Primitive Camping & Bushcraft

Burning More Than Wood: How to Keep Your Energy in the Wild

Episode Summary

Chris dives into one of the most overlooked parts of primitive camping—fueling your body. He breaks down how to plan meals by calorie count, what foods actually keep you going in the field, and the four rules every camper should follow to stay strong, alert, and ready for anything.

Episode Notes

Show notes

Today’s focus: Backcountry calories, simple meal planning, and faith for “daily bread.”

From the book: Primitive Camping & Bushcraft, p.182 (dehydrated/freeze-dried options, flavor add-ons).

Why calories matter: Field burn ≈ 3,500–5,000/day vs ~2,000 at home; shivering, climbs, paddling all spike needs.

Pack by calories, not meals: Target ~120 cal/oz (peanut butter, nuts, olive oil, granola, jerky, calorie-dense rations).

4 rules for the field:

Eat by the clock (adrenaline hides hunger)

Fat is your friend (dense fuel in cold/long treks)

Rotate meals (morale > monotony)

Carry one emergency meal (MRE-level calories)

Freeze-dried “Primitive Camping Rations”: lightweight, calorie-dense, small-batch options; custom runs available.

Faith segment: Matthew 6:11 (“Give us this day our daily bread”), Joseph’s planning, manna trust, Elijah fed by ravens—prepare wisely, trust completely.

Resources mentioned:

Primitive Camping & Bushcraft (Book) – Page 182 on food planning

PrimitiveCamping.com (coming online) – rations, coffee, fire kits

Contact for custom meals chris@primitive-camping.com

Episode Transcription

(upbeat music)

 

Welcome to the

 

Primitive Camping

 

and Bushcraft

 

Podcast.

 

I'm your host,

 

Chris Speir.

 

So here we're

 

gonna talk

 

about gear,

 

red and the kind

 

of stories you

 

only get

 

around a fire.

 

It's all about

 

learning,

 

adapting

 

and keeping your

 

faith strong.

 

So whether you're

 

a seasoned

 

outdoorsman

 

or just looking

 

to unplug and

 

reconnect,

 

you're in the

 

right place.

 

So pull up a

 

chair by the fire

 

and let's get

 

into it.

 

(upbeat music)

 

All right,

 

welcome back to

 

the

 

Primitive Camping

 

and Bushcraft

 

Podcast.

 

And today, since

 

I have a week

 

before we launch

 

the freeze dry

 

camping meals,

 

the Primitive

 

Camping Rations,

 

today I figured

 

we'd talk about

 

calories,

 

talk about

 

some food,

 

talk about one of

 

the things that a

 

lot of people

 

overlook whenever

 

they're

 

heading out

 

into the great

 

outdoors.

 

And I,

 

including myself,

 

I've done it

 

before on several

 

of my trips,

 

but I'm coming to

 

you from

 

underneath

 

the tarp.

 

at Camp Wut-Da-Heck

 

on a very

 

muggy fall day.

 

It is very muggy

 

and it's

 

very hot.

 

It is windy, it's

 

sunny, and then

 

it's raining.

 

Go figure,

 

all three,

 

all three of the

 

seasons all in

 

one day.

 

(Chris laughs) So now if you've

 

been out

 

into the woods

 

for more than a

 

day or two,

 

you already know

 

that food

 

out there

 

seems to operate

 

a whole lot

 

different

 

than it does

 

whenever you're

 

at the house,

 

whenever you're

 

at the comfort of

 

your own home

 

or whenever

 

you're doing your

 

daily routines

 

and stuff

 

like that.

 

Food in the great

 

outdoors,

 

and food in

 

general,

 

is energy.

 

And it helps with

 

your focus,

 

your

 

concentration,

 

your morale,

 

all in one.

 

I mean, it just

 

all wraps up into

 

one thing.

 

Now, you can have

 

the best gear.

 

You can have the

 

perfect

 

camp set up,

 

but if your body

 

runs out of fuel,

 

everything else

 

is gonna

 

fall apart.

 

And that is so,

 

so, so, so true.

 

So right here in

 

the book,

 

you can see all

 

my pages are

 

blowing around

 

everywhere

 

here today.

 

You got on

 

page 182,

 

we all have our

 

go-to foods

 

when we're in the

 

comfort of our

 

own homes.

 

But when heading

 

into the

 

wilderness,

 

a little outside

 

of the box

 

thinking is

 

sometimes

 

required.

 

There are more

 

things you could

 

do to prepare

 

before you go,

 

even if you're

 

planning to

 

procure

 

all your food

 

while you're

 

camping.

 

For example, you

 

could bring items

 

such as flavor

 

packets and

 

seasoning

 

to augment or

 

enhance what you

 

already have.

