This is a delicious recipe that can be used either as a sauce for pasta, or served with bread. Either way, the result provides complete protein, since beans and wheat complement each other’s amino acids.. This is an excellent way to cover your nutritional needs using cheap natural foods which are very nutritious. The pickled beet adds wonderful taste and color.

2 cups cooked giant beans in tomato sauce.
1 clove of garlic
2 pieces pickled beet
½ teaspoon salt
Pinch of black pepper

For serving:
Whole wheat bread, Greek rye rusks or Brown Pasta.

Did you like it?

There are more recipes like this in the book Cooking Economy

Thanks fo rwatching. Visit the Cooking Economy youTube Channel and Subscribe!
all the Best!!

FT Bletsas

Compare prices

Price comparison means more than just checking the price tag. When you compare prices you need to simultaneously compare value. You need to check the actual price per weight, the price per calorie, the price per nutrients, the price per satisfaction provided, the price per convenient score, the price per health benefits and so on. By practicing and by simply being aware when you shop, you will be able to do this price comparison automatically. Initially make sure that when you compare prices, you don’t simply compare price tags… You need to compare real value!

Examine offers

When you see an offer, always check the real price compared to alternatives. If it is buy 1 get 1 free type of offer, always check how much you would pay to actually buy a single item. Also, check if the item on offer is what you really need. Avoid buying something only because it is on offer. Finally, make sure you need the amount that you will have to buy. If it is a long life item, it is usually a good idea to buy it when it is offered with a discount.

Rethink ads

Many ads are made to make you think something is a great value. However when you buy this product, you also pay for the add itself. It is much better to have your money invested in real food value and not in expensive ads. Choose wisely. If you know by yourself what is good for you and don’t rely on ads for this, you will be able to choose items that are less expensive and offer greater value.

Get educated

This is the most important advice. It is also a never ending goal. You need to keep educating your self about food and nutrition. If your raise your Food IQ will be doing all the above without even thinking about them. So what you need to do is keep constantly increasing your consumer intelligence and aim to make the best choices that give you the best return for you investment. And remember… The return on the food investment you make is physical energy, health and, of course, eating satisfaction.

Many more shopping tips, along with great tips for smart cooking, you can find in the book Cooking Economy. Make also sure you subscribe to the Cooking Economy newsletter.

I would like to personally thank the thousands of people around the world who showed their support and joined the “We are all Greeks!” movement. There have been protests all around the globe with people sending a message of unity. A message that stated “When one people is attacked, all people are attacked.” Thank you all around the world for your warm support.

If you practically want to support Greece, here are three very simple things you can do:

1) Learn more and Spread the word.

Find out the real truth about what is happening right now in Greece and talk about it with your friends and relatives. Write some posts, make some videos and share information online.  Join your local movements and realize that this is a global revolution that starts here and will spread as wild fire around the world.

2)  Buy something Greek.

This is the most direct way to support Greek people and Greek Economy. I dont ask you to lend us money or give us something for free. I dont like taking without giving. There are excellent Greek Products out there that we are really proud of. It is quite easy to find a Greek Product where you live even at your local supermarket. Just make sure what you buy is a “Greek product” or “product of Greece“. It should be written somewhere on the label as a proof that it is actually made and imported from Greece. Dont be cheated by Greek Style Yogurt or fake White cheeses that are sold as FETA. Buy some Greek olive oil, real Greek Feta, Greek Yogurt, Greek Wine, Greek Olives, Greek Honey, Greek canned fish, Greek herbs and Mastiha from Chios.

(If you need any help or my personal opinion about brands or special items, send me an email. I would love to help you make the best choices. )

Please note: If you dont want, you dont have to buy anything. However, next time you go and buy some olive oil, be sure that your choice will make a differece for us… and for you!.. I dont want to sound foolish but I strongly believe we do produce the best of the best olive oil in the world. (Sorry Italy and Spain. We love you and believe you produce great products too and you help us raise our standards! )

3) E-support.

This is very simple and its completely free! Visit Greek websites ending in “.gr” and click on the Google ads! You simply send some little money in Greece. Here some of the websites I own and manage:

pastitsio.gr, milosophy.gr, bletsas.gr, melomakarona.gr,

stifado.gr, avocados.gr, taramosalata.gr, salata.gr,

awakening.gr, aplologia.gr, MindMaps.gr,

If you want to help more, buy some electronic service or ebook from a greek site. For start you can support my personal mission (Raising the Food IQ of the people and empowering them to make the best possible food choices) and get the English version of my eBook “Cooking Economy”.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you

from the bottom of my heart!

