Addictions... your Achilles Heel WTSHTF

[Brosia]

Ok, now I"m gonna have to go plant some grapes to make wine:D

Come on over to my house, we've got a wild tangle of grape vines that used to be cultivated 15 years ago, but then the old man died, and his out-of control grape vines are tormenting at least 3 backyards. I think it would be a relatively easy matter to take them in hand again and get some nice wine going.

[desertrat]

vices

I may love my cigarretts, caffene and alcohol all the same, but I can deal without any of them. Withdrawls may suck, but the adrenaline that would be coursing through our bodies when everything comes to a halt will be a much more powerful drug than all 3 of the latter combined. When people start running out of bullets those camels are great killers, but don't fire out of an AR or AK very well at all, nor are they very filling when your family is hungry.

[gkim4107]

I agree with you there desertrat.. In all the times I have been doing an activity that boosted the adrenaline, I have never thought about my cigarettes. When I learned to dive (SCUBA) The whole time underwater, cigarettes never even crossed my mind. Rock climbing, paintball, sky diving, scuba diving, sports, work outs. All of them take cigarettes off my mind. So in TSHTF situation, Im pretty sure my adrenaline would take over, in making sure all preparations were taken care of and such.

[The One]

Tea

I have never smoked I do currently eat what I want but that can be controlled at will for me but I have a very strong addiction to old fashioned iced tea. My body goes as far as giving me a throbbing head ache if I don't have at least a large glass of tea every day, can be sweet or unsweetened no big deal prefer cold but can tolerate hot without issues. I do realize that it is the caffeine but it is something in addition to just the caffeine, coffee dose not fix the headache nor do any type of soft drink with caffeine. It can be dealt with just makes me really cranky.

[Visinedrops]

Tea has a higher caffeine content than coffee, and withdrawal from caffeine begins as moderate to severe headaches, usually leads to slight lethargy, then after a couple weeks, you're back to normal.

[Applejack]

This one is something to thank about.

[Morgan101]

I don't smoke or use tobacco, so that is not an issue. Alcohol I can take or leave. We have a substantial amount, part of which would be used for bartering if need be, but we don't drink 1 tenth of what we used to. Same with coffee. I like it but wouldn't miss it. I don't think I need any caffeine.

I do eat what I want, but the thing I would miss the most is potato chips. Guilty as charged. I am hopelessly addicted to them. If TSHTF I would really miss potato chips.

[GrizzlyetteAdams]

...the thing I would miss the most is potato chips. Guilty as charged. I am hopelessly addicted to them. If TSHTF I would really miss potato chips.

If you have lentils in your preps, you might enjoy this recipe:
Here's a satisfying homemade snack to tame those unruly cravings to munch on too many chips, nuts, and stuff. I love the way it quiets my cravings for salt and crunchies. Super low cost, too. You can tweak this delicious and healthy recipe with your own favorite seasonings.


1 cup brown lentils
1 quart water
salt (between 1/2 -1 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon oil (olive, coconut, canola, etc)

Boil gently for 10 minutes, then let stand 15 minutes. Drain well.
Stir in the oil until well distributed. Sprinkle on your favorite seasonings (see below).
Mix well.
Preheat oven 425 degrees F.
Spread thinly, in a single layer in a pan lined with foil.
Bake 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often until crisp. Let cool.

CAUTION: Watch closely, as they will burn to a nasty black crisp in no time!

For small portions, I like to use my electric toaster oven. For open fire cooking, use a skillet.

The mild taste of the lentils makes this a versatile snack because you can flavor it with just about any seasoning, and it'll probably turn out good. Experiment until you find your favorites. Have fun!


Lentil snack seasoning blends to try:

Flavor treat #1
Cajun/Creole Seasoning
(Don't have any? Make your own. See recipe at the end of the Jambalaya-ya-ya recipe.)

OR

Flavor treat #2
1/8 - 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 - 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/8 - 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

OR

Flavor treat #3
1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper


Other flavoring options to use singly or combined with the above blends:

--Popcorn Salt (superfine grade, buttered or plain)

--Powdered Cheese Flavoring

--Morton's Nature's Seasonings (contains no MSG)


I'm going to try this recipe with cooked or canned chickpeas, and other cooked beans...if you beat me to it, please tell me your results!

