It’s already happening… What was once an incomprehensible thought reserved for “conspiracy theorists” is now a reality that we all have to do our best to come to terms with together.
As grocery stores all over America widen their aisles to try and hide their lack of products, we come face-to-face with an ugly truth. There is a very real possibility that we are approaching a significant food supply shortage. Yet, believe it or not, it isn’t too late to prepare.
When woefully uninformed shoppers start to panic buy and stuff their carts with toilet paper or boxes of cans, the rest of the population seems to suffer. On the other hand, if our grandparents and great-grandparents have taught us anything about the trials of life, it’s that things are rarely as “doom-and-gloom” as they appear. There is almost always another way.
If you know the inherent value that certain foods have and how to make the most of them—some that might even be under most people’s radar—you’re already leaps and bounds ahead of the herd, even if most of the store’s shelves look empty.
Why You Should Add This To Your Food Supply Stockpile
In a perfect world, your food supply should consist of a few well-considered, high-value, and long-lasting bulk items.
The food stock items you choose should give you the basic essential subsistence you need to keep you fed and healthy for at least 1-3 months, minimum.
It should also address the concern of water usage since your water supply will be extremely important to control.
Related: 8 Cheap Protein Sources to Add to Your Stockpile Right Now
When thinking about which food item to stock up on, here are a few things you may want to keep in mind:
- How much water will you need to use while cooking?
- How long will it keep fresh when stored?
- How many things can you make with it? This is to help you avoid food fatigue or sensory-specific satiety—After all, you may be eating this food for an extended period of time.
Sharing its place with very few others, there is one food that answers all of these questions. It has literally stood the test of time. It has been around since prehistoric times and was one of the first-ever domesticated pulse crops farmed by humans. We’re talking about lentils.
Lentils Vs. Beans
Lentils and beans are both legumes—this means that they’re both a type of bean, but they’re also a “pulse seed” that comes from a pod. Be that as it may, some people argue that lentils are in a legume class of their own. Aside from looking very different from each other, the main difference is in their nutrition content.
Although lentils may not be necessarily better than dried beans when it comes to overall nutrition content, they do beat dried beans in many other ways. This is especially true when it comes to storage, the amount of water needed to clean and cook them, the time it takes to cook them, and the variety of meals you can make.
From soups to bread all the way to desserts to pie crusts, lentils have hundreds of recipe possibilities. You don’t need to soak them before cooking and they’re extremely long-lasting when stored. They’re easy to prepare, grind, cook—and, last but not least, they don’t need a bunch of extra ingredients to help improve their flavor.
Lentils will provide you with a solid source of vitamin B, iron, potassium, zinc, magnesium, and omega fatty acids. Plus, they contain more fiber than beans have which helps promote healthy gut bacteria and digestion. Lentils provide a good amount of protein, so they can be a temporary meat replacement when times are tough.
Buying Lentils
Lentils are such an underrated food item that most stores will probably still have plenty of bags left on the shelves long after the beans and rice are gone. When shopping for lentils, there will often be several varieties to choose from: red, yellow, green, brown, and black.
Some people prefer different lentil types for different recipes but red lentils are the most ancient and common variety available.
Related: The 24 Highest Calorie Vegetables for Your Survival Garden
The good news is that no matter which type you find and decide to stock up on, all varieties of lentils are reasonably low-priced. For example, a 1-pound bag of brown or red lentils usually costs less than a dollar.
If you happen upon them in bulk or wholesale, you can sometimes even buy them for as little as $40 for a 100 lb. bag!
Storing Lentils
Storing your lentils is easy. However, as with most food items, some standard measures should be taken if you’re planning to store them long-term. The main thing that you need to be monitor when storing dried lentils is the moisture content that can sometimes accumulate in closed containers or grain bins.
Storing your lentils in a cool, dark, dry place is the best way to keep moisture out.
Also, pulse crops like lentils contain tannins which can oxidize and discolor your lentils. Discolored or darkened lentils are a visual clue that your lentils might be past their prime.
Still, if no foul smell or mold is present, they’re presumably still safe to eat. Lentils can last anywhere from 3-10 years when stored properly.
Another convenient thing about storing lentils is that pests like weevils aren’t really a problem with pulse crop storage—that’s more of a problem you run into when storing beans and peas. Still, if you keep lentils in your stockpile for quite a long time it doesn’t hurt to check for bugs every now and then.
Cooking With Lentils
Our grandparents didn’t rely on pizza delivery or microwave dinners to feed their families. Instead— depending on how far back you go— their diet mostly consisted of seasonal vegetables, starches, and simple meats, all paired together for a well-rounded meal!
During bad times, however, they used what they had on hand—and boy, did they get creative!
Dried lentils are so fast and easy to cook that you can have a homemade meal ready in no time at all. In fact, depending on the type of lentils you opt for, they can be ready to eat in 20 minutes or less.
