One of the great things about the Parade of Giveaways is that you get to learn more about all of these great companies and products and see how they can help you build your food storage. The BEST part about the Parade of Giveways, is that entering giveaways has never been easier, and is open for the whole month. So don’t be afraid to sign up for your favorite ones (or ALL of them!)
 

Here is a list of some of the great products (and we have a couple more coming, so check back):

• Shelf Reliance’s most popular Food Rotation System
• 3-Day Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials
• Chef’s Banquet Freeze Dried Fruit Variety from Ready Project
• 2 FREE 1 Year Memberships to Deals to Meals
• Quality spices from All About Food Storage
• “I Can’t Believe it’s Food Storage” by Crystal Godfrey
• Augason Farms Breakfast Pack
• “Gardening for Beginners” from My Square Foot Garden
• The new 16″ deep Shelf Organizer from Can Organizer
• Golden Flaxseed from HiStakes-Spelt
• Food Storage Made Easy Binders on CD
• JUST ADDED: WONDERMILL JR DELUXE HAND GRINDER

1. CREATING A PLANNING TEAM/CONTINUITY OF AUTHORITYParticipants will discuss the importance of creating a planning team and who should be included. Creating a chain of command with continuity of authority maintains leadership during any type of operational interruption.

2. COMMUNICATION
Maintaining reliable communication with employees, key personnel, customers, vendors and first responders can minimize confusion during any type of event. Options and solutions for a communication plan will be discussed.

3. RISKS AND HAZARDS
Learn how to recognize the risks and hazards that are the most probably for your facility and location. How should you plan against specific types of interruptions?

4. INTERNAL/EXTERNAL RESOURCES AND CAPABILITIES
Each business or organization has internal and external resources that can be utilized for emergency response and recovery. Participants will learn to identify what capabilities are currently available and how to develop others.

5. VULNERABILITY ASSESMENTS
What types of emergences within your facility or community are most likely to occur? This point will cover a vulnerability assessment tool to determine probabilities, estimate impact and assess resources using a numbering system to identify certain types of interruptions.

6. ESSENTIAL BUSINESS FUNCTIONS
Your bottom line could depend on how quickly you are able to resume normal business operations – but what needs to be operating first? Planners will learn how to focus on a company’s most essential business functions to retain the “what, who and how” of business resumption.

7. HUMAN RESOURCES
The human resources within your organization are likely your most valuable assets. Discover the skills and specialized training that cannot always be replaced with outside resources.

8. WORKPLACE EVACUATION AND SHELTERING IN PLACE
Training employees in a simple evacuation or fire drill plan prepares them to respond without confusion during an actual emergency event. Assigning responsibility to assist customers, clients, or patients out of the facility increases exit efficiency. Where should they go? What should they take/ How long should they plan to stay away? Or is it safer to shelter in place?

9. WORKPLACE EMERGENCY SUPPLY ITEMS
Emergencies are unpredictable and could happen during working hours. Is your workplace prepared with necessary supplies to sustain occupants for 8-12 hours if necessary? Receive a practical emergency supply list for workplace environments.

10. INSURANCE COVERAGE/REVIEWS
Would your insurance claim benefit be enough to keep you in business? Identify alternate types of insurance to cover possible gaps.

11. VITAL RECORDS
Could you provide vital documents or records upon request to an insurance provider, banker, or tax accountant? Recognize types of records that are vital to the survival of a business or organization.

12. DATA PROTECT/STORE/RECOVER
A major cause of business interruption is significant data loss. Human error, power failure, a facility fire –all could be the cause. What should an organization do to protect, store and recover vital records and safeguard their cyber system? (Check out computer back up with MozyPro Options)

Awhile back we did a fun post on 72 hour kits for the office. If you don’t have one already, you should check it out and get going on it!

p.s. Share what you know about your company’s emergency preparedness plans in the comments below. If you don’t know them, find out!

The 7 DAY CHALLENGE is quickly approaching… When is it you ask?

Remember, on a SURPRISE day in September, we will email you (if you are signed up for the challenge – sign up here) and announce the challenge has begun. At that point, you will not be allowed to spend ANY money for 7 days, or go to any kind of store (for those of you who think you can use gift cards -you can’t). Each day we will present you with a different kind of challenge or emergency to deal with USING ONLY WHAT YOU HAVE ON HAND!

• You WILL need a 72 hour kit/Eprep Plan. That’s not a maybe, its a FOR SURE
• You will want your recipes printed (you may not be able to jump on the internet for a recipe)
• Make sure you have water stored
• Make sure you have a way to cook without power
• Inventory your storage and fill in the gaps of things you have forgotten to replace recently
• Make sure you are a fan of Food Storage Made Easy on Facebook -SO much discussion and learning goes on over there, especially during the challenge
• We will MAKE you use your long term storage – it’s not just for collecting dust you know. Do you have a Wondermill? They are on sale for one more week! Get one here.

A great way to make sure you are prepared for real life, AND the challenge, is to use the checklists and over 100 pages of information found in our Food Storage Made Easy Binder. The Binder is a downloadable file, so you can purchase it today, and get started RIGHT AWAY! Quit worrying about HOW to build your food storage, and just get started- we’ve done the hard work for you.

• The more you participate in the challenge, the more you learn, actually doing it really helps you learn
• You’ll have to modify some of the scenarios for your own family depending on diet, work schedules, marital status, kid status etc… We’ll try to be generic, but just relax and adapt
• Don’t skip out on work, or neglect important things just because you are doing the challenge -we can’t write “doctor’s notes” and excuse you from stuff
• Buying gas is up to you for the 7 days – if some of these things happened in real life, you wouldn’t be going to work at the same time using up gas etc…

Happy preparing! We’re so excited to SURPRISE you!

Emergency Preparedness, and Food Storage companies are sponsoring the giveaways on this index. Each sponsor is featuring their own product giveaway on their own sites. Visit each of the sponsors to enter. Don’t worry – we have rules for the sponsors to ensure entering will be EASY!

Check out the great products, sponsors, and giveaways for the entire month of September. Winners will be selected by each individual sponsor, and contacted by each individual sponsor. This is just an INDEX of all the giveaways (we’re not in charge of, or responsible for each individual giveaway).

My computer crashed and I lost everything … I know you told us to back up our computers but I didn’t … Could you please resend my Food Storage Made Easy Binder file?

And that is the part where we say “I told you so!!!”. In our BabyStep Checklist program the VERY first thing we tell people to do is to have some sort of backup plan for their computer. This doesn’t seem like a typical recommendation from a food storage/preparedness site, but it is the MOST common “disaster” that people have and it is absolutely devastating when it happens. To lose all of your work and school files, not to mention family pictures and videos … it has happened to me and it is awful.
 

Well today I had a serious computer emergency myself. I was working on my laptop at a little table in front of my couch and had a nice full glass of ice water sitting beside me. My five year old son wanted a turn to hold my 2 month old baby, so he came and sat down beside me on the couch and tried to situate himself to comfortably take the babe. Well, in the process of doing that … he kicked the entire glass of water right onto my computer keyboard.

Needless to say I FREAKED OUT. I hurriedly put the baby down and tried to salvage the computer. I burst into tears because my MacBook is my other baby and it is only about a year old and it was FULL of WATER. My 2 month old was screaming because I scared him by putting him down so fast. And my five year old started crying because I was so upset and he was worried about the baby. Plus my three year old girl kept saying “What’s wrong, why is everyone crying?” It was quite a scene.

I thought the computer was completely ruined, as it kept doing crazy freak-out things whenever I tried to use the keyboard. But it appears to work ok if I use an external keyboard and mouse plugged into it. So I’m writing this blog post on my poor flooded MacBook and crossing my fingers that it will still function tomorrow.

