Insta Fire Price Increases COMING JUNE 1st

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Jodi and Julie
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A little over a year ago, we introduced you to a fantastic product called Insta Fire (See our video at the bottom of this post when the creators came and cooked us lunch using only InstaFire!) We’ve just gotten word that with their increased growth, and increase in production costs, their pricing will be changing next month. They currently have a 5 gallon product that we sell for the lowest price online WITH FREE SHIPPING at $59.95. After the price increase, they will only be offering a 4 gallon bucket (which is 1 gallon less) and will cost the SAME as the current 5 gallon (That’s basically like a 20% price increase!). So if you’ve been wanting to get some fuel stored, we wanted to let you know about this, and recommend you purchase before the month is over. We will only be able to sell the 5 gallon up until the end of the month or while supplies last, so don’t delay!

INSTA-FIRE OVERVIEW

Insta Fire is a safe, simple, and versatile new fire starting product. It has water-repellant properties, a fifteen minute burn time and a thirty year shelf life. Use it to light campfires, prepare charcoal briquettes, or as a safe and reliable fuel source for cooking or heating in emergency situations. In an emergency you will most likely need to boil water, cook your food and heat your shelter. This fuel can be used in a wide variety of cooking stoves, even ones you can make out of #10 cans! Proper ventilation is always necessary.

To learn more about the product, and see it in action:

Benefits:

  • Useful for lighting and drying wet wood, building a campfire or bon fire, quickly lighting charcoal, etc.
  • Great complement to a Volcano Grill for quick cooking or boiling water
  • 2 cups burn for ½ hour to an hour with periodic stirring
  • 30 YEAR SHELF LIFE. Safe to store indoors. No limits on quantity stored
  • For more info see the FAQ

The owners of Insta Fire introducing us to the product last year – they even made us lunch! We enjoyed having them cook for us, and learning about the product:

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Powerless Cooking Recipe: Energy Bites

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Jodi and Julie
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In honor of our Powerless Cooking class tonight I wanted to share a recipe with you I tried this weekend that required no power to make. If you’ve followed our blog for long, you know that Jodi is the one that likes recipes, and I flat out get anxiety when someone asks me how I made something. I rarely measure, or write things down, and don’t KNOW the actual recipe. This kind of cooking style, is what I blame for my dislike of baking. Baking cookies and desserts are the type of thing you actually NEED to measure for – AND turn on the oven for. For some reason I’m ok making bread (maybe because I have the recipe memorized) but all other baking kind of irritates me. How’s that for a confession.

Anyways, I found this recipe on Pinterest a few weeks ago. If you’re not already following us on Pinterest make sure you do – we post, and repost cool stuff!. It was for a healthy energy ball. The thing that really caught my attention were the words NO BAKE, and HEALTHY. Hmmm I thought, maybe I could try those one day. My kids love granola bars, I don’t love the ingredients that always come with them, or the price tag for the healthy ones. I figured it would be worth a try.

Sunday night we were feeling an itch for a treat and I didn’t want to turn on the oven. I had about half the ingredients the recipe called for (I don’t always have cocunut or ground flax seed). I read the full post on the Smashed Peas and Carrots Blog, the recipe came from and decided substitutions would work just fine. I ended up with this mixture and JUST for you, I paid special attention to my measurements so I could share it. Not that I’ll ever actually measure when I make these again!

Ingredients
2 cups old fashion oats (original recipe called for 1 cup coconut, 1 cup oats, but I substituted)
1/2 cup peanut butter (I used organic – the kind that has JUST peanuts)
1/3 raw honey (doesn’t really have to be raw)
1/2 cup of chocolate chips (I chopped them, to make them go through out more of the mixture)
1 tsp vanilla

Directions
Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix. You then put the mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes to cool. If you’re going powerless, you can skip this, it will just make the mixture tougher to make balls out of. That’s when you just grab a spoon and eat the mixture right out of the bowl. After the mixture is cool, roll into balls. Store in an airtight container in the fridge – if they last that long.

