Rice: To Rinse or Not to Rinse, and Why a Prepper Should Care

Among rice connoisseurs and anyone concerned with eating healthy, there is a huge debate regarding the practice of rinsing rice before cooking.  This post won't do much to resolve the issue, but at least we can understand the arguments and then make the best decision for our family.

Historically, rice was rinsed to remove dirt, organic particles, bugs and bug parts, etc.  We no longer have that concern in this country.  Today, milling processes in some countries include adding glucose, starch, and other coatings to improve the appearance of the rice, and these things should probably be rinsed off.

In the US, 70% of the rice consumed here is enriched with vitamins and minerals.  If this rice gets rinsed, all those vitamins and minerals are washed away.  Some people rinse rice to make it less sticky.  However, there's another reason why some people rinse rice.  It's due to arsenic levels in the rice.

Some people suggest that rice is a source of arsenic poisoning.  The small amounts of arsenic found in rice consumed in a normal, varied adult diet are generally not a concern, but two or three meals a day containing rice for an infant or small child could double their risk of cancer.

Arsenic levels in rice are a factor of the type of rice and where it is grown.  It is not a result of current agricultural processes or processing.  The arsenic is found in the soil the rice grows in, and arsenic levels are especially high in rice grown in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Missouri.  These areas were historically used for raising cotton and as such were treated with pesticides that contained arsenic.  That arsenic accumulated in the soil, and rice plants, in particular, are quite effective at taking up arsenic.  Basmati rice from India and California has the lowest levels of arsenic.  Due to their diets that include a lot of rice, Asians and Mexicans are more at risk for toxic levels of arsenic in the body.

Arsenic exposure can be lessened by either boiling the rice with excess water and then pouring that water off before serving, or by rinsing the rice several times before cooking.  Unfortunately, both of these methods also wash away the vitamins and minerals. 

So what's a person to do?  Personally, I'll probably buy a few bags of basmati rice grown in California to have on hand for small children.  But honestly, if we have stored a good variety of food, having rice once or twice a week shouldn't cause any health issues.  It might be an entirely different matter for those planning to live on rice and beans alone.

Links to related posts:
Rice
Thiamine Deficiency
DIY Instant Rice

For further reading:
https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2012/11/arsenic-in-your-food/index.htm
https://www.fda.gov/media/96071/download
http://www.foodreference.com/html/a-rice-soak-rinse-1208.html
https://www.chowhound.com/food-news/148823/nagging-question-should-you-rinse-rice-before-cooking/
https://purelivingspace.com/blogs/health-wellness/the-rice-debate-what-is-the-best-choice-for-your-health

 5.29.20

What Are Your Ten Essential Foods?

If you were to make a list of the ten most essential foods for your family, what would be on that list?  What do you go to the store for?  On a normal day, what foods make you go shopping immediately when you run out?  When we had small children, running out of milk meant a quick trip to the store.  Of course, it was easier to just keep tabs on the supply and make sure we bought enough to last for the week.

What else is on your critical list?  Eggs?  By the lack of flour on the shelves and the difficulty in finding yeast for sale anywhere, it appears that bread is pretty essential for most of us.  This trifecta is surely a meme somewhere:  the panic to purchase milk, bread, and eggs in advance of a hurricane or blizzard means Americans eat French toast in a crisis.  (But it must be without syrup, because there's never any in the panic shopping carts.) 

Does running out of fresh produce prompt a run to the store?  What about cheese?  Lunchmeat?  Other dairy products?  Those are the items I would go to the store for.  The other items rounding out the top ten list for Americans are vegetables, chips, breakfast cereal, fruit, chicken, and beef.

Now what about the long-term storage counterparts to your essential foods?  Do you have them?  Do you know how to use or prepare them?
  
Milk is a hard one for most people.  Powdered milk has a certain reputation for not tasting good.  The more expensive milks taste better, but at the expense of good nutrition.  Learning how to make cheap powdered milk taste good is easy.

Eggs are best fresh from the hen.  If you can't keep chickens, or if your hens are in a molt, however, it's nice to have a backup.  Powdered eggs work extremely well in baking, and there are loads of other options that work with varying degrees of success depending on how they are being used.

Knowing how to make a good loaf of bread is a highly desirable skill even today.  It was shocking to hear how difficult it was to obtain bread, flour, and yeast in grocery stores.  Just this week my husband took a one-pound brick of yeast from our storage to our son and daughter-in-law in a small town four hours from here, because they still have not been able to locate yeast.

Cheese and other dairy products are favorites for a lot of us.  What are the best forms to store it in, and how much do we really want?

Vegetables and fruits are other hot items.  Canned goods sold out pretty quickly in advance of the COVID-19 pandemic isolation, as did frozen vegetables.  Produce became rather hit or miss with regards to finding it in stores.  Are you able to grow, can, and dehydrate vegetables you raise in your garden?  Do you know how to extend the growing season with hoop houses and starting seeds indoors?

Chicken and beef are foods that might become a bit scarce in a crisis.  Do you have canned, frozen, or freeze-dried options at home?

Chips are comfort foods for lots of us, and breakfast cereals are especially important to children.  What measures have you taken to store their favorites?  Do you know which breakfast cereals have the best shelf-life?  Which are the worst for storage?

Now, how does this list of foods align with the list of food that you are storing for your family?  What kind of adjustment will it be to transition from your normal daily diet to your food storage diet?  Will that change be small or radical?  How will your gastrointestinal tract handle it?  How will small children or the elderly in your life who are more sensitive to disruptions react to the new diet?

If your food storage involves primarily sustenance types of foods, you'll be covered for bread and milk and not a lot of variety beyond that.  If you've focused on complementary foods, you'll be missing out on the vitamins that come primarily from grains and beans.

A diversified diet is much healthier and helps maintain good morale in difficult situations.  Sustenance and complementary foods, long- and short-term food storage, emergency meals, and comfort foods all have their place in the prepared pantry.  Take inventory of what you have and start a list of what you need to provide well for your family in a crisis.  Make sure you have your essential foods in there, in whatever form you use them, to ensure the crisis in the outside world doesn't become a crisis in your family.

