It’s happening now. This is a real SHTF event. Major disaster has hit, power is out, everyone is panicking, grocery stores are being raided and emptied within hours, and cars are grid-locked trying to make their way to safety, anywhere. No-one knows where that is.

As Preppers, we have already prepared for this eventuality. We already have our emergency supplies packed, it’s likely we have a plan in place as to where we are heading. And we’re long gone before the panic has set in. However, it’s all very well having your bug out bag ready, learning survival skills such as how to catch your own food, how to filter water, and how to start a fire, but if you don’t have a shelter; you’re missing the most important survival item you need.

During a SHTF situation, pain could become an annoyance for some, but unbearable for others.

If doctors are scarce and medicine becomes even scarcer, this one little weed, found all over North America and similar to morphine, could be a saving grace.

If you spend any reasonable amount of time in the outdoors, you’ve probably heard of the ‘Survival Rule of 3’. You can survive:

• 3 minutes without oxygen or in icy water
• 3 hours without shelter in extreme environments
• 3 days without water
• 3 weeks without food

These four rules rely on the previous one being satisfied. So for example, you can only survive 3 hours without shelter if you’re not in icy water, you can only survive 3 days without water if you have shelter from a harsh environment and so on. Therefore, next to being able to breathe oxygen, shelter is the next most important element of survival if you find yourself in extreme weather conditions.

It’s likely that most Preppers will know how to make temporary shelter using materials you can find on the forest floor, but what about if the disaster or crisis descends into total chaos and it’s TEOTWAWKI? (The end of the world as we know it). Would you know how to make a more permanent structure for you and your family to live in? If you’re lucky, you might come across an old underground bunker, but you’ve not left anything else to chance in your methodical planning, so why leave this to chance?

You need to know how to build your own survival cabin. Let’s face it, when SHTF most of us are bugging out to the forest. There is good reason for that. In the forest you’ll find one of the most valuable resources that you need to build a long term shelter: wood. This type of survival shelter is going to require time and effort, so it’s important that you learn the basics right now rather than learn through trial and error and the time and waste resources.

First, let’s look at what you will need to make your survival shelter. Ideally, you don’t want to be carrying a ton of tools around with you, so we’ll focus of building a shelter that only requires you to have minimal basic tools that you’ll probably already have packed: an axe, a fixed blade knife and a multi-tool. Let’s not beat around the bush, if you were going to build the same shelter at your own leisure, you could make the process a lot quicker using a whole host of other tools, but this isn’t about speed, this is about building a shelter to keep you safe.

Experts predict that an EMP strike that wipes out electricity across the nation would ultimately lead to the demise of up to 90% of the population. However, this figure begs an important question: if we were able to live thousands of years without even the concept of electricity, why would we suddenly all die without it?

First things first, you’ll want to choose a log cabin plan. You’ll most likely want to build a square or rectangular cabin, around 14×14 foot. We’re going to use that as our example throughout this set of instructions. There are five main steps to building a survival shelter; choosing your site, selecting your logs, laying the logs, openings for windows and doors, and finally, raising the roof. Step one, and to some extent, step two are something you should go and research now. Step three through five, you’ll need to have written down so you don’t make any mistakes when it comes to the build.

Step One: Choose your Site

Get to know the site you intend to escape to now. How far away is it, how long will it take to get there, how will you get there? Choose somewhere you can get to either by foot, or with one tank of gas. Once you’ve found a few places that you can reach without too much difficulty, you’ll also need to make sure it is far away enough from main roads and cities. You don’t want to set up a shelter in plain sight for anyone to come and make their own.

Where are the nearest places for natural materials? You’ll need somewhere close-by to a water supply, plenty of trees to use both for your shelter and for firewood, somewhere that has an abundance of animals that you can trap. Ideally, you’ll also need some softer materials to create somewhere to sleep, initially grass will do.

You’ll also want to consider the temperature year round. If the area you’re settling is made up of hills and valleys, you’ll find both the top and the bottom gets cold quickly. It’s windy at the top, and the valleys trap the cold air. Settle around 3/4 up a hill if you do find yourself in this position.

Scout the area for poisonous plants; don’t set up a permanent shelter if there are any in the immediate vicinity. What are the trees like surrounding your proposed site? You’ll need some for protection, but you should make sure they’re not dead or they might fall down onto your shelter.

One last thing to think about is the natural elements. How will the rain fall and collect, is the land flat? Where does the sun rise and set, make the most of this to heat your shelter if you’re in a cold climate, or ensure you have shade if you’re in a hot climate.

Step Two: Selecting your Logs & Preparing the Site

The majority of trees are suitable for building a survival shelter. Even though hardwoods such as walnut, poplar or oak will give you a more durable build, they are harder to work with. Instead, choose Pine, Cedar or Spruce. If you don’t have an option – just build with whatever trees are growing in your area.

The trees you choose should be long enough to create the length of your shelter, or double if they’re large enough to get two lengths out of each tree. They will need to be around 10 inches in diameter, to provide you with sufficient insulation. The trees also need to be as straight as possible.

For a survival shelter of 14×14 feet, you’ll need logs that are 16 feet in length. The extra one foot either side of the log allows them to be notched together and provide an overhang to give a sturdy and solid join.

Note: If your logs are 10 inches in diameter, to create a 9 feet high shelter, you will need 11 x 16 ft logs for each side, and a further 10-15 logs to create two gable walls. You should put aside the best 7 logs, to use as the sill logs and the purlin and rafter logs.

Sill Logs: Four logs that will form the base of your shelter

Purlin Logs: Two logs that will join the gable walls and provide a surface to attach your roof

Ridge Log: One log which sits at the top, and joints the two gable walls.

To fell the trees, use your axe to cut them in the direction that they are naturally leaning. Briefly, the best way to fell trees is to make a horizontal cut 1/3 of the way into the tree just above knee height. Next, make a 45 degree cut upwards to meet the end of the first cut. Then, make a cut on the opposite side, around 2 inches above the first cut. The tree should then start falling. Once you have all your logs, cut off all the branches, and debark them using your axe or knife at a 30 degree angle.

Usually when building a log cabin shelter, you’ll want to lay foundations however it’s unlikely you’ll have access to all the heavy machinery and concrete in TEOTWAWKI scenario. Therefore, to prepare your site will be simple. You should clear any debris and leaves away, and level the ground as much as you can. You will need some form of foundation, so without access to concrete, you should do this: bury four upright logs into the ground, leaving around 3-4 inches sticking out of the ground. You will use these as posts to put your sill logs on.

Step Three: Raising the Walls

The first step in raising you walls is to put your four sill logs into place. These logs should be the four that are largest in diameter, straightest and longest. First, you need to take two of them. Use your axe to create a notch (hole) at either end of two sill logs.

To create this type of ‘reverse-saddle-notch’, put your log into the place it will eventually sit (on top of two of the horizontal posts that are buried into the group). Take your knife and mark where the log is going to sit. Using your axe, make a V shape in the underneath side of the log until the notch is large enough to create a snug fit around the horizontal post. Do this at both ends of two sill logs.

