Comfort or Chaos—It’s Your Choice

You’ve no doubt read of the extreme number of homes and business in the Midwest which are without power for at least two weeks due to extreme weather conditions. With over 1.3 million homes and business in the dark and cold until mid February, this translates into nearly 5 million individuals in a crisis situation. With the electricity out, heating will cease, microwave or oven cooking is eliminated, the days will be subject to minimal light in the midst of this hard winter, water pipes will freeze, and so much of a normal life for these millions of people will be hijacked for an involuntary 14 day minimum. Electricity affects your water supply, your food supply, your heat, your light, your medical access, your traffic flow and your security. It even affects your access to gasoline and other regular supplies which you may take for granted. Clearly, an electric outage of this nature is not just about finding things to do that don’t require electricity. It’s about completely altering your way of living, and even survival.

In a previous article I wrote an appropriate warning about the occurrence of such a plausible situation. I shared some relevant research in terms of the shocking numbers of employees available to restore common utilities in the event of an outage. In most states, the numbers of employees per numbers of households is 10,000 to 1. However, the economic crisis has forced layoffs so that the ratio in some areas may be as high as 13,000 to 1. This ratio accelerates even higher in concentrated populations as well.

Even with the assistance of the National Guard, this recent storm strike has manifested the reality of what I shared in my previous post. Many are just a bit too naïve when they lightly think of the “what if” scenarios of their ability to survive an emergency. They underestimate their sustainability due to a lack of sound information. Keep in mind that in the event of a terrorist attack on our nation, the luxury of the assistance of the Guard will not be present, as they will be engaged elsewhere by mandate.

So the question is, are you ready for such an occurrence in your life? Whether you’re affected by it or not this trial can serve as a generous reminder to get prepared now before the same stakes face you. Think of how much more bearable this particular situation would be if alternative cooking skills and supplies were available to those affected by the storm. What if some water was stored away? What if a small amount of fuel for a heater were on hand? There have been over 24 deaths reported so far as a result of this natural disaster—all as a result of the failure to appropriately plan for a real “what if.”

I have a lifelong friend who’s braving this exact storm in KY. Not only is she subjected to the standard trials of a power outage and all the problems that brings, but the storm also caused the large tree in her front yard to come crashing through her roof in the main portion of her home. Fortunately, this dear friend of mine is happily prepared for just such a situation with ample food, water, medical, and heating supplies stored for just such an occasion—oh, and accessible. She was even able to make use of her bounty to others who were not so fortunate to possess such mental preparation. I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather be in a position of helping others in such a situation than to be in dire need of it.

In closing I want to share with you a brief thought I posted on my Facebook page. “You can learn in comfort or in chaos. But I’d much rather learn in comfort.” Of course there is still much to learn about truly being prepared for a mere 2 weeks, let alone a full year. But the people who are affected by this storm are having to learn their lessons in a time of chaos, thus bringing upon themselves additional suffering and stress. Since you have the opportunity now, wouldn’t you rather learn and prepare while you still have the luxury of light, transportation, and a chipper disposition? Obviously how you learn and implement is your choice. When you will be required to use your knowledge is unfortunately beyond your control.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.


Preparedness Pro Note: If you would like Kellene Bishop to present an Emergency Preparedness message for your community or church group, please contact us at 801-788-4133. Ms. Bishop is an experienced speaker on Emergency Preparedness topics and also has created a great “Preparedness Party” platform which makes the learning of such a topic more enjoyable for all.

Are You Living With a False Sense of Security?

Here’s a reality question. Do you really have sufficient food and water storage for one year? Recently information was revealed that the majority of a large nationwide mix of individuals who thought they had a year’s supply of food for their family, actually only had 90 days! And of the individuals who thought they had a years supply of water only had 3 weeks! Wow. Talk about a false sense of security, eh? (Let’s at least hope that the situation has been remedied since the results of the analysis.)

In my opinion, what’s more disturbing though is the vast majority of individuals who know…really know…that they need to store a years supply of food, water, and other necessary emergency supplies but who have not even begun. It reminds me of the joke of the guy who’s stranded on the top of his roof due to flood waters.