Related: 5 Delicious Recipes Made with Ingredients that Last 100 Years
Lentils are super versatile and easily lend themselves to all kinds of interesting recipes. They can be served alone or mixed in with other things like soups and salads.
You can also add them to ground meats to bulk up scarce rations. Some of the more interesting lentil recipes we’ve found are:
- High-protein lentil trail mix
- Lentils and scrambled eggs
- Lentil meatballs
- Lentil meatloaf
- Soup
- Lentils, oats, and dehydrated apple breakfast bowl
- Lentils and German spaetzle
- Lentil sweet potato pie
- Vegan lentil burger patties
- Lentil and nut brittle
- Lentil, nut, and dried fruit energy bars
- Oatmeal, lentil, and nut cookies
- Lentil bread loaves and flatbread
- Ground lentil pie crust
- Ground lentil tortillas
The list goes on! Lentils really are such a versatile and valuable survival food to have in your stockpile.
Other $1-A-Pound Foods You May Want to Stock Up On
Although lentils are a good choice for your survival food stockpile, there are many other food items that are just as important and deserve an honorable mention. When the supply chain is disrupted and the food shortage becomes more and more obvious, here are a few examples of other foods that can help you take it further:
1. Barley
Barley is a grain that is easy to store and has multiple uses. It is a high-calorie, carbohydrate-rich food that can be ground for flour, made into sweet drinks, or added to stews.
Related: Things You Throw Away That You Should Add To Your Stockpile Instead
2. Beans
Beans are great to stock up on. However, they are one of the obvious choices and usually among the first to get cleared from the shelves. If you can find beans, it would be wise to stock up.
3. Oats
Oats are an excellent grain to have around the homestead or when SHTF. With so many methods of preparation, what can’t you do with oats? You can soak them overnight, make bread, feed your animals, prepare oatmeal, bake cookies, and so much more.
4. Cornmeal
Cornmeal stores very well and can be used to make anything from cornbread to tortillas. If you have dried kernels at home you can roast and grind your own cornmeal.
5. Brown Rice
Rice is the main staple food for over half the world’s population and it is a pleasure to have in your survival food stockpile. Not only does brown rice have a good amount of carbs and fiber, but since it takes a while to digest it will give you more energy throughout the day.
None of us can be certain of what tomorrow holds, but it would appear for now that the age-old expression is true: if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.
Building up your survival food stockpile can help you to avoid the unthinkable in the future. Stocking up on at least 3 months worth of long-lasting, high-calorie, nutrient-dense foods, and plenty of water will help you stay prepared in case of natural disasters or food shortages.
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Lentils are a great food, and a staple in South Asian cooking (as dal). Also in Middle Eastern cookery, which is what I grew up on–lentils, carrots, onions & garlic with some herbs. And a garnish of fresh parsley with a dribble of olive oil on the top. Be sure to save some tasty herbs and spices to vary your perception of your diet. A word of caution: Brown rice does not keep as well as white rice, even though it has more nutrients. White rice keeps almost forever. Even in such primitive conditions as in a coiled rice-straw granary in humid south India. I’ve seen them making the coils and building granaries…but of course this does not keep the rats and mice from sharing… (some poor, low caste people eat the rats too…)
Lentils are completely UNLIKE beans because people like me can digest them!!!! There is NO bean that i can safely digest: whether red white black or green…?
But Lentils are a dream!!! ?
I boil lentils with dark raisins, let them steep together at a lower temperature for 45 minutes – discard excess water & sometime mix in blueberry yoghurt for a very sweet/savory high protein & miraculously high fiber meal
PS: heard that brown rice expiration is approx 6months ….(much much shorter than the white) because of the moisture of its additional natural vitamin content.
Found a recipe sometime ago where cooked lentils are simply added to a regular pasta dish, like baked ziti. Tried it and it was delicious!
I wasn’t raised eating lentils and never knowingly consumed 1 until about 10 years ago. Super easy to cook with. Dals, soups and curries come together fast, and are super flavorful. Even picky grandboys will eat them.
I always have coconut milk in the pantry so easy to whip up when crunched for time.
Experiment. Like article says, about 1.00 plus a few carrots onions spices and coconut milk. Less than 5 bucks to see if ya like the or not. TONS of recipes on line.
Give them a try. Might surprise ya.
Peace,
MadFab
I grew up eating lentles.
Favorites are:
-A “meatloaf” made of cooked lentles, cooked oats, chopped onion, seasonings to taste.( I often use bullion powder- beef or tomato) egg to bind it together. Bake topped with ketchup or tomato sauce.
-A soup of lentles, carrots, and onion. Chicken or beef bullion as seasoning.
-A fried pattie of the loaf mixture to eat as a burger.
– Equal part ground meat with cooked lentles to extend the meat in spaghetti sauce, meatballs, tacos, meatloaf ect.