 

No need to eat

 

flavorless foods

 

just because

 

you're out in the

 

woods and you're

 

camping.

 

When you're

 

planning to

 

travel several

 

miles into

 

the wild,

 

food becomes a

 

major

 

consideration for

 

two main reasons.

 

One, food

 

is heavy.

 

Food can be heavy

 

and it can

 

be a drag,

 

but you need it

 

to survive.

 

Calories equals energy.

 

During my first

 

time, during my

 

time in the

 

military,

 

I ate more MREs,

 

meals ready to

 

eat, than I

 

can count.

 

Sometimes they

 

were good,

 

sometimes they

 

were horrible,

 

but the fact is

 

they provided

 

more than 2,000

 

calories a piece.

 

Sometimes we

 

would eat three

 

of them a day.

 

So we'd go

 

through 6,000

 

calories a day,

 

but you needed it

 

in the austere

 

environments

 

that we

 

worked in.

 

When you're in a

 

situation

 

where you're

 

expending a lot

 

of calories,

 

you have to be

 

able to

 

replenish them.

 

Activities such

 

as rock climbing,

 

hiking over

 

plenty of hills,

 

swimming or

 

canoeing,

 

kayaking,

 

they all require

 

you to expend a

 

lot of energy.

 

And if you're not

 

replacing no

 

calories,

 

you're going to

 

get exhausted in

 

no time.

 

Trust me, your

 

energy will,

 

your energy

 

levels will get

 

used up

 

very quickly

 

when primitive

 

camping.

 

But instead of

 

explaining why

 

you need food,

 

which you likely

 

already

 

know this,

 

let's explore how

 

to ensure you

 

have enough

 

when you need it.

 

All right, so

 

then after that,

 

we go through the

 

dehydrated foods, the

 

freeze-dried foods,

 

just to have

 

water prepackaged

 

and procured

 

foods and stuff.

 

And that's all in

 

the Primitive

 

Camping and

 

Bushcraft book

 

on page 182.

 

I just read that

 

out of there.

 

And so now we're

 

going to dive

 

into mill

 

planting.

 

For the field.

 

How to plant

 

smart, what

 

people get wrong,

 

and a few hard

 

lessons that I've

 

learned

 

over the years.

 

Then at the end,

 

I'm going

 

to tie it

 

into something a

 

little

 

bit deeper,

 

something about

 

how, you know,

 

God provides what

 

we need when we

 

need it.

 

So let's turn the

 

page, so

 

to speak,

 

and let's start

 

right here.

 

Most people

 

underestimate how

 

much

 

they've burned

 

in the woods, how

 

many calories

 

they've burned in

 

the woods.

 

A lot of people

 

really

 

underestimate

 

that.

 

So what I mean by

 

underestimate is,

 

you're moving

 

more, you're

 

carrying more,

 

and you're

 

working in

 

conditions

 

that your body

 

isn't used to.

 

Even something as

 

simple as,

 

you know,

 

trying to stay

 

warm and

 

cold weather

 

can burn hundreds

 

of extra

 

calories.

 

You know, when

 

you're shivering,

 

you're burning

 

calories.

 

When you're

 

trying to keep

 

warm, you're

 

burning calories.

 

You know, you're

 

constantly

 

burning calories.

 

And if I keep

 

hitting

 

this table,

 

you guys are

 

going to be like,

 

what's he doing?

 

But, when I first

 

started doing

 

longer

 

bushcraft trips,

 

preemitive

 

camping trips,

 

I'd pack light,

 

I'd throw in a

 

couple of freeze

 

drive meals or

 

whatever.

 

You know, my

 

whole basis of

 

that was to

 

see if I could go

 

on 10

 

items, you know,

 

like the Long

 

Show used to.

 

When it first

 

started out 12,

 

13 years ago,

 

something to that

 

effect, I

 

would go out

 

and just practice

 

those and

 

practice those

 

and

 

practice those.

 

And I would do it

 

to the point

 

where, you know,

 

it was basically

 

a self-created

 

survival

 

situation.

 

(laughs)

 

Right, headed

 

into the woods

 

and practice.

 

But that's how

 

you get better at

 

doing

 

things like this,

 

by practice, and

 

that was

 

considered

 

practice.

 

But since then,

 

I've grown

 

up a lot.

 

And, you know, I

 

didn't just start

 

it 13 years ago.

 

It's, I did

 

preemitive

 

camping my

 

whole life.

 

Before it was

 

even really

 

called preemitive

 

camping,

 

me and my

 

brothers just

 

thought it was

 

camping,

 

you know?

 

And then, when TV

 

shows started

 

coming along

 

and

 

popularized it,

 

what was the name

 

of that one?

