What is a Tweet?

What is a Tweet?

A “Tweet” is a special message you get by using the service called Twitter. We send out tweets to our followers to share food storage tips, emergency and food storage related blog posts, interesting websites, updates to our own site, etc. The tweets come in 160 character messages and you can choose how often to check your tweets. It’s a very easy way to communicate and get some great information.

More About Twitter

Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? Each time you update your status it is called a tweet. You can also sign up to receive tweets from people and businesses you are interested in. To sign up for an account just go to twitter.com. Once you are all set up you can start sending out your tweets by logging in and filling in the box that asks “What are you doing?”.

How To Use Twitter

It’s no fun to tweet out to nobody, so do an email search and see if any if your contacts are on twitter. Then make sure to go to Food Storage Tips and click the “follow” button to start receiving all of our tweets. Whenever you log in to Twitter you will be able to see all the tweets you’ve received. However, if you want an easy way to see them in real-time you must check out the program TWHIRL. This is what we use and it is great. Here is an awesome Twhirl tutorial video I found to help you learn how to use Twhirl and Twitter more effectively.

Here are some tips and cool sites we were talking about on twitter this week

Great site on keeping your family organized. http://is.gd/9wLj Organization is the key to success at any endeavor, even food storage!

Whole Wheat Homemade Playdough http://is.gd/941E AWESOME IDEA!!! 10:35 PM Nov 25th from twhirl

Retweeting @JayceHall: Reviewed the costco.com emergency kit deal: http://tinyurl.com/576gdc (GREAT thorough review! Thx for sharing.) 3:24 PM Nov 25th from twhirl

RT @erinannie: getting closer to actually leaving my couch to get ginger ale, soup, and crackers. note to self- add those to food storage. 3:20 PM Nov 25th from twhirl

OMG if you really want the 55 gallon water barrels and live in Arizona … this is your lucky day. Only $20! http://is.gd/8QNP 3:04 PM Nov 24th from twhirl

Check out this little page on how you can have fun with your food storage. http://hubpages.com/hub/fun-with-food-storage Discusses 4 great blogs to help you on your way 2:41 PM Nov 24th from twhirl

Some good tips on learning survival skills from the “Perpetual Preparedness” blog. http://is.gd/8JDX 7:04 PM Nov 23rd from twhirl

Made these “bean brownies” this weekend for a friend with tons of allergies (had to sub splenda for sugar) http://is.gd/8IUS Not too bad! 5:10 PM Nov 23rd from twhirl

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Holiday Baking + Food Storage

This time of year is an EXCELLENT time to stock up on your items in Step 7: Baking Ingredients. Mary Hunt, best-selling finance author, sends out daily finance tips in her Everyday Cheapskate newsletter which we LOVE. We encourage you to sign up for her newsletter and also to stock up on these items for your holiday baking AND your food storage. Here are Mary’s thoughts on the topic of holiday baking from her newsletter:

Holiday Baking on the Cheap

Although baking sweets for the holidays is a joyful and gratifying project, it does take time and money. If you’ve got the time to build your baking stockpile, merchants are willing to help out with the cost as they begin to compete for our holiday food dollars. This time of year, baking ingredients become loss leaders. That means they’re willing to take a loss on basic pantry items in hopes that while we’re picking up those items, we’ll drop a bundle on other full-priced food items. Here is a quick guide to help you stock your pantry with the right stuff so you can bake like a pro this holiday season.

FLOURS
All-purpose flour: As its name implies, this is your basic flour and can be used in most baked goods. It’s best to store flour tightly sealed in a canister. Flour has a shelf life of about eight months in the cupboard, about one year refrigerated and several years in the freezer. Always use up all the flour in the canister before adding more.

Self-rising flour: This is all-purpose flour to which baking powder and salt have been added. Don’t substitute it for other flours because the added ingredients might affect your recipe outcome. Only use self-rising flour if the recipe calls for it. It’s best to keep this in the original container, tightly wrapped, and keep in mind the shelf-life is only about six months.

