As an alternative, they needed to stockpile on meals that wouldn’t spoil and carry them on their wagons, in addition to stay off of the land to resupply themselves that manner.
And even as soon as the pioneers did discover a plot of land that they might construct their houses on, they nonetheless needed to develop their very own meals and forage. Refrigeration, canning, and different methods to protect meals didn’t exist again then both.
A couple of months in the past, I obtained the brilliant concept to arrange and eat meals precisely because the pioneers did for 100 days straight.
Right here’s the way it went.
Why Eat Like a Pioneer?
Why did I select to eat like a pioneer for 100 days? Easy: I spotted that within the occasion of a main grid down catastrophe situation, chances are high good that we’ll must eat very equally to how the pioneers did.
Particularly, we must eat meals from meals that we might achieve from foraging and dwelling off the land, and we must place an emphasis on lengthy lasting meals that don’t require preservation.
I’m a agency believer in working towards your survival and catastrophe preparedness expertise earlier than you end up in such a survival or catastrophe situation.
As an example, it is best to apply constructing a fireplace till you get proficient with it so a real survival scenario isn’t the primary time you need to construct a fireplace.
All the identical, I consider in working towards making ready and consuming meals like you could have to after a serious grid down catastrophe the place we not have entry to energy to cook dinner meals or grocery shops to resupply ourselves. That’s why I made a decision to provide the pioneer weight loss plan a shot.
What Did the Pioneers Eat?
You’re in all probability questioning: what did the pioneers eat within the first place?
Bread
Most pioneers made their bread utilizing the salt-rising method, the place the dough was combined in a kettle whereas pure micro organism would make the dough rise.
They might then bake the dough over fires at evening. Attempt to make your individual salt-rising bread for the pioneer method.
Cornmeal
Cornmeal was a really versatile ingredient that could possibly be used to make a wide range of meals, together with cornbread, corn pudding, and porridge.
It was a available and economical supply of diet for early settlers and pioneers, notably in areas the place corn was a staple crop.
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The pioneers obtained cornmeal by grinding corn, which was a typical and important crop all through North America. After settling someplace, they might domesticate corn of their fields after which harvest the mature cobs.
The corn kernels have been then faraway from the cobs and dried. The dried corn kernels have been then floor into a rough powder or meal utilizing numerous instruments corresponding to hand mills or grindstones.
Dried Fruits and Greens
Pioneers would retailer and transport their vegetables and fruit after drying them. To dry vegetables and fruit, pioneers would typically sun-dry or air-dry them.
They’d slice the vegetables and fruit thinly and lay them out within the solar to take away moisture. As soon as dried, the vegetables and fruit could possibly be saved for an extended interval with out spoiling.
This supplied the pioneers with a supply of nutritional vitamins and vitamins throughout instances when recent produce was extra scarce.
Squash
Squash may be discovered naturally within the wild and doesn’t go unhealthy very simply.
That’s why it was a giant a part of the pilgrims’ weight loss plan after they landed on the jap coast of North America, and it additionally served the pioneers effectively as they have been transferring out west.
Meat
Meat was a giant a part of the pioneer weight loss plan. Most pioneers would get their meat from trying to find wild sport. They’d then protect the meat both with salt curing or smoke curing.
For the pioneer weight loss plan, make certain to make use of unprocessed meat (both from a retailer or from final fall’s searching season, if in case you have meat leftover). Frequent prey of the pioneers included elk, deer, antelope, wild boar, bear, rabbits, and squirrels.
It’s additionally value noting that the pioneers would protect the fats from the animals they killed to make use of as lard, which they might then use equally to how we use olive oil at present.
Eggs
Eggs turned a staple a part of the pioneer weight loss plan after they obtained chickens and settled down someplace. Whereas some pioneers did carry chickens with them, the chickens couldn’t lay eggs within the bumpy situations.
When the chickens laid eggs, the pioneers used this ingenious technique to protect them and make them final for years.
Beans
The pioneers would develop beans after settling someplace.
Even whereas touring, they might pack dried beans into their wagons to make use of as an extra supply of protein with their meat.
The pioneers couldn’t be choosy about what they ate.
In addition to the above, in addition they foraged for a wide range of meals alongside the way in which, together with mushrooms, herbs, berries, and some other fruits, greens, and edibles they might discover. Combining meats and greens collectively into soups and stews was additionally a serious staple.
The Outcomes
Switching completely to the pioneer weight loss plan for 100 days was difficult, and I admit there have been a couple of instances right here and there that I ‘cheated.’ Once I obtained invited to a good friend’s Saturday BBQ, for example, I’m not going to lie that I broke from the weight loss plan to partake in ribs and cheeseburgers.
However total, I caught to the weight loss plan very carefully for that hundred day interval. And one of the best factor that got here out of it was my household and I proved to ourselves that we might eat self-sufficiently.
On prime of that, it felt nice figuring out that we have been consuming purely pure meals. Whereas I admit processed meals from the grocery shops and eating places style nice, everyone knows it’s not as wholesome for us. I did discover a common improve in my power ranges and psychological readability all through the weight loss plan.
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A few of the finest advantages we skilled have been:
- Consuming a healthful weight loss plan on a regular basis was nice for us each bodily and mentally.
- Value financial savings; belief me that sticking purely to meals from the listing I supplied above saves you some huge cash as a substitute of consuming out.
Mastering the artwork of cooking meals from scratch was a enjoyable problem. We got here up with many alternative sorts of soups and chili’s and that was a blast.- In that very same vein, studying firsthand easy methods to protect completely different meals was a badly wanted life talent that I used to be grateful to lastly develop.
Like I discussed above, switching to this weight loss plan was difficult as effectively. Whereas studying the preservation methods was very useful, it took up lots of time. It wasn’t till we launched into this weight loss plan that my household and I lastly realized simply how a lot effort and time the pioneers spent that revolved completely round their meals preparation.
Plenty of our meals have been additionally very primary. Meats, beans, eggs, greens, fruits, potatoes, amongst a couple of different meals objects have been on the menu on a regular basis with little variation. Should you’re used to consuming pastas, pizzas, burgers, noodles, and burritos everytime you need, the pioneer weight loss plan will make your style buds crave your favourite meals.
However belief me that sticking to the pioneer weight loss plan remains to be effectively value it. You’re not going to have entry to lots of your favourite meals after a grid down catastrophe, and switching to the pioneer weight loss plan only for a month or extra will show to you that you would be able to survive with less complicated meals.
Was the problem value it?
General, completely! If for nothing else, the pioneer weight loss plan is definitely so much more healthy than most of what we generally eat at present, and embarking on it should assist show to you that you would be able to put together meals completely self-sufficiently.
Should you’re intrigued by the thought of dwelling off the land like a real pioneer, you then’ll wish to get your fingers on the Wilderness Lengthy-Time period Survival Information. This isn’t your typical survival guide; it’s a complete information that dives into the forgotten knowledge of our ancestors who didn’t simply survive within the wild – they thrived there.
Very similar to my 100-day pioneer weight loss plan experiment, this e-book teaches you easy methods to put together for unsure instances and study from those that made the wilderness their house.
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