Introduction to Dehydrating

As perhaps the oldest form of food preservation, people have been dehydrating food for thousands of years.  It is the easiest form of food preservation both in the sense of learning and in doing it. And it is the most compact, which is especially important when storage space is an issue.

It is also the most inexpensive way to preserve food.  While a food dehydrator makes it easier, it’s definitely not essential.  Individuals on a limited budget can even dehydrate food in a car or in the oven.  No special equipment is necessary.  There is no need for canning jars or lids, though they can indeed be quite helpful.  In dry climates, food saver or freezer bags will work for packaging.  If dehydrated foods are being stored in canning jars, canning lids can be re-used. 

Handy individuals can build a dehydrator, but it is often less expensive to acquire used ones at thrift stores or garage sales.  When I first began dehydrating many years ago, I often picked up the Nesco brand dehydrators for $2-3.  They normally come with four trays, but you can stack on additional trays, up to twelve.  There isn’t a thermostat control, and the trays have to be rotated to facilitate even drying.  Excalibur dehydrators are more expensive and harder to find second-hand.  They have the advantages of temperature control and flat trays so that making fruit rolls is easier.  Trays can also be removed so that the dehydrator can be used for raising bread or culturing yogurt. 

So what foods can be dehydrated?  Honestly, just about everything.  Fruits and vegetables are the most popular items, but jerky is also high on the list.  Eggs and milk can also be successfully preserved in this manner.  Cooked rice and pasta can be dehydrated for faster meal preparation in the future.

And finally, why exactly do people dehydrate food?  Some do it to make just-add-water instant meals.  This is especially popular among backpackers and campers, but these meals are also great for emergencies.  Everything is already prepared.  In a crisis, thinking is sometimes difficult.  Having the food ready to go makes a difficult situation easier. 

Another reason is to be able to store a lot of food very compactly.  A bushel of peppers when dehydrated can fit into a quart jar.  The same goes for nine bunches of celery.  That’s a lot of food in a small space. 

A third advantage is that the food is already prepared the way it’s needed.  It just needs a little time to rehydrate.  Zucchini can be sliced thin for soups, thick for making deep-fried zucchini, shredded for cakes and breads, or powdered and substituted for some of the flour in baking to increase nutrition.  Pineapple can be prepared in strips, chunks, or fruit rolls. 

Other fruits can be dried and powdered for adding to yogurt or smoothies.  Tomato powder can be used to thicken soups or make a little bit of ketchup.  Tomato or spinach powder can be added to the flour when making tortillas to color them.  The possibilities are really endless. 

Links to related posts:

Dehydrating pineapple

Pina colada fruit rolls and crackers

Tortillas for wraps

Deep-fried zucchini

Zucchini cupcakes

DIY Minute Rice

Instant Meals

Instant Soups

DIY Tomato Powder

Pumpkin Powder

Quick and Dirty Dehydrating

 27 january 2024

Molasses for Food Storage and Health

Molasses is another sugar option that doesn’t get a lot of press.  It’s a bit more expensive, sticky, and less commonly used.  However, there are good reasons to consider adding some to your food storage program. 

For one, it is simple to add molasses to granulated sugar to make brown sugar. 

·        To make light brown sugar, add two tablespoons of molasses per cup of granulated sugar.

·        To make dark brown sugar, add four tablespoons of molasses per cup of granulated sugar.

Beyond this most basic of uses, there are a few things to understand about molasses.  First off, molasses can be made from sugar cane or sugar beets. 

·        Sulfured molasses is obtained from young sugarcane and treated with sulfur dioxide to preserve it.

·        Unsulfured molasses is extracted from ripe sugarcane and is not preserved with sulfur.

In addition, there are three main types of molasses:

·        Light molasses has a sweet, mild taste.

·        Dark molasses has a rich, full-bodied flavor.

·        Blackstrap molasses is obtained from the processing of raw cane sugar.  It tends to be bitter and is usually not eaten alone.  It has the highest concentration of antioxidants compared to other sweeteners.  And it is actually better source of iron than red meat for treating individuals with anemia.

Culinarily (apparently that’s not a word), molasses is most often used in making gingerbread and baked beans.  I use it in Molasses Oat Bread, and my husband likes it on toast. 