For long term storage I use white rice but for a few months storage I like to cook with brown rice.
Lentles and rice are good. Any left overs become the base for stuffed bell peppers.
I’ve been getting food once or twice a month at a community pantry. They give out some beans but lots of lentles. I cook some and store some. I have several 3 gal frosting buckets of lentles stored now. But if I were buying them they are still a good buy for stretching ground meats and they have the advantage of being quick to cook.
I have rice, lentles, dried onions, rolled oats, seasonings, and a dehydrated soup mix of carrots, onions, and celery stored in my car in a 4 qt castiron Dutch.oven. 2 gal of water, 2 TP in a round oat meal box, a long wooden spoon, 3 homemade alcohol burners made from soda cans, a lg bottle of 91% alcohol, 2 very large metal cups, instant coffee and instant hot chocolate packets packed in the cups, a tablecloth, napkins, real metal forks, knives, and spoons, a few water bottles and a few flavoring packets. I added a few first aid items to the box. It stores in the trunk of the car. Same items in several smaller boxes are behind the seat of the truck and in door pockets. Plenty to eat for a week alone or 3-4 days for 2 people. Nice warm throws added in winter along with 10 reflective emergency blankets in each vehicle.
Have I ever used the foods or blankets? Yes. Stuck overnight here in high mountain desert a pot of warm lentile/onion soup and cups of coffee were wonderful on an 11° night. I cooked on the truck tailgate. Stayed warm in a cold powerless truck with a dead cell phone. A solar charger fixed the phone a while after day light. Enough to call AAA for a tow. Dead alternator. I set the pot of soup between my feet to eat from and help keep warm. I was one happy great grandma when the tow truck arrived. Lentels with onion and carrots are still a favorite soup. I usually add chicken bullion as my seasoning. I’ve also added a few things to the stash of foods in the truck and made a metal frame to hold the dutchoven over the burners. I used rocks the last time but along the road rocks aren’t always available.
Good article!
IM NOT VEGAN… BUT FOOD IS FOOD IF YOU’RE HUNGARY. Mostly I stretch meat with lentIes.
Thanks for sharing your story. Wonderful ideas.
You are ready! Hope you never have to use it again but glad you had it all when you were stranded. This might be a helpful hint but not sure you need it. We had an overnight power outage during a recent ice/snowstorm. Grandchildren were here, two toddlers and an eight year old. We had a stockpile of candles but were very worried about open flames for many reasons. I happened to have some old Christmas popcorn tins along with one that had been filled with cheese puffs. So my husband poked holes along the lower side of the can along with holes on the upper side and a few on top. Had to add a few more holes here and there to allow for proper airflow and placed several candles inside. They made nice little heaters and protected the flames. The children could still burn their hands but not as severe as if the flames were accessible. It protected flammable items from the open flames of the candles (even though we kept it far from such things).
. With some adjustments one could be used as a small stove for soups, coffee, even pancakes. Not that you would want to cook in your car or truck but for staying warm, it might work and if you fall asleep you don’t have to worry so much about bumping the candle’s flame with a blanket. If the children had dropped a blanket or other such item on them it would have affected the air flow and the candles would have burned out (although we never left them unattended). I’m taking notes from your post, never hurts to copy good ideas and hope this helps you or someone somewhere. Best of wishes to you.
Good article, but a mistake. You said, “Some people prefer different lentil types for different recipes but red lentils are the most ancient and common variety available.” This is INCORRECT. Red lentils are difficult to find and often three times the price of other lentils. BROWN lentils are the least expensive, and most common. Almost every culture has recipes for lentils, and they were mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible in Genesis.
Very informative and very well done.No room for ridicule or belittling this article.
How’s that Michael?
Not Bad Ron, maybe you could buy a pound of lentils perhaps and try out a recipe and give us a field report?
That would be awesome.
Michael. See my reply here. I cooked 2 cups of lentles in 4 cups of water with 3 tablespoons of dry onion and bullion to taste. It took closer to 30 minutes in a 11° night on my truck tailgate and I added a bit more water. Cooked over 3 little alcohol burners made from soda cans. Supported the dutchoven above the flames on rocks.
If a 74 year old great grandma can do it. Just maybe you could do it too.
Clergylady wonderful to hear from you. I already do Lentils in rice, Lentils in soups and lentils as meat extenders in meat loaf and spaghetti -lasagna.
Red, yellow, Brown or green they all have different flavors. I like the red and yellow best if I am not mixing them into meat as an extender.
White beans are WONDERFUL for extending chicken and pork dishes.
i’ll have to try and store some up
ClergyLady, do you raise lentils? I haven’t, but understand them to be drought tolerant like tepary beans and pigeon peas. niio
Michael: I don’t care for lentils per se however we keep 50 lb. in Mylar bags in sealed buckets for just in case.
