They told your grandmother lard was dirty. They lied. What life looked like before the food industry took over — and how to take it back.

Before processed food, before the grocery store, before Big Ag told us convenience was freedom — families were fed, healthy, and self-sufficient. In this episode, chef and food activist Molly Bravo breaks down what daily life actually looked like in the early 1900s: cooking from scratch with zero waste, healing sick kids with backyard herbs, planting by the moon, and building a pantry that never ran out. You'll learn how Crisco, industrial agriculture, and the post-WWII food system dismantled 200 years of ancestral wisdom — and exactly 3 steps to start living outside that system today. If you're interested in homesteading for beginners, traditional cooking, food self-sufficiency, how to build a pantry, ancestral nutrition, real food on a budget, from scratch cooking, and learning old-world skills for modern life — this episode is for you.

Pantry of Plenty: https://pantryofplenty.wylderspace.com

The Essential Canning Cookbook: https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Canning-Cookbook-Pressure-Recipes/dp/1400352010

WylderSpace: https://wylderspace.com

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

If the power went out tonight for three days, what would your family eat?

Most people don't have an answer. And that's exactly what we're fixing today.

In this episode, I'm teaching you how to build a real, working pantry from scratch — the kind that makes you completely untouchable when food prices spike, supply chains buckle, or the unexpected hits.

Food costs are forecast to climb another 12–18% before the end of 2026. The grid failed nearly half of American households last year. Remote viewers, astrologers, and commodity analysts are all pointing at the same window of time. Whether you follow the data or your gut — the question is the same: is your kitchen ready?

Your great-grandmother didn't panic during hard times. She walked into her pantry and fed her family. That's what we're building here.

I'll walk you through the exact 10 foundational items that belong on your shelves first and the specific switches that save most families $300–$800 a month — so your stocking budget practically builds itself.

This is sovereignty.

SHOW NOTES + LINKS

🧮 Free Food Savings Calculator — See exactly what your household is overspending and where that money goes instead: https://pantryofplenty.wylderspace.com/tools/grocery-savings-calculator

🌿 Pantry of Plenty — The complete traditional foods course and community. Sourdough, bone broth, fermentation, pressure canning, seasonal sourcing. Includes a signed copy of The Essential Canning Cookbook and 3 months inside the Sovereign Kitchen Society: https://wylderspace.com

🛠️ 7-Day Grocery Leak Fix — Stop the bleeding in your grocery budget in one week. Three systems, real savings, $19:https://pantryofplenty.wylderspace.com/7-day-grocery-leak-fix

📖 The Essential Canning Cookbook — My HarperCollins book. Everything you need to start preserving your own food with confidence: https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Canning-Cookbook-Pressure-Recipes/dp/1400352010

📱 Instagram — Come find the community: https://instagram.com/wylderspace

LOVED THIS EPISODE?

Leave a review. It takes 60 seconds and it's the most powerful thing you can do to help this show reach the families who need it. We're passing this knowledge forward — one kitchen at a time. Thank you for being part of it.

Are you prepared for what's already happening? Most American households have two to three days of usable food.

The global supply chain is under more pressure than the mainstream news is telling you — oil disruptions, rising food costs, egg shortages, and an electrical grid that is more vulnerable than most of us want to admit.

This episode is your wake-up call.

In this episode, Molly Bravo — chef, HarperCollins author, and founder of Wylder Space — breaks down exactly what is happening to the global food and energy supply right now, and more importantly, what you can do about it starting today.

You'll learn:

— How to start canning from scratch with zero prior experience, including the difference between water bath canning and pressure canning and which one to start with first

— Why your refrigerator and freezer will fail you in an extended power outage

— and what to have on your shelves instead

— How the Strait of Hormuz disruption is quietly driving up your grocery bill right now

— Why your tap water is not guaranteed when the power goes out

— and how a countertop water distiller gives you clean water from almost any source

— The three action items you can implement this week to move from vulnerable to prepared

Molly also introduces The Essential Canning Cookbook (HarperCollins)

— the beginner-friendly guide to building a real food preservation practice at home

— and the 7-Day Grocery Leak Fix, the $19 system that helps you find and redirect the money you're unknowingly losing at the grocery store every month.

