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What would "You" eat?

12K views 62 replies 41 participants last post by  daltex1 
#1 ·
The question is, if you were really starving, and it was down to survival, what would you eat, or do to survive? Is it a good idea to have basic knowledge of edible plants, or trapping/snaring techniques, or will the Gov't be there to feed you? I have "played around" with preparedness, and survival methods for a few years, and I'd like to think that I would be able to eat Pond Scum & BullFrogs. I'll say that in my experiments with "Survival Foods", it's been a big awareness challenge between how I am used to feeding myself, and others, and how you might "have" to eat. OBTW, tinfoil makes some "dandy" cooking vessels.:)
 
#2 ·
Well you could eat

Cottontail root
Arrowhead root
Mayapples but only a few at a time
Crawdads from the stream
Grubs
berries
ramps-wild garlic
morells-mushrooms
I forget the name of the plant but I know what it looks like-wild carrots
like you said frogs
insects
lizards
with wire and a knife, make a snare for rabbit and other small game
boiled dandylion leaves
and on and on and on Lots I don't remember the names to but know what to look for

Sasafrass tea;)

I like the old VW beetle hub caps for a cooking vessel, kinda shaped like a wok:)

A country boy can survive!!!!!!!
 
#3 ·
Don't forget the inner bark, from Cottonwood trees! It was supposed to help feed some early travelers around these parts. I've never tried it, but suspect that it would be a bit different than a Quarter Pounder, with Cheese. I'll opt for the local Deer and Turkey opportunities, and supplement with the other bounties of the land. Of course, this would only be a last resort situation, otherwise FEMA would take care of me, right?:wink:
 
#4 ·
I had some Beet Greens today, and I was surprised at how good they were. Of course I added a bit of ranch dressing, and all was good! By the way, my garden is finally starting to get growing. It's not a large garden, but it is a bit diversified from what I am used to growing.
 
#5 ·
Freeboar : i have eaten "sushi" from the white river in Arizona on a camping trip alone , i ran out of food about halfway into my hike , and i did not want to admit defeat and walk all the way back to my car - so i shot a few fish and ate them raw !

it was not bad , probably because i was so hungry.
 
#10 ·
One of the worst things I've eaten was fresh mussels from the river here. I dug 'em out and threw 'em right on the fire 'till they were done. (awful) I should have gathered them in a bucket of clean water and let them filter for a day or two to get the nasty ass taste of the mud out of them. I guess if I were starv'n I'd eat 'em but DAMN they were nasty!!!
 
#12 ·
most everything needs water to survive, so I would look for water first. If you can't find water, make a place for water to gather. I once seen a show where a guy dug a ditch in a desert, laid a tarp in the ditch, poked a hole in the middle of the tarp, and put a can under the hole. After morning, the dew gathered and ran down the tarp into the can. It was enough to get a good drink from. Granted you need these supplies, but I bet you could compensate.
 
#14 ·
What about warmth?...I haven't tried this yet, but it sounds clever. After you establish your fire, gather rocks. Put the rocks in the fire to heat up. Dig a small ditch about 4-8 inches deep (enough to cover said rocks) and as long as you are. Put the rocks in after they are HOT. Cover with earth from the digging, and set your sleeping bag over the trench. The earth will insulate the rocks and keep the heat in. No sleeping bag?, gather leaves and test temp. so you don't burn your ass:)
 
#15 ·
I too have eaten fresh water messels, and crawdads. Both were terrible! I am sure that both would taste much better with a little more effort than I gave it, and a "survival appetite". Dandelion greens seem good to me, but I always drain the first boil water, then add new water and bring to a simmer. It seems to rid most of the bitterness, and some salt&pepper helps out, too.
 
#16 ·
Bluejack said:
We chinese eat everything it fly, swin, crew and walk with 2,4 or more feets

A friend of mine that was Chinese has said " if it has four legs and isn't a table, if it swims in the ocean and is not a submarine and if it flys in the air and is not a plane, EAT IT"
 
#17 ·
can some deer meat, i have some that's 6 years old and still tastes good. you can can anything almost, even bread.

if the SHTF, don't count on there being too many large sized animals left around for long. A buddy of mine, his dad grew up during the depression. He said the first year wasn't such a big deal becuase everyone hunted. he said the second year there wasn't a deer or squirrel left....
 
#21 ·
Sasafrass trees grow here as weeds. I guess that I would have to learn to like it!:rofl:
moleman said:
And I was starting to think I was the only hillbilly that liked sasafrass tea. It has to be dug by yourself though, that stuff they sell in the store is crap.
 
#22 ·
Getting past the food aversion factor is the main thing. There are a lot of edible things out there that most people would puke at the thought of eating. For example the fresh eyeballs from animals are a good source of saline (salt) which your body needs.

As for insects you can forget spiders for the most part, at least all the survival instructors I ever had said you should. Same goes for mushrooms. They don't provide much nutritional value and are a real risk is you don't know what you're picking.
 
#24 ·
I was raised in the swamps of Louisiana so I already eat a lot of unusual stuff. When you are talking about true survival you will eat what you need to eat or you will die. Also in a survival situation ignorance will kill you faster than anything else.
 
#25 ·
As a general rule of thumb for edible plants. If it has a white sap or has a bitter taste, spit it out. If it passes the above test. Eat a small portion and wait a while to see if you mouth tingles (that is bad) best to wait 4 hours to see if it give you diarrhea before you eat very much of any un-test food.
 
#26 ·
Sonic1954 said:
As a general rule of thumb for edible plants. If it has a white sap or has a bitter taste, spit it out. If it passes the above test. Eat a small portion and wait a while to see if you mouth tingles (that is bad) best to wait 4 hours to see if it give you diarrhea before you eat very much of any un-test food.
That is a good basic approach if it is something that you are not sure of. I do agree with some previous comments that relate to how much is edible, but we wouldn't even consider eating it! I guess that we would have to consider how "The rest of the World eats"...
 
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