – if with wheels)
49. Men’s Hygiene: Shampoo, Toothbrush/paste, Mouthwash/floss, nail clippers, etc
50. Cast iron cookware (sturdy, efficient)
51. Fishing supplies/tools
52. Mosquito coils/repellent, sprays/creams
53. Duct Tape
54. Tarps/stakes/twine/nails/rope/spikes
55. Candles
56. Laundry Detergent (liquid)
57. Backpacks, Duffel Bags
58. Garden tools & supplies
59. Scissors, fabrics & sewing supplies
60. Canned Fruits, Veggies, Soups, stews, etc.
61. Bleach (plain, NOT scented: 4 to 6% sodium hypochlorite)
62. Canning supplies, (Jars/lids/wax)
63. Knives & Sharpening tools: files, stones, steel
64. Bicycles…Tires/tubes/pumps/chains, etc
65. Sleeping Bags & blankets/pillows/mats
66. Carbon Monoxide Alarm (battery powered)
67. Board Games, Cards, Dice
68. d-con Rat poison, MOUSE PRUFE II, Roach Killer
69. Mousetraps, Ant traps & cockroach magnets
70. Paper plates/cups/utensils (stock up, folks)
71. Baby wipes, oils, waterless & Antibacterial soap (saves a lot of water)
72. Rain gear, rubberized boots, etc.
73. Shaving supplies (razors & creams, talc, after shave)
74. Hand pumps & siphons (for water and for fuels)
75. Soysauce, vinegar, bullions/gravy/soupbase
76. Reading glasses
77. Chocolate/Cocoa/Tang/Punch (water enhancers)
78. “Survival-in-a-Can”
79. Woolen clothing, scarves/ear-muffs/mittens
80. Boy Scout Handbook, / also Leaders Catalog
81. Roll-on Window Insulation Kit (MANCO)
82. Graham crackers, saltines, pretzels, Trail mix/Jerky
83. Popcorn, Peanut Butter, Nuts
84. Socks, Underwear, T-shirts, etc. (extras)
85. Lumber (all types)
86. Wagons & carts (for transport to and from)
87. Cots & Inflatable mattress’s
88. Gloves: Work/warming/gardening, etc.
89. Lantern Hangers
90. Screen Patches, glue, nails, screws,, nuts & bolts
91. Teas
92. Coffee
93. Cigarettes
94. Wine/Liquors (for bribes, medicinal, etc,)
95. Paraffin wax
96. Glue, nails, nuts, bolts, screws, etc.
97. Chewing gum/candies
98. Atomizers (for cooling/bathing)
99. Hats & cotton neckerchiefs
100. Goats/chickens

From a Sarajevo War Survivor:
Experiencing horrible things that can happen in a war – death of parents and
friends, hunger and malnutrition, endless freezing cold, fear, sniper attacks.

1. Stockpiling helps. but you never no how long trouble will last, so locate
near renewable food sources.
2. Living near a well with a manual pump is like being in Eden.
3. After awhile, even gold can lose its luster. But there is no luxury in war
quite like toilet paper. Its surplus value is greater than gold’s.
4. If you had to go without one utility, lose electricity – it’s the easiest to
do without (unless you’re in a very nice climate with no need for heat.)
5. Canned foods are awesome, especially if their contents are tasty without
heating. One of the best things to stockpile is canned gravy – it makes a lot of
the dry unappetizing things you find to eat in war somewhat edible. Only needs
enough heat to “warm”, not to cook. It’s cheap too, especially if you buy it in
bulk.
6. Bring some books – escapist ones like romance or mysteries become more
valuable as the war continues. Sure, it’s great to have a lot of survival
guides, but you’ll figure most of that out on your own anyway – trust me, you’ll
have a lot of time on your hands.
7. The feeling that you’re human can fade pretty fast. I can’t tell you how many
people I knew who would have traded a much needed meal for just a little bit of
toothpaste, rouge, soap or cologne. Not much point in fighting if you have to
lose your humanity. These things are morale-builders like nothing else.
8. Slow burning candles and matches, matches, matches