Whole wheat flour: Store whole wheat flour in the freezer. It contains fat from the wheat germ and can become rancid at room temperature. Whole wheat flour is good for about six months in the freezer, and only a couple of months if stored at room temperature.

SUGARS
Granulated sugar: This is refined from sugar cane or beets and is used in most baked goods. When stored properly in a tightly covered canister, it will last for years.

Confectioners’ sugar: Also called 10X sugar or powdered sugar, this is granulated sugar that has been ground into a powder. Confectioners’ sugar is commonly used in cake and cookie icings and is often dusted on desserts. It’s best to store it in the original box.

Brown sugar, light or dark: This soft textured and hearty-tasting sugar is white sugar flavored with molasses. Light and dark are interchangeable; it is a matter of taste. Keep it well wrapped in the original packaging. It’s best to use it within six months of purchase for maximum flavor. Don’t store brown sugar in the refrigerator. However, if you are in a very dry area or are going to keep it for a long time, freeze it.

Molasses: This dark, thick syrup is the liquid that is left behind from the process of refining sugar. It can be stored in the pantry. Make sure you wipe the bottle well after using to prevent stickiness and pests.

Honey: For baking purposes, select a light colored honey for a more delicate flavor. Store tightly sealed in a cool dry place for up to one year or indefinitely in the freezer. If the honey crystallizes, microwave it for about 30 seconds or melt it in the jar in a pan of hot water over low heat.

Maple Syrup: Make sure you buy pure maple syrup, not pancake or table syrup. Once opened, store maple syrup in the refrigerator.

LEAVENERS
Baking soda: Also known as bicarbonate of soda, baking soda is used as a leavener to make dough and batter rise. Once opened, baking soda has a shelf life of only six months.

Baking powder: This leavener is composed of baking soda, an acid (usually cream of tartar) and a moisture absorber, like cornstarch. Once you open it, it will be effective for about six months when stored on the pantry shelf. Stored in the freezer, it will remain good indefinitely. You can check to see if your baking powder is still active by stirring one teaspoon into 1/3 cup of warm water. If it still fizzes, it’s okay.

Yeast: Generally, yeast comes in three forms: fresh active compressed “cakes,” (which will be in the store’s refrigerator section), active dry and rapid rise granules. Rapid rise yeast reduces rising time by as much as 50 percent, which allows you to eliminate the first rise. Rapid rise is the same as “instant” or “bread machine yeast.” Store unopened yeast in a cool, dry place, such as a pantry or refrigerator. Use within three to four months. Freezing yeast is not recommended.

CHOCOLATE
Baking chocolate: There are two main types to look for: pure, unsweetened chocolate (bitter or baking chocolate), and dark chocolate (bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate) that has added sugar but isn’t as sweet and mild as milk chocolate. Store this chocolate securely wrapped away from sunlight and dampness for up to three years.

Milk chocolate: This is dark chocolate with milk solids added, making it creamier and mellower. Store this chocolate securely wrapped and away from sunlight and dampness for four to six months.

White chocolate: This is technically not chocolate since there is no chocolate liquor, but it does contain cocoa butter along with sugar, vanilla and lecithin. Store white chocolate securely wrapped and away from sunlight and dampness for four to six months.

Chocolate chips: These contain less cocoa butter than chocolate bars, which is why they can retain their shape. It’s best to use these where you want the chocolate chip shape and use chocolate bars for melting. Store tightly wrapped for up to six months.

Unsweetened cocoa powder: The important thing to know about cocoa powder is that there are two types. Dutch process has been treated with an alkali, which neutralizes its acidity and gives a more mellow flavor. Natural cocoa powder has a deeper chocolate flavor. Recipes are often written for one type or the other, as they react differently with baking powder. Dutch process is always labeled on the box; if there is no mention, it is natural. Store it in a tightly sealed container for up to two years.