What I love about this recipe, is that it uses Food Storage, it has no refined sugar (outside of the chocolate chips), or butter, or baking, or REAL need for measuring. If it’s too sticky, add more dry stuff. If it’s too dry, add more honey. Substitute whatever you like. I think I’ll do raisins instead of chocolate chips next time, maybe craisins, chop some nuts… whatever you like. I think I’ll make these again for sure!

Posted in Recipes, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Preparedness Events in May

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Jodi and Julie
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Normally we include any local events that we hear about in the News/Events section of our monthly newsletter, but we wanted to give extra attention to a couple of events coming up in May that we are really excited about.

Powerless Cooking Event – Hosted by Food Storage Made Easy

Date/Time: May 10th 7-9 pm
Location: Draper, Utah
Cost: FREE

Join us for an evening of free information on different options for cooking when the power goes out. Representatives from great companies such as Sun Oven, Volcano Grills, Humless, and InstaFire will be combining with us to help you learn about these products as well as several free or inexpensive tools you can make yourself. Come and enjoy free handouts, event discounts, giveaways and more!

This is the event that WE are putting on which we posted about a few weeks ago. Click here to view full details and RSVP if you haven’t already. Seating is limited and it’s filling up!

Self Reliance Expo

Date/Time: Friday 5/18 -> 10AM-7PM, Saturday 5/19 -> 9AM-7PM
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Cost: $10 per adult

There are several Self Reliance Expos in different locations throughout the year. This one in Colorado is exciting because they have an entire panel of women presenters including some of our favorites like Lisa Bedford (The Survival Mom). This expo will be worth going to just for the exhibits alone, but there also looks to be a huge line-up of classes, workshops, and presentations to attend as well. Click here for more details and to get ticket information.

Please note: If you are aware of any local events in your area please ALWAYS let us know so we can get the word out either through our newsletter or our Facebook page. We love to support local expos and help connect our readers with them!

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Harry Potter, the beach, Disney World, and … WHEAT?

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Jodi and Julie
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I have been on vacation this week. Julie is wonderful for holding down the fort while I’ve been away (although it would have been more fun if she were here with me!) Here are a few highlights of my trip:

Butterbeer in Hogsmeade

Bikini Beach Babe

A Few of My Favorite Things

A “Wheatie” Plane Ride

My daughter and I sat by a really nice Grandpa on our flight to Florida. He gave his extra cookies to her, and she let him play “Temple Run” on our iPad. I had a nice chat with him, and during our conversation I discovered that he owns a little farm in Minnesota. I told him about my Backyard Chickens and asked him what he farmed. When he told me he grew wheat I actually squealed and said “I have a basement FULL of wheat!” I think I took him by surprise. lol. He was impressed that I grind my own wheat and cook with it, and he was awesome about answering my questions for the next thirty minutes or so.

Winter wheat versus spring wheat
A few years ago we did a post about the different Types of Wheat, so I was proud of myself that I could ask him what type he grew and sort of know what I was talking about. However, I discovered I was not very well-educated on spring versus winter wheat. I assumed he grew winter wheat since Minnesota is so cold, but he told me it’s the opposite. Winter wheat is germinated in the fall and then sits dormant over the winter, it resumes growing as the weather warms up and is harvest in early summer. Spring wheat is planted in April or May and harvested in August or early September. Very cold regions have too harsh of winters to be able to plant in the fall for winter wheat. This totally makes sense to me now. Also winter wheat produces more wheat per square foot, but spring wheat has a higher protein content.

Home-grown wheat
After learning about HIS wheat, I proceeded to hound this nice gentleman with questions about growing my own wheat in a small space. He told me I could grow wheat from my stored wheat kernels (as long as they will sprout you should be able to use them for crops). You can grow as much or as little as you have room for. If you have a yard that’s 20 feet by 50 feet, you could plant 6 pounds of wheat and harvest nearly 50 pounds of grain (source). You will need to learn the proper harvesting methods for home harvesting, but that information seems to be readily available online.

I told my new farmer friend that I would love to try to grow a little wheat and see how it works in my area. Then if some major long-term catastrophe occurred I would know that I could tear up my whole yard and plant lots of wheat if I had to. By the end of our flight he had asked for my address because he wants to send me a little packet of his wheat to try growing in my yard next spring. I thought it was really cute and nice of him and I’m excited to give it a whirl. I may even try doing a couple different kinds of wheat (using some of my stored wheat as well). We’ll see how ambitious I get!