 

With a dual

 

survivor, I guess

 

is the

 

name of it?

 

You know, that

 

come out, started

 

really

 

popularizing it,

 

and then the

 

survivor man of

 

the such, of

 

that nature,

 

really started

 

popularizing the

 

bushcraft

 

and the

 

preemitive

 

camping world and

 

the

 

survival world.

 

And then TV just

 

took it and ran

 

with it,

 

and then now all

 

of a sudden

 

survival

 

bushcraft

 

and camping is a

 

hundreds of

 

millions of

 

dollars a year

 

industry, if not

 

in the billions

 

already.

 

And I did a video

 

a while back

 

explaining,

 

you know,

 

it was like $700

 

million a year or

 

something

 

that survival

 

brings in just in

 

separate

 

survival courses

 

throughout the

 

country.

 

And that's the

 

United States.

 

That's not

 

worldwide.

 

That's not

 

Australia and

 

Europe, you know,

 

countries of the

 

such that do

 

survival classes

 

and stuff like

 

that, you know?

 

They are, if you

 

throw them

 

in there,

 

it'd be

 

worldwide, it'd

 

be in the

 

billions.

 

So, everything

 

that I would pack

 

with me,

 

you know, I would

 

make a gear list

 

and I would make

 

a packing list.

 

I would write

 

everything down

 

that I

 

wanted to take

 

with me on

 

this trip.

 

And it looked

 

great on paper.

 

Sounded

 

great on paper.

 

But by the time

 

you got out into

 

the woods

 

on day two,

 

I'd feel

 

the slant.

 

And everybody's

 

felt that slant

 

where it's just,

 

I don't have the

 

energy today.

 

I'm tired.

 

I think I'm just

 

gonna sleep in a

 

little bit.

 

That's kind of

 

like me this

 

morning.

 

Get a little

 

lightheaded, a

 

little

 

slower to think,

 

common tasks

 

aggravate you,

 

all the such.

 

That's all signs

 

that, you know,

 

you're not

 

getting enough

 

calories.

 

You're not giving

 

your body enough

 

energy

 

that it needs

 

to do the tasks

 

that you

 

need to do.

 

And what's worse,

 

when you're tired

 

and hungry,

 

you start making

 

mistakes.

 

And when you make

 

mistakes, you

 

stop

 

thinking clearly

 

and you start

 

taking shortcuts.

 

And that's when

 

injuries start

 

happening.

 

And that's why

 

calories are very

 

important

 

when you get into

 

the field

 

and when you get

 

into your

 

primitive

 

camping mode.

 

It's fall.

 

It's fall, y'all.

 

And everybody's

 

gonna be out

 

camping.

 

Fall and early

 

winter, stuff

 

like that.

 

I mean, it is

 

camping season.

 

Full swing

 

camping season.

 

And then early

 

spring is full

 

swing camping

 

season again.

 

And people do

 

camping

 

different.

 

Some people will

 

do what they call

 

primitive camping

 

at a pre-built

 

campsite, at a

 

national park

 

or a state park

 

or a

 

national forest

 

or something of

 

the such.

 

Or private lands.

 

And it's an

 

already developed

 

campsite

 

that has the fire

 

rings and has

 

electrical

 

hookups

 

and has all this

 

stuff, you know?

 

And then they got

 

the ones at a

 

primitive camp

 

where it has no

 

electricity,

 

but still has the

 

pad there for you

 

to build

 

your tent on

 

or whatnot.

 

And the fire ring

 

for you to go

 

build your fire.

 

So I took a trip

 

one time

 

and I thought I

 

had all my meals

 

dialed in.

 

And it was me and

 

my brother

 

once again.

 

And we get out

 

there and dude,

 

we were drained.

 

And I think I've

 

talked about this

 

trip before

 

on this podcast

 

is we

 

were drained

 

by a couple of

 

days into it.

 

We just, you

 

know, headache,

 

just tired,

 

lethargic,

 

just didn't

 

feel right.

 

And I'd had to

 

actually packed a

 

little

 

bit of tube

 

of peanut butter.

 

And I was using

 

that

 

peanut butter

 

to see if I could

 

trap a squirrel

 

or two, you know,

 

during

 

squirrel season.

 

And yeah, no,

 

that

 

didn't work out.

 

So I ate the

 

peanut butter and

 

dude instantly,

 

instantly,

 

I feel better.

 

I mean, that

 

peanut butter

 

just

 

snapped me too.

 

Well, come to

 

find out peanut

 

butter's got all

 

the fats,

 

all the sugars,

 

all the proteins.

 

It's got

 

everything

 

you need.

 

Peanuts are

 

almost a

 

perfect food.

 

Peanuts and

 

sunflower seeds,

 

if I recall,

 

sunflower seeds

 

are a nearly

 

perfect food.

