3 Month Food Supply Calculator/Inventory Record
This a great resource for recording your food & nonfood preparedness items!!!
Showing posts with label shopping lists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shopping lists. Show all posts
Friday, May 25, 2012
Food Storage - Week 5 Record Keeping & Water Storage
Now that you have shopped and labeled your
packaging it’s time to get your record keeping started. You can do this any way
that works for you. A word doc, a spread sheet or a list on the cupboard door.
The important thing is to start now, at the beginning. Record the items you
have purchased and the number of each item. Do not use any of these items until
you have a complete three month supply. Go ahead and as you make your record
keeping sheet add all the ingredients from your top 10 meals. You will be buying
them soon. We will add more items in the next few days so leave room to add new
ingredients and supplies.
Also add to your inventory list:
Toilet paper, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, hair spray, wetting solution, shaving cream, razors, after shave, feminine hygiene products, lotion, bath and hand soap, and facial tissues.
We have talked about food and other necessities but we have yet to talk about the most important item. Water. Today is the day to store water. Check your home for places to store and also for ways to store. Save your old bleach bottles as you finish using the bleach. Fill them with water. If you have empty canning jars fill them with water. Print and study the article at Totally Ready. com and begin today.
The need for liquids is even more important to survival than the need for food. Today as you think about this part of food storage add juices and water to your inventory list. This need is another reason it is important to store canned foods. The liquid from canned green beans can be used to cook pasta. The juice from canned fruits can be used to cook oatmeal or cream of wheat. This need is also the reason I do not like dehydrated or freeze dried foods except in very small amounts. They need to be reconstituted and if they are not they will cause dehydration when you consume them.
Many of us get our water from sources far from our homes. These can be interrupted by a natural disaster hundreds of miles away. So today, prepare to store water.
Also add to your inventory list:
Toilet paper, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, hair spray, wetting solution, shaving cream, razors, after shave, feminine hygiene products, lotion, bath and hand soap, and facial tissues.
Another Food Storage Project Day
We have talked about food and other necessities but we have yet to talk about the most important item. Water. Today is the day to store water. Check your home for places to store and also for ways to store. Save your old bleach bottles as you finish using the bleach. Fill them with water. If you have empty canning jars fill them with water. Print and study the article at Totally Ready. com and begin today.
The need for liquids is even more important to survival than the need for food. Today as you think about this part of food storage add juices and water to your inventory list. This need is another reason it is important to store canned foods. The liquid from canned green beans can be used to cook pasta. The juice from canned fruits can be used to cook oatmeal or cream of wheat. This need is also the reason I do not like dehydrated or freeze dried foods except in very small amounts. They need to be reconstituted and if they are not they will cause dehydration when you consume them.
Many of us get our water from sources far from our homes. These can be interrupted by a natural disaster hundreds of miles away. So today, prepare to store water.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Food Storage - Week 4 Food Groups & Shopping
Food Storage Lesson 4: Food Groups
Lesson Four: Exactly why is it so important to have variety in your food storage? Yes, storing grains and powdered milk will be all you need to stay alive but that is not good enough. We want to be able to thrive during a crisis and to have the strength to care for all of our family’s needs. Beside that, all those foods need water to prepare. That may not always be possible. As far as nutrients are concerned, consider the following.
Why Fruits and Vegetables? Colorful fruits and vegetables provide the wide range of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and chemicals your body uses to maintain energy levels, protect against the effects of aging, reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease, maintain good vision, build strong bones, keep the heart healthy, maintain a healthy immune system, and improve memory function.
Why Protein? No other nutrient plays as many different roles in keeping you healthy as protein. Protein is important for the growth and repair of your muscles, bones, skin, tendons, ligaments, hair, eyes, metabolism, and digestion.
Protein helps create the antibodies your immune system needs to fight disease. If you are injured or ill, you may need more protein. Often when people are dieting or just in a hurry they will skip protein. If you develop a headache, muscle cramps or shaking you can’t control, you may need to consume protein.
Easy sources of protein include meat, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts, and dairy foods. Besides meat, beans, peas and nuts have the most protein, but they are incomplete proteins. To achieve a more complete protein serving, you must combine them with grain, fruits and vegetables.