Who knew you could have a food storage adventure in the middle of a Florida vacation?

Posted in Just For Fun, Wheat | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Oxygen Absorbers

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Jodi and Julie
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When it comes to packaging foods for VERY long periods of time we’ve had some, but admittedly not THAT much experience. We’ve only been working on our food storage for 4 years. Since it’s only been 4 years, a lot of foods we store wouldn’t or couldn’t have gone bad by now anyways. We also believe in such regular rotation, that our long term food storage food items don’t sit long enough to spoil. We also live in very dry weather, so humidity and moisture haven’t been something we’ve had to deal with. So yes, we’ve had it easy. That’s why when it comes to words like Oxygen Absorbers, we get a little shy, because we don’t feel that we’re that expert on the subject.

Still however, we get asked questions about it, and started to do a little research when we came upon this article at LDS.ORG. We are highlighing part of the article here for you, but urge you to check out the full article for TONS of tips on storing your food long term. The part we are highlighting is the Oxygen Absorbers section.

Oxygen Absorbers

Oxygen absorbers protect dry foods from insect damage and help preserve product quality. They are used when dry foods are packaged in sealed containers. Oxygen absorbers can be purchased from home storage centers and Church Distribution Services, or they can be ordered from store.lds.org. (You can also find them at Emergency Essentials – type in Oxygen Absorbers in search)

What are oxygen absorbers made of?

Oxygen absorbers are small packets that contain an iron powder. The packets are made of a material that allows oxygen and moisture to enter but does not allow the iron powder to leak out.

How do oxygen absorbers work?

Moisture in the packaged food causes the iron in the oxygen absorber to rust. As it oxidizes, the iron absorbs oxygen. Oxygen absorbers rated for 300 cubic centimeters (cc) of oxygen work well for properly packaged dry food in containers of up to one-gallon capacity (4 liters).

Is the use of oxygen absorbers equivalent to vacuum packaging?

Oxygen absorbers remove oxygen more effectively than vacuum packaging. Air is about 20 percent oxygen and 80 percent nitrogen. Absorbers remove only the oxygen. The air left in the container is mostly nitrogen and will not affect the food or allow the growth of insects.

What types of products can be stored using oxygen absorbers?

Products should be low in moisture and oil content. If the moisture content is not low enough (about 10 percent or less), storing products in reduced oxygen packaging may result in botulism poisoning.

What types of containers can be used with oxygen absorbers for food storage?

Oxygen absorbers should be used with containers that provide an effective barrier against moisture and oxygen. The following containers work well:

  • Metal cans with seamed lids.
  • Foil pouches (such as those provided by Church home storage centers and available from store.lds.org).
  • PETE plastic bottles with airtight, screw-on lids.
  • Glass canning jars with metal lids that have gaskets.

Oxygen absorbers are not an effective treatment method for plastic buckets, milk bottles, or other types of plastic bottles not identified as PETE or PET under the recycle symbol.

What is the proper way to use oxygen absorbers?

  1. Cut open the top of the bag of absorbers. Do not open the individual absorber packets.
  2. Remove the number of absorbers from the bag that you will use in the next 20 to 30 minutes, and spread them out on a tray. Remove additional groups of absorbers from the supply as you need them during the packaging process, but do not open and close the bag repeatedly to get only a few absorbers at a time.
  3. Reseal the remaining supply of absorbers by one of the following methods. Do not store absorbers in ziplock bags.
    • Seal the bag of absorbers with the special blue clamp provided by the home storage center.
    • Seal the bag of absorbers with an impulse heat sealer.
    • For longer storage when an impulse sealer is not available, remove the absorbers from the bag and place them into a glass canning jar that has a metal lid with a gasket. A one-pint jar (500 ml) will hold 25 absorbers.
  4. Place one absorber into each container of food as it is packaged.

So there you have a highlighted part of the article. Check it out for more tips on packaging food for longer term storage!

Feel free to add your tips and comments about packaging your foods for long term storage!

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Book Review: Bread in a Bag

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Jodi and Julie
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Please note: This is part of a series of reviews we are doing on food storage, emergency prep, and self-reliance type books. For more reviews click here.