Do this before the projected second-wave of the virus begins.

Links to related posts:
In-Depth Discussion of Powdered Milk
Wheat Bread
Breakfast Cereal Shelf Life
Comfort Foods
Pressure Canning Chicken
Pressure Canning Beef
Canning Butter and Cheese (Don't!)

 18 june 2020

The Medicinal Uses of Tumbleweed (Russian Thistle)

Russian thistle sounds innocuous enough.   But it's actually the bane of my existence.  And that's because Russian thistle is the nice name for tumbleweed.  We grow massive tumbleweeds here.  And each one has about a quarter of a million seeds.  With a near 100% germination rate in a bad year.  So if you don't kill every single tumbleweed on your property, they'll all be back next year.  Even if you do kill them all, they'll be back, because your neighbors didn't kill them all.

Tumbleweeds are also known as wind witches.  The name fits.  The Latin genus name is Salsola in reference to the plant's high tolerance for salty soils.  All of the following species are considered Russian thistles and tumbleweeds: Salsola kali, S. iberica, S. pestifer, S. australis, S. tragus.  And all, interestingly, can also be gathered as young shoots and plants for seasoning food as a salt substitute.

As far as medicinal uses go:

Ant bites and bee and wasp stings can be treated with a spit poultice of chewed plants applied to the location of the bite or sting.[1]

Worms are treated with an infusion of the plant leaves.[2]

Influenza is treated with an infusion of the plant ashes.[3]
Smallpox is also treated with an infusion of the plant ashes.  This infusion is also used as a wash for the smallpox sores.[3]

Russian thistle is purportedly a good source of fiber, protein, magnesium, and calcium.  The young shoots are supposedly good in a salad; older shoots are nice sauteed.[4]  It's important to know these things so that you can help your neighbors find food to eat when their supplies run out.

Links to related posts:

Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Cafe--Tumbleweed Rice

Worms in Armageddon

References:
[1]https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Salsola+tragus

[2] Steven Foster, et al., Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs, 2002, 241.
[3]http://naturalmedicinalherbs.net/herbs/s/salsola-kali-ruthenica=prickly-russian-thistle.php
[4]https://drhealthbenefits.com/herbal/herbal-plant/health-benefits-of-russian-thistle
https://www.desertusa.com/flowers/tumbleweed.html

 6.15.20

The Medicinal Uses of Hawthorn

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.

Hawthorn (Crataegus sp.) has been used for food and medicine for millennia.[1]  It is found all over the western US in forests and meadows, but most especially along streams and creeks.  Like their apple and rose relations, hawthorn flowers are five-petaled and white to pinkish.  The mature fruits, called haws or mayhaws, are red to purple and about the size of a large pea.  The haws are edible, though not all that sweet or flavorful.  They are often combined with other fruits to make leather and were used by Native Americans in making pemmican.[2]  The haws are, like apples, very rich in pectin and used to make jam and jelly.  The seeds are very hard and may cause dental issues if chewed or bitten.  Native Americans used the thorns to lance boils and probe wounds.[3]

Medicinally, hawthorn's primary utility is in managing heart conditions.  It is one of the very best herbs for treating and preventing arteriosclerosis.[4]  In addition, it is especially beneficial when heart tissue has been damaged by ischemia or infarction.[5]  Because one of hawthorn's chiefest actions is to dilate coronary vessels, it is especially indicated in treating hypertension, angina pectoris, and palpitations.[6]  Arrhythmias and tachycardia are also alleviated.[7]  Because hawthorn has a very gradual, mild action, it must be taken for months for maximum effect.  It is definitely not a quick fix.[8]

Hawthorn works synergistically with bugleweed for lowering blood pressure.[9]

The leaf and flower are used in Europe for managing the early stages of congestive heart failure.  Studies demonstrated that it was nearly as effective as conventional pharmaceuticals, without any of the side effects.  It is considered very safe for long-term use.

Infusion:  Berry, leaf, and flower infusions, 1 teaspoon dried plant matter in 4-8 ounces hot water.  Steep 10-15 minutes.  May take 2-3 times per day.[10]

Tincture:  Fresh flowering branches, 1:2, 60% alcohol.  Dried berries, 1:5, 60% alcohol.[11]  Buhner recommends a dosage of 10-30 drops up to 3 times per day; Kane advises 30-60 drops 2-3 times per day.  The fresh plant tincture is best for treating heart conditions in those dealing with grief, loss, and depression.[12]

Caution:  Scratches to the eye from the hawthorn thorn may cause blindness.[13]

Contraindications:  Not for use by children or pregnant or nursing women.  Heart medications may need to be adjusted when using hawthorn.  Obviously, if you have a heart condition, you shouldn't take any medication, conventional or herbal, without consulting with your physician.

References:
[1] Jennifer Edwards, et al., "A Review of the Chemistry of the Genus Crataegus," Phytochemistry, July 2012, 79:5-26, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22608128, accessed 9 June 2020.
[2] Steven Foster and Christopher Hobbs, Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs, 295.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Charles W. Kane, Medicinal Plants of the Western Mountain States, 161-165.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs, 295; Medicinal Plants of the Western Mountain States, 161-165. Ilkay Erdogan Orhan, Phytochemical and Pharmacological Activity Profile of Crataegus oxyacantha L (Hawthorn), A Cardiogenic Herb," Current Medicinal Chemistry, 2018, 25(37), https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27655074/ (accessed 9 June 2020).
[7] Medicinal Plants of the Western Mountain States, 161-165.
[8] Linda Kershaw, Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Rockies, 64; Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs, 295. Adriane Fugh-Berman, "Herbs and Dietary Supplements in the Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease, Preventive Cardiology, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1520-037X.2000.80355.x (accessed 9 June 2020).
[9] Medicinal Plants of the Western Mountain States, 161-165.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Stephen Buhner, Herbal Antibiotics, 369.
[12] Medicinal Plants of the Western Mountain States, 161-165.
[13] Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs, 295; Medicinal Plants of the Western Mountain States, 161-165.