We may need to like certain foods in the future.
that’s a joke – you make that troll look civilized
Well maybe YOU Warrior sort could Lead the way and Actually DO a pound of lentils in a recipe AND a Field Report.
LEAD BY EXAMPLE.
I use a lot of beans as extenders and as main dishes with only a little meat in them.
The lentkes we’re being given v are mostly brown but there were red ones once. I haven’t used them yet. I may make them as a cold salad. I also sprout the brown ones for salads.
I haven’t been here much for the last few months. I didn’t forget old friends. I’m just busier than before my husband died in September.
I am not fond of going to a community pantry for my groceries. I’ve been more inventive making meals from whatever I get. But I’m ok. I’m worting on rebuilding my food preps. I used a lot when I couldnt get out to go shopping most of the last two years. I can my leftovers. With chili or soups I make big batches on purpose for canning.
I’m looking at what was used the most, or least, and deciding what to do accordingly.
I’ve changed out the “Gatorade” bottle in my get home bag from dry beans to lintels. When cooking on a fire they cook the same time as the rice you’re probably cooking with them. It occurred to me while cooking a pot of pinto beans. It takes literally hours to get them ready to eat. Lintels are done when the rice is ready.
Split peas are the Western equivalent of the lentil. Take a bit longer to cook but have a bit more flavor if all you have is salt, or nothing. I ate enough of each when poor to hope I never have to eat them again. Good point on replacing pintos in your get home bag, one of my favorite foods but so slow to cook.
Can you store lentils in Mylar bags?
Does anyone know about mustard plasters? What are they used for, how do you make them etc.
Hi Judge. I have a 16 oz water bottle of yellow split peas and 4 tablespoons of dehydrated cooked bacon crumbled in plus 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Its in my kit in the truck. Split peas usually cook in 30 to 45 minutes here. Pintos take closer to 6 hours where I live. 6,300+ ft elevation. I pressure cook pinto beans at home. That cuts cooking time to 45 minutes. Then add salt and cook 20 minutes more.
I may try sun drying thin slices of ham to cook in the split peas. I buy precooked, crumbled bacon that equals 5 lbs of bacon for $11. It stores well in this high desert country. It is good in the split peas or pinto beans.
Where do you buy the bacon you described?
I too use a pressure cooker for beans and get dry un-soaked pintos done in 25 here at sea level. An overnight soak cuts the cooking time to just 10 minutes and really reduces fuel consumption!
One of my favorite things to do with lentils is to sprout them. I eat the sprouts in salads and include them in stir fry dishes.
Lentils are one of my favourite foods. They’re so versatile. When I was much younger and a very strict vegetarian at that time ;), I used to make soup with lentils and barley and potatoes and all kinds of good things in the same pot like carrots and fried onions and who knows what else now. Turned out pretty good most of the time. It’s really hard to screw up a soup unless you work at it. One of my favourite things these days is oxtail and barley soup. Really nice on a cold winter’s day and right now we’ve had a VERY cold January. May get a little break next week. Haven’t tried oxtail and lentils but I don’t see why that wouldn’t work too. Just one quick note on the title of the article. Little misleading but good article nevertheless. I don’t know of any food these days that’s a buck a pound. Wish I did. There used to be an old joke if you bought some corn from a farmer and he charged you a buck-can-ear. Ha. Ha. Yeah. I know. Try and contain your laughter. LOL!
Lentils and ham hocks.
My daughter, the herbalist, gave me this. She got it in NYC.
Lentil Soup, Turkish Red Lentil
1 C red lentils
1 onion chopped
1 sweet pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 Tbl tomato paste
1 Qt water
salt and pepper to taste
optional: hot pepper
sauté onion and peppers. Add garlic, sauté until garlic smell is strong. Add tomato paste, caramelize tomato paste.
Add water and lentils.
niio
Red two years ago I planted some whole green lentils from the local health food store. No special effort just poked my finger and planted them . Watering was whatever happened to get to them while Watering the rest of the garden.
About a 3rd grew into what looked like Small Sweet Pea plants. Harvested a decent amount of pods. Each plant produces less than a third of what I get from my French Horticultural Beans. But then again I gave them almost no care.
Chickens loved the plants both fresh and dried like pea hay.
The farmers that grow them must be using mow and process machines.
Would I grow them instead of beans, no.
But I’d tuck them in odd spots in my garden and in a chicken garden
Red I like the detail of caramelizing the tomato paste. Adds a lot of flavor.
I find if I cube up a chunk of pork roast and caramelize it, it gives much more flavor than usual. Not quite up to good ham hocks but much cheaper. With this “Humdinger” of a snowstorm visiting tomorrow I might do your Lentil Soup, but I don’t have ham hocks handy.
When did the world price once Poor Man’s Meats like Ham Hocks and Ox tails up to the price of once prime cuts?