 
 
Bread in a Bag:
A Creative Way to Store Bread!
by Pam Emick

 

Background: We reviewed the book Dinner is in the Jar a couple of years ago … and when we were first approached by Pam Emick the author of Bread in a Bag we knew we would love her book too since it’s a similar concept. Rather than have to pull out all the individual ingredients for your bread every time you bake it, you simply stockpile the ingredients in the correct proportions all in one mylar bag or mason jar. GENIUS idea! She offered to give us a copy of her book to review and we were very happy to do so :)

What I Liked: Bread in a Bag is VERY thorough. It covers everything you will need to know, do, and buy if you want to use this storage method. There are a wide variety of different types of bread recipes in the book, and each one has detailed instructions on how exactly to store it, including if you need to put things in separate baggies for measurement purposes. There are also instructions for how to make the bread if you are using your “bag”, including what liquid or fresh ingredients you would need to add. Pam includes great labels for each recipe to make it SIMPLE when you pull out a bag or jar to bake your bread.

My Favorite Part: I love the recipes that are small enough to fit in a quart jar. I don’t keep mylar bags on hand so if I want to make this philosophy a big part of my storage I will need to get some materials for that. In the book it indicates recipes that can fit in a half-gallon mylar bag and those ones seem to work well in the jars too. I made the Hawaiian Bread (VERY delicious with the hint of lemon and the orange zest added in) and while I had everything out it was very easy to just measure the ingredients into a jar at the same time I was measuring them into my mixer. Then a few days later I had a FAST easy bread mix ready to go. LOVE!

Feedback: I think this is a great concept for making white breads, however I store more wheat than white flour due to the longer shelf life. We asked Pam about storing fresh ground whole wheat in the bags and she thought it wouldn’t be a problem. However, I would be concerned about the wheat going rancid unless I kept the whole bag/jar in the freezer. I think if you used commercially bought wheat flour you would be fine if you used it within the shelf life of that wheat. For me personally, if I’m going to do a jar for a recipe calling for wheat flour, I will just stick wheat kernels in baggies into the jars and then grind them up when I pull out the jar to make the recipe. This is still a very convenient way to do it and I won’t have to be concerned about my wheat flour going bad.

Summary: Bread in a Bag introduces a new way to think about your food storage and gives you all the tools you need to make these bread kits sooo easily. Her recipes look really great (I can’t wait to try the hamburger buns!). My plan is to go through the book trying a new recipe every few weeks and each time I do it just make a couple of jars or bags at the same time. Over a few months this should give me a GREAT supply of bread kits, ready-to-bake, and using foods already in my storage. If you are struggling with keeping up on making homemade bread consistently, or just want some new recipes to try out, I would definitely recommend Bread in a Bag :)

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JOIN US for a FREE Powerless Cooking Event

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Jodi and Julie
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Join us on May 10 for a FREE Powerless Cooking Event in Draper, UT

We’re excited to be hosting a free Powerless Cooking Event! The event will consist of 2 parts- instruction and booth time. The instruction portion of the event will last about 1 hour and include segments featuring various products, that will be taught by experts from the respective companies of each powerless cooking tool. Each segment will be long enough to give a good overview of the product and how it is helpful in a powerless emergency.

Following the instruction portion, we will have booth time where you can ask detailed questions on the products you’re interested in at individual booths. This will allow for you to learn as much as possible about multiple options, then delve into whichever options you may be more interested in. We will also be handing out special order forms that you can submit and get special event pricing and discounts.

We will also teach you about some free/inexpensive powerless cooking tools and include handouts with instructions for how to make them!

FEATURED PRODUCTS AND EXPERT GUESTS:
Global Sun Ovens:
Paul Munsen: President of Sun Ovens Int.
Insta Fire Fuel:
Frank Weston/Konel Banner: Owners and CEO
Volcano Grills:
TBA
Humless Solar Powered Generators:
St. John Holloway: Sales and Support Rep

FREE/EDUCATIONAL OPTIONS COVERED IN CLASS:
Brief Fuel Overview: Taught by JODI AND JULIE!
Cardboard Box Ovens: Taught by JODI AND JULIE!
#10 Can Stoves: Taught by JODI AND JULIE!
Indoor Cooking and Butane Stoves: Taught by Preparedness Expert Guest
Hand Wheat Grinders: Taught by JODI AND JULIE!

