famprep
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Location: Hunter Valley, NSW
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Post by famprep on Jul 22, 2022 18:20:05 GMT 10
Hi Members,
I just wanted to touch on something I've been thinking a lot about lately. Water.
We all have it and will all need it. If the time comes, we all want to make the most, and get the most from our supplies of it.
Ive been trying different things, adding to our bottled water to make it more beneficial and was wondering if anyone had found anything better?
I like lemon and lime, but both only add minimal extra value outside of actual taste. Grapefruit I've read holds the largest increase in nutritional (?) value to the water, but frankly, i think it tastes horrible! All thesw will be limited at some point should shtf.
Has anyone found anything else that they can suggest? Ideally, something in powder form (not tang) would be excellent as an additive as it could be kept and transported much easier than fruit, not to mention shelf life.
This is particularly aimed towards the health and well being of my girls, during and post shtf.
Thanks everyone!
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peter1942
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Post by peter1942 on Jul 23, 2022 14:00:32 GMT 10
You talk about the health of your girls and yet you consume bottled water.
Drink half of the water from a plastic bottle then put the rest on the dashboard of your vehicle in the sun for a couple of hours and then try and drink the rest.
Water is needed by us all and there is no reason to put any additives in it. The additives you need are contained in the fruits, nuts, meats and vegetables that you eat.
We have used rain water for over fifty years and if we go out we fill our stainless steel bottles to use while away from home and other than blending it with our own fruit juices, tea and the like we have never felt the need for so called additives.
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Post by Stealth on Jul 23, 2022 15:12:10 GMT 10
I like to add apple cider vinegar to my cold soda water in hot weather. Apparently it has a whole host of health benefits, but I primarily drink it because it's nice and refreshing lol. I don't particularly like it in still water though, for some reason it's a bit more whiffy in straight water than sparkling.
I'm a huge fan of just water to re-hydrate, I've never been a big cordial or soft drink person. But you could definitely make some really nice cool tea drinks with good quality honey to sweeten and that's a very easy shelf stable product. Not sure about tea, but I'd assume that if you put it in a sealed bag and store it correctly, most teas would last a long time in a pantry. Black tea contains a lot of really good antioxidants and you could add some freezedried powdered raspberries or blueberries to make it more appealing to younger palates. And to add more healthy additives of course! I'd put that as a low preference option for the freeze dried additives though, they're extremely expensive.
But all in all if you're looking for an easy to store health additive for your long term storage, I'd seriously look at mixed vitamins of Berocca tablets or similar. Hydralite is also very good but you have to remember that powders tend to not last as well and as soon as you open the container you have to consume it pretty quickly. They don't last a real long time but the nice thing is that it's something that you can cycle through in your pantry very easily.
I have a few tubes of Berocca in my medical stores for just case someone gets sick. They're super handy to have because especially for children who're a bit water adverse for whatever reason, often they'll drink it because it's like a cordial and you can sneak a bit of essential salts into it for a child that's vomiting a lot etc.
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malewithatail
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Location: Northern Rivers NSW
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Post by malewithatail on Jul 23, 2022 17:06:46 GMT 10
Weve lived off tank water collected from our various roofs for almost all our lives. Modern roofs don't leach much into the water, and a little galvanizing does tend to kill the bugs a bit. Mosquito larvae in the water tanks is Ok,
If I want a bit of a lift, I just squeeze a lemon into my drink bottle. Bush lemons grow almost anywhere up here and are tangy.
We keep some hydro-lite tubes in the freezer, ready for when we need a electrolyte boost. Cheap to buy and last for ever if kept frozen.
A spoonful of Vegemite in a cup of warm water is also very refreshing.
LER: Light emitting resistor....