Michael: I should be out planting garbanzo beans. Lentils are a once in a while thing. We like beans. Down here, cowpeas do best. They like our gentle 110F summers and don’t mind those occasional 40 MPH zephyrs.
When frying pork, add a half-teaspoon of liquid smoke. Mind, it’s flammable. We just took a load of bacon from the smoker (used mesquite trimmings off the trees) and it’s good. Wash off the cure and it’s not too salty. The fattier the pork, the more flavor it has. These were boneless ribs from Costco, 2.23/lb.
Where did the cheap cuts go? We could get beef brisket for .58c/lb years ago. Meat packers advertised them as quality cuts, then unions demanded higher wages. A sister in Penna said she ordered half a hog off a farmer at .68c/lb. Beef was 2.25/lb. Slab bacon ends at a Mennonite store were $1.49/lb but 4.00/lb sliced. Look for a farmer in the area that sells on the hoof. A lot of them are doing that, rather than take whole sale price and lose the farm. If you have pick-your-own around, ask there. niio
Armin,
LOVE ❤ your CORN-Y joke!!
I also love oxtail. But, I saw some in the store yesterday and for 4 good sized pieces, they wanted 46.00!! This was on the freeze it or forget it shelf!
I remember when we used to get oxtail for free for the dog or soup bones from the store at my Bubbe’s home.
Grew up on a cattle ranch in MT, so we ate everything except the MOO.!
Peace,
MadFab
&46.00 for some ox tail??????
Gadzooks!!!! I realize that one can make some foo-foo dish out of ox tail but it is still a bony piece with scarcely any meat on it. Okay, you can also make bone broth from it but pound for pound of actual meat, that makes it way more than NY steak strips.
A comedian used to do a joke on that. New York steak? When was the last time you saw a steer on Madison Avenue? I guess his delivery was better than mine. I always busted up laughing whenever I heard him deliver the joke. Reading in in text, not so much. The name of the comedian was David Steinberg, I believe. He was a regular on the Johnny Carson show which I used to watch every night, followed by Jay Leno. Haven’t watched that show since he retired.
Thanks. Really nice of you, MadFab. 🙂
That’s the only downside to this idea. I know that oxtail is darned expensive. Haven’t checked it for a while but even something like a year ago or so it was already about $20/$22 per pound and I was waiting for a sale. Never materialized. This Christmas treated myself to some smoked salmon. Smoked salmon absolutely heavenly. One of my most favourite things. Bought myself three pounds and it was almost $30 per pound. But boy was it ever worth it. It was sooooo good! See if I can get some every few months or so. Life is too short. Can’t take all my millions with me. 😉 I can only imagine what oxtail is now. Don’t even want to think about it. I’m depressed enough already. While I agree with Chuck that there isn’t a lot of meat on some of the smaller pieces of oxtail if you get a few good sized pieces then you have a pretty good meal. And because it’s so fatty doesn’t take a lot to fill you up. I really miss oxtail in the winter. Miss a lot of things. Sigh. And I do remember when beef bones were free. Used to pick them up for the dog. Now we pay through the nose for every bloody thing! 🙁 Appreciate your positivity. No matter what the future has in store for us I know that we of the prepared mind WILL make it through. I wish you and your family all the very best. Take care and stay safe, MadFab. 🙂
Armin 🙂
Armin,
I too love smoked salmon. I am quite blesses to live near the water and have family that LOVE to fish.
Between Hubby and brothers and grandboys, I am pretty fish heavy. Love to toss fish, or just about anything in the smoker.
I prefer a heat smoked salmon, but have cold smoked lots of it too.
If ya have a BBQ and a bit of foil you could smoke some. Store bought salmon, or any other oily fish is way cheaper than already smoked.
If ya are interested I’ll share my brine recipe with ya.
Total time is Bout 12 hours from brine to done salmon.
Thank you kind sir, for your warm wished for me Nd family.
I have the same hopes and blessings for you and yours. I know it’s hard not to get down this time of year, but spring is coming and you could distract yourself by making some more of your pickled eggs. Lol
Anyway, stay warm safe and healthy in the GWN.
Peace,
MadFab
Legumes, in general, can be highly nutritious but, other than for carbohydrates, nutrients are not very bio-available unless first sprouted by extended soaking. Soak just until a short (about 1/16th inch) sprout emerges, Once sprouted, legumes cook quickly and nutrients are bio-available. Lentils may cook more rapidly, only because they are small. Larger, sprouted legumes, if crushed, will cook just as quickly.