The funny part about this is that I was not at ALL worried about my data. The very first thing to cross my mind was “Thank goodness I finally transfered my Mozy account to this computer (after procrastinating for almost a year).” I only had to be sad about replacing a $2400 computer, but all my non-replaceable files are safely stored in my Mozy account and were accessible to me all day while MY computer was drying out.

Use coupon code AUGUST for an additional 10% off your subscription!

So don’t let yourself be one of the people who emails us and says “I know you told me to get a Mozy account, and I should have, but I kept putting it off … and now my computer is fried … can you please resend my checklists?” (Have we mentioned that we have to do those manually and it is HARD to keep up with!) Those emails are the saddest because it is so cheap and easy to get an account and the amount of pain it can save is immeasurable.

Can you tell I’m a BIG Mozy fan? (Julie is too, you can read her story here).

Well we have been working on ways to answer that question. On our BabyStep 8 page, we talk about growing, canning, dehydrating, and freezing. Storing fruits and vegetables can be such a road block for so many people in food storage- ourselves included.

Today, Julie is going to share with you some things she is doing to get closer to having that part of her food storage under control. It involves GREEN SMOOTHIES, AIRPLANES, AND I TOLD YOU SO’S.

So for awhile now I have been into “Green Smoothies”. I got introduced to a website “Green Smoothie Girl” by my neighbor, and am just scraping the surface of some of the great stuff on her site. For those of you who make these, you know how amazing they make you feel, and how frantic you get when you don’t have your daily dose of fabulous fruits and vegetables. When thinking about WHY FOOD STORAGE, there are many reasons I have food storage. I choose to have food storage for emergency situations, but ALSO for situations where I might not have access to stores, or if money is tight. Having said that, I do a portion of freezer food planning in my food storage. Ideally I’ll have a nice, and fancy generator to power my freezer in case of no power situations, but we’re doing this ONE BabyStep at a time – remember!

Anyways, about a month ago, my sisters were trying to find airline tickets for a trip they were taking. I had a couple of free flights from points I haven’t been able to use for FOREVER, and offered to sell them my free flights for a discount of what they were going to pay for their tickets anyways. My points were good for something after all! So, I did something I rarely do- I SPLURGED! I have been drooling, and I mean DROOLING over Blendtec and Vitamix blenders for months. Each morning when I had been making my smoothies, I told myself- one day- one day- I would have an AMAZING blender. Well to make a long story short, with my free flights money, I bought a Vitamix (I did some SERIOUS research and debating on which one to buy, and finally went with Vitamix , but there are bonuses to Blendtec that might make it the right blender for you, I’ll do a post on just that later).

So with my Vitamix , I make so much fun stuff, smoothies being one of them. I went out of town without it, and barely survived – Ok- I’m being dramatic here, but seriously I LOVE it. Since I’ve made making smoothies a part of my daily life, I thought – I NEED to figure out how to store for this. This is where the “I TOLD YOU SO’S” come in. When I was a girl I would get SO embarrassed when I was grocery shopping with my mom and she would buy TONS of stuff on sale. Well, I’m going to confess. I’m turning into my mom. I am using Deals to Meals to buy my produce for so much cheaper then Walmart prices (I told you about this a few weeks ago). Earlier this week, I found myself buying huge amounts of fruits for freezing and I just had to laugh. Freezing this fruit when buying it for so cheap is a great way to build up my fruit storage, and save money at the same time. My plan is to keep buying 3-4 times the amount of produce I normally buy, when it’s at great prices, and keep on freezing. Ideally I would love to have fresh always, but just in case…

So here are some tips I have learned from readers about freezing fruits. Please share your tips in the comment sections below:

-Clean, wash and dry fruit first
-Place fruit on cookie sheets or platters to freeze (this avoids clumping)
-Put the powder that keeps fruit good on things like peaches
-Freeze for a few hours
-Place in ziploc bags
-Label the bag with the date (I need to do that part still)

• Basement junk making it difficult to reach long term food storage buckets
• Bags of groceries dumped on the floor BESIDE the shelves
• Canning supplies scattered in multiple places
• Shelves for 3 month supply are hard to access, hard to see, and hard to reach

My big excuse is that I had a baby 7 weeks ago. So for probably a good 5-6 months I avoided going down to the storage area like a plague. My sweet hubby would refill my containers upstairs with my long term foods. And my sweet 5 year old son would run down and grab cans of veggies or soup when I needed them for a recipe.

The problem could no longer be ignored when I sent my son down to grab a can of tomato soup for a recipe. He told me there wasn’t any. I didn’t believe him, because I should have at LEAST 10 cans down there. The soup is normally on the left shelf (see above) so I had to navigate around that junk to look for the soup. To my dismay there WASN’T any TOMATO SOUP. UGH! This is not supposed to happen to me.

• A complete reorganization of my storage space
• Elimination of space hogging (and leak-prone) water jugs
• Discarding of multiple foods items that were long past expiration
• Re-inventory of my three month supply spreadsheet

Once I had reorganized and catalogued my foods I realized how much I had depleted my storage over the past months. My “three month supply” was more like a partial 2 week supply plus a billion stewed tomatoes and mandarin oranges.

• Print out my list of “Need to Buy” items
• Use Deals to Meals (LOVE THEM!) over the next few weeks to catch the items when they are on sale
• Put foods straight onto shelves as I purchase them
• Fill up my new water storage boxes
• Buy or build more Can Racks as needed to improve rotation
• Buy better shelves some day (these are second hand and kind of odd-sized)
• Keep stocking up on my long term food storage now that I’m using it so much!

We quite often get asked to see an example of a filled out sheet, but I’ve always been a little embarrassed to share what we eat. I’ve finally overcome my fear and I’m willing to share. Hope it is helpful for you!

Jodi’s Three Month Supply Spreadsheet

p.s. Have you been procrastinating filling out your spreadsheet? Fill it out … RIGHT NOW and submit it to us at info@foodstoragemadeeasy.net. We will do a future post where we share all the reader spreadsheets and maybe we can all get ideas from each other! If you already have yours filled out … YOU ROCK and you can still send it to us too

While this “diet” is very healthy, it can also be a bit of a pain to prepare the foods. But I’m going to show you a few tricks I’ve learned to make it easier to follow, and super easy to stick with even on busy days when you aren’t at home to cook the food. And the bonus part is, it uses lots of food storage, yay!

Whole Grains

I have started keeping a bucket of wheat, rice, and oatmeal upstairs because I’m going through them so quickly. I make two loaves of whole wheat bread (click here for my favorite recipe) every few days and my family has started snarfing it up. I should be grateful that they love the healthy food but then I have to keep making it more often. At least it’s really cheap since I grind my own wheat! I’ve also started cooking up big batches of brown rice in my pressure cooker and storing it in 1 cup baggies in the fridge. This has been an awesome way to always have a healthy side dish on hand.

Fruits and Veggies

I have been using my favorite service Deals to Meals to find the best deals on produce and stock up. If the foods look like they may go bad soon I just stick them in the freezer. Usually I can make the freezer foods last until stuff goes on sale again. Sweet! (To see how easy it is to use deals to meals for product, check out this post)

Chicken

I am choosing to avoid red meat and cheesy/pasta dishes for now, but I still make some of our normal family favorites for dinner. So I have started cooking up large batches of chicken in the pressure cooker and keeping it in 4 ounce baggies in the fridge. It’s so easy for me to pull out a baggie and stick it on a salad for a healthy dinner, while my family can still enjoy a good spaghetti dinner. I like to consider frozen meat as part of my three month supply so preparing this in bulk is great for that.