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famprep
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Location: Hunter Valley, NSW
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Post by famprep on Jul 23, 2022 17:24:39 GMT 10
You talk about the health of your girls and yet you consume bottled water. Drink half of the water from a plastic bottle then put the rest on the dashboard of your vehicle in the sun for a couple of hours and then try and drink the rest. Water is needed by us all and there is no reason to put any additives in it. The additives you need are contained in the fruits, nuts, meats and vegetables that you eat. We have used rain water for over fifty years and if we go out we fill our stainless steel bottles to use while away from home and other than blending it with our own fruit juices, tea and the like we have never felt the need for so called additives. I do talk about the health of my girls, as they are the reason i am here, both in life and on this forum. Just to be clear, the bottled water we consume here is not store bought. We use a water purifier/filter setup (with UV) that fills our bottles plus the water dispenser built into our fridge door. My girls all love water.
You will find that a lot of people (even here) do not have access to rainwater tanks and stored rainwater, so bottled, store bought water may be their only option. In regards to my question, i understand that water in itself is most beneficial, but if you pause for a moment, think of a time where diet and nutrition may not be at its best, you want to make the absolute most out of everything and anything you consume. Grapefruit, Lemon, Oranges, Lime and the likes contain things like Vitamin C, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, calcium, B6 and are typically full of antioxidants as well as fibre. Not to mention the added taste.
Why would you not want to add these to your water, especially if times were testing. Asking about "so called additives" for our water was more directed at a time that fresh fruit may be hard or even impossible to obtain.
Also, just to add, drinking bottled water found in your car has a very low chance of making you ill. Potentially becoming ill from this is where it has been opened, partially consumed and closed again. Bacteria is the issue you will run into. A sealed bottle would most likely be fine should the need arise to consume it. So, thank you but i will pass on your suggestion.
I like to add apple cider vinegar to my cold soda water in hot weather. Apparently it has a whole host of health benefits, but I primarily drink it because it's nice and refreshing lol. I don't particularly like it in still water though, for some reason it's a bit more whiffy in straight water than sparkling. I'm a huge fan of just water to re-hydrate, I've never been a big cordial or soft drink person. But you could definitely make some really nice cool tea drinks with good quality honey to sweeten and that's a very easy shelf stable product. Not sure about tea, but I'd assume that if you put it in a sealed bag and store it correctly, most teas would last a long time in a pantry. Black tea contains a lot of really good antioxidants and you could add some freezedried powdered raspberries or blueberries to make it more appealing to younger palates. And to add more healthy additives of course! I'd put that as a low preference option for the freeze dried additives though, they're extremely expensive. But all in all if you're looking for an easy to store health additive for your long term storage, I'd seriously look at mixed vitamins of Berocca tablets or similar. Hydralite is also very good but you have to remember that powders tend to not last as well and as soon as you open the container you have to consume it pretty quickly. They don't last a real long time but the nice thing is that it's something that you can cycle through in your pantry very easily. I have a few tubes of Berocca in my medical stores for just case someone gets sick. They're super handy to have because especially for children who're a bit water adverse for whatever reason, often they'll drink it because it's like a cordial and you can sneak a bit of essential salts into it for a child that's vomiting a lot etc. Thanks Stealth ! Berocca is a good suggestion, thank you. I hadn't thought much of this product outside of occasionally felling unwell or as a hangover pick-me-up lol.
Checking their website, it does have a good range of ingredients. The only negatives i could see were the binders used to form the tablet, but seems to be uncommon for any side effects.
Like most things, it does have a shelf life BUT, again, from what Ive read it is not harmful if consumed after expiry.
NB: if we are indeed still in a shtf situation past Beroccas exp date, i think we have bigger issues.
Thanks for the replies, very much appreciated.
-FP
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Post by Stealth on Jul 23, 2022 17:52:15 GMT 10
Checking their website, it does have a good range of ingredients. The only negatives i could see were the binders used to form the tablet, but seems to be uncommon for any side effects.
