A meal in a box and the "ageless oxygen absorber"

(The full contents of one meal pack from Meal Kit Supply Canada)

This post is long overdue.

Many months ago I got in touch with a company called Meal Kit Supply Canada, a distributor of prepackaged meals developed by the U.S. Military. The meals are warmed using a water-activated heating pack.

I had reached out to the company early on in the series, and Stevi Hanson, vice president business development, had sent me a sample pack of their most popular meals.

It seemed logical to wait for an actual emergency or outdoors experience to try them out. Thankfully there have been no emergencies, and my two outdoor experiences, the cottage and my week with Sticks and Stones Wilderness School, involved so much delicious provided food I may have gained a few pounds.

So the box sat in my closet for several months.

With the clock ticking on the wrap-up for the blog, I decided Sunday night was the night!

I slit open the case and perused my choices. The meals included vegetable lasagna, beef ravioli, and chicken and dumpling meals. I went for the chicken and pesto pack.

Pasta is just the main course. This meal comes with potato cheddar soup, crackers, a massive 1.5-ounce tube of peanut butter, vacuum-packed carrot pound cake, hot chocolate, and an electrolyte juice-type drink.

As a lover of gadgets and disaster preparedness (nerd flag flying high here), I have to admit that cracking this open was a bit like Christmas morning. My favourite part was the print on the directions for the hot chocolate: "Allow water just chemically purified to stand 30 minutes before adding to beverage powder." Perfection.

To heat the meals, you drop a sealed pouch of food into a plastic sleeve with a heating pack that is activated by water. You add water, fold the top of the bag, tuck the meal and sleeve back into the cardboard box it came from, and wait for it to heat.

I may have added too much water.

As I am typing, my meal and the cardboard box I stuffed it back into is making gasping noises like a dying fish on my counter.

I wait for the bag to settle down and manage to remove the meal without burning myself. The water in the sleeve has a strange odour, a product of the heating pack, but the sealed pasta is actually hot and there is a high volume of decent tasting chicken.

While I wouldn't describe it as fine dining - let's be honest, this is for a disaster - it is impressive for something that came out of a bag and is brought back to life with a heater pack.

The carrot cake comes in the shape of a bar of soap but is actually quite tasty. Because I am easily amused by the little things, I was delighted to find the "ageless oxygen absorber" packet that comes inside. 

Each meal also contains instant coffee, dried creamer, sugar, and a lemon moist wipe. There are also two of the sturdiest plastic spoons I have ever seen.  I am guessing the company that makes these gets a lot of feedback on how little things make a difference in harsh environments.

So how did Meal Kit Supply Canada get into the business of distributing meals in a box?

Hanson said the main reason was SARS.

"There was mild concern of an outbreak and some sort of breakdown in infrastructure," said Hanson.

Those concerns prompted company owner Blair Calder to seek out food products he could store in his basement.

Calder sourced the food products from the U.S. manufacturers and was told that there was no one distributing them in Canada. They negotiated exclusive rights and about five years ago the company was formed.

Their big clients are the RCMP and OPP, fire and emergency service workers, and government workers, including Toronto, said Hanson.

The meals can be picked up at Costco or ordered online or over the phone. The smallest case costs $129.99 and comes with 12 meals, four breakfasts, four lunches and four dinners. If you store them at room temperature, they last five years. The food is also preservative-free; the package is what keeps the products from spoiling, according to information on the company website.

Hanson said demand often increases during global emergencies. "After Haiti, we sold out our warehouse," mostly to the Red Cross and other emergency support groups, said Hanson.

They also experience boosts in sales when smaller disasters hit in Canada or abroad, said Hanson.

Opening the boxes and using the heating pack was fun, and I can totally understand the appeal of having huge, ready-to-eat meals in case of an emergency. But for someone like me, with lots of space in her apartment to store a variety of bulkier foods - I am more of a dried meat, fruits and nuts kind of lady -  and on a budget, I don't know if they would be my first choice.

That said, buying a box would be an easy solution to stocking up on food to last for 72 hours. If you were not expending much energy, the peanut butter tube alone could be a small meal.