 

In other words,

 

you can eat just

 

sunflower seeds

 

and still game

 

way and still

 

have all the

 

protein, fats,

 

sugars,

 

everything that

 

you need.

 

It is nearly

 

perfect.

 

But peanut butter

 

is close to that

 

as well.

 

So I figured my

 

food was going to

 

last long enough

 

on this trip, but

 

it did not.

 

I mean, I didn't

 

account for both

 

of us eating.

 

And this was one

 

trip that my

 

brother

 

only brought

 

some beef jerky,

 

I believe.

 

We ended up

 

eating the beef

 

jerky and

 

cooking it

 

into the pot and

 

rehydrating it

 

and making it

 

into stew.

 

But still, we

 

didn't have

 

everything that

 

we needed

 

and we depleted

 

all of our

 

calories before,

 

you know.

 

And then once

 

you're on the

 

downside

 

and you're trying

 

to make

 

up for it,

 

it's harder to

 

recuperate.

 

So something that

 

people don't

 

factor in,

 

every step, every

 

swing of the ax,

 

every breath of

 

cold air, it all

 

costs energy.

 

And the average

 

person burns

 

about 2,000

 

calories

 

a day at home.

 

Out here in the

 

woods, in the

 

great outdoors,

 

you're looking at

 

between 3,500 and

 

5,000

 

calories easy

 

because you are

 

constantly

 

moving.

 

You are

 

constantly doing

 

something.

 

You are

 

constantly doing

 

something usually

 

labor intensive.

 

I don't know why

 

they call it

 

relaxing

 

because there's

 

nothing relaxing

 

about going

 

camping.

 

Yeah, it is to me

 

for some reason.

 

(laughs) But when you get

 

out into the

 

great outdoors,

 

it's generally a

 

lot of work.

 

And if you're in

 

rougher terrain,

 

like let's say

 

you're

 

elk hunting

 

or you're doing

 

some kind of hunt

 

over in the

 

mountains,

 

you know, sheep

 

hunting, stuff

 

like that.

 

You're up in

 

these hills,

 

you're up in

 

these mountains

 

and you're

 

constantly

 

climbing up and

 

down and

 

up and down.

 

And dude, they

 

don't go up just

 

one hill

 

and sit on that

 

one hill.

 

They'll go up

 

one, down one, up

 

one, down

 

one, up one,

 

and they'll have

 

four or

 

five of them

 

and then sit

 

there and,

 

you ever watched

 

episodes of

 

Meat Hunter

 

where they're

 

just

 

constantly moving?

 

Dude, that right

 

there is

 

like, wow,

 

me, I'd be

 

screaming on the

 

first one up.

 

Like, you know,

 

my back hurts or

 

my ankle hurts

 

or I twisted

 

something or

 

whatever,

 

you know?

 

But, so when

 

you're planning

 

food for a trip,

 

you're not

 

planning for

 

comfort,

 

you're planning

 

for survival

 

efficiency.

 

You're trying to

 

match what you

 

burn,

 

that's the goal.

 

Actually, you're

 

trying to do a

 

surplus.

 

Now, I watched a

 

video with Clay

 

Hayes a while

 

back on YouTube

 

where he got

 

dropped off for a

 

week or two

 

for an elk hunt

 

or a moose hunt

 

or

 

something in Alaska.

 

And they just

 

dropped him off

 

in this bog

 

and he was on a

 

river, you know,

 

on the edge of a

 

riverbank

 

and he

 

camped out there

 

and all he

 

brought was some

 

freeze-drive

 

mills.

 

And he didn't

 

catch it, he

 

didn't shoot

 

anything

 

for a week

 

and he had to go

 

into

 

survival mode

 

because his

 

freeze-drive

 

mills

 

were only giving

 

him like 700

 

calories a day

 

but he was

 

expending several

 

thousand

 

calories a day.

 

So instead of

 

packing two meals

 

or snacks,

 

I now plan food

 

by the calorie

 

count, you know?

 

So I'll pack 120

 

calories per

 

ounce of weight

 

if possible.

 

Ah, good old H2O.

 

So things like

 

peanut

 

butter, nuts,

 

a little bit of

 

olive oil, some

 

granola or jerky,

 

all high calorie

 

and small.

 

And they actually

 

help with

 

balancing out

 

all your

 

calories.

 

And then you add

 

your carbs and

 

you know,

 

other proteins of

 

the such

 

and that actually

 

keeps you going.

 

Now, since I, now

 

on the

 

dehydrator,

 

not dehydrators, the

 

freeze-dryers,

 

I'm able to make

 

extremely calorie

 

dense foods

 

and take them

 

with me at an

 

extremely

 

lightweight,

 

like one meal

 

could be less

 

than

 

three ounces.