Molasses Oat Bread

2 2/3 cups boiling water

1 1/3 cups rolled oats

2/3 cup molasses

2 tablespoons oil

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 tablespoons yeast

6-7 cups flour

In a large mixing bowl, combine the first six ingredients.  Cool to 110-115°F.  Add yeast; mix well.  Add enough flour to form a soft dough.  Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.  Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

Punch dough down and divide half; shape into loaves.  Place in greased loaf pans.  Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.  Bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

 

Like many articles describing the latest wonder food that will cure everything from colds and zits to cancer, many health benefits are attributed to molasses as well.  If you are looking for a good, natural source for calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, folate (important for women planning to become pregnant to prevent birth defects), vitamins B5 and B6, blackstrap molasses is the way to go.  Unfortunately, you need at least a tablespoon per day.  That’s a lot of blackstrap molasses, both to eat on a daily basis and to store for the long term.

In addition to being a natural source for vitamins and minerals, molasses has a medicinal use as well, in managing constipation.  Research has demonstrated that a 50/50 mix of milk and blackstrap molasses administered as an enema is more effective than its conventional pharmaceutical counterpart of sodium phosphate.  (And it is perfectly acceptable to use powdered milk for this.)  More on this will be covered in a post on constipation.

How much should you store?  Probably 16-32 ounces per person per year.  If constipation is a concern, especially in children, you may wish to store double to triple that amount.

 

Links to related posts:

Basic Food Storage--Sugars

References:

https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/other/health-benefits-of-molasses.html

http://www.fammed.usouthal.edu/Guides&JobAids/handouts/Constipation.pdf

https://med.virginia.edu/pediatrics/clinical-and-patient-services/patient-tutorials/chronic-constipation-encopresis/treatment-of-chronic-constipation/

 11.21.22

COVID Management Protocols for Prophylaxis and Persons with Mild Symptoms

The staggering number of lies we have been told by government officials and pharmaceutical companies, the hypocrisy, the violation of Constitutional rights, the dictatorial powers leaders assume, etc., all make it extremely difficult to ascertain what is truth when it comes to COVID prevention and treatment. 

I believe hospitals are beginning to get overwhelmed with the numbers of admissions.  I believe that early intervention with cheap medications and supplements may prevent worse cases of the disease and the need for hospital treatment.  I believe that if medical personnel get overwhelmed with the stress of too many patients, too few resources, and concern for their own lives and families, some will walk away from the job.  I know critical medications will become difficult to acquire when demand spikes.  I know that when a society collapses, in general it is easier to find a doctor in a crisis that to locate essential medications.  I know that. But in something like COVID, the situation may be a little different.

So it’s best to be prepared with the medications and supplements that could be helpful in treating a COVID infection.  Of course, you are only acquiring these medications to have on hand for a doctor to advise in their proper use.  Quantities and dosages are only provided as a means of helping you calculate how much is needed for your family.

The following information comes from the Eastern Virginia Medical School.  There is a PDF at the website provided in the references below.  The information is current as of 29 October 2020.  I highly recommend printing it out and keeping it in a binder with your medical supplies.  Information on vitamins, supplements, and medications is provided here so that you can start buying what you need right away. 

Critical Care COVID-19 Management Protocol
Please refer to the full protocol for optional treatments and recommendations.

(Updated 10-29-2020)

Prophylaxis
Vitamin C 500 mg BID and Quercetin 250 mg daily
B complex vitamins

Zinc 30-50 mg/day
Melatonin (slow release): Begin with 0.3mg and increase as tolerated to 2 mg
at night
Vitamin D3 1000-4000 u/day

Ivermectin for post-exposure prophylaxis and weekly prophylaxis in high risk groups (150-200 micrograms/kilogram)

Mildly Symptomatic patients (at home):
Ivermectin (150-200 micrograms/kilogram) daily for two doses

Vitamin C 500mg BID and Quercetin 250-500 mg BID

Vitamin D3 2000-4000 u/day
B complex vitamins
Zinc 75-100 mg/day
Melatonin 6-12 mg at night (the optimal dose is unknown)
ASA aspirin 81/325mg/day (unless contraindicated)

In symptomatic patients, monitoring with home pulse oximetry is recommended.
Ambulatory desaturation below 94% should prompt hospital admission

Mildly Symptomatic patients (on floor):

Ivermectin (150-200 micrograms/kilogram) daily for two doses
Vitamin C 500 mg PO q 6 hourly and Quercetin 250-500 mg BID (if available)

Vitamin D3 20000-60000 IU single oral dose.  Calcifediol 200-500 micrograms is an alternative.  Then 20000 IU D3 (or 200 micrograms calcifediol) weekly until discharged from hospital. 