Pressure Cooking

Here is my confession, until a few weeks ago I was AFRAID to use my pressure cooker. Seriously! But I could never make my brown rice turn out very yummy so I decided to give it a whirl. Well I am officially in love. The rice turns out perfect and chewy and delicious every time. And the chicken … oh the chicken. Tender, moist, and cooks in such a short time. After eating plain chicken on a george foreman for a few weeks the pressure cooker chicken in marinades are divine.

How to Use a Pressure Cooker for Rice and Chicken

The Finished Product

I accidentally had to eat some of the chicken after working so hard to prepare it all

Garlic Lemon Chicken Recipe

2 lbs thawed chicken
1/3 cup olive oil
2/3 cup lemon juice
6 cloves garlic
2 tsp. thyme

Mix all the marinade ingredients up and pour in a gallon ziplock bag along with the chicken. Marinate for 15-20 minutes and then cook in the pressure cooker according to your cooker’s directions.

Our Favorite Pressure Cooker

Cuisinart CPC-600 1000-Watt 6-Quart Electric Pressure Cooker, Brushed Stainless and Matte Black
Reduce time spent in the kitchen preparing meals with the help of this 6-quart electric pressure cooker–it cuts cooking times up to 70-percent when compared to traditional stovetop cooking methods. The unit traps steam inside, which builds up pressure to create hotter temperatures, and its tight seal locks in heat, moisture, and flavor, as well as vitamins and minerals for exceptionally healthy, great-tasting meals like soup, chili, and other one-dish entrees. For safety, the cooker must be fully locked for pressure to build, and it will remain locked until the pressure inside drops to zero. It is so easy to use and we LOVE it! [Learn More]

Remember that building a Food Storage is a PROCESS, so don’t get overwhelmed, celebrate your successes, and make goals to keep moving forward. Last year we learned a lot, and know that even REAL experts learned too. Wherever you may be, there is something you can improve on. If you plan on participating in the challenge here are some ideas to help you educate yourself, and get ready.

• IDEA #1 Go through the BabySteps and see where you may have holes in your preparedness plan and Food Storage.
• IDEA #2 Make sure you’re signed up for the Checklists, as they help you keep on track all year round. Along with bi-weekly reminders, you get a monthly Newsletter with tips, ideas, and great deals we find.
• IDEA #3 Get the Food Storage Made Easy Downloadable Binder. This 100+ page pdf helps you get organized with all 26 checklists, and all the best site posts, info, recipes and more.
• IDEA #4 Familiarize yourself with our Facebook Page. A ton of discussion, learning, and sharing goes on over there during the challenge. So come on over and get to know everyone and get used to how the page works before the challenge starts.

We’re so excited (well not REALLY), to do this again! We can’t wait to learn from each other like we did last year, and meet more of you on facebook – as that is where we do a lot of chatting about the days as we do the challenge.

This week, we’re extending the Extreme Food Storage Makeover to Grandma Lori’s daughter Jasmine! She is Jodi’s little sister, and Julie’s sister-in-law. Jasmine has always been into cooking. She has made her own little recipe book and everything. When she kept hearing her big sisters talk about how whole grains are healthier, she wanted to learn about it… Since the Wondermills are on sale for the summer, Grandma Lori took advantage and bought one so now we get to share some fun recipes with the family.

If you’re new to this project, visit our Grandma Lori Makeover Page for the full scoop, and see the journey as it has progressed so far.

Watch the video as Julie shows Jasmine how to grind wheat, and other grains to make Jasmines regular waffle recipe, a delicious multi-grain version. Jasmine might even have a future on the Food Network – who knows? Oh and please excuse the guest appearance from SPIDERMAN himself. Yes it’s last years Halloween outfit he has worn daily since -luckily he didn’t shoot webs into our food.

Here is the Recipe Jasmine used. The ingredients in the brackets are halved, so she can make small batches for herself and her friends.

Waffles
1 ¾ c. flour (1/2 cup + 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp.)
1 tbsp. baking powder (1/2 tbsp.)
½ tsp. salt (1/4 tsp.)
2 c. milk (1 cup)
1/3 c. oil (2 ½ tbsp.) -replace with unsweetened applesauce for low-fat option
2 eggs ( 1 egg)
Mix all ingredients with electric mixer. Pour batter into waffle maker and cook until done.

Stay tuned as we keep showing our family some fun recipes using their food storage!

I grabbed a handout with some great tips and recipes on it. Here is a compilation of some of what was included:

• Protect your dutch oven from wind and rain, or add extra coals to compensate.
• Remember, it’s not an exact science, be ready to add or take away coals as needed (usually add).
• Cooking meat? Move coals to the bottom.
• Baking bread or desserts? Move coals to the top
• Meals that require more than 30-45 minutes to cook may need new coals added during cooking. If so, light new coals soon enough to allow them to get going before you need the.
• Keep the lid closed! Avoid peaking more than needed.

NEVER USE SOAP! Different people have different methods for cleaning their dutch oven. The goal is not to get down to bare metal. Use a spatula or scraper to remove all leftover food and sauces. Use a clean rag to wipe out as much residue as you can. Then add about a cup of salt, and use another couple of clean rags to scrub the bottom and sides smooth. Then remove the salt, wipe down with oil, and place it back on the remaining coals for 5-10 minutes. Then give it a final wipe down and it’s ready for the next time. Most quality dutch ovens come with cleaning and seasoning instructions.

Ingredients:
1 large can of sliced peaches
1 box yellow cake mix
1 can soda (lemon lime or ginger ale)
About 1/4 cup butter
Cinnamon to taste

Directions:
Heat enough coals to cook at 350 degrees F. Dump peaches with juice into dutch oven. Spread cake mix over the peaches evenly. Pour 1 can of soda evenly over the cake mix. Place a few thin slices of butter on top. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon. Cook until firm. Serve hot with cold ice cream!
 

One of the best things about Dutch Oven Cooking is that all you need for cooking is charcoal. Charcoal will store indefinitely so it is a fantastic fuel to keep on hand for emergency cooking. I am definitely going to be hitting the store to pick up a Dutch Oven for myself soon. I’ll share details about the one I get when I manage to get to the store

p.s. Do you have experience with Dutch Oven Cooking? Share your own tips and recipes in the comments below and we can all learn from each other.

When we started the Extreme Food Storage Makeover for Grandma Lori early this year, we knew exactly what we were going to do…..NOT! Well, we knew how we were going to do her ePrep stuff, and we knew how to tackle the 3 month supply. We were secretly a little concerned about how we would go about her Long Term Food Storage.
If you’re new to this project, visit our Grandma Lori Makeover Page for the full scoop, and see the journey as it has progressed so far.

Anyways, we were worried Grandma Lori might not be into baking bread, and grinding wheat the way we have come to love. What we saw happen though, was so exciting. As we used our food storage more, she got curious. She was especially interested in how we have been putting all sorts of grains into breads, pancakes, pizza dough and more. Since the Wondermills are on sale for the summer, she took advantage and bought one.

Check out how easy it was to set up. She had a great idea to store it somewhere she knew she could use it easily, and not tuck it away in a cupboard. The bonus is she can keep her grains all together in one place. Where is she keeping her mill? Just watch and see.

Oh -and make sure you watch to the very end to see how Julie’s husband teases her… REALLY JEREMY? At least he teases Jodi just as much.

Next up, Julie is going to show her little sister-in-law Jasmine how to make her favorite waffle pancake recipe, using multiple grains in the new family Wondermill. Jasmine is Jodi’s sister. Julie is Jodi’s sister-in-law who married Jeremy. Jodi also has 2 other sisters whose name starts with J- We may have to make a family tree graphic to help ya’ll keep it straight…. but for now:

1. Go through your recipe books, favorite recipes websites, etc. and write down all the meals you are planning for (I looked for easy easy meals or meals that would be good frozen either as whole meals or in components to put a quick meal together. I also used several of the meals from the Deals To Meals weekly meal plan since those items were all on sale that week)
2. Make a grocery list of all the ingredients you will need to purchase.
3. Log in to Deals To Meals and add everything to your “cart” that is on sale that is also on your shopping list. (View Julie’s video tutorial to see how EASY it is to do!)
4. Print out your Deals To Meals shopping cart list and your entire shopping list.