Interesting comment. Phytic Acid is the compound in legumes, and almost all grains, that was originally viewed as an anti-nutrient that inhibited the absorption of minerals when present in food. This idea has been reconsidered in light of studies showing the remarkable health benefits of the Mediterranean diet which tends to be high in foods containing Phytic Acid. There may be some large studies of modern 3rd world type populations where the diet is restricted to legumes and grains but none that pop out in a Google search. The Mayan Civilization, destroyed by drought (climate change!) and the Aztec Civilization, destroyed by Spaniards, were some of the largest and most advanced of their time and both were built upon 3 Sisters agriculture with almost no meat consumption, which seems a prescription for mineral deficiency caused by Phytic Acid. An 8 hour soak is considered sufficient to degrade the Phytic Acid in legumes, of course corn should be soaked in lime or lye water which frees its nutrients and also eliminates Phytic Acid.
So, since in a long term survival situation you could see some iron and calcium deficiency from a diet heavy in legumes, soaking and sprouting are good ideas, also a great aid in avoiding the consequences of the Pythagorean Maxim.
True enough Judge, adding winter squash and kale (and other dark greens) will help a lot to cover iron and calcium issues.
Most “incomplete protein” issues are easily resolved with but a single large egg or small handful of meat every other day under a beans and rice style diet.
As proven by generations of South American natives 🙂
John: Always add a cap of bleach to every few gallons of water and soak the seeds for 45 minutes, stirring a few times. That kills aflatoxins and so on. Rinse and soak, changing the water once or twice a day. A sister’s sister-in-law laughed that off because she never had a problem, till one batch gave her food poisoning. We do 5lbs pounds of beans at at a time and cook them, then freeze them in 1 pound bags. Come summer, they get dried. niio
Michael,
AC was asking Bout you.
Told her I talked to ya on this forum. She says hi.
Peace
MadFab
MadFab 🙂 I’ve kept up with my reading over there.
Tell Her and Anony Mee Hi for me. Also Dennis and Joe C.
It is sadly interesting to hear “Don’t Fight from your porch” and other such annoying sayings of mine over there.
Whether you call it 4th turning or Winter is coming bad times are near.
Peace and health to you and yours
To make a complete protein in a vegetarian diet mix a legume with a grain. Or eat potato skin and all with dark green leafy vegetables. Actually the potato and dark green leaves is pretty complete in everything you need. If you add milk or egg to that then you’re sure of what you need. I grew up on a lacto ovo vegetarian diet. Meaning milk and eggs with vegetables. Only since .my folks couldn’t have fresh milk it was yogurt, buttermilk, cheese ect. I had one egg two or three times a week into adulthood. We seldom peeled potatoes. Just scrubbed them well before using and trimmed if needed. I grew up on mostly foraged greens or fresh from the garden. I still prefere my wild amaranth or lambsquarters for greens. But I eat meat by choice, not necessity. I usually have chickens, ducks, and rabbits for my sources. I do enjoy when neighbors share venison, elk, or beef. I have turkey, chicken, ham, and ground beef in my home canned pantry items. A lovely venison roast in the freezer will soon be cut.up. it will become a pot of stew to can and some dried meat to set back for raw, unseasonably jerkey. I cook with that. Ices of roasted venison will make several meals for me. But its is entirely possible to get everything necessary for life with very little animal supply. The one thing best for vitamin B 12 is a small supply of animal sourced food. Meat, milk, or egg will cover that. That is why my vegetarian parents included some milk products or eggs.
My 10 months alone living on that I could forage or trap I ate small birds, a few eggs, some rabbits, and even drank polywogs and minnows. I came back healthier, stronger, and my few allergies were gone. Probably all that natural food.
Michael,
I will do that.
Also OH has asked if you would be interested in getting in touch?
I’ll give ya my email if ya want and get yours to him.
Completely up to you.
Hope ya made it thru the storms in good shape. Stay warm.
Peace
MadFab
MadFab a nice thought but a bad idea. Ken’s limiting folks to do the email thing through him wasn’t just a power thing.
He was protecting those emails from BOT Scammers that search for emails for SPAM and other rude things.
Please DO NOT put your email on this list my friend. If OH tells you something I need to know just drop it here if you wish. I have pretty good contacts in the Food Business myself, so the ongoing Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard was something I used to mention (Apparently too often) on MSB.
But please send my respect to OH for me. He’s good people.
Folks if you don’t have 2 years storage foods laid in, what will you tell your family?
Also Store what you eat, Eat what you store. Thus, my interest in this Lentil posting.
Made a batch of Spanish Rice with lentils, wife thought it excellent with a nice chew (her words) she ate it all.
Learn how to COOK with those stored foods so you learn what spices you need to make your family happy. Winter isn’t coming, it’s just starting. Nuff said.
MadFab I’d happily accept your Recipe for Chicken Curry and Lentil anything 🙂
My beloved likes her curries mild.
Always enjoyed Dennis’s comments from the Mountain 🙂 Miss chatting with him.
