Category Archives: Guest Post

A hand juicer as a survival tool

Many people are familiar with the practice of juicing fruits and vegetables, to make nutritious and tasty drinks. Everyone is probably aware that increasing your intake of fruit and vegetable matter (and this includes fresh juice) is very healthy, and can improve the quality of your life. But how can a juicer machine save your life?

I recently read an interesting discussion claiming that grass – not wheat grass, but plain old lawn grass – is an overlooked source of food in times of famine, war, and other times of need. Now before the scientifically minded amongst you jump up and down and say “no no grass can’t be eaten – you need a rumen, or the enzyme cellulase to break it down”, this is how it works:

Although grass fibre ( mainly cellulose, and it’s true you DO specifically need the enzyme cellulase to break it down to a simpler form) is of very little use to humans, it is still possible to crush the juice out of the grass and drink this. What does it taste like? It tastes like wheat grass apparently, and although it is not the best flavour in the world, it still contains a mixture of simple sugars that are sustaining enough to potentially get you through an emergency.

So, you need some way to crush lawn grass. Of course an electric juicer is a great way to juice, but an electric machine isn’t going do much good to as if electricity grid is down! In this case, the best option is a hand juicer. A hand juicer is any juicer which is powered manually, and the most common types are those which you clamp to a surface like a kitchen bench, and then turn a crank handle while feeding in ingredients. Hand juicers are generally used to juice wheat grass, so they aren’t really going to struggle when juicing lawn grass.

This information probably sounds quite wacky, and you should probably be careful when applying it! However, whichever way you look at it a compact hand juicer does sound like a useful survival tool. There are many things that you could find that you could juice if you had to,  which would not be very palatable to eat. Think of edible native plants such as thistles, which are edible but very stringy and difficult to chew. A hand juicer can be purchased for as little as $50, and could be an excellent investment one day.

Cold climate survival: How and why thermal underwear can save your life

When people think of outdoor survival situations under adverse conditions they tend to think of survival knives, maybe guns, and other iconic tools of the action-hero survivalist. But the fact is that one of the greatest dangers you will face in the wild will not be from wild animals or head hunters…cold will kill you faster than anything else.

Experienced outdoors men and women like to talk about the rule of 3’s: A person can go for 3 weeks without food, 3 days without water, and 3 hours without warmth.

There is a lot of truth in this old rule, and you need to prepare carefully if you are setting out on any expedition. It might just be a camping trip, it might be a white water rafting trip, or you may be going searching for fossil bones. In any case, it’s better to be prepared than to face a situation without the necessary survival equipment.

Thermal underwear is a fantastic invention which seriously can save your life. Many professional athletes and adventurers wear thermal underwear not just to stay comfortable, but also to avoid injury. If you’ve never worn thermal underwear before you may suspect that it is itchy or uncomfortable, but modern thermals are smooth and in fact barely noticeable once you have them on. There are three main types of thermal underwear that you can obtain:

The cheapest kind of thermal underwear is usually of the acrylic fiber type, which is a synthetic fiber. Acrylic fibers  are relatively inexpensive, and also quite hard wearing. The downside can be that synthetic fibers absorb body odor, and can be difficult to refresh.

Also fairly affordable, is cotton thermal underwear. You need to be careful with cotton underwear though, as cotton has a distinct disadvantage in the field. When it gets wet, it completely loses its ability to insulate you, and is in fact worse than useless. Cotton thermal underwear is only appropriate for fairly light duty applications, and should not be worn into serious survival situations.

By far the best type of thermal underwear is pure wool. It might surprise some people to learn this, but wool has been used by civilizations all around the world for countless thousands of years for a good reason – it has amazing natural insulating properties, and it is also naturally antibacterial. Even when wet, wool maintains the ability to insulate your body, and as such is the best choice when you are embarking on a quest into the unknown.

Ways to Reduce Pollution

There are simple ways to help reduce pollution in the environment. Below are just a few ways we can all contribute to maintaining a healthy safe environment for adults and children. One way to help stop pollution is to always keep your car up to date with its emission tests. Avoiding smoke emissions will help prevent pollution. Try not to litter. Littering is careless and can easy be avoided. By throwing hazardous waste into water and land, it creates toxic chemicals that affect everything from the food we eat to the water we drink.

Burning tires has proven to be a significant factor in polluting the air we live in. Human carcinogens and chemicals get released into the air by burning tires. It only helps the environment to try and purchase used tires. Sometimes people invest in military tires due to the overwhelming surplus and quality. Instead of purchasing retail or wholesale tires, invest in used tires instead. Help stop the amount of tires being made by taking advantage of used tires instead of buying brand new ones.