This is not about becoming a prepper. This is about becoming someone who cannot be caught off guard.

Resources mentioned in this episode: 7-Day Grocery Leak Fix: https://pantryofplenty.wylderspace.com/7-day-grocery-leak-fix 

The Essential Canning Cookbook: https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Canning-Cookbook-Pressure-Recipes/dp/1400352010

 Instagram: @wylderspace

On February 28, 2026, conflict in the Middle East disrupted oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz -- a waterway that carries 20% of global petroleum every single day.

The International Energy Agency responded with the largest emergency oil release in its history. Oil prices jumped nearly 50% in weeks. And every one of those numbers has a direct line to your grocery bill.

In this episode of the Sovereign Kitchen Society, chef and fod activist Molly Bravo connects the dots between global energy disruption and your family's dinner table -- and explains why the skills your great-grandmother had are more relevant right now than they have ever been.

You will learn:

→ How oil prices flow directly into grocery prices through trucking, cold-chain logistics, and retail energy costs

→ Why your grocery store only carries 3 days of food inventory -- and what that means when the system strains → How to build a 30-day pantry from the cheapest, most calorie-dense staples available

→ What local sourcing, food preservation, and a no-power plan actually look like in a real kitchen

→ Why this is not a prepper conversation -- it is a sovereignty conversation

This is not about fear mongering rather having the confidence that comes from knowing your family can eat no matter what happens out there.

Take the first step this week: the 7-Day Grocery Leak Fix walks you through auditing your grocery leaks and building a real pantry system in seven days.

Grab a copy of the Essential Canning Cookbook for food preservation skills.

Connect with me directly at wylderspace.com.

What would you eat if the grocery stores closed tomorrow?

For most American households, the honest answer is: three days of food. That number tells you how dependent we've become on a system we have zero control over.

In this episode of the Sovereign Kitchen Society, I'll break down the fragility of our modern food supply — and teach you 3 strategies your great-grandparents lived by that will make your family more resilient, more nourished, and significantly less dependent on a store shelf.

You'll learn:

• The Anchor Protein Method — how to cook once and eat all week, the way our grandmothers did it
• The Impulse blocker — how to eliminate impulse buys and stop throwing $1,500 a year in the trash
• High-markup swaps — the yogurt, bread, broth, and sauces you're overpaying for that you can make for pennies

This episode is grounded in data, old-world wisdom, and the kind of practical action that actually sticks.

Ready to go deeper? The 7-Day Grocery Leak Fix will walk you through auditing your grocery leaks, installing the Anchor Protein system in your kitchen, and building a shopping process that saves you real money — in 7 days.

Snag a copy of the Essential Canning Cookbook to learn food preservation skills for modern day times.

You walked in for chicken and broccoli. You walked out $180 lighter with a cart full of stuff you didn't plan for — including that $9 hummus and a rotisserie chicken you didn't need because you forgot you already had a plan.

The average American household wastes almost a THIRD of the food they buy. That's nearly $3,000 a year thrown straight in the trash. And impulse purchases at the grocery store? They account for up to 62% of store revenue. The store is designed for you to lose your plan by aisle three. That's not an accident.

In this episode, I'm breaking down exactly how to stop the grocery money leak — not with willpower (that runs out by aisle three), but with a dead-simple system your grandmother already knew.