 

And by the time

 

you rehydrate it,

 

it is well

 

over a pound.

 

And dude, they

 

have so many

 

calories

 

in these.

 

Like let's take a

 

large

 

llama beans,

 

the big old white

 

beans we call

 

down here in

 

South

 

Mississippi.

 

And you add some

 

ham in with that.

 

Now these ain't

 

gonna last 10 or

 

15 years,

 

but they are

 

extremely

 

calorie dense.

 

Now, here's

 

the thing,

 

for the people

 

that are

 

listening

 

right now

 

and then just

 

scroll on,

 

if you are

 

interested in

 

some type of food

 

that you normally

 

typically do not

 

get on the

 

shelves,

 

let me know.

 

I will cook it

 

for you.

 

I will freeze dry

 

it for you.

 

And I will ship

 

it to you.

 

Now that's a

 

little tidbit.

 

That's an Easter

 

egg inside

 

of the show.

 

And if you

 

actually

 

heard that

 

and you want

 

something

 

specific,

 

I will do small

 

batch runs

 

of whatever item

 

you

 

request to do.

 

Now, you have to

 

give me a little

 

bit of lead time

 

to be able to

 

cook it or

 

whatnot.

 

Or if there's

 

something the way

 

you want it done,

 

you send me your

 

recipe and I'll

 

cook it that way

 

and we'll

 

work it out.

 

I am able to make

 

25 mils

 

per batch.

 

25 mils

 

per batch.

 

That's a large,

 

that's making a

 

large pod of

 

whatever.

 

Now I could do

 

this and send it

 

off to you.

 

And I'm

 

typically, I was

 

thinking,

 

not typically,

 

but I was

 

thinking about

 

doing this

 

in small batches

 

and just

 

offering like,

 

hey, this week I

 

have 25 batches

 

of white beans.

 

And first come,

 

first serve.

 

You want all 25?

 

I'll make work a

 

deal with you and

 

send those out.

 

Or this week,

 

hey, I did 25

 

batches of

 

red beans

 

or 50 batches of

 

red beans.

 

Send it out.

 

Hey, this week I

 

did a pot roast

 

and I did pot

 

roast potatoes,

 

carrots

 

and celery.

 

And I got 10

 

batches of that.

 

And that's what

 

I'm thinking

 

about doing

 

and just offering

 

stuff that you

 

really can't get

 

in the stores.

 

Every bit of it

 

is home

 

cooked meals,

 

prepared right at

 

my restaurant and

 

then

 

freeze dried.

 

And once it's

 

freeze

 

dried, it lasts.

 

Now, if it's got

 

a lot of high fat

 

content in it,

 

like if it is a

 

meat with a lot

 

of fat in it

 

or anything

 

like that,

 

you're gonna

 

wanna eat it six

 

months to a year,

 

something to that

 

effect or within

 

two years.

 

But anything

 

after that with

 

less fat in there

 

can go up to 10,

 

20, 30 years.

 

You look at some

 

of these freeze

 

dried meals on

 

the shelves

 

at like Walmart

 

or any of your

 

outdoor sports

 

warehouses

 

and stuff to that

 

effect, they last

 

up to 30 years

 

but they have all

 

the

 

preservatives in it.

 

The stuff I'm

 

offering is

 

straight,

 

fresh cooked

 

freeze dried

 

meals straight

 

from a

 

commercial kitchen

 

and thrown into

 

the freeze dryer

 

and shipped

 

straight to you.

 

That's what I'm

 

offering.

 

That's what I'm

 

gonna be doing

 

from here on out.

 

So, customize.

 

So, we'll see how

 

this works out.

 

I'll throw a

 

label on there,

 

primitive

 

camping rations

 

and I'll put your

 

food on there and

 

ship it

 

out to you.

 

So, yeah, anyway,

 

that was a

 

tangent.

 

So, instead of

 

packing two meals

 

or snacks,

 

I now plan for

 

calories.

 

You pack 120

 

calories per

 

ounce of weight

 

if possible.

 

Yeah, that's a

 

lot of calories.

 

So, if I'm 200

 

pounds, then I'm

 

looking at,

 

I don't know,

 

lots of calories.

 

I typically try

 

to pack between

 

five and 6,000

 

calories a day.

 

Now, do I eat all

 

that all

 

the time?

 

No.

 

If I'm very

 

hungry and I'm

 

very worn

 

down, yes.

 

So, if I know

 

that it's a trip

 

where I'll be

 

hiking a lot,

 

I'll add more

 

quick

 

little bites.

 

And, you know,

 

freeze

 

dried meals,

 

you could freeze

 

dry anything.

