Basic Food Storage--Sprouting Wheat

Why, oh why, would anyone want to sprout wheat?  I mean, with a healthier diet that is already including lots of whole grains and beans and garden produce, isn't adding in sprouts going a little over the top?

Actually, it may be over the top for some.  But there are times when being able to sprout wheat could come in handy.

First off, wheat is a bit hard for some people to digest.  Especially if those people have been eating a typical American diet high in processed foods.  Secondly, and important for all, is that wheat sprouts are far more nutritious than the unsprouted whole grain, with far more vitamins B, C, E, and K, as well as more calcium, iron, and magnesium.  And it provides a different way of using wheat, one that can add variety to salads, soups, and cereals, as well as being used to add a little crunch to sandwiches.

To start your sprouts, in a quart size canning jar, soak one cup of wheat in cool water for 6-12 hours.  One cup of dry wheat will yield approximately 2 1/4 cups of sprouts.

Plastic sprouting lids available from Amazon or health food stores make rinsing and draining easier, but you can substitute nylon netting and a rubber band.  A clean knee-hi nylon could also be used, but it somewhat hinders air circulation. 

After the initial soaking, drain the wheat and rinse thoroughly.  Do not soak or let the wheat stand in water again.  Repeat the rinse and drain cycle every 6-12 hours, with 8 hours being ideal, but this also depends on the temperature.  The ideal temperature for sprouting is 70 degrees; warmer temperatures necessitate more frequent rinsing.

For draining the wheat, the jar must be inverted and at an angle, ideally about 45 degrees.  A large bowl or dish drainer in the sink works well.  Putting the jar upside down will not permit draining.

Keeping the sprouting grain in plain view will help you remember to rinse it; however, do not place the jar in direct sunlight.  That will cook and kill your sprouts.  On the kitchen counter out of the sun will be perfect.

Taste your sprouts as they are growing.  When do you like them best?  Wheat sprouts are generally harvested between the second and fourth day of sprouting.  Dry them thoroughly for about 6-8 hours from the last time they were rinsed, and then store them in the refrigerator.  Your wheat sprouts will keep for three days, assuming they were very dry when you put them away.

There are numerous ways to use wheat sprouts--add to soups, salads, breads, sandwiches, taco meat, chili; grow into wheat grass; dehydrate and grind into flour; make sprouted breakfast cereal or porridge.  Some people just like to eat them plain.

Links to related posts:
Wheat
Vitamin B3
Vitamin B2
Vitamin C 


For further information:

https://www.culturesforhealth.com/learn/sprouting/how-to-sprout-wheat-berries/

https://sproutpeople.org/growing-wheat-sprouts/

https://keeperofthehome.org/getting-started-sprouting-wheat-berries/

© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com 

Basic Food Storage: Cracked Wheat

Wheat is perhaps the most versatile of the whole grains, at least in the Western world.  But some people are reluctant to store wheat because they haven't yet acquired a wheat grinder.  And you always wonder if you're really going to use it.  So here are some ways to use wheat that do not require a wheat grinder.  A coffee grinder is necessary, but that's not as significant of an expense, especially if you pick one up at a garage sale.

So the first thing to do (after cleaning the coffee out of the coffee grinder) is to put about one-third of a cup of wheat in the coffee grinder.  Let it whirl for a few seconds.

Now you have cracked wheat.

So how do you use it?

• Bread.  Probably the most common way to use it is in bread, about 1/4 cup cracked wheat boiled for 10 minutes in 2/3 cup water.  Let cool before adding to bread recipes.  
• Cereal.  Cracked wheat cereal is also (somewhat) popular.  Boil 1 cup of cracked wheat in 3 cups of water for 15 minutes.  Add milk, bananas, chopped nuts, and brown sugar to taste.
• Hamburger extender.  Boiled cracked wheat can even be used as a hamburger extender, such as in taco meat or meatballs.  This works better with children than with highly suspicious husbands.  Start with smaller amounts and gradually increase.  It also works better in highly seasoned hamburger than plain.  
• "Nuts".  Cooked cracked wheat patted dry looks like chopped nuts on Jell-O salads.