1. Go to Wal-Mart or any other store that does “price-matching”. Grab all of the items from the Deals To Meals list and go to the checkout.
2. Show the cashier your printout from Deals to Meals and you should be able to get ALL of the low prices without even having the actual store ads. (Please note: Check your Walmart for their policie but so far it has worked for 5 different ones that Julie and I have tried).
3. For the rest of your “non-sale” items, you can either purchase them at Wal-Mart too, or go to your favorite discount grocery store. (I have found that Winco is generally cheaper than Wal-Mart so I do the rest of my shopping there).

Just to give you an example of how much money you can save … I was stocking up on freezer meals so I bought ten pounds of ground beef. I like to buy the 93% lean variety but it is normally $3.47 per pound at my Wal-Mart. Well I found on Deals To Meals that it was on sale at a store I NEVER go to for only $1.99 per pound. I saved $15.00 JUST on the hamburger alone! This service is worth every penny. And if you use their weekly meal plans you save even more because then virtually ALL of the items you are buying will be on sale. So cool.

When we first heard of Deals to Meals, they were only in Utah, but now they are in 12 states! We hope they become national, because they are awesome. Even if you don’t live in one of the 12 states, the meal plans can be used wherever you live – so go and check them out FOR A FREE TRIAL, and don’t forget to tell them we sent you –

p.s. We became affiliates for Deals to Meals because we love their service so much and are way excited about promoting it!

Emergency Food in a Nutshell

Simply Planned and Simply Delicious
by Leslie D. Probert and Lisa L. Harkness
 
 
 

Background: A few months ago we presented at a food storage fair and had the chance to meet tons of great people in the food storage industry. We happened upon Leslie Probert and she told us that she thought what we were doing with helping people get their food storage was great. This was a huge compliment coming from Leslie as she as a long-term food storage expert who teaches at BYU Education Week, has a regular column in the MormonTimes and is the author of a fantastic food storage book. I have to admit I was a little “starstruck” speaking with her but she was so sweet. She gave us a copy of her book and I’m so excited to share my thoughts about it with you.

What I Liked: There is so much that I liked about this book I could fill up pages about it! But here are a few of my favorite things:

• Very thorough and yet basic information about the long term food storage foods
• Everything is very well researched and well sourced so I feel like I am getting accurate and safe information
• Great charts on which months are best to purchase which items, shelf life of foods, lots of planning guides, etc.
• 200 recipes made ONLY with food storage foods!
• Tips on “expanded food storage” to increase the variety in your meals
• Appendices full of more advanced information

Favorite Tip: When I first read through the book I somehow missed the fact that there were 7 appendices in the back. I got to the section with recipes and figured that was the end. As I was flipping through it again for this review, I noticed them and I was just thrilled. They include everything from gardening/sprouting tips, conversion charts, and rotation ideas to my very favorite thing … alternative cooking methods! This is an area that feels so overwhelming to me and I have been too intimidated to really delve into it thoroughly. This appendix includes many different options of fuel for cooking and discusses safety precautions, proper storage, shelf life, and cooking devices for each one. Seriously, it is 15 pages jam-packed full of great info.

Feedback: A lot of the bread-type recipes in this book call for “mixes” as one of the ingredients. There are a few basic mixes you can make and store to be used in multiple recipes later. While I am definitely a fan of keeping some some mixes on hand for “emergency” meals, I would also like to try the recipes without using a mix so that I could use fresh ground flour. There is no conversion or easy way to calculate how much of each ingredient to use for a single recipe.

Summary: For someone who is fairly new to food storage, this book is extremely thorough but is still “user-friendly” for a beginner. For those with some basic knowledge already, the recipes and additional tips and information are invaluable. We found the book available at Amazon.com from time to time, but you can also buy it from Deseret Book or Emergency Essentials. I highly recommend it!

A few weeks ago, I tried Quinoa for the first time, it’s a grain that is high in protein and super yummy! I ate it plain and decided to ask on our Facebook page, how you guys, our readers ate it. The response was awesome… We got 29 responses with ideas, links to recipes, tips on places to buy it cheaper and more. Here is just a little screen shot of some of the responses:

Seriously – if you’re not on our facebook page you should be. We have great discussions, get questions answered, and do facebook only giveaways (merely because it’s SO easy to do there, and all you have to do to enter is hit a “like” button).

Anyways, back to grains. I’m sure I don’t have to mention eating WHOLE grains is so GOOD for you! Check out this little display we bring to classes we teach. We got it from Pleasant Hill Grain. It shows how many of the GOOD parts of wheat are EXTRACTED when turning whole wheat flour to white flour. The process essentially removes all that is good…. sob.

So on my journey to learn about more grains this summer (more then just wheat, rice and oats), I decided to invite you along and make a fun little game of it. I have purchased a bunch of grains already that I have been grinding in my WonderMill (Click here to buy – They are on sale for the summer!). I have used all types of grains, barley, millet, sweet brown rice in pancakes, breads and pizza dough. It’s been really fun.

So here’s the game. Here are 10 pictures of different grains. Just for kicks – if you want, send us an email, leave a comment, or even jot down on a piece of paper your guesses as to WHAT each one of them are. I’ll post the answers in a couple weeks after you have had a chance to guess. After that… Ready, Set, Go – I’ll be telling you how I’m “throwing” them into my recipes

This list was put out by BeReadyUtah.gov but we have included our own links and comments in italics along with it.

Plan for the types of disasters that can happen in the area where you live. You may need to plan for a snowstorm instead of a hurricane.
 
There is no need to purchase preparedness items for disasters that are very unlikely to happen in your area. Check this post to find out the common disasters that occur in your area as a starting point.
 

Create your own personalized list. You may not need everything include in “ready made” kits and there may be additional items you need based on your personal situation. For example, if you have pets, you may need special items. Don’t forget to have supplies in your car and at work.
 
Another special circumstance is if you have small children or babies. You will need to plan differently. Check out our ideas on disaster kits for toddlers/babies.
 

Budget emergency preparedness items as a “normal” expense. Even $20.00 a month can go a long way to helping you be ready. Buy one preparedness item each time you go to the grocery store.
 
You may find that you working on your food storage can actually end up SAVING you money. Read our post about food storage and money savings to see how!
 

Save by shopping sales. Make use of coupons and shop at stores with used goods. Don’t replace your ready kit items annually, just replace and cycle through those items that have a shelf life (e.g. batteries, food). You may want to test the radio and flashlight every September to make sure they are in good working order.
 
Use a service like Deals to Meals to help you save money on your groceries so you can buy even more food storage!
 

Store water in safe containers. You don’t have to buy more expensive bottled water, but make sure any containers you use for water storage are safe and disinfected.
 
One of the most cost-effective storage containers (besides “free” juice and pop bottles) are the water storage boxes. Read our review about the ones from Emergency Essentials.
 

Request preparedness items as gifts. We all receive gifts we don’t need or use. What if your friends and family members gave you gifts that could save your life? Don’t forget to protect them by sending preparedness gifts their way too.
 
Julie’s mom gave her and her sisters the ultimate food storage gift a few years ago … WONDERMILLS for them all! Check out the picture of the happy threesome
 

Think ahead. You are more likely to save money if you can take your time with focused and strategic shopping. It’s when everyone is at the store right before the storm hits that prices are going to be higher. Use a list to avoid duplicating items when you are stressed or panicked.
 
