Food & Water
The two things a household runs out of first. Long-term food storage, rotating pantries, freeze-dried, canning and mylar — plus water filtration, storage, sourcing and treatment. The ground truth on what actually feeds and hydrates a household when the supply chain stalls. Plain reviews and honest taste tests, no panic.
Showing 539 videos · runtime Under 5 min
Top picks in Food & Water
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Golden Oyster Mushroom Success
Short walkthrough of growing golden oyster mushrooms at home as a food production skill for self-reliance.
Food Safety: Fruit Fly Prevention and Produce Washing
Practical kitchen hygiene: identifying and preventing fruit fly infestation on produce, and safe washing techniques for fruits and vegetables.
Garlic: Nature's Secret Weapon Against Bacteria?
A nurse practitioner explains allicin chemistry and why crushing garlic 15 minutes before use maximizes antimicrobial effects.
Sustainable Broiler Breeding: Heritage Chicken Alternatives
Why modern commercial broilers fail in backyard conditions, and how to breed or select heritage and dual-purpose meat chickens for homestead resilience.
Stranded on a Desert Island — This Saved His Life
Real-world desert island survival case study examining critical gear and decisions that ensured rescue.
Taste Testing MRE Meals
First-hand evaluation of a breakfast MRE: flavor, palatability, and whether military ration meals are worth including in food storage plans.
Solar in – Water out: Off-grid solar pump setup
Eight-minute walkthrough of a solar-powered water pumping system for off-grid and rural properties, requiring no diesel or generator.
Something Happens When You Shift Toward Seasonal Eating
Why eating seasonally and locally reduces waste, saves money, and builds food resilience—and how to start with a garden, farmers' market, or CSA.
Power Out? Survival Plan: Water, Food, Heat Revealed!
56-second overview of critical priorities during a power outage: water storage, food, and heat.
Frozen Tomato Soup Recipe
Simple recipe for using frozen tomatoes: butter-based soup with onion, garlic, basil, and bone broth, ready in under 30 minutes.
Don't Make This Mistake with Dirty Eggs!
Explains why washing eggs removes protective bloom, requiring refrigeration, and how unwashed eggs offer more storage options.
Mill Your Own Gluten-Free Flour Blend at Home
How to mill your own flour from bulk oats and brown rice using a home grain mill, with cost and nutritional benefits over store-bought blends.
Off-Grid Steak Meal No Kitchen
Cooking a complete steak meal over an open fire without modern kitchen equipment—basic campfire technique for protein preparation.
Improve Your Soil, Improve Your Garden
How organic matter percentage determines water retention capacity in garden soil, with actionable numbers per square foot.
Making a Wooden Fishing Net and Catching Trout
Learn to craft a functional wooden fishing net from natural materials for sustainable protein procurement in remote settings.
How to Tell if Your Home Canned Food is Spoiled
Explains visible signs of spoilage and why botulism safety depends on tested methods, not guesswork or fear.
Improvised Foil Cup: Boiling Water in the Field
40-second demonstration of folding aluminum foil into a cup to boil water over a fire — useful no-gear technique for backcountry and emergency scenarios.
Off Grid Sprinkler System At My Cabin
Building an off-grid sprinkler system using a sump pump, 1100-gallon water tank, and 400-watt solar array to maintain yard irrigation without grid power.
Sustainable Garden Infrastructure and Seasonal Harvest Management
How to build raised beds and vertical gardens from reclaimed materials, set up gravity-fed irrigation and rain barrels, and use succession and companion planting to maximize yields.
Let Your Tank Breathe!
32-second explanation of how vented tank lids regulate internal pressure and protect water storage systems as levels change.
Always dedicate a drinking water hose to your water storage
21-second tip: use a dedicated hose for drinking water storage to prevent cross-contamination and maintain water safety.
Beans or Lentils? Which Is Better for Survival Food?
Comparison of beans and lentils as long-term storage staples, examining nutrition, calories, and meal-building potential for grid-down cooking.
The Most Overlooked Canned Food Category: Base Foods
Overview of seven canned food types for emergency meal systems, with focus on 'base foods' as nutritionally dense foundation ingredients for grid-down cooking.
How to Clip Chicken Wings the Right Way
Two-minute walkthrough on safely clipping primary flight feathers to prevent flight while keeping chickens healthy and mobile.