Strawberry Jell-O Salad with Cracked Wheat

1/4 cup cracked wheat
1 small pkg. strawberry Jell-O
1 cup boiling water
1 cup whipped cream or Cool Whip
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups mashed fresh strawberries, or equivalent--frozen, dehydrated or freeze-dried and reconstituted

Boil cracked wheat in 1 cup water for 15 minutes, remove from heat, and drain excess water.  Pour cracked wheat on paper towel to remove excess water.  Set aside.

In a 9x9 pan, dissolve Jell-O in boiling water, stirring until completely dissolved.  Cool until thickened, and then stir in the rest of the ingredients.

Refrigerate until firm or overnight. Serve with a spoonful of whipped cream sprinkled with cooked cracked wheat as your mock nuts.

Links to related posts:
Wheat  
Sprouted wheat   

© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com 
28 may 2021

The Medicinal Uses of Rosemary

Disclaimer.  I am not a licensed health practitioner.  This is just another post on an item you might wish to have available if needed so that a physician can treat you and your family as best as possible.  No medication, including those available over the counter, should be taken without consulting a physician.  Information shared here is for educational and entertainment purposes only.  It is not medical advice nor a substitute for licensed medical care.  A qualified, licensed physician or other medical provider should be consulted before beginning any herbal or conventional treatment.

On a recent trip to Las Vegas so that my daughters could participate in some archery tournaments, we used credit card points to get a free room, which was about 20 minutes away from the event.  So we got to do a bit of driving each day, and I was really surprised to see that rosemary was an extremely popular commercial landscaping shrub, at least in the section of the city that we were traversing.  I've never seen it used commercially here in the northern part of the state, but we do have it growing in our yard, which is zone 6.  The USDA zone hardiness guidelines indicate that rosemary grows in zones 6-10. 


Rosmarinus officinalis, rosemary, is a highly medicinal member of the mint family, like its relatives oregano, thyme, lavender, and basil.  Native to the Mediterranean, this fragrant evergreen perennial herb has been used for centuries, probably millenia in cooking and perfumes, but most importantly, in medicine.  The leaves of this perennial herb can be harvested year-round. 

Medicinal uses:  Rosemary works in so many ways.  It is anti-inflammatory, increases distal circulation, relieves depression, and acts against pathogenic E. coli and H. pylori infections and urinary tract infections.  It has been shown to provide relief for irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, headaches, migraines, cirrhosis, and kidney pain, and to prevent and treat Alzheimer's and improve memory in the elderly.  But because rosemary is so diverse in its actions, there is also the potential for negative interactions with other pharmaceuticals.  A lot of people like to believe that because rosemary is natural and is a food that it is safe to take in unlimited quantities.  Rosemary most definitely is not.

Rockefeller, who is credited with saying "A pill for every ill" and who promoted our US medical school system and almost single-handedly eliminated holistic or natural medicine that had been practiced since people first started getting sick, would definitely not approve of the numerous ways rosemary can be used to relieve pain and illness.  And indeed, it is a bit of a stretch at times to learn all you can about an herb, how to grow it, how it's used, the effects it has on other systems in the body, and so on.  But it's also a blessing to be able to have a few different herbs at your disposal, just in case one can't be used because it could affect a patient adversely, whatever the reason.  Rosemary, due to its longstanding use in folk medicine, is one of those herbs that is really attracting the attention of medical researchers.  The number of studies being conducted--and the phenomenal results being reported--are astounding. (And the same could be said for many other herbs.) There is no way to discuss them all here.  So I've included links for them below.  What I discuss here will be of more general interest to preppers as a whole.