B complex vitamins
Zinc 75-100 mg/day
Melatonin 10 mg at night (the optimal dose is unknown)
Vitamin D3 2000-4000 u/day

Enoxaparin 60 mg daily
Methylprednisolone 40 mg q 12 hourly; increase to 80 mg q 12 if poor response

The first information I had from them was from June.  In the latest update of 29 October 2020, several recommendations changed.  Famotidine, which was initially believed to be of benefit, has been dropped from the list.  Remdesivir, which continues to be pushed as the medicine to save people from COVID, isn’t optional anymore.  It isn’t even included anywhere in their recommendations.  Ivermectin is no longer “optional.”  It’s at the top of the list for treatment and is recommended for post-exposure prophylaxis.  Enoxaparin is an anticoagulant.

Ivermectin for animals can be purchased at feed and ranch stores.  Ivermectin for people is available by prescription only in the US.  It is very inexpensive through overseas pharmacies. 

Everything else in the lists is OTC.  However, in the first wave back in March and April, zinc was almost impossible to locate.  The raw materials for almost all our drugs and supplements come from China.  It’s probably wise to source these medications sooner rather than later.

[Update:  A reader sent in a link to a preprint of a clinical study in Egypt.  It has not been peer-reviewed or published yet.  I have pasted the abstract in below the references I used to write this post.  In short, the study showed that ivermectin was more effective than hydroxychloroquine in treating COVID.]

 

Links to related posts:

Ivermectin

Vitamin C

Vitamin D

Zinc

 

References:

Paul Marik, “Critical Care COVID-19 Management Protocol,” Eastern Virginia Medical School, 29 October 2020, https://www.evms.edu/media/evms_public/departments/internal_medicine/Marik-Covid-Protocol-Summary.pdf (accessed 19 November 2020).

Andy Crump, et al., “Ivermectin, ‘Wonder Drug from Japan’: The Human Use Perspective,” Proceedings of the Japan Academy, Series B, Physical and Biological Sciences, 10 February 2011, Vol 87 No 2, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3043740/ (accessed 19 November 2020). 

“How a Grass Roots Health Movement Led to Acceptance of Ivermectin as a COVID 19 Therapy in Peru,” Trial Site News, 12 June 2020, https://www.trialsitenews.com/how-a-grass-roots-health-movement-led-to-acceptance-of-ivermectin-as-a-covid-19-therapy-in-peru/ (accessed 19 November 2020).

Ahmed Elgazzar, et al., "Efficacy and Safety of Ivermectin for Treatment and Prophylaxis of COVID-19 Pandemic," Research Square, https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-100956/v1 (accessed 26 November 2020).

Background: Up-to-date, there is no recognized effective treatment or vaccine for the treatment of COVID-19 that emphasize urgency around distinctive effective therapies. This study aims to evaluate the anti-parasitic medication efficacy "Ivermectin" plus standard care (azithromycin, vitamin C, Zinc, Lactoferrin & Acetylcystein & prophylactic or therapeutic anticoagulation if D-dimer > 1000) in the treatment of mild/moderate and severely ill cases with COVID 19 infection, as well as prophylaxis of health care and/ or household contacts in comparison to the Hydroxychloroquine plus standard treatment.

Subject and methods: 600 subjects; 400 symptomatic confirmed COVID-19 patients and 200 health care and household contacts distributed over 6 groups; Group I: 100 patients with Mild/Moderate COVID-19 infection received a 4-days course of Ivermectin plus standard of care; Group II: 100 patients with mild/moderate COVID-19 infection received hydroxyxholorquine plus standard of care; Group III: 100 patients with severe COVID-19 infection received Ivermectin plus standard of care; Group IV: 100 patients with Severe COVID-19 infection received hydroxyxholorquine plus standard of care. Routine laboratory investigations and RT-PCR were reported before and after initiation of treatment. Group V stick to personal protective equipment (PPE) plus Ivermectin 400mcg / kg to be repeated after one week, and Group VI stick to PPE only and both groups V&VI were followed for two weeks.

Results: Patients received ivermectin reported substantial recovery of laboratory investigations; and significant reduction in RT-PCR conversion days. A substantial improvement and reduction in mortality rate in Ivermectin treated groups; group I (mild/moderate cases), (99%, and 0.0%, respectively) and group III (severe cases), (94%, and 2.0%, respectively) versus hydroxychloroquine plus standard care treated groups; group II (mild/moderate cases), (74% and 4%, respectively) and group IV (severe cases) (50% and 20%, respectively). Ivermectin had significantly reduced the incidence of infection in health care and household contacts up to 2% compared to 10% in non ivermectin group

Conclusion: Addition of Ivermectin to standard care is very effective drug for treatment of COVID-19 patients with significant reduction in mortality compared to Hydroxychloroquine plus standard treatment only. Early use of Ivermectin is very useful for controlling COVID 19 infections, prophylaxis and improving cytokines storm