DETAILS:
Date: Thursday May 10, 2012
Time: 7-9 pm (7-8 will be instructional, 8-9 will be Q&A at individual booths)
Place:

American Preparatory Academy
12892 S. Pony Express Rd. (Just off of I15 and 123000 S.)
Draper, Utah 84020

Cost: FREE! Bring a friend!

Please RSVP below so we can plan seating accordingly:

Posted in Events, Powerless Cooking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

CREAMY POTATO SOUP (Food Storage and Fat-Free Style)

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Jodi and Julie
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When I got married, my mother-in-law (Jodi’s mom – known as Grandma Lori around here) gave me a very special gift. She had each of my relatives and close friends fill out a recipe card or two of their favorite, most trusted recipes. I LOVE that little box of recipe cards because it contains a lot of family favorites that my husband and I both grew up loving from our aunts, grandparents etc. One of my go-to recipes out of that box has been my Aunt Debbie’s Vegetable Cheese Chowder (We call it Creamy Potato Soup). Over the years I’ve figured out a way to incorporate my food storage into this soup AND make it virtually fat free!. Through some creative cooking techniques (removing the flour, milk, and butter) I can feel good about eating this more often. I’ll share both versions with you here today!

CREAMY POTATO SOUP (Original)

Ingredients:
4 cups cubed potatoes
2 cups diced carrots
2 cups diced celery
1/2 cup minced onions
2 t salt
4 cups water
10 oz frozen broccoli (or 2 cups fresh)
3 T chicken bouillon
3 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1 T dry mustard
1 lb shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
In large pot, place potatoes, carrots, celery & onions (also broccoli if fresh). Add water + salt. Cook about 20 mins until tender. Add broccoli (if frozen), chicken base & milk. Simmer 5 mins.

In saucepan melt butter, add flour and mustard. Stir to make sauce. Add to soup and stir until thick. Add cheese, stirring until melted. Keep hot, but do not boil.

CREAMY POTATO SOUP (Fat free)

Ingredients:
4 cups cubed potatoes
1/2 cup minced onions (or equivalent in freeze dried onion – about 1/4 c.)
2 t salt
3 T chicken bouillon
2 cups diced carrots (or equivalent in dehydrated carrots – about 1 c.)
2 cups diced celery (or equivalent in freeze dried celery – about 1 c.)
10 oz frozen broccoli (or equivalent in freeze dried broccoli – about 1 c.)
1 T dry mustard
4 T white bean flour mixed with 3/4 c. water (any white bean ground in your Wondermill will work)
Cheddar cheese for topping – if you’re feeling naughty!

Directions:
In one pot I cover the potatoes and onions with water, and add the chicken bouillon and salt. In a different pot (there’s a reason for the 2 pots), I put all the carrots, celery, and broccoli together with very little water and start cooking about 5 mins after I start cooking the potatoes. If I am using freeze dried veggies, I add a little more water, and let them cook and hydrate at the time (meaning I don’t add water and get them hydrated ahead of time).

Once the potatoes are done cooking and are soft and tender, I take a masher, and very LIGHTLY mash them. I mash them enough that there are still quite a few chunks left, but it’s slightly creamy. This is one of the ways I get the creaminess of the soup without the flour, butter and milk! After the potatoes are slightly mashed, I add the carrots, celery and broccoli WITH it’s water. A lot of the nutrients, get into that water so I want to keep it. That’s why I cooked it in the first place with very little water.

At this point it should be a little on the liquidy side, and that’s when I add the white bean flour/water mixture to get the rest of the creaminess without the flour, butter, and milk. This will thicken the soup right up. Make sure you leave it cooking (boiling) for at least 3 minutes to get the beans all the way cooked. Add the dry mustard here too. Here’s a secret, I never have that so I usually put about 1/2 Tablespoon of real mustard, not knowing if that really has any likening to mustard seed, but it flavors it a tiny bit so I go with it.