Infusion:  Two teaspoons fresh rosemary, or one teaspoon dried, steeped 10 minutes in 1 cup of boiling water.  Drink as needed to relieve colds, headaches, sore throat, indigestion, and stomach cramps.  This may also be used as a wound wash.


Essential oil: For the following conditions, mix the number of drops of essential oils indicated into a carrier oil such as coconut, almond, or olive, and massage into afflicted area of body.

• Neuropathy--2 drops each rosemary, helichrysum, and cypress into 1/2 teaspoon carrier oil
• Joint pain, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammation--2 drops rosemary and 2 drops peppermint in 1 teaspoon carrier oil 
• Gall bladder issues--2 drops rosemary in 1/2 teaspoon carrier oil, twice per day
• Wounds, bruises, sores, eczema, Raynaud's syndrome (cold hands and feet)--4 drops in 1 teaspoon carrier oil, use as needed.

Aromatherapy:  Diffuse essential oil into the room or study area to improve concentration and memory and reduce stress.  If diffusing into the air is not an option, rub 2-3 drops of rosemary oil mixed into 1/2 teaspoon of carrier oil and rub onto the neck or wrists. 

Tincture: A tincture is made with 40% alcohol (80 proof).  Pack a pint jar with fresh rosemary and top off with alcohol.  Cap and seal and put in a dark place.  Shake the jar every two or three days for six weeks.  Then strain off the rosemary and put your rosemary tincture in a dark glass bottle with a dropper.  Add 1-5 drops to a cup of boiling water to relieve cold and sore throat symptoms, headaches and migraines, and anxiety and depression.


A cursory review of scientific literature on recent research with rosemary revealed a lot of really interesting ideas.  Preliminary research shows a synergistic effect between rosemary and Tylenol-3 (acetaminophen and codeine).  It appears to work synergistically with ciprofloxacin against Klebsiella pneumoniae.  It is effective in helping opioid withdrawal pain.  And it repels ticks and mosquitoes.  If any of these topics interest you, you'll need to research them on your own.  Much of this research also includes using rosemary essential oil internally, and most everybody says that practice is not safe.  Unless it's X brand or Y  brand.  You'll have to do your own research again and determine what is best for you.

Contraindications:  Do not use rosemary medicinally (culinary use is fine)  if you:

• are pregnant
• have epilepsy
• have high blood pressure

Or if you are using:

• anticoagulants such as warfarin or aspirin
• ACE inhibitors
• diuretics such as furosemide
• lithium 

Links to related posts:
Peppermint-Lavender-Rosemary Headache Balm   
Peppermint   
Spearmint   

For further reading:
(All articles accessed 21 February 2019)
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/rosemary-oil-benefits#section11
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4749867/ (Alzheimer's)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21877951 (cognitive function in elderly)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21955093 (cancer prevention)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3905473/ (opioid withdrawal)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3736918/ (aroma improves cognitive performance)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25635991 (synergistic with acetaminophen and codeine)
https://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/56138 (insect repellent)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17583499 (insect repellent)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20695287 (tick repellent)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30219447 (Raynaud's syndrome)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27091583 (rheumatoid arthritis)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24287491 (effect of essential oils on bacteria)
https://www.epilepsysociety.org.uk/complementary-therapies#.W8DZvGhKiUk (epilepsy)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24269249 (hypertension)
https://aac.asm.org/content/49/6/2474 (Gram-negative bacteria more susceptible to essential oils than Gram-positive)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4336450/ (cirrhosis)
https://draxe.com/rosemary-oil-uses-benefits/

© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com  

22 november 2020 

1 july 2024

Drug-Resistant Fungal Infection

A Mysterious Infection, Spanning the Globe in a Climate of Secrecy

I've never posted on a Sunday before, but I thought this article should be brought to my readers' attention.  It might provide added incentive to learn a bit more about natural anti-fungal remedies.  Unfortunately, there is no Herbal Antifungals book like there are Herbal Antibiotics and Herbal Antivirals by Stephen Buhner.  Both of those volumes are excellent.  And both also note which herbs also treat Candida infections.  Those volumes might be worth acquiring.