The man prays and prays for the Lord to spare him. Interrupting his prayers was a man in a small life raft, offering the man safe passage. The praying man waved the life raft on, assuring the would-be rescuer that he would be just fine. The man continues to pray for help. Shortly thereafter a helicopter arrives to take the man from his roof. The man waves the helicopter on convinced that the Lord would spare him in answer to his prayers. Finally, the flood waters rise enough to drown the man. As he’s standing before the Lord he asks Him why He didn’t answer his prayers? Naturally the Lord responds that He did indeed send the life raft and the helicopter.
Are we ignoring the life rafts and helicopters? Have we as a nation not had sufficient warning that we need to be more prepared for the disasters in our life? Do we need to be subjected first hand to a tsunami, the Teton Dam breaking, an earthquake, a debilitating ice storm, or a ferocious hurricane before we wake up and truly prepare? Is there really any fact-based doubt in anyone’s mind that we need to take responsibility for our own well-being in the midst of a calamity?

Recently my local electric company and gas company officials were questioned as to their availability for a restitution of power and gas should there be a major disaster. The gas company informed us that they had 30 employees to take care of over 450,000 homes. The power company informed us that they had only 4 backhoes to take care of that many homes as well. In other words, there is not going to be a quick fix in the event of a true catastrophe. No matter how much we pay them, our demands for a restitution of service will go unheard. It’s simply a matter of fact.

My neighbor is a fireman. A relatively close neighbor is a surgeon. And yet another is a National Guardsman. But does this mean that these individuals will be on hand for their neighbors should there be a catastrophe? Nope. Sorry. These individuals will be doing what they are trained to be doing…and doing it elsewhere. Heck. They are hardly ever home with things are going well, let alone when there’s a disaster.

4 in 100 families who religiously believe in a doomsday scenario are appropriately prepared with a years supply of necessary items. Needless to say, those are some awful statistics—and this is among those who are religiously convinced individuals. What about the rest of society that simply doesn’t care or take time to think about such preparedness? A lot of lives will be unnecessarily lost and a lot of hearts will be unnecessarily burdened if we do not take care of our needs for tomorrow, today.

May we all take a solemn responsibility for our well-being that we may be in a position to help others who are truly in need when times get really, really tough.

Kellene

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.


Preparedness Pro Note: If you would like Kellene Bishop to present an Emergency Preparedness message for your community or church group, please contact us at 801-788-4133. Ms. Bishop is an experienced speaker on Emergency Preparedness topics and also has created a great “Preparedness Party” platform which makes the learning of such a topic more enjoyable for all.

US Airways Flight 1549 Crashes in the Hudson River

Today’s catastrophic US Airways flight 1549 plane crash, an airbus A-320, is the perfect example of what can go RIGHT if you prepare. Certainly the passengers are horrified having had to experience an emergency landing in the freezing Hudson River waters. But their exit time from the plane happened exactly according to the rehearsed plan. Airplanes of this nature are inspected and certified based on it’s ability to exit all passengers within 90 seconds. Even with the real exits obstructed by the river, passengers were able to exit the plane and stand on the wings, in accordance to standard operating procedures.

In order for this ideal outcome in the midst of the disastrous circumstances to happen so expeditiously, the flight attendants had to be very well practiced in getting the passengers prepared with the life vests, bracing themselves for the landing, and quickly exiting the plane prior to it’s immersion in the below freezing waters. Likewise, the passengers had to listen and comply with the instructions delivered on behalf of their safety.

Just to recap, US Airways flight 1549 hit a large flock of geese. While the pilots are warned from traffic control about potential bird/flock problems, there’s not a lot you can do to eliminate them altogether. When you’re moving at 150 miles per hour, there’s not a lot of evasive action you can take to avoid a flock of birds such as this. So avoiding the crisis altogether is not likely. This holds true regarding your own emergency preparedness as well. Just like you won’t be able to avoid a lot of disasters that may come your way, the key is to be mentally prepared for such unpleasant occasions beforehand. Conduct rehearsals in your mind and to back up such rehearsals with the actions you have within your power to address the disaster in a prepared and competent manner when it does enter your life.

This plane went over very heavily populated areas. Based on the map view, the Hudson River was the best place for the pilot to land. Once he hit the large flock of geese, sufficient to disable both engines, he had less than 2 minutes to fully determine AND execute the landing of the plane. As such, the pilot is worthy of accolades for an “SOP picture perfect” emergency landing.