 

And that's why I

 

stepped out

 

and that's why I

 

bought the

 

freeze dryers

 

because you could

 

do almost

 

anything

 

and you can

 

almost preserve.

 

The only thing

 

you can't

 

preserve really

 

is peanut butter.

 

And I'm gonna

 

figure out a way.

 

I don't know how

 

they make the

 

peanut

 

butter powder,

 

but I'm gonna

 

figure out how to

 

do that.

 

And then that's

 

an option too,

 

is making peanut

 

butter powder.

 

So, here's a

 

couple of

 

little tips

 

about I guess

 

like four four

 

little pointers.

 

All right, let me

 

give you four

 

little pointers

 

about food.

 

Number one is

 

don't trust how

 

hungry you feel.

 

And we're going

 

to go back

 

through and I'm

 

just going to

 

read them

 

all out too.

 

Number two, fat

 

is your friend. I

 

know that goes

 

against

 

anything and

 

everything you've

 

ever heard

 

whenever you're

 

you're dieting

 

and stuff like

 

that. Fat is

 

your friend.

 

Number three,

 

rotate your

 

meals. Number

 

four, always

 

bring one

 

emergency meal

 

that you don't

 

plan to eat.

 

Bring something

 

else, one extra

 

meal just

 

in case. All

 

right, now let's

 

go back and

 

let's start

 

beginning why.

 

All right, so

 

number one, don't

 

trust how

 

hungry you feel.

 

Outdoors

 

adrenaline is

 

going to mask

 

your hunger.

 

So you might not

 

feel hungry until

 

it's too late.

 

So here is a

 

valuable asset

 

and I wish I

 

would have put

 

this in the book,

 

but I did not.

 

But eat by the

 

clock, not by

 

your stomach. Eat

 

by the clock.

 

If it's 12

 

o'clock, eat. If

 

as soon as you

 

wake up, eat.

 

If it is five

 

o'clock, eat. You

 

know, eat on a

 

schedule. When

 

you go camping,

 

eat on a

 

schedule. Number

 

two, fat is your

 

friend. People

 

think proteins.

 

People always

 

think about

 

proteins, but in

 

cold weather

 

and long tracks,

 

fat gives you

 

more calories per

 

ounce than

 

anything else.

 

Butter, oils,

 

nuts, they keep

 

you alive when

 

carbs

 

won't cut it.

 

Carbs are going

 

to burn off

 

faster. Now

 

here's a thing

 

that I

 

watched. People

 

get ready to go

 

on TV shows like

 

Naked and Afraid.

 

Alone. Those type

 

things would

 

drink olive oil

 

every day and

 

they would put on

 

the weight. Olive

 

oil will

 

actually put

 

weight on you.

 

I'm not saying

 

that's healthy,

 

but in

 

the event of

 

bring some olive

 

oil, you can have

 

a shot of olive

 

oil and it will

 

actually give

 

you a boost of

 

energy, believe

 

it or not. Number

 

three, rotate

 

your meals. If

 

you're doing a

 

long trip, don't

 

eat the same meal

 

every day.

 

And I have a

 

story for this. I

 

was deployed

 

in Alaska. We

 

were deployed to

 

a bombing range.

 

Sounds weird. We

 

went out and I

 

hope I can talk

 

about this. I

 

believe I can.

 

But we went out

 

to a bombing

 

range to collect

 

a unexploded

 

ordinance.

 

And I was the

 

medic and I was

 

with a bunch of

 

EOD guys.

 

And they paid us

 

X amount of

 

dollars per day

 

to be in

 

the field

 

plus our regular

 

pay. So we got to

 

per diem. And boy

 

was it big. It

 

was the first

 

time here I was I

 

was 20 something

 

years old and it

 

was the most

 

money I think

 

I've ever seen in

 

a paycheck. And I

 

couldn't believe

 

it. And I

 

was like,

 

man, they're

 

going to pay us X

 

amount of dollars

 

a day times

 

21. They said

 

prepare for 21 to

 

30 days. And

 

I was like,

 

golly, that's a

 

lot of money. I

 

could do this. I

 

can eat ramen

 

noodles,

 

green beans and

 

corn every day

 

for 30 days.

 

So I went down to

 

the to the

 

commissary

 

on base

 

and I bought 30

 

days worth the

 

ramen noodles

 

three times a

 

day. Green beans

 

and corn.

 

I don't eat ramen

 

noodles anymore.

 

I haven't eaten

 

ramen noodles

 

since that trip.

 

I eat ramen

 

noodles every day

 

for 21 days and I

 

was thanking God

 

that we got

 

done on the 21st

 

day. I was sick

 

of eating ramen

 

noodles and

 

green beans and

 

corn. I still eat

 

green beans and I

 

still eat

 

corn, but I was

 

sick of chicken

 

flavored ramen

 

noodles.