Why Grains? When we speak of grain we are really talking about carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of fuel and are easily used by the body for energy. Carbohydrates are needed for the central nervous system, kidneys, brain, and muscles to function properly.
The best source of carbohydrates is grains – whole wheat, wheat flour, bulgar, oatmeal, cornmeal, rice (white, brown and wild), buckwheat, popcorn, rye flour, barley, pasta, pretzels, couscous, amaranth, millet, quinoa, sorghum, and triticale. You can also count muffin, corn bread and pancake mixes when calculating your grain requirements for your food storage plan.
For a three-month supply, you should store only the grains you use or are learning to use. If you would like to expand your horizons, purchase a small amount of a new grain, try a few recipes and then purchase more once you know your family will eat it and you can properly prepare it. If you don’t know how to prepare grains such as wheat, ask for cooking lessons for Christmas!
Why Dairy? Diets rich in milk and other dairy products help build and maintain bone mass, reduce the risk of osteoporosis, build teeth, and help maintain a healthy blood pressure.
Evaporated milk contains milk fats which powdered milk does not. Evaporated milk is great to use in ice cream, cream sauces and soups and is also much better for children 3 and under. For every 10 cans of evaporated milk, eliminate 1 pound of powdered milk in your storage plan.
That’s right, today is the day to shop. You have your list of favorite foods and you have checked out the grocery ads. You have set a budget and now it is time to shop. If several items on your ingredient list are on sale this week those are the items you want to purchase. Remember the goal is to have a well rounded supply of food.
Our first step is to have a one week supply of everything you need to eat and care for your hygiene needs. Once you have that we will build to a month’s supply of everything. So go forth and shop. Purchase a variety of things on sale unless only one or two items on your list are on sale this week. You will need to decide whether or not to spend all of your budget or to save part for when more of your necessary items are available at a reduced price.
Save money and plan your trip around school pick up or other errands. When you get home leave the storage items in the bags.
When I bring an item home I note the month and year on the packaging. For example, if you look in my storage areas you will see cans with a 48 on the lid. Translated that means I purchased it in April of 2008. Decide on a method that works for you and mark those packages of food you purchased yesterday. Then place them in the storage area you prepared.
Lesson Four: Exactly why is it so important to have variety in your food storage? Yes, storing grains and powdered milk will be all you need to stay alive but that is not good enough. We want to be able to thrive during a crisis and to have the strength to care for all of our family’s needs. Beside that, all those foods need water to prepare. That may not always be possible. As far as nutrients are concerned, consider the following.
Why Fruits and Vegetables? Colorful fruits and vegetables provide the wide range of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and chemicals your body uses to maintain energy levels, protect against the effects of aging, reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease, maintain good vision, build strong bones, keep the heart healthy, maintain a healthy immune system, and improve memory function.
Why Protein? No other nutrient plays as many different roles in keeping you healthy as protein. Protein is important for the growth and repair of your muscles, bones, skin, tendons, ligaments, hair, eyes, metabolism, and digestion.
Protein helps create the antibodies your immune system needs to fight disease. If you are injured or ill, you may need more protein. Often when people are dieting or just in a hurry they will skip protein. If you develop a headache, muscle cramps or shaking you can’t control, you may need to consume protein.
Easy sources of protein include meat, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts, and dairy foods. Besides meat, beans, peas and nuts have the most protein, but they are incomplete proteins. To achieve a more complete protein serving, you must combine them with grain, fruits and vegetables.
Why Grains? When we speak of grain we are really talking about carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of fuel and are easily used by the body for energy. Carbohydrates are needed for the central nervous system, kidneys, brain, and muscles to function properly.
The best source of carbohydrates is grains – whole wheat, wheat flour, bulgar, oatmeal, cornmeal, rice (white, brown and wild), buckwheat, popcorn, rye flour, barley, pasta, pretzels, couscous, amaranth, millet, quinoa, sorghum, and triticale. You can also count muffin, corn bread and pancake mixes when calculating your grain requirements for your food storage plan.
For a three-month supply, you should store only the grains you use or are learning to use. If you would like to expand your horizons, purchase a small amount of a new grain, try a few recipes and then purchase more once you know your family will eat it and you can properly prepare it. If you don’t know how to prepare grains such as wheat, ask for cooking lessons for Christmas!
