How Many Off-Grid Cooking Methods Do You Have?

When you buy, or otherwise acquire, preparedness supplies, do you practice with them or are you a prep hoarder? I think I’ve been guilty of both, especially with off-grid cooking methods.
Maybe you know what I mean. Preppers are notorious for wanting every new survival gadget that comes out. We’ve got no less than 10 ways to cook that aren’t tied to the power grid, yet when another new off-grid cooker comes out, we simply must have it to add to the stash in the storage room.
And there they sit, safe for when we need them, gathering dust and maybe spiders,
Do you ever try them out when they come in the mail or do we add them, still in the package, to the ‘cooking shelf’ in our bug-out trailer?
I can say that I have used each of my off-grid cooking methods several times. Some had a learning curve that I’ve mastered and with others, I’m still climbing that curve. Some are easier to clean and store than others.  Fuels differ, conditions they can be used in differ, set-up,  clean-up and storage instructions are not the same, but we need to learn how they work.
In a major crisis, when emotions are high and everything and everyone is confused is not the time to try and figure out how to put that HERC stove together!

My family’s off-grid cooking methods

For my family, my list of methods looks like this:

• Solar oven
• Rocket stove
• Volcano Cooker with oven tent
• Butane stove burner
• Camp fire
• Wonder oven
• Sterno stove
• Tent stove in-line oven
• Coleman stove
• BBQ grill (using charcoal or propane)
• Dutch oven
• Apple box oven
• And, in a pinch I can run my microwave with my generator (It’s a small microwave)

First of all, how many different cooking methods do you have for when the power goes out? You really do need at least 2 of them, making sure those 2 do not rely on the same type of fuel. Are you familiar with how to use all of the different methods you have? Are your children? What if you, THE MASTER OF ALL THINGS PREP in your home are not around or are injured or ill? Who is going to do the cooking then?
Spring and Summer are a GREAT time to get out the different tools/toys you have for cooking meals off-grid and practice, practice, practice.
Pick one night per week and make it an adventure. Have a cook-out in the back yard.  Learn all about that method and gather some recipes to try it out.
I know of a woman who wanted to learn how to use her Dutch oven, so she committed to cooking something in it every day for a YEAR.  She blogged about the experience and shared what she learned online.  I dare say that she is now a Dutch oven expert.  I think she’s also super tired of using her Dutch oven because she hasn’t updated her blog in a while, but her adventure is documented for the world to learn from.  You can read about it and get some great new dutch oven recipe ideas for yourself, be warned though, you might not surface for days.  Toni’s Dutch Oven adventure. 
Do you have any/all of the methods I listed? I’d love to hear about your favorite off-grid cooking methods.
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While you're here, check out...

• Cooking Off the Grid
• A Dutch Oven Cooking Primer, Part 1
• The new Global Sun Oven review
• Win An All American Sun Oven in this Giveaway!
• The Dutch Oven Survival Kit

Author

Neda Smith, All Things Healing

A lot of us seem to think anything labeled as "VEGETABLE OIL" is good for us, but it is NOT.
The vegetable oil found in most grocery stores is highly processed soybean oil (can also be highly refined cottonseed, safflower, corn or grapeseed). They are processed under high heat, pressure, industrial solvents (such as hexane).

Note- In the case of soybean oil, the overwhelming majority is grown using genetically modified (GMO) crops that have been heavily sprayed with RoundUp weed killer.
The problem with these oils they are mostly composed of polyunsaturated fats, which leaves them prone to oxidization and free radical production when exposed to heat and light. (read more)
These oils are the most inflammatory inside of our bodies because of their high reactivity to heat and light.
This inflammation is what causes many of our problems such as heart disease, diabetes and other degenerative diseases.

Read what Dr. Lundell has to say about the myths of saturated fats and heart disease

What are the healthy fats to cook with?

SATURATED FATS!
Why?
Because they are much more stable in cooking conditions and less inflammatory than polyunsaturated oils with cooking.
This is why tropical oils such as palm and coconut oils (and even animal fats such as lard and butter) are best for cooking... they have very little polyunsaturates and are mostly composed of natural saturated fats which are the least reactive to heat/light and therefore the least inflammatory in your body from cooking use.

My Top 3 Choices for Cooking are:

 1. Virgin Coconut Oil
 2. Olive Oil (for low temperature cooking)
 3. Butter (Definitely organic; Grass-fed if possible)

Remember, polyunsaturated fats, aka PUFA, can cause inflammation.

What about Nuts and Seeds?

Nuts and Seeds are high in polyunsaturated fats. It's okay to consume this type of fat as long as it is not processed and kept in its whole food form, such as nuts and seeds. The key to this is to find ones that have not been exposed to high heat. Eat your nuts and seeds in their raw form, so you can avoid the oxidation of polyunsaturated fats that happens through the roasting process. An exception to this is macadamia nuts which can be consumed roasted as they are mostly a monounsaturated fat.
Remember, the light and heat on PUFA's cause inflammation in our bodies.

Fats that are the most stable under heat and light (in order):

(source: Weston A Price: Know your Fats)

1. Saturated: A fatty acid is saturated when all available carbon bonds are occupied by a hydrogen atom. They are highly stable, because all the carbon-atom linkages are filled—or saturated—with hydrogen. This means that they do not normally go rancid, even when heated for cooking purposes. They are straight in form and hence pack together easily, so that they form a solid or semisolid fat at room temperature. Your body makes saturated fatty acids from carbohydrates and they are found in animal fats and tropical oils.

2. Monounsaturated: Monounsaturated fatty acids have one double bond in the form of two carbon atoms double-bonded to each other and, therefore, lack two hydrogen atoms. Your body makes monounsaturated fatty acids from saturated fatty acids and uses them in a number of ways. Monounsaturated fats have a kink or bend at the position of the double bond so that they do not pack together as easily as saturated fats and, therefore, tend to be liquid at room temperature. Like saturated fats, they are relatively stable. They do not go rancid easily and hence can be used in cooking. The monounsaturated fatty acid most commonly found in our food is oleic acid, the main component of olive oil as well as the oils from almonds, pecans, cashews, peanuts and avocados.

3. Polyunsaturated: Polyunsaturated fatty acids have two or more pairs of double bonds and, therefore, lack four or more hydrogen atoms. The two polyunsaturated fatty acids found most frequently in our foods are double unsaturated linoleic acid, with two double bonds—also called omega-6; and triple unsaturated linolenic acid, with three double bonds—also called omega-3. (The omega number indicates the position of the first double bond.) Your body cannot make these fatty acids and hence they are called "essential." We must obtain our essential fatty acids or EFA's from the foods we eat. The polyunsaturated fatty acids have kinks or turns at the position of the double bond and hence do not pack together easily. They are liquid, even when refrigerated. The unpaired electrons at the double bonds makes these oils highly reactive. They go rancid easily, particularly omega-3 linolenic acid, and must be treated with care. Polyunsaturated oils should never be heated or used in cooking. In nature, the polyunsaturated fatty acids are usually found in the cis form, which means that both hydrogen atoms at the double bond are on the same side.

http://eatlocalgrown.com/article/11435-top-3-healthy-cooking-oils.html?c=cure