Take your other two sill logs, and notch the underside of them to fit onto the top of the two sill logs you’ve already laid. You will now have the perimeter of your log cabin. The rest of the process is simple, but time consuming. This could take you a couple of weeks depending on how much help you have. You are going to continue notching the underside of each log and stacking the walls until you have the height that you want before you start creating the pitched roof.

Step Four: Windows and Doors

To create the openings for your doors and windows, you can use your axe to create a hole. When you reach the height that you want your window or door at, start cutting and removing the logs one by one to make space for a door.

There are lots of tutorials about how to make doors and windows available. Just make sure that you have thought this through, so you’re not left with large open gaps which can get very drafty and will defeat the point of having shelter unless you’re able to cover them effectively.

One such way to make doors is to keep hold of some of the thicker branches when you fell your logs, and use rope or other natural resources such as fibrous plants to tie them together. You might also want to do this for the windows so that you can replace them during the night/when the weather is cooler.

Keep openings to an absolute minimum.

Preparedness Hacks: Once a nuke is heading your way, you might think that there isn’t much left to do, but you would be wrong!

Because we will show you America’s natural nuclear bunkers that are also EMP proof. When the sirens start wailing, all you need to do is pick the closest one to your home, where you can take cover before it hits.

Step Five: Raising the Roof

The shelter is now almost finished, but this is definitely the heaviest and hardest stages of the entire build. You’ll need some good brute strength here. You’re now going to create to triangles on two opposite walls; these will form your gable walls. Continue building the logs up, gradually getting short in length using the same notching method. When you are half way up, you need to take the two purlin logs and notch them so that they connect the two gable walls, one either side of the triangular shape you’re creating.

Carry on building the two gable walls until you reach the tip of the triangle, and then use the large ridge log to connect the gable walls. This can be extremely heavy work depending on the size of the logs, and how much help you have.

Once your ridge log is in place, use some smaller diameter logs to lay over the ridge logs, purlin logs, and the top of the walls, onto which you can attach roof rafters. You might want to use branches, leaves and mulch to create your roof’s finish.

You Survival Shelter

And there you have it – a long lasting survival shelter than will keep you safe, warm and dry. The instances in which you might need to build a structure of this quality and stability are rare, but as mentioned earlier, rather plan for all eventualities, than end up in a situation of needing a permanent structure and not knowing how to create one.

The beauty of this structure is that trees are available in almost every area of the world, they are one of the most reliable building resources and so if you learn this simple technique, you’ll be able to build yourself a shelter wherever you are.

Who really has their pulse on the conditions of the market and the economy? Every day we get “flash signs” of things to come. Jobless claims go up, consumer confidence goes down and economists toss the economic crisis ball back and forth.

Shipping volume has fallen, and everything is lining up with the numbers of 2008.

This is the messaging we get on a daily basis. I think most economists and financial bloggers are doing their best to keep us ahead of another crash like in 2008. However, the next economic crisis isn’t going to look anything like 2008

When you take an armed nation that has so overspent itself for the last 50 years and threaten a situation like economic collapse, it doesn’t get any worse. We have clear modern-day examples of what an economic crash can look like. See Venezuela. However, history knows nothing about what the American economic crisis will look like.

The numbers of those dead will look, to historians, like the greatest war ever waged on Earth’s soil. We are a nation divided that seems to be looking for a reason to get at each other’s throats. With the onset of things like resource scarcity and inflation, your life will be at risk.

So how will you die in during an economic crisis?

#1. Early Stage Riots

The early days of the economic crisis will be calm in comparison to what is to come. We will see national riots that encompass every major city across the nation. These riots will be brought on by massive job loss, bank runs, exorbitant cost of goods and the rebellious nature of the American people.

These will be violent, bloody riots that are much different than anything we have seen in this nation. If you get swept up into one of these riots it could be your life. However, this is just the beginning.

#2. Robbery

While riots may satisfy the desperate and the unprepared during the daytime hours, they will get hungry and even more angry at night. Just as with any disaster we will see robbery after the collapse of the economy. However, robbery and the murder associated with it will be at such a massive scale, as people scrounge for food, cash and valuables, local authorities will be overwhelmed.

You might die at the hands of a robber. Or you might die at the hands of a home owner. Remember, it only takes one robbery while you are at work to steal all your stored food and supplies. Then you will be one of the desperate, as well.

#3. Ransom

Another hot new market will be kidnapping. If you have any money or influence you can bet you are going to be targeted for ransom. Kidnapping for ransom is a popular practice in places like Mexico. It’s a tool of the cartels. The radical Mideast and African Muslims also use it to fund their failing Jihad.

There is no telling just how bad life can get for you if you get kidnapped and your family does not have the money to pay the ransom. It won’t be a fun way to go.

#4. Disease

As the nation dives deeper into collapse, we will see important infrastructure fall along with it. Trash collection, water treatment and waste management in general will come to a halt. The pests and disease that will come next will undoubtedly be the biggest killer of all.

Human waste and pests will spread disease like wild fire and there will be no doctors to help.

#5. Starvation

Large scale agriculture will stop. Farmers are already shutting down operations left and right due to the low profit margins. If government subsidies stopped, it would literally be impossible to afford. That means the world would face widespread starvation or the American heartland might even be occupied by foreign nations that handle food production.

#6. Hospital Blackout

The high-risk population of those hooked up to machines at the hospital will also be in grave danger. While hospitals have backup generators, they run on fuel and when that fuel runs out all those machines will go out.

A hospital blackout, for those in places like the ICU is a certain death sentence. It’s scary but it’s a very real situation that could come from the blackouts associated with an economic crisis.

#7. Desperate Hordes

Those who survive will be nothing but desperate, starving people who have seen and done most anything to stay alive. These people will be very different from the early rioters. They will do whatever it takes to stay alive.

#8. On The Bugout

Maybe you were one of the smart people who saw all this coming. You could have escaped to a remote bugout location that was stocked with food, water and resources to start a life of self-sufficiency. You might exist in peace, for a while, till some people start to notice your situation. The thing we all worry about in the remote bugout is that you can be quickly overpowered by a larger group and there is no one out there to help you.

#9. Martial Law

If the government or, worse, the international community tries to regain order, they will create some form of martial law. They will try to instill curfew, order and confiscate guns. If this happens late in the game, it will basically be a war between those imposing order and those unwilling to comply.

Even if you aren’t fighting in this war you could become a civilian casualty.

#10. Lack of Medications

A large percentage of Americans are on meds that they take daily. Things like blood pressure meds to insulin for controlling blood sugar levels. What about all those people on bi polar, anti-schizophrenics and anti-depressants.

During an economic collapse the movement and production of medications will come to a halt. That means all those who need that kind of help will have to self-medicate however they can or die. Are you one of those Americans on medications? Is there someone you love who is?

When Does It All Begin?

The answer is: Now.

Maybe the riots don’t start now. Maybe the markets don’t completely crash, right now. However, you can start preparing right now.

