Breaking free from dependency from prepackaged foods.\u00a0<\/strong> These are making you sick (even if you haven\u2019t fully realized the results yet\u2014go off of them and you\u2019ll see it).\u00a0 These are costing you money.\u00a0 These are hurting the environment and typically have waste and poor farming practices.\u00a0 I\u2019m not saying that I\u2019m a purist <\/a>and never pick up a box of goldfish crackers when I know I\u2019m going to be watching a house full of other people\u2019s kids.\u00a0 I\u2019m trying to be honest here.\u00a0 But it does mean that I don\u2019t use those types of crutches often and I certainly do not have the dependency upon them from whence I once suffered.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Breaking free from dependency upon the just-in-time food transit system.\u00a0<\/strong> What if the news reports tell you not to drink the water for 3 days because of contamination?\u00a0 What if a storm blows through and knocks out power lines so that grocery stores have to close their doors?\u00a0 What if the threat of a storm creates long lines, screaming children, inflated pricing, and empty shelves?<\/a>\u00a0 What if\u2014you had your own Berkey Water Purification System<\/a> <\/strong>and some vacuum-sealed food in a closet?\u00a0 What if you had canned, cooked ground beef <\/a>and some canned salsa that you could just smear onto some tortilla chips for a candelight, homemade dinner when there is no electricity or transportation?<\/p>\n Breaking free of \u201cnever enough.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong> I hope and pray that you\u2014dear reader and virtual friend\u2014are not one of the millions in this country with food insecurity who do not know the source of the next meal.\u00a0 I have been one of those millions before.\u00a0 Learning to buy in bulk (not easy to do if you wait for the financial crisis to occur first) means that\u2014if nothing else, you can mill some wheat and add some water to make homemade tortillas.\u00a0 If nothing else, you can boil some dehydrated potato slices<\/a> and fry them up in a skillet for a nourishing homemade meal.\u00a0 These were the meals of our poverty and you know what?\u00a0 We enjoyed them and we nourished our family without fear.<\/p>\n Breaking free of \u201cjust enough.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong> Just enough means you cannot think about that neighbor who lost his job 2 months ago; there is no inviting someone over for dinner because you didn\u2019t plan for it.\u00a0 There is no homemade loaf of bread to share with the single mom or family coping with a new diagnosis.\u00a0 But\u2026what if you have something to share? What if you can give a tangible act of love and concern to someone else in need\u2014with surprisingly little effort\u2014because you were prepared?\u00a0 We cannot give what we do not have.<\/p>\n \u00a0Breaking free of fatigue, sickness, allergies, eczema,\u00a0 food-induced behavioral symptoms, and much more.\u00a0<\/strong> No, I\u2019m not a doctor, and no, changing your diet may not heal everything.\u00a0 But I got healthy by learning to prepare my own foods and I\u2019ve spoken to hundreds of others with the same result.\u00a0 A good doctor should admit willingly that food is medicine\u2014and if our national statistics on heart disease, diabetes, and obesity do not win your physician over to your renewed interest in real foods, then find a new doctor.<\/p>\n Break free from ignorance.<\/strong>\u00a0 We all pick and choose which life areas we will pursue, which to ignore.\u00a0 I don\u2019t expect everyone to feel as passionately as I do about food science or about food ethics (like my rage against\u00a0 the 200,000 children forced into slavery for cacao production<\/a>, for instance).\u00a0 But how can you even begin without the basic \u201cgrammar\u201d of the discussion?\u00a0 How can you decide what is important without evaluation?\u00a0 It\u2019s downright frightening how many people blindly accept what they\u2019re fed, with the notion that \u201cthe FDA approved it; it must be okay.<\/a>\u201d\u00a0 Agent Orange was once approved; cigarette use during pregnancy was once encouraged, you know.\u00a0 Let everyone else make their own choices, but you make yours with deliberate decision<\/a>.<\/p>\n Break free from lack of options. <\/strong>\u00a0 I guarantee\u2014if you decide to begin kitchen skill-building (i.e., try cheese making, maple sugaring, or canning), you will feel free to create and redefine your own recipes in your own kitchen.\u00a0 You will know how to make that casserole without store-bought, high-sodium stock<\/a>.\u00a0 You will know how to make your own pickles <\/a>without the standard food coloring added for shelf appearance.\u00a0 You will make the decisions, not Nabisco, Kraft, or General Mills.<\/p>\n Own Your Kitchen.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I hope that you now understand what we mean when we use the term \u201cself-sufficiency\u201d at Pantry Paratus.\u00a0 We think that freedom should not stop at the threshold of your kitchen.<\/strong>\u00a0 Many of you have already learned the freedom that comes with debt-free living, or limited media, or \u2013pick one\u2014any other cultural pitfall.\u00a0 Somewhere in the depths of all of us is that desire to be free from addiction, dependency, and a choice-less-ness in society.\u00a0\u00a0 If you have never made the logical leap to the practical application on your dinner table, now is the time.<\/p>\n –Chaya<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Proviso:<\/strong><\/p>\n Nothing in this blog constitutes medical or legal advice.\u00a0 You should consult your own physician before making any dietary changes.\u00a0 Statements in this blog may or may not be congruent with current USDA or FDA guidance.<\/p>\n![\"Dehydrated](\"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/media\/wysiwyg\/All_Images_2012\/Pantry_Paratus_Photo\/dehydrated_potatoes_logo.jpg\" "\\"Dehydrated"){kind=logo}
<\/a>Maybe food insecurity doesn\u2019t apply to you.\u00a0 It might apply to a neighbor who lost his job 2 months ago, which brings me to\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n![\"Extra](\"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/media\/wysiwyg\/All_Images_2015\/bread_with_seeds.jpg\" "\\"Extra")
<\/p>\n![\"Homemade](\"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/media\/wysiwyg\/All_Images_2013\/Photo-Contest\/chicken_stock_resized.jpg\" "\\"Homemade")
<\/p>\n![\"Something](\"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/media\/wysiwyg\/All_Images_2014\/PantryParatus_Photo\/something_fishy.jpg\" "\\"Something")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Homemade](\"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/media\/wysiwyg\/All_Images_2013\/Photo-Contest\/Pickles_pots.jpg\" "\\"Homemade")
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