OTHER
Candy canes: Both your tree and your pantry need candy canes. These minty favorites always put a smile on a kid’s face whether they’re eaten by hand or sprinkled on top of cupcakes and cookies. To crush, place a handful of canes in a heavy duty plastic bag then break them up with a rolling pin.

Cinnamon: Everyone’s favorite baking spice not only tastes divine, but is good for you! Just one teaspoon of ground cinnamon contains more disease-fighting antioxidants than half a cup of blueberries. Add a few sticks at a time in a coffee grinder for the freshest flavor or skewer some mini-marshmallows on a cinnamon stick and use it to stir up a special cup of hot chocolate.

Ground ginger: An essential for gingerbread, ground ginger abounds in holiday baking. Milder than fresh ginger, this spice is kid-friendly. For flavor you can taste, make sure your supply is no older than six months.

Marshmallows: Toss them into hot cocoa, whip up crisp rice treats at a moment’s notice, or throw a few on some brownies. They’ll stay moist if stored frozen in a tightly sealed bag. Bonus: They’re easier to slice or snip with scissors when frozen.

Sprinkles: Who doesn’t love sprinkles? Best prices are found in bulk stores, but be sure to transfer into small, kid-friendly shakers to help little fingers decorate with ease.

Vanilla: Vanilla is used sparingly in recipes so if you can afford it, buy genuine vanilla extract. Because of its high alcohol content, vanilla will last indefinitely on your pantry shelf.

For more from Mary Hunt, sign up for her Everyday Cheapskate newsletter or read her blog Money Rules Debt Stinks. She also has some fabulous books you can check out at amazon.com

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Food Storage Savings

I just wanted to share a quick update and some valuable tools with you. I’ve been using the Grocery Smarts website to find great deals on food storage/3 month supply items (this is a Utah specific link and is only available in a few other states - SORRY!). For now I do my normal shop at Walmart and then go find super deals at Albertsons and Smiths each week and do some “extra” shops there with my “food storage budget” money. Last week I got the following items:

5 lbs C&H sugar
3 Stouffers frozen dinners
1 tube colgate toothpaste
2 lbs Land O Lakes butter
1 bottle Krogers syrup
2 cans evaporative milk

The regular prices of these items would have been $27.94 … BUT … using the fresh values sales prices I saved $9.44 and I printed some coupons and clipped old coupons I’ve been saving and saved another $8.85. Including tax, the total I paid was only $10.26! That is WAY cheaper than it would have been even at Walmart with all generic brands.

I am only beginning to skim the surface on how great this system is. Within a few months I hope to have a lot of food stockpiled, do most of my monthly “shopping” from my pantry, and only hit Walmart for things I’ve run out of before I have a chance to restock. View the video below for tips on how to use this great resource.


How to Use GrocerySmarts.com



For more tips on saving money on your groceries and food storage items visit The Obsessive Shopper. She also includes some general couponing tips for people outside of Utah.

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Water EMERGENCY!

For those of you who know my 18 month year old son, you will find this humorous, for the rest of you I beg for your sympathy!

So today I woke up way too early with a sick child, and a husband who is out of town. I only got about 4 hours of sleep (the night before was around 2 hours). Anyways, I had to go to hockey practice and right when I got there my baby puked ALL over his seat. Luckily Grandma was there to tend and helped me clean it. Anyways, after hockey practice I got home and needed desperately to:

-shower
-bathe my child
-wash the car seat in the laundry machine
-run the dishwasher
-cook dinner

Well I turned my water on and within 10 seconds it trickled down to a dripping flow. I thought it was weird, and proceeded to call all my neighbors to see if they had the same problems. Well my house was the only one with the problem. Then I called the city to see if they could tell me anything. Nope it was MY problem. Then I called my mother-in-law, whose father told her it might be something with some pressure something. First question - is that something my baby could have done? We figured it wasn’t.

