Argentina’s economic collapse gives us some horrific insights into how everyday citizens are affected by a disruption to our infrastructure…
Every single day, people were faced with extreme life-or-death survival conditions…
Dwindling food supplies (people were literally slaughtering ZOO ANIMALS for meat!)…
No drinking water treatment (they even tried to purify sewer water!)…
And wide-spread crime as even “upstanding” citizens turned to stealing from neighbors to feed their family… sometimes by force!
It’s this last threat that I think most Americans are just not prepared for.
I mean, think about it…
Assuming YOU are more “prepared” than your neighbors and have the foresight to stock away some food and a way to provide safe drinking water, you and I both know that the citizens around you are NOT preparing (like, at all!)
That’s why EVERY daily activity you’re used to doing needs to be looked at with a more “covert” approach in order to keep your level of preparedness hidden from all around you.
That especially includes your food supply, and here are…
3 Grid-Down Covert Cooking Tricks To Keep The Starving “Zombies” Away From Your Front Door In A Crisis…
Ok, first of all, yes… I know that, without electricity, you could just start a fire and roast a local cat over a spit (just kidding), but here’s what you must understand…
Fire attracts attention!
Anyone from MILES around who smells a “campfire” under extreme conditions is going to show up to see if you’re cooking something over that fire.
No bueno amigo!
Here are 3 better methods, and their pros & cons…
1. Gas Cooking
This is definitely the easiest method of cooking for most families.
If you have a backyard gas grill or gas “camp stove”, you could just spark it up and throw things like meat and veggies onto the grill.
But there are some drawbacks…
First of all, while people won’t smell the fire… they WILL likely smell what you’re cooking (and you know what they’ll do next, right?)
Also, you can’t take most backyard grills with you if you’re forced to bug-out to a safer location.
You CAN take a “camp stove” in your vehicle, but then there’s also this problem…
Once you run out of propane canisters, you’re done.
And I’m not a big fan of depending on ANY limited resource without a backup plan.
Here’s a better option (I’m pretty sure you’ve not heard of)…
2. “Wonderbag”
I have to say, this is pretty cool…
It’s basically a giant foam-filled bag that acts like a powerless slow-cooker.
All you do is boil or cook a large cast iron (or other) pot for about 5-15 minutes and then stick it inside the foam bag where it will continue to cook for the next 12 hours.
No “smells”… no electricity needed… and unlike a large gas-grill, it’s portable if you need to evacuate.
The downsides are that…
- You still have the challenge of finding a way to get the cooking started BEFORE you put the pot in the Wonderbag.
- 12 hours is a LONG time to wait for your food to cook.
- It doesn’t cook “small amounts” of food very well because it needs a larger pot’s heat to continue the cooking process.
- It’s actually bigger than what I prefer. In order for it to have enough insulation to continue cooking the food, it ends up being almost a quarter of the size of the big bean-bag chair I had as a kid! It’s very lightweight… but still not very transportable in my opinion.
I have one of these, but it’s not my primary method for “grid-down covert cooking”.
Here’s what I switched to…
3. Solar Cooking
I’ve seen this “Sun Oven” demonstrated at all the “survival conventions” I speak at and as soon as I saw it, I knew I needed it.
No fire needed… no smells to attract unwanted moochers… easy set-up… and easy transporting.
Basically, it’s a fully contained unit that uses reflective panels to focus the sun’s rays into a tightly sealed “mini oven”.
It cooks both small and large meals nearly as fast as a conventional oven and never burns the food, so you can go about your day without ever having to worry about timing your trip .
Of course, it does need the sun to be able to cook… but it doesn’t even have to be a warm day to use it (it’s even been used to cook meals at the Mt. Everest Base Camp in frigid temperatures).
Plus, there are all kinds of extra “survival uses” for the Sun Oven, like:
- Dehydrates food for long-term storage
- Boils water for purification
- Kills bugs that get into stockpiled food
- And it even sterilizes medical equipment!
Sadly, my closest family members don’t think we should engage in hardcore prepping as I do. I have enough survival gear to bug out or camp out as necessary and I have some extra items to trade. I plan to start dehydrating food with my new dehydrator – a Christmas gift. If possible, I’d like to add a wheat grinder and make flour since wheat lasts forever and whole ground flour is much more nutritious.
I have some supplies to make things I may need, different types of tape, glue, WD-40, etc. I have a lot of Bic lighters which I have been buying here and there for a long time. I have also stocked up on candles, wicks for oil lamps or Tiki Torches and I have a few bottles of propane for camp stoves. I also have knives, bottles/canteens, flashlights, etc., to trade. I even have new cage wire for gardening and to make animal cages or traps.