Why Dairy? Diets rich in milk and other dairy products help build and maintain bone mass, reduce the risk of osteoporosis, build teeth, and help maintain a healthy blood pressure.
Evaporated milk contains milk fats which powdered milk does not. Evaporated milk is great to use in ice cream, cream sauces and soups and is also much better for children 3 and under. For every 10 cans of evaporated milk, eliminate 1 pound of powdered milk in your storage plan.
Food Storage Shopping Day
That’s right, today is the day to shop. You have your list of favorite foods and you have checked out the grocery ads. You have set a budget and now it is time to shop. If several items on your ingredient list are on sale this week those are the items you want to purchase. Remember the goal is to have a well rounded supply of food.
Our first step is to have a one week supply of everything you need to eat and care for your hygiene needs. Once you have that we will build to a month’s supply of everything. So go forth and shop. Purchase a variety of things on sale unless only one or two items on your list are on sale this week. You will need to decide whether or not to spend all of your budget or to save part for when more of your necessary items are available at a reduced price.
Save money and plan your trip around school pick up or other errands. When you get home leave the storage items in the bags.
Get out your permanent marker. You need to decide if you want to mark
your cans with purchase dates or expiration dates. I prefer to use the date I
purchase foods.
Every manufacturer has a different method of
dating their products. Some date them as they are produced, some with a pull
date, some with an expiration date and some with a best if used by date. All
mean something different. Therefore, I prefer to use the date I purchase an
item and I use the foods in that order, oldest first. Because I rotate my
storage I never have a problem with foods spoiling.When I bring an item home I note the month and year on the packaging. For example, if you look in my storage areas you will see cans with a 48 on the lid. Translated that means I purchased it in April of 2008. Decide on a method that works for you and mark those packages of food you purchased yesterday. Then place them in the storage area you prepared.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Bug out Bag aka 72 hour kit
from a blog my sister-in-law follows...Happy preparing!!! ~Delisa
Bug out!!! A guest post from NatSprat!
I am so excited that Natalie is here today I have gotten
to know her from my other blog The
SIP project and her first blog NatSprat and when I found out she was
into self-reliance and just started a new blog called Prepping
Up with NatSprat I had to have her guest post...still following me? She did
this fabulous post on 72 hour kits and I wanted to share it with YOU. I haven't
seen a better post for a 72 hour kit. If you didn't know what to put in your 72
hour kit...now you do!
Hi! I'm Nat from
over at NatSprat.blogspot.com and I am SOOOO incredibly excited to be guest
posting here at OJTSR! These women are absolutely
incredible and I am just so honored to be here! I was asked to share a
post I did on putting together my 72 hour kit, or as I call it, my Bug Out
Bag!
Basically, it's a
72 hour kit, which if necessary, can be thrown on and carried if there is some
sort of emergency. Also, if you have babies, you'll need to pack
accordingly for that: diapers, baby food, etc. However, I think most things I
have will apply to pretty much anywhere. So, what do I have in my Bug Out Bag?
Let's take a peek, shall we?
First, let's go
over some of the basic tools that I have in my bag.
Basics
1.
Binoculars so you can see over the river and through the woods, of
course...
2. Gerber
Multi-tool. Basically...a pocket knife which also folds into pliers and has
other "accessories" such as screw drivers, mini saw, various other blades, etc.
I made sure it was a good brand, because if my life depended on this knife, I
sure as heck wouldn't want it to break on me.
3. A knife
sharpener...don't want a dull blade!
4. A compass
with magnifying glass (also included with this but not pictured is a
Colorado map, so include one from wherever you live!) Um...and know how to read
a map. ;)
5. Extra
Batteries (for the walkie talkie and flash light)
6. LED
Flashlight: I recommend LED flashlights because the bulbs last about 100,000
hours, whereas an incandescent bulb will burn out around 40 hours. LED
flashlights are also more rugged and drain batteries 3 to 5 times slower than
regular incandescent flashlights. They cost more, but it's worth it. I know I
sure as heck don't want my flashlight going out in the middle of the night while
trying to find camp. We all know that this is when Bigfoot attacks.