Our Emergency Preparedness Plan can get you started with a basic list of items you may want to include in your emergency prepping.
 

Review your insurance policy annually and make necessary changes. When a disaster strikes, you want to know that your coverage will help you get back on your feet. Renters need policies too, in order to cover personal property.
 
Recently Julie was offered earthquake insurance in addition to her regular homeowner’s policy. She asked if it was worth it on our facebook page and discovered that it was actually a fantastic deal and she bought it right away. Find out what limitations or additions your policy has or you might want to include.
 

Update contact records. Have an accurate phone list of emergency contact numbers. If you are prepared, you may be able to help friends and neighbors who need assistance. By sharing preparedness supplies, you can help each other.
 
This is great to include in your emergency binder and also to print out and stick on your fridge.
 

Trade one night out to fund your 72-hour kit. Taking a family of four to the movies can cost upwards of $80-$100. Just one night of sacrifice could fund a 72-hour ready kit.
 
This can apply to many things. If you are already on a tight budget you are probably not spending that much on entertainment. But there is always something you can trade or cut in your budget to add a little to your preps. Even if you have to do it gradually.
 

p.s. If you have any more ideas that have worked for your family please share them in the comments. If we get enough ideas we will add them to this list and make a follow-up post with a hand-out!

We’re SO excited to get started on the next phase of the Extreme Makeover Food Storage Edition with Grandma Lori. The first few steps of getting an Emergency Plan, and Three Month Supply weren’t too hard, but we were worried this part would be a “harder sell” since Grandma Lori’s original plan was to just store freeze-dried meals and call it good.

However, as Grandma Lori has seen us use our “Long Term” Food Storage more and more lately, her interest has perked. She didn’t have a wheat grinder yet so the concept of using all that long term food storage was a bit daunting and not too exciting. Well the good news is:

Grandma Lori got one at this great sale priceand we’re so excited to hit the road running with her. As Dealers we always sell the WonderMills at the lowest price we’re allowed, and this summer we can sell the electric mills for $239.95 (they are regularly $269.95). So if you’ve been thinking of gettin one, click here, and get one this summer so you can follow along with us as we show Grandma Lori all the many different awesome ways she too can use her Wondermill.

I learned so much! It brought back memories of when I first started food storage. I was a little overwhelmed, but this time I know through BabySteps I can slowly implement the things that I choose. So here’s a little disclaimer, this is not necessarily for everyone right now! I’m on a personal journey of trying to change some of the foods I eat. By doing this- I have to think about food storage a little differently. Since some of you asked to hear about what I learned I’m sharing this…

The speaker was Yvonne Salcido, who was from the School of Natural Healing. When she started speaking I felt excited as she seemed vibrant, and looked healthy. She started by giving some of her basic guidelines for eating. It’s amazing the more you learn about nutrition, the more some of this stuff keeps repeating itself. Anyways, here they were:

-Eat Foods in Wholesome State
-Study Nutrition and Herbs
-Avoid toxic habit forming habits
-Fresh is Best
-Staff of Life (wheat, soaked and sprouted)
-Eat in the Season thereof

After she talked about that, she gave us a little TREASURE! This is something I’ve been searching for and developing in my mind lately. When this slide came up, I did a little shout for joy! THE WORK HAS BEEN DONE. She gave a little calculator of what to store for “optimally healthy” food storage. I asked her if I could share it, and she said yes, so here it is….

300 lbs Organic Wheat
155 lbs Other Grains
50 lbs Nuts
50 lbs Seeds
75 lbs Organic Beans
60 lbs Raw Honey
20 lbs Oil (coconut oil, olive oil, wheat germ oil)
10 lbs Salt (real salt)
60 lbs Sprout Mix
5 lbs Seed Sprout mix
Garden Seeds (non hybrid)
Spices

Then she talked more about sprouts. The University of Utah did a study to find out the highest vitamin per storage space kinds of food you can store. The answer was…. SPROUTS. They came up with a mixture (that I couldn’t write down fast enough) but I’ll do a little digging and try to find it. I have a mix called Pro-Vita mix I got at a store called Kitchen Kneads, and I think it might be the same thing.

Next up was a topic we have never covered and I think we need to talk a little bit more about. Yvonne suggested we store herbs for medicinal purposes and then went through a bunch of different kinds of herbs you can store that help with different ailments etc. The first one she talked about was cayenne, which is good for circulation, and can stop bleeding etc. She then talked about a lot more that I wrote down, and couldn’t take notes fast enough on. I was really interested, but must admit I felt like I could have used about 10 hours of info on that stuff instead of 20 mins. I’m going to learn more about it, but in the mean time, know that its out there and start learning about it, if you feel ready and think its a good fit (Like I mentioned before these are just my notes- I don’t know much about this yet, you need to do your due diligence, research, and speak with your doctors about medications, and potential interactions with herbs).

So anyways, those are the notes I took. I know some of you readers were there because I recognized some of you from facebook . If I missed anything feel free to comment or shoot us an email. We’re all in this together!

• See how Julie is CONSTANTLY re-organizing her food storage [View Post]
• Jodi and Julie “argue” over how to plan a three month supply [View Post]
• Julie discovers that food storage is NOT only for desserts! [View Post]
• Jodi shares her adventures with canning, sprouting, and more. [View Post]
• Julie shares the BEST food storage recipe ever. [View Post]
• Jodi divulges two amazing cornmeal recipes. [View Post]

SURPRISE GIVEAWAY

We are so excited we have ALMOST hit another milestone in our blogging journey as we are approaching having 5000 “fans” on our facebook page. We are going to be announcing a FACEBOOK ONLY giveaway as soon as we hit the magic number of 5000 fans so if you aren’t already a fan make sure you go to our page and click the “like” button. You MUST be a fan in order to get the notification about the giveaway and find out how to enter (it will be easy we promise!)

UPDATE: We already hit 5000 fans so make sure to check out the Facebook Note for details!

Being a facebook fan gives you more of a day-to-day look into what we are doing to learn more about food storage and using it in our daily lives. We also announce special sales and events, ask and answer lots of questions, link to other great food storage information sources, and post our latest blog posts so you can read them right on facebook and never miss a post again. It’s been a great way to get to know our readers better and to learn from all of you as well. Hope to see you over there!

HERB CLASS SALE

Julie attended a “healthy food storage” class over the weekend (her class notes are coming later this week) and had to share this great offer with you (before it’s too late). One of the suggestions for people that are into more whole, natural types of foods and herbs was to make sure to store herbs for medicinal purposes. Dr. Christopher’s School Of Natural Healing was giving a special for conference attendees only, that they said we could pass on to our blog readers. They do a Family Herbalist course that is normally $500 but if you go to this link by TUESDAY (tomorrow), you can get the conference special of $100. If this is something you’re interested in learning more about, click here.

When we first made our Food Storage Calculator, we promised ourselves we wouldn’t store any of the recommended foods unless we knew how we were going to use them. Since I didn’t have a wheat grinder (or even knew what wheat looked like yet) I decided to tackle cornmeal as my first “grain”. I remembered I had some in my cupboard so it seemed like a good item to start with.

Problem – My cornmeal was 3 years past expiration so I had to go buy a new canister before I could even get started. That goes to show you just HOW little I actually used it.

Confession – The first two recipes I tried were really delicious. My kids absolutely LOVED them and I thought they were great and not too hard to cook. However, several months later when I finally bought my WonderMill I made a discovery. You can grind popcorn (yes regular popcorn) into fresh ground cornmeal and OH MY GOODNESS it made all of my cornmeal recipes sooooo much better!

Give these recipes a try either with store-bought cornmeal or fresh ground popcorn and I promise you you will decide to add one or the other into your food storage:

Corn Pancakes
Buttermilk Cornbread

   

Now that I have some good cornmeal recipes on hand I think it will be really helpful if I am living off of my food storage because I can mix it up and not just eat ONLY wheat meals and breads every single day.

