Food Storage

Recently I was at the grocery store and ran into a friend of mine. I noticed she was very decided on the things she was buying and seemed to have a specific plan in mind. I inquired and she said yes -- she was on a tight budget, trying new methods and had a menu plan. So, when I told her I wanted her ideas and tips she said I will in exchange for your tips and information on home and food storage. She is not a member of our church and did not know exactly how to go about it, but wanted it in her life. I have always done food storage but not well. Several years ago we felt that we had the money and within 3 months we had a whole year supply of food and storage items like first aid, medicines, batteries, etc. Our 72 hour kits were up to par and I felt great! However it is now 2011 and I haven't done much with it! No rotating, no replacing - just using it up and going on with life week to week as I go to the grocery store. I usually have to go to the store twice a week because I forget something or run out of something. So, even though I have been taught -- I feel like now is the time to revamp, rethink and redo!! The church has come out with better suggestions and ideas of how to go about this and I wanted to take a minute to review a few ideas. 1. We can start small. Start little by little. Start with a goal of having a 3 month supply of Food for your family. Then add to it. And the 2. idea is that we should store the foods we eat and eat the foods we store. Rotation and usage is key! It will do us little good if we store for years food that is expired or food our family won't eat.

As I have gone about planning I do believe we can follow the suggestions as outlined on provident living. org As I did searches for it online I found another helpful resources - with many links that link you to other articles. It is at lds.about.com and I searched food and home storage helps. I found a food calculator and other helpful lists and suggestions. Anyway, today I have come away with the impression that I still want to store grains, beans, and other food items that store for many (10+) years. Then once I have a good stock of those items I think I am going to focus on our everyday eating habits and work around that. I went through my pantry and wrote down foods that we like that I can store for at least a year. Crackers, salad dressing and such don't last as long as canned food and other items. But now knowing about how long food lasts on my shelf and seeing what foods my kids really like I can store food based on this. I also have thought about how we will be able to cook if we were in a situation where we didn't have electricity for a while. I have purchased chaffing dishes (warming pans with the use of canned fuel) and bought candles, little canned fuel, a camping stove and made sure I have plenty of water stored as well. Anyway, it is a lot to think about. This year I am starting babysteps again at obtaining a years supply of food and storage items and I am determined to rotate it and keep it all fresh and tasty!! I am willing to try new foods, cook hard beans instead of always grabbing a can and I also am willing to try the different ways of eating wheat -- wheat berries, cracked wheat, puffed wheat, etc. I also have a wheat grinder and hope to make more homemade bread this year with my whole wheat!! If you want more ideas or help let me know!! If you have any ideas or suggestions please respond and comment!!