I send you lots of hugs and Greetings

All the best

FT Bletsas

PS And one last thing!… Someday, visit Greece…!

On this video, you will learn about carobs, a food that saved a lot of lifes during the 2nd World War Nazi occupancy in Greece. Carobs are very nutritious and easy to grow/collect from nature.

Carob Information on Nutrition Data

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/legumes-and-legume-products/4324/2

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Be careful when you eat them. The seed is very hard and might break your teeth. Bite with Caution!!

Carob is a tropical pod that contains a sweet, edible pulp and inedible seeds. After drying, the pulp is roasted and ground into a powder that resembles cocoa powder, but does not have the same flavor and texture of chocolate.

One tablespoon of unsweetened carob powder has 25 calories, no fat, no saturated fat, no cholesterol, and 6 grams carbohydrate. By comparison, one tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder contains 12 calories, 1 gram of fat, no saturated fat, no cholesterol, and 3 grams of carbohydrate.

In this text I will refer to the most important foods that nourished and saved a lot of people during the German Occupation. These foods are abundant in Greece and can cover an important part of our alimentary needs. Let’s hope that in the future we will not have to depend on them to survive but it is useful that we know which these foods are and how we can locate them. These foods are either produced easily or can be easily gathered from nature.

Note: Foods like pulses and cereals are certainly exceptional foods of Economy but they are neither easily cultivated nor easily gathered from nature. It is much easier to have some chickens and rabbits at your garden than cultivating wheat and lentils. Bread and flour are certainly foods that were consumed during the Occupation period but people should somehow procure them. In this text we are referring to foods of self-sufficiency.

Olives

Olives are widely regarded as “the gold” of the Greek land. We only have to gather them during the suitable period (Fall) and either use them to make oil, or rinse them thoroughly and put them in a jar with vinegar and salt. They contain good monounsaturated fats and can offer us important amounts of energy.

Carobs

Carobs saved a lot of people during the period of Occupation. They are similar to beans and are gathered from trees that do not need special care. Carob trees exist in many parts of Greece. We can grate the carob fruit and use the powder the way we use cocoa powder. Carobs are really nutritious, healthy and tasty. Thanks to carobs, Chocoholics do not need to worry if we are not able to import cocoa from Southern America; they will relish Caroblates that are delicious and very good for our health. Nowadays, we can find them only in healthy diet shops, but in case of major economic setbacks, they may replace our favourite chocolates.

Walnuts

In Greece there are walnut trees in abundance in villages that are located at high altitudes. You only need to gather walnuts; you do not have to cultivate them. They are very nutritious and healthy and they contain proteins and good fats. If you do not remove their shells, you can preserve them for a long time. Nuts similar to walnuts are almonds and hazelnuts, while equally nutritious nuts are the seeds of pine cones. It can be difficult and time-consuming to open the cones and remove the seeds but Greece is full of pines, so it is good that we remember the nutritional value of their cones!

Chestnuts

Chestnuts are a very particular type of Survival food. They are some of the few nuts in nature (if not the only nuts) that contain starchy carbohydrates. We can also find starch in pasta and rice but their cultivation it is not easy and of course pasta and rice do not exist in nature if we do not cultivate them. On the other hand, chestnuts do exist in Greek mountainous forests. It is noteworthy that in Mouth Athos, many monks that are isolated in distant sketes in forests, have as only source of food for entire weeks some chestnuts that grow in abundance in this region.

Apples and oranges

All fruits that are simply gathered from trees that exist in abundance in Greek nature are exceptional foods of Alimentary Independence. Depending on the season and the region, there are other choices too. Figs, Apples, Lotuses, Quinces and Pomegranates are “autumn fruits”, while citrus fruits follow when winter comes. Oranges, Tangerines and Lemons are good choices because thanks to their peel, they can be preserved for a long time. They are an important source of vitamin C and other trace elements.

Greens

Greens may not offer us many calories but they contain many micronutrients that our body needs. Wild or not, greens are full of vitamins, trace elements and enzymes. Many of them can grow without being cultivated by humans and we only have to be able to recognize and gather them. Their cultivation is easy, so we can also have them in our courtyard or even in the flowerpots of the balconies at our homes. The best choices if we want to cultivate them at home are parsley, dill, celery and rocket (the last one grows easily and fast). All these greens can cover our needs for salad even if we do not have a regular garden or orchard.