Forget about everything else and focus on preparedness. Take small steps each week or month to get yourself in a better position. Food, water, backup power, security, first aid and evacuation are some great places to start.

Maybe its economic collapse or maybe its something else. The reality is, we cannot live on eternal prosperity. What you prepare for today will decide how you survive the future.

When Noah and Lot warned their respective people of God’s coming judgment and destruction, the people would not listen. Instead they treated Noah and Lot as “extremists”. Then the destruction that DID come found the people unprepared. Thus it will be when Jesus Christ returns. As in the days of Noah and Lot, the soon return of the Lord Jesus will be a snare unto the people who do not heed the warning and give their lives to Him. (Luke 17:26-30)

This world is hearing and seeing the last warning message from God. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision; for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision! (Joel 3:14)

What you are about to discover in this site is amazing evidence that we in 2015, are living in the end of times for this world as we know it. The Biblical signs are clear for all to see, and after reading through this site with open eyes, even the scoffers will struggle to argue against it. Sure, many people throughout history have been proclaiming thatthey were living in the last days and the end of the world was nigh, and some of the Bible signs have always existed from the early days. But never has there been a time before when ALL these events were evident in so many diverse places and with such frequency and intensity. Our Generation is the FIRSTgeneration to fulfil ALL the biblical signs. So we will show you from the many following signs on this and other pages that without doubt we are living in the final years that the Bible prophesied were to come.

Please note: We are NOT here to set dates or times. We are here only to warn the world that the second coming of Jesus Christ is NEAR, even “at the door”

If you take into consideration all the signs, there is no mistaking that our generation is living in the last days, nearing the second coming of Jesus. Problem is, Satan can see how close we are to the end of the world, which is why he brings certain people into the spotlight (like Harold Camping of recent times), proclaiming false dates for the second coming, which when those dates come and go, causes many people to turn away completely from the truth. The truth being that WE ARE living in the end times. The Bible is very clear on that. We just can’t set specific dates for Jesus’ return. But we CAN know when the end is near … Matthew 24:33 …’So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.’ … And we are certainly now seeing “ALL these things”.

Before you read on, please note this important point. In Matthew 24, Jesus speaks of wars, earthquakes and such things, but says these are just the “beginning of sorrows” and “the end is not yet”. Now that word “sorrows” in the original language meant “birth pangs”, the pain in childbirth. Now birth pangs speak of frequency and intensity. And as a woman gets nearer the birth, the “pangs” become more frequent and intense. This is true also for the signs of the end times. These signs began not long after Jesus’ day, and as Jesus quoted, the end would not yet be, because this was just the beginning of sorrows. But throughout history we have seen the “pangs” (signs) become more frequent and intense, culminating in the day we live in now where the pangs are so frequent and intense that we must be right at the time of “delivery”, when Jesus is to return. So don’t let anyone fool you into believing that the signs today are just the beginning of sorrows and the end is not yet.

“The beginning of sorrows” started nearly 2000 years ago with the persecution of the early church and the destruction of Jerusalem. We are living at the end of time.

Historical Evidence – Daniel 2

Daniel 2:31-45 …’Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image … This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet … Thou art this head of gold … And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron … And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided … Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter.’

More than being a “sign” of the times, this is an historical FACT of where we stand in earth’s history. The vision that God gave King Nebuchadnezzar as shown in the Bible verses above, and subsequently the interpretation to the prophet Daniel, consisted of an image of a man which depicted all the “ages” and ruling kingdoms from the time of Babylon until the second coming of Christ Jesus (the destroying Rock, which is the eternal kingdom of God).

By the way, if you are not convinced that the Bible is any sort of authority, then study the prophecy of Daniel 2. It perfectly foretold the future kingdoms of this world up until the end of time. And history confirms it as ACCURATE.

As you can see from the picture, the different parts of the man represented the different “ages” and ruling kingdoms of this world. And what is the last “age”? It’s the feet of the image. And when did the last age start? It started in the year 476 AD. when Rome fell and split into the ten kingdoms of Europe. Which means this world has been in the “last age” for over 1500 YEARS? So add that to the amazing signs of the last days that you will see throughout this site, and you are left with no doubt that we are living right at the end of the toes on the image and right at the end of time, soon to see the second coming of Christ Jesus.

End Time Sign – INCREASE OF KNOWLEDGE

Daniel 12:4 …’even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.’

I Just love this sign, because it is clearly pointing to our day today, and it CANNOT be refuted by anyone. Throughout history we have had a slow and little increase in knowledge. But take a look at the EXPLOSION of knowledge over the past 150 years! Up until recently in history, the fastest form of transport was a horse. Now man can travel at hundreds and even thousands of miles per hour with travel to the moon! Technology has developed at a rapid pace, which has led to great improvements in computer power, scientific discoveries and the medical profession. Just look at how much we have learned about the human body with things like DNA and Cellular Structures etc. And how about “running to and fro”? This is pointing specifically to our day with planes, trains, automobiles and the busyness of modern day life. We are definitely running to and fro and have knowledge like no time before us.

This Bible sign doesn’t end there though, because it has a dual application. “Running to and fro and knowledge increase” also applies to knowledge of Biblical truths (see Amos 8:12). During the “dark ages”, for over 1000 years, knowledge of Biblical truths ware suppressed by the Roman Catholic Church. But since the protestant reformation and breakaway from Rome, God’s people have been running to and fro in His Word FREELY and knowledge about great Bible truths have been revealed. God now has an end time remnant church with the FULL gospel truth to take to the world before the end comes, which was needed to fulfil the sign about taking the true gospel message to the whole world. Which you will read about further down the page.

A good stockpile of food will go a long way toward helping you survive the aftermath of any disaster or life crisis, especially when grocery stores are emptied.

In fact, I’d go so far as to say that there are people who are not preppers who nevertheless instinctively know to stockpile food. This really isn’t surprising when you consider that through most of mankind’s history, stockpiling food was essential to survival — specifically surviving the winter months. During those months, wildlife is bedded down trying to stay warm and plants are dormant. If one didn’t have a good stockpile of food, their chances of survival were pretty darn slim.

Preparedness Hacks: Once a nuke is heading your way, you might think that there isn’t much left to do, but you would be wrong!

Because we will show you America’s natural nuclear bunkers that are also EMP proof. When the sirens start wailing, all you need to do is pick the closest one to your home, where you can take cover before it hits.

But knowing to stockpile food and knowing what to stockpile are two different things. The vast majority of what the average American family eats is unsuitable for stockpiling, because it falls into one of three categories:

• Junk food – Lots of carbs, lots of sugar, lots of salt and lots of chemicals, but not much nutrition.
• Fresh food – Foods that won’t keep without refrigeration.
• Frozen food – It will begin to spoil within two days of losing electrical power.

So we need to come up with other foods — foods that will give us a lot of nutrition and also have the ability to be stored for a prolonged period of time. Here are what we consider the 19 most important ones:

1. Beans – This is one of the more common survival foods. Not only are beans plentiful and cheap, but they provide a lot of protein — something that’s hard to find without meat.

