Where will you get sugar?

One thing I do know is sugar stock can and will run out if a tragic event happens.  To have alternatives to one of the most useful and traded preps will be a a benefit.  You not only need sugar for comfort foods but for canning and even making moonshine (which can be used as fuel) and as moonshine. What I do know is sugar is one of life's musts.....


So I am just going to do a quick post on things that can substitute sugar. 

Sugar can come from so many different places.  If you live in a warmer climate you can grow sugar cane.  But a lot of us do not live in areas that it can be grown. These are some other options.

• Honey would be the first place most of us would go to. Click here for PDF 

•   Next up would have to be Maize. You boil down the GREEN Maize stalks and BAM sugar...or as we know it corn syrup.   It is a thin syrup.

• I then would look at getting a  Sugar Beet garden up and going.  Click Here
• A close second to this is sugar beets is  Pumpkin sugar which is made the same way as the sugar beat sugar.  

 

• Then we have all kinds of tree saps to tap into. Some are very sweet like maple and birch. 

• Milkweed makes a decent brown sugar can be made by boiling down the flowers heads.  Click here to learn more about the milkweed plant. 

• Dates, raisins dried fruit can add a sweet kick to many things to. They can be dried and powdered to make a sugar replacement. They can also  be made into jams and syrups as well.

• Look at watermelon an easy crop to grow...and it's juice can be boiled down to a sugar. You can do this with other fruits to.

• Last but not least we have barley malt syrup which is made from germinated barley grains. Brown rice also produces a malt syrup. More or less you boil down the water that the barley or rice have been cooking in for several hours.  FACT: There is .7 grams of sugar in one cup of rice.  Barley is much sweet and more tastier than rice. 

Song for this post has to be a classic  I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl -  Nina Simone

Fantastic Friday - Americans are Broke and Unprepared

Every Friday I will be sharing a post that I came across on my journey's for the week.

One's that impress me with  information, ideas, or just a great read. 

 

This weeks has to be this post is by The Survivalist Blog

14 Signs That Most Americans Are Flat Broke And Totally Unprepared For The Coming Economic Crisis

 When the coming economic crisis strikes, more than half the country is going to be financially wiped out within weeks.  At this point, more than 60 percent of all Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, and a whopping 24 percent of the country has more credit card debt than emergency savings.

Click here to continue reading  

Song for this post has to be Working Class Hero - John Lennon

 

Is expired food dangerous?

I fight with people over this all the time. So I thought I would do a brief post on the subject.

Every year, about 40 percent of all food in the United States goes uneaten. Wasted because of dates on them. When this food is totally good eats. 

Understanding what the dates on your food mean can help to avoid some of that waste.

This is the basics of food expiration dates.

Use-By, Best if Used By, Best By, Best Before

These are the words mostly found on shelf stable foods, canned goods, things like peanut butter of condiments. This is more or less a provided voluntarily by the manufacturer. This date just says it is freshest if used by that date. 

USDA  site says: 

•  A "Best if Used By (or Before)" date is recommended for best flavor or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.

•  A "Use-By" date is the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality. The date has been determined by the manufacturer of the product.

Expires On

Is not on may things. It is mostly found on formula and baby foods because of federal regulations. And when it comes to children I just would not take any chances.

Sell-By

Is on meat, chicken, fish and milk type products.  The date is there to let you know how long it has been on the shelf. If properly refrigerated milk can last up to a week after it’s sell by date. And meats a few days.

Packing codes
Are though odd jumbled up codes that seem to make no senses This is because most of them are codes just in-case a recall is needed.  So do also include the date of packaging which can at the least help guide you. 

Remember to Rotate
This is also a good reminder why you must always rotate your prep's! Don't just stockpile it somewhere. Use it and replace it with newer foods. 

 When checking food, use your eyes, nose and common sense. If the container is damaged or rusty, throw it out.

Some good examples are of all of this is....

• Salt  last FOREVER!! 

• Spam also will last FOREVER!

• Lard will store FOREVER if unopened

• Instant potatoes many do not even have a date on them  because The flakes are too dry to support the growth of microorganisms.

And many other foods will last a long

Shelf life reference  Click Here

Food shelf-life Pdf   Click Here.

Larry Groce - Junk Food Junkie

 

Herb of the Week - Milkweed

I am setting this up on a separate blog that will eventually 

be an easy to use resource down the line.

So click the link below to see it uses and bookmark the blog for weekly installments.

I will be posting an herb of the week every Tuesday. I find it is easy to remember things like this when you get them in small doses.

Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.)

 Caution: Do not get milkweed sap in your eyes wash your hands thoroughly after handling the plant. Also, some people may develop an allergic reaction when the sap touches the skin.

There are many other variations of milkweed they are similar in use
Common Milkweed grows up to six feet tall. It has large, broad leaves, usually four to ten inches long. They sometimes have red veins.Pink to purple flowers. Green pods. Upright or erect. Found in Thickets on the roadsides, dry fields and waste places.
It is another easy to cultivate plant.

Songs for this post has to be Birdcall Morning Lyrics - Joe Walsh