Pilots are continually trained to always be on the look out for a “what if” landing. In other words, “If something were to happen right now, where would you land?” The pilot handled this emergency perfectly landing in the river, and as such ALL of the passengers and staff members were rescued. Initial reports reveal that there were only minor injuries—to be expected in such a landing – another nod to the competence of the pilot under such stressful circumstances.

In such a horrible crisis, there will be unfathomable distress. There will be grief and emotional trauma. But the difference between whether or not you have a future, and sufficient time to recover from such an experience will be determined by your appropriate planning for such a crisis.

Let’s cheer for Something Done Right in a Crisis and use this example as a warning for our own lives and the challenges we may encounter.

Kellene

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.


Preparedness Pro Note: If you would like Kellene Bishop to present an Emergency Preparedness message for your community or church group, please contact us at 801-788-4133. Ms. Bishop is an experienced speaker on Emergency Preparedness topics and also has created a great “Preparedness Party” platform which makes the learning of such a topic more enjoyable for all.

Will Your Wheat Storage Kill You? Exploring the utilization of wheat in your food storage

When most people think about eating from their food storage, they think about mundane wheat, rice, and beans. If I had to live on that, I may very well starve to death out of boredom, also known as “appetite fatigue.” There are two key ways to avoid this from happening to you and your family if you’re forced to live off of food storage.

1) Store what you eat
2) Learn to use what you store

While this may sound simple, I find that frequently when I evaluate a person’s food storage they are storing items which they have no idea how to convert into an edible food and in some cases they are even storing items which they are allergic to!

Here are the facts. If you attempt to go from what you’re eating every day now to surviving off of whole wheat, you will be dead within 3 months from the shock of what the wheat will do to your digestive system. If you intend to use wheat in an emergency, you better begin acclimating your body to wheat right now. (It’s the only reason why I learned to make bread, but boy are my husband and father-in-law glad I did. They love my bread!)

So introducing wheat into your diet on a daily basis now is one way to avoid shocking your system literally to death. And it’s part of the fundamental of “learning to use what you store.” I’ve had one woman show me her ample supplies to make some wonderful sounding dishes, but she’s never attempted to make them for herself or her family. That’s a catastrophe waiting to happen.

Remember, the time for preparation is over when the opportunity (or disaster) appears.

Another way to prevent a system shock when you’re forced to convert your lifestyle as the result of an emergency is to store items such as Kamut, Amarath, Quinoa, Millet, and Spelt. These types of grains mixed in generously with wheat will prevent the negative effects of shocking your body with straight wheat. Oh, and by the way, be sure you learn how to eat these items as well. (Yes, you can sprout them also).

Given the choices though, I prefer to introduce wheat into my body regularly. The reason being is that the other grain choices above are 4 to 10 times more expensive than wheat. And that’s saying a lot considering how much wheat has gone up in pricing over the last 2 years.

Learning to use what you store also requires a level of awareness. As you use recipes in your regular meal making activities, ask yourself if you have the items necessary to create such a meal with what you’ve got in storage (This includes what you may need to actually cook the meal with such as a Dutch Oven, Solar Oven, alternatively fueled stoves, etc. I frequently use my Joy Cook stoves for testing emergency preparedness recipes. They are made in Korea and I always see them being sold at sporting goods stores as well as trade shows for camping, boating and guns).

I also specifically look for recipes in which I can adapt the items easily, or already stock in my food storage. For example, today I played around with using peanut butter, ginger vinaigrette and fettuccine. It turned out nicely. But then again I like Thai flavored types of food as well. My husband on the other hand… not so much. Back to the drawing board for me on that one, I guess.

Here is the recipe for you to test out on your finicky eaters:

Ginger Peanut Fettuccine
1 box of (8 oz.) of fettuccine
½ cup of peanut butter (crunchy is ideal for this recipe)
¾ cup of ginger vinaigrette dressing
1 tablespoon of minced garlic. (I buy mine by the large jar and use it all year round)
Reserve 1 ¼ cup of the pasta water

Cook fettuccine according to box directions. Drain completely, setting aside the reserved pasta water. Set aside your pasta while you make the sauce. Returning your pan to the hot surface, simply add your garlic, dressing, peanut butter and pasta water, stirring until smooth. Add cooked pasta. Stir well until mixed.
Makes four servings which include necessary fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. I like to sprinkle a bit of dried parsley over each serving as well.

Enjoy!

I’ll address more of the fundamental of “storing what you eat” in future blogs.

Kellene

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.