2. White rice – The perfect companion to beans. An excellent source of carbohydrates, and it stores well. [Note: Don’t store brown rice, which contains oils and will spoil.]

3. Canned vegetables – A good way of adding micro-nutrients to your survival diet. Canned goods keep well, long past the expiration date on the label.

4. Canned fruit – For something sweet, adding canned fruit allows you a nice change of diet. Being canned, they keep as well as the vegetables do.

5. Canned meats – Of all the ways of preserving meat, canning is the most secure in protecting the meat from decomposition. While it doesn’t typically have as good a flavor as fresh meat, it still provides animal protein at the most reasonable price you’ll find.

Experts predict that an EMP strike that wipes out electricity across the nation would ultimately lead to the demise of up to 90% of the population. However, this figure begs an important question: if we were able to live thousands of years without even the concept of electricity, why would we suddenly all die without it?

6. Honey – As long as you can keep the ants out of it, honey keeps forever. Plus, it is beneficial during cold season.

7. Salt – Nature’s preservative. Most means of preserving foods require the use of salt. In addition, our bodies need to consume salt for survival.

8. Pasta products – Pasta is a great source of carbohydrates, allowing you a lot of variety in your cooing. Besides that, it’s a great comfort food for kids. Who doesn’t like spaghetti?

9. Spaghetti sauce – Obviously, you need this to go with the pasta. But it is also great for hiding the flavor of things your family doesn’t like to eat. Pretty much anything, with spaghetti sauce on it, tastes like Italian food — whether you’re talking about some sort of unusual vegetable or a raccoon that you caught pilfering from your garden.

10. Jerky – While expensive to buy, jerky is pure meat, with only the addition of spices. Its high salt content allows it to store well, making it a great survival food. It can be reconstituted by adding it to soups and allowing it to cook.

11. Peanut butter – Another great source of protein and another great comfort food, especially for the kiddies. It might be a good idea to stockpile some jelly to go with it.

12. Wheat flour – For baking, especially baking bread. Bread is an important source of carbohydrates for most Americans. Flour also allows you to shake up the diet with the occasional batch of cookies or a cake.

13. Baking powder & baking soda – Also for making the bread, cookies or cakes.

14. Bouillon – Otherwise known as “soup starter,” this allows you to make the broth without having to boil bones on the stove for hours. Soups will probably be an important part of anyone’s diet in a survival situation, as they allow you to eat almost anything. Just throw it together in a pot and you’ve got soup.

15. Water – We don’t want to forget to stockpile a good supply of water. You’ll go through much more than you expect. Experts recommend a minimum of one gallon per person per day, but remember: That’s just for drinking.

While this doesn’t constitute a complete list of every type of food that you should stockpile, it’s a good starting point. You’ll want more variety than this, but in reality, your family can survive for quite a while with just the 15 things on this list.

As your stockpile grows, add variety to it. One way of doing that is to create a three-week menu, with the idea of repeating that menu over and over. If you have everything you need to cook everything on that menu, you’ll have a fair assortment of food, and enough so that your family shouldn’t grow tired of it.

During a SHTF situation, pain could become an annoyance for some, but unbearable for others.

If doctors are scarce and medicine becomes even scarcer, this one little weed, found all over North America and similar to morphine, could be a saving grace.

Pioneer life was not easy and the daily chores of managing a house where more than a full time occupation.

Cooking was a major part of each day. Early settlers butchered their own meat and made corned beef, sausage, smoked and dried meats. Large gardens yielded produce for canning, pickling and other preserves. Root cellars stored potatoes, carrots, and onions. Milk was separated into cream for butter and baking and milk for drinking. Breads, cakes and pies were of course all baked at home from scratch from whatever was available.

For the most part meals were informal and the food hearty. Nothing was wasted. Dried bread was made into bread pudding; a bone was turned into soup and extra milk was made into pudding or cheese. Often there was a shortage of some ingredient. As you will see from the recipes, many are based on very basic ingredients and several on how to make a meal with only a few ingredients. Recipes would not only be for food but also for perfume, home remedies, wine and soap making.

Preparedness Hacks: Once a nuke is heading your way, you might think that there isn’t much left to do, but you would be wrong!

Because we will show you America’s natural nuclear bunkers that are also EMP proof. When the sirens start wailing, all you need to do is pick the closest one to your home, where you can take cover before it hits.

Recipe books were not common and cooking was very much a passed down art or trial and error. It is interesting to read recipes from this period, as often they are vague and written with a few small hints that only the person who wrote them would understand.

Pioneer women who had to decide what few precious things to carry across the plains surely made one choice in common—their own individual collection of “receipts,” as recipes were then called. For them, these were reminders of a security left behind and a hope for the abundance of the future. In the interim, they simply did what they had to do to keep their families alive.

Many early memories of pioneer food concerned the frugality with which the Saints lived: “We lived on cornbread and molasses for the first winter.” “We could not get enough flour for bread … so we could only make it into a thin gruel which we called killy.” “Many times … lunch was dry bread … dipped in water and sprinkled with salt.” “These times we had nothing to waste; we had to make things last as long as we could.”

No doubt the “receipt” books were closed during these times, and efforts were given simply to finding food and making it go as far as possible.

But slowly, even out of this deprivation, recipes grew. The pioneer women learned to use any small pieces of leftover meat and poultry with such vegetables as they might have on hand—carrots, potatoes, corn, turnips, onions—to make a pie smothered with Mormon gravy.

Experts predict that an EMP strike that wipes out electricity across the nation would ultimately lead to the demise of up to 90% of the population. However, this figure begs an important question: if we were able to live thousands of years without even the concept of electricity, why would we suddenly all die without it?

20 Lost Recipes From The Pioneers

Side Pork and Mormon Gravy

Mormon gravy, common fare among the early settlers and apparently a creation of necessity expressly for the times, is still hearty and nourishing for many of this generation who like to make it with ground beef or frizzled ham or bacon and serve it over baked potatoes.

8 thick slices side pork (or thick-cut bacon strips)

4 tablespoons meat drippings

3 tablespoons flour

2 cups milk

Salt, pepper, paprika

Cook meat on both sides in heavy frying pan until crisp. Remove from pan and keep warm. Measure fat and return desired amount to skillet. Add flour and brown slightly. Remove from heat and add milk, stirring well to blend. Return to heat and cook and stir until mixture is thick and smooth. Season to taste. Serve with side pork on potatoes, biscuits, cornbread, or even pancakes.

Mud apples

This is a variation on a Native American cooking method.

You will need

4 large apples
A bucket of mud

Coat the apples with about an inch of mud on all sides, being sure that the mud is of a nice thick consistency. When the fire has burned long enough to make some coals, have your adult help you to scoop some of the coals to the side. Bury the apples in the coals, and leave them there for about 45 minutes. Scrape away the cooled coals. Knock the dry cooked mud off of the apples and discard the skins. Spoon up the sweet steamy pulp for a surprising treat.