Herbs

Greek nature is full of herbs that we can use in order to season foods or otherwise we can drink them as herb teas. Apart from their splendid flavour, herbs also contain a lot of beneficial ingredients that can help us protect our health and face illnesses. It is important that we be able to recognize them and use them depending on our needs. Some examples are thyme, mint, sedge, lemon verbena, lavender and rosemary.

Honey

Honey is a kind of alimentary gold. It contains simple sugars that offer us direct energy and many precious trace elements. It is easily preserved for a long time and it can be used in innumerable ways. Even though it is not easy to gather honey from nature, it is not difficult to make a beehive. With a little knowledge of apiculture you can exploit the gifts of bees that apart from honey are pollen, propolis, beeswax and royal jelly.

Rabbits

Meat is a kind of food that can cover our needs for proteins and fats if there is lack of other foods. Especially in winter, when it is not easy to cultivate or gather foods, meat can cover an important part of our caloric needs. Rabbits are the better source of meat in case of emergency. It is said that rabbits saved Cretans from famine during the period of Occupation. Apart from the fact that this meat is considered particularly healthy because it contains Omega-3 fatty acids, the rabbits have many still practical advantages. They only need a very little space in order to grow and can you keep them in a small garden or even in a veranda. They reproduce themselves and grow very fast! Their size is big enough but not too big; you can eat a rabbit during a familial meal without needing to preserve some of it for another meal. Rabbits eat grass, peels and leftovers of meals. It is easier to butcher them than other animals (pigs and chickens for example).

Chickens

The major advantage of chickens is that they lay eggs! A hen can give us an egg per day. That is why they are exceptionally useful during tough periods of time and economic difficulties, when there is lack of food. Hens can be nourished with leftovers of meals and their eggs are exceptional sources of protein of high biological value. They may be high in cholesterol but in case of famine this does not matter because there is lack of animal foods and their consumption is reduced anyway. In addition, eggs contain a lot of other nutrients.

Goats

It is somehow difficult to have a goat at home if you do not live in a village but it is surely the best source of milk in difficult situations. The milk of goat is considered more compatible with our bodies than the milk of other animals and it can be used in order to produce cheese. If you combine goat milk with sheep milk you can prepare the popular Feta cheese that does not contain cow milk anyway. Even if personally I do not adore milk, it is true that it contains vitamins and trace elements that you cannot find easily in other foods or drinks. It is a complete kind of food and very important if you have small children. Contrary to other animals that produce milk, it is easier to have a goat in your courtyard. After all, goats are sweet, friendly and frolicsome animals, and that is why they are perfect pets for children!

Fish

In coastal regions, fishing can satisfy a big part of the alimentary needs of the population. Fish contain proteins of high biological value, such as Omega-3 fatty acids and a lot of important trace elements, such as phosphor. It is always a good idea to know how to fish or to be able to gather clams and other eatable seafood. Even if nowadays the number of fish in seas is decreasing dangerously, they are a source of food that can save a lot of people in many regions of Greece if need be.

Snails

Regardless of whether you like it or not, whether you consider it gourmet food or not, snail is one of the best foods if you want to survive. It is easy to gather snails, especially after a rainy day and they are an exceptional source of proteins. They are cooked easily and fast and do not require “butchering”. Even if you are not thrilled when you hear that snails will be your meal, it is good to take them into consideration if need be.

Let’s hope that the above information will only be used as information of historical importance when we talk about World War II Occupation in Greece. However, due to the fact that we live in difficult and odd eras, we should study and know how our ancestors had dealt with setbacks in the past. In this way we might also we be ready to face similar setbacks and survive.

Think positive and remember: The only thing that we have to do in order to avoid hunger, whatever happens, is to increase our alimentary intelligence. If you have read this text, you have made a very important step! Now, you can communicate this information to other people. You can never know what will happen in the future… The more we know, the better for all of us!

Take care!

Cost

Wheat and lentils are some of the most economical foods that we can buy. If we buy them in bulk and in big quantities we can save a lot of money. Olive oil may seem expensive but it has such an important nutritional value that the cost per calorie is actually low. It is really superior in comparison to all the other oils. If we want to decrease the cost we can avoid buying extra virgin olive oil. But the truth is that it deserves the money that we may spend.

Lifetime

If we store wheat, lentils and olive oil properly, in a dry, cool and shady place, we can preserve them for a longer time. This means that we can buy big quantities at a better price and consume them at a slow rate. The long lifetime of these foods allows us to have at home a sensible quantity of them as a safety measure against any misfortune that we may face during these hard times. In case of having to stay isolated at home for many days, there is nothing to be afraid of, if you have enough wheat, lentils and olive oil. 50 kilos of each one is enough for a person for a whole year.