I have saved dryer lint, old candles, old oil (Stale, but still burns) and so far I have made around 20+ “buddy burners. Anything I can get free or reuse, I save. I have a ton of old cloth for bags, rags, bandanas, and so on. Old sheets, blankets, towels, clothing and pillowcases are stored away along with thread and needles.
I also have a very good collection of books on homesteading, solar power, raising livestock, growing food, and on survival. I even have some by Ragnar Benson from Paladin Press. These books will be the ones we’d use to build homesteads and rebuild communities. I’m preparing to become as self-reliant as I can on a small budget.
We have trailers and trucks to pull them. We can bug out with gear and supplies, help others more stuff or scavenge supplies. Although we live in a suburban neighborhood, our 3.5 acres are zone agricultural thus we can raise livestock and crops. We have a well, but no manual pump, which I’d like to install.
I’m working on firearms now in case we need them.
While this is for stay where you are……I have precooked a lot of meat meals and canned them, using a pressure cooker. Those meats can be eaten cold. Warm them when you can, even better. These include: pork chops, bar b q meats, steak that’s cut up in various sauces and chicken and even my favorite, Chile con carne. Again, these are in jars and not meant to be lugged around in a b o b. They can however, be placed in strategic areas, where they can be available later. As long as the air does not get in the jar, the food inside will be good.
My go to survival one stop shopping is “4Patriots” for what I’ve found to be the best, bar none, on the market any where. 25 year shelf life food, sun kettles to boil water for cooking and sterilizing, and star campstoves, literally cook with anything small that burns, twigs, leaves, dry moss, erc.
*Solar and/or plug in charged:
1. Besides the sun kettles,
these are solar only.
2. Combo fridge, freezer erc.
on wheels.
3. Generators, as big as your
needs, 40w to 2000w
4. Many products for living
off the grid, undetected,
comfortable and healthy
with peace of mind.
5. Many more great products
to check on.
Same here!
Totally agree.
We bought a HYDRO-STACKER growing unit that we can set up anywhere and grow our vegees. Does not need electric.
One of my sons has quite a lot of freezer space because he is a hunter. He has plenty deer and elk. We had a beautiful elk roast for Thanksgiving that was out of this world. I a turkey that I bought on sale after last years Thanksgiving. I smoked it and everyone liked it.
We all know, there is NO second chance to have what you need on hand when a significant incident occurs – be it a Mother Nature “right hook”, a dollar collapse, societal breakdown, or one of a myriad of other emergency scenarios.
I was lucky enough to endure 3 direct hurricane hits in South Florida in 2004 and 2005 and it certainly opened my eyes to how much my wife and daughters RELY on me to keep them safe, supplied, and protected.
Folks WILL come banging on the door for coffee, sugar, dog food, etc. In a situation that may drag on for weeks and months, folks will no longer be asking – they will be DEMANDING or trying to intimidate you out of things, and desperate folks are NOT ABOVE violence when they get desperate.
I had one friend held up at gunpoint when he was seen with gas cans in the back of his pickup and I’ve seen fistfights at the gas pumps and the near-riots at Home Depot in the propane line.
People change after a disaster!
A grocery store down the street from me had emergency electric running, and was the only store open for miles, 3 days after Hurricane Jeanne in 2004.
Needless to say, the store was mobbed with people.
I have a generator and lots of gas that kept my fridge and freezer running so I bought store items accordingly.
When it came my turn to put my purchases on the checkout belt, a frazzled looking lady behind me began scrutinizing the items I was taking out of my cart, which included a lot of freezer and fridge items.
She was brewing for a fight with somebody, and DEMANDED to know (in a VERY loud voice!) why I was purchasing items that required refrigeration… and then started inciting in the same loud voice to those around me,
“Look everyone! HE has electricity!”
Like i was some kind of villain!
She kept yelling, “IT’S NOT FAIR THAT HE HAS ELECTRICITY AND WE DON’T!”
I kid you not; THIS is how quickly a situation can get out of hand.
And to my surprise, some folks began to grumble along WITH her about what an evil, privileged pr*ck I was!
She was inciting people around her and some folks began to take on an ugly tone.
I was very close to becoming an object for people to take their frustrations out on physically… FOR BUYING MILK AND ICE CREAM!!!
Thank God 2 cops moved in quickly and shut down both the frazzled lady AND the growing collection of people there that were suddenly looking at me like a child murderer or something!
THIS is how quick things can get out of hand post-emergency.
I was looking at possibly having to abandon my purchases and fight my way out of there if it continued to escalate.
Mob mentality takes on a life of it’s own very quickly, and social situations around you can change in literally a matter of seconds.
Even if you are doing absolutely NOTHING wrong, you can be singled out and accosted.
Thank God my wife and children were not with me.
The lesson learned that day?
You are NO good to your loved ones who depend on you if you are dead, injured or missing, so keep your lips sealed and don’t let ANYONE know how prepared you are – before, during, or after a disaster actually hits!