Editor's note
“If you only have a weekend and $200, fix water before anything else — it's the prep with the highest ratio of survival impact per dollar. On food: most $400 emergency kits could be replaced with $120 of supermarket staples plus mylar bags. The expensive part of food prep is the marketing, not the calories.”
— Cockroach editorial
Living Off the Grid - The Grind for Water
Short walkthrough of water sourcing, collection, and daily management challenges on an off-grid mountain property during low-snow periods.
Elementi Fermentation Kit: Gear Review for Home Fermentation
Two-minute walkthrough of a fermentation kit designed for beginners—glass weights, self-burping lids, and mason jar compatibility for making sauerkraut, kimchi, and pickles at home.
Gaia's Garden by Toby Hemenway: Review
Review of Hemenway's permaculture guide for small-space gardeners: building soil, water conservation, biodiversity, and low-effort food production.
Vitamin Deficiency In Chickens: How To See It And How To Fix It
Becky explains how to address vitamin deficiency in chickens through daily meat protein and regular deworming with diatomaceous earth.
3 Reasons I Love Keeping Backyard Chickens
Becky shares lessons from years of chicken keeping, covering coop design evolution, egg collection timing to avoid crows, and how chickens naturally manage horse manure in pastures.
Homesteading Ways: Making the Best of It
Three-minute walkthrough of repairing and repurposing an old chicken tractor from scrap materials to solve an immediate animal-husbandry problem.
Moving Day for Our Chicks: Are They Ready for the Coop?
Walkthrough of transitioning chicks from brooder to coop, including readiness signs, coop setup for cold weather, and timing strategy.
3 Signs Your Chicks Are Ready for the Coop
Quick guide to identifying when brooder chicks are ready to transition outdoors, with warning signs to watch for if timing is premature.
Top 10 Protein-Rich Foods to Add to Your Survival Prep List
Survey of 10 protein sources suitable for long-term storage and emergency use, covering canned meats, freeze-dried options, and pantry staples.
Castrating Piglets: Learn This Skill
Two-minute walkthrough of piglet castration technique, a foundational livestock-management skill for homestead pig farming.
Lazy Composting Yields Black Gold!
Composting walkthrough using the Salatin method: woodchips, manured bedding, and food scraps to build soil fertility.
When to Plant Your Garden in Spring (Don't Get It Wrong!)
How to calculate your last frost date, start seeds indoors, choose crops for pre- and post-frost planting, and protect seedlings from cold snaps.
Mastering Meat Preservation: Techniques Unveiled
Five-minute walkthrough of curing, smoking, and dehydrating methods to preserve meat safely for long-term food storage.
How to Cook Chanterelle Mushrooms
52-second demonstration of identifying, preparing, and cooking wild chanterelle mushrooms foraged from the forest.
Tomboy Crab Apple: Very Sweet, Pink Flesh, Rich Flavor
Two-minute variety showcase of a dessert crab apple cultivar: flavor profile, growing characteristics, and suitability for home cultivation and storage.
Late Summer Garden Tour
Four-minute walk through a Minnesota homestead garden in late August, showing what's growing, harvest timing, and cold-climate vegetable varieties.
New Chicken Flock 2024: One Month Update
One-month progress report on establishing a backyard chicken flock: what's working, early lessons, and practical steps for someone starting their own food production.
Planting English Peas | Dry Creek Homestead
Step-by-step walkthrough of planting sweet peas as part of a homestead food production system.
Building a Modern, Comfortable Off-Grid House in Finland - #7 Water
Water system design and installation for an off-grid cabin: sourcing, storage, treatment, and year-round reliability in a cold climate.
Using Amazon Subscribe and Save to Build Your Prepper Stockpile
How to use Amazon's Subscribe & Save service to gradually accumulate food, water, and everyday supplies for disaster preparedness on a budget.
Bug Out Bag Fishing Kit
Four-minute review of a compact fishing kit built into a Plano 3414 dual side box for bug-out preparedness.
Hand Crafted Fish Trap with Mors Kochanski
Mors Kochanski demonstrates how to construct a functional fish trap using natural materials and hand tools—a practical skill for off-grid food sourcing.
Hand Crafted Deadfall Trap with Mors Kochanski
Three-minute walkthrough of building and setting a deadfall trap for wilderness survival, demonstrated by bushcraft instructor Mors Kochanski.
Power Outage—Emergency Lighting, Water, and Cooking When the Grid Goes Down
Real-time walkthrough of managing a multi-day power outage: emergency lighting solutions, water access, alternate cooking methods, and how to maintain normalcy with guests present.