 7.13.20

Where Does My Responsibility Begin and End?

I have pondered this question for years.  And I still don't understand the mindset of people who delude themselves into thinking that they don't need to prepare because others will be willing to share, or forced to share, if necessary.  I don't understand those who prioritize material items over caring for their families.  I don't understand those who say they can't afford it, when by all appearances, they can.  I understand money is tight, been there and done that, but you do what you have to do to prepare.  I just don't understand those who say they'll be coming to my house when they can't feed themselves and their children.

And I also don't understand those who do prepare, but say they will be happy to share with all who need it.  Maybe I haven't achieved the level of Christ-like compassion that they have.  I know I have so many faults and sins to overcome.  I'm working on it.  But in the meantime, I take the words of the Apostle Paul to heart:  "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel"  (1 Timothy 5:8). 

My first responsibility is to my family.  If I have surplus food and supplies, what is my responsibility to those who come begging?  Where does my responsibility begin and end?  Of course, these questions are not directed to you.  Give or take a couple of tenths, 99.8% of my readers do not know me in real life.  So this isn't directed to you, but rather to those who tell us they're coming to our houses for food. These aren't well-organized thoughts, but they represent what I think when I hear people say they don't prepare or that they're going to share with everybody.  If you have an outlook or observation that could persuade me of the error of my thinking, please share in the comments below.

Am I supposed to just somehow know that you will be coming and that I am to prepare for you?
Am I supposed to feed you like a king?
Am I supposed to feed you what you are accustomed to eating?
Am I supposed to cook and clean for you?
Am I supposed to give you the good stuff?
Am I supposed to feed you like I feed the rest of my family?
How many of you are there?  Am I supposed to do it all if 5, or 10, or 20, or 100 extra people show up?

Oh, you are willing to help.  Well then, am I supposed to trust that you can help?  To trust that you know your way around a kitchen?  That you understand proper hygiene enough that you won't make others sick?

Am I not supposed to feed you food that is out of date?
Am I supposed to feed you the number of calories you want?
Am I supposed to feed you the treats you want?
Am I supposed to come up with something else if you don't like what I made?
Am I supposed to modify my storage to make sure that my food is gluten-free, lactose-free, or nut-allergy free? Vegetarian?  Vegan?
Am I supposed to feed you for nothing when there is a boatload of work to do around here?
Am I supposed to believe that you can be oh-so-helpful in a garden when you have never raised a potato?
Am I supposed to feed you what you want even though you are overweight?
Am I supposed to give you very valuable oil for your baking, when bean puree will substitute?
Am I obligated to do it all for you?
Am I obligated at all to you?

This is how the situation will play out.

If you get anything...
You get the cheap stuff--wheat, oats.
You get the old stuff.  The stuff that is long past its use-by or best-by date.
You get the undesirable stuff.  Pickled pigs feet.  Canned salmon with bones that I haven't thrown away yet.  Cat food.  Well, not really cat food.  Pressure canned chicken bones that can be mashed and fed to the cat.  Actually, maybe not.  The cat is very valuable for keeping down on vermin and snakes around the house.  You, on the other hand, didn't have the intelligence to prepare yourself or your family.  You have already branded yourself as severely lacking.

You get stuff you might be allergic to.  My kitchen is not safe for anyone with nut or milk allergies.  Home-canned fruits were cut up using a cutting board that I normally oil with peanut oil.  Sometimes I changed my mind on what was going into a jar.  I might have started out with peanuts or almonds and changed my mind.  Just blew out the jar without washing and then put something else in it.

You get stuff with weevils or other bugs.  You'll be happy to take the free stuff, whatever comes with no strings attached?  That would be whatever the mice chewed on.  Oh, and there isn't actually any of that.  We store everything very well so that mice don't get to it before the cats get to them.

You get rancid stuff.  Sometimes nuts go rancid, and I haven't figured out a use for those.  I've got ten-year-old rancid vegetable oil.  But that still has value for oil lamps, so I'm keeping it. Rancid flour--it's happened once--gets made into dog food.

You might get mixes I didn't like enough to ever make, like the stuff that my husband brings home from the store that I never used.

Some people might offer you home-canned foods.  They'll probably be really old.  How safe were their home canning practices?  Some may offer stuff that was stored for years in a hot garage.  It's not gonna be tasty.  You might be offered foods you can't cook with because you never learned to cook.

I'm sorry, but in our new normal, cooking and baking take a lot of time and a lot of fuel.  I don't have extra time to make food for you.  I don't have extra fuel to cook it for you.

Oh, you wanted the good stuff.  Sorry.

My children learned how to work as children and they still work now.  They need the good stuff to keep their morale up as they work with people who refused to prepare. My husband, one daughter, and one son have specific dietary needs.  They aren't sacrificing their health for your irrational desires that weren't important enough to prep for.

Oh, you look like you could shed a few pounds.  500 calories per day for you.

Yes, as a matter of fact, there is a lot of work to do on the property.  You can bust your butt all day and earn 2,500 calories in food.  Yeah, that will feed you.  Not your family.  If they want food, they have to bust buns as well.  And actually, all will be fed in accordance with how well they worked.  Lazy, spoiled American?  No food.  Lots of children?  Sorry.  If they're young enough to forget you and be trained well, I'll take them in, on the condition that you leave and never return.  Guess you should have prepared better.  If your children are old enough to remember you, you sure as heck better teach them to work hard and well darn quick so they can get enough to eat.

It's not a pretty picture, is it?

But don't make our family out to be unkind or mean for not sharing our food.  You were the one who neglected your family and refused to prepare.  And if you didn't care enough about them to prepare for them, why should I?

Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Cafe: Deep Fried Zucchini

Depending on where you live in the country, you're either about to enter the danger zone or will be soon.  You know, that season when you don't dare leave your car windows down.  When you consider installing a security camera for your front door, not to deter porch pirates, but to prevent people with far more sinister motives--those who recklessly abandon zucchini everywhere.