Some groups of Native American people used a mud coating on their food as a sort of oven. The steam from the mud would keep fresh-caught fish moist, and as it dried and became clay-like, it protected the food from burning. When the mud was peeled off, it took a lot of the fish scales with it. A delicious instant meal.

During a SHTF situation, pain could become an annoyance for some, but unbearable for others.

If doctors are scarce and medicine becomes even scarcer, this one little weed, found all over North America and similar to morphine, could be a saving grace.

Chuckwagon beans

This is a cattle trail recipe from the Midwest. Although this was originally done on the campfire, it might be best if you bow to modern convenience and do the cooking on a stove top.

You will need

A 16-ounce package of dry pinto beans
9 cups of water
Two large onions, peeled and chopped up
2 teaspoons of salt
½ teaspoon of oregano
½ teaspoon of garlic powder, or two cloves of sliced garlic
¼ teaspoon of pepper
1 tablespoon of brown sugar or molasses (add this last, and put in a little more if you like.)

Wash the beans and heat them along with 6 cups of water ’til they boil for five minutes, then turn the stove off. Let them sit for an hour. Add three more cups of water and boil it all again. Now add everything else, stir it up, and cook it for about an hour.

Cowpokes on the drive west had to settle for foods which were portable. That meant a basic menu of beans and lots of meat. For a treat, there was cornbread, biscuits, or a sweetened rice dish. Pinto beans (which are small and spotted when raw, like a pinto pony) seemed to be the favorite. When cooked, these beans swell up and turn a sort of pinkish white. They were first given to the settlers by the natives on the Mexican border.

When you eat beans with rice or corn, the two foods mix up inside your body to create an important type of protein which is like the protein in meat. (Your body is made largely of protein, and so you need to eat a lot of it.) That’s why the native Southwestern people were so healthy with a diet of mostly beans and corn and not much meat.(Here are 23 survival uses for honey that you didn’t know about.)

Baked pocket yams

These were “handy” during the winter months, and not particular to any one area of the country.

Take several sweet potatoes, individually wrap them in foil, and surround them on all sides with mounded hot coals. Occasionally turn the potatoes. Cook till the sweet steam pipes out of the foil (about 45 minutes). Poke into the potato with a clean sharpened twig to check for doneness (the center will be soft).

When the potatoes are done, DON’T EAT THEM YET. Let them cool a bit, then slip one into each pocket to be used as hand warmers. These will keep you comfortable while you chat around the campfire. Pioneer mothers used to send their children off with these in the winter months to keep their hands toasty on the long walk to school. Then the kids would eat them for lunch. When you eat yours, you might want to use a dish and slather them up with butter.

Spotted Pup

Take whatever amount needed
for hungry cowboys of fluffy, cooked rice.

Put in Dutch oven and cover with milk and well-beaten eggs.
Add a dash of salt.
Sweeten well with sugar.

Add raisins and a little nutmeg and vanilla.

Bake in slow oven until egg mixture is done and raisins are soft.

Jerky Gravy

Jerky, ground or chopped fine
Little Fat or Grease
Flour
Salt & pepper
Milk

Fry the jerky until done.
Remove meat from grease, and add flour.
Add milk, and salt & pepper. Cook gravy. Add meat to gravy.
The amount of each ingredient depends on how much gravy you want.

Lemon Pie

One cup of hot water
One tablespoonful of corn-starch
One cup of white sugar
One tablespoonful of butter
Juice and grated rind of one lemon

Cook for a few minutes; add one egg; bake with a top and bottom crust.
This makes one pie.

Cooked Cabbage Salad

1 Pint or more of chopped cooked cabbage

Add: 1 Egg well beaten
¼ Cup vinegar
1 Tsp butter
Dash of salt and pepper

Sweeten to suit taste. Simmer a few minutes and add ½ cup of thick fresh cream. Serve immediately.

Winter Red Flannel Hash

A great way to use left over corned beef is to add a few new ingredients and create Red Flannel Hash. Who knows who came up with the beets, but it really is colorful, and sticks to the ribs.

1 ½ Cups chopped corned beef
1 ½ Cups chopped cooked beets
1 Medium onion, chopped
4 Cups chopped cooked potatoes

Chop ingredients separately, then mix together.
Heat all ingredients in a well- greased skillet,
slowly, loosen around the edges, and shake to prevent scorching.
After a nice crust forms on bottom, turn out on a warmed plate and serve.
If it seems a little dry add a little beef broth.
Try with a couple poached eggs, for a hearty meal.

Spiced Corn Beef

To 10 pounds of beef…
take 2 cups salt
2 cups molasses
2 tablespoonfuls saltpeter
1 tablespoonful ground pepper
1 tablespoonful cloves

Rub well into the beef.
Turn every day, and rub the mixture in.
Will be ready for use in 10 days.

1876 Cottage Cheese

Allow milk to form clabber.
Skim off cream once clabbered.
Set clabbered milk on very low heat and cut in 1 inch squares.
Place colander into clabber.
Dip off whey that rises into the colander.
When clabber becomes firm, rinse with cold water.

Squeeze liquid out and press into ball.
Crumble into bowl.
Mix curds with thick cream.

Mormon Johnnycake

Here is a form of cornbread used not only by the Mormon immigrants,
as the name indicates, but quite often by most of the immigrants traveling west.
Because of the inclusion of buttermilk, a source of fresh milk was a necessity.

2-cups of yellow cornmeal
½-cup of flour
1-teaspoon baking soda
1-teaspoon salt

Combine ingredients and mix in
2-cups of buttermilk and 2-tablespoons molasses.

Pour into a greased 9” pan and bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.
To get a lighter johnnycake include two beaten eggs
and 2 tablespoons melted butter.

Soda Biscuits

Take 1lb flour, and mix it with enough milk to make a stiff dough;
dissolve 1tsp carbonate of soda in a little milk;
add to dough with a teaspoon of salt.

Work it well together and roll out thin;
cut into round biscuits, and bake them in a moderate oven.
The yolk of an egg is sometimes added.

Vinegar Lemonade

Mix 1 to 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar into a 12 ounce glass of water.
Stir in 2 tablespoons of sugar to taste.

Note: The pioneers used vinegar for numerous reasons.
One reason was to add vitamin C to their diet.

Fried Apples

Fry 4 slices of bacon in a Dutch oven. Remove bacon.

Peel and slice 6 to 8 Granny Smith apples.

Put apples in Dutch oven with bacon grease,
cover and cook down the apples, but not to mush.

Serve topped with butter or cream and crumbled bacon.

They’re great for breakfast or desert!

Dutch Oven Trout

As soon as possible after catching your trout,
clean them and wipe the inside and outside of the trout
with a cloth wet with vinegar water.

Don’t put the trout in the water.
Roll the trout in a mixture of flour,
dry powdered milk,
cornmeal,
salt and pepper.

Heat deep fat in a Dutch oven and fry until crisp and golden brown.