I can also see why they would be ideal for people in remote locations or using up thousands of calories working in emergency situations.

Really interesting product. Still picking away at the carrot cake.

Thomas Coyne makes it across Death Valley with no food and water

This update comes a bit late, but I still think it needs to be posted. Thomas Coyne completed his journey across Death Valley on Sept 9.

Coyne is the founder of the Survival Training School of California and set out to cross the valley with nothing but the clothing on his back and a minimal list of gear. No food. No water.

He started at the Badwater Basin of Death Valley, Calif., on Aug. 31 and ended his trip about 200 km away at the Mt. Whitney Portals. Temperatures can rise as high as 48 C in some of the areas he crossed. He was able to locate ample water supplies and lived off "Palm dates, cattail roots, watercress greens, fresh barrel cactus, chokecherries, and even Wild Celery and Native Sunflower seeds," according to a release about his adventures.

This wasn't his first attempt to survive using just his skills in extremely harsh conditions. According to the release, last year Coyne "hiked 100 miles across the entire Sierra Nevada Mountain Range- bringing no food, water, sleeping bags or tents. He and his sole partner in that hike lived off the land on that journey as well; foraging wild edibles, drinking from streams, and building primitive shelters the entire time."

You can check out the details on his YouTube channel.

Bonus material: Global News has posted an interesting short list of survival stories.

Back from a week of camping and learning about tracking and creating fire.

Just got back from a week-long course run by Sticks and Stones Wilderness School in Honeywood Ontario.

Course topics included traditional hunting and tracking, shelter, making fire, sourcing and cleaning water, food, stalking and camouflage in the woods.  We also learned about tanning hides and how to identify and harvest plant fibres.

They teach survival skills but their focus leans more towards deepening people's understanding of and respect for the natural world so they can pass that knowledge along.

The entire week was a flat out amazing blend of classroom instruction and hands-on skills. I don't plan to post too many details because I think this is one you should try out for yourself. It was a ton of information during a short period of time but I am treating it as an introduction to skills I want to pursue over a long period of time.

For now I will say I am really looking forward to using the stalking and camouflage skills (at least the wee bit I managed to absorb) the next chance I get to play Capture the Flag. I am going back for more classes the first chance I get.

First priority, airing out backpack. Second, trying to get used to the feeling of sitting at a desk.

P.S. If you can't get away for a week check out the adult workshops offered through the P.I.N.E. Project.

My obsession with canning continues.

(Sorry, I tried to post this last week before I went on a week-long wilderness skills building course but there was a glitch with the system. Happy Canning!)

Summer is winding down and I am taking every chance I can get to stuff fresh produce in jars and freezer bags.

I hit up my aunt for her peach recipe. The details are below. There have been a few questionable experiments with strawberries. I will let you know how they turn out.

Happy canning.

Aunt Susan's peaches.

About three dozen ripe peaches. Your fingers should be able to dent the flesh, but not be super soft.

Cane or raw sugar.

12, 500 milliliter canning jars with sealing lids.

A canner.

Lots of clean pots and clean dishcloths.

Ascorbic acid. (Powered Vitamin C)

Make sure you work on clean surfaces and sterilize the jars. A dishwasher works for the glass and you can pop the lids into a pot of boiling water on the stove for a minute or two. (I am sure opinions differ on that point, but that is what I did.)

First mix sugar and water in a pot and bring to a boil to make sure the crystals melt. Then turn off pot. The ratio we used was 2 cups sugar to 6 cups water.

To skin peaches drop them into boiling water for about 20 seconds, then into a cold water bath. After a few seconds in the cold water the skins should slide off easily.

Place 1/8 of a teaspoon of ascorbic acid in the bottom of the jars.

Top with cut peaches. Then fill with sugar syrup up to the bottom of the neck of the jar. You want the room because they contents will expand.

Wipe rim of jars with clean cloth. If you have any bits of peach or sugar on the rim they wont seal.

Screw on lids, hand tight is fine.

