You may have enough food stored away to get you through a disaster, but do you have a way to cook it?
I was feeling pretty confident about my supply of food, until the power went out for 2 weeks!
I quickly realized it’s pointless having food if you don’t have a way to cook it (unless you enjoy eating dried pasta and beans).
To truly be a Survival Mom you need to take the next step and figure out a way to cook your food without power.
I’m spoiled, I’ll admit it, I don’t think I’ve gone a day without electricity until a hurricane swept through our town and taught me a lesson I would never forget.
Immediately afterwards, I researched different powerless cooking methods so I would never be in the same predicament again.
There are plenty of options out there, but I noticed many of them can be costly. No need to worry though, because I have you covered!
Not only are these 3 powerless cookers practically free, you can make most of them with the scraps you have just lying around. You’ll be saving a chunk of cash, re-purposing items, and becoming prepared all at the same time.
Try and pick 1 powerless cooker to make, or if you’re feeling extra ambitious… make all 3!
On-the-Go Cooking Solutions:
1. Gather cooking supplies from what’s readily available to you.
2. As much as possible, have your ingredients ready. Hunt if you have to.
3. Get creative with how you cook. Use emergency preparation setups such as :
– The Apple Box Oven
– The Rocket Stove
– The Wonder Oven
If you're unfamiliar with them, then here are some details on how you can create these awesome ovens:
Apple Box Oven
The apple box Oven uses about 1/2 the charcoal that a Dutch oven uses and gives the same results as baking in a regular oven! A lot of the meals in my food storage need to be baked in an oven, so going without one would be tough! You can bake 3 loaves of bread at the same time, cook your famous casserole, or make anything else your heart desires. Even if you don’t want to make one right now, you can always gather up the supplies and throw them in an apple box. Then if you’re ever without power you’ll have something to do!
Supplies:
- APPLE BOX
- HEAVY DUTY FOIL
- HIGH HEAT FOIL TAPE
- SPRAY ADHESIVE
- OVEN BAG
- BOX CUTTER
- CANDY THERMOMETER
Fuel Needed:
- CHARCOALS – about 17 coals to cook for 1 Hour @ 350
- FOR ONE YEAR – you will need 22 bags of charcoal (16 lbs. each)
- DON’T FORGET – store extra newspapers & matches to light the charcoal.
Directions:
- Click HERE for Step-by-Step Instructions
Rocket Stove
https://www.instagram.com/p/BrDz6BHlhEs/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
This is definitely one of my favorites! If you think living without an oven is hard, try living without a stove! I’m constantly using my stove to ground beef, heat-up food, and cook quesadillas! This may not look too impressive, but it only requires a handful of twigs to cook an entire meal. You won’t have to worry about cutting down a forest just to eat if you have one of these. It’s easy to use and most of all, it gets the job done!
Supplies:
- 10 CAN W/ LID
- 2 LARGE 28oz CANS
- INSULATION
- TIN SNIPS
- HEAVY-DUTY GLOVES
- MARKER
Fuel Needed:
- TWIGS – A handful of twigs will cook an entire meal!
- FOR ONE YEAR – Store a pile of wood that you can chop pieces off of to use in the stove.
- DON’T FORGET – Make sure to save your dryer lint to help fuel the fire, and store plenty of matches.
Directions:
- Click HERE for Step-by-Step Instructions
Wonder Oven
https://www.instagram.com/p/BO-HtrghWAW/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
This oven truly is wonderful! It’s like a crock-pot but without a cord attached to the wall. It’s even better too, because while it keeps hot things hot, it also keeps cold things cold! Ice cream will stay frozen inside for over 4 hours, meaning you no longer have to run everyone off the road when coming home from the store!
To cook in it, you’ll first need to boil your food for about 10 minutes and then immediately place your pot inside the wonder oven. It will continue to cook and keep your food warm until you’re ready to eat! I told you it is wonderful!
Supplies:
- FABRIC
- PATTERN
- SEWING SUPPLIES
- DRYER SHEETS
- BUCKET/GALLON CONTAINER
- FUNNEL
- FILLER
Fuel Needed:
- NONE!
- DON’T FORGET – When cooking you’ll need to get your food boiling for about 10 minutes before placing it into the wonder oven. A rocket stove is a great option to use to help get the food boiling, so make sure to store some extra wood.
Directions:
- Click HERE for Step-by-Step Instructions
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
No need to wait for the power to go out to start enjoying your home-made powerless cookers. I’ve started taking the rocket stove on camping trips and even use my wonder oven to cook food on the way to visit Grandma.
Remember; just try making at least 1 powerless cooker! You never know when you might need to put your skills to the test, so don’t wait too long to start collecting your scraps!
Believe me; no one enjoys eating dried pasta, not even the dog!
View the original article on SurvivalMom.com