*shudder*
7. Walkie
talkie. My husband has the other one in his bag, so we will be able to
communicate with each other in case we get separated. Make sure you have your
stations set right and you know how to use them."Marco!"....."Polo!".....
8.
Waterproof/windproof matches
9. Flint
firestarter...just in case the matches don't work or I run out.
More camp
basics:
1. Roll of toilet paper and Germ-ex
wipes: Because...well...when you gotta go, you gotta go.
2. Camp cookware and utensils
3. Folding camp stove
4. Portable cooking fuel (Sterno). So,
basically, you unfold the stove, light the fuel, put it in the stove, and cook
on top of it. And you don't have to worry about building a fire or
anything.
*Here's a link
to a folding camp stove with cooking fuel on Amazon.
 | |||
| See? Easy Peasy. |
5. Work gloves.
6. Gerber camp axe: because the mini saw in my multi-tool just isn't going to cut it. Literally.
7. Tarp: can be made into a shelter (I'm still searching for a good tube tent that isn't the same thickness of Saran Wrap!!!)
8. Rope: a necessity!
9. Winter hat because as much as 45% of your body heat is lost through your head!
6. Gerber camp axe: because the mini saw in my multi-tool just isn't going to cut it. Literally.
7. Tarp: can be made into a shelter (I'm still searching for a good tube tent that isn't the same thickness of Saran Wrap!!!)
8. Rope: a necessity!
9. Winter hat because as much as 45% of your body heat is lost through your head!
Personal
Care Items
1. Mascara. Because even if I'm in the
woods, I at least have to have mascara on to feel like a human being.
2. Travel size shampoo, conditioner and
lotion.
3. Travel size soap. Because I don't want
to stink.
4. Kleenex
5. Body powder: also helps if you are
chafing!
6. Diaper wipes: These are for if you
need to freshen up and no water is available.
7. Feminine products. Because Mother
Nature doesn't care where the heck you are.
8. Chapstick because I would die without
it.
9. Bug Spray
10. Sunscreen
11. Travel size deodorant
12. Travel toothbrush and toothpaste.
13. Mini sewing kit. You know one of your
kids is going to get their shirt ripped on a tree. It is inevitable.
14. Folding hairbrush/mirror and hair
ties.
Keeping Warm and Dry
1. Emergency blankets...I got the more durable
kind. Hopefully they will hold up to wiggly little kids better!
2. Hooded poncho: never know when it may rain.
3. Marker, paper and tape: leave notes to help
people find you, etc. And duct tape is just flipping awesome and you should
ALWAYS have some with you. ;)
4. Trash bags: these are all kinds of useful.
Use them as back up ponchos, use them to keep your stuff dry, use them as extra
liner to sleep on. You can even use them to collect rain water or make a solar
still.
*What's a solar still? It's a great way to collect
water in emergencies. Click HERE
to learn more!
Drinking Water
*Just because most
people can live from 3-5 days without water doesn't mean we should!
1. Actual ready
to drink water bottles. Can you believe it!?! Now, remember that a gallon of
water weighs about 8 pounds. While water is very important in a survival
situation, so is being able to actually stand up and walk.
2. Flavored
drink packets just in case I have to use the water purification tablets and
the water tastes funky.
3. Water bottle
with built in water filter. This water bottle filters out 99.9 % of Giardia
Lamblia and Cryptosporidium cysts. VERY IMPORTANT!!! Never drink out of rivers,
lakes or streams. Unless you want to be vomiting out of one end and more
unpleasant things coming out of the other end.
*want one? Here's a
link
to them!
4. Water
purification tablets: another good thing to always have with you, just in
case.
Food
Food seemed to be
the most stressful part of packing my Bug Out Bag. Especially because I have 3
little kids. I wanted foods that were portable, had a long shelf life, and
actually EDIBLE. I found that there were actually a lot of options for food.
Here are a few!
Mountain House
Freeze Dried Food
One bag of these
runs around $6 and has 2 servings. They last a looong time. If water isn't an
issue, these are great. They are super light weight and don't take up a whole
lot of space. But if you aren't planning on having much water with you, I'd look
at the other options. You have to add 2 cups of boiling water to these pouches.
I think these sound pretty yummy!