Fortunately, we've never had to go there ourselves.  We love zucchini.  Unfortunately, we most love it in ways that we shouldn't, an unhealthy attraction, so to speak.  We love zucchini cupcakes with caramel frosting.  Truly divine stuff.  And we really love deep-fried zucchini.

It's generally a delicacy reserved for late summer, when we weren't really paying attention when harvesting zucchini on Thursday, and on Friday we found something closer to a baseball bat than a proper vegetable in the boxed beds.  It's either grate the whole thing and freeze it for later or make deep-fried zucchini now.

Deep-Fried Zucchini
Some big zucchinis, sliced about 3/8 inch thick
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk
1 cup potato flakes
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon seasoned salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 cup oil for frying

Combine the egg and milk in a small bowl.  In another shallow bowl or plate, combine the potato flakes, flour, and spices.  Dip zucchini slices in the milk and egg mixture and then in the potato-flour-spice mixture and set on cooling racks.  Heat oil to 350 degrees.  Fry zucchini for 2 minutes on each side.  Serve hot with ranch dressing, if desired.

These aren't all that healthy, but man, they taste really good.  Everyone loves them.


Because zucchini is so easy to grow and produces so prolifically, we have an abundance of it, even with only one or two plants and a family of six to eight adults, depending on who's here for dinner.  There is always excess for canning, dehydrating, and freezing.  Last year I got to wondering whether those big slices of zucchini could be dehydrated and then rehydrated and deep-fried.  And so I dehydrated two quart jars' worth of big zucchini slices.  Yesterday, I decided it was time to dive in and try them out.

I only rehydrated half of one jar, about 24 slices.  I put them in a bowl and covered them with boiling water about three hours before dinner.  I wanted them to have plenty of time to rehydrate as much as possible.  Then I drained them and patted them dry with a clean flour sack towel.  They were nowhere near as watery as fresh slices.  I wasn't sure this was going to work, but I wanted to try it out. I followed the recipe above for the rest of the preparation.

The prepared slices fried up beautifully.  There was far less splattering, probably because there was less water content in the dehydrated-rehydrated zucchini.  They held together perfectly and the coating stayed on beautifully.  While the outside was perfectly crispy, the zucchini itself was a bit chewy, especially the skin.  It was an interesting combination.  Four out of six of us really liked it; my husband said they were ok, and QOTPE did not care for them at all.  That's ok, my sweetheart shouldn't be having so many fried foods anyway.  QOTPE--well, I have no illusions about fixing her palate and there's plenty of other food anyway.  We're having the rest of the jar for dinner tonight.

Well, dinner was the plan.  But then I decided I wanted to make the deep-fried zucchini even more food-storage-y.  And I didn't want to wait until dinner.  Instead of a fresh egg and fresh milk, I used powdered eggs and dry milk.  Nobody detected a difference. That's another win for totally good total food storage.

Links to related posts:
The Incredible, Edible...Zucchini!
Instant Potato Flakes
Zucchini Cupcakes

30 june 2020

Cheap, Easy, Effective, and Safe DIY Rat Bait

Several years ago when we lived in Antelope Valley north of Reno, our little valley experienced a packrat infestation.  Now mice are bad, and rats are worse, but packrats are evil incarnate.  Almost as bad as lawyers and politicians. 

They weren’t getting into the house or our food storage.  They were building their massive, nasty nests in our vehicles, using whatever they deemed comfy and essential.  They brought in a bit of outside material, but also found it necessary to chew through wires in our car and truck.  I can’t remember all the damage they did—my husband sure would as he had to make the repairs—but chewing through the wires to the seat warmer in the driver’s seat of the Subaru was beyond rude. 

Anyway, we won the Great Packrat War of 2018, after several hundred dollars in damages as well as shelling out some big bucks for electronic traps.  (We also tried the rolling can smeared peanut butter over the water bucket.  Never killed anything with it.)

The packrats and their damage became a distant memory.

Until we returned from vacation earlier this month. 

As we were going back and forth from the house and unloading the trailer, Aaron and Sierra (Becky’s 12-year-old lab mutt with joint problems) spotted a rodent.  Aaron got a whack in, but Sierra channeled her inner puppy, chomped down on it, and, dripping blood all along the sidewalk, carried it to the grass.  She didn’t know what to do with it afterwards, but she gets treats for the rest of her life. 

Even though we’ve never seen any evidence of rats or packrats here, we’ve always felt that if you see one, there are at least a dozen you don’t see.  And we really don’t want any more vehicle problems.  So it’s time to put together a little rat bait.

This bait will also work on mice if you don’t want to use (or don’t have) instant potato flakes for them. 

The idea for this bait comes from Jerry Hansen of Pine Meadows Hobby Farm on Youtube, and he says it has almost completely eradicated the rodent population on his farm.  (I say almost because you often have newbies wandering onto the property.)

• First, put on some disposable gloves before you begin gathering supplies.  (Rats have an extremely keen sense of smell.  If you don't use gloves, your hands will leave your scent behind and they learn to associate the scent of your hands with death.  You know, because their little friends died after eating the bait.)
• Get a disposable plastic container—like deli meats come in, Gladware, etc., with a lid.   
• Cut a little rat hole in the side.   
• Mix a box of Jiffy cornbread mix with equal amounts of baking soda.   
• Put about ¼ cup of the mixture inside and replace the lid.   
• Set the bait where you find evidence of the rats.  Check frequently and replace the mixture as necessary.

Now there are several great things about this method for killing mice that you need to know.

It’s totally safe for children, pets, and any wildlife that may eat the rodents before (or after) they die. 

It kills mice and rats because the baking soda reacts with their stomach acid and builds up gas.  Rats and mice can’t burp or fart.  The gas continues to build and eventually their stomachs explode.  Dead rat.  Or mouse. 

It’s totally cheap, totally food storage, totally off-grid, and totally easy.