My favorite recipe I’ve made since venturing into cooking with Food Storage is an Enchilada Pie recipe. I told you all about it back in my cooking challenge post.

Since then, I’ve added another twist on the recipe. I realized I was out of enchilada sauce MID RECIPE a few weeks ago. I had gotten far enough that there was no turning back, but I DID not want to run to the store. Does that EVER happen to any of you? I somehow got confused about how much enchilada sauce I had stored (My husband forgets to tell me we’re down to 2 or 3 left when I get him to get one out of the basement for me).

Anyways, I found this recipe on allrecipes, and to my amazement it turned out great, and used ingredients I always have on hand. Now I wont need to bother buying Enchilada Sauce.

Ten Minute Enchilada Sauce
(anything with the title “ten minutes” in it, is my kind of thing)

Ingredients

1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons self-rising flour (I used regular)
1/4 cup New Mexico or California chili powder
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion salt
salt to taste

Directions
Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in flour and chili powder, reduce heat to medium, and cook until lightly brown, stirring constantly to prevent burning flour.
Gradually stir in tomato sauce, water, cumin, garlic powder, and onion salt into the flour and chili powder until smooth, and continue cooking over medium heat approximately 10 minutes, or until thickened slightly. Season to taste with salt.

So go ahead, give yourself a challenge! Try this out with the NEW twist!

If you have been following along with our Extreme Food Storage Makeover you will have already been introduced to my mom, Grandma Lori. I remember growing up we used to eat homemade strawberry jam and bottled peaches and my mom would make alfalfa sprouts on the kitchen counter. As I got older my mom kind of stopped doing those things and when I got married I was so busy I didn’t give it a second thought.

When we started our blog people started to ask us about some of the “food storage swear words” like gardening, canning, dehydrating, and sprouting and we realized we knew nothing about them. I asked my mom why she never taught me how to can and she said “When you can buy canned tomatoes at the grocery store for $0.50 why would you waste the time to can them yourself?” Because I wanted to LEARN HOW, Mom!

I decided it would be good to learn some of these self-reliance skills even if I don’t ever “HAVE” to rely on them. Plus there truly are some legitimate benefits to processing your own foods such as the health factors, you CAN save money, and a lot of it tastes so much better home grown and processed then store-bought. Not to mention it is really fun and satisfying to know you did it yourself. I am still a beginner to much of this stuff, but here are some of the fun projects I’ve attempted so far:
 

	COMING THIS SUMMER! As part of a series I’m going to be doing on self-reliance

I had never tried any of these things before I started blogging about them, so if you have been scared to try, believe me, if I can do it so can you!

As we have been discussing some of the things Jodi and I have learned over the last 2 years of blogging about food storage, my favorite thing has been somewhat of an unexpected thing. I know I’ve been harping on this a lot lately, but it really excites me that food storage can be healthy. I really had no idea how many hidden treasures of knowledge I would gain on this journey.

When we first started, I told Jodi there was no way I would even store beans because they were to hard to soak, cook, and use. I said I would stick to tuna for protein and call it good. Who knew I would be the biggest fan of all things beans just 2 years later. I love using them to make a way healthy cream of chicken soup, to put in all sorts of recipes, and to eat as a healthy side.

Throughout the last two years we have really discovered that there is definitely not a one-style-fits-all approach to food storage. When this first became apparent to us was in our second month of running the blog when we were researching how we were going to get started on our three month supply.

Julie posted her approach first which was to just purchase extras of the foods she normally buys. I left a comment on that post about how the foods she eats are weird and I wouldn’t know what to cook with them. Well a lot of people liked her style AND her foods so I got embarrassed to post my approach later on that week. I made my own little excel spreadsheet with all of my meals planned out and I thought everyone would make fun of me for being SOOOO detail-oriented. Well according to the comments on that page a lot of people liked my approach too!
 

   

By now most of our readers know that Julie is the “excel queen”, so when she realized there were a group of people who really liked my initial 3 month plan she decided to be a wonderful sister-in-law and make me a fancy, auto-calculating version that we ended up posting on the blog. Our deluxe 3 Month Food Supply Excel Worksheet is now one of our most popular and helpful tools and it is fantastic even if you don’t feel the need to plan for specific meals. Check out how lovely my new 3 month plan is using our awesome spreadsheet. To fill out your own blank sheet, and watch some tutorial videos on how to do it, go to the Three Month BabyStep Page. Thanks Julie!

Is it just me or does it seem like it’s impossible to be FULLY on top of things around the house. One day you get your pantry all organized and think to yourself, this will NEVER be unorganized again – this time is different. Then, a few months later it’s a disaster.

Something I’ve learned through building your food storage is that it is a never ending process and you’ll always be learning, changing, and RE-organizing.

I’m just reminding myself -”Organizing is a never ending job”…but at least I’m having fun doing it.

It seems like just yesterday that we came up with this crazy idea to blog about food storage when we had absolutely ZERO food storage and had no clue where to even start. In fact according to our very first blog post, we originally wanted to call this blog “Food Storage For Dummies … and We’re the Dummies”. hehe.

We have come a long way since we started two years ago and we wanted to celebrate this anniversary with you by taking you on a humorous journey of our successes and failures. So let’s get started!

We didn’t fully understand blogs, the blogging community, or blogging software in the beginning. We were both web designers but didn’t catch the blogging vision yet. Needless to say, our first site design left much to be desired

We have to admit that we have a lot more fun with the blog now that it is PINK! (Sorry to our men readers, it’s just the truth)

Check back every day this week as we walk you through some of our hidden archives to highlight what we have learned about food storage over the past two years. There will be some funny stuff you do NOT want to miss!

	January 2009 - We launched our free BabyStep Checklists to make it even EASIER to accomplish our Ten BabySteps. We were so excited to give people tangible lists to follow as they gathered their food storage including what to learn, what to buy, and how to use it.
	Spring 2009 – We started a facebook fan page. We had no idea at the time how much fun it would be. We all get to know each other through status updates, fan pictures, and success stories. One of the biggest perks of the fan page is all our reader experts out there who help answer questions. We learn so much on the fan page through sharing and great discussion.
	April 2009 – As people began completing the individual checklists, we got numerous requests from people wanting to get all the checklists at once so they could move ahead faster or make substitutions depending on what was on sale. We launched our Food Storage Made Easy eBook Binder which includes all the checklists, and the majority of our site content in one printable file.
	September 2009 – The Seven Day Challenge was a mock emergency that we put together in September of 2009 in honor of it being Emergency Preparedness Month. Our readers all participated with us as we went through seven days of different emergency situations and we shared feedback and learning along the way. We’re excited to do it all again this year!
	June 2010 -One of our favorite additions is our Newsletter program that we JUST started this month! We now offer recipes, food storage news/events, blog features, tips, and information about giveaways to people who are in our checklists email lists (whether you’re done, or still in the middle of them). Just in case you only want the newsletter and not the checklists, you can sign up for that here.

We’re so excited for the posts this week. They will be fun for you to go down memory lane, or if you’re a new reader to get to know us better (just don’t laugh at us – we were REALLY just beginners when we started this).

For those of you who have followed our blog for long you would know I LOVED couponing, I DID couponing, couponing SAVED me a lot of money – UNTIL:

• I had another baby last winter
• Albertsons closed down (my primary store to coupon at)
• Red Plum (one of the coupon booklets) stopped coming in the newspapers
• I feared my neighbors got irritated at my piled up newspapers on my driveway
• I got super busy with life, blogging, life, etc

So for the last 8 months, I haven’t couponed. Each time I went to the store – I cringed because I knew I was wasting money. If couponing is still working for you, more power to you – keep doing it – and I applaud you. For anyone out there who needs an easier way -that you’ll actually do- without training, I have to tell you what I’ve been doing lately. I’ve been using a site called Deals to Meals, it’s so easy, I’ll tell you how I do it in 3 minutes.