Another very popular option is MRE's, or Meals
Ready to Eat. These have a shelf life of about 5-7 years. (or longer, depending
on the temperature they are stored at). I have a Brother-In-Law who was a
Marine, and he said that these are actually pretty good. These run about $2.50
each, and each meal is 1 serving. You don't have to add water, just heat up the
pouch, open it up and chow down. There are lots of different meals to chose
from, as well as snacks, side dishes, and desserts! I got mine from
BePrepared.com
(I seriously love that place.)
(I seriously love that place.)
Another option is just finding things at your
local grocery store! This is an example of breakfast: Instant oatmeal, cereal
bars, and hot chocolate. I got all of these things from Walmart! Keep an eye on
the expiration dates, though.
These are more
grocery store foods. (One of my lunches, to be exact!)
Tuna salad with
crackers, granola bar, applesauce, fruit snack, and a crystal light energy water
pack.
These Compleats are
good, too! The shelf life is about a year, and they have lots of really yummy
flavors! I'm planning on just dumping mine into my cookware and heating it up. I
can only imagine how wonderful this would taste after a long day of surviving in
the woods. :)
This is one of
Kate's lunches. Mac & Cheese, applesauce and fruit snacks. Things I know
she'll actually eat! And again, no water needed, and the Chef Boyardee things
have a pretty good shelf life.
Medical
Supplies
1. General First Aid Kit:
* Band-aids of various sizes
* antibiotic ointment
* thermometer
* triangular bandage
* eye rinse
*antiseptic wipes
*Calamine lotion (anti itch cream)
* medical tape
* Sterile gauze bandages various sizes
*Sterile gauze wrap
* acetaminophen and ibuprofen
*antacid tabs
* non-latex gloves (2 pairs)
* burn cream
*tweezers
*scissors
2. Snake bite kit (sure hope we don't
have to use it...)
3. Blister Care Band-aids
4. Masks
5. Various commonly used OTC medicines at
our house: children's Tylenol, Mucinex packets, my Zoloft (yes...I need my happy
pills!) and Whitney's inhaler. Ohhh...it would be such a bad thing if we didn't
have it with us!
6. ACE elastic bandage
7. First Aid Guide: In case I freak out
and can't remember how to put on a Band-aid.
A few other things to put in your bag (I didn't
take pictures of these...sorry!)
*an extra change of clothing
*important documents
*cash!!!
*a portable handheld radio (the kind you can wind up by hand)
*folding camp shovel
* fun things for the kids: coloring books, card games, etc.
*scriptures and journal
Can you believe that all of those things are crammed into that backpack? ROCK ON. If I forget anything or add things I'll update as I go. Also, my kids each have their own Bug Out Bags, and they just carry the very basics. Otherwise, they would fall over and cry and we would never get anywhere. The end.
*an extra change of clothing
*important documents
*cash!!!
*a portable handheld radio (the kind you can wind up by hand)
*folding camp shovel
* fun things for the kids: coloring books, card games, etc.
*scriptures and journal
Can you believe that all of those things are crammed into that backpack? ROCK ON. If I forget anything or add things I'll update as I go. Also, my kids each have their own Bug Out Bags, and they just carry the very basics. Otherwise, they would fall over and cry and we would never get anywhere. The end.
If you have any questions or suggestions, leave
a comment and let me know! Hopefully you found this helpful. You don't have to
get everything all at once, just little by little! I made a goal to get at least
ONE thing for my pack every time I went to the store. Baby steps, my friends,
baby steps. Baby steps to Walmart....baby steps to the back pack isle....baby
steps to the camping section....hahah. :)
Annnd, that about covers it! Thank you SOOO much for having me here, ladies! It's been a pleasure!
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Food Storage: Week 1
It’s time for our Food Storage journey!! I got this information years ago from the blog Totally Ready.
Where to begin Food Storage: Lesson 1
Ask yourself:
a. What food do I have access to for free or nearly free? Is there a farm or neighbor where you can glean? Do you or a family member have fruit trees?
b. Are the fruits and vegetables available to you good candidates for preserving, canning, or drying?
c. Do you have the room to plant a garden and harvest your own food?
d.Do you have friends you can share a garden with? Perhaps you will grow the tomatoes and they will plant and harvest the green beans. Now you are learning skills of provident living; caring for your needs while helping others strengthens both giver and receiver.
e. What is your current food budget?
f. What is your current entertainment budget?
