All posts by Dr. Mike

Christmas 2021

March 22, 2024 Dr. Mike

In February 2024 this website crashed for no apparent reason. Despite using professionals at GoDaddy.com it was impossible to restore anything after October 2021 (over 100 posts). I do have many of those post in draft form (no final edit or photos) and I have decided to repost them in that manner. I apologize for typos and other errors. How do I feel about losing all of my original work? Life goes on.

Julie’s family is scattered all over the Midwest. We gather every Christmas, well except for last year. Our arrangement is simple, we go to Minnesota for Christmas Day one year, and on following year we drive there on the week after Christmas. This pattern has worked out well for us, as it has allowed us to celebrate Christmas Day in Naperville every other year giving us memories and traditions for both an extended family Christmas as well as a more Kuna centered holiday.

We are Christians, and for us Christmas symbolizes the birth of Christ and the inception of Christianity. However, there are many non-Christians who celebrate Christmas as a secular holiday. For them, December 25th holds importance for other reasons. I’m not about to weigh in on the level of that importance or to compare it to the religious importance of Christmas for Christians. Today I’ll write about the aspect of family, and holiday expectations.

I am fortunate that both my extended family and Julie’s are reasonably mature. It is unlikely that we will experience any of the outbursts or breakdowns that some families have during the holiday season. If I had to come up with generic descriptors of our extended family members terms like nice, kind, and conflict avoidant would come to mind. That is not to say that individuals don’t have quirks, we are humans after all.

Although we try to return to Minnesota several times a year to see Julie’s family we only gather in total twice a year. Specifically, Thanksgiving (in Naperville) and Christmas (in Minnesota). Those events span multiple days, and are imbibed with a variety of traditions ranging from watching football and The Christmas Story on Thanksgiving Day to playing a variety of games on Christmas. Each host family has customized their particular event with traditions whose repetition gives the get-togethers a sense of familiarity and comfort.

Naturally, the pandemic curtailed all large gatherings last year, and we had to forego our traditional Thanksgiving and Christmas socializing. Julie, the kids, and I worked hard to make those days memorable, but they were different. Also, my Minnesota sister-in-law and brother-in-law want to spend more time with their far-flung adult children. In addition, it has become difficult for Julie’s parents to travel as they are now in their 90s. These facts have ended our large Naperville Thanksgiving gathering, which leaves Christmas as the only holiday that draws all of her entire family together.

It was with both excitement and trepidation that I approached Christmas this year. Weather is always a concern when driving 400 miles northwest through Wisconsin in December. Bad weather during past travels have caused us to eat Christmas Eve dinner in a truck stop, and we have spent more than one night at a roadside motel due to ice storms.

We have had unseasonable warm weather, and so I felt confident that our drive to Minnesota would be uneventful. That is until my brother-in-law, Mike sent me a news article that 50 miles of Interstate 94 were shut down due to an ice storm pile-up on the day before Christmas Eve. Thankfully, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation was able clear the road the morning of our departure.

We arrived on Christmas Eve in time for a traditional Swedish dinner, which always includes a variety of desserts. After a lot of socializing it was time to retreat back to our hotel. Christmas Day brought gift opening, games, movie watching, and conversation. Our gathering allowed us to catch up on the happenings of various family members. This year my brother-in-law and sister-in-law announced that they will be retiring soon, and my nephew said that he would return to the states after a 4-year work stint in England.

I have always been proud of our younger generation, and it is delightful to see that they are now becomming quality adults. If you have read my past post you know that I think my kids are awesome. The same can be said of my nephew and nieces. We now have an additional bonus as two of my nieces are married and their spouses are equally considerate. It was delightful that both of them made an effort to connect with Julie and me.

Like many major events, our two-day Christmas celebration was quickly over, and yesterday we made the 6 hours drive back to Naperville with new memories to add to our collection of Minnesota recollections.

I feel fortunate to have not had to experience drama holidays. However, I know that for some families Christmas get-togethers are a time of stress, crisis, and trauma. Yet, many of those same individuals hold on to the idea that Christmas should be like a Norman Rockwell illustration. This is while they approach the holiday with dread as they anticipate gift debt, or fights, or drunken behavior. Very high expectations combined with traumatic outcomes can result in significant holiday anxiety and depression. It is for those individuals that I make the following suggestions.

Black Friday is named Black Friday as this is the date when many retailers’ books go from red to black. Because of this there is a tremendous push for consumers to buy. A variety of tactics are used ranging from changing social norms to guilt creation to get holiday shoppers to spend well beyond their means in an effort to have the perfect Christmas. In addition, advertisers manipulate consumers to believe that Christmas is all about getting and giving gifts. My best advice to all is to reduce holiday gift-giving. It is nice to get a present or two, but excessive presents can turn a special momento into something meaningless. In addition, who wants to spend months post-Christmas paying off gift debt? You don’t have to be a pawn to consumerism. Tell others of your change in plans before Christmas so there are not surprises, limit what you spend to a set amount per person, and find items that fit that amount. Treat gift giving like any other expense, budget it.

When I was actively working as a psychiatrist it was common for me to treat patients who would report Christmas disasters. In some instances adult children would try to please their over-critical parents. In other cases, relatives would get into heated arguments or even fistfights over the most ridiculous tings. In still others, spoiled children would sulk, isolate, or have tantrums. My patients would put forth efforts to have the perfect Christmas only to have the day crash and burn year after year. To those folks, I would suggest that they change their game plan. In some toxic cases, this meant a need to establish a completely different tradition. In fact, I have suggested that some families go on vacation at Christmas time to avoid a family get together.

In other cases, corrections can be made. If Uncle Billy always gets drunk and abusive consider having an alcohol-free holiday. If mom or dad are supercritical, consider alternatives to a traditional full Christmas Day. Perhaps, an early brunch can get them in-and-out of the house so you can then spend the rest of the day in peace. What I’m suggesting is that you think outside of the box. If this was some other event that didn’t involve Christmas would you modify it or eliminate it? If that is the case then apply those changes to Christmas. Of course, there will be ruffled feathers, but in the end, you will turn a miserable event into a more pleasant one.

Christmas can be a time for family members to act out and exert their negative power on other family members. Do you have a child who always wants to get into a fight on Christmas, or a relative who refuses to come if some other relative is invited? Those are sad situations. However, they should be sad for the acting-out individuals, not everyone else. Celebrate with those who want to celebrate. Let the troublemakers stew in their own torment, but don’t let that pain bleed onto your Christmas.

It is also important to set expectations with both yourself and those around you. I like Christmas celebrations, but I don’t feel that they are life changing events. If the roast is burnt, or I get the wrong sized shirt… well there is always next year. The great thing about a repeating holiday is that it repeats. Also, I make it clear to those around me that the holiday can be stressful, and so we need to be cooperative and considerat towards each other. I know that this later point may not be possible for some families, but I also know that some families expect their Christmas to be a disaster, and that expectation contributes to its eventual outcome.

Conversely, it can be very difficult if you are alone during the holidays; so much of the advertising that you see involves joyful families. These presentations can lead solo celebrants to a sense of failure, emtyness and sadness. There are many options that can be employed to alter this trajectory. However, the bottom line centers on creating your own tradition. For some, this may mean cooking a special dinner and watching some holiday movies. For others, it could be volunteering to help with a meal for the homeless. For others, it could be establishing a Christmas tradition that includes friends in similar situations. That could be anything from a game night, to a pot-luck or pizza party, to a full-on Christmas celebration including a special meal and Christmas carols. Creating a custom tradition that fits your needs can turn a downer day into a pleasant one.

In all situations, it is important to adopt reasonable expectations. If you use advertisements and Christmas movies as your standards you will always be disappointed, as these are artificial constructs that are designed to manipulate either your pursestrings or your heartstrings (or likely both). Instead, accept the day as it comes and it is likely that you will find aspects worth remembering. Don’t be ruled by merchant manipulations, high personal expectations, or acting out relatives.

Peace

Mike

Uncategorized

Vaccinations

March 22, 2024 Dr. Mike

It is 6 AM, January 1st, 2022. I sit in my comfy leather chair, Macbook on my lap. There is darkness outside the mullioned window that is direct to my right. In me, I feel darkness too. That darkness is from two years of the COVID pandemic and the consequences of its most recent Omicron explosion. I also have to admit that I have anger, but an anger that is clouded by sadness and pity.

It appeared that we were turning a corner. People were meeting again; offices were opening up, some mask restrictions were being lifted. However, as I write this, someone who I have known for over 50 years is on a ventilator; several close relatives are sick with COVID, everyone that I have talked to knows someone who has recently been exposed. I was supposed to visit my daughter Anne today. However, multiple people in her apartment building are sick with COVID, and the county where she lives is raging with it. My best friend, Tom, is in a crisis and needs my help. Tom has helped me countless times, but I can’t help him in his hour of need. Why? Because Tom, his wife, and his son all have COVID. Most, if not all of the people I know, have been vaccinated. They have breakthrough infections. Many of them will recovery because of their immunizations. However, they are still sick, and they are still contagious. I have been immunized and boosted, but I am a person approaching 70, and that one fact places me at a higher risk of having significant consequences. It is imperative that I protect myself in all reasonable ways.

It sounds patriotic for some to talk about personal freedom and personal rights, but during a worldwide emergency, such talk is selfish bullshit. I know that this statement may offend some, but it is the truth. We don’t live in isolated remote settings where we are self-sufficient pioneers. I just found out that two people close to me are now sick with COVID because someone close to them refused to follow any COVID guidelines, citing personal rights. Even those who live far away from their neighbors still have contact with them when they go to the store, gas station, church, or 100 other places.

Many people in highly populated urban settings seem to comply with mask guidelines, but this appears to be the opposite in more rural places. A number of months ago, my family entered a restaurant in a small town in Indiana. Naturally, we were wearing masks. We were met with glares not only from the patrons but also the staff. The place allowed self-seating, and so we sat down. After a long wait, a maskless employee came by to tell us that it would take at least 45 minutes or longer before we could be waited on. I can’t say what her reasons were, but my gut feeling was that she wanted us out of her restaurant. We left.

I am dumbfounded why people are putting their lives at risk by not getting vaccinated. Vaccinations provided almost 100% protection from the original COVID virus. That level of protection is less as new variants appear, but it is still instrumental in preventing the worst consequences of an infection.

Many reasons are given, but it amazes me that large groups of individuals are so willing to discount facts for fantasy. However, it sickens me that a few influential individuals have promoted these lies with a total disregard to their followers. Why is this?

The rise of the pseudo-expert.

I am a science guy. I spent years doing basic research in microbiology, immunology, and cancer. To gain a better understanding of disease, I became a medical doctor, and to gain a better understanding of behavior, I became a psychiatrist. I have three board certifications, and I have received national honors for my medical work. I went to one of the best medical schools in the country. I have the ability to read, interpret, and critique medical literature, and I understand the basics of immunology, vaccination, and the treatment of disease. I can analyze and evaluate expert opinion concerning COVID, but I would never consider myself an expert in COVID. The topic is too vast. Yet, some guy on a news channel with absolutely no science background or some pseudo-scientist on YouTube can make bold, irresponsible, and dangerous comments about COVID and its treatment. Why do people flock to their opinions? People, you are being played. The more you watch, the more they make. The bigger the crisis, the more you watch. Anyone on YouTube can claim they are an expert by bedazzling their audience with pseudo-jargon or the use of crappy/irrelevant studies. The majority of news on cable channels isn’t news at all; it is editorial opinion made to look like news. Hosts live and die by ratings. No consumer is willing to watch hours of boring information, so there is always a crisis created or an enemy group to vilify. Showbiz is not reality. That lovely HSN lady who is trying to sell you overpriced makeup is not really your friend, and commenters on cable channels are likely looking out for their best interest. Both parties need to make a living, and more viewers mean more bucks.

Government missteps

There have been and continue to be governmental missteps. I’m not here to stir a political caldron, but these are the facts. Government officials are not trained as scientists or medical professionals; they are political; they are motivated by power and politics. Our former president was an expert in making money, and economics seemed to be his main focus when he was president. It was clear that he understood the magnitude of the impending COVID crisis in early 2019 (that is an absolute fact), but he downplayed it as he knew it would potentially damage the economy. That was a foolish thing to do. Likewise, our current president doesn’t seem to have the ability to move the country out of this misconception and unify us. Lesser politicians seem more interested in maintaining their voter base despite clear evidence that their actions are hurting their constituents. Politicians are supposed to protect the people, and the government is supposed to provide a structure that supports the overall well-being of society. The government is failing.

Conspiracy theories

I don’t even know where to start here. Indeed, many deals happen behind closed doors, and people in power use that power and influence to gain an unfair advantage over those who do not possess such options. It is true that the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer in almost any situation. However, this does not mean that you can take some random fact and create an entire storyline based on that fact. Just for the record, Hillary Clinton is not eating babies, and Donald Trump is not the secret head of QAnon. It may be fun to entertain stories about Masons, the Vatican, and alien implants, but it is dangerous business when people listen to completely unsubstantiated theories and then use those stories to make ill-informed decisions about their and others’ welfare.

The God/Science conflict

I’m am not sure how this happened, but there seems to be a general distrust of science among some conservative religious groups. God gave us our minds, and it would appear that by doing so, he wanted us to use them. I’m not saying that science is all good, but it is not all bad. If you use a toilet, smartphone, or even a toaster, you have embraced science. However, note that science and scientific knowledge is constantly evolving. By its very nature, it changes as new data emerge and old data is either modified or disproven. However, that process is a good, not a bad thing. Millions of people of all races, religions, and ethnic backgrounds are working to understand this coronavirus and how to treat it. As they learn, more rules and recommendations change or get modified. That is the way science works, and it is not a reason to discount a recommendation. The general treatment recommendations for COVID 19 have remained the same, but they have been modified to account for new information. In addition, governments have to balance risks vs. benefits not only on an individual’s level but also on a societal level. These two areas can sometimes be conflicting. We don’t live in a perfect world, but that doesn’t mean that you should throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Real science vs. fake science

Currently, we have over a dozen different COVID vaccines available worldwide. They were designed using different methodologies, but they work by the exact same method. They introduce a unique part of the virus that is non-infectious to the individual whose body recognizes the foreign intruders and mounts an attack. It is that “attack” that causes some people to feel side effects when they get the COVID shot. Our bodies are incredible creations that have mechanisms to fight disease. Once we are exposed to a pathogen, we can quickly recognize it in the future, and we are much more capable of mounting a specific attack against it. That attack can eliminate the infecting agent before it has time to do significant damage.

Sometimes that “memory” is very long-lasting; at other times, it is more short-lived and requires a booster shot. For instance, a polio vaccine offers life-long immunity, while a vaccine for tetanus needs to be boosted every ten years. Since COVID is so new, we don’t have a complete understanding of how long a vaccine will last. However, many informed physicians believe that an initial immunization combined with a booster shot will offer long immunity. However, this can change as new variants emerge.

There are several different ways to produce vaccines. Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines have been in development for the last 20 years, but the COVID vaccines are the first to use this technology in a broad population. However, there are a number of vaccines using mRNA technology designed to treat other medical issues that are currently in the pipeline. The advantage of an mRNA vaccine is that it can be quickly developed, something essential when treating a pandemic. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines use mRNA technology, while the Johnson and Johnson vaccine uses a different technology called viral vector. In both cases, your own body is the star as it creates the defense against the virus; the vaccine helps your body by giving it the components needed to mount the defense.

We have a number of treatments that have been proven to help some people who are already infected with the virus. Some of these antiviral treatments require IV infusions, and some can be taken in pill form. We have had antibiotic treatments for bacterial infections for over a hundred years. However, viruses are not bacteria, and antiviral agents have only been around for several decades. In addition, many antiviral agents are specific to a given virus, making their development more difficult. It is fantastic that we have a few antiviral agents that we can now use for COVID so soon after it emerged.