Since the soup is still fat free at this point, I’ll usually top it with a little cheddar cheese because I deserve it (freeze-dried cheese would work for this too).

So there you have it. Soup that uses freeze dried veggies and white bean flour. I ALWAYS use freeze dried onion, ALMOST ALWAYS use freeze dried broccoli, and often use freeze dried carrots, and celery if I don’t have any on hand. Next up, I’ll try it with freeze dried or dehydrated potatoes and really be ambitious!

Posted in Bean Recipes, Fruit and Vegetable Recipes, Recipes | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Basic CPR and First Aid Tips

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Jodi and Julie
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I mentioned on our Facebook page last week that I had attended a first aid and CPR class at my local church. I learned a lot and wanted to share some of my notes of what I was taught with you here. I would strongly encourage you to take an official CPR class to get more formal instructions. Click here to search for one in your area.

“New” CPR Guidelines

This was not a formal CPR class but it was great to get a handle on the general principles. There have been some changes to what the American Heart Association recommends for people to know about performing CPR. Since 2008 they have been encouraging all Americans to learn Hands-Only CPR in order to be able to potentially save the life of someone in cardiac arrest. The American Heart Association website says:

Hands-Only CPR (CPR with just chest compressions) has been proven to be as effective as CPR with breaths in treating adult cardiac arrest victims. A study published in the March 8 issue of Circulation states: “Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes showed that people who view a CPR instructional video are significantly more likely to attempt life-saving resuscitation.”

Official AHA Hands-Only® CPR instructional video.

 
A few extra notes from my class:

  • For small children use one hand only and compress only about half the distance from your and to the ground
  • For infants only use 2 fingers
  • The first two compressions will be difficult and feel a bit “crunchy” as the ribs break away from cartilage, it should get easier after that.
  • Don’t stop doing compressions until a doctor pronounces them dead, someone with higher training takes over, or you are so tired you are about to pass out
  • Don’t check for a pulse or for breathing before you start, just start compressions immediately after calling 911. Precious time is lost otherwise.

What to do for CHOKING

Try to determine if it is a partial obstruction or a complete obstruction. If it’s partial, the object should be able to work it’s way out and the person is still able to breathe slightly. There is nothing you can do for this. If it is a complete obstruction, perform the heimlich maneuver. This is done by wrapping your arms around the person, place your thumb on their belly button, then make a fist and wrap your other hand around that fist. Pull up and back until the obstruction is removed. If the person goes unconscious, perform CPR.

What to do for severe BLEEDING

Call 911 if the cut is gushing, very deep, or a gaping wound. Do your best to stop or minimized the bleeding. If you are using a rag or towel to stop the bleeding, make sure to sterilize it first. You can attempt to stop the bleeding in one of three ways:

  • Apply pressure, either directly (push right on the injury) or indirect (wrap a towel AROUND the injury)
  • Use pressure points. Find any place you feel a heart beat near the wound and apply pressure (i.e. under the bicep)
  • Elevate the injury

Once you have stopped the bleeding, do not remove the towel to check on the injury. Wait until medical help arrives or you get to a hospital.

What to do for POISONING

If you have ANY concerns about what a person (or pet) has eaten, call poison control immediately. The phone number is 1-800-222-1222

What to do for HEAD TRAUMA

If a person (usually a child) falls or receives some trauma to the head, check for the seriousness of the injury. If they are vomiting, go unconscious, act strange, get lethargic, or have a dramatic difference in pupil sizes these are all signs that it could be serious. If any of these symptoms occur, take the person to a doctor.

What to do for HEAT EMERGENCIES

Heat affects the young, old, and already sick much more than normal healthy adults. Heat exhaustion is quite common and is recognized by cool and clammy skin, nausea, and dizziness. Get the person out of the sun, keep cool, and have them drink lots of water. If heat exhaustion is not treated within 2-3 days, it can develop into heat stroke which is VERY dangerous. Signs of heat stroke are red skin, radiating heat, becoming incoherent or unconscious, and their body can’t control its temperature. This can be deadly, get medical attention IMMEDIATELY.

First Aid Kits

One last thing they mentioned in the class is to have a well-stocked first aid kit in your home. We gave a recommend list of first aid kit items from the Red Cross in this post last year. Check it out for a good starting point.

