Food stretching experiment

[Homemaker]

This post will probably shock most of you, but considering the situation we are in, I feel we need to get radical in how we feed our families.

If you read reports of the extreme things people have had to do in times of great crisis in order to survive, you won't think my experiment is too bad.

 

I was thinking about ways to stretch my food dollar and reduce waste, while at the same time provide optimal nutrition. I have posted before how I make extra nutrient -packed chicken broth for soups and gravies.

Following the instructions in the book, Nourishing Traditions, I simmer the chicken bones for three days after I have picked off most of the meat. I add a shot of vinegar to the water to help draw out the minerals from the bones. At the end of the three days I strain off the broth. The bones become very soft because the minerals have leached into the water.

 

I had been using the bones with the small amount of meat as a suppliment for my dog and sometimes chickens. Bones have been used for centuries as a human supplement and in animal feed. You can still buy bonemeal for human consumption. Asian cultures consume salted fish bones as a crunchy snack or in soup. I even found some recipes online for them.

 

I got to thinking about using my chicken bones for my family. When food becomes scarce, and the government bans the sale of vitamin/mineral supplements we will need to go back to the old way of doing things.

 

So anyway, I took some of my bones, ground them up in the food processor into a paste. I mixed it into meatlaf and served it to my family. They ate it. My son asked me what the crunchy bits were, (should have ground it a bit more. ) I told him it must be the seeds in the whole grain breadcrumbs I used in the mixture. My husband liked the bits and said it reminded him of the little crunchy bits in my salmon patties, ( the bones that come in canned salmon.)

 

I know this sounds barbaric to our westernized ears, but it's really not.

 

Now, just to warn you, I would not feel comfortable doing this with conventionally raised chicken. I use organically raised birds or the ones I raised. I would be concerned about the lead or arsenic in commercial feed that may be in the bones.

 

Let me know your thoughts on this and if you have other strange ideas to help feed and nourish our loved ones in the difficult time we may have ahead.

 

Remember, not only do we need to be fed, but what we eat needs to nourish us.

 

 

[PureCajunSunshine]

...about those bones...I accidentally found out that if you overprocess canned chicken (with bone in), the bones practically turn to mush! Then it's easy to mash up the bones and marrow together. I've added a bit of it to beans, soups and stews to boost the nutritional content of the meal. I did not notice a bad taste or anything like that.

[Snowmom]

 

Wow, guess I had never thought about the need to grind the bones. I for one can't handle any chunks where they don't belong. I know I've gagged on hunks of bone or whatever it was in meats and it just isn't my cup of tea.

 

But, if it was either bones or nothing, I suppose then I might be able to handle it. So, I hope it won't ever come to this point.

 

 

[Homemaker]

Whew!

From the responses so far, I feel a little less worried that you all will think I'm way out there in extreme loopyland!

[Josephine]

Whew!

From the responses so far, I feel a little less worried that you all will think I'm way out there in extreme loopyland!

 

How did The Husband and The Son feel later? I'm thinking about digesting it, perhaps their systems weren't used to so much... stuff that's in bones. Like they warn us we have to slowly introduce wheat into our diets, we can't just start eating wheat berries w/out experiencing some "discomfort"

 

[HSmom]

I pressure cook chicken for the dog and grind the bones right into the meat. Next time, I'll get brave and try a nibble.

[Homemaker]

I told my husband what was in it, but no one else.

We had leftovers, so we ate it for several days. No one complained about any problems. I know I felt fine.

 

My husband was very impressed about my idea. He was all for it and loves the idea of saving money and boosting nutritional value.

 

Tonight I'm making the meat mixture again and using it in swedish meatballs or maybe as salisbury steak. I'll cook it with onions, mushrooms and mushroom soup.

 

Now don't forget... If anybody has other ideas let me know.

[Cat]

I feel a little less worried that you all will think I'm way out there in extreme loopyland!

 

Would you feel better if we laughed and pointed? *giggle*

 

 

I eat the salmon bones (but give those icky "strings" to the cat) because I've always heard they're good for women, in particular, for the calcium. I don't see where the others would be any different, for "organic" chicken.

 

I've heard that multivitimins often don't help much... they kind of go right through. Any way to incorporate better *natural* nutrition is good.

 

[Ambergris]

and I'll grind his BONES to make my bread!

 

People who have a history of kidney stones might want to be careful, but otherwise this is just food.

[zzelle]

i would have no problem doing this

[SlingMama]

I make my own broth but I've only cooked the chicken or bones for 10 -12 hours. Three days - wow!!! I bet the bones are soft.

 

But how would you cook bones for that long w/o the grid? Would it be possible to use heat retention cooking and just re-heat the bones every 6 hours or so? I wonder ....

 

 

And to get more on track with the topic. I don't know if this counts as stretching food but weeds are really nutritious. We have mallow, purslane, lambs quarter and I think amaranth (otherwise known as pigweed) growing in the yard. I've tossed some nice weeds in with the normal salad fixings and everybody ate it all up. Besides, with enough salad dressing everything tastes good

 

 

Hey, speaking of calcium. Is it possible to crush up egg shells and use them in anything? I don't know. Just tossing this out there.

[Girl Next Door]

Hey, speaking of calcium. Is it possible to crush up egg shells and use them in anything? I don't know. Just tossing this out there.

Yes. I highly recommend this handy tool. http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Bullet-Express...d/dp/B000AEZVRS Awesome for baby food, small amounts of grinding like for coffee, etc.

[Homemaker]

I know I had heard something about eggshells being used to boost calcium and other mineral levels.

 

I googled it and came up with two ways.

You can add the shells to any bones you are making stock from,( remember to add a little vinegar) or just simmer the eggshells alone.

You can add crushed shells to plain vinegar and let it sit for several weeks to make a mineral infused vinegar.

 

We tend to focus on the calcium that eggshells and bones contain, but they also contain the other necessary minerals in the right proportion in order for your body to use it. You can't build bones with just calcium because it's really quite brittle. It's when it's combined with the other minerals that it can be used.

 

Also, your body won't be able to use those minerals if you don't get enough vitamin D. So, get out in the sun, or stock up on fish oil or vitamin D3 which is easier for your body to use than the other vitamin Ds.

 

Slingmama, you're right about the weeds. I've seen a lot of them sold in seed catalogs.

I'm not sure how to cook the bones without electricity. I guess we'd need to keep a fire going if solar didn't work.

That's an area I need to focus more on for prepping.

[westbrook]

Wow, guess I had never thought about the need to grind the bones. I for one can't handle any chunks where they don't belong. I know I've gagged on hunks of bone or whatever it was in meats and it just isn't my cup of tea.

 

 

yeah, I have gagged on chunks too... but they were coming up not going down!!!

[Lele]

I have also cooked bones down in the pressure cooker. You can then mash them with a potato masher they are very soft. I have never eaten them just added them to dry dog food to stretch there food. I don't see why it could not be added to meat loaf to make it stretch further and be more nourishes. Thanks for the idea.

[Leah]

You said you wanted some other unusual ideas...

I'm not sure how unusual it is; but in Summer I make evergreen needle tea, chill, and use as lemon in the iced tea and Koolaid pitchers. Lots of vitamin C in that.

[PureCajunSunshine]

+1 to what Leah said.

 

Green pine needle tea (steeped not boiled) is super rich in vit. C. It also has a delicately delicious flavor, believe it or not.

 

 

 

[Cat]

???? Green needle tea??

 

Any particular fir/pine tree needles used?

 

I've never heard of it!

 

 

[PureCajunSunshine]

I use any kind of pine.

 

Ya don't know (yet) what you're missing! Properly made, pine needle tea 'tastes like roses smell'! Mild and delicate...quite lovely. The secret is to steep--not boil--the pine needles.

 

Boiled pine needles tastes more 'turpentiney' or lemony to me, and I would think that boiling the leaves would also decrease the the vitamin C content as well as raise the concentration of other components. (see below)

 

I like to steep--not boil--the chopped fresh green needles in just-boiled hot water. Keep covered for about 10-15 minutes. Strain, sweeten and enjoy. Use about a heaping teaspoon of chopped needles in one cup of water. Use fresh needles, not dried.

 

The following link is a recipe for a stronger tea offered by Rebecca Rangel ... who learned this from her Chumash Indian Grandmother in-law. They sometimes let it steep all night!