In addition, there are other medications, like steroids, that can help some who have COVID. Lastly, there is supportive care like ventilators for those in desperate need. None of these treatments are 100% effective. The best option is to not contract COVID; the next best is to get it when you are immunized; the most dangerous is to be unimmunized when you contract it.

It is clear that we have some treatment options that help, so why is it that individuals refuse these options or choose treatments that not only don’t work but may cause additional harm? This is a mystery to me, but it likely centers on our need to be our own expert and to be in charge (another individual rights issue). Such behaviors are supported by pseudo-experts who site crappy or unrelated studies or quote quack doctors. Why do these people do this? In my opinion, the reasons probably center around power, influence, manipulation, or direct/indirect profit-making. Shame on them!

Doctor’s have been threatened by patients and their families when they refuse to treat someone with a useless and potentially dangerous pseudo-treatment. How horrible is that? I am glad that I am no longer on the front lines as I’m not sure that I could maintain a professional composure if someone was threatening to kill me if I refused to poison their loved one!

Individual vs. societal rights

Why have we become so black and white in our thinking? We live in a society, and because of this, we have to act accordingly. I can’t raise cattle on my quarter-acre suburban lot, and there is a reason for that. Likewise, I can’t shoot a gun in my backyard. These rules change with the setting. I can raise cattle on a farm, and I can shoot a gun in a gun range. COVID is causing so much pain and injury because of our social connections and not because of our individual rights. Therefore, we have to approach the problem as a societal issue, not as an individual rights one.

Let me give you an example. Let’s say a person wants to drink an excessive amount of alcohol every day. If they were going to stay in their home while they did this, it would be their individual right. What if they had a family? Now their actions impact their spouse and children. Some may argue that they still have a right to do the above; others would disagree. Let’s extend this a bit further, do they have a right to be drunk and drive? Most would say no as their actions could have a negative consequence on innocent others.

How about COVID and vaccinations? If a person had little to no contact with others, most would agree that they have a right not to be vaccinated. They are making a personal decision. However, that simply is not the case when we are dealing with individuals who are interacting with others. To understand that, you have to look at the impact of the unvaccinated.

Unvaccinated people are at a higher risk of contracting COVID and are at more of a chance of getting potentially deadly or long-term consequences. Their selfish actions clog hospitals and cost untold amounts to society on many levels. They place innocent compromised individuals at risk of contracting COVID just like a drunk driver place innocent bystanders at risk by their actions. Burdened health facilities’ abilities to treat other medical problems are compromised too. Dad’s heart attack may not get the treatment that it deserves due to exhausted staff, depletion of supplies, or lack of ICU beds.

Unvaccinated people allow for more dangerous mutations to occur. When someone has COVID, they become a virus factory. It is not uncommon for someone with active COVID to shed 100 billion virus particles. Every time a virus is replicated, there is a chance that a mutation could occur. Some of these mutations result in an inactive virus, but others may lead to a more active mutation. The more people who are not immunized, the greater the number who will become sick. The more people who are infected, the greater the chance of creating a more dangerous variant. By not getting vaccinated, the individual not only puts themself at greater risk, but they also put the entire world at risk.

Delta and Omnicron originated in people infected with COVID. If those individuals never got sick with COVID, those variants would have never existed. That is a fact. Do individual personal rights allow someone to do this when it could be preventable? How many people have died due to Delta and Omnicron? How many people have had long-term health consequences? How many people lost days of work, missed family events, or couldn’t be there for a loved one in need?

Risks vs. benefits

Everything in life has risks. Every time you leave your house, plug in an appliance, walk on a sidewalk, or take a bath, you are taking a risk. However, these are reasonable risks, and the benefits of your actions outweigh the potential danger that they hold. Sometimes we have to take greater risks. We may need to drive between point A and point B during a snowstorm, or we may have to accept a toxic treatment to fight off aggressive cancer. Every day we balance risk vs. benefit. Doctors do this with every decision they make. Nothing is 100% safe; taking aspirin has potential risks. However, if risks outweigh benefits, then a treatment should not be done. Current acceptable treatments for COVID, including vaccinations, do have risks. However, those risks are tiny compared to the benefits that they provide to both the individual and the society that they are part of. Quack treatments, like Ivermectin, have risks that exceed their usefulness and should not be used.

The reality

So who is getting the vaccine, and who isn’t? If you are educated, have financial stability, have insider knowledge, or have a background in science, you are more likely to get immunized. If you are poor, have lower education, have fewer resources, are rural, and have less social support (unmarried), you are less likely to get vaccinated. A good portion of unvaccinated individuals site fear of the vaccine, conspiracy theories, or individual rights as their reason.

Those who have access to the best information and have the best financial resources are the ones standing in line to get vaccinated. They include politicians like Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell, who have not only been vaccinated but also got the booster shot. These folks are privy to the very best information and have the resources to obtain the very best care. Think about it.

In the end.

The sad reality is that those who most need to read this post won’t. Further, those who do read it and who are into conspiracy theories or pseudo-experts will likely not waiver in their opinion. So why am I writing this? If even one person changes their mind and lets logic rule, it will have been worth my New Year’s Day morning. Here’s hoping.

Peace

Mike

Uncategorized

Late Christmas Dinner

March 22, 2024 Dr. Mike

We just had our special Christmas dinner, and it was only a week after Christmas. We visited Julie’s relatives on Christmas day and had our official Christmas dinner in Minnesota. However, I like the idea of having a special meal that celebrates our immediate family’s Christmas.

I did some grocery shopping early and bought a beef tenderloin at Costco the week before Christmas. I had rebate money on my Costco credit card and decided to blow it on the family. However, spending $130 on a single chunk of meat took my breath away. I tucked it safely into the freezer as soon as I got home. The thought of it spoiling before our celebration was a strong motivator. A few days before our Christmas meal I went shopping with my daughter, Kathryn, to buy all sides. Brussel sprouts, carrots, potatoes, rolls, kale salad, and a chocolate pie. We were all set!

Since she was COVID evacuated from the Peace Corps, Kathryn has been living with us, and my two youngest are home on winter break. My kids are all adults now, so we had to coordinate the meal based on their work and social schedules. The Sunday after New Year was open and so that day became the day of our pretend Christmas meal.

When Julie returned to the paid workforce, many of our meals went from homemade dinners to frozen pizza. She was adjusting to adding a new and time-consuming job to her schedule, and she didn’t have the energy to continue her home duties as she did before. I started taking over many of her former jobs, from cleaning the house to making family dinners (she continues to cook several days of the week).

I always cook the Sunday meal, and I have involved my kids in meal preparation for many years. My goal was to teach them the fundamentals of cooking so they would never have to rely on restaurants, fast food, or frozen dinners. Cooking becomes easier with practice, and learning one skill or technique makes it simple to learn the next.

If you want to cook regularly, you must develop accessory skills. I felt that teaching these skills to my kids was every bit as important as teaching them how to saute vegetables or how to bake a good cornbread. So what are accessory skills? Let me tell you…

Plan it: Meal planning is straightforward if you do it all the time. However, it can be a nightmare if you are an occasional cook. I’m comfortable making just about anything. However, my kids like simple dishes, and so that is what I focus on. When I was a divorced medical resident I had no money, and I needed to adopt economical meals as part of my regular eating regimen. I embraced casseroles and one-pot meals. I stretched meat by making it a side-attraction rather than the main event. I prepared breakfast foods for dinner. I never felt deprived, and I was always well fed. I have tried to pass on the same way of thinking to my kids. At some point, they will be living independently, and they will probably be on a budget. I don’t want them eating fast food every day.

Simplify it: Most of us don’t want to eat the same meal every day, but do we need a thousand choices? Too many options can lead to decision fatigue. At our house, we tend to eat a few dozen meals repeatedly. Yes, we add other recipes on occasion, but those are the exceptions rather than the rule.

Purchase it: You have to have the ingredients to prepare your food, and in my humble opinion, you should always have essential ingredients on hand—items like flour, seasonings, canned tomatoes, eggs, pasta, and the like. Part of my effort with my kids has been to teach them this rule and how to shop and where to shop. I usually take one or two of them with me when I buy groceries, and we compare prices, make choices, and stockpile often used ingredients. In addition, the person who shops with me is privileged to pick out some special treats, which serve as a small incentive to encourage their participation.

Dump it: Before starting any meal, I ensure that the dishwasher is emptied. Honestly, I hate emptying the dishwasher, and I’ll either assign it to one of my kids or empty it with their help. However, having an empty dishwasher when you start cooking makes cleanup exponentially easier.

Use it: My kids know how to cook using simple tools, like a good knife. However, I also have taught them the benefits of using time-saving kitchen appliances. We Kunas are fans of the Instantpot, slow cooker, and food processor. Oh, and Kathryn bought me a new waffle iron for Christmas to replace my worn 40-year-old one. I love waffles for dinner.

Clean it: This is one of the most essential skills to teach fledgling cooks. If you use every pot and bowl in the kitchen and then leave the mess to be cleaned after dinner, you will hate the idea of cooking. We have a rule in our kitchen called wash as you go. For example, if you use a measuring cup, wash it immediately for its subsequent use. That way, you only use one measuring cup. The same rule goes for any other item used in cooking. When the meal is done, all of the preparation gadgets are washed and put away. Beyond necessary things, the kitchen is clean. This makes for a pleasant eating experience.

Finish it: When we are done with our meal, everyone helps clean. We all clear the table. If I’m the chief cook of the day, I take the dishes (that are now on the counter) and place them in the dishwasher. One kid will wash down the table, and I’ll clean the counters and stovetop if they are not already done. Other kids will put away the leftovers. In less than 5 minutes, the kitchen is clean, and no one worked very hard in the process.

My kids have become skilled cooks. However, we have all gained a lot more than food knowledge. Cooking together requires teamwork and compromise. It encourages leadership skills as well as the ability to follow.

The most significant benefit to our cooking time is social. We enjoy preparing a meal as we joke around and shuffle from one counter to another. We work as a team, and we all benefit from the fruits of our labor. That cooperative effort extends to the meal itself. No electronic devices are allowed during dinner, and we go around the table, so every family member gets a chance to check in and tell us about their day.

Cooking dinner with my kids has become a high point of my day. Let’s face it, daily events are often more significant than special ones, and I suspect that my kids will remember cooking meals with me more than some random event.

Life is primarily routine happenings and encounters. Yet, we tend to focus on trivial things, like a two-week vacation. Yes, those things are important, but why not celebrate what we have to do every day? That way, we have pleasure 365 days out of the year.

Peace

Mike

Uncategorized

Winter Van Life

March 22, 2024 Dr. Mike

Note: this post was written on the listed days in a diary-type format.

Tuesday, January 11, 2022

Problem and Preparation

In December 2021, I learned that my adult daughter, Anne, was scheduled to have carpal tunnel surgery in January. Carpal tunnel syndrome happens when the hand’s median nerve is irritated. This is caused by repetitive trauma, and it is common in individuals who heavily use power tools, folks who are constantly flexing their wrists (like house painters), and people who use a computer in their job. Compressing the nerve can create all sorts of strange symptoms, from hand numbness, to pins and needle sensations, to muscle weakness. We use our hands thousands of times a day, so you can imagine how disabling carpal tunnel syndrome can be. Luckily, carpal tunnel surgery is straightforward and involves opening up the carpal tunnel to relieve the pressure on the median nerve. However, surgery requires recovery time, and during that period, it is difficult to use your hands for simple tasks.

Anne’s partner, Chris, took some time off, but he is now back to work. I offered to come down for a few days and help her out with jobs like laundry and cooking. I plan to be as helpful as possible while avoiding being intrusive. Along those lines, I have tried to keep my communications open with Anne as we pondered what tasks she would like me to do.

I know that it can be difficult to have a house guest 24/7, so I’m planning on sleeping in Violet the campervan. However, there is a problem, it is January in Illinois, and as I write this, it is a balmy 4F (-16C) outside. So sleeping in Violet will be a challenge.

If you asked my kids for one of my dadisms, it is likely that one of them would recite; there are no emergencies for those who are prepared. I plan on adapting this philosophy to the task at hand.

I have winter camped in Violet in the past, but every situation has been unique. I have successfully camped in Montanna during freezing nighttime temperatures by wrapping myself up like a burrito in a sleeping bag and then covering the bag with my quilt. I had used a portable electric heater when camping in Wisconsin when the temperature was in the 20s (-6C). I have a built-in Webasto heater that Tom and I installed in Violet last summer. I recently tested it, and I could sleep through an 18F (-8C) Chicago night.

I don’t like to be bound in a bag when sleeping, and I won’t have access to shore power as I’ll be stealth camping in Anne’s parking lot. The Webasto uses gasoline from my gas tank, but it also needs 12-volt power from my house batteries to operate its blower and electronics. This latter fact could be a problem as I normally recharge my house battery using solar panels, and daylight is in short supply during Midwestern winters. In addition, lithium batteries can be damaged if you attempt to charge them in freezing temperatures.

It seems like the only reasonable solution will be to combine several techniques to stay warm during this adventure.

Last summer, Grace and I made a heated sleeve to warm my house battery so it could be charged when the temperatures were below freezing; this may be the time to try out our gadget. However, I’ll still need to be conservative in my power usage. I need electricity for my 12-volt fridge, house lights, and electronic devices (like my iPhone and AirPods). I will use the Webasto judiciously, as constant use will drain my house batteries. What other heat source do I have?…Hmm, I’m a little heat generator.

I’m a side sleeper, and I constantly shift my blankets to regulate my temperature. Because of this, I’m not a fan of encasing myself in a zippered sleeping bag. Instead, I’ll use my 30-year-old flannel-lined sleeping bag opened up as a bottom insulating layer and my Walmart quilt as my top covering. This is my usual camping setup, but it will be inadequate for freezing temperatures. Wool blankets are warm and durable and would be the perfect additional layer. However, a new quality wool blanket is expensive. I went on eBay and bought a used (and dry cleaned) wool blanket in anticipation of this trip. I’ll also try out a small 12-volt electric car blanket. The gadget uses less than 40 watts of electricity per hour, so it should be reasonable to run it off an accessory battery pack. The plan is to heat my bed before I climb into it and run the blanket as needed. Lastly, if I’m in a pinch, I have a camping throw-style blanket that can be used as an additional layer. I think that should be more than enough.

I want to bring some water to make hot tea or coffee in Violet, but I’m concerned that the water will freeze. So I’m going to try to keep some water bottles in an iceless Yeti cooler that I own. I’m hoping that the insulation of the cooler will have a reverse effect by keeping some of the outside cold away from the water.

I always carry a few emergency food supplies in Violet, things like tea bags and a ration bar. However, I’ll stock up on a few more items before heading out to Champaign/Urbana. I’m not sure what I’ll buy, but it will likely be snack-type items like protein bars and crackers. I’ll be eating my meals with my daughter’s family, but it feels more secure to have a small stash of camper food at the ready for any snacking emergency.

Even heating water for tea will be a problem at these temperatures. I have an electric induction cooktop that I use in the summer, but it uses 1800 watts of electricity which will be difficult to replace with my solar panels in winter. I have a backup butane stove, but butane doesn’t flow well below 32F. I think that I can keep a canister of butane in the Yeti and take it out when I want to use it. As long as I can keep it above freezing, I should be able to use my table-top butane burner for heating beverages.

I have already packed a change of clothes, and I always have a travel Dopp kit at the ready. In addition, I’ll take a small shovel and a battery jumper pack for winter emergencies. Naturally, a first aid kit is part of Violet’s basic provisions.

