137 Corona Crisis With Johnny of Granola Shotgun

Johnny’s bulk grain. Image: Granola Shotgun.

Johnny Sanphillippo of the blog Granola Shotgun dropped by the Root Simple podcast today to talk about a lifestyle that’s proving useful in our troubled times. I decided to put this podcast out quickly so please excuse the less than ideal audio on my end. During our conversation we discuss Johnny’s most recent blog post, “Recipes for Disaster,” which covers his tips and tricks for living frugally and being prepared for a crisis.

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14 Comments

  1. Excellent talk! I have to say that I agree with a lot of what Johnny said. We just do what we think is right and show the way by example if anyone is interested. Plus I was very interested in hearing how he has prepared for crazy times. It made me consider my own preparedness. I,too, am concerned about the emotional fallout all this will bring to the masses. Thank you both for this podcast.

  2. Thank you for all the work you put into your blog and podcast…over the years and particularly now, you assemble the best information and it has been very helpful in preparing me for uncertainty! Thank you for introducing me to Johnny Sanphillippo years ago and for this new interview with him. Stay Well!

  3. Great post! I like the idea of long-term wheat storage, and grinding it at home. However, I think I would need some better recipes since my current bread is at least partially from white flour. Could you share some information on how to work with 100% whole wheat flour, especially home-milled flour? Very excited to try this – your posts over the years have inspired a lot of changes at our home, so thanks!

    • My favorite book is Josey Baker Bread. It’s kind of like a bread class in a book. He starts out with simple yeasted white breads and then takes you through how to make a sourdough starter and how to do whole grain baking. It’s well illustrated too and Josey is a former science instructor so he knows how to explain things.

  4. I have a somewhat morbid question, but since Root Simple has posted on death and dying at home previously, now this blog on self-reliance, so i figured this question is relevant now.

    My question is if you’re well into your 70s, have all the health issues listed for possible patients who’ll have severe COVID-19, and knowing all this you’ve decided once the surge happens to

    simply choose not to bother going to the hospital knowing you’ll be given the least priority during a triage situation.

    How then can you opt to die at home, simply? Is it possible to opt to die at home, and when dead can you simply go straight to the funeral home? Be cremated.

    Or must you go to the ER, be officially pronounced dead; or go to the Coroner’s office be deemed kosher in death. OR a third option better yet, skip all those formalities, simply die more peacefully at home,

    and have the funeral home take care of your remains.

    Can you guys please do a blog, on how to peaceful just die at home with severe COVID-19; what governmental hoops you’ll have to go thru, to be issued a death certificate, so your earthly affairs can be dealt with

    the easiest way possible inspite of this Pandemic.

    Thank you.

    • Yes, it’s possible to die at home. That’s what my mom did, assisted by her health plan and a hospice nurse. There was no need to go to the ER–the funeral home picked up her body. Now, I don’t know what this looks like in a crisis situation. As Johnny mentioned, we did an interview with Elizabeth Fournier and she has a website: https://www.thegreenreaper.org/. Laws vary by state so she’d be the best resource for specifics. That said, I hope you are able to stay safe.

    • Thanks, will look into Elizabeth’s website and podcast.

      If someone is terminally ill and or is documented seriously ill, then the funeral home will simply contact a doctor who has seen the deceased recently, and sign off on said death.

      Los Angeles County is the local gov’t that officiates deaths (and births).

      But if you choose to stay at home for this pandemic, never setting foot in a hospital setting, then there won’t be a doctor to sign off on your death.

      I guess you can email say your primary care doctor, just to say ‘hey I think I have severe COVID-19 now, if I succumb can you sign off on my death?’ Is that possible?

      Without some doctor officiating your death, usually it becomes a law enforcement issue, and their CYA decision with a doctor’s signature is usually off to the Coroner’s, technically here the Coroner’s doctors officiate your death.

      So how to skip the Coroner’s office, and essentially have the same process your mom (sorry…) went thru.

    • ooooppps… that should read ‘without’, not ‘with’:

      Without some doctor officiating your death, usually it becomes a law enforcement issue, and their CYA decision without a doctor’s signature is usually off to the Coroner’s, technically here the Coroner’s doctors officiate your death.

  5. Always great to listen to you two. I finally bought a Mockmill over the winter (initially inspired by this blog) and have been loving it. And, yes, lots of peace of mind knowing that wheat berries hold up and no one seems to be hoarding them. My small veggie garden is underway and I forgot a) how much fun it is and b) how much attention it does require which is why I dropped annual vegetables the last couple of years. But so far, so good. As a counterpoint to the people discussed in this podcast, 2008 is what made me change….A LOT. Which is why this is not nearly as painful as 2008. Also, I’m 38 and not 27 and have a bank account, which inevitably helps.

  6. Pingback: Our New Home Economics | Root Simple

  7. Hi, when we could, we always had a garden, but now some HOA do make it difficult. I like the Prepper lifestyle, just being prepared, help my anxiety and I feel better just in case all goes wrong with this pandemic. I have a generator with propane fuel and gasoline (here the power goes out during fires), a raised garden and I am relearning how to plant in the garden, fenced to keep our dogs out and us in. Enough food for 3 month. I am Vegan so I eat lots of veggies and I am always looking for way to trade. But the home even though it has solar is not efficient, only knocks off some off the electric bill. I plan on reading and learning from you and make my home a safer, more prepared home for the future. Thanks for this podcast I really enjoyed it and I would love you to do more. Gary

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