Bring water in canner to almost boil. Put in jars with the tops covered in water. Bring to a boil and let bubble away for 25 minutes.

Remove with tongs. (The ones at Canadian Tire are awesome. I am extremely clumsy and managed to make it through this burn free)

Place jars on baking rack to make sure air circulates as they cool.

Listen for the popping sound. That means the jar has sealed.

Final step: Try to refrain from going on a peach bender and eating them all before the end of the month.

 

Across Death Valley with no food and water

Thomas Coyne, the founder of the Survival Training School of California, has set out to cross Death Valley with nothing but the clothing on his back and a minimal list of gear. No food. No water. The details of his planned trek are outlined in this press release.

He started at the Badwater Basin of Death Valley, Calif., on Aug. 31 and intends to end his trip about 200 km away at the Mt. Whitney Portals. Temperatures can rise as high as 48 C in some of the areas he plans to cross.

This isn't his first attempt to survive using just his skills in extremely harsh conditions. According to the release, last year Coyne "hiked 100 miles across the entire Sierra Nevada Mountain Range- bringing no food, water, sleeping bags or tents. He and his sole partner in that hike lived off the land on that journey as well; foraging wild edibles, drinking from streams, and building primitive shelters the entire time."

Updates will be posted on the school's YouTube channel if anyone wants to follow along.

Amazing.

The soon to be amazing adventures of Aly Ostrowski

Next Monday, the Star is running a story about a three-day course I took with a group called Sticks and Stones Wilderness School, part of the adult programs offered through Toronto's P.I.N.E. Project. 

The story focuses on our lesson on how to build a debris hut or shelter created out of sticks and leaves, but we also created our own bow drill kits and discussed how to find food and water in remote areas.

If you click on this link you can check out an awkward-looking photo of me using a bow-drill kit.

I am hooked and plan to head to a week-long course in early September offered by Sticks and Stones. If you don't have a week, check out what P.I.N.E offers in the way of adult workshops.

That lengthy explanation is really just a set-up for a conversation I just had with a super nice lady named Aly Ostrowski, 26, who was along for the three-day weekend and is preparing to leave for Wilderness Awareness School.

I had contacted her to ask for some photos she took and she rather casually mentioned in an email that she is about to leave for the program mentioned above and suggested I check it out.

I went to the website expecting to read about a week-long course or, at best, a month-long one. Thanks, Ostrowski, for short-circuiting my brain a little bit.

Here is a short description of what she has signed up for on the website.

"At Anake Outdoor School you experience 9 months of in-depth training in a powerful set of nature awareness and wilderness survival skills. You are guided through field studies focused on:

• primitive wilderness survival skills
• wild edible plant preparations
• principles of leadership
• nature-based mentoring skills
• wildlife tracking techniques
• bird language studies "

Amazing.

Ostrowski, who took psychology and peace conflict studies at McMaster University and recently graduated from teachers college, said her education had already brought her in contact with people with knowledge of indigenous skills and the environment.

But it was her work at the P.I.N.E summer camps this year ("best thing that ever happened" to her) that was the tipping point that pushed her in the direction of the course. She jokes that after her summer some of her family members actually became concerned about her growing infatuation with primitive skills.

When she emerges from the program, she hopes to use her expanded knowledge to teach.  

"This is a totally new chapter of my life,” said Ostrowski, when I asked her how she feels about her upcoming adventure.

“I had taken some courses with (Skeet Sutherland from Sticks and Stones and other instructors) and P.I.N.E. really helped, but I still feel like I am in kindergarten with all of this.”

She admits she is excited for the adventure side of the course, but more because she feels “drawn to a safe and intelligent and conscious community.”

“We don’t do this because we fear collapse. We do this because it is a way of life we believe in," she said.

(Dear beloved bosses) I love my job but have to admit the idea of cutting loose from computers, city streets and smog for nine months and going through what will certainly be a totally transformative experience sounds like paradise.

Dear Ostrowski, thanks for the chat, good luck and hope you send stories when you get back. Wild.

