Dandelion (Photo credit: james.thompson)

Lurking in your yard and in your garden there is a weed that is reviled across the nation as one of the most insidious pests to ever poke its head through the soil of yard or garden. It has spawned a legion of weed pulling devises, lawn treatments and flat out poisons to try to eradicate it. But even with armies of people aggressively trying to concur it, this tenacious weed has refused to be controlled, refused to surrender, it has beaten us as a race and it stands proud in it’s weedyness.

So why do I your humble poormansprepper, set finger to keyboard to tell you about this worthless little rapscallion of a plant? What does this weed have anything to do about being prepared? Why oh why Jeff are you returning after so long to tell us something that we already know, Dandelions such and they are heard to rid our gardens of? Let me answer that by running down some statistics for you

 

According to http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2441/2

1 cup of Dandelion greens has

Vitamin A 112%

Vitamin C 32%

Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol) 9%

Vitamin K 535%

Thiamin 7%

Riboflavin 8%

Niacin 2%

Vitamin B6 7%

Folate 4%

Oh Wait you say I already have vitamin supplements, well then what about minerals???

 

Calcium 10%

Iron 9%

Magnesium 5%

Phosphorus 4%

Potassium 6%

Sodium 2%

Zinc 2%

Copper 5%

Manganese 9%

For those of you that keep score that is better than Popeye’s favorite can of spinach.

You can cook them (like you would spinach) or have them in your best salad mix. And I am told that the cleaned and roasted roots make a passable coffee substitute.

Now that you are completely sold on the greens green, a few words of caution

1) Always make sure that you know FOR SURE that you are eating Dandelions

2) Make sure that where ever you are getting them from that they have not been treated with pesticides.

I have included several links to pages that I use that have been written by people far smarter that I am.

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/eating-dandelions.html

http://bob-ewing.hubpages.com/hub/Harvesting-and-Eating-Dandelions

So go out, have fun, freak your kids out and eat a weed, it just might be good for you .

 

Jeff

Heeeeeeeeeeee’s Baaaaack

Ok your right it has been a long time, but in my defense I have been busy moving, and we then there is that life thing that keeps creeping up. Any way I am back to writing and I will try to not be away as long as this last time.

New post to follow.

 

Jeff

Candy is Dandy

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So you have a bunch of preps, you can survive for months on end, you have water food, ways to cook your food, you my friend are set!

This is a prep that I put into the category of preps that you would never think about, and if you have kids, they will love you for this one! What is this magic prep you ask?

CANDY!

“Candy is nature’s way of making up for Mondays.” ~Unknown Author

Yes that is right candy is prep, specifically hard candy. Remember prepping is more than just bare bones survival, the goal is to keep life worth living and having a creature comfort like hard candy can be a real psychological boot to the mind and the soul. If you have children this can be a wonderful treat to raise spirits and restore a little piece of normalcy to their lives, in a time that might be full of uncertainty and stress.

“Anyone who uses the phrase ‘easy as taking candy from a baby’ has never tried taking candy from a baby.” Unknown Author

Another use for candy is for an energy boost when you don’t have time to eat at the moment like while you are hiking. It is not necessarily the best choice, it would always be preferable to have a fresh piece of fruit or nuts and berries something that will give you more complex nutrition and a longer energy boost. Let’s be practical about it though, you are not always going to have access to those other food sources all the time, and in times like these a piece or two of  candy popped into your mouth can be a Godsend when you need it.

“As long as you’re in the food business, why not make sweets?” ― Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl

I get mixed bags of hard candy, then vacuum seal them to keep them away from moisture. Smashed up butterscotch candy is great in breakfast muffins or pancakes for a change up on the flavor profile. Cinnamon candies mixed with applesauce are great, even dropping a peppermint candy into a cup of tea can brighten it up.

So there you are a fun prep for hard times.

 

Keep up the good work

 

Jeff

Update

Hi guy’s sorry it has been awhile since I have posted anything. I am taking a short break to work on a book. this is going to be a children’s book on prepping. So I will try to post something in a few days.