In case you don’t like watching videos, or your computer is slow, here’s the summary of how I use Deals to Meals:

• I sign in and pick my state
• I choose the best deals from all 12 grocery stores in Utah
• The items are added into a grocery list
• I print the grocery list and bring that one paper to Walmart
• I price match and get the best prices from all 12 stores at one store
• DID I MENTION I ONLY GO TO ONE STORE!
• I pat myself on the back because I save a lot of money with virtually no work!
• I even sent my husband with the list once… and it WORKED?1?!?

*Check your Walmart for their policies -it’s worked for me at 3 different Walmarts

Like I mention on the video, there are a ton more services that Deals to Meals offers, like making meal plans based on sale items, and letting you know which food storage foods are on sale that week. Jodi will share with you how she uses them (after she recovers from having her baby any day now! I can’t wait to meet my darling little nephew…) After trying the service for just TWO WEEKS we both were so impressed we knew we had to share it with you all. Here’s how it works:

When we first heard of Deals to Meals, they were only in Utah, but now they are in 12 states! We hope they become national, because they are awesome. Even if you don’t live in one of the 12 states, the meal plans can be used wherever you live – so go and check them out FOR A FREE TRIAL, and don’t forget to tell them we sent you –

p.s. We became affiliates for Deals to Meals because we love their service so much and are way excited about promoting it!

I meant for this to be a Sunday night treat for the family but the night got too busy and I ended up cooking it at midnight after the kids were in bed and my hubby was off to work an overnight shift. Needless to say I’m not TOO sad that I get to sit and enjoy eating it myself while I type up this post So here is the infamous Honey Granola recipe I got from Cox Honeyland with my personal modifications included.
 

Sorry for the poor quality picture, I couldn’t find the computer cord for my good camera!
 

Yummy Honey Granola

Ingredients:
4 c. oats
1 c. craisins
2 c. chopped peanuts
1/2 c. butter
3/4 c. Pomegranate flavored honey (mmmm)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. cinnamon
dash of salt

Directions:
Mix together the oats, craisins and peanuts and set aside. In a small pot combine butter, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Bring to a boil for 1 minute. Pour the liquid mixture over the oat mixture and stir it in really well. Spread onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring every 5 minutes or so. Let the granola cool, crumble it up and store in an airtight container at room temperature to keep it delicious.

p.s. Fellow honey-lovers please feel free to leave a comment if you try this recipe!

After the fair I was inspired to learn more about honey, to try the amazing honey granola recipe I picked up, and to start using it more in my cooking. Today I am going to share some honey info with you, and later on I will post the results of the recipe!

How much honey should I store

According to most food storage calculators it is recommended to store 60 pounds total of sugars/sweeteners per year per adult. Our calculator uses the common recommendation of just 3 pounds of honey per person. However, we both use honey in our basic bread recipes so we have chosen to store a little bit more than that. Some people feel that for health reasons they would rather store more honey than refined white sugar so obviously they would also up their honey storage amount. As you start using your food storage more and baking a lot from scratch you may find that you prefer to cook with honey and thus want to up your own storage amount as well.

What are the different types of honey*

Raw – Unheated honey that has been removed from the comb. It may contain bits of wax, insect parts and other small debris. Raw honey contains small amounts of vitamins and minerals that are not in white sugar.

Filtered – Raw honey that has been warmed slightly to make it easier to filter out small particles and impurities. Filtered honey is almost the same as raw, just a little cleaner. Most of the small amounts of nutrients remain.

Liquid – Honey that has been heated to higher temperatures to allow for easier filtering and to kill any microorganisms. Usually lighter in color, this form is milder in flavor, resists crystallization and is generally clearer than raw honey. Much of the trace amounts of vitamins are lost in this processing.

Crystallized or Spun – This honey has had some of its moisture content removed to make a creamy, spread. It is the most processed form of honey.

*Info found at food storage faq

How do I replace honey for sugar in a recipe?*

To bake with Honey:
Use pure raw honey for up to half of the sugar in the recipe
For each cup of honey used: reduce the liquid by 1/2 cup
Add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Reduce oven temperature by 25 degrees

To cook with honey:
For sauces, marinades, and salad dressings substitute pure honey for up to half the sugar in the recipe.
1 cup of sugar =1/3 to 1/2 cup honey. (If it is a stronger honey you would use 1/3 cup. If it is milder use 1/2 cup)

*Info found at Cox Honeyland website

What are some good food storage recipes using honey?

• Ezekiel Bread
• Honey Whole Wheat Bread
• Blender Wheat Pancakes
• Granola Bars
• Honey Granola – COMING SOON!

Where can I get honey in bulk?

• Emergency Essentials sells honey in a #10 can size for $32.95 which is about 9 pounds of honey.
• Honeyville Grain sells a 5-gallon bucket for $133.99 which is 60 pounds.
• Walton Feed has grade A honey in 45 lb buckets for $92.80.
• My best friends at Cox Honeyland sell pure raw honey in lots of different sizes. A 12 lb bucket is $35.20 and a 48 lb bucket is $131.80 for example.

Tell me more about Cox Honeyland

Besides having great quality honey, at reasonable prices (especially if you contact them about doing group orders) … Cox Honeyland also offers tons of fun and delicious honey products. They have flavored honeys in cute little bears (I bought the pomegranate flavor and it is divine) and creamed honeys which make great gifts. They even sell really yummy honey popcorn that I bought as well. Ok I am a honey addict I admit it. And the coolest thing is, if you go to their store in Logan, Utah, you can bring your own jars/containers and they will fill them with honey for you at a much cheaper price than buying it in the containers. How cool is that?

So if you are dreaming of honey now, I hope that helps a bit. Just wait until we post about the honey granola. YUMMY!!!!

p.s. We have no affiliation or advertising relationship with Cox Honeyland besides Jodi being slightly obsessed with their honey.

Want to know a secret? – I’m a counter snob! There has never been an appliance worthy of living on my counter – until NOW. Too bad I don’t own it yet. My mom got a BOSCH mixer for her birthday last December and because she’s trying to sell her house right now, she is crazy busy and hasn’t found time to use it. SO I STOLE IT. Ummm – BORROWED it. After making close to 20 loaves of bread in 2 weeks just because it’s SO EASY I’ve decided I can’t live without it (I gave a lot of the loaves away okay). This machine practically makes the bread for you.

The Deals To Meals Blog is doing a giveaway on one of these precious things! Details on entering can be found on their blog. Oh and while you are there, make sure you check out her recipes. I have a few family favorites I found on this blog – the best one being Beach Street Lemon Chicken Linguini.

Deals To Meals is a service that compares the prices of all of the major grocery stores to Costco and Walmart and tell you where the best deals are. With those deals they give you recipes and meal plans to use those foods. They are now in 12 states and Jodi and I have tried their service recently and have found it to be SO easy, and worth it. Lately we have gotten too busy to coupon like we used to.

Give them a try and let them know we referred you. In a couple weeks we’ll show you how each of us use their site to save a lot of money and TIME! You’d be surprised how differently Jodi and I use the same service.

Remember our “Why Food Storage?” series we did awhile back. Lately I have been learning a LOT about two of the reasons for Food Storage that would surprise you. It’s not the natural disasters, economic, or even every day reasons. What I’m learning about more lately is the health benefits and religious reasons but it’s shocking to me how intertwined they actually are!