So I waited a few hours, still needing to shower, still needing to boil water for dinner, still needing to wash a puked up baby and car seat. During that time it dawned on me WHAT WOULD I DO WITHOUT WATER FOR REAL? I became very relieved as I realized I at least have my 14 day supply. I mean you need water for everything! I’m not saying my water supply would run my washer, but at least my basic needs would be covered. Anyways, I thought it was a good chance for a friendly reminder… How are you doing with your water storage? Do you have it? GET IT!

So now for the ending of the story. My husband finally was able to call me on the phone and I said OUR WATER IS BROKEN! He said, oh that’s an easy fix. I guess our baby has been playing with the main on and off levers for our house since he saw my husband turn off the outside water valve in the basement for the sprinklers. My husband had seen him do it the other day. Anyways, I went down to the basement and sure enough, when I had been in the basement putting away some cans earlier, he had pushed the knob to almost all the way off, because it’s fun to climb!

I’m working on developing BabyStep 9 right now- comfort foods- let me tell you I could have used lots of those today!

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Homemade Applesauce Recipe & Canning

Even though I’m not finished steps 5-7 yet it was canning season so I had to jump ahead a little and add a little to my step 8 items. Last year I canned tomatoes, salsa, dill pickles, and tons of peaches. This year my garden was a bit of a failure, plus I knew I would probably be moving soon, so I didn’t want to stockpile too much food. However, my wonderful cousin Kaila got about 500 pounds of apples off the tree at her new house and was kind enough to give some to me. Since the apples were free and readily available I decided to attempt to make some applesauce. It was messy but a really fun family affair!

Homemade Applesauce Recipe and Canning Instructions

Step 1:  Get your pot ready

I used my biggest pot and put a little water in the bottom to keep the apples from sticking.  As I peeled the apples I just started throwing them in to start cooking.

Step 2:  Peel a TON of apples

I used my handy dandy apple peeler which the kids thought was WAY fun to help with.  If you don’t have one of these peelers, you can always try the method which Kaila’s husband came up with.  Check out this video, it’s hilarious.  Just as a reference, I used about 14 pounds of apples (before coring/peeling) and it netted 5 quarts of applesauce.

Step 3:  Cook up those apples

By the time we were done peeling all the apples the first ones were really well cooked.  I just let the whole thing cook for about 10 more minutes to make sure they were all soft.

Step 4:  Prepare your canner and jars

While the apples were cooking I put my bottles in the oven to sterilize them.  I also filled up my canner and started to boil the water.  Lastly, I started some small pots of water boiling to sterilize my lids and rings.  If you are new to canning, I would HIGHLY recommend getting a Home-Canning Kit to get all the tools you need to do proper canning.  If you don’t have a canner or jars yet you can buy an all-in-one kit which will include EVERYTHING you need to get started!

Step 5:  Make the applesauce!

Once the apples were all soft, I used my hand-me-down 1970’s-style baymix to puree them.  I’m not sure why I call it a baymix but that is what my mom always called it when I was growing up.  I couldn’t find the exact one online to show you, but I absolutely LOVE mine.  Some of these hand blenders look similar but I can’t vouch for them.  You could also use a food processor or even a blender to do the pureeing.  But the baymix was SO easy because I could do it straight in the pan.  At this point you can add any seasonings you want.  I added 2 cups of sugar but could have gotten away with just one.  Ours turned out really sweet and delicious.  Some people like to add cinnamon or other things but I prefer to just add those when we eat it.

No I'm not pregant I just look horifically fat in this picture.

Step 6:  Pour the applesauce into jars and seal ‘em up

Use a funnel as this can get really messy.  I ladled the applesauce in leaving about 1/2 an inch of space at the top of the jars.  Then I used my tongs to pull out a lid and ring for each jar.  Try not to touch these things with bare hands as you don’t want them to get unsterilized.  Screw the ring on tight once the lid is on.

Step 7:  Put your jars into your canner and boil

As I filled each jar I would put it into the canner.  As you put more jars in the water level rises, so you don’t need to start with the canner all the way full.  Once I had all 5 jars in I filled up to the neck level of my jars with hot water.  You have to wait until the water is boiling before you start timing.  Let it boil for 20 minutes and then remove the jars.  Way easy huh?

