Why Food Storage and the like

FOOD STORAGE BASICS AND BEYOND!

This blog comes to help us all deal with FS questions and to build up from a starting place & build a more complete and full FS & how to be more Self Reliant. Let us all get Prepared & ready for anything that may come our way. You never know when Mother Nature, Man Made Disaster or Money Problems may come and you would need your FS to get you through! I will talk about Emergency Preparedness also!

Food Storage, Emergency Preparedness, Other tips and Ideas. Let me help you get ready for what ever may come!

I started Food Storage over 15 years ago. I have taught many classes and been a speaker and helped many people over the years. This is a place where I can state things or address issues I want to cover.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Movie Night Idea March


With March being here and if you need a Great family movie night idea that would go well with St. Patrick's Day. 

I would recommend Darby O'Gill and The Little People. by Walt Disney. This was Made in 1959.


There may be a few "scary" moments for very little people, as in young children. But it is a great family movie. We watched it last night and young and old liked it.

Make some Green Candied Popcorn from
 https://skiptomylou.wordpress.com/2008/03/17/green-popcorn/



 Green Candied Popcorn
4 quarts popped corn
1 1/2 Cups sugar
1/2 Cup light corn syrup
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (optional, does make mixture slightly more creamy)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
green food coloring (I used about 1/8 teaspoon Wilton paste color in Kelly Green)
In heavy saucepan on medium heat melt butter then add sugar, corn syrup, cream of tartar and salt. Increase temperature to medium high and bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar. Once mixture boils, add in food coloring and stop stirring. Boil for 5 minutes (Do not stir). Mixture should be about 250-260 degrees. Remove from heat and carefully stir in vanilla and baking soda. Working quickly and while mixture is foamy, pour mixture over popped corn and gently stir to coat popcorn. Place popcorn into a large roaster or rimmed baking sheet (lined with parchment paper or sprayed with cooking spray) and bake at 200° F for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
Happy St Patrick’s Day!

You can even make Your own Leprechaun Trap...

 http://nl.r2rassoc.com/ClientFiles/2/images/st_paddys_hat_with_directions_large.jpg

The original Source for this trap is now gone, but credit does go them!


The General Food Storage FYI



Food Storage FYI


Prepare a storage area for food. COOL, DRY, and DARK conditions are best. Include a permanent marker to date items as they are added to the shelf. Remember to rotate first in first out by putting the new items in the back of the older items already on the shelf.

CONTAINERS- Always store your bulk foods in food storage containers. Many people have had to throw away lots of food because it was left in sack, where the product can or was exposed to moisture, insects, and rodents.

NEVER USE TRASH CAN LINERS IN YOUR PLASTIC BUCKETS TO LINE THEM AS THESE ARE TREATED WITH PESTICIDES

NEVER put water or food containers directly on cement. Use carpet, wood, shelves, etc. Reason- is chemicals will leach into the containers from the cement.

Stock up on items when found to be on sale. Look for case lot sales: buy one get one free sales. Buy multiple items when in season to carry through for a year.

Try to put your food and water storage in several different locations in your home.

USE YOUR FOOD STORAGE!!!! It is vital that you and your family become familiar with the things you are storing. You need to know how to prepare these foods. Your family needs to know what it tastes like. You do not want to do this under stress. One of the most important things you can do is get your family used to eating these foods. A stressful period or disaster is not the time to totally change your diet.

Get food storage cook book and learn too use the foods you are storing. You can even put one together by adding you favorite recipes into a 3 ring binder marked food storage recipes.




this is something that was put together many years ago. Just transferring info here. I am sure there are many more ideas I could add to it. FYI on Food Storage.
Sources: Not known for sure: Information is from many others credit goes to them
A few ideas are my own thoughts.

Rotating Food Storage



Rotating Food Storage

This is s BIG question. How do I use and Rotate my food storage? My answer is by using it. Ok that is easy to say, but how.

Here is what I have learned...
 
  1. Buy only the food you will eat.
  2. Then buy food in small enough packaging, so you will open it and use it.
  3. Date all food storage foods, soaps, anything that you store all things need a month and year put on to them. Some people only put the year i.e. 2014. I have heard of some people who have put stickers on their food storage items, i.e. stars for 2013, hearts for 2014, and Christmas stickers 2015. They made a master sheet with year and the kind of sticker next to that. Then they use all stars cans first etc.
 4. The first in first out rule.(FIFO) This helps with rotating the food stuffs. Always put the new bought stuff on the shelf in back of the food already on the shelf. That is why dating all items helps with this.


 5. Buy in bulk and repackage the food stuffs your shelf. Use Food grade buckets, canning Jars, PETE bottles, etc.

6.  Keep a master inventory list. WRITE down what you have, what you want, and what you NEED to get. Write it down in pounds or in cans and learn to buy that way. Well I update mine only 2 times a year, Jan and July. I look to see what I have, What I need and what I have used. Ok say you want 100 pounds of rice person in your family. And you have 4 people in your family like I do. You want 400 pounds of Rice total. Now you keep your eye out for great deals, sales, etc. I was able to add 100 pounds of rice to my food storage. 20 pound bags for $5.00 each. So I spent $25.00 for rice. Now I added that to my master list and now I have 75 pounds of rice per person. I now know I need 25 pounds per person to get to my goal. Or a total of 100 pounds. So I will continue to watch for the best deal and buy accordingly through out the year.

7. Use your Food Storage as a Giant Pantry. This is the best way I have found to rotate my Food Storage. All of my Food Stuffs are in the same area, sorted and labeled and dated. All are on shelves or in CLEARLY marked boxes. When I go to make dinner, I go to my Food Storage area and get what I need.

8. By using what you have stored away, means your family and you will
 A) Be able to use it when the need arises.
 B) KNOW how to cook with it
 C) Your family will be used to eating it and your bodies will be USED TO IT
D) You can have recipes ready to use for all food stuffs in your Food Storage

9. NO wasted money. Use food and replace it. I have heard all too often of people who have bought wheat, dry milk, etc. Stored it away and NEVER used it. Then had to throw it away and start all over. WHY, store food you will never eat? Why store food to throw away? Why throw money away? Start using the food stuff you have and replace and then no wasted money and no wasted food.

  1. You will save money in the long run. Yes you can save money by eating out of your food storage. I can now only buy food to replace food I used as long as it is on sale, or I am running out.( running out to me is 2 items left on the shelf) I only need to shop once a month and that there will save money. I never have to run to the store to “Get” something to make a recipe or dish. I only spend $250.00 total for my Food budget each month, most families spend much more to feed a family of four, and that is including the dog, and cat.
  2. You will eat healthier. You will be able to eat healthier and better foods. If you start to eat more grains and such and less highly processed, snack foods, etc. You will lose weight, you won’t need, and you will feel better. The most important thing is you will feel full and will need to eat less snacks.
  3. The best thing I can say is. Learn what is best for you. It has taken me 15 years to be able to do all of this. I have learned by doing. If you live and practice food storage, you will never have a problem in rotating it. You will use it everyday and as you go you will see how easy it really is.