Thanks for your patience

 

Jeff

A Day of Memorial

1. me·mo·ri·al/məˈmôrēəl/

Noun:

Something, esp. a structure that reminds people of a person or event.   Intended to commemorate someone or something: “a memorial service in the dead man’s honor”.

 

Today is a day to commemorate all of those men and women that have given their lives for their country. They have died in deserts, swamps, fields, mountains, plains, jungles, beaches, in the air and on the seas. Some have died alone others have died in the arms of their comrades all far from home, in places they have never heard of, in causes they might or might not understand. Some have been old most were young, in the prime of their lives; they were cut down like young shoots of grass before the reapers scythe. Not all of them died for the belief that they could secure freedom for future generations no, they fought for God, for county, they fought for their buddy that was beside them, their comrade in arms, their brothers and sisters.

Let us not forget the mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends, sons and daughters that have lost those that they loved. Never forget those who have given, who have buried their young men and women, who have grieved for years with nothing to burry at all.

On this day we honor all of the fallen and those who loved them. I encourage you to actually take time today and consider the cost of your freedom. I am not talking about a moment of silence; I am talking about many moments of silence. I am talking about calling a friend or family member that has lost someone; I can almost guarantee that you know someone who has, and thanking them. I am talking about sitting your children down and explaining the meaning of this day, explaining what sacrifices have been made for them. Take time put down your beer, turn off the radio and T.V. and really think about what today means think of the blood that has flowed for your country, your state, your town your street, and for you. Make today a Memorial for the heroes and heroines that have built this country with the building blocks of their lives.

 

Jeff

A guest post I did for a great site run by wonderful people!

PreppingToSurvive.com

The following article has been contributed by a fellow prepper and regular commentor to PreppingToSurvive named Jeff. It has been published with permission of the author.

I read, ok I read A LOT, mostly about survival and prepping and there is one prep that I rarely hear mentioned.

The prep is the Bible!! I understand that not everybody that might read this post believes the Bible and that you might feel that this is not a necessary prep. To those that don’t believe I would like to offer a few thoughts.

It is a great historical record of the times that it was written in.

It has beliefs and concepts that transcend the time of its writing, for instance most if not all of the principles of the Constitution of the United States come from the Bible.

It has wonderful stories about real people, just like you, and how they…

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Cookin’ at the ol’ apartmentstead

So you are in the same spot that I am in: you live in an apartment no porch or balcony, you don’t have the extra 40-50 bucks for a propane camping grill/burner but you want to be able to cook indoors in case of emergency well I have one potential answer for you.

I started off with an empty quart paint can (purchased a new one for 1.50$ at a paint store) I took that quart can and filled that with cotton balls (Dollar store!!!). Then I filled the can with denatured alcohol, you can purchase this at the same paint store that you got the quart can I got mine for about 16 bucks.

I then took a large coffee can and once it was emptied I drilled holes around the bottom and around the top for ventilation, then you just take the lid off of your quart can place it into your coffee can and light it up.

You can see that you get a good flame and the holes in the coffee keep the flame fed with oxygen once the pot in on top

The coffee can works as your support

And is strong enough to hold a good sized pot filled with liquid

Once you are done just plop the quart can lid back on to put out the flame and seal back up **Be careful with this step the can will be HOT**

This is a great way to cook indoors with little to no fumes or smoke.

Keep up the good work

 Jeff

Relax don’t do it….

Sunday (Photo credit: ex.libris)

We in the prepper community, I think, suffer from doer syndrome, the constant need to be going or doing something at all times. We are canning, drying, planting, practicing, planning, reading, stacking, un-stacking, organizing, making lists, and stacking again. We are shooting, reloading, hiking, camping, buying, couponing, raising kids, and clearing fields of fire.

We have trouble my friend, right here in prepper city, trouble with a capitol T that rhymes with D and that stands for DOER!!!!