I also miss Sequim and my sea food hunts 🙂
Hello. In answer to your question about Mustard Plasters. They are used to loosen up a very bad chest cold. This is a very old therapy. My mom used it on our family when a lot of medicines weren’t around for bad chest colds. I grew up on a farm and the nearest town was 16 miles away. Time frame I am talking about is 70 to 80 years ago. Recipe is as follows:
3-4 tblsps of white flour
Approx.1-2 tblsps or less of dry mustard
Not hot but very warm water, just enough to make a fairly thick paste.
Spread on to an old cloth and fold so as not to have any leakage. Rub on a good layer of Vicks Vapor rub on chest first and place mustard plaster on top of Vicks. Can be left on for 2-4 hours or less depending on how bad the chest cold is. Also may have to vary the dry mustard as it goes by sensitivity of ones skin. I could handle 2 tblsps but maybe start with 1 1/2 tblsp. Should be a bit heaping. Keep watching for redness but make sure it doesn’t have too much of a burning sensation this will depend how long one keeps it on. It has to have a bit of burning so as to know it is working. Wear normal clothing of top of the plaster or cover with a towel. Can repeat for a few days or nights if necessary. Depends on when the loosening of phlegm begins. My daughter still uses it periodically. Our family found it really worked for us in those old days. Now of course we have so many medicines to work on chest colds. Hope this answers your question.
Michael, not a worry.
I will pass on your greetings to all I have access to.
Spanish rice and lentils sounds great. It’s chilly here, probably tropical to you right now, lol, so I’m making a lentil and chicken curry soup. It’s actually something that even the Grandbiys will eat without complaining. Curry powders vary in spice and heat, so I use a mild one of my own making. The spices are really food for ya also, as it contains turmeric cardamom cumin and coriander plus some others that I don’t know if they help or not. Lol
Have a super good day.
PS I too find it interesting that many of your sayings, wisdom , is being touted. Just goes to show you were an integral part of the conversation.
Winter is Here.
Shalom my Friend,
MadFab
Growing up in a very large family to a “farm boy” professional chef father, we were eating lentils when the neighbors had no idea what they were. In fact, we ate a lot of dishes the rest of our small town had never heard of, and with the “tricks” my dad pulled out of his sleeve, running into a dish we DIDN’T like was super rare. However, though we ate lentils pretty frequently, they were almost always the brown ones. Must have been cheaper than the others back then. Lol As a child, I just thought “lentils are brown” and moved on. We most often ate them with onions, garlic, and canned or fresh diced tomatoes (depending on season), with leftover ham or bacon as the seasoning. Try a dash of Louisiana style hot sauce or some other vinegary sauce or flavored vinegar. Heaven in a bowl! In more recent times, I’ll sometimes cook a pot the exact same way, but pull them out when cooked but not yet “creamy”, as we had it as children ( when the skins split and the resulting potage is more “beany” tasting as a result). I’ll go ahead and add a few extra fresh green onions and tomatoes and some cilantro, all chopped small, and voila! The perfect salad, especially as a topper salad over fresh greens. Goes really well with any vinegar based dressing, but still pretty good when using a more cream based or sweet dressing, if that’s what you’re partial to.
I’ve also made “dog treats” out of leftover lentils, as they were very ham-heavy from a leftover Easter feast. Took the somewhat overcooked lentils laced with tons of ham shreds, put a scoop each into a muffin tin, and baked them. The resulting “biscuits” were a great occasional treat for my large dog at the time. If I were making them specifically for dogs, I’d omit any onion, though, and limit their consumption, due to the very high fiber content. Works well for dogs that are slightly constipated or on a very meat driven diet (like they would be in a SHTF situation around here, eating a lot of venison).
I have read that brown rice will go rancid over long term storage. For a 3 month supply, it would be ok but years of storage it won’t. Is this correct?
Stored in a cool place I figure 6 months for brown rice. But white rice, kept dry is good for years.
Drinking pollywogs and minnows… Amazing fortitude to be able to adapt to conditions in such a way.
As many on this site are not spring chickens any longer and might not be able to digest a diet that is newly heavy on the grains, soaking the grains overnight might be helpful. Previous to WW 2, the home cooking style involved soaking grains on a regular basis.
Grains contain phytates, which bind to specific useful minerals. Soaking grains before cooking can help neutralize the physic acid. Presoaking also breaks down hard-to-digest proteins such as gluten. Soaked grains make it easier to absorb iron, calcium, zinc, etc. (If you are prone to iron overload, never mind, don’t soak your grains.) Soaking grains also releases certain inositols to regulate blood sugar levels.
Different grains require different times. Adding a couple of tablespoons of an acidic medium to the soaking water, such as yogurt, lemon juice, whey or apple cider vinegar helps prevent spoilage from unfriendly bacteria.
The traditional Mexican diet includes Masa Harina. That is cornmeal that has been soaked in a solution by the manufacturer to release the B vitamins.