At the moment, my batteries are fully charged, and they are staying warm in my house. I’ll need to bring them out to Violet and connect them back into her electrical system tomorrow morning. I’ll go to the grocer today to pick up my snack items. I have already charged my iPad, Kindle, and headlamp, so they are ready to go. I think I’m about as prepared as I can be for this adventure. I’m writing this on Tuesday morning; I’ll be leaving for my daughter’s Wednesday morning. Onward ho!

Wednesday, January 12, 2022-Travel Day

Today didn’t start very well. Connecting my house batteries to Violet took much longer than I had anticipated and involved a lot of troubleshooting. This was the start of my sadness, as I also dealt with triple-header trauma. Even my sister admitted that I was experiencing a real sh_t show of a day.

My best friend, Tom, had to move his family into his uncompleted townhouse. It doesn’t have a working kitchen or shower. Tom has worked like a dog to finish this project, and I felt terrible for him. Next, my daughter, Grace, studied for the GRE the entire winter break. Due to COVID, the test is now given at home via computer. It was decided that she would take the test at my wife’s office, but she ran into a major Wi-Fi glitch there and missed the exam. She was demoralized. Lastly, a friend I have known for the last 50 years suddenly passed away due to COVID. She was a kind, sweet, and smart lady who will be missed. Yep, that was the start of my day.

I loaded Violet with my necessary supplies, including food and bottled water. I placed my 12-volt electric car blanket under my top blankets. I neatly folded the wool blanket and placed it on my Walmart quilt. I packed snow boots, and I even took along my pair of Yak Tracks ice cleats. I felt that I was ready for anything.

It is only a two and one-half hour ride to my daughter’s, but I found myself getting sleepy towards the end of my journey. I didn’t want to show up to Anne’s groggy, and I felt that a 15-minute nap would enliven me. I stopped at the Casey gas station by her house and filled my tank. I found a quiet parking space on the side of the store, pulled in, and climbed into the back for a little snooze. I thought I would kill two birds with one stone and turned on the Webasto, which promptly gave me an error code. Ten minutes later, I fixed the Webasto, but I had robbed myself of two-thirds of sleep time in the process. I drove the 3 minutes to Anne’s apartment.

Anne’s partner, Chris, had picked up their kids from school and arrived shortly after I did. It was wonderful to see everyone, and even their dog, Hunter, seemed excited that I was visiting. We spent the evening catching up. I did a few small jobs for Anne, promising to do more the next day. The evening ended by watching Incanto, a kid-friendly movie. At 8 PM, I left the apartment for Violet with the promise that I would return at 7 AM for coffee and to drive the kids to school.

It was in the low 30’s when I entered Violet. I started the Webasto with the plan to run it for about three hours, allowing me to ramble around Violet’s cabin. The Webasto can get the cabin temperatures in the 60’s, but it is slow as it blows warm air instead of hot air. With that said, the cabin was tolerable after about 30 minutes. I put a privacy cover in Violet’s side window and blocked off the driver’s compartment with insulated drapes. It was now time to change into my sleepwear. I decided to use my normal PJ setup (tee-shirt and lounge pants) as I wanted to see how my blankets worked without the assistance of thermals. I powered up the 12-volt blanket for 30 minutes to heat my bed. Soon I was under the covers talking on the phone, watching YouTube videos, and contemplating the meaning of life. By 11 PM, I was ready to sleep, and I turned off the Webasto to conserve power. I had to ensure that I had enough electricity for two evenings and nights. My blanket combination was toasty, and it was clear that the outer wool blanket was making a substantial difference.

The temperature dropped to 28F (-2C) during the night, and there were a few times that I woke up because of the cold. I have been told that I’m a warm resource in bed, but I’m pretty temperature-sensitive, and a little chill wakes me. However, I was just mildly cold, not freezing. I remedied the situation by running the electric blankets in 45-minute intervals during the night. The total time that I ran the blanket was around 3 hours, including the 30-minute initial blanket warmup. By morning, I was 90% satisfied with how well my blanket setup worked, and I was certain that adding the car throw for the next night would bring me the result that I was aiming for. I patted myself on my back. My planning had served me well.

Thursday, January 13, 2022

I planned to wake at 6 AM, but I set another alarm at 5:30 AM. I would start the Webasto at 5:30 so the cabin would be tolerable when I had to get dressed at six. At 5:30, my alarm chimed. I started the Webasto and looked down at my phone. I was surprised to see a text message from Anne. “Hey, I just wanted to touch base-Diana threw up last night and has been wheezing/coughing this morning. I need to get her tested for COVID to be safe-I would say wait till I try to do this just so I can make sure she’s not sick-i don’t want you to get sick either.”

Well, that was something that I didn’t plan for. My van isn’t very big. I have spent extended amounts of time in it, but not many hours in the cold with no place to go. I have rudimentary facilities in Violet, but I prefer to use them only in the most urgent situations. Also, I was unfamiliar with Anne’s town, and with COVID exploding everywhere, I didn’t want to spend time warming up in a public place.

Anne initially planned on getting Diana COVID tested at her school, but that wasn’t possible. She then booked a rapid test for 9:30 AM, but it turned out that it was for Friday at 9:30, not Thursday. Finally, she left with her family, and they drove to a local hospital where both Diana and Chris got tested. Unfortunately, Chris was also feeling off.

I waited in Violet running the Webasto as I mentally calculated the watts going out vs. the limited power coming in from my solar panels. Yes, I could heat the van for many hours, but if I ran the Webasto all day, I would likely run out of battery power by the evening when I needed it the most. I had done so much problem solving and preparation. However, I didn’t prepare for my granddaughter to get sick, causing me to stay for an extended time in Violet at freezing outside temperatures. Finally, Anne texted to tell me that they would return by 10:30 AM, which would be in a few hours.

As in any crisis, I adopted my emergency strategy to do nothing initially. Instead, I paused, took a deep breath, calmed myself down, and looked around me. I had done many things to deal with parts of this situation. Last week, I made a patch cord to use an auxiliary battery, just in case I ran out of power. That would give me more Webasto time. I again wondered if I should risk going to a public place like a coffee shop or the library to keep warm. Still, I deemed sitting hours in such an environment dangerous due to the infectious Omicron variant.

I needed some caffeine, and hot tea sounded perfect. I checked my Yeti cooler and found that my idea to keep my water unfrozen worked, but what about the butane canister that I also insulated? I took out my butane stove and placed it on my induction cooktop. I slid in a hairspray size can of butane and clicked the igniter. A flame appeared! I dug into my food stores and found some emergency biscuits (in actuality, Walkers shortbreads). Hot tea and biscuits, delicious! I changed out of my sleepwear and into my warmer street clothes. Now, I could turn the Webasto down a notch and save a little battery power. Adequately warm, and fed I waited for Anne to return, hopefully with good news.

Anne did arrive, but not with the news that I wanted. Diana and Chris got tested, but it would be 2-3 days before their results. Anne said that she would also take Diana to the 9:30 Friday test. Since that was a rapid test, she would have the results Friday. I couldn’t use their apartment; I was uncomfortable spending long periods in public places; I was discharging my house batteries faster than I was charging them. The writing was on the wall. I told Anne that I couldn’t stay and help her; I had to return home with guilt and shame.

When I started writing this post, the theme was that you can avoid disasters by planning. However, it appears that I had another lesson to learn. Yes, all of my planning benefited me. It kept me warm enough in freezing temperatures; it provided me with unfrozen water to make a hot cup of tea. It gave me food, so I didn’t have to go hungry. I won’t mention how I used the largemouth capped bottle hidden in a cupboard, but it was helpful, and I was glad that I had planned to take it.

All of my plans amounted to little as I couldn’t achieve the goal that I had set out to do; to give my recovering daughter a coupled days of peace and a little bit of pampering. The demands that I was placing on Violet the campervan exceeded her abilities. Soon there would be no place to go.

I handed Anne a coffee cake that I brought for Thursday morning breakfast and gave her my apologies and goodbyes. Two and one-half hours later, I was back in Naperville, unpacking all of those things that I had just packed the day before. I felt bad.

I couldn’t install a shower in Tom’s new house to make his move more pleasant, I couldn’t solve Grace’s GRE Wi-Fi issue, and I certainly didn’t have the power to save the life of my friend, Patti. I couldn’t even do a dad thing like helping my daughter for a couple of days as she was recovering from surgery. Four things over 24 hours that showed me that I was powerless.

I believe in preparing for emergencies, and my planning did serve me well. However, I also know that unfortunate things happen even with the best planning. Sometimes, you have to let life play out as you stand by and watch. No one, including me, controls the universe. Lesson learned.

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The Omnia Oven

March 22, 2024 Dr. Mike

This post is for my van dwelling and car camping brethren.

In 2018 I bought my Promaster cargo van and converted it into a camping van. During that first year, I had Wayfarer Vans do a basic conversion; I also bought a lot of stuff to turn the van into my home away from home. One of the items that I purchased was an Omnia stovetop oven. My initial impression was that it was expensive to buy and felt cheap in hand. So I put it on a shelf and forgot about it.

Now, over three years later, I want to expand my culinary repertoire, and what could be more fantastic than having a way to bake on the road? So it was time to pull the Omnia off of my garage shelf and do a little experimenting. I researched YouTube and found most people liked the Omnia, but it seemed like many burnt the bottom of whatever they were baking.

I re-examined the oven. Yes, it seems cheaply made, and all of its accessories are expensive. But, after much experimenting, did I hate it or love it? I can tell you I love it! It is a clever gadget and in my opinion worth the money.

It is made of thin materials that cool very quickly. You don’t have to wait an hour for it to cool enough to pack it away. Its thin-wall construction also allows you to regulate the oven’s temperature. It is exceptionally compact, and everything from its silicon inserts to its wire baking rack can be stored inside the Omnia. Most importantly, it bakes well if you understand how it works and carefully follow the provided instructions.

I decided to do a lot of sticks-and-bricks testing, as it is easier for me to learn about a new cooking product when I have ample running water, counter space, and baking tools. However, everything I did in the kitchen could be done when dry camping. However, you would need to adapt your preparation methods to accommodate a more challenging environment.

To understand the Omnia, it is essential to contrast it with a traditional home oven. A home oven is an insulated box with a heat source at the bottom of the box. The heat source is regulated by a thermostat which turns the source on and off. This allows for consistent heating. For example, if you set the thermostat to 350F, the oven temperature will vary a bit above and below that number throughout a bake, but the average temperature will be 350F.

The Omnia is different as there is no thermostat. The bottom plate heats the baking vessel, which quickly loses its heat to the environment as it is not insulated. The constant flame of the heat source replaces that energy loss. The trick is to match the energy (heat) that you add to the energy (heat) that you lose. How much you adjust the flame depends on how fast you lose heat. If you are inside your van and it is 80 degrees, it will take a much lower flame than if you are outside and it is 50 degrees and windy. In general, I start with a very low flame for inside cooking. Your results will be better if your environment is relatively stable. Baking inside the van will be more reliable than baking outside.

If you cook at too high of a temperature, you will burn the outside of your dish before the inside is cooked. Therefore, it is better to go lower than higher. In many cases, this will mean that you will bake at 300-325F instead of the standard 350F. Casseroles may take a bit longer to cook when baking at lower temperatures, and they may brown a bit less. In addition, cakes that rely on heat for lift may be denser and somewhat coarser grained. However, in both cases, you will still have a delicious result.

The Omnia will work with any heat source except an induction cooktop. Use a source that allows you to finely adjust the flame. Generally, butane stoves adjust their flames better than propane camp-style stoves. You also want a stove that has a reasonably broad flame pattern, so hiking-type stoves could prove to be challenging.

It is essential to follow the directions provided by Omnia. Cake batter should only be filled ½ way, and all other dishes should be filled no more than 1 inch from the top. Exceeding these limits will result in a burnt bottom and an undercooked interior to your dish. In many cases, you should preheat the base on high for a few minutes before topping it with the baking vessel.

Omnia sells a thermometer that can give you a more accurate measure of how high you should adjust your flame, but some have adapted an inexpensive BBQ grill thermometer to fill that role. YouTube offers several DIY videos on this topic. I baked with and without the thermometer and found it possible to bake without one, but having one adds a bit more precision to the process.

The Omnia baking times are similar to your regular oven when set correctly. In addition, the baking vessel has a capacity of around 8 cups, which is equivalent to an 8 x 8-inch pan.

My goal was to bake various types of foods, from banana bread to pizza. I baked foods using scratch recipes and from box mixes. I wanted to ensure that the Omnia was a versatile device and not just a one-trick pony.

I found that the Omnia works great for a wide variety of baking needs with a bit of practice. You can bake almost anything in it. However, you may not want to spend $70 for it (often over $100 when you add the accessories). Here are some alternatives along with their pros and cons:

-Coleman-type fold-up stove. The Coleman fold-up stove has been around forever and can be had for about $45 or less if you find one at a thrift shop. I have used one, and they work well. However, they also have the burnt bottom problem. Using a small pizza stone to even out the heat will reduce this issue. The downside to the Coleman is that the stove is considerable even when folded, and any accessories (like baking and muffin pans) take up additional storage space.

-Heavy Pot with a cover and trivet. An age-old standard. Using a heatproof trivet, you isolate your baking pan from the pot’s bottom. There are variations on this theme as some recipes use water in the pot, allowing you to steam a cake. Other recipes use a dry method that may use an empty pan or one with some sort of heat evener, for instance, placing rocks in the bottom of the pan. When baking, caution is advised when using rocks, sand, or non-food grade items.

-Direct baking. Some recipes bake directly on a pan’s surface. This method is most commonly used to bake flatbread. However, direct baking can also be used to make homemade pizza. In this case, the crust is flipped over to ensure that it is fully cooked. After the turn, toppings are added.

-Rice cooker baking. You can find small rice cookers that use only 300 watts of power, compatible with many van’s electrical systems. The internet is a source for recipes that range from cakes to yeast bread.

-Lunchbox cooker. The Roadpro (and look-alike cookers) reach around 300F, sufficient to bake foods such as Jiffy brand cake and cornbread mixes. People also make Spizza in them. Unfortunately, you can’t bake using the popular Hot Logic oven as it only heats to 160F-180F.

-The electric pressure cooker. This gadget is a wonderful addition to your cooking arsenal if you have enough battery power. Using the steam method, you can make many baked items, from regular cakes to cheesecake.

-The classic Dutch oven/campfire combo. This method uses a dutch oven, campfire, hot coals, and some practice. My cousin makes a killer pineapple upside-down cake using this method, but it is beyond my skill level.

The bottom line

The Omnia is one of various methods to bake when you don’t have a traditional oven. It is compact, relatively simple to use, and can deliver excellent results if you follow the directions. It makes sense to practice at home before trying to impress your camping buddies, as it is different from using a regular oven.

The Omnia can be used with a variety of heat sources. However, I think a standard butane stove works best as it allows for a fine flame adjustment. I almost always bake near the lowest flame level possible. The butane stove that I used has an output of 7000 BTU. Some more expensive butane stoves may have an output of 10,000 BTU or higher, so some experimenting may be necessary to find the sweet spot for your baking adventure.

You don’t want to lift the lid during the early stages of baking, as this will significantly dysregulate the oven’s temperature at a critical baking phase. However, I use standard methods (like the toothpick test) at the latter stages to determine doneness.

Remember that the environment has a significant impact on baking in the Omnia. You will likely have more consistent results when baking inside your van than outdoors on a windy day. However, with practice, even this is possible. Very cold or very hot days will also impact the oven.

Below are various things that I successfully baked in the Omnia in my home kitchen laboratory. I believe that you can bake just about anything that bakes in a moderate (350F) oven. In addition, I have had success baking items like pizza and muffins (which often use a higher oven temperature) in the Omnia. However, the final product may be slightly different than what you are used to. For instance, the pizza crust may be softer, and a muffin’s rise may be somewhat less.