Preparedness Pro Note: If you would like Kellene Bishop to present an Emergency Preparedness message for your community or church group, please contact us at 801-788-4133. Ms. Bishop is an experienced speaker on Emergency Preparedness topics and also has created a great “Preparedness Party” platform which makes the learning of such a topic more enjoyable for all.

Just Enough Calories to Kill Ya

A Frank Exploration of Buckets of Emergency Food Supply

If you have food storage accumulation on your radar, you’ve no doubt been tempted (or already beguiled) to purchase the so-called 3 months supply of food that comes in a 5 gallon bucket which you’ve seen in emergency preparedness stores or your local warehouse. With these products claiming to be a 3 months supply of food for 1 person at approximately $85 to $125, you’ve not doubt thought that this would be a much easier way to get your years supply of food storage as opposed to accumulating huge bags of wheat, sugar, rice, beans and all of the other necessities and then trying to find room for them. Well, I hate to tell you this, but you’d be wrong. In fact, in light of a true emergency, relying on this type of nutrition in a volatile time, you may even find yourself dead wrong.

The minimum amount of wheat storage for one person for a year is 400 pounds. Forget the rice, beans, sugar, seasonings, and other items that you should be storing as well. If you divide the 400 pounds of wheat by 4, you’ll get 100 pounds of wheat per person, per quarter, minimum. There is no way that you’re going to get 100 pounds of nutrition in one of these 25 pound buckets--dried up and dead or otherwise.

Let’s also take a look at the survival bars that the military eat for survival basis only. These bars come in 2400 or 3600 calorie versions. They are intended for the intake of one per day in extreme survival situations. Clearly, there’s no way you’re going to be able fit 90 of these in a 5 gallon bucket. Keep in mind your caloric requirements increase in times of high stress, fatigue, depression and emotionally climatic situations. Again, let me stress that the survival bars issued by the military are for a minimum amount of survival until rescue comes. If you look at the caloric intake of the meals that come in these 5 gallon buckets, at two meals per day as the package recommends, you will get a total of only 660 calories, and that’s if you eat the most caloric dense meal that the bucket provides 3 times a day. That’s less than 25% of an adult’s minimum caloric intake needed in a time of crisis. There’s no voluntary dieting or calorie skimping in a time of crisis. You will be a useless human being if you attempt to take that route. If you want to see how many calories you should have daily, without the crisis consideration, just use this link here. http://www.hpathy.com/healthtools/calories-need.asp It may be a good eye opener to many of you. In spite of this common sense information, I see so many naively buying up these buckets and thinking that they’ve got their food storage for the year. It’s a sad commentary to discover that the Orem, UT Costco sold more of these food storage buckets than any other product in their history of specialty products!

The majority of the meals included in the bucket require 20 to 25 minutes of simmering. If you are using fuel to boil this water, that’s an awfully long time for one meal. There are at least 100 different meals that come to mind that are healthier, tastier, and that don’t take nearly that much prep time, fuel usage, or water usage. Remember, in a crisis you need to preserve your energy, your fuel, and your water.

If you’ve already accumulated this kind of bucket food storage, don’t fret. There are some good aspects of it.

1) It is a START. Considering that there are so many that don’t even start on their preparation, you should give yourself kudos for taking a step in the right direction. But please remember it is in only a start. Please do not allow yourself to have a false sense of security in thinking that you or any member of your family has enough nutrition and calories with this kind of storage.

2) It’s a good add-on to wheat, rice, and beans. Making up some of the contents in these buckets may be a perfectly good way to spice up your other plain staples. One thing you do want to be aware of is guarding against “appetite fatigue.” You don’t want your loved ones refusing to eat simply because they are “sick” of the same old food. This has happened on many occasions even in 3rd world nations where they are starving. And I’m sure we’ve all heard of the occasional story of the 4 year old who will only eat 3 items…chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese or pizza. Clearly it’s important to prepare yourself to utilize ways to make your food as tasty as possible (I can’t tell you how many people I talk to who have completely forgotten to store any kind of spices).

3) These kinds of meals may come in handy for trade, and since they are a trade item and take up a small amount of space that gives them a decent value to have on hand. Remember, in a true emergency that is expected to last a while, currency will have very, very little value. In fact, there are many studies that show a bucket of wheat will be worth more than a bucket of gold.