Like most things, it does have a shelf life BUT, again, from what Ive read it is not harmful if consumed after expiry. Absolutely. The binders are an extra added bonus *cough* yeah... Bonus. Lol. Honestly though I feel that it's better to have the compressed version than baggies of powder. I've had hydralite in storage for 2 years and it's still powder, but other lots have become sticky clumps within months. So I prefer the tablets because at least I know they'll dissolve properly later on. That being said, hydralite is especially good when you're doing hard physical work in the heat. It allows you to replenish those important salts pretty easily. I used them a lot when I was overseas because the second you start sweating in the heat you need to replace more than just H2O. |
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Beno
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Location: Northern Rivers
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Post by Beno on Jul 26, 2022 19:05:48 GMT 10
In summer i use lemon myrtle to jaz up our water a bit. It is very nice. I don’t know of any nutritional benefit but i’m sure there is some or even a bit of medicinal value.
For those who can do the hard yards in humid heat, staminade is a great addition and potentially save a trip to the hospital by preventing heat stress/stroke or issues due to leached electrolytes.
Some grevillea flowers can be used to sweeten water too.
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Tim Horton
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Post by Tim Horton on Jul 26, 2022 19:11:25 GMT 10
I have looked a little into recipes for homemade electrolyte replacer, homemade sports drinks and the like... Have done a very little experimenting with all this..
There are a number of recipes available.. Most are water with flavor, salt, sugar and sometimes ascorbic acid (fruit fresh powder) There is also a recipe for a drink called hay makers punch.. Much of the above but also contains apple cider vinegar.. I'm sure most any homemade recipe would be beneficial in one way or another over plain water..
Since I don't tolerate cold or carbonated drinks, one of my favorites is a powder mix of orange drink powder, and ice tea powder.. Somewhat a variation of the old Russian tea mixture.. I have made some mixtures of fruit punch powder, orange drink powder that are also good.. Emphases on powder to make it freeze proof here in the far north and easily stored and mixed with warm, hot water...
Anyone with tried and true recipes..... Please share...
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frostbite
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Post by frostbite on Jul 26, 2022 19:44:16 GMT 10
I much prefer my water frozen, in little cubes. My additive of choice is Glenfiddich 15yo single malt whisky.
I imagine it would be a great remedy for the stresses of living with 7 women. Especially the 8 going on 18 year olds.
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norseman
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Post by norseman on Jul 27, 2022 8:04:41 GMT 10
The first thing I planted when I got to my land was a Lime Tree it was around a foot tall and so scrawny. It's now fifteen or so in height and produces limes virtually all year round, I can't keep up with it. A squeezed lime in a glass of water most days is a ritual for me.
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tactile
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Post by tactile on Jul 27, 2022 8:58:16 GMT 10
The first thing I planted when I got to my land was a Lime Tree it was around a foot tall and so scrawny. It's now fifteen or so in height and produces limes virtually all year round, I can't keep up with it. A squeezed lime in a glass of water most days is a ritual for me. I was going to say freeze your excess lime juice into ice-blocks but if you are getting them all year round there's probably no need in your case. |
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tactile
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Post by tactile on Jul 27, 2022 18:39:34 GMT 10
I much prefer my water frozen, in little cubes. My additive of choice is Glenfiddich 15yo single malt whisky. I imagine it would be a great remedy for the stresses of living with 7 women. Especially the 8 going on 18 year olds. Real men drink their Scotch neat. 
Then again...sounds like you've earned the right to drink it any way you damn well like!
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Tim Horton
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Post by Tim Horton on Jul 28, 2022 1:56:40 GMT 10
The first thing I planted when I got to my land was a Lime Tree
It produces year round...
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You lucky duck... That would be such a blessing, but then up here we are North American growing zone 2....
Sweetie makes several varieties of lime, lemon lime, lime zucchini, you name it marmalades... Most wonderful.. My next thought was lime in a homemade BBQ sauce for grilled chicken and pork...