Also, you can use your own cornbread mix.  There’s nothing special about using Jiffy; it’s just what Jerry Hansen used.  The cornbread mix, whatever the source, is the attractant.  The baking soda, when it reacts with the stomach acid, is what does the killing.  The cornbread mix just entices the rodents to eat the baking soda. 

Make sure you have plenty of baking soda stored.  It’s got loads of preparedness uses beyond baking.

Links to related posts:

Beyond Mashed Potatoes—Seven Really Diverse Ways to Use Instant Potato Flakes  

The Medicinal Uses of Baking Soda 

Baking Essentials—Basics of Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Cream of Tartar, and Yeast 

How to Make Dakin’s Solution

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=TBeySuYvdbY

 

Rationing Care and Supplies

When our society collapses, what you have stored for your family is what you have.  There will be no resupply, because manufacturing and transportation will cease.  Many of the existing supplies will be wasted, even those that could have been reused will be discarded.  And while the black market works well in Hollywood, reality dictates a different scenario.

However, just like on TV, medical supplies will be a target.  So will anyone perceived as being able to provide care.  Unfortunately, the supplies run out sooner or later.  The importance of learning how to use herbal medicine with herbs local to your area cannot be over-emphasized.   But that's another topic.  Improvised items are also covered elsewhere on this blog.  Of great importance now is gathering reusable medical tools and supplies.  Glass syringes are hard to locate, but still possible.  And they can be autoclaved and sterilized forever.  Plastic syringes cannot.  Needles can also be reused indefinitely, but you'll want a way to sharpen the tip.  Rayon gauze, unlike cotton, can also be sterilized for reuse. 

Currently, when someone is wounded and taken to the hospital for treatment, the whole staff and supply stockpile can be devoted to that individual, especially with insurance to cover everything and a functioning manufacturing and delivery system for resupply.  When there is a large-scale disaster with more wounded than can be cared for with available staff and supplies, care is rationed.  In medical terms, it's called triage.  Different systems include from three to seven colors for categorization of care.  We'll just use three for now:

• green is for those who will survive, no matter what we do;
• black is for those who are dead or will die, no matter what we do;
• red is for those for whom we can make a difference.

However, that system is for a society where medical care is a right.  In a collapsed society, the situation is a whole lot different.  Medical care becomes a privilege for those who contribute to society and who chose to prepare. 

If people are aware that you have medical supplies, they will be requested, demanded, or confiscated from you.  Like with a lot of preparedness activities, you may wish to keep a low profile regarding your supplies.  As long as possible, anyway.

Beyond that, bear in mind that your supplies are just that--they're your supplies.  You decide how they are used and whom they are for.  And that is going to be difficult, even heart-wrenching at times.  Even if you are only dealing with your own family, you will have to accept that:

• Some are going to die no matter what you do.  
• You will have to decline using resources on them, to spare them for others later who can be saved.
• This may include your spouse, children, or grandchildren.
• And you can't change reality.

It's sometimes beyond our ability to comprehend.

How do you tell your child or grandchild to accept the pain of an excruciating ear infection (yes, apparently those can be as painful as kidney stones or labor and delivery) because it will eventually get better?  How do you tell your friend that you can't spare your antibiotics to save his elderly father, who, even though he's a nice guy, isn't contributing to the survival of the group? On the other hand, maybe someone comes to you and wants your herbal antibiotics, leaving you only with pharmaceuticals that are extremely out of date or which may not be suited for children or pregnant women.  How are you going to respond?

Your supplies are extremely limited.  If you are soft-hearted and likely to succumb to a sob story, you may not be the one to have the medical supplies under your control.  Perhaps they need to be in the hands of someone who can make those hard decisions.  Maybe the medications at least need to be very inaccessible.  Maybe no one should know what you have.  It's yours.  It's for your family, not society.   It's your call.  And it's going to be a hard call.  

14 july 2020

Essential Minor Surgery Instruments and Other Supplies for Wound Cleaning

Before we get into the specifics of surgery here, let's make sure we're all on the same page regarding the understanding of minor surgery.  True minor surgery involves only cutting and stitching.  Anesthetic, if any is used, is only local.  No respiratory assistance is required.  Minor surgery pertains to medical issues such as lacerations, abscesses, and ingrown toenails. 

As with any job, having the right tools makes the task easier, faster, and more pleasant for all.  Yes, you can sometimes improvise a tool, if necessary.  I have been known to improvise a flathead screwdriver for a Phillips on occasion.  It usually doesn't work as well.  I've also been known to improvise a butter knife for a flathead screwdriver, and it doesn't work as well, either.  But both of them save me a trip to the garage.  I also only make these substitutions for little, temporary jobs.  If I want to do the job right, I get the right tool.

When you're dealing with medical issues with your family, you want the right tools for yourself or the doctor doing the work for you.  You don't want the absolute cheapest instruments, but you don't need surgical suite quality, either.

Ideally, you'd find a doctor to help you out with specific purchases.  Dr. Steve brought tools to the class and we were able to buy what we wanted as sets or singly.  Most of the instruments he offered were actually made in India.  Even though they were very inexpensive, he was impressed with the quality and felt they were on par with much more expensive tools.  Unfortunately, I can't really offer any recommendations.  The pre-assembled kits retailers offer may have good quality items.  Like every kit marketed towards the preparedness community, these pre-assembled kits will most certainly cost more than what you'd pay by putting your own together. 

As far as the actual instruments go, this is what most doctors have and use:

• Hemostats (look like clamps)
• mosquito, curved (2)
• Kelly, straight (2)
• Hagar needle driver (also known as needle holder), 5", (1).  These look like clamps but are not.  They are strictly for holding the suture needle.
• Scissors
• bandage scissors (1)
• Metzenbaum, dissecting scissors, curved, 6" (1)
• suture.  These have a curved, blunt blade on the bottom to prevent injuring the patient.
• trauma shears for cutting away clothing (1)
• Scalpels
• disposable units or the handles (#3 scalpel handle) with replacement blades
• scalpel blades, at least a dozen each of #10, #11, and #15
• Forceps (tweezers to non-doctors)
• splinter forceps, ultra-fine tip with tip protector (1)
• smooth pick-ups, holding dressings (1)
• toothed pick-ups (Adson's forceps/tissue forceps.  Especially useful in pulling the skin together so that skin staples can be well placed.)