Discussing the merits of wheat is an entire book practically, but I will address a few aspects of it quickly lest you think that the recommendation of wheat storage is fostered my some maniacal men who desire to make your life miserable or to challenge your creative storage techniques.

Wheat has numerous uses, and not just in the berry or flour form. Wheat, especially when it’s sprouted, is a fabulous nutritional resource. In fact, when you sprout wheat it is 600 times more nutritious than the wheat ground down into flour. In fact, if you’d like, the wheat can be sprouted, then dried, and then ground down and made into whatever you’d like, thus manifesting that much more nutritional benefit. 1 cup of sprouted wheat has 8 grams of protein. It’s also a great source of nutrients, amino acids, and good carbohydrates. Sprouted wheat has been used to cure scurvy and birth defects. Let’s see if your bucket of empty calories can do that.

In future blogs I will share with you how to cook with wheat, what to substitute if you are allergic to wheat, and so much more! Glad you’re reading to get better prepared.

Kellene

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.


Preparedness Pro Note: If you would like Kellene Bishop to present an Emergency Preparedness message for your community or church group, please contact us at 801-788-4133. Ms. Bishop is an experienced speaker on Emergency Preparedness topics and also has created a great “Preparedness Party” platform which makes the learning of such a topic more enjoyable for all.

Seeds of Preparedness

Many individuals I speak with about emergency preparedness are concerned of the cost of getting prepared and the amount of space they have to store everything. Today’s blog is just one way you can be successful at improving your state of preparedness without being paralyzed by cost or space.

In the fall, garden seeds are typically marked down dramatically. Are these safe to buy and store without immediately planting them in the ground? Well, usually, the answer is yes. I’ll clarify in a moment. Obviously, paying 70% off the original price of seeds is a bargain most can’t walk away from, and the space necessary to store seeds isn’t cumbersome even in a New York City apartment.

So how do you know when the seeds you buy off-season are going to do you any good in years to come, you ask? Ask the store supervisors how the seeds were stored. If they were displayed all summer out in the hot sun, then you’ll need to move on to another bargain. However, if they were stored in the store, or in the store greenhouse area the majority of the time, then you can be safe to purchase and store them for at least another 5 to 10 years. Even better is if you can store them individually packaged but in a larger container to prolong freshness. The key is for you to store them in a cool, dark and dry place. It was a way of life for our ancestors – they stored and traveled with seeds regularly. “Hey honey, be sure to grab the kids and the seeds. The mammoth is leaving soon.” Don’t let the modernization of a greenhouse throw you off your instincts.

Seeds are full of great nutrition as sprouts. An added bonus with this practice is if your seeds do sprout, then you know they are good and nutritious. In fact, in some cases, the sprouted seeds are MORE nutritious sprouted than as full grown plants, though perhaps not as enjoyable to eat. So, if you’re in doubt, prior to planting seeds in the typical manner, take a few and sprout them in doors. Sprouting typically involves water, some cheesecloth, and a small mason jar. Think about it – in an emergency, you’re not exactly going to have time to plant your seeds and then wait for the harvest if you’re starving and other food supplies are cut off. Some seeds take only 24 to 48 hours to sprout. As long as you have water (see my last blog) you’ll be able to survive that long without food while you’re waiting for the sprouts to develop.

And while I’m on the topic of sprouts, even though it’s a bit off topic of saving space, dried legumes and wheat grains are EXCELLENT sprouting resources. They are also quite easy to sprout and their nutritional value is dramatically compounded in this state. Additionally, wheat grains and dried legumes store for extremely long periods of time in a cool, dry, dark space, and the sprouting is virtually effortless. (In fact, my husband and I accidentally sprouted some lentils in our basement when we didn’t completely clean up a spill. Some the seeds had fallen down a drain pipe next to the water heater and sprouted soon after with nothing but moisture — no light.)

So I say take advantage of the seed sales you get at the end of the summer and in early fall. They are typically every bit as good and will store quite well. Whether you want edible vegetables and flowers, or showy foliage, go ahead and save a bundle of money! The space you save on “food storage” is great as well.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.


Preparedness Pro Note: If you would like Kellene Bishop to present an Emergency Preparedness message for your community or church group, please contact us at 801-788-4133. Ms. Bishop is an experienced speaker on Emergency Preparedness topics and also has created a great “Preparedness Party” platform which makes the learning of such a topic more enjoyable for all.