And no, I don't receive any compensation for promoting them.  Heck, I don't even have any Amazon Affiliate links or anything like that.

 © 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com

Easter Dinner--Canning Your Own Ham

I like holiday meals.  I love the smell of a roast, the anticipation of some super tasty mashed potatoes and gravy, the obligatory Jell-O salad, and a fresh green salad or vegetables.  Some of these dishes might be a little difficult to pull off post-collapse, but I'm hoping and planning to be able to make Easter and Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve dinners as close to normal as possible.
Our Easter menu dinner usually includes the traditional stuff, you know, ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, ginger glazed carrots, green salad or frozen veggies, and carrot cake for dessert.

Each year that I grow potatoes, I try to make them last into spring.  I had better luck when we lived in Missouri and I could grow bushels of potatoes and store them in the storm shelter.  Living in a desert with only grow boxes for the garden and no root cellar for storage has its challenges.  Litters of Great Pyrenees puppies who break into the garden beds don't help, either.  So while I store a good supply of instant potato flakes for soups, they'll also do double duty for making mashed potatoes at Easter.  Thankfully, with fresh potatoes recently harvested, we don't have to do that for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The gravy will come from the Magic Mix recipe posted yesterday.

Garden carrots usually survive the winter in our refrigerator; post-collapse they will have been over-wintered in the garden and harvested when needed.

Whether we have a green salad or frozen vegetables pretty much depends on when Easter falls and the weather.  In Missouri I was able to grow beautiful lettuce under a hoop house.  I haven't been so successful with keeping a hoop house up here (thanks, dogs!).  And even though Easter falls just about as late as it can this year, as of this writing (20 February 2019) things aren't looking very promising to being able to start a garden anytime soon.  We've got six inches of snow covering the boxed beds right now and another six inches of snow in the forecast for the next two days.  So this year it will probably be frozen broccoli; post-collapse I would use the freeze-dried broccoli, perhaps with some Magic Mix cheese sauce if the broccoli didn't reconstitute as well as I would like.

Carrot cake made with dehydrated carrots will be covered next week.

Which brings us to the ham.  There are the cute little ham-shaped tins of ham sold in the grocery store, and I guess that's what most people would go with.  But I don't really like pressed ham.  And my dad gives the family a pig for the freezer every Christmas, so we have an abundance of ham here.  We eat what we can, and can what we can't.  :)

Canning ham is definitely not recommended by the nice folks at the Cooperative Extension offices.  This is not because it has been shown to be unsafe.  It is because it has not been shown to be safe.  The safety of canning ham has never been tested.  They just don't know whether it's safe, so they have to advise against it.  Which is totally understandable.  However, the problem is with ham that has been smoked and/or cured.  The researchers just don't know if smoking or curing will alter the chemical or acid/base composition such that bacteria would grow more readily, or whether it would be more difficult to achieve the requisite temperatures, or anything else that could go wrong.

So what if you use a fresh ham, one that has not been smoked or cured?  Well, then, it's just another cut of pork.  And it can most definitely be canned.  Most of the time when I can ham, it is diced or cut into larger chunks for soups and casseroles.  But those don't look so festive when served as Easter dinner.  Instead, I can slices of ham in a wide mouth jar.  Using the inside edge of the band for a wide-mouth jar as a template, I cut slices of ham into circles and place them in the jar, leaving one inch of head space.  Add 1/2 teaspoon salt per pint, 1 teaspoon per quart, and then pour in boiling water, again leaving one inch of head space.  Place lids and bands on finger tight, and process according to directions for your canner, altitude, and jar size, generally 15 pounds of pressure and 75 minutes for pints, 90 minutes for quarts.

When it's time for dinner, make a brown sugar or apricot glaze and warm in the oven or in a skillet on the stove.  Enjoy!