And you can ask a doctor, and he'll tell you these instruments are not really interchangeable.  They're the bare basics for most minor surgeries.  When a patient needs minor surgery, you want to have everything necessary for the job to be done well and safely, without introducing infection.  So you'll also want in your supplies a good number of sterile towels and drapes.  These are placed around the wound to be sutured so that the suture thread does not come into contact with dirty skin or clothing and risk dragging contaminants into the wound.  These can be sterilized and reused as needed.  And the surgeon should also have sterile gloves.  These run about a dollar a pair, and the surgeon really wants the right size for his hand, so you'll want a few sizes.

And finally, a couple of other items for cleaning wounds:

• a baby brush.  The soft little baby brushes that are sent home from the hospital are ideal for gently cleaning out debris from abrasions.  
• razors.  If the laceration is within a hairy part of the body, the skin needs to be shaved clean before suturing begins.  Otherwise, the risk of contaminating the underlying tissue is too great. 

 9 june 2020

Common Commercial Landscaping Plants for Herbal Medicine

Disclaimer.  I am not a licensed health practitioner.  This is just another post on items 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.


So much of writing about herbal medicine in a collapsed society revolves around finding plants in the wild.  However, as the current pandemic has demonstrated, none of us had to bug out.  We're all at home.  We also found some medicines became a little more difficult to obtain.  Fortunately, with social distancing, far fewer people are getting sick.  But what will the next crisis bring?  While food shortages and riots seem baked in, beyond that it's difficult to guess. 

Still, illnesses can and will happen.  What if you can't get the pharmaceuticals you want?  What if you live in the city, or you're a student or apartment dweller? What if you can't grow your own herbal medicine?

While many lack the ability to grow herbs for medicine due to constraints of property location or personal situation, it's critical to be as self-reliant as possible, even in a city.  Happily, there are dozens of common commercial landscaping plants that are also medicinal.

Because commercial landscaping plants are more likely to have pesticides applied, you may not wish to use them except in an emergency.  When you do have to use them, keep in mind that plants used in commercial landscaping are chosen partially for being low maintenance, so there really shouldn't be much sprayed on them.  Just wash them well.

Be judicious and stealthy in harvesting. Picking a few honeysuckle blooms or snipping off a bit of rosemary for a tea probably won't get you in trouble, but digging out half a Japanese barberry to make a tincture will likely be frowned upon.  Remember, this is for a time when society has completely collapsed and you have no other options.  As long as there is still a functioning community, don't break the law and don't violate the property of others.

The following is a short list of common commercial landscaping plants that also have medicinal qualities and are used in my area.  There are blog articles on most of these.  Just click on the links.  Take a look at what is used in your area and do a little research to see what medicinal qualities those plants hold.

• Cinquefoil
• Japanese barberry
• Japanese honeysuckle
• Juniper
• Lavender
• Oak
• Pine
• Rosemary

At the same time, consider the weeds and trees in your public parks.  Budget cuts often mean the weeds aren't being sprayed and the grass isn't being fertilized.  Of course, there are all the dogs to deal with, but if you go off the beaten path, you may find some good stuff.

• Dandelion
• Mallow
• Plantain
• Purslane 
• Red clover
• Usnea
• Yarrow

Using herbs for medicine doesn't require tromping about in the wild.  You can probably find what you need growing right in your neighborhood.  Pick one new herb to learn about each week, and within three months you'll have a really good variety to choose from.


Links to related posts:
Click on the herbs in the lists above.

 20 july 2020

Homemade Ro-Tel

One of the problems with commercially canned tomato products is that they often have a relatively short shelf life.  That tomato acid just eats through the lining and rusts the can out pretty quickly.  Most canned veggies will be good several years past the best-by date, but you're pretty lucky to make it two years with commercially canned tomatoes.  (Home-canned tomatoes in glass jars last much longer.)

Which means you can't stock up on tomato products very well.  Fortunately, tomatoes are fairly easy to grow and process.  They don't require too much in the way of brain cells or supplies, whether you're canning sauce or stewed tomatoes.  But for other stuff, like salsa, you better have a recipe.  The same goes for Ro-tel.  

Ro-Tel 
6 cups cored, peeled, and quartered tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped mild chili peppers
1 1/2 teaspoons canning salt
Citric acid or commercially bottled lemon juice

Bring tomatoes, chilies, and salt to a low boil over medium heat and cook for 10 minutes.  Ladle mixture into half-pint jars, leaving one inch of headspace.  To each jar add 1/8 teaspoon citric acid or 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice.  Process in a boiling water bath for 40 minutes.  Remove jars from canner and let cool overnight on counter.

Links to related posts:
Salsa

10.19.19

Hardtack--There's a Reason Why Soldiers Don't Love It

My first somewhat personal connection to hardtack occurred as I perused some documents pertaining to my second-great-grandfather Samuel Jarvis who lived to be nearly 80 years old.  As a Union soldier in the Civil War, he quickly consumed some hardtack during a forced march which had some kind of negative effect on his body.  This allegedly affected him so much that he claimed, and was granted, a disability and received compensation for it.  I'm not too sure how disabled he was to have been able to father 18 children.

Hardtack fed many a soldier up until the 20th century.  Loads of references to its consumption omit any mention of fondness for it.  That should be the first clue that it's not something you want to rely on in a crisis.  Accordingly, I've never had any interest in making hardtack.  It just seemed kinda pointless.  I mean, if life has gotten so bad that you're relegated to eating hardtack, it would mean you hadn't prepared well, that you hadn't gathered a good supply of food in advance of the crisis.  It would be so embarrassing.  I think I would actually rather die.