Below are a gaggle of photos that will hopefully inspire you to expand your van cooking’s culinary horizons. Bon appetite!

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Road Trip Preparedness

March 22, 2024 Dr. Mike

For the last 30 years, I have driven the 400 miles from Illinois to Minnesota at Christmastime to spend time with my wife’s family. Most of the jouney is via the Interstate, and some may assume that this would mean that my drive would be clear sailing as these roads get the highest level of attention. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. We have experienced bad road conditions that ranged from deep snow on the expressway to whiteouts. The most significant danger is when it starts to sleet around the freezing point. This places an ultraslick layer of ice on the expressway, leading to disaster. Several times, we had to alter our travel plans by spending a night in a motel or by having a Christmas dinner at a truck stop. There have been other times that we have become stuck on the expressway. So far, this has meant that the traffic was moving so slowly as almost to be standing still.

I know of at least three national stories this winter season where expressways have been shut down due to inclement weather, often stranding motorists on them for a day or longer. Beyond Interstates, other roads can also shut down. For example, in 2011, Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive was closed for 12 hours stranding motorists in their cars. Lake Shore Drive is a local road with a total length of about 15 miles. Imagine being trapped in your car for 12 hours, wearing lightweight clothing, and possibly being low on gas. Spending twelve hours in such conditions could be life-threatening.

My point is that winter driving carries risks. However, you can reduce those risks if you plan.

For as long as I can remember, driving experts have advised winter travelers to carry emergency supplies. Yet, I wonder how many people do this. Some of my vehicles are well set-up for emergencies, while others are equipped only when traveling a distance in them. The number of emergency items recommended varies from expert to expert. However, some essential things make every list.

When traveling distances in winter, our cars always carry the following:

Food and water

We always have an abundance of food in snacks and water/drinks when we travel. Usually, these items are used to fill time and lessen the number of stops that we have to make on long journeys. However, they would also serve as emergency food if we were stranded. In addition, Violet, the camper van, always has water and emergency food bars on hand. This last item is the second subject of today’s post, and it will be discussed in greater detail.

Warmth items

A warm coat, gloves, a hat, etc., are necessary items for even the shortest winter drive. A winter trip to the grocery store could be disastrous if your car broke down and you were in flip-flops and shorts. When we travel, we also carry sleeping bags with us. In Violet, I have both sleeping bags and blankets. Any old blanket is better than no blanket, and you can buy warm Army surplus type wool blankets for less than $20. Other heat sources could be considered, including a candle in a can and chemically exothermic products like hand warmers.

A way to keep your cell phone charged

Your cell phone is a communication and information resource, but it must be charged to work. We have charging cords in all of our vehicles. On long winter drives, I also pack a battery bank. Violet has additional ways to charge phones and other devices.

Flashlight/headlamp

Another simple but critical piece of equipment. They are an inexpensive purchase, and it is likely that you already have a spare around your house. However, you have to remember to regularly test and change the batteries.

Pen and paper

Critical but straightforward for jotting down important information. You can use your phone to store information in many cases, but sometimes paper is more convenient.

Car repair equipment

This will vary based on your needs as well as your mechanical skill. We always carry some way to “jump” the car on Interstate trips, either cables or a jump box. I also have some elementary tools. When I travel in Violet, I’m often in remote places, so I pack more. I’ll carry, a can of flat fix, motor oil, a tire inflater, duct tape, and other items. I don’t have the skill to fix an engine, but I have been in situations where something has loosened on a vehicle, and having the right tools has allowed me to safely get to a place where the problem could be adequately repaired. Other items that some may consider include alert items like reflective shields and safety vests.

A shovel

It is easy to throw a shovel into the car when going on a long winter trip. I have a small shovel that always rides in Violet. In addition, there are many inexpensive compact and folding shovels used by campers, and some made explicitly for motorists. A shovel can make the difference between getting out and staying stuck.

Traction aids

Some experts advise carrying sand or kitty litter as a traction aid, which is undoubtedly a good idea. However, we usually don’t do this, likely out of laziness. However, I carry recovery boards in Violet as I camp off dirt roads in primitive campsites.

First Aid Kit

We do carry reasonably stocked first aid kits in our vehicles. These have served us well for countless non-emergencies. Our little kits have efficiently dealt with cut fingers, headaches, and GI issues. You can make your kit from items that you already have in your medicine cabinet. Customize it according to your needs. Essential items like bandaids, a few pain killers (Tylenol, ibuprofen, etc.), antihistamines, anti-diarrhea meds, wipes, and antibiotic cream are good starting points.

Windshield wiper fluid

At the very least, make sure that your car’s wiper reservoir is full. However, it never hurts to carry some additional fluid. There is nothing worse than a salt-encrusted streaky window when driving. It is exhausting to operate under such conditions, but it can also be dangerous.

Ice scraper/snow brush

We all carry these; we have to. However, if you live in a tropical climate, like Florida, and traveling up north during the winter months, buy one at a gas station BEFORE you need it.

Gas

I start a long trip with a full tank of gas, and if warranted, I try to keep the tank reasonably full. You can periodically run the heater if you are stuck to keep yourself warm.

Porta-potty

Perhaps a bit controversial and gross, but we all have to go to the bathroom. Violet has a toilet. However, a simple coffee can or other wide-mouth container with a lid can serve the basic needs of both men and women in a pinch. You may never need it, but you will be delighted that you have it if you are stuck in your car for hours with no place to “go.” By the way, I’m talking about #1. However, I’m sure that creative and flexible individuals could use a coffee can for other needs if gymnastically inclined.

Other items

This list is endless and depends on your circumstance and your expertise. Snow chains, towing ropes, socket wrench sets, a compass, portable radio, snow boots, the list goes on.

Emergency Ration Bars

Nothing is more disheartening than being in a high-stress situation while being hungry. In addition, both cold temperatures and emotional stress make your burn more calories. Therefore, if you are hungry, you will be more irritable, impulsive, and mentally cloudy.

If you are planning a trip, it is easy to throw together a bag of treats for the road. Our road food is usually of the garbage variety and may include chips, candy, protein bars, and other snack items. However, all of these items have a relatively short freshness life. Once the trip is made, the food returns to our pantry and is quickly consumed by the five adults who live here. Many experts suggest packing set-and-forget food. Stuff that you deliberately pack in your car for emergencies. When I was growing up, chocolate bars were recommended by experts. However, bars melt, and they don’t age particularly well. Several newer foods have a longer and more stable shelf life. Clif bars come to mind as they are pretty solid, well packaged, and have a shelf life of over a year. I have eaten 2-year-old Clif bars in the past; they were pretty dry and chewy but edible.

Emergency Ration Bars are an inexpensive and viable solution for your winter car kits. In addition, having a few packs at home could provide backup if you were ever homebound due to a winter storm or other disaster.

A caution: These bars all use wheat flour and lots of sugar, so they are inappropriate for those with gluten or blood sugar conditions.

These bars were developed for lifeboats survival situations, which required food with a very long shelf-life that was calorie-dense and did not promote thirst. They are not health food; they are calorie bombs designed to keep you alive. Most come in packages that are 2,400 or 3,600 calories and are meant to sustain a single person for 2 or 3 days (1,200 calories per day). They are low fiber and low protein by design as these additions promote thirst. Fresh water is in limited supply on a lifeboat.

There are a variety of brands on the market that are sold at Amazon, Walmart, and many sporting goods and survival-type stores. In addition, they are relatively inexpensive. For example, you can get a 2,400 (2 days) emergency bar for less than $5 at Walmart, and 3,600 calories (3 days) bars can be had on Amazon for less than $10.

All of the various brands of bars have a similar ingredient list. However, they may vary slightly in texture, shape, and hardness. In addition, many of them are mildly flavored in various ways. Manufacturers use flavors such as orange, coconut, apple-spice, blueberry, lemon, and cinnamon. One company may produce a bar with only one flavor, while other manufacturers may sell bars of different flavors.

In most cases, the bars will have a somewhat oily consistency and will taste like a thick, shortbread cookie. I have eaten these bars, and in general, they are palatable, but you wouldn’t want to live on them. However, when given the option of an emergency bar vs. no food, they become delectable.

All of the brands make their bars using four essential ingredients. Wheat flour, sugar, palm oil (or other vegetable fat), and vitamins/minerals. Some may have a bit of soy flour, and most will have some mild flavoring (see above). I checked the ingredients from several manufacturers and didn’t see a lot of typical preservatives. However, many listed ascorbic acid, which is both a vitamin (Vitamin C) and a natural preservative.

These bars have a super long shelf-life for several reasons. First, they don’t contain items that can go rancid, like animal fats or nuts. There are no additions, such as dried fruits or peanut butter. Even eggs are omitted. However, the main reason for their long shelf life is how they are packed. They are vacuum-sealed using a heavy aluminum-like wrapper. This not only prevents breakage but also dramatically increases the bar’s shelf-life.

If unopened, they have a shelf-life of 5 years from the date of manufacture. In sweltering conditions, their shelf-life is reduced. In cool conditions, they can be useable for up to 10 years. If you use them in the winter emergency car kit, it is reasonable to change them out every 4-5 years as their cost is low.

Since they are all similar in composition, the brand that you choose is a personal choice. Some are certified by the US Coast Guard and tested to meet Coast Guard standards. Others say that they are Coast Guard compliant. Some of the biscuits are block-like, others are shaped like a candy bar. Textures can vary slightly, as can taste. During taste tests, people generally like one bar over another, but the actual bar brand changes from person to person. If you are stuck in your car in a snowstorm for a day or two, any bar is better than no bar.

In conclusion, it is easy and inexpensive to build an emergency car winter kit, which is especially important when traveling long distances or on rural roads. In addition, having a pack or two of inexpensive emergency food bars as part of your winter kit provides affordable insurance that you won’t be stranded and hungry during a winter emergency.

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Four Years Retired

March 22, 2024 Dr. Mike

As I write this, it has been over four years since I retired from my private practice at Genesis Clinical Services and three years since I left my job as an attending psychiatrist and addictionologist at Rosecrance. It is time for me to do my annual review. I am writing this post for my personal summary. I will share it with those of you who wish to travel with me on my journey.

The process of retirement is more evolutionary than revolutionary. Revolutionary discoveries occur, but that process is slower and more meandering than what happened during my work life. I tend to liken it to watching an analog clock. If you stare at a clock, the hands don’t move; look away for a bit and they are suddenly in a different place.

I’m aware that this process is influenced by forces, such as age and health, independent of any purposeful action. There are things that I can do and things that happen to me that I have to accept.

The beginning of the year brought a cancer scare and a multitude of diagnostics tests and specialists. The bottom line is that I don’t have cancer; rather, I have a chronic condition that doesn’t have a cure but does have treatments. I’m continuing with a variety of those as I write this. Many of these treatments are relatively non-specific. As a medical professional, I can read scientific literature critically. It is clear that most of my medical recommendations are based on weak studies and anecdotal findings. For instance, I’m supposed only to drink low acid coffee. I’m trying to be as compliant as I can be while I recognize that much of what I’m being advised to do is shotgun medicine. In other words, I’m getting dozens of recommendations, none of which are based on a solid statistical footing. With that said, I’m very grateful that I’m generally healthy as I will turn 69 in less than two weeks.

Those core things that have always excited me continue to do so. I love learning and teaching. Creativity is my jam, and the use of technology to aid in creating things has always turned me on. However, how that I achieve these objectives continues to evolve. In the past, I would reward myself by buying things that I could compare. “How is this camera manufacturer’s solution different from that manufacturer’s?” “What are the differences between an inexpensive guitar and a more expensive one?” “Why does one computer application solve a problem one way when another piece of software does it differently?” Buying things gave me the pleasure of discovering how other people solved problems. That helped me expand the way that I critically think about things.

Although I could still buy and compare things, my purchasing has slowed down dramatically as I now can pursue other ways of learning; Retirement has given me the time to explore. With that said, I did do deep dive on automatic blood pressure cuffs earlier this year and bought quite a few of them so I could determine their pros and cons. I gave most of them away after I finished my study, so I guess it turned out to be a win/win situation. In addition, I wrote a post about my findings to teach others. What good is knowledge if you don’t share it?

Much of my explorations of late have involved acquiring knowledge for the sake of learning. My goal has shifted from being an expert on a topic to being knowledgeable about a subject. It is less critical for me to acquire expertise and more vital for me to learn. I appreciate the vastness of information available. Disciplines that superficially seem different from each other connect on more fundamental levels. It is exciting when I discover these connections. Yes, everything connects with everything else. You just have to look.

If you have read my post, you realize that for the last 7 (or is it 8?) years, I have had the opportunity to learn about construction from my expert friend, Tom. This is just one area that I have been visiting. I have been studying topics that range from learning about other medical specialties to exploring the accuracy of the Bible. There is a joy of discovery when I learn something new or understand something on a different level. There is also a sense of freedom as I can spend as much or as little time as I choose to on any particular topic. No one is going to test me with an exam, and I don’t have to prove to anyone that I have the most comprehensive knowledge.

My role at home is slowly changing. I have taken on more responsibilities than last year. I do many tasks, from cleaning the house to grocery shopping. Naturally, I have continued my long-established outside duties and household fix-it jobs. My job title would most accurately be described as a househusband. Many complain that such tasks are beneath them or even demeaning. I don’t feel that way at all. Household tasks are fundamental for both the individual and the family. They are of the utmost importance. That is not to say that I don’t find some jobs boring; of course, I do. However, there is a satisfaction of knowing that I’m accomplishing these tasks and that they benefit all parties. With that said, I have been trying to strike a balance. The number of adults that live here fluctuates from three to five. All are very capable. The reality is that I could completely take over all household jobs, but that would be a disservice to me, the other members of the household, and our family system as a whole. Everyone has to have some skin in the game, and finding that balance has been an ongoing process.

I have always been a little boy at heart, but I have rarely had the opportunity to express that side of me. I find the greatest joy in the simplest of things. Retirement has allowed me to acknowledge and nurture that aspect of my personality. This part of me is difficult to express in writing, but it involves finding beauty, wonderment, and excitement in just about everything. It is cool.

Long ago, I understood that I was an introvert, and my social needs were different than many. I have no problem spending long periods by myself, and there are times when I need to be alone to recharge my psyche. However, retirement, COVID, and other situations have illustrated the importance of strong connections with others. I continue to invest in those who I love. I have put ongoing effort into my marriage, children, and other important relationships. I continue to be amused with the knowledge that most things are neither bad nor good; they just are. The COVID pandemic certainly had many terrible aspects, but it also got me to call my sisters on a daily basis. I am close to all of my children but was most distant with my daughter, Kathryn. Kathryn returned from the Peace Corps due to COVID, and this forced the two of us to spend extended amounts of time together. What a blessing this has been as we have developed a new closeness and respect for each other. My other kids are now adults, yet they still seek me out for companionship and advice. I am so grateful.

As I wrote in a previous post, I had abandoned male friendships for most of my adult life. This was due to events from decades earlier. However, I have made a solid effort to reconnect with these types of relationships, and I am thoroughly enjoying those connections. My most significant male connection is with Tom, who frequently gets mentioned in my blog posts. We have the right combination of similarities and differences to make our friendship comfortable and interesting to each other. Like most things that I do in life, I’m highly intense in this friendship. It is not uncommon for me to see Tom most days of the week, and we get in touch with each other daily. That level of connection requires work and energy on both of our parts, but I believe that we have greatly benefited from the interaction. Over the last few months, Tom’s workload and responsibilities have grown exponentially; we see each other often but less frequently. I have to admit that this has been hard on me, and it is even more challenging for me to say that in this public forum. I don’t want to go on a bashathon, but most of you already know I wasn’t too crazy about my childhood. However, I did develop many valuable skills because of that time in my life. One was to develop invulnerability. I can dissociate my feelings to prevent myself from being hurt by others. This is a useful but flawed strategy. To admit that I miss someone makes me vulnerable, and that is scary.