Links to related posts:
Magic Mix Gravy
Carrot Cake
Pressure Canning  Pork
Pressure Canners 

© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com 

Book Review: Stephen Buhner's Herbal Antivirals

Stephen Harrod Buhner's Herbal Antivirals:  Natural Remedies for Emerging & Resistant Viral Infections is another essential volume to acquire for the medical prepping library.  Just like his Herbal Antibiotics book, in this volume Dr. Buhner clearly presents information for each of the herbs and viral diseases he discusses, without any fluff.  Everything is meticulously researched and documented, though much of the research does comes from outside the United States.  Maybe that's a plus. 
Buhner starts off this volume with an introduction to viruses, and though he includes the biological explanations of what viruses do, he pretty much keeps it to a level that most non-life science people with a couple of brain cells to rub together can understand.  He keeps it at a conversational level, and even a bit entertaining at times.  He touches on polio, smallpox, and influenza--the stuff we're somewhat familiar with, and then brings out chikungunya, a virus spread by mosquitoes that causes fever and debilitating pain, for which doctors prescribed acetaminophen.  And the cause of death for many of chikungunya's victims was--get this--liver failure from the acetaminophen.

So what's to be done?  As Buhner points out, Big Pharma doesn't have a lot of antivirals at its disposal.  About 30% of the pages in this volume are devoted to Buhner's top seven antiviral herbs:  Chinese skullcap, elder, ginger, houttuynia, isatis, licorice, and lomatium, plus boneset and red root, which merit an honorable mention.  However, he also lists the many herbal options and dosages for all the illnesses he discusses; he just doesn't go into elaborate detail on the others.  So you'll also learn or be reminded of how to use blackberry, raspberry, oregano, thyme, knotweed, berberine, and many other herbs in your treatment of viral diseases.  And he offers some advice and herbal suggestions for strengthening the immune system. 

In the appendices, Buhner includes an introduction to making herbal medicine as well as a list of suppliers he recommends.  Now, as preppers, we're probably happier being able to produce our own medicine, and fortunately, the author also includes, with his discussion on each of the herbs, guidelines for growing and harvesting the herbs and sources for obtaining seeds or plants.  So there's that to look forward to.  In addition, the bibliography is over 50 pages long.  If you want to find sources for further researching a specific disease or herb, it's all there.

Like Herbal Antibiotics, I think this volume would be better with pictures to help with plant identification.  And one other complaint that some readers have is that very little attention devoted to the common cold.  To me, that's not a deal breaker.  A cold doesn't kill you, and if you strictly practice basic hygiene, common sense, and eat a healthy diet, you shouldn't have too many.

Like with his other books, Buhner's intended audience is those who want a natural, practical, and effective approach to treating viral diseases.  In that respect it is also quite invaluable to preppers looking for tools to defend themselves against enemies they can't even see. Buhner provides treatment protocols for viral respiratory infections like influenza, pneumonia, SARS, RSV, and croup; viral encephalitis infections such as Japanese, West Nile, tick-borne, and dengue; and other viruses like enterovirus, varicella (shingles), herpes, and Epstein-Barr. 

I'm glad I don't have to choose between getting Herbal Antibiotics or Herbal Antivirals.  They are both must-haves, in my opinion.  But if I did have to choose, the nod would go to Herbal Antibiotics.  Herbal Antibiotics covers the plants you want for treating respiratory diseases, which is probably huge for all of us.  I live in a desert where we have almost nothing in the way of ticks or mosquitoes, and much of Herbal Antivirals deals with tick- and mosquito-borne diseases.  If I did have to deal with ticks and mosquitoes, or if I were worried about shingles, I'd eat rice and beans for a month and save the money to get this book.  There should be a copy in every group, if not every family.

Links to related posts:
Alton's Antibiotics and Infectious Disease, Dr. Joe Alton and Amy Alton 
Herbal Antibiotics, by Stephen Buhner
The Herbal Medic, by Sam Coffman

© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com