Well my friends, you need to rest! Yes that is right I said rest, and no I am not talking about getting in your 6 hours a night. I am talking about taking 24 hours and relaxing, not taking the kids anywhere, just stop moving for awhile. Hold your wife’s hand, go for a stroll, read your kid a book, take a Sunday drive in the country, have the whole family make a meal together and then sit down without the T.V. and eat it. For an entire 24 hours, this next one is the hard part….do that every week, yes every week.

You will find that if you rest for an entire 24 hours every week that the rest of your week will be even more productive. What is that…..? Why yes I am glad that you know that, yes this is a biblical principal. God, Himself, rested on the sixth day why shouldn’t you? Oh and for those that might think that this is not that big a deal take a look at the 4^th commandment.

Even if you are not a bible person it still works, give your brain a day to turn off your body a day to relax once a week and you will find yourself getting more done on the days that you do work, In fact try it for a month and let me know if it doesn’t work out that way.

 

Blessings

 

Jeff

Challenge time!

Water is often used to cook foods such as noodles. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So you have started to prep, or you have been prepping for a while now, you have water, food, and some equipment put together, you are ready for whatever may come your way right? Wrong.

Now you must practice, and then practice, then you need to practice some more. I will be offering challenges from time to time, to encourage you to test your skills, talents, and determination. One of the main reasons for these challenges is that you can have everything planned out in your head and as soon as you really need to execute Mr. Murphy pops up his ugly head and your smooth plan falls apart. You can combat Mr. Murphy and his law by putting what we know into practice. By actually DOING you learn what to do and what not to do you learn that you might need other equipment or that your 3 cups of water for your rice should be 4.

So now for the challenge…

I want you (and I will do it too) to cook at least 1 major meal this week from your preps. It can be anything that you want, also cook it using an alternative method of cooking, in other words not on your stove. Use what would be available to you if there was a power outage in your home.

Then take a few minutes and let me know how it went.

So there you go good luck and God’s speed

Jeff

When the lights go out and stay out…..

candle (Photo credit: jamingray)

You are a prepared person; you have flashlights, and Coleman lanterns, oil lamps, glow sticks and candles. But what do you do if the power goes out and stays out, your batteries run down, your fuel runs out and the last dribble of wax has run from your candles…now what do you do?

I thought it would be fun to cover some “old school” and not so “old school” ways to light up your night or otherwise deal with the darkness.

First off go to bed. That is right our ancestors would get up and go to sleep with that giant lights source in the sky. The less time you spend in the dark, the fewer resources you use trying to keep the room lit at night.

Make your own candles: Of course to make a wax candle you are going to need wax, the most commonly known source of wax is bees. Finding a beehive and extracting the wax is a tricky and potentially dangerous proposition, but it can be done.

A much more practical way of making candles would be tallow. Tallow is the product of rendering (slow melting) animal fat for several hours, the impurities will rise to the top and should be skimmed off, what remains is tallow. You can fill pint mason jars with your tallow and use a cotton wick, wait for your tallow to harden and you have a candle. Tallow will produce considerably more soot that modern candles, but all in all it is a source of light.

Make your own oil lamps: Once the lamp oil has run out you can use olive oil in your hurricane lamp if you like or you can make your own lamp by filling a small bowl or mason jar with olive oil and soaking your wick then light it up. If you are using a mason jar simply put a hole the size of your wick into the top, make sure it is long enough to run all the way to the bottom of the container and light it up. I have found that using an open bowl with the wick laying in the oil and coming off one side for the flame is the best way to use olive oil. In fact you can pretty much use any type of oil, corn, canola, and even lard and tallow will work with the small bowl method.

You can use hand cranked flashlights and the like, but let’s be honest having to crank that thing up every 10-15 minuets. How about using those solar powered path lights that you can get at your local box store? Just take off of the built in stake and hang from the ceiling, put outside during that day and POOF instant renewable light source.

Of course if you have a fire place you have a built in source for cooking heating and for light.

 

So there you have it some ideas for when the lights go out and stay out.

 

Jeff