I still don’t feel like an EXPERT on all of these things, but I definitely feel a little more confident in managing first aid issues that may arise in my home with my little children. Hopefully you can find some classes in your area too!

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Food Storage and Allergies – Let’s give this a try

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Jodi and Julie
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If you follow us on facebook, you may have seen the post I did last weekend stating:

We have some good friends from home visiting us this weekend. Just found out my the wife can’t eat gluten. I had a pretty good menu planned, now I feel like I’m handcuffed. We practiced this in our 7 day challenge, but this feels harder.

Now before you all get after my friend’s wife… her allergy isn’t super severe, and she didn’t want to inconvenience me, so her plan was to just work around any gluten I was going to be serving, not make a fuss and deal with the ramifications. Well her husband let the secret out, and even though she kept assuring me not to change the menu, I couldn’t help but TRY!

For the past couple of years, we have been getting the question:”How do I do food storage if I have an allergy to “insert food item here?”. We most commonly, get the question about gluten – which is why we made a day of it in our 7 day challenge last fall. See more about that here.

POSTS ON ALLERGIES AND FOOD STORAGE


We’ve tried to do a few posts to help a little, but admit we haven’t been very thorough yet. Here are a few things we’ve done to TRY and address it:

While we know this isn’t all inclusive, they have been our attempt to help a little. I’ll admit I was really thrown for a loop by having my friend over for the weekend, when I had PLANNED to make pizza, cinnamon rolls, pancakes, and other gluten filled foods. I spent the full weekend really pondering how would I DEAL with this if I was all of a sudden unable to eat gluten – or some other food.

ADAPTING TO THE ALLERGY


Well I STARTED to formulate a plan. The first thing I would do is start living my new life, and see how I adapt. I’ll use gluten as an example, since it is so common. I think there would be 2 main ways of dealing with this. I’m guessing you may choose to go all one way, or a do a variety. Either way…. I think you would choose:

  1. To go forward living without the types of foods that contain gluten, make other choices and stock accordingly. For example, you would maybe choose to eat more rice, corn, quinoa, and a variety of other grains and make meals that these grains are typically found in. In other words, say adios to breads etc. OR
  2. To go forward trying to modify recipes that typically contain gluten to allow yourself to eat foods like the foods you are used to. For example, you may find a way to make pizza dough, breads, pancakes and other pastries using substitutions that are gluten free.

I think it would be silly to try and remake a whole food storage plan, before you figured out what your new lifestyle will hold if you got diagnosed with a gluten (or any other) allergy. I know my friend told me she has just stayed away from gluten food replacements like gluten free breads, pizzas and pastas, and just stuck with other foods. I think I would do some of that, with a lot of research and hard work to come up with ways to still be able to eat breads, pizza, and pastas- because I love them so much! Maybe I would get over them a little, but I think I’d for sure try. So that’s my point, after seeing how I would adapt to the allergy, THEN I would formulate a plan based on what foods I had in my new diet.

MAKING THE PLAN


In my plan for “if I had an allergy”, I decided I would go to BabyStep 4, and rethink it. We have an excel spreadsheet that contains a list of foods for a common one year supply. I would use that list of a starting point, and then I would start doing replacements. In our FAQ on our calculators post, we talk about doing replacements on the spreadsheet, and show you how. So, for example, if I couldn’t eat wheat, I would replace pound for pound other grains in place of wheat.

If I had decided on trying to make pizza doughs and breads gluten free, I would ADD to the calculator the ingredients needed for that. I’m still very new to the gluten free world, but I know there are ways of making flours gluten free with ingredients that do the job of gluten. Something like Xanthan Gum? Don’t judge me if that’s not the right word, I’M NEW and ADMITTEDLY not that rad at this gluten free stuff!

So if I had to break it down step by step:

  1. Determine what foods you eat
  2. Replace foods you can’t eat on a standard calculator
  3. Add foods you need to make your new diet come together to the standard calculator

Ok, so now I can’t claim to be an expert in all this allergy stuff, but I can at least say, I’ve been really thinking about it. We’ll continue to give it more thought, and hopefully more posts in the future.

Posted in Allergies and Food Storage | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments