Basic Prepping

image: freeze dried food, bowl of freeze dried food, thrive life freeze dried food

8 Tips For Placing Your First Survival Food Order

February 19, 2021 / 3 Comments

I’ll never forget my first, official order for survival, or prepper, food. My friend, Chrystalyn, was a pro at this, and she guided me through a bewildering order form with products and container sizes I didn’t recognize. At the time, I was a typical suburban mom who had never heard of prepper food before, much less placed a large order to begin my emergency food storage. A #10 can? What was that? A #2.5 can? Is that what I need …

8 Tips For Placing Your First Survival Food Order Read More »

image: people walking in blizzard

26 Ways to Stay Warm Without Electricity

February 21, 2021 / 4 Comments

  Wear wool socks and a wool cap. Set up a tent in a room that connects with a bathroom and spend time/sleep inside the tent. Sit in your car with the heater on. NOTE: This is a short-term solution and should only be done with your car parked in a well-ventilated garage or in an otherwise open area. If you have a gas range, boil/heat water and then pour it into a hot water bottle. Wear layers of clothes, …

26 Ways to Stay Warm Without Electricity Read More »

image: cars driving in snow, winter driving, snow on highway

Make Your Own Winter Survival Food Kit

February 11, 2021 / 10 Comments

A couple of years ago, my family spent 2 weeks camping around the beautiful and very cold country of Iceland. (You can read about our adventures in this article.) We had a cozy camper van with a propane stove, a small sink, table, and bunks, and as you might imagine, coming up with plans for hot meals every day became an interesting challenge! There’s something deeply satisfying about a hot drink or hot meal on a cold day, but have …

Make Your Own Winter Survival Food Kit Read More »

Image: woman holding oats, oats falling into bowl, oat groats

Oat Groats & How to Use Them

February 10, 2021 / 1 Comment

My family and I love oat groats. When I placed an order for an entire case of oat groats and they arrived at our doorstep, my teenage daughter cheered! They are one of her favorite breakfast foods. As you know, oats have many excellent nutritional qualities. We hear all the time about oat bran’s ability to help lower our cholesterol and oatmeal is one of my favorite foods to store in my own food storage pantry, but what makes oat groats …

Oat Groats & How to Use Them Read More »

image: man in hazmat suit

Do You Know How to Clean Up a Biological Mess?

February 15, 2021 / 3 Comments

Just before Christmas, my family and I were shopping at a local big-box store. Near the dressing rooms, my daughter spotted a young man totally passed out on the carpeted aisle, with a pile of vomit nearby. Since that’s not a normal thing, we immediately alerted a clerk. Being the Survival Mom, I was curious to see this store’s protocol when dealing with a biological mess like this, so I hovered in the distance to watch. Once the young man …

Do You Know How to Clean Up a Biological Mess? Read More »

Image: shopping cart

Survival Shopping at Costco: A Quick and Easy Guide

June 12, 2020 / 5 Comments

Several years ago I bought the James Wesley Rawles book, How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It, and to this day there’s one statement he makes in the book that has stuck with me: “Waiting until the eleventh hour to stock up on canned and bulk food is not recommended, but if your circumstances necessitate it, then consider it a calculated risk. Don’t hesitate once you see the first warning signs. You have only one …

Survival Shopping at Costco: A Quick and Easy Guide Read More »

The Food Storage Companies I Recommend and Why

May 30, 2020 / 66 Comments

Over the years I’ve purchased “survival” food from a dozen or so different companies, and believe me, not all companies that sell that type of food are the same. In a couple of instances, the food was so bad that even I, a pretty damn good cook, couldn’t salvage the end result. If you’re going to invest money in freeze-dried and dehydrated food, then it’s worth the time to research and try sample-sizes of a company’s product before stocking up. …

The Food Storage Companies I Recommend and Why Read More »

Simple Food Storage Meals for Tight Times: Stock up on three months worth, fast!

December 28, 2020 / 104 Comments

My first venture into food storage was an expensive one. I didn’t know what I was doing, so I stocked up on a lot of food that was typical of our young family’s diet back then — boxes of cereal, granola bars, and cans of ravioli. When a different kind of storm is on its way in the form of a pandemic, economic collapse, or another worst case scenario that threatens your family, moms everywhere respond to their maternal instincts …

Simple Food Storage Meals for Tight Times: Stock up on three months worth, fast! Read More »

image: fresh produce, tomatoes in a bowl, fresh vegetables

Prepper Food: 5 Fresh Essentials That Must Be On Your List

February 15, 2021 / 18 Comments

Think fast: What food items always seem to be on the shortlist when you head to the grocery store? Chances are, foods with the shortest shelf life will be on that list, e.g. milk, bread, eggs, produce. Foods that will spoil or rot within a couple of weeks are also ones that we depend on for variety and a well-rounded diet, and your prepper food storage is incomplete without it. During the virus pandemic and quarantine, these foods are on …

Prepper Food: 5 Fresh Essentials That Must Be On Your List Read More »

The truth about disinfectants: Q&A with an expert

December 29, 2020 / 41 Comments

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t keeping track of news coming out of China. The rapid spread of the novel coronavirus has caused the Chinese government to shut down some of their largest cities, most popular tourist attractions, and as of today’s date, at least 16 airlines have canceled flights to and from China. These steps are unprecedented and require any smart person to keep one eye on the headlines and the other eye on your preps! In …

The truth about disinfectants: Q&A with an expert Read More »