But I thought I should read up on the subject.  And I came across some suggestions for eating it that didn't sound quite so sorry as "soak it for 15 minutes in milk or coffee."  I mean, that just sounds sad. 
However, someone suggested soaking it in water or milk for 15 minutes and then frying it in a buttered skillet.  Personally, I think bacon grease would be better.  Maybe top it with a little cheese.  Or break it up and put it in soup.  All of those ideas sound way more palatable than plain hardtack.

Also, I conceded that hardtack may have its place in an emergency kit (kinda like what those soldiers were carrying on their forced marches), and it could do really nicely in some just-add-water soup mixes.  So I decided to give it a try.

Hardtack
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup water

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Mix the flour, water, and salt together, and make sure the mixture is fairly dry.

Roll the dough out to about 1/2 inch thick and shape it into a rectangle. Cut it into 2x2 inch squares, and poke holes in both sides.  Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake 30 minutes per side at 375 degrees.
 
Let the hardtack cool for a few hours and then store it in an airtight container.

To prepare for eating, soak the hardtack in water or milk for about 15 minutes, and then fry in a skillet with butter or bacon grease.  It could also be crumbled and used to top soup.

Family reviews:  It's ok.  It doesn't taste bad, but it is really hard.  People would eat it if there was nothing else to eat.  It's fine in an instant soup.  But there are hundreds of other, better ways to use flour.  I doubt I will ever make this again.  But I'm glad to know what it is, what it tastes like, and know that I don't want to make it again.

 5 june 2020

How to Cook Pasta Quickly and Conserve Fuel

Here's one of those "life-hack" skills we can apply right now and be all practiced when it's TEOTWAWKI "go-time." 

Raw, dry pasta--the spaghetti, macaroni, rotini, and such--that we store in buckets for years, can be cooked much quicker and with far less fuel than indicated on the package directions. Curious?  I was too.

Dry pasta (the following does not apply to fresh) needs to both hydrate and cook.  However, these don't have to occur at the same time.  Completely hydrating the pasta first significantly reduces the time necessary for cooking.

Here's how to do it for best results:

• Put 8 ounces (by weight) of pasta in 2 quarts of cool or cold tap water in a medium-sized pan. (Do not use hot water.)  
• Rehydrate pasta for 20-90 minutes, depending on pasta shape/size.  Thin pasta like angel hair or spaghettini takes less time than ziti.   Hydration is complete when the pasta is no longer crunchy inside.  It is ok if the pasta soaks longer.  
• If you are putting the pasta into a sauce, the soaked pasta can simply be added to the simmering sauce to heat it.  One and one-half to two minutes is all you need for thin pasta.  If you're not adding the pasta to a sauce, drop the soaked and drained pasta into a pot of boiling water, cook for 1-2 minutes, and drain.  Interestingly, soaked pasta is soft but firms up with cooking.  Make sure you cook it for at least one minute or it may be mushy.

Links to related posts:
Pasta
Dehydrating Pasta for Instant Meals

For further reading:
https://www.seriouseats.com/2013/05/ask-the-food-lab-can-i-start-pasta-in-cold-water.html  (This article also addresses the physics of boiling water and cooking food in large pots and small pots and which is more efficient and why.)
https://blog.ideasinfood.com/ideas_in_food/2009/08/one-minute-pasta.html
https://www.seriouseats.com/2010/05/how-to-cook-pasta-salt-water-boiling-tips-the-food-lab.html

 7.10.20

Stopping Seriously Gushing Nosebleeds

Now you might be thinking that information on stopping nosebleeds in TEOTWAWKI really isn't all that essential.  I'd be totally with you on that.  I've had exactly one nosebleed in my life, one little drip that would have dried before it got to my lips when I was pregnant with my second child.

However, it's a totally different situation with my husband and two of our children.  They get absolute gushers several times per year, and I'm sure it's hereditary for them.  My husband's grandmother actually ended up in the ER once or twice due to nosebleeds that they couldn't stop at home, and that's why I think a little info on stopping nosebleeds during TEOTWAWKI should be mentioned.

In the ER, when Grandma went to the hospital 30-40 years ago, a tiny amount of cocaine was often used when all other attempts failed.  I'm pretty sure cocaine is going to be hard to come by, and regardless, it would just be a bad idea for untrained people to attempt.  So let's look at some other, more feasible options.

First, consider the cause of the nosebleed.  In younger people, nosebleeds often occur due to trauma (a fight and getting punched in the nose), a minor infection, dry air, or nose-picking.  The bleeding is usually from the front of the nose.

In older people, the bleeding more likely a result of high blood pressure.  It issues from the back of the nose, and as such is more difficult to treat.

Treatment  

• For all nosebleeds:
• Blow all clots out of the nose.  This is only at the beginning of treatment.  Blowing them out after treatment may cause the nose to start bleeding again.
• Have the patient lean forward, breathe through the mouth, and sit quietly until the bleeding stops.[1]
• Have the patient hold a cork or similar object between the teeth to prevent the patient from swallowing and give the blood a chance to clot.[2]  Blood in the stomach may irritate the stomach and cause nausea and vomiting.[3]
• For younger patients and those likely bleeding from the front of the nose:
• Spray Afrin up the nose.[4]
• Apply direct pressure by pinching the nose firmly, just below the bone, for 15 minutes.
• Apply an ice pack to the side that is bleeding.  The cold may constrict the blood vessels enough to reduce bleeding.[5]
• For older patients and those with heavy bleeding, especially from the back of the nose:
• Pack the nose with one of the following:
• Specially-designed Quikclot or Celox for nosebleeds.  It is expensive and unnecessary, as regular gauze will work fine.
• Ribbon gauze packed in.  Leave the packing material in for 48 hours.[6]
• Vaseline gauze.  DIY is fine, like what is made for burns.  Leave the packing material in for 48 hours.[7]
• A little bit of gauze soaked in epinephrine (like from an Epi-pen) and packed in the nose (use blunt-tipped tweezers to insert packing material).[8]
• A few drops of geranium essential oil on gauze packed into the nostril. [9]
• Powdered yarrow leaves[9.1]
  
• Administer an antibiotic like amoxicillin, if available, for three days to cover the risk of infection from the packing material.[10]

