It Pays to Improve Your Diet Now

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During the course of this month’s Preparedness Pro Food Challenge, we’ve seen several posts and e-mails conveying a very similar message: “I need more comfort foods.”

I have shared with our readers in the past that such would be the case. Stress and boundaries bring out the cravings in all of us. So I do indeed recommend you take that into consideration in your food storage that you’re creating now. However, I’d like to offer you an alternative solution.

The California Water Crisis

Every once in a while it’s good to bring the “what if” scenarios a little closer to home. Sometimes an emergency doesn’t need to be brought on by Mother Nature, or a major financial collapse. Sometimes it can be brought to the forefront by a lack of common sense. So today I thought I’d share this clip with you regarding a very real, man-made water crisis in California. This is indeed a man-made disaster. But it is real nonetheless, with real consequences, dire in nature. It gives us just one more reason to remind us that we need to be prepared with appropriate stores of food, water, and financial strength.

Settling the Cheese Wax Controversy

cheese-wax-controversyIt’s interesting what a seemingly innocuous sounding sentence can do.  Apparently the phrase “you can wax your own cheese and store it” is a vile enough claim to cause some to turn on their evil buttons. Oh the controversy. But the problem is that the misinformed cheese wax controversy is causing some to not have their favorite food group in stock in the event of an emergency. No cheese? That’s practically against my religion. I’d rather be hung by my toes and pummeled with an organic carrot than be forced to survive without chocolate and cheese. So, I consider it my duty to share the sound reasons as to why I’m completely comfortable waxing and storing my own cheese.

Working with Gluten Water

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As the last article in our wheat meat series, I wanted to share with you some ideas about how to use the milky water you get when making wheat meat. This watery substance, known as gluten water, has a great deal of vitamins and minerals in it. So any time you can use it in a dish, you’re dramatically improving the nutrition of that dish. This water will only keep for about 24- 48 hours. (I recommend refrigerating it if you’re not going to use it right away.) After that it begins to ferment, much like a yeast starter for bread.

Great Wheat Meat Recipes

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Ribs, meatballs, steak, corned beef and ground beef–made from wheat? You bet! And it’s tasty too!!!

As covered in the last 2 days of our articles, “wheat meat” is a GREAT alternative for traditional protein sources in your food storage. It’s also healthy for you and requires less energy for your body to process than “regular meat.”

Preparing Wheat Meat

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Wheat Gluten, commonly called “wheat meat” or Seitan, is a great staple to your food storage. As I addressed some of the whys and wherefores of “wheat meat” yesterday, today I’m going to share with you HOW to create your own wheat gluten. Just to get your imagination going here, you can make countless WONDERFUL dishes with “wheat meat” in place of your traditional fare. “Meatballs,” “ground chicken or beef,” “steak slices,” “ham,” “sausage”, etc., can all be deliciously created from your wheat storage.

Discovering Wheat Meat

[caption id="attachment_1537" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Wheat meat photo c/o delectable-victuals.blogspot.com"]Wheat meat photo c/o delectable-victuals.blogspot.com[/caption] To some hardcore carnivores, the idea of eating wheat gluten may sound like a form of vicious torture. But I can assure you from experience and experimentation that when it’s prepared properly you won’t be offended. (Unless you’re one of the unlucky few who are gluten intolerant.) Many years ago I willingly decided to cut down on meat in my diet.

Solar Oven Confessions

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My confession is not that I’m a good cook. The confession is that I’m a bit daring in my cooking, in that I’m not afraid to try new things and new recipes. I can usually read through a recipe and determine whether or not it will be good, and even what to add or subtract from it prior to making it. In the past I’ve even ventured to cook things on the fly, even when it was for a large gathering. I started this somewhat dangerous habit on the menu of a girlfriend’s wedding reception over 12 years ago. I still remember how amazingly well