[tmttactical]

I have not had a drink of alcohol in about two years, Never was much of a drinker, so no big accomplishment. I did smoke for about 40 years but gave it up when they reached $5.00 a pack. Did I mention I am a cheapskate. I do plan to stock both alcohol and tobacco for barter and figure they will be super valuable. Now I do drink about 15 cups of coffer a day, like the taste. I also drink it black, no choice in the matter, type 2 diabetic. I figure once the coffee stash does run out, I will have headaches for about a week, as my system goes through caffeine withdrawal. I have had to do without my coffee in the past so I know what to expect. I know what alcoholics or even those forced to go sober will pay (just about anything) for their habits, I don't store precious metals or jewels, just the stuff (luxury sin tax items) that folks are going to really want. Different than what they need. Wants pay better.

[GrizzlyetteAdams]

I have in my stash, a goodly amount of coffee beans. When regular coffee runs out, I will save the beans for grinding for special occasions only. To stave off the horrible, horrible caffeine withdrawal, I will wean myself off the dope by popping one or two beans in my mouth and nibble on a bit of it from time to time, which releases the coffee goodness...

Once upon a time, I had a three (large) POT-of-coffee-a-day addiction. Found out the HARD way how miserable withdrawal could be when I was stranded on a sailboat because of a storm in the middle of Lake Ponchartrain, New Orleans. Everything went wrong, but to make a long story short: a weekend of no coffee 'bout killed me. I had headaches and nausea for days afterward.

Then I realized one of the best preps I could have is to wean myself off of coffee which is the only addiction or "vice" that I have...now I am down to ONE blessed cup a day which makes caffeine withdrawal doable (with a little help from my beans, lol).

[tmttactical]

GrizzlyetteAdams

I like the coffee bean idea, I may stock a few myself. I figure by the time I run out of coffee, the world of S has really hit the fan and it is probably time for me to get mean.

[GrizzlyetteAdams]

Hmmm...I forgot to mention an old Indian trick for coffee withdrawals: a tea brewed with dried Yaupon Holly leaves. This plant is the only plant native to the USA that contains caffeine (that I currently know of). Although it is native to the southeast USA, it can be purchased and planted in many areas of the country. Good prep plant!

Here is an excellent site describing Yaupon: http://www.foragingtexas.com/2008/08/yaupon-holly.html

Seeds and growing info https://sheffields.com/seeds/Ilex/vomitoria

The Yaupon Brothers sell a live tree (gallon sized pot) for $15 plus $5.99 shipping. They also Yaupon tea for drinking. https://www.yauponbrothers.com/produ...pon-tree-1-gal

More growing info: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/re...?id_plant=ILVO

The tea is hugely popular these days. Here is one of many sources of it: https://lostpinesyaupontea.com/

[GrizzlyetteAdams]

These are good coffee beans to stash for "hard times," as outlined in post #25. Hooboy, we be getting a buzz off of these, lol.

Rocket Fuel, Extreme Caffeine, Whole Bean
https://www.azurestandard.com/shop/p...?package=CS197

[Morgan101]

Grizz: I appreciate the lentil suggestion, but my Mom used to make lentil soup, and for me it wouldn't even stay down. Do you know if anybody sells lentils packaged as you suggested, maybe dried with some seasoning? I would be willing to try again, but making a pot of that stuff brings back some really bad memories.

God Bless my sainted Mother. At least she only made us try things. If you didn't like it you weren't forced to eat it. If they had forced me to eat lentils I would still be sitting at the table.

[GrizzlyetteAdams]

LOL, I am that way with raw oysters. My father was determined to raise a "proper" Cajun lady, and forced me to eat raw oysters when I was small. Ewww. nope, don't like 'em to this day, however, I love a good fried oyster and shrimp po'boy sandwich.

For lentil damage control: try the same principle with canned chickpeas. There are lots of recipes on the internet, but here is a general overview: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/81...ted-chickpeas/