Conserving energy goes a long way. By purchasing Energy Star products and generally reducing the amount of energy taken in per day, you will help relieve some of pollution. Turning lights off and appliances off when they aren’t being used will help as well. Plus, you will save on your energy bill. Get your home tested for radon, a hazardous, odorless but toxic gas. As far as automobiles are concerned, try to carpool or use public transportation when ever possible. By keeping your tires inflated you will save gas. When going grocery shopping bring a canvas bag to reduce the amount of paper and plastic wasted. Lastly- recycle, recycle, recycle! Sorting out the cans, cardboard and plastic from other garbage makes such a difference in the environment and can be re-used!

5 Tips for Camping with Children

Camping is a fun activity for your family. But what if you go with children? This may mean added responsibility on your end. But you do not have to worry. You can definitely still have fun in nature even with your kids running around.

Below are 5 tips to help you and your children enjoy the outdoors.

1. When you’re with older children, plan with them. Ask them where they want to go and what they want to experience. Involve them in the process so they both learn how to plan and also so they get to do things of interest to them.

2. When you’re with younger children, it’s best to have a “test” camping situation in your backyard before you actually go to the site. Teach your kids how to set up the tent. If they’re older, you can even teach them how to cook (while protecting the environment). In this way, they’ll learn skills that will last a lifetime and that they can teach their own kids someday.

3. Children must familiarize themselves with how to survive in the outdoors. Guide them. Teach them about safety and outdoor ethics. And just because you’re at a camping site, it does not mean that the chores end there. Show them ways to protect the environment by bringing reusable jars, rather than plastic bags, for their mouthwash and toothpaste. Tell them to not spit in the river or the lake.

4. Make sure you pack appropriately. When you’re with tykes, bring lots of extra shoes and clothes. Expect them to get wet and dirty. Bring insect repellent and sunscreen. Keep the first aid kid in your bag. You can also bring those travel toys like pocket scrabble or checkers in order to keep them entertained.

5. Ask your child if he or she wants to bring a familiar toy. A stuffed bear or a blanket will give the child a familiar sense of home in the tent as camping, particularly during the first time, can seem unnerving to a child.

Camping with children can be a challenge, but the reward’s are many fold the difficulties.  Not only will camping allow you to bond with your child, it will also give you the opportunity to teach him or her to enjoy and help protect nature.

If you have a family, you have to read Maeyahn’s piece about camping with kids at state parks site NDParks.com.

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Camping Cooking Tips You Must Know

For your next camping trip, you can impress your fellow campers by showing them your efficient cooking skills. Not a cook? Well it is not as hard as you think. You do not need a kitchen and the usual cooking utensils to prepare a delectable meal that you can enjoy while outdoors.
I’ve provided you 8 simple camping cooking tips below. To learn more, read on!

1. Decide what you want to prepare and measure ingredients in advance of every meal. Pack these in Ziploc bags and label appropriately. This will make it easier to stay organized as you cook.  Remember – if you are organized, you can better focus on making the meal taste good.

2. You can bring soups and stews. Just prepare ahead. Freeze these and keep in a cooler. Reheat them when it’s time to eat.

3. When cooking, cover pots. This will cook the food faster. Another reason for this is to keep insects and dirt out of your food.

4. For quick meals, use instant foods such as freeze dried noodles. They prepare fast and generally only require boiled water.

5. When cooking hamburgers and hotdogs, put holes in the middle of the buns for faster grilling. Be warned though – watch them closely so they don’t burn.

6. You can prevent marshmallows from sticking together by adding powdered sugar to the bag you store them in. The sugar forms a barrier that keeps the marshmallows separate. Further, and perhaps more important, who wouldn’t want extra sugar on their marshmallows?

7. When making egg sandwiches, cook your eggs in a canning ring. This will help give them those rounded, “professional egg sandwich” shape. Why does shape matter? For some reason, the mind associates good looking food with good tasting food.

8. Use a crock pot to save time. Prepare and start your dinner every morning before you go and do your activities. You will be delighted to see your food ready once you get back. Further, as the ingredients simmer throughout the day, the various flavors will run together, which will create an amazing blend for your taste buds.

Camping is fun. But, like most things in life, it’s even better with good food!

Maeyahn writes for state parks sites NDParks.com, where you can read her latest posts on how to choose folding camping chairs and picking camping lanterns.