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Post by ausprep130 on Jul 28, 2022 14:10:15 GMT 10
If the question is more about making drinkable water more palatable eg: dirty or metallic tasting, then a carbon filter is best. Or stale/flat tasting water - then aeration can improve it. Water temperature is also another factor to consider. The colder the water, the better the taste. You can also flavour water with lemon juice, slice of cucumber, ginger, turmeric or tea among other things.
If the question is more about adding enhancements to the water then I don't think that is a good idea unless it is to return Reverse Osmosis (RO) water or distilled water to a state similar to natural spring water. If so then there are additives for this specific purpose.
As we get most of the vitamins and minerals we need from the food we eat, and our body produces the electrolytes we need from the food we eat, we shouldn't really need to add any to our water.
Adding Berroca or Hydralyte may be beneficial if you are lacking those particular electrolytes/minerals due to diarrhea or severe sweating but I would not use them regularly.
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Tim Horton
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Post by Tim Horton on Jul 29, 2022 14:00:16 GMT 10
if you are lacking those particular electrolytes/minerals due to diarrhea or severe sweating but I would not use them regularly.
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There are likely times most people can benefit from some kind of enhanced liquids.. Due to many things to include diet, exertion, hydration level at the moment..
Good point that some people may be more sensitive to "supplement toxicity" from this.. Or many other kinds of things people take too often..
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Jul 29, 2022 18:59:15 GMT 10
Hi Members,
I just wanted to touch on something I've been thinking a lot about lately. Water.
We all have it and will all need it. If the time comes, we all want to make the most, and get the most from our supplies of it.
Ive been trying different things, adding to our bottled water to make it more beneficial and was wondering if anyone had found anything better?
I like lemon and lime, but both only add minimal extra value outside of actual taste. Grapefruit I've read holds the largest increase in nutritional (?) value to the water, but frankly, i think it tastes horrible! All thesw will be limited at some point should shtf.
Has anyone found anything else that they can suggest? Ideally, something in powder form (not tang) would be excellent as an additive as it could be kept and transported much easier than fruit, not to mention shelf life.
This is particularly aimed towards the health and well being of my girls, during and post shtf.
Thanks everyone!
You could dehydrate orange, lemon and lime slices. Do them until they’re pretty close to crunchy then vac pack them in bags. I would keep them in the back of a spare freezer so they keep for years, but if you were travelling they would be fine out of the frig - even for a few months. The other thing I would consider having on hand to add to water is protein powder. This is prob not the sort of thing you were thinking of. You can get single serve sachets that could be a meal replacement if you had to be on the move. Obviously a large tin of protein powder is cheaper per serve - just less transportable. You just need to watch the date on them and use them up before they go out of date - maybe use it in an annual batch of cacao-nut-date protein balls or add it to smoothies. |
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Post by Stealth on Jul 29, 2022 22:22:25 GMT 10
You can actually get protein powders for water too, I've noticed. I'd think they're highly processed, far more so than most things here. But for those who physically work hard through the day and can't stand the thought of another milky protein drink they could be useful.
But it's definitely worth pointing out that if your diet is varied you should be getting most everything that way. That being said, I've been on iron and vitamin D supplements for nearly 20 years because my body simply refuses to produce enough of either of those. So while 'peeing your money away' is definitely a thing, in a SHTF situation having a broad-range supplement like Berocca (or similar) means that any gaps that you do have can be filled fairly easily.
It's also worth keeping in mind that just because YOUR diet is producing and getting enough of the vitamins you need, doesn't mean that people around you that are important to you will have the same benefits. If my hubby decided to stockpile what worked for him I'd be anemic pretty quickly. Those of us with small sprouts to consider also have to remember that growing uses nutritional building blocks at a rate of knots. Sprouts need more where we can get by for a while at a slight deficit.
So while I agree that we should all be getting everything we need from our food the reality is that even in this current relative time of abundance many of us do not. And it's not uncommon to not even be aware of that fact because it's just your normal state of being.
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