You'll learn:

→ Why decision fatigue is costing you thousands a year (and what to do about it) → The Pre-Built Cart method — two plug-and-play grocery templates ($100 Solo Cart and $200 Family Starter Cart) that remove impulse buying before you walk through the doors → How to install Meal Defaults — no-decision breakfasts, auto-dinners from your anchor protein, and one default lunch format that eliminates takeout spending → The 6 non-negotiable rules I follow every single time I shop → The real math behind "I'll figure it out later" (spoiler: it's $4,000–$6,000 a year in leaked money)

This isn't meal planning advice from someone who's never had to stretch a grocery budget. This is old-world kitchen wisdom rebuilt for modern families who are tired of overspending, wasting food, and living in decision fatigue every single week.

🔗 Grab the FREE Grocery Leak Calculator and find YOUR money leak

📥 Download the Pre-Built Cart Templates in the episode resources

📖 Get The Essential Canning Cookbook by Molly Bravo 🏡

Ready for the full system?

➡️ Join Pantry of Plenty at Wylder Space

KEYWORDS: grocery budget, save money on groceries, stop impulse buying, meal planning for families, food waste, grocery shopping tips, anchor protein method, weekly meal prep, food sovereignty, budget grocery haul, grocery list system, stop wasting food, frugal grocery shopping, pantry cooking, reduce food waste at home, grocery budget for family of four, sovereign kitchen, traditional cooking skills, self-sufficiency, homestead kitchen

Your great-grandmother fed a full table every night without a meal plan, a Pinterest board, or a DoorDash account. She had a kitchen system and today I'm teaching it to you.

In this solo teaching episode, I'm breaking down the Anchor Protein Method, a strategic cooking framework rooted in traditional wisdom that kills decision fatigue, slashes food waste, and saves real money on groceries. This isn't another meal planning hack. This is how our grandmothers actually cooked and why we need to bring it back.

I'm getting personal in this one. I'll tell you about the season of my life when I was ordering takeout five nights a week because I didn't trust myself in my own kitchen, and how learning this one approach to meal preparation changed everything (not just what I spent, but how I felt about feeding my family.)

In This Episode:

• Why traditional meal planning sets you up to fail and what to do instead
• The Anchor Protein Method explained: a cook-once, eat-all-week framework for busy families
• How decision fatigue drives overspending on takeout and delivery (and how to stop the 4pm spiral)
• What your grandmother knew about stretching one protein into four or five family meals
• The real value of bone broth and why our ancestors never threw away the carcass
• Reducing food waste by building meals that connect to each other throughout the week
• Five actionable steps you can implement this weekend to simplify grocery shopping and meal preparation
• How to build a sustainable kitchen system that keeps your family fed without burnout

Sound Bites:

"I stopped trying to plan for those 21 meals." "That we can eat for like multiple days." "I was living in damage control mode."

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to the Kitchen Dilemma 02:19 The Anchor Protein Method Explained 05:33
The Philosophy of Waste Not, Want Not 11:21
Simplifying Meal Preparation 15:18
Understanding the Decision Fatigue 19:29
Connecting with Traditional Cooking Methods 24:22 Embracing Kitchen Sovereignty

Resources & Links:

Free Food Savings Calculator — find out where your grocery money is leaking: wylderspace.com

The Essential Canning Cookbook — learn old-world preservation skills for your modern kitchen: https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Canning-Cookbook-Pressure-Recipes/dp/1400352010

Pantry of Plenty — go deeper with traditional cooking, fermentation, sourdough, canning, and sourcing: https://pantryofplenty.wylderspace.com

Caleb at Fogline Farm: https://www.foglinefarm.com

Markegard Grassfed Beef: https://markeygard.com

Instagram: @wylderspace

Website: wylderspace.com

This episode is for anyone searching for: meal planning tips, grocery savings strategies and real food wisdom.

The Sovereign Kitchen Society is a weekly gathering place for people who feel the pull toward real food, personal sovereignty, family economy, and the old-world skills our grandparents treated as ordinary. Food is freedom. Skills are security. And a family economy — no matter how small — can change everything.