Black Pudding

Here’s an old ranch recipe courtesy of Winkie Crigler, founder and curator of The Little House Museum in Greer, Arizona.

6 Eggs
1 Cup Sweet Milk
2 Cups Flour
1 Tsp Soda
1 Cup Sugar
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Cup Molasses

Mix well.  Pour into 1-pound can and steam for 2 to 3 hours by placing in kettle of boiling water.  Keep covered.

This is to be served with a vinegar sauce:
1 Cup Sugar
1 Tbsp  Butter
1 Tbsp Flour
2 Tbsp Vinegar
½ Tsp Nutmeg

Put in enough boiling water for amount of sauce wanted.
Add two slightly beaten eggs and cook stirring constantly to the desired consistency.

How To Fry Quick Doughnuts

The following recipe for doughnuts came from the March 17, 1885 Daily Missoulian.  Obviously, anyone making these doughnuts will want to find a substitute for fat as a cooking oil.

Put a frying kettle half full of fat over the fire to heat.  Shift together one pound of flour, one teaspoonful each of salt and bicarbonate of soda, and half a saltspoon full of grated nutmeg.

Beat half a pound of butter to a cream and add them to the flour.  Beat the yokes of two eggs to a cream, add them to the first-named ingredients, beat the whites to a stiff froth and reserve them.

Mix into the flour and sugar enough sour milk to make a soft dough and then quickly add the whites of the eggs.  Roll out the paste at once, shape and fry.

Kid Pie

If the kid (goat) is too fat to roast, cut it into pieces and make pies.  Make a sauce of cut up perejil (parsley) and put in the pies with a little sweet oil and place it in the oven.

A little before you take it out of the oven beat some eggs with vinegar or orange juice and put into the pie through the holes made in the crust for the steam to escape.

Then return pies to oven for enough time to repeat The Lord’s Prayer three times, then take the pies out and put them before the master of the house, cut it and give it to him.

Brown Gravy

The following is a farm recipe for gravy from the late 1880’s.

This gravy may be made in larger quantities, then kept in a stone jar and used as wanted.

Take 2 pounds of beef, and two small slices of lean bacon. Cut the meat into small pieces. Put into a stew-pan a piece of butter the size of an egg, and set over the fire.

Cut two large onions in thin slices. Put them in the butter and fry a light brown, then add the meat. Season with whole peppers.

Salt to taste. Add three cloves, and pour over one cupful of water.

Let it boil fifteen or twenty minutes, stirring it occasionally.

Then add two quarts of water, and simmer very gently for two hours.

Now strain, and when cold, remove all the fat.

To thicken this gravy, put in a stew pan a lump of butter a little larger than an egg, add two teaspoonfuls of flour, and stir until a light brown.

When cold, add it to the strained gravy, and boil up quickly. Serve very hot with the meats.

What Kind Of Supplies Did The Pioneers Take With Them?

The question is answered by the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center this way…

A variety of guidebooks, newspaper articles, and helpful tips in letters from friends or family who had already made the trip provided different lists about what and how much was essential to survive the five-month journey. The critical advice was to keep things as light as possible, and to take easily preserved staple foods. Supplies in each wagon generally had to be kept below 2,000 pounds total weight, and as the journey progressed and draft animals grew tired, many pioneers had to discard excess food and baggage. Items taken by nearly all wagon parties included flour, hard tack or crackers, bacon, sugar, coffee and tea, beans, rice, dried fruit, salt, pepper and saleratus (used for baking soda). Some also took whiskey or brandy, and medicines. Minimal cooking utensils included a cast iron skillet or spider, Dutch oven, reflector oven, coffee pot or tea kettle, and tin plates, cups, and knives, forks, spoons, matches, and crocks, canteens, buckets or water bags for liquids. A rifle, pistols, powder, lead, and shot were recommended for hunting game along the way, and for self-defense. Candles were used for lighting, as they were far less expensive and lighter than transporting oil, and several pounds of soap was included. Only two or three sets of practical, sturdy, and warm clothing of wool and linen had to last the wear and tear of the journey, and a small sewing kit for repairs was important. Basic tools such as a shovel, ax or hatchet, and tools to repair wagon equipment were essential. Bedding and tents completed the list of necessities. For most families, 1,600-1,800 pounds of their supplies would be food, leaving little space for other items. Although some people tried to include furniture, books, and treasured belongings, these were soon discarded. According to many accounts, the trail was littered with cast off trunks, bureaus, beds, clothing, excess food, and even cast iron stoves. Though prices and availability of goods varied from year to year, for most emigrants it cost a minimum of $600 to $800 to assemble a basic outfit of wagon, oxen, and supplies.

An article from the St. Joseph, Missouri Gazette dated March 19, 1847

The Pioneers discovered an amazing plant with properties similar to morphine. Find out how to prepare the best natural painkiller from a plant that grows in your backyard. Watch video below!

Here’s just a glimpse of what you’ll find in The Lost Ways:

From Ruff Simons, an old west history expert and former deputy, you’ll learn the techniques and methods used by the wise sheriffs from the frontiers to defend an entire village despite being outnumbered and outgunned by gangs of robbers and bandits, and how you can use their wisdom to defend your home against looters when you’ll be surrounded.

Native American ERIK BAINBRIDGE – who took part in the reconstruction of the native village of Kule Loklo in California, will show you how Native Americans build the subterranean roundhouse, an underground house that today will serve you as a storm shelter, a perfectly camouflaged hideout, or a bunker. It can easily shelter three to four families, so how will you feel if, when all hell breaks loose, you’ll be able to call all your loved ones and offer them guidance and shelter? Besides that, the subterranean roundhouse makes an awesome root cellar where you can keep all your food and water reserves year-round.

From Shannon Azares you’ll learn how sailors from the XVII century preserved water in their ships for months on end, even years and how you can use this method to preserve clean water for your family cost-free.

Mike Searson – who is a Firearm and Old West history expert – will show you what to do when there is no more ammo to be had, how people who wandered the West managed to hunt eight deer with six bullets, and why their supply of ammo never ran out. Remember the panic buying in the first half of 2013? That was nothing compared to what’s going to precede the collapse.

From Susan Morrow, an ex-science teacher and chemist, you’ll master “The Art of Poultice.” She says, “If you really explore the ingredients from which our forefathers made poultices, you’ll be totally surprised by the similarities with modern medicines.” Well…how would you feel in a crisis to be the only one from the group knowledgeable about this lost skill? When there are no more antibiotics, people will turn to you to save their ill children’s lives.

