Grylls - Extreme Food: What to Eat When Your Life Depends on It...

Theres no getting away from it; Ive eaten some pretty extreme things in my time live tarantulas, raw goat testicles, elephant dung, you name it. In a situation when your life depends on it, you need to put your prejudices aside to keep your stomach filled and your strength up.

Whether its mastering the art of foraging and cooking up a tasty feast around the campfire or learning about the more extreme end of wild food (ever tried a scorpion kebab?), theres a lot to learn when it comes to dinner time in the wild. This book will teach you all the necessary skills and techniques to get your teeth into meals you might never have thought of as food in the first place and, crucially, how to recognize plants and animals that might end up doing you more harm than good.

In todays world, we rarely need to venture beyond the local supermarket and we turn our noses up at the thought of snacking on bugs and grubs. But out in the wild, Mother Nature has provided us with a plentiful supply of nutritious if not always delicious food for the taking. And when needs must, we just have to know where to look.

Some of it might take you out of your comfort zone. Some of it might turn your stomach. But its saved my life more than once. And one day, it might save yours...

The survival techniques described in this book are for use in genuine extreme circumstances where personal safety is at risk. Please consult professional experts before practising potentially dangerous techniques and carefully consider the cautions highlighted in this book, which include consulting more than one field guide when identifying wild plants and fungi. Compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including those relating to hunting, firearms, and the protection of animal and plant species, is strongly advised. So far as the author is aware the information in this book is correct and up to date as at the time of publication. The author and publishers disclaim, as far as the law allows, any liability arising directly or indirectly from the use, or misuse, of the information contained in this book.

To the one and only Danny Cane.

Ex-Parachute Regiment legend and the man
who first taught me to eat worms!

Who would have guessed

I ve eaten some pretty rough things in my time. Eyeballs, testicles, raw animal flesh, warm blood, the stomach contents of a freshly killed animal. Some have made me gag, some have surprised me and some, if truth be told, Id go to the ends of the earth never to have to taste ever again.

But I dont regret a single mouthful.

Because when it comes to the hard realities of survival, you have to think about food in a different way. Its no longer just about taste. Its now about energy, fuel and, ultimately, life.

Over the course of my travels, Ive met plenty of people who have found themselves in genuinely terrifying survival situations. Men and women who would have died if they hadnt summoned up reserves of courage and ingenuity they never knew they had.

All of them have one thing in common: they never thought it would happen to them. They never thought that they would be the ones who would have to survive when nature decided to stack all the cards against them.

And when that moment came, one of their most difficult challenges was finding the food they needed to give them energy and keep up their morale.

Its hardly surprising. Most people live a life very far removed from the natural world. And thats especially true when it comes to the food we eat. It often arrives on our plate pre-packaged and ready made. We rarely pick our own plants, catch our own fish or kill our own meat. We think of insects, amphibians and reptiles as either frightening or gross, which means we ignore half the food with which the world can supply us in favour of meals that are safe, comfortable and easy.

No wonder, then, that the pursuit of food can be one of the greatest challenges we face when the odds are against us in the fight for survival.

This book is not about the safe, the comfortable or the easy option. I want it to teach you how to fend for yourself when it comes to dinner time in the wild, no matter where you are in the world.

By the end, youll have learned how to do the simplest things, like cooking up a feast with your buddies round the campfire with raw materials that you might have brought with you from home, through to the extreme end of wild food survival Im talking blood, gore, beasts and bugs (anyone for fried tarantula?). Youll have learned how to hunt and kill wild animals for food, and how to prepare them so that you can eat them safely. Youll have learned how to catch and eat insects and amphibians, crocs and snakes. How to get your teeth into food you might never have thought of as being food in the first place.

Some of the food in this book might turn your stomach. I make no apology for that. I always say that survival is rarely pretty, and thats especially true when it comes to survival food. But at the end of the day, is there really that much difference between eating a slug and eating a chicken? Between eating a slice of frog meat and a rasher of bacon? Its just a question of what youre used to.

Ultimately, I want to show you that there are few things more empowering than knowing how to use what nature has to offer. Because one day, that knowledge could save you and your loved ones lives.

L ater in this book youre going to learn how to live off the land, and how to use what nature has given us to survive when were miles away from the comforts of a kitchen.

But eating in the wild isnt always a matter of fighting for survival. Sometimes we put ourselves out on the trail for the sheer fun of it. On these occasions we can find ourselves better prepared when it comes to trail food. So, to kick off, were going to look at some great ways of getting fuel inside you when youre hiking or camping with your buddies.

Some of these ideas revolve around ingredients that you can easily pack and bring with you. Im not going to ask you to forage, catch or kill anything just yet! But thats OK, because knowing how to prepare yourself before an expedition is just as important as knowing how to survive in the wild during the aftermath of an expedition gone wrong.

And remember this: cooking round the campfire is always fun, but it can also teach you some important lessons. Learning how to build a fire, or making sure your water is safe to drink, or understanding the differences between cooking out in the open and in a well-equipped kitchen these are all important techniques for anyone who wants to stand a chance of surviving for real in the wild.

Learn them well now and youll be in a much better position when things get a little edgier

Food is fuel. The harder we push our body and the more we expect of it, the more fuel we need. If youre going to function properly in the wild, youd better make sure the tank doesnt get empty. And you tend to get out what you put in.

Except its not quite as simple as that. Take bananas, for instance theyre a great, high-energy food. But if you lived off nothing but bananas, youd go downhill pretty fast. The body needs a varied diet to continue functioning. That means making sure you consume all the major food groups: fats, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals. So before we start out, lets establish what these food groups are and where you find them.