Monday, February 23, 2009

Make Your Own Homemade Survival Bars

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23 comments:

Becky said...

You mentioned making three smaller bars instead of one big loaf - are the loaves cuttable (and is cuttable even a word)? But really, how difficult will it be to divide it amongst ourselves? :)

Momnerd said...

Sorry I missed the fun! Thanks for making my loaf for me, it's a great doorstopper...;) Just teasing! See you later!

Angela said...

Becky--they are pretty difficult to cut. Keep in mind mine is still fresh also--it's only going to get harder the longer it stores. I ended up breaking it by "bending" it over the edge of the counter after I cut into it about 1/2 inch with a steak knife. It's not going to "slice" like bread, or break in nice even pieces. You could probably hatchet it into chunks pretty easy. :)

Anonymous said...

I was curious if the whole bar was 2.5k calories or if it was by the slice? Nice recipe tho I will have to make a batch or two.

Angela said...

Farmer--the calorie count is for the whole loaf. Thanks for asking!

This loaf would be more filling than the commercial ones also.

Chef Tess said...

Angela! This is the recipe we used! I had lost it but do remember they looked exactly like that and had the flavored jello and...I'm soooo exited! Can you tell?! Yes! Yes! Yes! Thank you!!

Angela said...

Tess--these are way easier than the sprouted wheat bread! But I'm going to get that one eventually . . .

Jeannetta said...

Ok, they look like brinks, and you say they don't cut well, HOW do you eat them?
Then, baking...could you use a dehydrator?
So many questions, so little time...

Angela said...

Jeannetta--They don't cut well, but do kind of break apart since they are stuck together so dry, so I guess you'd just have to break them with something to get an eatable size chunk.
In my unscientific opinion, a dehydrator would be fantastic! Kind of smash it flat--maybe cookie shaped--and put in on the trays and dry it. Would already be in eatable chunks that way. It would take more room to store, but I may try that next time! You sure wouldn't scorch the bottom of the loaf that way . . .

Emily said...

That was very fun and interesting. I am sure glad my hubby got a mal for Christmas this year so we will be able to eat ours. ;)

aardvark said...

On edibility - I'd have to refer to our 18th c. reenacting and what was "biscuit" or "ship's biscuit" in that era (became "hardtack" later). In that day it was uniformly broken up (NOT easy) or dropped whole into broth, tea, stewpot, water if only that available to soften - That stuff WILL break teeth! Haven't tried this one yet though; so far, just surfing for reference purposes.

KeepYerHatchetScouredAndMusketCleanAsWhistle said...

what if you sorta presegmented it before baking - maybe press a knife into it an inch or two before baking

might be the best thing since

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sliced bread!

Angela said...

Ahhh, presegmenting the loaf would be a great idea. It might work--it's hard as soon as it's put together, but even harder after it bakes. A good sharp knife could probably make decent scores in the loaf before baking it. The only problem would be if the loaf decided to crumble apart instead of slicing. You'd have to experiment with that, but in theory it should work!

Anonymous said...

mixed as per instructions and ended up with a runny mess...added lots more milk, sugar and oats to male a stiffer dough. Question! does one add the one-cup cold water as per instructions on Jello Package???

Made four in bread demi-loave pans and pressed several with hamburger press to make "cookies"

Waiting on oven to see results

Angela said...

Anon--don't add the 1 cup of water as directed on the jello package, it's just the jello powder, 3 TB water and 3 TB honey in the pot.

Sounds like you made it work--how did they turn out?

Peggy said...

Made something like these years ago but lost the recipe. We formed them into granola bar sized pieces and baked them. I don't remember how long or at what temperature. The dehydrator sounds like a great idea. I may make up a batch to take along on our trip. Moving 3700 miles in the middle of winter from Alaska to Indiana with 3 kids (2 of which are teenagers), 2 adults, and 2 dogs (14 lbs and 95 lbs.) Remember us! Any food we can take along which won't go bad will be a definite boon! plus I have tons of jello!

Anonymous said...

What about shaping them into smaller bite-sized balls or cookies?

Angela said...

Yes, shaping them in smaller pieces would work very well. They probably wouldn't have to cook as long that way either.

There's A Hole in the Bucket said...

Is there something you can substitute for the jello that would be organic to use for flavoring?

I plan to go with stevia and honey rather than the sugar, as stevia will hold up longer and it is much better for the ol' bod, .

Thanks for the great info!!
Gamma Rori

Sinclair said...

those look really awful, but I am sure in a survival situation they might just be your favorite sight. Thanks for the recipe.

Anonymous said...

we used to press these into a pan so that they are about half an inch thick and slice into 6 bars before drying - then wrap in heavy duty foil when dry and wrap in PVC insulation tape makes 6 bars one per meal 3 per day also we used 3 cups oats and raisins for extra taste and calories

Unknown said...

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have been looking for this exact recipe for at least 10 years!!!!!!!!! I wasn't sure of the ingredients, so I didn't want to make it off the top of my head fearing I might not be able to use it.THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!
8-)

Unknown said...

...BTW, I make them in my dehydrator...8-)