Prevention. The following suggestions may help in preventing future nosebleeds:

• Spread a little Vaseline inside the nostrils twice per day
• Eat more oranges or tomatoes, or other foods high in vitamin C, regularly to strengthen veins so that nosebleeds occur less frequently
• Use bugleweed  (Lycopus americanus) to reduce the frequency of chronic nosebleeds.[11]

Links to related posts:
DIY vaseline gauze
Epinephrine
Afrin
Amoxicillin

References:
[1] David Werner, Where There Is No Doctor, 83; Joseph Alton, The Survival Medicine Handbook, 434.
[2] Where There Is No Doctor, 83.
[3] The Survival Medicine Handbook, 434.
[4] Survival and Austere Medicine, 3rd Edition, 184; The Survival Medicine Handbook, 434.
[5] The Survival Medicine Handbook, 434.
[6] Survival and Austere Medicine, 3rd Edition, 184.
[7] Ibid.
[8] The Survival Medicine Handbook, 434.
[9] Ibid.

[9.1] https://www.doomandbloom.net/treating-nosebleeds/
[10]  Survival and Austere Medicine, 3rd Edition, 184.
[11] Charles W. Kane, Medicinal Plants of the Western Mountain States, 99-100.

8 july 2020

Moxifloxacin--A Pre-emptive Strike Against Bacterial Infections in a Dicey Situation

Disclaimer.  I am not a licensed health practitioner.  This is just another post on items 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.

Moxifloxacin, brand name Avelox, is likely the last oral antibiotic to be covered here at Prep School Daily.  Moxie, as it's often called, is a fourth-generation fluoroquinolone antibiotic that inhibits DNA replication and repair.[1]  It’s quite possible you’ve never heard of it.  Do you want it in your medical kit?  Possibly.  That’s because if there were ever a one-size-fits-all antibiotic, moxifloxacin would be it.[2] 

For the past decade or so, moxifloxacin has been the antibiotic of choice troops carry in their combat pill packs—medications that they immediately take or are given after injury on the battlefield.[3]  This is because of experience gained in the course of treating combat casualties:  the sooner a person is administered a broad-spectrum antibiotic after an injury, the less likely that person is to develop an infection, and the less likely that person is to need prolonged antibiotic treatment and then experience the possible complications of that antibiotic therapy.[4]  Sounds good, doesn’t it?  It’s like a pre-emptive strike against the bacteria.

Moxifloxacin is produced in 400-mg tablets. They are taken only once per day, making them ideal for dicey situations.  Another huge advantage is that moxie doesn’t have the numerous drug interactions or sensitivities that occur with many other antibiotics, especially its close relative ciprofloxacin.[5]  Moxie is a very broad-spectrum antibiotic effective against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria that cause infections of the upper and lower respiratory tracts, gastrointestinal tracts, abdomen, and more, with excellent tissue penetration.[6]  It eliminates Streptococcus, Haemophilus, Chlamydia, Staphylococcus aureus (including MRSA), Klebsiella, and numerous other bacteria, with very little antibiotic resistance to date.  It sounds like a dream. 

Now before you get all excited, thinking you can just get this one antibiotic to take care of everything you might possibly encounter in TEOTWAWKI, think again.  Moxifloxacin used to run about a dollar per pill from overseas pharmacies, pre-COVID.  And that’s the least of the concerns here.  Moxie, like other fluoroquinolones, can have some very nasty side effects, including spontaneous tendon rupture[7] and acute, even fatal liver injury.[8]  These pills aren’t Skittles. 

So why might you want some, and why does the military include them in the combat pill packs for soldiers?  Well, first, obviously, is because they work well to prevent infection and further complications.  Secondly, and this is really important to keep in mind, is that using moxifloxacin is like taking a shotgun approach to killing the bacteria.  It is used just once, until the injured patient can get more appropriate, targeted care, that is to say, until the most ideally suited antibiotic can be administered.  Instead of carrying a few doses of several different antibiotics to treat a wide array of bacteria, the soldier carries a single dose of moxie. 

And that’s what we do as well.  Our IFAKs and personal first-aid kits that we carry when we’re far away from medical facilities and our supplies contain just a single moxifloxacin tablet to be taken only if injured and there is the potential for infection, and only under a physician’s advice. 

So if you’ve decided moxie would be a good addition to your stores, how do you go about getting it?  As always, the best bet is to go through your personal physician.  If he recognizes the dicey situation our country is in, he may be willing and able to help, especially because you only need a couple of tablets at most.  Unfortunately, there are no fish or veterinary equivalents available.  Overseas pharmacies are the only other option. 

Though there are intravenous options, moxifloxacin is best administered orally, with lots of water (not just when taking the pill, but throughout the day and night as well), with or without food.  It should be taken at least four hours before or eight hours after consuming antacids that contain magnesium or aluminum or iron or zinc supplements (either alone or as part of a vitamin supplement). 

Caution.  Avoid sun exposure while using moxifloxacin.[9]

Contraindications.  Not for use in patients with myasthenia gravis or patients with a history of tendon issues.

Links to related posts:

Ciprofloxacin

Iron

Zinc

Antacids

---

[1] https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Moxifloxacin-hydrochloride

[2] https://accpjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1592/phco.20.4.245.34880

[3] http://www.operationalmedicine.org/TextbookFiles/FMST_20008/FMST_2_A.htm

[4] https://www.ems1.com/ems-products/ambulance-disposable-supplies/articles/antibiotics-in-the-tactical-ems-environment-vfdeX80bVgu0eXq5/  ; http://www.naemt.org/Files/TCCC/041114/TCCC%20Guidelines_131028.pdf

[5] https://accpjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1592/phco.20.4.245.34880

[6]https://accpjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1592/phco.20.4.245.34880

[7] https://www.drugs.com/monograph/moxifloxacin-hydrochloride.html

[8] https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Moxifloxacin-hydrochloride

[9] https://www.drugs.com/monograph/moxifloxacin-hydrochloride.html

 

07.21.20