And believe it or not, this is not all…

Table Of Contents:

Making Your Own Beverages: Beer to Stronger Stuff
Ginger Beer: Making Soda the Old Fashioned Way
How North American Indians and Early Pioneers Made Pemmican
Spycraft: Military Correspondence During The 1700’s to 1900’s
Wild West Guns for SHTF and a Guide to Rolling Your Own Ammo
How Our Forefathers Built Their Sawmills, Grain Mills,and Stamping Mills
How Our Ancestors Made Herbal Poultice to Heal Their Wounds
What Our Ancestors Were Foraging For? or How to Wildcraft Your Table
How Our Ancestors Navigated Without Using a GPS System
How Our Forefathers Made Knives
How Our Forefathers Made Snow shoes for Survival
How North California Native Americans Built Their Semi-subterranean Roundhouses
Our Ancestors’Guide to Root Cellars
Good Old Fashioned Cooking on an Open Flame
Learning from Our Ancestors How to Preserve Water
Learning from Our Ancestors How to Take Care of Our Hygiene When There Isn’t Anything to Buy How and Why I Prefer to Make Soap with Modern Ingredients
Temporarily Installing a Wood-Burning Stove during Emergencies
Making Traditional and Survival Bark Bread…….
Trapping in Winter for Beaver and Muskrat Just like Our Forefathers Did
How to Make a Smokehouse and Smoke Fish
Survival Lessons From The Donner Party

Get your paperback copy HERE

There are many different disasters that would be catastrophic to the United States. An EMP attack that causes the power grid to collapse, a huge natural disaster, or a complete economic collapse far worse than the Great Depression are just three such disasters that would take years to recover from.

What many people fail to realize, however, is that it won’t be the disaster itself that kills the most people. While it is true that the EMP strike would cause planes to fall out of the sky and cars to crash into one another, and while it’s also true that a natural disaster could claim thousands of lives instantly, it’s what happens after an apocalyptic disaster that would cause most of the deaths.

With communications, food, water, and other necessities all cut off instantly, once ordinary people will do desperate things in order to survive. Hunger and starvation, dehydration and lack of water, and people killing one another savagely for basic necessities are what would claim the most lives.

Nowhere in the United States is going to be truly safe or immune from a disaster on a grand scale. However, some states will certainly be less safe than others, and we’re going to discuss what those states are and why they are more unsafe than others.

During a SHTF situation, pain could become an annoyance for some, but unbearable for others.

If doctors are scarce and medicine becomes even scarcer, this one little weed, found all over North America and similar to morphine, could be a saving grace.

Here are the top five worst American states to be in during a collapse, presented in alphabetical order:

1. Alaska

Here’s a state that you’re probably surprised to see on this list, especially when you consider Alaska (known as the Last Frontier) is supposed to be a safe haven for survivalists. There’s no denying that Alaska has many factors that would initially make it seem like a good place to be in during a disaster.

For one thing, it’s sparsely populated and its few urban areas are not anywhere near as populous as cities like New York or Los Angeles. It also has an abundance of natural resources such as timber and wild game.

But at the same time, Alaska has many negatives. For one thing, it’s very earthquake prone due to the fact that it’s situated along the West Coast. It’s also cut off from the lower 48 states, so imports of basic supplies and necessities will come to a screeching halt in the midst of disaster with no hope of resupply (gasoline and oil are arguably the biggest of these).

There’s no denying that Alaska is one of the most beautiful places in the entire world. But at the same time, it has serious cons that should make you seriously reconsider it as a bug out location.

2. California

You might as well put the whole West Coast under this one, which is incredibly vulnerable to earthquakes and is very densely populated. Those densely populated cities like San Francisco, San Diego, or Los Angeles are not just bad places to be in an earthquake. They are also prime EMP or nuclear targets for our enemies.

Furthermore, California’s economy is incredibly fragile with very high debt. It’s arguably the most prone to an over any other state. This is on top of the very high cost of living, taxes, and regulations in the state as well.

All in all, the West Coast is definitely not somewhere you want to be during a disaster, but California will be even more dangerous than Washington and Oregon.

3. Florida

You can probably already guess one reason why Florida is on this list: hurricanes. It’s no secret that Florida is very prone to hurricanes, but even that hasn’t stopped retirees from flocking to the Sunshine State as a warm tropical haven.

Sure, Florida is a very attractive state, but it’s still far too overburdened with negative factors to be considered a good state to be in during a disaster. On the contrary, it’s one of the worst. Miami is a very large city and could be a prime target of a nuclear or EMP attack. The population in Florida is also very dense (it’s surpassed New York) and the crime rate is high.

In addition, most of Florida is already under sea level, which is dangerous should ocean temperatures ever seriously rise. Overall, you would be advised to not consider Florida as a bug out retreat.

4. Hawaii

Hawaii is on this list for many of the same reasons that Alaska is: it’s cut off from the rest of the United States and therefore will also be cut off from shipping and imports during a disaster. As an added con, Hawaii already has less overall resources than Alaska, with less of a chance to be successful at agriculture due to the generally poor soil.

Hawaii is also a goldmine of military bases that will be prime targets in the event of a global war. Unless you can get out beforehand on a ship or an airplane, you’re essentially stranded in an archipelago out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with no serious way of getting out.

If Hawaii serves one purpose, it’s a vacation place to make happy memories. But it’s certainly not a place to go to outlast a disaster.

5. New York

Last but not least, we come to New York. The East and West Coasts are both highly and densely populated, and the city of New York itself is going to be a prime target for our enemies.

New York also shares many cons with California: the high cost of living, high taxes and regulations, a high crime rate, strict firearms laws, heavy traffic, and so on.

Granted, not all of New York is so bad. Much of the northern part of the state is very rural and teeming with natural resources. Still, you’re in very close proximity to the city, and refugees will undoubtedly be flooding north towards Canada, so you’re still not that safe anyway.

Conclusion

Alaska, California, Florida, Hawaii, and New York will be the five least safe states to be in during a major nationwide disaster. As an alternative, you would be wise to check out the states in the Great Plains or the Rocky Mountains instead.

While those areas certainly have their cons as well (remember that no state is truly safe), they are still much safer than the five states we’ve just gone over.

Preparedness Hacks: Once a nuke is heading your way, you might think that there isn’t much left to do, but you would be wrong!

Because we will show you America’s natural nuclear bunkers that are also EMP proof. When the sirens start wailing, all you need to do is pick the closest one to your home, where you can take cover before it hits.

Most preppers start out by building a stockpile of food and other supplies to use in case of emergency. That makes sense, as without the right supplies it’s hard to make it through any crisis situation. Of course, that raises the question of what to stockpile. While that may seem like an easy question to answer, it’s really not. Several books have been written about the subject, none of which offer exactly the same advice.

The biggest problem in deciding what to stockpile is that there is no way of knowing for sure what type of disaster is likely to strike; so there is no clear way of determining what to buy. Because of that, most preppers base their purchases on the assumption that nothing will be available, so they’d better have it on hand. If you think about it for a minute, that’s the only way to do it, which really makes sense.

During a SHTF situation, pain could become an annoyance for some, but unbearable for others.

If doctors are scarce and medicine becomes even scarcer, this one little weed, found all over North America and similar to morphine, could be a saving grace.

This stockpile is based on you bugging-in, rather than bugging-out. Most people will end up bugging in during a crisis, so it makes sense to have the appropriate food stockpile in your home. If you have a secure, private bug-out location, you’ll want to duplicate your home stockpile at that location as well.