Explaining my decision to drink lake water to Mike Bullard

 
(Water I pulled from Lake Ontario. I boiled it and ran it through a filter before taking a few big swigs)

Had a short interview with the extremely funny Mike Bullard on Newstalk 1010 explaining how I ended up drinking water from Lake Ontario. Spent most of the interview laughing nervously and trying not to choke.

The station was kind enough to send the audio.

Emily Mathieu

It has been about six days and no ill effects to report. I promise to post something if anything happens but imagine at this point I am out of immediate danger.

One of my regular readers named Frank suggested I take the remaining water to an expert to test what made it through the filter.

In my haste to get to my desk I dumped the remaining water from round one but love the idea and plan to scoop water from a few locations, run it through the same process and get an expert to tell me what sticks around.

I do not plan to drink a sample from each.

Doomsday bunkers for everyone!

CNN Money is reporting on a new offering from a U.S. company called Vivos that is known for luxury underground shelters. The company, in an effort to broaden their market to include petrified citizens operating on a budget, is offering spots in bunkers for less than $10,000 (U.S.).

I would suggest going to the Vivos website to get a better idea of what they are marketing. A warning to readers. If you are not already seriously concerned about the future of the species, the video they use to sell their products (scare the pants off anyone even mildly susceptible to suggestion) will seal the deal.

This site is so chock full of fear I have trouble believing it is the real deal. If it is a prank it is amazing. But (I fear) this may actually be a real company. You can watch a Reuters clip with footage of what could be part of the network here.

Personal favourite sequence in the opening video. (2:07) Column of fire, frightened eye, mother and baby, concerned seniors and depressed family dressed all in denim on the beach.

If you don't want to buy into the discount shelter you can reserve a space in their network of larger luxury underground shelters in case of an extinction-style event. After viewing the videos on threat scenarios you may want to pay the $25,000 (U.S.) starting price to reserve your space.

Hopefully that family in the matching blue jean outfits (get it? they are blue because the world is ending) ends up in a different underground network.

Thanks for caring Vivos. I'll take my chances with the column of fire.

 

Chickweed mystery solved!

 

(My salad. The little leaves belong to the chickweed. Dressed with lemon, olive oil and salt. Yum!)

Harvest time is here, or was. It was brief but amazing. I pulled all my lettuce from my sub-irrigated bucket and made a salad. Mixed with the lettuce was a handful of chickweed, which I did not plant.

It turns out my twin sister Katie - an urban farmer and permaculture designer who is teaching me all about plants - had an answer for me.

"I put it in there," she said when I asked how I ended up with mixed greens. It seems Katie has made a habit of harvesting chickweed seeds off plants in alleys, parking lots and sidewalks. She decided to tuck some into the bucket. The salad was better for it.

(She speaks about scavenging seeds with completely unaffected joy. Her hilarious love of plants - she flirts with them to help them grow - is what has made this phase of the project so fun.)

I think pulling the lettuce out of the bucket with my hands made me feel a bit too rustic because aside from washing off the dirt I didn't do anything to the greens before I dropped them in the bowl.

For most of the 15 minutes it takes me to get through my salad I resemble a bunny sucking up a giant mouthful of, well, chickweed and baby lettuce.

It is not exactly first date food. Unless you are lucky enough to be dating someone hilarious and unflappable. In that case carry on. I hope your next course involves something covered in sauce and you are eating it with your hands.

At least one of my radish's days are numbered

My baby radishes are doing well. What concerns me is my growing desire to pull them out of the soil to see what is underneath.

Except for the few tiny vegetables that didn't want to sprout, the entire garden I have planted in my rented condo is growing quite quickly. We have not transferred the peat pots yet, but will likely just pack soil around them in a deeper plastic tray.

When it comes to the radish I feel like I am being pushed by the part of my personality that draws huge satisfaction from pulling out splinters or picking scabs (sorry if you are reading this while you eat) when I was a kid. 

To be honest, if I wiped out on a bike now you would need safety gloves to keep me from messing with cuts and scrapes on my knees.

I'm making an educated guess that putting it back the soil once I yank it out won't be a good idea. I will try to keep my hands off it for now.