CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Congratulations Nora Peterson for winning the 326 Piece OSHA First Aid Kit!   I wish I could give something away to everyone!  Keep an eye out for our next give-away coming up in August!

(Nora, send me your shipping address so I can get the kit to you)

Cooking with Food Storage

Every week I'll be featuring in detail an ingredient from food storage.  Since I'm so excited about the new buckets being sold by Shelf Reliance, I couldn't resist beginning with Spelt!  You'll know why when you watch this video.  Not only did I drool, but I'm ready to get online and order some now!

Spelt is highly nutritious and is an EXCELLENT source of manganese. It is also a good source of niacin, copper, phosphorus, protein, and fiber.  It is very similar to wheat, but is in fact higher in protein than wheat and has a nutty and slightly sweeter flavor.  It is a common wheat replacement and DOES contain gluten.  Grind it as flour, toss in a salad, or cook in soups and hot cereal.

The video below highlights some of the awesome things you can make with Spelt:

Watch Chef Brad cook with Spelt on BYUtv

Spelt can be purchased in a variety of sizes from Shelf Reliance.  The largest bucket contains 42 pounds!  For information, go here.

Short-Term Storage: Step 3

Make a Shopping List



How much food do you need for 3 months (or however long you decide)?  Make a list of what you'll need.  If you'd like to use my free food storage list/shopping organizer, click here.   It's simple, and can take away some of the headache.  (note:  to see my organizer for purchasing long-term food storage, I'll be posting that shortly)

How?  Let's assume I have these meals twice a month (obviously I'll need more recipes, but remember, this is just to get started).  To have enough for 3 months I'll need to multiply each ingredient by 6.  My shopping list will look like this:


Amy's 3-month Dinner Shopping List
24 cans tomato sauce (or 6 cups tomato powder)
6 cans diced tomatoes
7 1/2 C FD Beef
3 Cups Broccoli
6 cans Ckn Broth (6-8 tsp bouillon)
6 Cups Inst. Black Beans
12 cans corn (or 12 cups FD corn)
15 Cups FD Chicken
6 Cups instant red beans
3 lb Macaroni
12 Cups diced potatoes
6 C FD Sausage
4.5 pkg penne noodles
12 Cups mozz. cheese
6 pkg. frozen pie crusts (2-per pkg)
6 cans Crm-potato soup
6 cans mixed veggies

Decide what purchasing method works best for you -- I recommend choosing items as they come on sale then purchasing the entire amount of that ingredient.  But do what's best for you and your budget.  If you have any specific items that you would like to order from me, please view a complete list of products at: myfamilythrives.shelfreliance.com  There are always specials going on, so be sure and check the sales tab above or ask me for more information.

Ingredients List

How's everyone doing on their list of ingredients for meals?  If 5 is too many, pick one.  Just do it!  Write down the ingredients to your favorite breakfast or dinner recipe.  Be sure to pick one that uses canned, dry or frozen foods.  If you're really struggling with a recipe, feel free to use mine below.

My Favorite Mexican Soup:
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 can cooked chicken
1 can chicken broth
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato dices
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/2 tsp Chili Powder (or more)
dash of cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp Garlic
1/8 tsp Cumin

Combine in a pot and heat until warm (crock pot for a few hours).

Step 3 will be posted on Monday.

Short-Term Storage: Step 2

Using your list of meals, write down the ingredients for each recipe.  Do this for the entire list, or only pick a few meals out of the day. 

Here's mine.  Notice the recipes are simple and made from shelf- or frozen- food that will stay good for at least a year.  In fact, all of the recipes can even be made ahead of time and frozen.*


DINNER

• Spaghetti:  1 lb. spag. noodles, 1 can tomato sauce, 1 can diced tomatoes, 3/4 C **FD beef, 1/2 C FD broccoli, seasonings.
• Mexican Soup:  1 can chicken broth, 1 C instant black beans, 1 can tomato sauce, 1 can corn, 1-1/2 C diced FD chicken, spices.
• Minestrone Soup:  1 C instant red beans, 1/2-lb mac. noodles, 2 C potato dices, 1 C FD sausage, 1 can tomato sauce, spices.
• Penne Casserole:  3/4 pkg penne noodles, 1 can tomato sauce, 2 C mozzarella cheese, 1/2 C FD gr. beef; seasonings
• Chicken Pot Pie:  2 frozen pie crusts, 1 can cream-potato soup, 1 can mixed veggies, 1 C FD chicken, 1 can corn, seasonings.