With those questions answered, and the answers written down, you are ready to begin.
First Step, you must decide how long a period of time you will be storing for. Are you going to begin with one week and work up or are you going to work toward a month or three months of a complete supply and then move on to more? This will be a critical decision as we move forward next week so give it some thought. I like to start with one month and then increase but if you can afford to invest a little more money or if you are very anxious and feel you need to get it done
now I would recommend going right to the three month goal, three months of the foods you normally eat.
Second Step, YOU must decide what to store. No one should ever tell you what to store. This is a decision only you can make as you evaluate your family’s likes and dislikes, assess allergies and other medical questions and understand your storage challenges. To determine what you will store on the shelves of your General Store begin by making a list of your 10 favorite meals. Get all the family involved and ask their preferences also. Be sure to include menu items for breakfasts, lunches and dinners. I can hear you all saying "but you said don’t plan a few meals and purchase the ingredients”. Right! You were listening. Once you have the list gather your recipes and sit down with a binder and some paper. You will now begin building your own family food storage reference binder. First, add the pages containing the answers to the questions at the
beginning of this post. Next, take your paper and beginning with the first recipe. List all the ingredients down the left hand side of the page. Move on to the second recipe and do the same. When you have an ingredient that is a duplicate make a check next to the item. Do not forget to record the spices. When all the recipes have been recorded count the checks next to each
ingredient. You will now understand which ingredients your family enjoys the most. For
example: Your family has listed chicken and rice, chicken pot pie, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, spaghetti, chicken stir fry with peanut sauce, tacos, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, mac and cheese , and chicken noodle soup. You now know your menus include chicken 4 times, beef twice and peanut butter twice. As you work on the protein section of your General Store you now know you will want to store more chicken than beef. You can also see that you will need more pasta than rice when you stock grains. Remember we will be storing portion sizes from each food group when determining how much to store. Of course, this is not an exact science but it will give you a guide to follow as you stock up. Notice there was no tuna on the list. If your family likes tuna you will want some for lunches but not as much as peanut butter since that did make the list. The more your family enjoys an ingredient the more often you will be able to serve it without protests from your crew. Since your menus may not include fruits and veggies be sure to ask the family to list their three favorites. This will again be the basis for deciding what
percentage of your General Store shelves are stocked with peaches and what percentage are pears. Notice I did not tell you to purchase those ingredients. This is just meant as a
guide. As you shop and add ingredients your family loves you will be able to create many, many more meals than your original 10. You can be assured your family will eat them because you now understand they like each individual item in the dish and thus, will give the meal a try and they will like it. There will be some items on your ingredient list that are not used up in a recipe,
catchup for example. All these take your meals from ordinary to extraordinary.
I suggest you plan to store three months of these since often three months is only one or two bottles. How do you know how much to purchase of these? That is part of your homework assignment.
Homework assignments
1 Make a list of the meals you enjoy and your ingredient list.
2. Date the items you do not finish when you use them one time. Again, this would
include mayo, salad dressings, oil, pickles, dried onions, and all those
miscellaneous bottles on the door of the fridge. Take a permanent marker and
draw a line at the level of the contents. At the end of a month you will check to
see how much you have used. If you open a new one calculate how long it took
you to finish the first. If it takes two weeks to use a bottle of salad
dressing you know you need 6 bottles for a three month supply. That would be
plenty for my family for a year but your family may eat more salads and use
more. This is why no one should tell you how much to store. They should teach
you how to calculate the needs of your family so you can store according to
your needs, not some chart.
3. Keep track of every penny you spend this week. Every family member should have
a small notebook or record in another way, everything they spend. This will
help you to determine what you can cut out to free up the funds to stock your
General Store.
That’s it! Next week you will be ready to start purchasing food. Once we have finished
food we will move on to non food items such as hygiene products, cleaning supplies and medications.
As you get started please ask for help. We were all beginners at one point and
there are no stupid questions.