I may be witnessing a temporary change based on his circumstance, or this may be a permanent evolution in our friendship. In either case, I can say with strict confidence how grateful and fortunate I have been to be granted such a good friend. My friendship with Tom has shown me how vital such a connection is. In the past, I have put most of my interpersonal efforts into my immediate and extended family, which tends to be matriarchal. Male friendships are entirely different, and they are something that I need in my life. I don’t see Tom leaving our connection, but he may no longer be able to sustain our intensity. His life may be changing, and I need to accept that. It would seem impossible to connect with someone else who could tolerate my intensity and who is curious, smart, creative, and kind…I’m supposed to be able to dissociate my feelings. I’m a tough guy; no one can hurt me…or so I thought.

Violet, the camper-van continues to bring me joy daily. She is the physical representation of 12-year-old Mike combined with adult Mike. Deciding to build Violet was never an impulse, but I didn’t realize her importance when I started construction. Imagine that you are a 12-year-old boy who dreams of exploring the world in your home-on-wheels…that’s Violet. Now you’re an adult man who likes to solve problems and come up with solutions…Violet gives me plenty of opportunities for that. Through Violet, I have had to learn a few carpentry skills. I have had to figure out complex electrical systems. I have had to push myself to do things that I was uncomfortable doing. I love exploring the country, from small towns to grand National Parks. I have great fun doing silly things like secretly camping in a Walmart parking lot. How do I fit everything that I need in her tiny space? How do I make that space cozy and inviting? How do I let go of material possessions? These are only a few of the dozens of questions that Violet has posed to me. Go, Violet!

I made one grand trip to Montana this last year, but I took many shorter trips in Violet. Some of them were for fun, and some were for practical reasons. This is the first year that Julie and my son, William, accompanied me on many adventures. I’m very grateful. You may wonder why I don’t camp with my daughters. It is simply for practical reasons. Violet has one platform bed that can accommodate Julie or William, plus me. Part of Violet’s charm is her ease of use as there is little to no set-up; I have no difficulty choosing to stealth camp. To camp with my girls would involve using formal campsites and setting up tents. I’m not excluding this option, but currently, I’m choosing other ways to spend time with them.

I crave to be on the road more, and I long to go on trips that would last a week or two. It would be great to do this with someone, but my current travel companion’s busy lives don’t allow for that extravagance. I’m now comfortable traveling alone, and I have developed enough social confidence to engage with strangers on the road. However, I still have a lot of guilt leaving Julie for more than a few days. If I asked her if it was OK for me to travel, I guess she would say, “yes.” However, I do worry that she would be resentful of my meanderings. It is unclear how much of my concerns are real vs. my own internal conflict. I plan to engage Julie in more meaningful and honest conversations on this topic. In reality, I’m talking about a week here and possibly two weeks there. I long to be out west. I think my soul lives on the other side of the Mississippi.

All of my years of financial preparation have paid off. However, I live on investments, and that can be concerning. At the beginning of COVID, I instantly lost 25% of those investments, which threw me into a bit of a tailspin. But, as we all know, the market has rebounded. Thank goodness for that. However, I’m trying to be conservative with my spending, and I’m thinking about those things that I spend money on. I’m the guy who tries to finish the leftovers in the fridge and the one who thinks twice about buying something. When you are retired, there is less need to spend.

My spiritual life seems to be moving in many directions. I was raised Roman Catholic, and although I respect many aspects of that religion, I separated from it when its sex scandal broke. My biggest issue was the secrecy and conspiracy that was enacted on all levels despite the damage that it caused to parishioners. Sadly, what appeared isolated now seems to be a reality among other institutions, as we know from recent events with the Boy Scouts of America.

Eventually, I drifted to an Evangelical Christian church, which I have attended for many years. The church appeared to have an “all are welcome” philosophy and presented Scripture in a contemporary way that I found beneficial to my daily life. Over the years, the founders have aged and become more conservative. Their sermons have become more traditional and less engaging. However, they never demanded their parishioners to think in a certain way, and they have promoted social justice causes. The latter is very important to me as I believe inclusion is one of the cornerstones of Christianity.

Recently, and surprisingly our lead pastor took a stance against a subgroup of society, citing Biblical teachings. This not only shocked me, but it also disgusted me. Entire religions are created based on the human interpretation of a few Scripture passages. However, those very religions often cherry-pick Biblical writings. They embrace passage A while ignoring passage B. As of late, I’m putting some effort into gaining a better historical understanding of the Bible. I’m not a Bible scholar, but I do understand the Bible’s bullet points, including “Love thy neighbor.” A church should bring people together and not draw arbitrary lines based on individual differences. I can no longer support the church that I have been attending for well over a decade based on their discrimination against others.

I think that a spiritual journey is personal and that externals (such as a church) should be used to assist the individual along that journey. My belief in God is not based on fear of damnation or even the promise of everlasting Salvation. I’m not a Christian because I’m looking for the golden ticket to heaven. I’m a Christian because I have a strong belief in God, and I believe that the message of the NT is one of peace, love, acceptance, and forgiveness. When a religious organization violates those basic rules, it is time for me to reassess its importance. This new chapter is in process. Hopefully, I’ll be further along my path by doing my 5th-year retirement summary.

I feel incredibly fortunate to have been granted the ability to retire from my work life and be in my current situation. I live in a beautiful town, and I don’t have the daily financial struggles that many others have to deal with. It has been fantastic to explore topics of interest that don’t have practical value. It has been wonderful to expand my creative abilities. I’m most grateful that I have been able to deepen my connections with others. I think that this latter fact has been the most significant benefit of leaving my 9 to 5 (in my case 7 AM to 10 PM) professional life.

I share these most intimate thoughts with you. I hope they will help you do the same with those you care about. Vulnerability is not a sign of weakness; it is a reality of life. Vulnerability allows us to grow and to become better humans.

Peace

Mike

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The Bible Misinterpreted

March 22, 2024 Dr. Mike

The following is my personal opinion.

Have you noticed that one thing leads to another when you research a topic, and soon you are down a rabbit hole? That has just happened to me.

A few posts ago, I wrote about why I’m leaving my Evangelical church. The church had always taken a neutral stance on controversial issues, but it transitioned into a more conservative organization. Recently, the lead pastor publicly announced his disavowing of same-sex marriages. I can’t say why he felt the need to do this, but it felt wrong for me to attend a church that was dismissive of the legal rights of a minority group.

Some churches take a negative stance on homosexuality and same-sex marriage because they believe that they are specifically banned in the Bible. These facts led me to do a deep dive into early Christianity, Judaism, and Scripture. I was raised in a Catholic family and eventually migrated to a large Evangelical church. I thought that I had a basic understanding of the ins and outs of Christianity and the Bible, but I was utterly wrong.

I wrote a long post on the interpretation of the Bible, which you can read here. I discovered a lot more, but my post was already too long. For instance, when I searched for verses disallowing same-sex marriages, I was given a lot of quotes, but none of them specifically rejected same-sex marriages. Instead, many passages were along the lines of this one:

MATTHEW 19:3-6

Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”

“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’ and said, ‘For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh?’ So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

Jesus supports marriage and is not supportive of divorce, but that doesn’t mean that he is rejecting same-sex marriage. That would require a jump in interpretation. Of interest, divorce is now common, and many churches have found a workaround for this passage. Divorce happens within the majority group, does that make it acceptable? Same-sex marriage happens in a minority group and remains unacceptable. This would imply a level of hypocrisy.

Although there is evidence of same-sex marriages in ancient cultures, that does not include the Jewish culture. However, same-sex relationships occur in all cultures. For example, some claim that King David had a romantic relationship with Jonathan, the son of King Saul.

1 Samuel 18:1-4

“Now, when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his soul. 2 Saul took him that day and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore. 3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant because they loved him as his soul. 4 And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt.”

This sounds like Jonathan and King David were a couple. However, you could also interpret this passage as they were just really, really close. We know that 1 + 1 = 2, that is a fact. However, written stories are interpreted by their content and the reader’s culture, experiences, and beliefs. Knowledgeable people have interpreted the above Scripture in several ways. Who is right?

Interpretations get even more complicated when modern terminology is used when translating ancient passages. For example, here is the same passage using two different translations.

1 Corinthians 6:9–10 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 6:9–10 — New Living Translation (NLT)

9 Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.

The second translation specifically notes “practice homosexuality,” while the first translation says “nor effeminate.” The term homosexuality was coined by Karl-Maria Kertbeny almost 2 millennia after this passage was written. Concepts like sexual orientation did not exist in ancient times. Using the term “homosexual” would be like me translating the term “steam locomotive” to “Tesla.”

It is also important to understand that the meaning of a word can drastically change over time. The term “heterosexual” had a very negative connotation until the 1930s, as it implied someone who had a morbid obsession with the opposite sex. The sentence, Joe was a heterosexual, would mean that he had mental health issues if written in 1920, but that he was perfectly normal if scribed in 1935!

If we read the KJV translation, are we to assume that gay sex is OK if the person is masculine? That is possibly true as ancient cultures did not like submissive men as submissiveness was supposed to be the role of women. The NLT version condemns male prostitutes but never mentions female prostitutes (the larger group). Is it OK to be a female prostitute?

Dunkards are also condemned, likely because alcoholism was thought to be a moral failing. In 2022 we know that alcoholism is a diagnosable disease with known symptoms and progression. It is not considered a moral failing. We understand much of the biochemistry of this illness, including how the brain’s reward pathway is hijacked by alcohol. With our current knowledge, the above passage can be understood to say that people who have a disease will be denied the kingdom of God. Should we broaden this interpretation to other diseases? Diabetes? Cancer? Mental Illness?

Translations are imperfect; you can’t make an inerrant judgment based on a poor translation. Also, interpretations frequently fit the beliefs of the interpreter.

What does the Bible say about pet ID chips, blood transfusions, and social security cards? Of course, it says nothing about these things; they didn’t exist in ancient times. Yet, it is possible to find a passage that can be twisted to develop an opinion, however disconnected that it may be. I have heard some say that your social security number is the mark of the beast! Now that is just plain silly.

Interpretations of the Bible can lead to prejudice and dire consequences. When AIDS erupted in the 1970s, it was understood by the medical community that it would become a severe epidemic. Initially, most victims were gay males; funding for AIDS research was hampered because it was labeled as the gay plague-a punishment for those who didn’t follow God’s law. But, of course, AIDS impacted other populations, and when politicians took off their gay blinders, funding started to flow. Bias against a minority group affected society as a whole.

How can discriminatory statements be made based on weak, variable, and subjective Bible interpretations? We are taught interpretations of the Bible by authoritative individuals who we admire and trust. If those interpretations are consistent with our belief system, we accept them. Couple the above with societal biases, and you can see how some very sincere pastors justify violating the rights of others.

Hopefully, I have demonstrated how fluid the interpretation of the Bible can be. It would seem that a person can find a way to support any opinion. The Bible has been used to discriminate against many different groups. Women, blacks, Jews, other Christians, LGBTQ people, and more. In addition, Bible interpretations can also be used to promote an anti-social ideology, often for personal gain.

The power of hate, fear, Scripture, and a little psychology.

As I continued researching this topic, I realized that some use the Bible combined with psychology to create their custom narrative.

The prosperity gospel preachers.

These preachers promise their followers riches, but they have to “sow a seed” of money to the pastor’s organization. They use Bible verses like 2. James 4:2 — “You do not have because you do not ask God.”

Prosperity preachers live wealthy lifestyles funded by donations. They prey on those most vulnerable and those who have the least to give. Some preach a divisive political agenda during their sermons promoting the Christian nationalist view. Prominent leaders of this genre include Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, and Paula White.

Kenneth Copeland wanted a new private jet to replace his old private jet, as the old one needed to be refueled during transcontinental flights. Apparently, that was just too inconvenient. Mr. Copeland was originally Pat Robertson’s pilot before launching his dynasty. I guess he has a thing for airplanes. He said he needed private jets because he couldn’t ride in a commercial aircraft filled with a bunch of demons! (also called passengers.)

He eventually got enough donations for the multi-million dollar jet, but now he wants millions more to upgrade his private airfield. The believers are promised a great return to their investment or “seed.” There are many stories of poor souls “seeding” their rent money or their life savings with the hopes of having a better life. Who gets rich? The people on the top. Sort of like an MLM.

Jim Bakker is another interesting case study. He lived a lavish lifestyle preaching the prosperity gospel on his PTL (Praise The Lord) TV network. That is until he went to prison for fraud. Now, out of prison, he is back on television preaching a fear-based apocalyptic gospel while making money selling dehydrated food for the end of times. If the last days are coming, why would you need dehydrated food? In reality, the apocalyptic gospel is just the flip side of the prosperity gospel. The end game is the same.

Faith Healers

There are religious groups that reject modern medical care due to their interpretation of the Bible. Sadly, there are reports of children with treatable illnesses who have died because their parents or their religious community refused to allow them to have appropriate medical care. I can’t imagine someone letting their child die because they didn’t want to hurt God’s feelings. In some cases, this fear is transferred to a fear that medical treatment is not in God’s plans. This can mutate into a hate of science. Discounting science is necessary if you are a literal Bible reader. Fear and hate fostered by a group’s beliefs can lead to dire consequences.

A permutation of this is the faith healer who uses a similar ideology but for profit. Benny Hinn comes to mind, but there have been many others over the years. For instance, Peter Popoff, Ernest Angley, Kathryn Kuhlman, and Kenneth Copeland. Naturally, they cite passages from the Bible to support their claims. Several documentaries expose the trickery of healing ministries. Very sick individuals are not allowed to go up to the healing stage. Tricks are used from faking leg growth to having people collapse with the power of the Holy Spirit.

There are tragic stories of people losing their life savings with the hope of ridding themselves of cancer or other terrible maladies. I watched one sad video where desperate parents put their faith and money in Benny Hinn to cure their son of brain cancer. When the child died, they were told (apparently by Mr. Hinn) that it was because a curse was upon the family. There are other stories of people being shamed that it was their fault that they were not cured because of a lack of faith. Fear of illness drives the unsuspecting to seek help which faith healers then exploit. If these healers have the power to heal, why are they not demonstrating this power in hospitals rather than in paid venues?

The Mega Church

In America, the number of churchgoers continues to decline, and the number of individuals who belong to traditional denominations is at an all-time low. However, one area of growth in Christianity is the Mega Church. These usually are Evangelical, non-denominational churches that follow a prescribed formula that simulates other familiar venues like sporting events and rock concerts. Mega Churches frequently incorporate other social activities that go beyond theology. For instance, a Mega Church may have a gym or even a sports complex for its followers.

The above sounds like a great way to bring people back to God. Unfortunately, an explosion in size can disconnect the organization from the congregation. Historically, some large traditional denominations have demonstrated this, such as the Roman Catholic Church. The same problems occur when any church becomes so large that the leader’s behavior and actions can go unchecked. Of course, there have been many megachurch scandals, mainly of the sexual or financial variety, but that is not what I’m talking about today. I’m more interested in how an individual’s motivation shifts from religious teaching to expansion, power, and influence.

The case of Greg Locke

Mr. Locke is the pastor of Global Vision, a non-denominational church in Nashville. His church had several hundred members before he started to preach a gospel of fear and hate. Political sermons on election fraud, conspiracy sermons saying that mask mandates are being used to see who the government can manipulate, stating, from the pulpit, that he would kick out anyone wearing a mask during his services. Publicity stunts, like a book burning of Harry Potter books (which is a fictionalized retelling of the story of Jesus, not a Satanic conversion book), are some of his strategies.