Complete Diet

These three foods can offer to our body what it needs not only in order to survive, but also in order to be fully nourished. They contain the 3 macro-nutritional elements: carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Olive oil provides us with “good” fats while wheat and lentils contain complex carbohydrates and proteins.

Complete protein

The main advantage of wheat and lentils it is that when they are combined they can provide us with all the essential amino-acids; that is to say complete protein! This means that if we combine lentils and wheat in the same meal, we receive complete protein as we do when we eat meat and dairy products.

Vitamins and minerals

The combination of these three foods provides our body with many micro-nutritional elements. For example, whole wheat contains vitamins B, lentils contain iron and calcium, while olive oil contains vitamin E and other substances that help our body to absorb the vitamins.

Sprouting

The “magical” thing about lentils and wheat is that we can soak them and let them become germs. If we eat wheat and lentils when they are sprouted, then they can offer us everything our body needs, such as enzymes, chlorophyll and a complete spectrum of vitamins. For example, if we have 30 gr. of lentils, we can create 100 gr. of germs that give us 100 calories and contain 1/3 of the recommended intake of vitamin C and 1/5 of the iron that we need on a daily basis. Using sprouted wheat you can also make wheat germ bread that is one of the healthiest, more nutritious and tastier breads that exist!

Cooking

Cooking wheat and lentils is trivial. You can put them together in a pan covered with water and boil them in medium heat until they are soft enough to eat. You then rinse them and add raw olive oil herbs, spices and seasonings. This makes a very tasty and super-nutritious meal that you can even incorporate in your normal diet. Remember that it is better to soak wheat and lentils before boiling in order to make them cook faster and better. If you want to eat the sprouts, then boiling, electric current and saucepans are not needed. Just let them sprout and enjoy them as they are.

A complete meal

Let’s see how you can have a complete meal combining these three foods. You soak some lentils and wheat for 3-4 hours in water. You boil them together to save energy. The required time is about 25 minutes. You need 50 gr. from each for a portion; that is to say if you use half kilo of wheat and half kilo of lentils you will have 20 portions. You put a portion of wheat and lentils in a bowl. Add 1 spoonful of olive oil (15 gr.), salt, pepper and any other spice you like. Then, mix 50 gr. of sprouted lentils (about 20 gr. / germs 4-5 cm) and you have prepared a complete meal with the following nutritional characteristics:
517 Calories, 58gr. carbohydrates, 15 gr. proteins and 16gr. fats.

Taste

It is true that if you try to survive, you don’t care about taste. Foods can easily be cooked with seasonings and spices that make them really tasty. The important factor is the good quality of the raw food materials; tasty cooking is up to you. If wheat, lentils and olive oil are organic, lentils are local and olive oil is extra virgin, if they come from good crops and their production has been done in the correct way, then the enjoyment that derives from a simple meal that contains these ingredients can be great.

Conclusion

So, if you asked me which 3 foods I would like to have if I had to stay on a deserted island for a long time, I would certainly choose wheat, lentils and olive oil. Eating cereals, pulses and oil can indisputably help you survive. In my opinion, extra virgin olive oil is the best oil. Lentils are the best type of pulses because they are cooked fast and can also be eaten as germs. Whole wheat can be preserved for a long time, can be eaten sprouted or soaked and contains many nutrients. Put these foods in your cupboards and whatever happens, even if the world financial system collapses or natural disaster happens, you can be safe.

The more supplies you have, the better because you will be able to give some to other people in need. Let’s hope that this will just remain a nightmare scenario and you will simply consume your supplies at a slow rate, renewing your stock when necessary. Enjoy eating Wheat, Lentils and Olive Oil… and remember… Greek olive oil is the best

You can also watch this relevent video:
Top 3 Cooking Economy Foods

and the Free Cooking Economy Training Videos:
Cooking Economy Class

If you want to receive updates and Free Cooking Economy Content subscribe to the newsletter on the right of this page.

Thank you for reading!

The thing is that in case of starvation milk and meat are superfoods because they provide a great amount of necessary nutrients. On the other hand they are not essential. You can obtain the same nutrients from other sources. What I try to do here is not to argue whether or not is good to eat meat and dairy. Every person is free to make their own decision.

My point is that in case sometime you don’t have access to these foods, you don’t need to panic. Kids can grow up without milk and people can remain strong and healthy without meat. Whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds and leafy green vegetables can provide all the nutrients you would take from animal products. You might need a wide variety of such foods but at least it is not impossible. Your level of knowledge about food and nutrition will make the whole difference in a bad situation like this.