 

I don't think I

 

will ever eat a

 

chicken flavored

 

ramen

 

noodle again.

 

That was

 

horrible. So

 

rotate your

 

meals. Mix up the

 

flavors, mix up

 

the textures.

 

It keeps your

 

morale high and

 

it keeps

 

you from just,

 

I don't even

 

know. You know,

 

you see these

 

videos of these

 

babies

 

all the time

 

getting fed

 

whatever a

 

brussel sprout.

 

That's one

 

thing for me.

 

A brussel sprout.

 

Give me a brussel

 

sprout and

 

I'm like,

 

and I'm wanting

 

to vomit all over

 

the place. So

 

number four,

 

always bring one

 

emergency meal

 

and I suggest

 

that this meal be

 

something.

 

Get you an MRE.

 

Order you an MRE

 

online and use

 

that as your

 

emergency backup.

 

Because MREs

 

have, they're

 

dependent, they,

 

they're, each

 

one's different,

 

but most of them

 

are at least 2000

 

calories, some

 

of them up to

 

2500 calories. If

 

you eat

 

everything in

 

that pack, now

 

if you're very

 

hungry and you're

 

going through a

 

bunch of stuff,

 

you will eat

 

everything in

 

that pack. So

 

preparation isn't

 

just packing your

 

food. It's about

 

being ready for

 

what's coming.

 

Out when you're

 

camping, you

 

can't afford to

 

assume that

 

tomorrow is

 

going to be

 

easy. That you're

 

going to be able

 

to catch

 

that fish or

 

shoot a deer or

 

catch you some

 

squirrels, shoot

 

the squirrels or

 

you know whatever

 

if you're

 

hunting. So you

 

always, always

 

have to assume

 

tomorrow will,

 

you cannot assume

 

tomorrow

 

will be easy.

 

You have to think

 

ahead and that

 

principle runs

 

all through

 

history, even in

 

the Bible. It

 

runs all through

 

history.

 

Yeah, I mean

 

you look at the

 

man Joseph in the

 

Bible, he didn't

 

just wake up one

 

day and say

 

let's build bars.

 

He saw what was

 

coming, coming.

 

God gave him

 

wisdom to prepare

 

during the years

 

of plenty

 

for the famine

 

that was on the

 

way. He didn't

 

panic, he

 

planned.

 

There's another

 

one. A lot of

 

people cast doubt

 

on this and they

 

throw this out

 

there. Noah,

 

something, it's

 

the same

 

thing. God

 

said the storm

 

was coming and

 

Noah listened

 

and Noah built

 

everything. He

 

didn't argue. He

 

didn't wait for

 

the first

 

raindrop to start

 

building this

 

boat. He worked

 

while everything

 

else and

 

everybody else

 

laughed. The art,

 

the art didn't

 

just carry

 

animals,

 

it carried

 

obedience. Now if

 

you're, I'm not

 

trying to preach

 

a sermon here but

 

those stories

 

make me think

 

about the balance

 

between trust and

 

preparation.

 

In the woods,

 

we prepare. We

 

plan for cold

 

nights, bad

 

weather,

 

and long heights.

 

But in life

 

sometimes we

 

forget to

 

prepare

 

spiritually or

 

mentally

 

the same way.

 

It's easy to say

 

I'll handle it

 

when it comes

 

but that's not

 

how Joseph made

 

it through the

 

famine.

 

That's not

 

how Noah made it

 

through the

 

flood. God gave

 

both of them time and they

 

used that time

 

wisely. So

 

when I'm packing

 

food now, I think

 

about that

 

balance,

 

the wisdom

 

and the faith

 

that you've got

 

to be

 

prepared like

 

Joseph was but

 

trust like the

 

Israelites

 

collecting

 

manna.

 

They could go

 

around collecting

 

this manna off

 

the rocks and off

 

the ground and

 

stuff like that

 

and eat and eat.

 

Some days God

 

says, "Stort."

 

Some days

 

He said,

 

"Trust me for

 

today." And

 

that's the

 

hardest

 

part of our

 

faith. It's not

 

always one or the

 

other.

 

Sometimes it's

 

both. Sometimes

 

there's plenty,

 

sometimes

 

there's not.

 

So

 

if you look at

 

Matthew chapter 6

 

verse 11 and

 

this is

 

this is the model

 

prayer that Jesus

 

gave us to pray.

 

And in here in

 

verse 11 it says,

 

"Give us this day

 

our daily bread."

 

And I don't care

 

if you have been

 

to church all

 

your life or not

 

been to church

 

all your life,

 

there is a reason

 

that is in there.