This gospel of negativity has benefited Mr. Locke’s church, which has grown so much that its services are now held in a circus tent. In addition, he has a massive online following. He has gone from a nobody to an influential somebody by preaching hate and fear. For example, he recently claimed (with no evidence) that there were six witches in his congregation. An odd statement, but a useful one if anyone ever tries to dispute his authority.

I watched several videos of Mr. Locke and his congregation. It would appear that the attendees seem transfixed by his fiery performance. When interviewed, it is clear that Mr. Locke is a savvy guy who sidesteps questions that could make him look foolish to a broader audience.

Us vs. them

There is a common link that some of these preachers and other organizations use. I’m talking about us vs. them theology. Conservative politics vs. liberal politics. Individual rights vs. government rules. Church culture vs. popular culture. White vs. black. Straight vs. gay, and so on. You are demonized and hated if you are on the “them” side.

When these organizations preach these negative messages, they grow, become more influential, and more powerful. That is sad.

We enjoy stories about UFOs, the Illuminati, Bigfoot, and conspiracies. It feels powerful to be on the inside track of unique information, look at the Q-Anon movement. A conservative church may tell you who to vote for; a more radically conservative church will tell you why the presidential election was a fraud. Churches that teach division know that it is an effective way to grow their loyalty and congregations. Naturally, this is entirely the opposite of Jesus’ message, one of tolerance and love. It is not possible to reconcile the two.

As an aside, denominations and unaffiliated churches were given a tax-exempt status based on the concept of freedom of religion; taxation could be interpreted as a restriction of that freedom. For a church to retain its tax-exempt status, it needs to remain politically neutral for the same reason; church and state must not mix. Churches and denominations that tell you how to vote or promote political lies violate their tax-exempt status and, by law, should be taxed. Despite churches becoming political, the IRS has declined to pursue most cases. Some churches would love a public battle on this topic, and some preachers have sent the IRS DVDs of their political preaching. Why? Because such a battle would gain them national attention as well as achieve an increase in both their contributions and congregation size.

Cult-like devotion

The Peoples Temple (Jim Jones), The Branch Davidians, and The Ant Hill Gang are just a few examples illustrating the level of control cult leaders have on their flocks. Cult leaders use basic psychological techniques combined with hate, fear, and Scripture to move their prey into their controlling jaws. Some (but not all) of their methods include:

Love bombing and acceptance of the disenfranchised.
The Bible or other sacred document is used to bolster the leader’s claims.
The proclamation of some apocalyptic belief. This may mean the end of the world, but it could also mean the collapse of the government or some other tribulation.
Isolation from others who have conflicting ideas. This is often isolated from outside news, books, and people.
Outside information is labeled heretical, false, and not to be trusted. It is fake news.
Non-members or those that hold different beliefs are not to be trusted.
Fear is used to control the individual. Fearful people stay close to where they feel safe.
Hate is used against those outside the cult.
Complete devotion to the group leader is demanded, no matter what they do. Any questioning is reframed as being disloyal or siding with the enemy.
Membership rules and regulations can be strict or worse.
The leader’s beliefs are claimed to be inerrant.
The leader may say that they have special powers, including a direct connection to God and healing powers.
Members are expected to contribute financially to support the group.
Some leaders may preach violence or retribution towards members or outsiders.

The reality is that these techniques also seem to be used by more mainstream groups, likely for similar reasons. See if you can notice some of these methods in your real world.

Cable news

Cable news networks fall into two distinct groups, liberal and conservative. Most of these stations’ airtime is devoted to opinion shows that look like news shows. They are biased and present an agenda rather than information. If you watch CNN, you will hear that the Republicans are evil, and if you watch Fox, you will hear that the Democrats are evil.

These are for-profit commercial outlets whose purpose is to make money for their shareholders. The longer you watch, the more money they make. To keep you watching, the stories have to sell you on an agenda, and that agenda often includes fear and hate of the opposing side.

The case of Tucker Carlson

Tucker Carlson is a writer and opinion host on Fox News who is controversial and wildly successful. He can take a small piece of information and massage it to make a much grander suggestion. For instance, he stated that COVID infections could feminize men and then connected that theory to the political leader of another country. Naturally, he had a political expert present to support his hypothesis. It is unclear why he would think that being feminine is negative. A small Israeli study did demonstrate that some men post-COVID had lower testosterone levels. However, other experts were not supportive of this finding. He used a small, flawed study to discredit someone. However, to the masses, it was presented as the absolute truth.

Controversy means ratings, and Mr. Carlson is an expert at stirring up controversy. After the Walmart shooting of Hispanics in El Paso, he stated that white supremacy was not a real problem. He noted that Adam Schiff was mentally ill (citing no evidence). When Lauren Duca wrote a commentary on Donald Trump, he said that she should stick to thigh-high boots and that she was mindless and vapid. He stated that immigrants make a country poorer and dirtier.

Despite his hateful and inflammatory comments, Tucker Carson is the most-watched opinion commentator on Fox. His words have been so egregious that many sponsors have pulled their adverts off his show. However, they just placed them into other slots on the network. Fox gets the best of both worlds; they have a media star with massive viewership while retaining profits. Hate sells.

Others who use hate and fear

Various other individuals and institutions use hate and fear techniques. A political example from the past is the case of Joe McCarthy, who was a US senator in the 1950s. He gained national notoriety and power by investigating prominent individuals. By using hate, fear, bullying, and allegations, he ruined the lives of countless public servants, actors, directors, university professors, and others. He would label these unfortunate individuals as Godless Communists, effectively ending their careers. Although his actions were extreme, such behaviors can still be seen in present-day politics.

Closing thoughts

What happens when church leaders are more interested in power and contributions than saving souls? What happens when news organizations are more interested in advertising revenues than presenting an unbiased picture of what is happening in the world? What about politicians who will go to any lengths to advance their power and influence?

The sad reality is that hate, fear, and anger sells. Combine them with Scripture to seal the deal. Who can argue with God?

It is easy for me to tell you to not support organizations of hate and fear. However, I realize that such a comment will have little impact. Instead, I would ask you to take simple steps to move your life and our country forward.

Think about your pastor’s sermons or the tone of your church. Remember that Jesus’ greatest commandment was to Love one another. If you see a pattern contrary to this, or a pattern of splitting rather than joining together take note. Your church is not espousing true Christian beliefs and is sowing discontent.

Get your news from regular network channels or other less biased outlets. If you must watch cable news, limit your viewing to no more than 30 minutes a day of newscasts (not opinion shows). If you must watch opinion shows, balance one hour on one network with a second hour on another. If you watch CNN, give the same amount of time to Fox and vice versa. You will be amazed at the differences in opinion and coverage.

Politicians are supposed to unite people, not divide them. Unfortunately, hate and fear are very effective in mobilizing voters. There are egregious examples of this tactic, but most modern politicians use these techniques at some level. If you don’t believe me, just watch political commercials around election time. Not only do they spew hate and fear, they often present information that is so out of context that it is misleading and false. Vote for them if you believe in their platform, which you can find on their website. Avoid BS political commercials.

In kindergarten, one of the first things that most of us learned was how to cooperate and get along with others. If someone was different from us, we were told to accept them. We were instructed to be kind to others and be responsible for our behavior. We were told to respect our environment and clean up after ourselves.

We were not told to hate, judge others against some imaginary yardstick, or demonize people who were not like us.

It is time to return to what we learned.

Peace

Mike

Uncategorized

Saving On Food

March 22, 2024 Dr. Mike

Last Saturday I went grocery shopping. I only filled my cart halfway and didn’t buy any meat, but the total cost at check-out was roughly what I would have paid for a full cart several years ago. The cost of food continues to climb at the grocer, and costs are even higher when dining out. We are experiencing inflation at a level that we haven’t seen in 40 years, and high prices are hurting everyone. However, these increases are most difficult for folks on low or fixed incomes.

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There are many videos on YouTube with titles like, “Eat for a week on ten dollars.” These videos are often an exercise in starvation and monotony. Usually, they consist of someone trying to stretch a pound of rice, a pound of beans, a bag of veggies, and a dozen eggs for 21 meals. Some people may have to resort to such extreme options, but most of these videos seem more stunt than substance.

In the mid-1980s, I was a medical resident and a divorced parent. Even when I became the chief resident of psychiatry, my take-home pay was low. Being chief resident of psychiatry gave me a lot of extra work, but only a $100 pretax bump in my monthly income.

Because my daughter often stayed with me, I needed my own apartment. In my case, it was of the basement variety. I also needed a working car. Finally, of course, I had child support payments. These three expenses pushed my small salary to its limit, and I had to learn how to stretch every penny. Sometimes I made the mistake of being too frugal with my grocery purchases and bought inedible items. At other times I blew most of my week’s food allowance on a single restaurant meal. Eventually, I established a pattern of spending that struck a balance between economy and reality. I developed a system that worked for me.

During my many years of medical practice, Julie did most of the shopping and cooking for our family of five. I didn’t worry about cost; if prices went up, I just worked harder. I have been retired for four years and on a fixed income for the last three. I have saved during my working years, and Julie continues to work. However, I know that I am at a phase where I am spending more money than we are earning. When Julie retires, we will only be spending. I still have three adult children at home (although two are at boarding college during some of the year). Feeding 3-5 adults is an expensive proposition.

After my retirement, I took over many household jobs, including grocery shopping and some of the meal preparations. I’m a good and confident cook, but cooking multiple meals a week can be a drag, so I use a simplified system that I’ll describe later in this post.

My goal for today’s post is to give you some practical tips that will save you money. There are additional ways to cut your food budget, but these tips work for me. That last point deserves highlighting. It is critical to find a system that works for you. For instance, I know that I could save even more money by clipping coupons and shopping at multiple stores. However, I have hated it when I have attempted to do these things. However, those options may work for you.

In our family of adults, individuals are responsible for making their breakfasts and lunches. Julie and I take turns making dinner. I’m accountable for dinner four nights a week, Julie makes dinner twice a week, and Saturday is either a carry-out or YOYO (you’re on your own) meal.

Carry-out food can be expensive, so why do we do it? This post is about saving money, but not about spending the absolute minimum amount of money. Our family likes a carry-out meal once a week. Lastly, we do go out to restaurants. However, as the cost of restaurant meals has gone up, our restaurant dining has gone way down.

To Costco or not to Costco, that is the question.

My friend, Tom, can go to Costco for a broasted chicken and leave with a broasted chicken. I go to Costco for a broasted chicken and leave with a $400 bill. That is not the way to save money. Costco prices are often excellent, as is the quality of their foods. However, the company uses shopping psychology to get you to buy more. If you want to save money at Costco, follow a few simple tips.

Decide what you need, and stick to buying only those items.
Make sure that you will use up an item before it goes bad. A massive bag of flour is only a bargain if consumed before it goes rancid.

Like other Costco shoppers, I have bought frozen foods that no one would eat. So they sat in the freezer, taking up space until I threw them out due to freezer burn. I’m more cautious about purchasing untested items.

The vacuum sealer.

Meat and cheese are expensive, but you can save considerably on them when you buy them in bulk. However, if you toss a giant package into the fridge or freezer, you will likely waste a significant portion of your purchase. I have used a vacuum sealer for years (mine is at least 20 years old). Vacuum sealers use unique bags that can be expensive, but I buy generic versions, which are significantly cheaper. It is possible to wash and reuse vacuum bags, but I’m too lazy to do that. The quart and gallon size bags work the best for my needs. When I get home, I divide up bulk packages into meal-size units and vacuum seal them. For instance, I’ll split a 5-pound block of ground beef into 4 or 5 separate vacuum packs. I’ll then place these packs in a plastic grocery bag and stick them in the freezer. It is easy to look in my chicken bag or hamburger bag and know if I need to buy more.

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In the past, I had used Ziploc freezer bags for the same purpose. They work, but food stays fresher longer when vacuum sealed. However, Ziploc bags are an option if you can keep on top of your freezer’s contents. I also know people who wash Ziploc bags in their dishwasher and reuse them, getting several uses out of a single bag.

The freestanding freezer

I bought a freezer about 25 years ago. It is a 14 cu ft upright model that needs to be manually defrosted. The freezer was inexpensive and has really served us well over the years. A frost-free freestanding freezer is not a good choice for long-term food storage as it has to heat up a bit when it auto defrosts. That process uses more energy and also shortens the storage life of frozen items. Freezers are energy efficient and use very little electricity. The chest-style ones are the most energy-efficient, but digging for things can be a pain.

I’m not suggesting that you go out and buy a freezer if you are struggling to buy food. However, you could consider slowly saving for one or checking give-away sites like freestyle. I do think that our freezer helps us save money; equally importantly, it is really convenient to have the extra freezer space. Having items on hand makes it easy to prepare meals. I even have frozen milk that I purchased during a 2 for 1 sale. All I had to do was remove a little from the gallon so it wouldn’t burst when frozen.

Use less meat, cheaper meat, or no meat.

When we do use meat, we use less of it. Steak has gotten so expensive that it is a rare treat. When we make it, we will split a steak to serve two people. We are eating more hamburgers, chicken, and pork. We are also reducing our serving portions of these meats, often by combining them with other foods in one-pot meals. Lastly, we are moving towards more meatless meals. In fact, one of my kids’ favorite meals is my homemade mac and cheese, which I usually serve with cornbread and a vegetable. Eating less expensive food shouldn’t feel like a punishment.

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House brands.

In many cases, I buy house-brand items. Are they as good as brand names? Honestly, I have been buying them for so long that I can’t say. However, I can say that in most instances, they are good enough. It may be cheaper to buy a brand-name item with a coupon, but I have never been able to get into clipping coupons. Items like flour, sugar and canned tomatoes are usually safe bets. In addition, many other items are of good quality. I’ll go with a house brand first and only buy a brand name if the house brand doesn’t cut it.

Brand names.

There are a few brand-name items that my family prefers. Bread, cheese sticks, and lunchmeat are some of them. I accept this and buy those items.

Dairy and eggs.

When it comes to items like milk, cheese, sour cream, and eggs, house brands are almost always cheaper, and I can’t tell the difference between them and brand name. House brand white eggs are nutritionally the same as brown eggs or free-range eggs. You may think that free-range chickens happily roam an open field pecking for grubs. That is not the case; free-range is closer to caged. Don’t buy advertising hype.

Bargains on meat.

I already mentioned that you could save by buying family-sized packages and splitting them up. In addition, stores will sometimes run buy-one-get-one-free sales on meat. Many stores will sell meat reaching its expiration date at significant savings. These markdowns are usually done at a particular time of day. Ask the person in your store’s meat department for more details. Buy and immediately freeze for future use.

Where to shop.

I hate shopping at Walmart, but this is where I buy most of my groceries. They offer lower prices, and they are a full-service store. I prefer smaller Aldi stores, which offer slightly lower prices than Walmart. However, the closest Aldi is somewhat out of the way and is limited if I need to buy items like toothpaste, TP, or shampoo. I also like a small nearby store called Fresh Thyme. Fresh Thyme has excellent produce that is reasonably priced. Their grocery selection is complete but less expansive than most stores. That is a good thing as I’m less tempted to buy a lot of stuff that I don’t need. Find the store that fits your needs.

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Use a list.

One of the most beneficial things that you can do to save grocery money is to use a shopping list and (within reason) stick to it. In addition, you won’t come home without the eggs or butter that you were supposed to buy. Any list system will do. I use the Notes app on my phone.

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Buy staples.

Having essential ingredients allows you to make a myriad of foods from scratch. A cake mix makes a cake, but flour makes a thousand foods. Items like flour, eggs, sugar, and rice should always be available in your kitchen. There are some more prepared foods that are inexpensive and good to have around. Pasta, peanut butter, and condensed cream of mushroom soup (as a casserole base) come to mind.