 

 

The site also has more info on healing properties, and a CAUTION FOR PREGNANT WOMEN.

 

http://www.nativetech.org/recipes/recipe.php?recipeid=197

 

 

 

Directions for making Pine Needle Tea the Chumash Indian way

 

 

Crush and snip needles, flowers, and pine candles.

Meantime, boil a pot of water.

Place pine in boiling water, cover, and remove from heat. Let steep from 20 minutes to all night.

What you don't drink hot, refrigerate for a cold, refreshing drink.Experiment with proportions of pine needles to water.

The best tea will be a nice reddish color, and a small amount of oil will rise to the top.

 

This recipe makes a beautiful red tea, with a mild, pleasant taste. You can sweeten with honey if desired. If you drink this tea every day, it can relieve mild depression. Good for allergies too.

 

Note: If desired, you can simmer the tea awhile. It will be very strong, but will probably contain less vitamin C. Prepared this way, it is said to be good for coughs. It is also supposed to flush kidneys, although I have not noticed this effect.

 

WARNING: I was looking at the recipes and noticed pine needles, upon looking at the

recipe I strongly felt the need to add a caution to this recipe; pregnant

women must NOT use this as pine needles will cause "abortion" this also

happens in cows, when they eat the pine needles they will drop their calf's

(dead) within a couple of days if not hours. Please add this caution.

 

Thank you

 

Tracy Sampson

NWSFA Project Coordinator

Nicola Tribal Association

Box 188

Merritt, BC

V1K 1B8

Edited March 13, 2009 by PureCajunSunshine

[Girl Next Door]

I've heard of it. I tried to do it once by boiling the pine needles but, it was bitter. Maybe because I boiled it.

[Homemaker]

It's funny, I was just looking this stuff up last week.

 

Vitamin C deficiency is very common, maybe not full blown scurvy causing deficiency, but mildly.

 

The different sites I looked at listed different steeping times. Also, the variety specifically mentioned was white pine. You can use other kinds.

 

It's good to know of a highly consentrated source of vitamin C. I'm just concerned about the whole abortion thing. What is the substance that causes this and how does it affect non-pregnant people? Nothing I looked at even went into that. It would seem like an important thing to know.

[mimi]

Um what are "Crush and snip needles, flowers, and pine candles."? I have not one clue what a pine candle or flower would be.

 

[Josephine]

Um what are "Crush and snip needles, flowers, and pine candles."? I have not one clue what a pine candle or flower would be.

 

Pine candles are the new growth that pine needles come out from, they look like a yellowy white prickly pencil or candle sticking up from the end of a branch:

 

 

Pine flowers look like bundles of little tiny pale pine cones:

 

Edited March 13, 2009 by Josephine

[westbrook]

while we are on pine needles to provide Vit. C, I would like to introduce you to Rosemary tea.

 

Rosemary Tea provides Calcium! here is a link providing the benefits of rosemary.. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=f...ice&dbid=75

 

do check out their link for nutritional values. (calcium 28mg)

 

 

snippet from: http://www.greatamericanproducts.com/pages/Home/Glossary/R

 

"Rosemary contains vitamins A and C as well as iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc. Its large concentration of magnesium gives it a mild tranquilizing effect."

 

do check out their other herbs.. I love red clover! and this is only their "R" page!

 

 

Snippet from: http://www.foodproductdesign.com/articles/0105da.html

 

"the plant contains vitamins A and C, as well as calcium, iron, potassium, sodium, zinc and phosphorus. Rosemary contains antioxidant compounds, especially carnosol and carnosic acid, that can act as antioxidants in foods, much in the same way as artificial preservatives, such as BHA and BHT."

 

this article talks about using it in cooking.

 

 

FOR A COMPLETE ANALYSIS OF NUTRIENTS choose the measurement/weight

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/cgi-...y%2C%20driedxyz

 

 

 

hit and miss on herbs... I tried pine needles and confer needles and nothing.. put in oregano and it had information on it... pretty impressive..

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

 

[Josephine]

Don't forget rose hips. I read somewhere they have the highest concentration of Vit C? Here's some info: http://www.kstrom.net/isk/food/wildrose.html