Even with all the dehydrated food packets, you will need to have warm delicious meals served to keep your palate in good shape. Not that your taste is important when Armageddon strikes but because warm food also tend to heat up the body allowing better circulation for the blood. This is even more during winter months when the wind alone can freeze you to death. With no electricity and no generator around, the following off grid appliances will definitely fire up the belly.

CampFire. This one doesn’t grow old. If you’ve been to a scouting camp, you’ll know precisely how to build an open pit oven fueled by sticks, branches, dry leaves and twigs. Campfires are super easy to make. Simply dug a hole on the ground, place dried leaves at the bottom then, put some logs on top or you may triangulate 3 big rocks or hollow blocks, or perhaps, an old tripod with hook, if any. The thing is, you will need to use a cast iron cookware to be able to fry, stew, or slow-cook delicious meals from food packs or game meat.

 

 

Old School Stoves. Think about range or oven cooking sans gas or electricity, and that’s what stoves from olden times look like. While some homes may have wood or charcoal stoves installed complete with vents and all, others may have to contend with making their own or using commercial ones like this stainless Solo Stove Bonfire below. Simply place a pan or skillet on top of these wood or coal stoves and voila! Hot meals and warm nights in a jiffy! Of course, these types of offgrid cooking appliances must be used outside to ditch the soot and deadly fumes.

Solo Stove Bonfire

 

Charcoal or Wood Grill. Yet another way of cooking dehydrated food or game meat offgrid is via a charcoal or wood grill. Like the campfire, it’s so easy to use and set-up outside. Simply cut a box as enclosure place 3 to 5 metal grills wrapped in aluminum foil on top and there you have it! Of course, you may want this Notebook Charcoal Grill as an option. Slim, lightweight, and portable, it is small enough to be stowed or carried along, easy-breezy set-up and grills just like any other.

 

Fire Sense Notebook Charcoal Grill

 

Propane/Butane Single Stoves. Every happy camper, mountaineer, and outdoorsy person know precisely the importance of having a propane/butane stove. Though not the best for cooking large meals, this single stoves like the Coleman Bottle Top Propane Stove can be quite handy in heating up packed rations like soups, canned goods, and hot water for freeze-dried food packs. This stove can also accommodate an 8-inch pan allowing you to enjoy omelets and other pan-fried meals. Just make sure to stock on propane tubes for replenishment later on.

Coleman Bottle Top Propane Stove

 

Lanterns. Do you know that lanterns can also double as food warmer? For homes with candle or gas lanterns, these stuffs only offer one thing— illumination. Not really. Citronella lantern from Coleman, for instance, is primarily used as insect repellent but can also help warm soups and pre-made stews. Heat on top also helps boil water. It may take forever but hey, when you’re out there with no other choice, this one is definitely a welcome development. Plus, Coleman Citronella Candle can actually burn up to 50hours. Cool!

Coleman Citronella Lantern

 

Rocket Stove. Making makeshift offgrid cooking appliances is indeed no rocket science. Developed by Sam Baldwin sometime in the early 80s, it makes good use of tin cans and fueled by basically anything combustible lying around. Designed with excellent air draft going into the fire, combustion is steady allowing fast and glorious cooking in a jiffy. This type of stove, by the way, is frequently used in refugee camps. Here’s an example on what it looks like below.

 

Solar Stove. Some people actually make good use of the summer sun for cooking and baking even on “normal” days. With the world going gaga over alternative sources of energy, it is no wonder why many solar stoves are being sold in the market today. But the simplest and most effective of them all is still the All American SUN OVEN. Each package comes with recipes for you to try out, too.

All American SUN OVEN

 

Off Grid Cooking Fun

With all the brouhaha about climate change, civil unrest and other doomsday scenarios, preparing for the possibilities ahead of time is definitely a wise decision to make. There are a lot of off grid cooking appliances available these days though. The key, however, is to find one that can suit whatever fuel available in your area. Butane, propane, wood, charcoal, twigs, leaves and paper are commonly used for off-grid cooking. Make sure to choose something you can sustain.