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Buy frozen.

Certain foods can be good values when you buy them frozen. Items that we like to buy include frozen vegetables, frozen fruit, and frozen french fries.

Use less disposable items.

Reusable items save money. My daughter uses a Rubbermaid container for her lunch sandwiches, and I use small towels to wipe up kitchen messes. However, we still use too many paper plates. Progress, not perfection!

Pack your own.

I recently bought coffee for myself and a friend; it cost over 6 dollars. I could have made the same amount of coffee at home for well under 50 cents. Using expensive K-cups is cheaper than buying coffee shop coffee, and using a standard coffee maker is much cheaper than using K-cups.

Buying lunch can cost around 10 dollars. Investing in reusable containers and a lunch bag can save you a fortune over time. My daughter packs a sandwich, yogurt, and fruit/or treats every day for lunch. My wife stockpiles cups of dehydrated soups and other lunch items in an office drawer. She keeps an electric kettle at her office for these soups and tea. When I was working, I would take the previous night’s leftovers in a microwaveable container and heat them up at work.

Learn how to cook.

If you never learned how to cook, the prospect of doing so can be daunting. It is possible that you tried complicated recipes for an event or holiday and were left with frustration and a mess. There are an endless number of dishes that are both delicious and super easy to make. This is especially true if you have stock ingredients on hand. However, you have to accept that there may be a learning curve when you start. I guarantee that in short order, cooking will become easy.

I would suggest buying a classic cookbook like The Betty Crocker Cookbook or The Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. Go with a hard-cover version. Caution is advised, I just checked Amazon, and someone was selling a ring-bound BH and G cookbook for almost $80! At most, pay around $25. I bought our Betty Crocker Cookbook new in 1991, and we still use it all of the time! Don’t be afraid to buy a used copy for a few pennies at a thrift shop. These books use simple ingredients, have tried and true recipes, and obvious instructions. Once you are a confident cook, you can branch out to the internet and other recipe sources.

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You need very few physical items to cook, and it is likely that you already have the basics. Suppose you are just starting out and are short on cash shop Goodwill or other resale stores. People get rid of cookware all of the time. All you need is a frying pan, a couple of pots, a pot lid, and a cookie sheet. Add a paring knife, a chef’s knife, measuring cups and spoons, a can opener, and a pancake turner and you are all set. Naturally, certain styles of cooking require additional equipment, which you can slowly buy as needed. You may need tongs, a vegetable peeler, mixing bowls, and more. However, you can often adapt what you have until you buy those items. I have turned meat with a fork and used a pot as a mixing bowl in my poor past.

Clean as you go.

I can’t stress this habit enough. As I cook, I clean up. When I use a measuring cup, I wash it as soon as possible, so it is ready to be reused or put away. If you clean as you go, you will have very little mess at the end of meal preparation, and you will want to cook again. There is nothing more disheartening than having to deal with a massive mess after you finish eating your dinner.

Use it up.

It is estimated that Americans waste 40% of their food. This means that if you used up all of the food that you purchased, your food bill would be 40% less! That is a considerable number. I already talked a bit about preserving food using a vacuum sealer and using up leftovers. Also, consider using what you have in the fridge creatively instead of cooking a meal based on what you have a taste for.

The other day I made chicken soup for the family. However, the day before, my wife made dinner that included a small broasted chicken. I used chicken pieces that I had already thawed, but I also threw into the pot the broasted chicken carcass. The end result was delicious.

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Sometimes I’ll make banana bread using overripe bananas that I would normally throw away. Banana bread is simple to make, and my family thinks of it as a special treat.

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Sometimes I add wilted salad greens or leftover rice to a soup. At other times I’ll use stale French bread to make delicious French Toast. There are a multitude of ways to redefine leftovers or to use up food items that are still good but a bit past their prime.

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One-pot meals.

I love one-pot meals. In fact, as I write this, I’m making one for dinner. This morning I drained some sauerkraut and added a little brown sugar, mustard, and a grated apple. I seasoned some pork chops and added everything to a slow cooker, which is now cooking on low. My wife made some excellent roasted cut-up sweet potatoes yesterday. I’ll reheat them for today’s side dish.

It took me less than 10 minutes to throw everything together this morning, and we will have a homemade dinner tonight.

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One-pot meals can be made on the stove or in the oven. However, I like using small appliances, which I find to be more convenient.

There are an endless number of one-pot meals that use essential ingredients. Soups, stews, chili, casseroles, and much more. They are not only easy to make, but they are also economical. As a bonus, cleanup is a breeze.

Should you buy small appliances?

Only if you use them. I have an air fryer that I never use. I know some people love them, but their capacity is too small for my large family. However, I am always using my slow cooker and electric pressure cooker (An InstantPot knockoff). In addition, I often use a waffle maker-an item that many would never use. Figure out what foods you make, and determine if an appliance would be helpful. I don’t want to be bound to the kitchen, so a gadget like a slow cooker makes my life easier. If you are on a budget, check out second-hand stores for appliances. You can always find items like toasters and slow cookers for pennies on the dollar.

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It is not a sin to use prepared foods.

Weigh the cost vs. benefit of your purchase. I’ll buy a frozen family-style meal, like lasagne or stuffed peppers on occasion. I find that the Walmart brand costs around six dollars and is tasty. For that price, three adults can eat dinner, and there are often leftovers for at least one lunch. I would never want an exclusive diet of these meals, but they are convenient when cooking motivation is low. I’ll add a salad, along with some bread and dinner is served.

In addition, we frequently have a frozen pizza for Friday dinner. It is an easy tradition that isn’t very expensive.

Bonus tip!

Make your own cleaning products.

Over the years, I have bought countless specialty cleaning products. Granite cleaner, stovetop cleaner, stainless steel cleaner, window cleaner, various toilet cleaners, mildew removers, you name it. All of these items are relatively expensive and come in single-use bottles.

I now use substitute or homemade cleaners. I use powdered Comet (around a dollar a can) to clean my stainless steel sink. A little goes a long way, and it does a better job than dedicated products. I use any liquid soap (shampoo, shower gel, hand soap) to clean my toilets. One pump is all that you need. It is easy to make homestyle window cleaner (2 cups water, ¼ cup white vinegar, a few drops Dawn). For Mildew removal, I fill about ⅓ rd (or less) of a spray bottle with bleach and then fill the rest of the bottle with water.

I use my homemade all-purpose cleaner for just about any surface. To make it, I add about 1 ounce of any all-purpose cleaner (Lysol, Fabuloso, PineSol, etc.), a few drops of Dawn dish detergent, to a 32 oz spray bottle, and fill the rest with warm water. I use this to clean everything from surfaces in my kitchen and bathrooms to the inside of the fridge and microwave, to the top of my glass cooktop, to my kitchen table.

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You can reuse an empty Windex-type bottle (adjusting the amount of your ingredients). However, a high-quality spray bottle is an inexpensive purchase and will last longer.

Who cooks dinner when?

Monday Julie cooks

Tuesday I cook

Wednesday Julie cooks

Thursday I cook

Friday I cook (sort of)

Saturday Carry out or YOYO (you’re on your own)

Sunday I cook

I’ll leave Julie’s meals to Julie and only talk about what I make. I cook the way that I do because this pattern makes the task more palatable. In addition, I always involve my kids in the cooking process. This makes my job a bit easier, and it teaches them beneficial skills.

Tuesday- a light meal day. I’ll usually make something very simple for dinner. This could be breakfast for dinner (omelets with Toast and sausage, waffles, and bacon), grilled hamburgers with frozen french fries, grilled cheese sandwiches, and tomato soup. You get the idea.

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Thursday-a regular meal. This could be a one-pot meal, a meatloaf, homemade mac and cheese, and so on. Naturally, I’ll balance the meal out with vegetables and other sides.

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Friday-Pizza night. I make sure that we have a frozen pizza (Home Run Inn is our favorite), but it is my daughter’s responsibility to pop it into the oven. Once done, I’ll take over and cut it up. A pizza costs around six dollars and will feed three of us, and there will usually be a piece or two left over for a late-night snack. We started pizza night when everyone was working. By Friday, we just wanted an easy-to-make dinner. Friday pizza has now become a family tradition.

Sunday-A regular meal. Many options here. Pot roast made in the pressure cooker and real mashed potatoes. Spaghetti with meatballs, garlic bread and a salad, oven-fried chicken, red beans and rice, and so on.

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I try to make things that we have in-house so that I’m not throwing out stuff. I’m far from perfect, but I know that I’m saving money.

I know that some of you will be dismissive of our food choices. Perhaps you will think that we need to cook organic or reduce gluten or useless fat. Adapt your meals to your preferences. We love waffles for dinner, but they may not be your jam. You do you.

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Finding your balance is key to making this system work. You don’t need to do everything that I do. However, You may want to do more. I still have financial resources, so my choices may be different from someone else’s. Use these suggestions as a starting point, not as scripture. When I started along this journey, I just did a few things and then added more behaviors as time went on. Currently, I’m trying to use less disposable items (like paper towels and paper plates). Honestly, that has been difficult for me. As I said above, progress not perfection!

Good luck!

Peace

Mike

Uncategorized

Vacuum Sealers

March 22, 2024 Dr. Mike

My last post was on saving money at the grocer. One segment of that article involved using a vacuum sealer (FoodSaver), which can extend the freshness of foods up to 5 times. That segment generated some interest, so I thought I would do a deep dive on the topic. I’ll also provide best practices and tips in this post.

Fact: The average household throws away 30% of purchased foods. A typical family of four can save more than $3000.00/year by using a vacuum sealer to reclaim already purchased foods and to repackage less expensive bulk foods.

Why vacuum seal?

When you vacuum seal something you pump out the air in its package. Then the vacuum sealer heats the open end of the bag to completely seal its contents from the outside. Air contains 21% oxygen, and many foods oxidize when exposed to this gas. One example of oxidation is the browning of cut avocados, potatoes, and apples. Another example is the effect of oxygen on fatty foods, like nuts. Oxidation turns their fats rancid. How many times have you thrown out half of an Avocado or a bag of baking walnuts because they had gone bad? Sealing in a vacuum bag can dramatically extend the life of these foods.

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Poorly packaged frozen food is subject to freezer burn, but what is freezer burn? The moisture in the air condenses on the food creating ice crystals that puncture the food’s structure. This alters the texture of the food and causes it to dehydrate. The result of this process is called freezer burn. Remove the air and seal and you eliminate freezer burn.

Baked goods, like crackers, are moisture absorbers. Leave a tube of crackers open for a day or two and they go from crips to stale. Remove the air and seal the package and the crackers stay fresh.

Foods like flour and cornmeal are subject to weevil infestations. These tiny critters can hatch and multiply in grains that have been sitting around. Weevils are not harmful, but no one wants to eat food that contains little bugs. Weevils need oxygen to survive; eliminate the oxygen and you eliminate the bugs.

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In most cases, it’s safe to eat hard cheeses that have a little mold on them. Just cut off the mold and proceed. However, why deal with moldy cheese if you don’t have to? Molds are a type of fungus, and they need oxygen to grow. Eliminate the oxygen and your hard cheese can stay fresh for a long time.

Beyond food preservation, vacuum sealing is also used to prepare foods for Sous-vide cooking. This technique allows a chef to perfectly cook foods while retaining their natural juiciness.

If you like to marinade meats you can dramatically speed up that process by using a vacuum sealer. Place the meat and marinade in an external vacuum canister and draw a vacuum. The vacuum opens up the meat and allows the marinade to penetrate in under 30 minutes. You don’t need a marinade function on your vacuum sealer; any machine that has an accessory port will do. You can also marinade in a vacuum bag, but you need to be careful to not draw up the liquid marinade into the machine.

Vacuum sealing can preserve and protect non-food items. Real silverware won’t tarnish when sealed in a vacuum bag. Hunters can vacuum pack ammo to keep it dry and usable. Adventurers have even vacuum-packed clothes for wet outings allowing them to change into something dry after their experience. Vacuum sealing uses are only limited by the user’s imagination.

Why not just wrap in foil, place in Tupperware, or seal in a Ziploc freezer bag?

The above solutions do help keep food fresh longer, but not nearly as long as vacuum packing. Why? They don’t eliminate the air in the package, and they allow outside air and humidity to enter. However, they are better than leaving food exposed.

What do I vacuum seal?

I have used a FoodSaver Compact vacuum sealer for decades. It is a simple manual device. Mine was one of the early machines that were made in Italy (not China), and it is very sturdy and solid. I treat it well and it has served me well.

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I know that over time my FoodSaver has saved me a lot of money. I buy meat in bulk, on sale, or when it has a close to expiration price drop. I then split it into meal-sized amounts and vacuum seal it into bags ready to be frozen.

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I’ll buy a large block of cheese, and vacuum seal it into smaller chunks. They stay fresh in the fridge.

I’ll cook a turkey breast in my slow cooker, slice it for lunch meat, and seal and freeze it into conveniently sized packages that I thaw as needed.

I also freeze leftovers, like homemade soups and stews. When vacuum packing liquids it is best to freeze them first in another container. Remove the frozen item from the container and place it in a vacuum bag and seal it. I like Souper Cubes because frozen soups just pop out. However, any freezable container will do. If an item won’t release, gently warm the bottom of the container for a few seconds in a bowl of hot water. I have also seen people freeze liquids in Ziploc freezer bags. Once frozen, they peel off the freezer bag and reseal the block in a vacuum bag to ensure a much longer freezer life.

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Recently, I bought a Chinese chamber-style vacuum sealer off eBay, and it has been a game-changer. It is now easy to vacuum pack liquids and powdery foods (like flour) without any prep. Additionally, chamber-style vacuum bags are very inexpensive, even cheaper than Ziploc bags. With this new gadget, I’m starting to vacuum seal additional foods, like vegetables. Many vegetables are reasonably priced, but why waste half of a bunch of celery if I don’t have to? More importantly, I know that I’ll have soup fixings in my freezer even if I don’t have the fresh veggies in my crisper drawer. I can freeze enough celery and carrots to make an entire pot of soup using a single chamber-style bag that only costs 3 cents.

The history of vacuum sealing.

The first commercial vacuum sealer was invented in the 1940s. The first home vacuum sealer was designed by Karl Busch in 1963, but it was very basic. The first practical home vacuum sealer was developed by Hanns Kristin in 1984 and was named the FoodSaver by Tilia. The unit was easy to use but had a nozzle to remove air instead of the now ubiquitous vacuum channel. This FoodSaver hit the market in the late 1980s, but it didn’t take off. Sales increased dramatically in the 1990s when the company started to air infomercials about it. The early models were very well built and made in Italy; current units are manufactured in China. Seal-A-Meal was an early competing brand that was originally owned by Dazey Corp. The FoodSaver and Seal-a-Meal brands are now owned by Newell Brands; that company also owns many other household brands including Rubbermaid, Mr. Coffee, and Sharpie.

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Many other companies make commercial and home vacuum sealers. Prices for home sealers range from around 20 dollars to several hundred dollars. Commercial/prosumer sealers range from hundreds of dollars to thousands of dollars.

Foods that vacuum seal well.

Many foods benefit from vacuum sealing. Fresh and cooked meats and fish, hard cheeses, soups, stews, most vegetables, grains, pasta, cookies, crackers, coffee,and more. However, you may need to adapt the way that you seal some of these items. I’ll describe some techniques below.

Foods that don’t vacuum seal well.

Raw fruits, like bananas and pears, emit ethylene and will over-ripen when that gas is trapped in a sealed bag. However, cooked and dehydrated fruits store well.

Some vegetables freeze better when first blanched-place in boiling water for a few minutes, then rapidly cool in cold water, and pat dry. When in doubt, Google how to freeze a particular vegetable. However, you don’t have to always blanch every vegetable. My excess carrots and celery just get vacuumed packed and tossed in the freezer. I know that they will be fine for soups and stews.