Summary

In this episode, Molly Bravo discusses the importance of teaching children essential life skills, particularly in the kitchen, to ensure they can feed themselves and understand the value of food. She emphasizes the decline of traditional food practices and the need to pass down knowledge of canning and cooking to the next generation. Through personal anecdotes and insights, she highlights how these skills foster competence, confidence, and family connections, ultimately encouraging listeners to engage their children in the kitchen and create lasting memories.

Takeaways

We have stopped teaching our children how to live.

Canning used to be as ordinary as doing laundry.

Kids need to participate in the kitchen to learn.

Competence and confidence are built through practice.

Traditional food practices are vital for health and community.

Canning teaches patience and food science.

Family traditions are the foundation of competence.

Children learn courage by watching adults try new things.

Food education can empower children for life.

Creating memories in the kitchen is essential for family bonding.

👉 Grab your copy of the Essential Canning Cookbook today

👉 Sign up for our Pantry of Plenty and learn the fundamentals of building a functional kitchen system.

Use Code: ANCIENTWAYS for 15% off

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Canning and Food Preservation

02:59 The Importance of Teaching Life Skills

11:37 The Science of Competence and Agency

18:18 Traditional Food Practices and Their Value

22:33 Announcing the New Canning Course

24:56 Personal Journey and the Role of the Kitchen

30:38 Practical Skills for Children in the Kitchen

37:02 Building Family Traditions and Memories

Confused about what to eat? You're not alone. Despite living in a land of abundance, people are starving for real nourishment—and terrified to eat.

In this deeply personal episode, I'm sharing why the modern food system has us lost, hungry, and sick—and how to find your way back to true nourishment through ancestral wisdom and traditional cooking skills.

In This Episode:

• Why nutritional science keeps contradicting itself (and who funds those studies)
• The truth about acid blockers, digestive issues, and gut health problems
• What industrial farming has done to our food supply—vegetables today have 50% fewer nutrients than our grandparents' food
• Old world cooking skills that heal: bone broth, fermentation, sourdough bread, and traditional fats
• How to stop outsourcing your health to experts and trust your body's wisdom
• Practical action steps to implement today for better health

This isn't about following another diet. It's about reclaiming food sovereignty, learning the skills our grandmothers knew, and rebuilding trust with your body.

READY TO TRANSFORM YOUR KITCHEN?

Join Pantry of Plenty—my comprehensive course on real food, traditional cooking methods, and stocking a sovereign kitchen. Learn fermentation, bone broth, sourdough, and how to source ingredients that actually nourish. Also, snag a copy of our Essential Canning cookbook, now available everywhere :)

🌾 www.pantryofplenty.wylderspace.com

👉 https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Canning-Cookbook-Pressure-Recipes/dp/1400352010

CONNECT WITH ME:

 Instagram: @wylderspace

Website: wylderspace.com

👉 Pantry of Plenty

Use code: ANCIENTWAYS for 15% savings

👉 The Essential Canning Cookbook

Summary

In this episode, Molly Bravo welcomes listeners to the new year with a focus on the challenges many face regarding food, health, and well-being. She emphasizes that the current system is not simplifying life but rather complicating it, leading to feelings of depletion and overwhelm. Molly introduces the concept of the 'Pantry of Plenty,' a program designed to help families stock their kitchens with intention, lower grocery bills, and cook nourishing meals without stress. She highlights the importance of building foundational skills in the kitchen to support health and stability, rather than relying on quick fixes or trends.

Molly dives deep into the epidemic of depletion, discussing how many people feel exhausted and disconnected from their bodies. She critiques the current health narrative that promotes appetite suppression and medication as solutions, arguing that true nourishment comes from understanding food as a vital part of life. Through personal anecdotes and practical advice, she encourages listeners to rethink their relationship with food, emphasizing the need for foundational knowledge and skills to foster a healthier lifestyle. The episode concludes with actionable tips for lowering grocery bills and sourcing food more effectively, reinforcing the idea that real food and cooking can lead to a more grounded and fulfilling life.