The basic process is to use warm (140 degree F) water about equal in amounts to the grains. For each cup of grains, add a tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar or such. Leave it overnight in a covered bowl. If gluten intolerance is an issue, then longer soaking removes more gluten.
I have found that as the years creep on for me, paying attention to certain digestive helps, such a pre-soaking, makes a difference.
Interesting Sagebrush Lin thanks
Sagebrush Lin
You’re posting about soaking grains I found rather informative. That bit of information I will have to pass on to family members who have issues with gluten.
AC: As someone who had to leave gluten behind, I stick with gluten-free grains and try to avoid GMO that were gluten-free but may no longer be. GMO oats is supposed to have gluten now. Organic oats doesn’t. Noodles are rice sourdough (we like Asian-style) with some starch to hold things together, then drop in boiling water. Soba are buckwheat flour and starch.
Antique tools, old books especially how-to are always bought. Bail jars, yes, always. Those are good for juice and pickles. Farm equipment can be bought from Lemans and other Amish sites that are improved over the old stuff, most of which was converted to tractor and ruined. We collect old tableware, silver over brass, which often goes close to junk price but silver and brass were used because they’re antibacterial. niio
As an extra note to the above, soaking might reduce the cooking time which will save cooking fuel.
In the third paragraph, i did not mean to type “physic”. It should have been “phytates”.
I grew up in a family that had weird food problems, either bad digestion or allergies to certain foods, the doctors couldn’t figure us out. About drove my mother nuts trying to make up a menu. After I turned 70, I was diagnosed with allergies to gluten, milk, pork and eggs. Shortly after I told the rest of my siblings, they got tested and were told the same. I’m the oldest, 84 years tomorrow. Mom must have done something right to keep us going. Now I only have problems if I do something stupid, like eating pork cracklings or a scrambled egg sandwich.
On the other hand, I’ve discovered there are a whole lot of foods out there that mom didn’t know about, that I can eat, most of which I learned about from this site. Thanks to Clergy Lady and all the others who spread their knowledge!
My birthday was jan 29th. 75 years now.
The Spanish rice with lentiles sounds good. May try that tomorrow. I’m under quarantine for covid exposure. Son is pretty sick. Positive test today. I’ve been with him daily so have to quarantine a few days unless I get sick then quarantine 2 days past any fever. I have a few pounds of ham so I may cook ham with lentiIes and can a few pints. I like a few heat and eat foods on hand at all times. I’ll soon be needing to find more canning jars. Canning while quarantined will keep me sort of sane. My newest tee shirt came a few days ago. THE FIRST 70 YEARS OF CHILDHOOD ARE THE HARDEST. 🙂
Happy birthday, young lady. niio
clergylady
Although I am a few days behind wishing you a Happy Birthday.
Happy Birthday Ma’am!
May the next 75 be filled with wealth Health and so much Love ❤.
Mozel Tov
Peace,
MadFab
First time reader here, I just have to say you’re right on that point, the first 70 years of childhood are the hardest–but still we manage, often better than when we were young and dumb.
I’m enjoying this site so much, and learning so much! Is it an open group, and if so, how may I join? I don’t want to depend on just happening upon the site. If the group is not open, is it okay for me to sit in the corner and eavesdrop?
Oh, just curious–what does niio stand for?
Judy, from me, kid, comment! Teach us what you knw but by all means, yes, read everything. niio means to walk in God’s beauty. niio
I recently read that the red lentils if cooked for an extended period of time will turn to mush in your soup. Thought all you may wish to have this information.
AC,
Nice to see ya!
I use that trick to thicken things like stew and other soups.
Made a batch of chicken cUrry soup with lentils the other day. Made Xtra lentils and mashed them. Dehydrated them and now they are powdered to use as a thickener. Same with refried bans.
Used to buy cans of dehydrated refried from LDS store, but sadly, they discontinued them.
Peace,
MadFab
Thanks Antique Collector
Hey Y’all, This has nothing to do with beans or peas but reading the comments brought something to mind that I hadn’t thought of in years. Crawdads. My brother’s and I used to play in creeks and catch them all the time. We wouldn’t hurt them, and we’d let them go but they are a food source. I’m not sure if they are limited to southern regions or if you find them up north in streams and creeks. They are very small critters but I’m guessing a few would be better than nothing when you run low on other things. I have several creeks near my home which I’m sure is full of them. May be worth it to you to see if any are in your area. You probably won’t be overweight from eating them, but you may find you’ve lived another day. We used to use the old paper “sweetheart” cups from the few times we ate out and would scoop a crawdad up when we saw it. Don’t know how it will taste with lentils though. LOL.
Rosa
We have them or had them in the freshwater streams in this area. It has been a long time since I thought about them, thank you for the reminder.
My dad used to call them the poor man’s lobster. ?
Freshwater lobster. Good eating larger claw and tail. Great in Lousianna cooking.