-frozen celery and carrots-

Mold is a fungus that requires oxygen to grow, a vacuum sealer removes the majority of the oxygen in a package, but a tiny bit remains. Mold can still slowly grow under these conditions. Moist foods are vulnerable to mold growth even if vacuumed sealed. Naturally, mold can’t grow if food is frozen.

Certain strains of bacteria thrive without oxygen and can create deadly botulism toxin* or bacterial illness. You shouldn’t vacuum seal soft cheeses**, or certain vegetables like fresh mushrooms, garlic, and onions.* However, you can vacuum seal blanched or cooked vegetables. In addition, most pathogenic bacteria can’t grow at freezing temperatures, Listeria being the exception, so it is OK to peel and chop an onion, vacuum seal it, and freeze it for future use.

*Botulism poisoning is very rare. The CDC reports that there are around 27 cases of food-born Botulism a year (The US population is 329 million). All of the cases that I could locate were caused by poor home canning techniques or improper processing of commercial foods. I could not find a single case of botulism poisoning due to home vacuum sealing. However, better safe than sorry. Clostridium botulinum (the bacteria that makes the botulism toxin) cannot grow at freezer temperatures.

**Listeria is a bacteria that may proliferate in soft cheeses and other foods. It can grow without oxygen, and it can even slowly grow at freezer temperatures. Since many other bacteria need oxygen, the lack of it can provide an open playing field for Listeria to multiply. Listeria can cause serious GI illness, which is why you shouldn’t vacuum pack soft cheeses.

Practice common sense.

Vacuum sealed foods last longer, but they still can spoil. Vacuum sealing is an additional step, not the only step in food preservation. Food left out will still go bad. Treat vacuumed sealed foods just like you would if they were not vacuumed sealed. If you would normally refrigerate a leftover, do the same.

Always practice standard sanitary practices when repackaging food. Wash your hands and utensils before and after a repackaging session. Clean surfaces and sanitize your area before and after. Additionally, wash and sanitize between packing different foods. If I’m repackaging beef and chicken I’ll re-sanitize everything between the two jobs. You can wear and change out gloves if you wish; I just wash my hands a lot.

-image cleaning products-

What are the different types of vacuum sealers?

The handheld vacuum seal systems.

These are either battery-powered or manual pumps and are used with special Ziploc-style bags or containers. They are sometimes sold with canister sets, and they are useful in situations where you are opening and closing a package. Salad greens, cereal, and fresh strawberries are some foods that come to mind. They can also be handy for marinating.

-canister vacuum set-

Channel vacuum sealers (below) often have an accessory hose or port that can be used to vacuum special canisters. However, many people don’t have the counter space to leave a machine out. The handheld pumps are small and can be tucked away in a drawer.

The channel vacuum systems.

This is the most common type of home vacuum system. All current FoodSaver machines are channel-type vacuum sealers. An external bag is placed in the machine’s vacuum channel and the device is closed. A vacuum is drawn and the bag is then sealed using a heat bar. The channel will protect the unit’s vacuum pump from being contaminated if a small amount of liquid is sucked up from the bag. However, foods that contain large amounts of liquid can enter the machine’s innards and damage it. Most home systems will accommodate standard 11” and 8” wide bags, however, a few will only accept 8” wide bags. A machine that handles all sizes of bags offers the greatest versatility.

Amazon channel vacuum sealer-
Open and label sealer-

Advantages of channel systems

These units can be small, accommodate a wide range of bag sizes, and you can make custom bag lengths using rolls of bag material. Many units are inexpensive. You can buy an off-brand machine for as little as 20 dollars, and a basic branded one for about 50 dollars. Add more features (many unnecessary) and the price can go up to several hundred dollars. Popular brands include FoodSaver, Seal-a-Meal, Consori, Hamilton Beach, and Nesco.

-cheapfiddly image-

-insert Nesco image-

Household sealers have small motors, tiny plastic vacuum pumps, and thin heating bars. Most are made for limited use and will overheat if you try to vacuum seal many bags in one sitting. This is usually not an issue for the home user but could be a problem for someone like a hunter, prepper, or gardener who needs to seal dozens of bags at one time. A home sealer’s longevity will depend on its level of use and care. Mine has lasted decades, but hunters (who may package an entire animal in one session) may need to buy a new machine every year or two.

-internal pump and motor shot-

High-use individuals are better off buying a commercial-grade channel sealer. These sealers are built to last and have quality vacuum pumps, strong motors, and good cooling systems. Professional and prosumer sealers start around $300. Popular brands include Weston, VacMaster, LEM, and Avid/Amor. These units are designed for near-continuous use, and some can accommodate bag widths greater than 11 inches. They are bulkier than home units and can take up quite a bit of counter space.

-Weston sealer-

What these sealers are good for; what foods require additional prepping?

Solid, dry, and moist items are good candidates for channel machines. Powdery or liquid foods require special preparation to be successfully vacuum-packed using a channel-type sealer.

Meats can ooze juices when vacuum packing, which can contaminate the sealing area and prevent sealing. Some machines have a “Moist” setting that extends the sealing bar’s heating time/temperature to ensure a seal. My old FoodSaver is a manual model. I seal the bag before I see the meat juice reach the sealing bar. Very cold, semi-frozen, or frozen meat won’t ooze when vacuum packed. Another easy trick is to place a narrow strip of paper towel after the meat but before the bag’s sealing zone to catch the juices. This works with any channel machine.

Powdery foods, like flour, can get sucked up into the vacuum system and damage it. An easy solution is to repack bulk flour into brown lunch bags. Fold over or loosely tape the lunch bag’s top and insert it into a sealing bag, vacuum as usual. I like keeping an extra 5-pound bag of flour as a backup. I simply put the flour (in its original bag) in a gallon vacuum bag and vacuum seal it to keep it fresh and weevil free.

-Sealed flour image-

Liquids, like soups, can get sucked up into the machine’s internals, and that is not a good thing. Some folks carefully vacuum seal liquids, but there are easier ways. If you have leftover soup, freeze it in another container, then remove it from that container and vacuum seal it in a bag. It will take up less space and stay fresh longer. You can also vacuum seal it in a Mason jar (using a jar vacuum sealing adapter) and then freeze it.

-beans, soup, etc.-

-filled souper image-

-frozen soup cube image-

Bags and rolls.

Channel-type vacuum sealers require special embossed bags that allow air to be pulled out of them. These bags can be quite expensive. I looked on the FoodSaver website and quart bags were over 50 cents apiece. I have been using generic vacuum bags for years, and they work well. Instead of paying 50 cents, I can buy a generic quart bag for 12-14 cents, which is roughly the same cost as a Ziploc freezer bag. Bags come in pint, quart, and gallon sizes.

Many people prefer using rolls of bag material, often citing that rolls are more economical than bags. That is only partially true. If you made an equivalent number of bags from a roll it will cost you roughly the same amount as premade bags. The cost savings of rolls come with the fact that you can customize the size of your bag. A quart size bag is 8” x 12.” Let’s say you mostly use a bag size that is 8” x 10,” over time you will save a little cash because of this. However, I’m lazy and use pre-made bags.

-Kirkland value box-

FoodSaver always claimed that you could reuse their bags by washing them in the dishwasher, keeping the bag open with something like a clothespin, and pointing the open-end down. They have now revised this recommendation, and advise to not reuse bags that have been previously used to store meats or cheese, as they may not be cleaned adequately by this method.

Machine features.

Manufacturers upsell consumer vacuum sealers by adding features, many of which are not needed unless you have a specific need. Here are some of them.

Motorized bag feeds– unneeded and just one more thing to break.

Marinade function– Meats marinade in minutes when placed under a vacuum. Machines with a marinade function pulse a vacuum to enhance this action. However, just using the vacuum function also works well. It is best to marinade in an external canister, but it is possible to use a vacuum bag. Just be very careful to not suck the marinade into the machine.

Moist sealing setting– Nice when vacuuming moist things like meat. The sealing bar stays on a bit longer to ensure that the bag is sealed even if a small amount of meat juice has contaminated the bag’s sealing zone. Some machines are programmed to reduce their suction a bit if you use this option. If you don’t have a moisture setting there are several workarounds (see above).

Gentle cycle– this function is used for delicate items like chips, crackers, and cakes. A weaker vacuum is pulled, so these items are crushed less. However, a weaker vacuum means that less air and moisture is pulled out; besides you will still get some crushing. A better option is to use an accessory canister or a Mason jar sealer for crushable items like crackers. I freeze soft items, like muffins in a Tupperware container, and avoid vacuum sealing altogether. They will still stay fresh for quite some time when stored this way.

Built-in roll storage– Many units have a space to store vacuum seal rolls. In addition, they will often have a cutter so you can easily cut the roll into bags. This is nice if you are a roll user. However, this also makes the machine’s footprint larger, which could be a problem if you have limited storage or counter space. Many folks keep their rolls in a drawer and simply cut their bags using a pair of scissors. Additionally, you can also buy separate roll storage containers with cutters.

-bag storage container-

Removable channel tray-It is OK if a small amount of liquid is sucked into the vacuum channel. Just wipe it out with a damp paper towel. Some vacuum sealers have trays that can be removed and washed directly in the sink, which may be a convenience for some.

Accessory port– A wonderful feature that I rarely use. Many machines have a little port that allows you to connect a hose to the machine. This way you can vacuum seal special containers or (using a jar accessory) vacuum seal mason jars to be used as storage containers.

-mason jar attachment-

I know several people who have vacuum sealers and none of us use this handy feature. Why? Because it is inconvenient to pull a machine out for one task. However, there are prepper types on YouTube who love this feature. They preserve all sorts of things, from spices to nuts in Mason jars that are then vacuum-sealed.

-Accessory port-

-Accessory port with hose-

Most people will only use a vacuum sealer for its most basic function, bag sealing, so avoid wasting a lot of money on extras unless you know that you will use them.

Are there performance differences between models and brands?

No vacuum sealer can completely pull all of the air out of a package. However, a partial vacuum is still adequate for food preservation. Models within a brand perform similarly and are differentiated mostly by features. A vacuum sealer must pull at least 20” Hg to properly seal a bag. Food Savers will pull around 22” Hg, and pro-style channel systems may pull as high as 25” Hg. Chamber-style machines are capable of pulling an even higher vacuum.

It is pretty easy to tell you your machine is working well enough. Vacuum seal a block of cheese and examine the results. If the block is sealed with no air gaps your machine is working.

-my chamber with sealed stew meat-

The chamber sealer systems.

Chamber Sealers are the way that most commercial products are vacuum-sealed. They have several advantages, but they also have some disadvantages for home users.

A chamber sealer is a large appliance that has a cavity (or chamber) where the vacuum bag is positioned. A vacuum is placed on the entire chamber instead of sucking the air out of a bag.

-VacMaster chamber sealer-

Advantages of Chamber Sealers.

Because the entire chamber is placed under a vacuum there is no pressure difference between the bag and the chamber. Liquids (even water) stay in the bag and as do powdery items like flour. You can easily and quickly vacuum pack all sorts of things from homemade soup to pasta sauce. Fill and place the bag, press a button, wait a bit… and it’s done!

-my bulk repacking-

Chamber-type bags don’t require special embossing, so they are much cheaper to buy than channel-style bags. A quart-size bag can be had for 5-6 cents and a pint-size one for 3 cents. This makes them less expensive than Ziploc bags. Because the bags are so inexpensive it is more likely that you will vacuum seal foods that you might not if you had a channel-style sealer.

-chamber seal bag-

-label bags-

Chamber vacuums are designed for continuous operation. They have big motors and strong vacuum pumps. They use wide sealing bars to ensure high protection from leakage. Parts, including the sealing bar, are replaceable.

Disadvantages of a chamber vacuum sealer.

These gadgets are commercial machines. Until a few years ago the most basic ones were over $1000.00. They are big, bulky, and heavy. They can’t easily be tucked away and pulled out when needed.

Bags have to fit the chamber. You can’t customize a large bag like you can with a channel sealer. There are no roll bags, just premade bags.

Recent chamber sealer trends.

Manufacturers have recognized that there is a consumer market for these machines and many are now making somewhat smaller units for home use. These machines are lower-priced, in the $500-$1000 range. You can also buy Chinese clones. My Chinese chamber vacuum sealer was purchased on eBay for only $250, and that included free shipping. Naturally, quality control can be an issue when buying an unknown brand. So far, mine is working.

-my chamber sealer-

Other vacuum sealing systems

There are a few other systems that you may come across. The original FoodSaver was made in Italy and built like a tank. People are still using these machines that were purchased in the 1980s. They had a vacuum nozzle instead of a vacuum channel. They require regular FoodSaver embossed bags (just like current FoodSavers). They are simple to operate, easy to repair (many parts are still available), have a high duty cycle, and their manual operation lends itself to adjusting on-the-fly.

I have the Compact FoodSaver, which was the first channel-style machine that followed the nozzle FoodSaver. It os also a manual machine, made in Italy, and built like a tank. I bought my machine sometime in the 1990s and it still works great.

Lastly, a few companies make machines that resemble channel vacuum sealers, but they have retractable nozzles. These sealers can use the less expensive chamber-style bags and have an external canister to catch liquids.

Conclusion.

A vacuum sealer is one of those appliances that you may think that you don’t need, but you do. Studies have shown that you can save thousands of dollars a year in food costs by using one.

For most, a channel-type vacuum sealer is the way to go. They are inexpensive, and they do the job. Their consumables (bags) are more expensive, but you can find generic bags on sites like eBay or Amazon. Shop around as prices are variable even for the same brand. Rolls may save you a little money, but I prefer the convenience of premade bags.

The internal components for most consumer vacuum sealers are pretty similar, a small motor that powers a cheap plastic vacuum pump. If you want to use your vacuum sealer to save money by purchasing bulk foods and freezing leftovers, just about any model will do. I watched many product reviews on YouTube and they all seem to work. However, if you want assurance, stick with a name brand like FoodSaver or Nesco. As far as I can tell the motor and pump for a basic FoodSaver are the same as a more expensive one. The more expensive one just has more features, many of which you are unlikely to use.

-foodsaver vs. cheap machine-

-sealed cubes by various machines-

If you want to vacuum seal other items, like liquids or powdery foods, watch YouTube videos to learn some simple techniques. Some YouTubers seal liquids without freezing, but, I wouldn’t advise that as you could suck up the liquids into the machine and damage it.

If all you want to keep fresh are salad greens or chips, you may want to consider a system that comes with several canisters and a small hand-operated pump.

Some foods should not be vacuum sealed (see above), and other items lend themselves to other freezing methods. I don’t vacuum seal soft items like cupcakes or muffins. I simply freeze them in Tupperware-style containers. They stay fresh, and they are not crushed by a vacuum.

If you seal foods in very large batches, consider a prosumer or professional channel sealer. They cost more, but you won’t be replacing them every year or two.

If you are very serious about high volume vacuum sealing consider a chamber vacuum sealer, which offers a stronger vacuum, great durability, and the ability to vacuum seal liquids and powdery foods with no additional prep. Some consumer oriented chamber-sealers have accessory ports and marinade cycles. However, prepare yourself for higher costs and a bulkier footprint.

If your goal is to preserve small amounts of food your refrigerator’s freezer will suffice. However, if you plan on buying bulk, shopping sales, or freezing garden harvests you will need a separate freezer. Small freezers are surprisingly affordable. See last week’s post on that topic.

-freezer image-

Lastly, a vacuum sealer is only useful if you use it. Think about your needs, freezer space, and goals. If you don’t use it, a vacuum sealer is just another paperweight.

Peace

Mike

Dr. Mike Kuna's Blog

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