When selecting food for a survival situation, there are several things that need to be taken into consideration. This isn’t buying your regular week’s groceries multiplied by 10, but rather buying food that you will use instead of your regular groceries. That may require eating things that your family isn’t used to eating. Nevertheless, eating strange food is better than not eating anything at all.

These Solar Backup Generators Deliver 4 Times More Power Than Other Models!

As you are selecting foods for your emergency stockpile, you need to consider the following:

• You may not have electrical power, so your refrigerator and freezer may not work.
• Most foods aren’t packed for long-term storage, with the exception of canned foods.
• You want foods that will give you the maximum nutrition for the minimum bulk.
• Avoid all types of “snack foods” as there is no way to store them for long periods of time.

Most food you buy in the grocery is packaged with the idea of you buying it and using it within a relatively short period of time, let’s say a couple of months. Therefore, you’ll have to repackage most of what you buy, in order to prevent spoilage. However, even with repackaging, not all foods will keep well for long periods of time. Generally speaking, the more a food is processed, the worse it is for long-term storage. (Here are 23 survival uses for honey that you didn’t know about.)

What you really need to store are staple foods. You can make a fairly nutritious diet out of grains, beans and canned goods. Properly packaged for storage, these foods will keep for years, and still be as tasty and nutritious when you take them out; as they were the day you bought them.

Here is my list of foods that you should stockpile to get your family through a crisis:

1. Pasta – High carbohydrates and stores extremely well. You can make a lot of different dishes with pasta, from Italian food to casseroles.
2. Whole grains – Flour doesn’t store well, but whole grains do. If you have a grain mill and whole grains, you can make your own bread, pancakes, cakes, cookies and other baked goods.
3. Rice – Rice is a great source of carbohydrates, which will store well. Buy the whole grain rice, not the quick rice. Quick rice has a very limited shelf life. Like pasta, there are a lot of things you can do with rice.
4. Breakfast cereal – This falls into the category of comfort food, especially for kids. Don’t buy the sugary children’s cereals, but the more basic ones, like Cheerios. Properly packaged, this will keep well for a long time.
5. Beans – Dried beans of all types store incredibly well for long periods of time, are easy to cook, nutritious and one of the few non-meat sources of protein around.
6. Canned meat – You can buy chicken, tuna, salmon and other meat products which are canned. Spam, while being something that many people make fun of, is a nutritious meat product. Meat will be the hardest type of food to find during a crisis, so stock up well.
7. Beef (or turkey) jerky – Dried meat, whether jerky or dehydrated meat, is great for long-term storage. If you make your own jerky, be sure to trim off all fat and salt it heavily for preservation. When it’s time to use it, you can reconstitute the jerky in soups. It will absorb the water, flavoring it at the same time.
8. Summer sausage – Summer sausage, like many “cured meat products” (what we call lunchmeat) is created to keep for a long time. Typically it is vacuum packed as well, making it ideal for long-term storage. During survival time, it can be eaten plain, or cut up to be put in soups and casseroles.
9. Cheese – Another great source of protein. To store cheese, it needs to be triple dipped in wax, making an airtight seal around the cheese. In this form, it can be kept, without refrigeration, for years. Even if cheese forms mold, it will only be on the surface. Simply cut that part off and the rest of the cheese is still good.
10. Canned vegetables and fruit – Provides essential vitamins and keeps for a long time. Don’t throw the packing water away, as it will contain vitamins as well. Instead, use it for making soup stock.
11. Powdered milk – While most people don’t particularly like the flavor of powdered milk, when you don’t have any access to other milk, it’s wonderful. It’s also necessary for baking and provides needed calcium for proper bone growth.
12. Spaghetti sauce – With pasta and spaghetti sauce, you’ve got the start of a meal. Add what you want to finish it out.
13. Soups – The nice thing about making soup in a survival situation is that you can make soup out of almost anything. I’m not talking about stocking up on Chicken Noodle soup here, but rather soups like cream of mushroom, which can be used for making casseroles.
14. Bullion – This is another necessity for making soups. Dry bullion powder stores well, takes minimal space and can add a lot to your homemade soups.
15. Sugar – While most mothers try and keep their kids from eating too much sugar, it is an essential ingredient in making jams and jellies, and preserving fruit. You will also need it for baking. Sugar will keep pretty much indefinitely if stored properly.
16. Honey – Whereas sugar will keep pretty much indefinitely, honey will really keep forever. You can’t beat nature’s methods for making things that are both good and good for you.
17. Salt – Salt is an essential for survival. It’s also the main needed ingredient for many types of food preservation, especially for preserving meats. With a good stockpile of salt, you can make cured meats, salt fish and smoke meats as well.
18. Spices – Your family may have to get used to eating different things than what they are used to. Spices allow you to mask flavors or add flavor to things that are too bland. Be sure to stock up on the types of spices that your family likes, so that you can make food that they’ll like.
19. Baking essentials – Since you won’t be able to run down to the corner for a loaf of bread, you’ll probably be baking your own. Make sure you have a stock of baking powder, baking soda and yeast on hand.
20. Peanut butter – Okay, this is pure comfort food. However, it is also quite nutritious.
21. Dried fruit – A great way to keep fruit on hand. Properly dried and packaged, it can store for several years.
22. Nuts – Another good source of protein, as well as fats. Nuts store amazingly well and add a lot to baked goods, vegetables and even meat dishes.
23. Cooking oil and vegetable shortening – Necessary ingredients for cooking and baking.
24. Coffee and Tea – Once again, comfort food, but this time for the adults. Many of us don’t function well before our second cup of coffee in the morning.
25. Hard candies – Great as a reward for kids and also for energy when you need it. Hard candies keep for years as long as they are protected from moisture.

I realize that this list seems rather extensive, but I’m assuming that you’re going to be stockpiling enough food to last you several months, if not a year. While you can get by for short periods of time with much less, for a prolonged period of time you’ll need to have a well-balanced diet. You’ll also need variety in your family’s diet, as that is important to keep everyone’s morale up.

Preparedness Hacks: Once a nuke is heading your way, you might think that there isn’t much left to do, but you would be wrong!

Because we will show you America’s natural nuclear bunkers that are also EMP proof. When the sirens start wailing, all you need to do is pick the closest one to your home, where you can take cover before it hits.

Before buying anything, take the time to figure out about how much of each food type you’ll need. In other words, if your family uses a loaf of bread every two days, and your survival plan includes that much bread, then how much of each of the ingredients do you need to make that much bread?

One system that works out very well for determining how much to buy is to develop a two-week menu for your family. With that in hand, you can easily total up how much of each type of food you’ll need to prepare everything for two weeks. Multiplying that out will give you an idea of how much food you need to last your family for any period of time.

(Here are 21 wild edibles you can find in urban areas.)

Whatever you do, don’t try to run out and buy a year’s worth of food in one week. Take your time. Start by building a two-week stockpile; then increase it to a month. Keep adding, a month at a time, until you reach the point that you feel you need. Keep your eye open for sales as well, as that will provide you with needed opportunities to save money.