Step 8:  ENJOY! (my kids sure did)

For more canning recipes and ideas we recommend the Ball Blue Book of Preserving.  It has great instructions for almost anything you could want to can. 

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Added “BabyStep 8: Fruits and Vegetables” to Main Topics

We added another BabyStep! Check out Step 8: Fruits and Vegetables to learn about adding produce into your food storage and how to preserve it. This is one of our favorite steps as it incorporates some of the “lost arts” such as gardening and canning.

Sneak preview: Watch for a post later this week showing how Jodi has been working on step 8!

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Smoothies - On a Food Storage Blog?

So I have been making these delicious smoothies lately and couldn’t figure out if I could justify sharing the recipe on a food storage blog. The other day when I ran out of milk it dawned on me I could try some of my powdered milk in it instead. Well, I did it! It was delicious, so now I can officially share the recipe on a food storage blog (not to mention all the other ingredients are frozen, so they can count as food storage if you have a big freezer).

Fruit and Yogurt Smoothies

Serving Size: 2 large glasses
Prep Time: 5 minutes (if you make a bunch of baggies ahead of time)

Ingredients (if you skip the sugar, they’re actually REALLY healthy):

  • 3/4 cup of frozen strawberries
  • 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries
  • 1/2 cup of frozen peaches or rasberries
  • 1cup of powdered milk prepared
  • 5 ice cubes of fat-free strawberry yogurt (or any other kind)
  • 1/4 of sugar if you think it needs it (I use splenda here and there)

Directions:

  1. Pour milk into blender
  2. Add fruit, blend
  3. Add yogurt cubes, blend
  4. Add sugar, blend
  5. Eat with a spoon, or drink with a straw

Directions to prepare a bunch of smoothies for the go ahead of time:

  1. Buy a 8-10 ziploc baggies
  2. Buy bags of your favorite frozen fruits (I did 2 strawberry, 1 peach, 1 blueberry)
  3. Divide up your fruit into the baggies
  4. Divide a large container of yogurt into ice cube containers and freeze
  5. Once frozen place 5 yogurt cubes into each ziploc bag
  6. Put bags into the freezer and use them up as you wish, all you’ll need to add is the milk and sugar.

SO - ASK YOURSELF DO I HAVE DRY MILK IN MY FOOD STORAGE?:

Click here to get your box today - because let’s be honest if you’re anything like me, you’ll forget next time you are at the store.

Thanks everydayfoodstorage author for sharing with us that powdered milk is the FIRST thing you should try when you are new at food storage.

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Grab Our Button For Your Blog

A lot of people have asked us if we have a button that they can add to their blog. Well we’ve always had one, but it wasn’t very cute so we never really publicized it except to our family and friends. With our new “look” and several more requests, we thought now would be a good time to get a new and improved button and share it with ALL our readers. So if you like our blog, feel free to spread the word to YOUR family and friends by posting our button on your blog!

To add the button just add an html widget to your layout and paste this html code inside of it. Make sure you give the widget a title…

<a href=http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net target=_blank><img src=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3234/2979643396_1a51b2aec7.jpg?v=0></a><br><br>

Emergency Plans and Disaster Kits

As you may have noticed, we took a LONG time to get Baby Step 7 out to you but we have a good reason! I got completely distracted with emergency preparedness. Over the past few weeks I had the chance to relax and do a lot of thinking/pondering about my food storage and emergency plan. The relaxation soon ended as I became somewhat frantic with how “unprepared” for an evacuation-type disaster I was. I needed to be more on top of the advice we’ve been giving on our getting started page!