Where to begin Food Storage: Lesson 1
Ask yourself:
a. What food do I have access to for free or nearly free? Is there a farm or neighbor where you can glean? Do you or a family member have fruit trees?
b. Are the fruits and vegetables available to you good candidates for preserving, canning, or drying?
c. Do you have the room to plant a garden and harvest your own food?
d.Do you have friends you can share a garden with? Perhaps you will grow the tomatoes and they will plant and harvest the green beans. Now you are learning skills of provident living; caring for your needs while helping others strengthens both giver and receiver.
e. What is your current food budget?
f. What is your current entertainment budget?
With those questions answered, and the answers written down, you are ready to begin.
First Step, you must decide how long a period of time you will be storing for. Are you going to begin with one week and work up or are you going to work toward a month or three months of a complete supply and then move on to more? This will be a critical decision as we move forward next week so give it some thought. I like to start with one month and then increase but if you can afford to invest a little more money or if you are very anxious and feel you need to get it done
now I would recommend going right to the three month goal, three months of the foods you normally eat.
Second Step, YOU must decide what to store. No one should ever tell you what to store. This is a decision only you can make as you evaluate your family’s likes and dislikes, assess allergies and other medical questions and understand your storage challenges. To determine what you will store on the shelves of your General Store begin by making a list of your 10 favorite meals. Get all the family involved and ask their preferences also. Be sure to include menu items for breakfasts, lunches and dinners. I can hear you all saying "but you said don’t plan a few meals and purchase the ingredients”. Right! You were listening. Once you have the list gather your recipes and sit down with a binder and some paper. You will now begin building your own family food storage reference binder. First, add the pages containing the answers to the questions at the
beginning of this post. Next, take your paper and beginning with the first recipe. List all the ingredients down the left hand side of the page. Move on to the second recipe and do the same. When you have an ingredient that is a duplicate make a check next to the item. Do not forget to record the spices. When all the recipes have been recorded count the checks next to each
ingredient. You will now understand which ingredients your family enjoys the most. For
example: Your family has listed chicken and rice, chicken pot pie, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, spaghetti, chicken stir fry with peanut sauce, tacos, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, mac and cheese , and chicken noodle soup. You now know your menus include chicken 4 times, beef twice and peanut butter twice. As you work on the protein section of your General Store you now know you will want to store more chicken than beef. You can also see that you will need more pasta than rice when you stock grains. Remember we will be storing portion sizes from each food group when determining how much to store. Of course, this is not an exact science but it will give you a guide to follow as you stock up. Notice there was no tuna on the list. If your family likes tuna you will want some for lunches but not as much as peanut butter since that did make the list. The more your family enjoys an ingredient the more often you will be able to serve it without protests from your crew. Since your menus may not include fruits and veggies be sure to ask the family to list their three favorites. This will again be the basis for deciding what
percentage of your General Store shelves are stocked with peaches and what percentage are pears. Notice I did not tell you to purchase those ingredients. This is just meant as a
guide. As you shop and add ingredients your family loves you will be able to create many, many more meals than your original 10. You can be assured your family will eat them because you now understand they like each individual item in the dish and thus, will give the meal a try and they will like it. There will be some items on your ingredient list that are not used up in a recipe,
catchup for example. All these take your meals from ordinary to extraordinary.
I suggest you plan to store three months of these since often three months is only one or two bottles. How do you know how much to purchase of these? That is part of your homework assignment.
Homework assignments
1 Make a list of the meals you enjoy and your ingredient list.
2. Date the items you do not finish when you use them one time. Again, this would
include mayo, salad dressings, oil, pickles, dried onions, and all those
miscellaneous bottles on the door of the fridge. Take a permanent marker and
draw a line at the level of the contents. At the end of a month you will check to
see how much you have used. If you open a new one calculate how long it took
you to finish the first. If it takes two weeks to use a bottle of salad
dressing you know you need 6 bottles for a three month supply. That would be
plenty for my family for a year but your family may eat more salads and use
more. This is why no one should tell you how much to store. They should teach
you how to calculate the needs of your family so you can store according to
your needs, not some chart.
3. Keep track of every penny you spend this week. Every family member should have
a small notebook or record in another way, everything they spend. This will
help you to determine what you can cut out to free up the funds to stock your
General Store.
That’s it! Next week you will be ready to start purchasing food. Once we have finished
food we will move on to non food items such as hygiene products, cleaning supplies and medications.
As you get started please ask for help. We were all beginners at one point and
there are no stupid questions.
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