Click here to see Step 1

*note:  when freezing pre-made meals, do not cook noodles, potatoes, or pie crust ahead of time.  They'll be soggy when thawed and re-heated.  I'll spend more time on freezer meals another day.

**FD = freeze-dried.  The benefit of this over frozen is that you don't have to cook it and it doesn't get that awful freezer burn flavor.  Plus it has a 25-yr unopened shelf-life and doesn't take up freezer space.

Short-Term Storage: Step 1

If you couldn't go to the grocery store for a few days, a few weeks, or a few months, what would you need in your pantry to eat the foods you use on a regular basis?  THIS is SHORT-TERM STORAGE.

Step 1:
(this should only take 3 minutes).  List the foods you eat regularly for each meal of the day.  Keep the list small.  Even if you can only think of one or two each, that's a great start.

Here are some of mine for an example:

BREAKFAST:

• pancakes
• oatmeal
• cereal
• scrambled eggs/sausage/hashbrowns
• french toast

LUNCH

• Grilled cheese sandwich
• Quesadillas
• PB & J
• Chicken Nuggets
• Nachos

DINNER

• Spaghetti
• Mexican Soup
• Minestrone Soup
• Penne Casserole
• Chicken Pot Pie 

(If you want to get ahead, write down the ingredients needed for several recipes)

Baby Steps!

Let's face it.  We all have good intentions of getting prepared for emergencies and starting -- or finishing -- our food storage.  But when it comes down to it, life gets in the way and we get side-tracked.  Others might feel overwhelmed by the task and not know where to start entirely.

For those who need that little nudge and some guidance, I'll be posting a monthly goal with weekly "to-do" lists to complete it.  They will be SHORT and EASY.  And I'll be doing them with you.

This is in preparation for National Preparedness Month in September where I'm going to have some really fun and exciting activities for you and your family to participate in to put your preparedness skills to the test! (Did I mention, fun?)

Here's the schedule for the next 3 months: 

• July:  Short-term food storage 

• August:  Emergency Kits 

• September:  How well would you do in an emergency?

Be sure to "like" the facebook page on the right for quick and easy updates

FREE Give-Away Drawing

To welcome you to my new blog on emergency preparedness, I'm giving away a 326-Piece OSHA First Aid Kit, ($45 value) to one lucky winner!  The drawing will be held on July 31st.  All you have to do to enter is complete #1 below.  For additional entries, complete more of the steps below:

1.  "Follow" this blog by email or subscribe using the button in the right column. (those who previously clicked on follow will also be counted).  (note: google's 'follow' gadget is sporadically working -- share this post on your blog and we'll give you 3 extra entries! -- be sure to comment with a link to your blog so I can check it out!)

2.   Share this post on your facebook wall by clicking on  the facebook 'share' button below (leave a comment below to let me know you did)

3.  "Like" my NEW page on facebook by clicking on the "like" button to the right or go to: My Family Thrives

Online Resources

Here are some online resources for emergency information & preparedness:

• FEMA: Plan and Prepare

• Ready.gov:  Prepare, Plan, Stay Informed

• American Red Cross

• Center for Disease Control and Prevention

• National Weather Service

• Arizona Division of Emergency Management

• Emergency Preparedness for KIDS (games & activities)

• Preparedness Resources for teachers & classrooms

• Dept. of Ed: Emergency Planning for Schools

Freeze Dried Foods

I recently found several articles focusing on the health effects of freeze dried foods -- this is really amazing!  Many of the benefits I already listed in my previous post, but here are some others:

• concentrated antioxidants
• high in fiber 
• color, shape, flavor and nutrients are maintained
• diets high in fruit and vegetables reduce risk of disease
• long shelf life
• convenient for backpacking, camping and traveling
• a healthy, fun and nutritional snack for kids
• no extra flavors, additives or sugars -- ALL Natural!!

For an interesting read on Freeze-dried foods:

1. Nutritional Effects of Freeze-Drying Foods
2. Health Effects of Freeze-Dried Food 
3. Ever wonder how Freeze-Dried Ice Cream is made?