So last week I started on a mission … to get my emergency plan ironed out, including the disaster kit and 72 hour kit food items. Back in July when Jodi bought all the ingredients to update our 72 hour kits, I put mine in a bag in the closet (the truth comes out). I started to think, if I had to evacuate my house I would be in big trouble. All my food was in a bag in one closet, the emergency supplies I DID have were scattered around the house, and another thing - my important documents binder wasn’t made and I had no cash in case credit card systems were down. How would it have worked for me if I had to evacuate my house quickly - ummmm not so well!

It’s been about 5 days of me focusing really hard and now I finally have my emergency bin all put together! We are going to be focusing a whole month on Emergency Preparedness early next year, but for now I wanted to fill you in on a couple things I did and learned.

1- I bought a car kit ($20 at Wal-Mart). If your Wal-Mart doesn’t carry something like this, we found this Deluxe Emergency Road Kit that is very similar and is great because you can toss in a water bottle and some snacks into the bag as well.

2- I PUT my binder with important documents together (passport, birth certificates, social security cards etc). When doing this, I asked myself one simple question - if my house burned down - would I be annoyed I didn’t have this document? If so, I put it in.

3- I went to the bank and took out $200 cash - and asked for small bills. In Hurricane Ike, a lot of people commented on how they wish they would have had small bills so they weren’t paying too much for stuff when stores didn’t have change.

4- I put my 72 hour kit food in a nice old big plastic animal cookie bin. It fit perfectly and was easier than using milk jugs (I like easy).

5- I gathered up all the items in the disasters supplies area of our emergency plan and purchased the things I didn’t have.

6- I placed ALL this stuff in a big bin in my front hall closet. I was sad because I had a cute little shelf all arranged in my basement for this, but then learned that it’s best to keep your kit somewhere that you can access it easily if you have to evacuate quickly.

p.s. My wonderful sister sent me a list of things she compiled for HER emergency kit. Some of the items were not initially on the list that we posted under Getting Started. I have recently added them to our emergency plan checklist and uploaded the revised list so you may want to print off a new copy if you have been using the older version.

Have you done your emergency checklist yet? You can accomplish all of this within a few days if you just set your mind to it!

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Why Food Storage Should Be Part of Your Financial Plan

Have you ever been out of work for a week, a month, even longer?
Do you wish you could buy foods ONLY when they are on sale and with coupons?
Do you wish you had a stockpile of grains now that the prices are getting so high?

In light of the current economic situation, we thought we’d share with you some ideas on how having your food storage in place can help you financially in both the short term and long term.

Short Term Food Storage
Your short term food storage consists of getting a 3 month supply of foods that you eat on a day to day basis. Once you have this in place you can start to grocery shop from your food storage and only replenish those items when they go on sale and/or you have coupons. This will actually reduce your grocery budget as you will only buy things that are deeply discounted. But those few dollars a month will not mean as much to you as the food will if you have a short term emergency. For example, my husband took a pay cut for several months and we were able to spend less than HALF of our usual grocery budget for those months because we had stockpiled so much of our every day foods.

Long Term Food Storage
Your long term food storage consists of getting a year’s supply worth of life-sustaining foods that have a long shelf-life. These are items such as wheat, white rice, dried beans, powdered milk, etc.  Since the shelf life is so long you can gradually purchase the items when they are on sale and work up to a year’s supply.  If you get brave enough to start using your long term food storage items in your everyday cooking, you can also save some money in the short term. Homemade bread is significantly cheaper than store-bought, especially if you grind your own wheat. Making other items from scratch such as muffins, pancakes, etc. can also save you money over buying packaged items.

In times of economic trouble you can rely on your food storage for long periods of time while other people are begrudging the high prices of rice and wheat. Prices will most likely come down before you deplete your stores. And finally if a major disaster, economic melt-down, or other long-term emergency were to occur, you can feel confident that your family will be able to survive with basic food and water for quite some time.

There is no better time to get started than NOW! Head over to the Getting Started page and follow along with us on this journey. We will be there with you every step of the way, cheering you on, and building our own food storage while we’re at it.

p.s. Did you notice the new look of our site? We will be adding to the design here and there so keep an eye out. Leave us a comment and let us know what you think!

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