 

Over the years

 

it's hit me a lot

 

different. And

 

when you're out

 

camping

 

or whatnot

 

and you're

 

sitting by the

 

fire after a long

 

day your

 

food means

 

more. You feel

 

it. You

 

appreciate it.

 

You taste

 

it. You know

 

what it's like to

 

really depend on

 

what is going in

 

your mouth,

 

going in your

 

stomach. When it

 

comes to that

 

verse and I'm not

 

cherry picking

 

the verses here,

 

you know, but

 

there's a reason

 

why that one's

 

there. Jesus

 

wasn't just

 

talking

 

about food,

 

he was talking

 

about our daily

 

dependence. "Give

 

us this

 

day our daily

 

bread."

 

He was reminding

 

us that God gives

 

us enough

 

for today. Not

 

all at once, not

 

for weeks ahead,

 

but for today.

 

And that's where

 

it ties back into

 

the woods.

 

You can prepare

 

your meals, plan

 

your calories,

 

but you can't

 

predict every

 

storm,

 

every delay,

 

every mishap,

 

every twisted

 

ankle,

 

every injury.

 

That's the same

 

thing in life.

 

Sometimes he puts

 

you in a

 

Joseph season.

 

He gives you time

 

to prepare. He

 

gives you time to

 

store it

 

up, to get

 

things right for

 

what's coming.

 

Other times he

 

puts you

 

like Elijah,

 

waiting by a

 

dried up creek or

 

brook, wondering

 

where your next

 

meal is coming

 

from, and then

 

suddenly the

 

ravens show up

 

and they

 

give you

 

your food.

 

It shows up in

 

ways you didn't

 

expect it. Then

 

there are the

 

manna days

 

where you

 

wake up and what

 

you need is

 

waiting for you,

 

but only for

 

today, just

 

enough for

 

that day.

 

You can't hoard

 

it, you can't

 

save it, you just

 

have to trust

 

it'll be there

 

again

 

tomorrow. Wow.

 

Each one of these

 

stories, you know

 

Joseph, Noah,

 

Elijah, the

 

manna, it's the

 

same truth from

 

different angles.

 

God provides.

 

Sometimes he

 

provides through

 

your preparation

 

and sometimes he

 

provides in spite

 

of your lack. So

 

the takeaway,

 

prepare

 

wisely. When

 

you're heading

 

out into the

 

great outdoors,

 

prepare wisely.

 

Take what you

 

need, but trust

 

completely. Pack

 

your meals like

 

Joseph would,

 

but live like

 

Israel did,

 

expecting

 

tomorrow's bread

 

will show

 

up again.

 

Now don't confuse

 

what I just said

 

with

 

disobedience.

 

Don't live like

 

them as far as

 

disobedience.

 

So that's where

 

we're going to

 

leave it

 

for today.

 

If this episode

 

starts something

 

in you or you got

 

to think it a

 

little deeper

 

about how

 

physical

 

preparation or

 

spiritual

 

dependence,

 

go ahead and you

 

know share it

 

with

 

somebody else.

 

If you enjoyed

 

what you hear or

 

whatnot, let me

 

know. Leave a

 

comment on the

 

on the whatever

 

site you're

 

listening

 

to it on or

 

if you're

 

watching it on

 

YouTube or

 

whatnot. I don't

 

have a very big

 

audience

 

on YouTube. I got

 

a bigger audience

 

on listening to

 

the actual

 

podcast.

 

So there I do

 

appreciate you

 

guys. But

 

remember what I

 

said in

 

the middle

 

of this podcast.

 

I will be doing

 

short runs of

 

the actual freeze

 

drive meals

 

specifically

 

for people

 

if you wish and

 

just get in touch

 

with me. And my

 

email address

 

will be listed

 

underneath this

 

and the show

 

notes. And if I

 

whenever I switch

 

over to the new

 

website

 

primitivecamping.com,

 

I will shift the

 

email

 

address as well.

 

So anyway until

 

next time,

 

remember in all

 

your ways

 

acknowledge him

 

and he will

 

direct your path.

 

I'll see you next

 

time. God

 

bless you.

 

Thanks for

 

sitting around

 

the fire with me

 

today. If this

 

episode gave you

 

something to

 

think about, if

 

it helped you

 

feel a

 

little bit more

 

prepared or it

 

even stirred your

 

faith a tiny bit,

 

go ahead and

 

share it with

 

someone else who

 

might need

 

it as well.

 

We don't go

 

camping to run

 

away from life.

 

We come out here

 

to slow down

 

and recharge. So

 

grab another law,

 

throw it

 

on the fire

 

and

 

remember this.

 

In all your ways

 

acknowledge him

 

and he will

 

direct your path

 

I'll see you next

 

time. God

 

bless you