Vegetable Foods that contain full protein: Quinoa, Soy Beans, Hemp Seeds, Spirulina and combinations of grains with beans or seeds (ie wheat bread with hummus (chickpeas), rice with beans, pasta with lentils). Green vegetables also contain large amounts of protein if measured per calorie. For example in spinach almost half of its calories come from protein. In 100 grams, 4 are complex carbohydrates, 3 proteins and 2 fiber. (nutritiondata.com). You may not have noticed that because spinach is 90% water. But, the important is not the water but the solids of a food.

There are also grat vegetable sources of iron, calcium, magnesium adn omega3 fatty acids. If you have a balanced diet with lots of whole grains, beans, legumes, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, you will be getting all those necessary nutrients. Even if this sounds harder that just eating a steak to get you protein and iron, it is much easier and inexpensive to find and store these foods. Spinach is much easier to grow than hunting in the forest or having a cow around in your house!

In conclusion, just remember that meat and dairy are good to have as they are excellent sources of nutrients but they are not essential for survival and growth. It is much easier to store grains, beans and seeds in your house. That doesn’t mean I don’t recommend storing cans of milk, meat or fish in case you don’t have access to the market, but even if you run out of those or cant afford them right now, be assured that you can make it!  All you really need is basic nutrition knowledge and an elevated Food IQ.

My ebook Cooking Economy will help you raise your Food IQ and learn tons of useful information that will help you be smart when you shop, cook and store food. It will be availabe soon right here.

Did you know that gardening organically helps in the preservation of the top soil and therefore contributes to the health of the environment? Vegetables grown organically by you are a lot safer for you and your family. They are safer than the organic vegetables available in the market. Growing your own vegetables is not as difficult as it sounds. And the rewards are worth the efforts!

• Learn to grow your own vegetables.
• Save those extra money that you would have had to spend buying organic vegetables.
• Become the master of your vegetable patch with simple growing tips.
• Be self sufficient and independant in case of food shortages.
• Understand how to take care of plants to keep them healthy.
• Learn about various safe alternatives to pesticides.
• Stay healthy while contributing your bit to the environment.
• Learn these simple growing and gardening tips and enjoy the benefits of your own organic food.

For more information and practical advice on how you can make start growing your organic produce, click here.

The situation was extremely bad in the big cities and many islands were food supplies were scarce and production was limited. People in villages were much better off, especially in places with many natural sources of food. In many places people survived eating raisins, nuts, carobs, snails, olives and even fish, rabbits and chickens. The places with Italian occupation were much better and people suffered less.

People of my age, born around the 80’s had grandmothers who grew up during the Nazi occupancy of Greece in World War 2. I remember that my grandmother never ever threw away any food. She was insisted that I always empty my plate and she always mentioned that during the war they had no food. Many researchers concluded that this is the reason why many people are overweight in Greece today. We have this post-war syndrome that our grandmothers passed to us.

However, the last few years we got on the exactly opposite side. We became over-consumers and started eating big amounts of processed foods and animal products. This had adverse effects in our health. Greece is one of the top European countries in Childhood obesity. People who visit Greece get shocked by the amount of food thrown away when Greek people eat out. At least this was a fact before the economic crisis. Nowadays, Greeks started going back to more frugal practices and value food more than they did.

Perhaps, now it is our chance to realize that it is time to return to a more traditional Mediterranean diet by eating more of the food produced in Greece. Olive oil as a main source of fat, whole grains and legumes, beans and nuts, seasonal vegetables, local fruits and animal products such as dairy an eggs in moderation. Fish can be a good source of full protein and omega 3 fatty acids, especially small fish such as sardines that are inexpensive and plentiful in Greece. Meat can be also eaten but sparingly, and mainly from sources such as rabbits, pigs and chicken with are more easy and inexpensive to raise.

It is true that some Greek people will miss their daily souvlaki but in terms of their health and the environmental impact of their diet, going back to a more traditional Mediterranean diet will have a very positive impact in our lives. Greece will make it! We can live with olives, beans, nuts and raisins if we need to. We still know how to grow and cook our own food and we will survive! If we are prepared, practically and phycologiacly to overcome what is coming, we have nothing to fear of. Humanity will survive and thrive.

Some interesting related articles:

Greece in the Second World War

Axis occupation of Greece during World War II

Greeks Using ‘Starvation Recipes’ Cookbook to Survive Bad Economy