In our series we mentioned that the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints counsels it’s members to build a food storage. On our facebook discussion page, we were thrilled to hear from readers who are not members of the LDS church who likewise have been encouraged by their faith to be more prepared.

For those unfamiliar with the LDS faith the church also counsels it’s members to live by a “Word of Wisdom”. A lot of people know the Word of Wisdom to be abstaining from alcohol, cigarettes and other harmful substances. What a lot of people don’t know however is it also has nutrition guidelines. The doctrine states to eat fruits in their season, eat meat sparingly, and that grain is the staff of life. Whether members or not, these are some great guidelines.

In an attempt to eat more aligned with these guidelines I have been learning so much about healthy eating and I’m so excited to share them with you – but one thing at a time – first up is this cookbook.

“A World Of Wisdom” by Amy Cox Jones is a cookbook full of recipes organized seasonally! She goes through each season, Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring (and has a year round section) and gives you recipes for meals that use foods that are in season. Not only is this cost effective, but it also is good for you – did you know that a lot of foods provide you with certain nutrients that are needed for that time of year. She also gives you tips on how to start eating healthier.

What I liked most about this cook book is that I actually know what the ingredients are! Often times healthy cookbooks have all these ingredients that intimidate me. She also uses wheat berries in some of the recipes – which is great for people without grinders. Oh and there is a section on basics with milks, sauces, and dressings that are healthy and easy to make! Here is a recipe Amy told me was one of her family favorites (it’s “healthy” for a dessert at least):

1/2 cup of honey
1/2 cup of almond butter
1/2 cup of peanut butter
2 teaspoons of vanilla
1/2 cup grain sweetened chocolate chips
3 1/2 cup whole grain cereal (like crispy brown rice, puffed wheat etc)

Combine honey and nut butters in a large pan and heat on low until melted. Add vanilla. Separately combine cereal and chocolate chips. Pour cereal mixture into honey mixture and stir well to coat. Pack tightly into a 7 x 11 pan, cool and cut into squares. You may have to adjust cereal measurement to get the bar consistency just right.

To learn more about the book and to order, go to the website or order directly from Amazon.com.

While I have loved going through Amy’s book, and her site… I am even more excited about an LDS Holistic Living conference she is organizing. I mentioned on our Facebook how excited I was about this conference because one of the classes is a HEALTHY FOOD STORAGE CLASS! Let’s be honest, I know how to make tons of cakes, and cookies with my storage, but there is still a lot to learn about some of the healthier sides of food storage. Other classes include: homeopathic 72 hour kit, the hows and whys of backyard egg production, essential oils, vaccination, understanding herbal meds, cold is the cure, pain relief w/out meds.

I will be there and think you should be too! The website for the conference is here. The early bird registration expired yesterday, but she’s going to let OUR READERS still in for the early bird price (which is $47 instead of $60). To get this price, after you click submit on the registration page – there is a link that says “click here if you have a coupon” – It will ask for a password. The password is: nogreenjellohere (no spaces). Once you’ve put the password in, you’ll get to the payment page.

p.s. I have made a goal to keep learning about all this healthy stuff, and will continue to share it- if people don’t find it too boring. Let us know what you would like to know more about.

*We are not affiliated with the conference – or the cookbook – I just am that excited about all the new stuff I’m learning! (We do make a tiny commission if you purchase the book through our Amazon link though)

The Good – Irrigation is IN, just need to add in the little drippers. Woo-Hoo!

The Bad – I already had some plants started in there that got a little jostled.

The UGLY – In an attempt to harden off some of my seedlings I killed them all

Square Foot Gardening FAQ

Canning Questions

What are some tips for planning your garden if canning is your end goal?
First, do you have a pressure canner? Because if you don’t you are limited to canning mostly fruits (remember, tomatoes are a fruit!) and pickles. Salsa also works, since there is enough acid to can it safely with the boiling water method. If you are interested in canning, I suggest dedicate most of your garden to canning veggies. To maximize your yield, grow as much vertically as you can. By trellising cucumbers you can plant 8 per square, compared to 4+ squares if you let them sprawl out.

Which type of tomato plant is better for canning?
In general, paste tomatoes (like Roma) are good for canning. The flesh is more firm, so it holds up to all the heat, and it is less watery, so you have more pulp per tomato. But Roma’s are a little smaller, so it’s more peeling compared to other varieties. I grow Roma, Early Girl, Better Boy, and Celebrity. For salsa I use an even mix of tomatoes, but I can whole Roma tomatoes for sauce.

When purchasing tomatoes, ask around. What do your friends and neighbors grow, and why? I don’t usually ask at the nursery or home and garden store, because I’m almost always advised to purchase what they have on the shelf! You can call your local extension office for a list of suggested varieties for your location. At many places the plants have tags on them, indicating if they are good for slicing, salads, canning, etc. Also look for disease resistant varieties.

How many to tomatoes, peppers, etc. should I plant if I want to can?
If this is your first year growing a garden, I suggest you start small and increase with time. Otherwise, you’re likely to take on too much, burn out, and never can a single jar. It’s just impossible to know until you try it, and see how much your garden produces.

Garden Planning

What are some tips on how you should rotate your garden plan each year?
If you SFG and use compost or Mel’s mix, you will need to replenish it with compost every year. As long as you didn’t have any diseases, there is no need to rotate your crops. Unless you get bored, like me, or become obsessed with finding the perfect gardening layout (also like me).

Do you have any detailed info on companion planting?
Companion planting is the practice of growing plants next to each other for mutual benefit. Read all about it in this post.

Miscellaneous

What plants grow best in desert climates?
Everything! You may have a hard time with cool-weather plants like broccoli, spinach, and peas. But if you give them an early start and shade from the hot sun, even these will grow well. Things like tomatoes and peppers do particularly well, since they can tolerate some heat and love the sunshine. I suggest everyone do a little research on their local extension website (www.extension.org) and/or check out a local farming supply store for varieties developed specifically for your climate.

Do I need to fertilize?
I believe in fertilizing. This can be organic or chemical, but I don’t feel Mel’s mix provides sufficient nutrients for my gardens. Now, you have to be careful because if you fertilize with too much nitrogen you will have big, leafy plants and little fruit. I sometimes use an all-purpose fertilizer (20-20-20 or 10-10-10), but I really love one called Blooming and Rooting (9-59-8). I use it when starting seeds (about 4 weeks after germination) and on all my veggies that flower (squash, peas, beans, tomatoes, peppers) every 6 weeks.

Don’t forget to check out Part One of the Square Foot Gardening FAQs and also check out the great Garden Box Tutorial put together by Jodi’s husband.

As a part of Grandma Lori’s Extreme Food Storage Makeover, we posted the results of her 3 month supply shop storage room mothers day gift. When we did, we got asked a lot of follow-up questions … so here we go with the answers:

We went into great detail in how we made the plan in this post here. Since we had the 3 month planning spreadsheet tell us exactly what we needed for her recipes, the shopping list part was simple.

This was the surprising thing to all of us! As a disclaimer- we only bought foods for 90 dinners not including meats (on that day). Grandma Lori’s kids are mostly moved out now so they eat a lot of leftovers for lunches, and she didn’t feel the need to have breakfasts planned out. She’s going to work on getting cereal here and there and work on that part of the plan over time. So anyways, here’s the receipt for proof – the grand total was only $150!

This is unbelievable too! It took us under 2 hours in and out of the store. You’d be surprised how fast shopping can be when you have a list, you leave your toddlers with your spouse, and you don’t get distracted by the bakery or treat aisle.

Well here’s a little tutorial for you on how we did this. You can make them in Microsoft Word and make them any size. You just need to buy the labels at any office store and then follow these basic directions.

So, like we said before – next up is long term food storage- the scary but FUN part!

Needless to say any time people see my garden boxes they are dying to know where I got them or how I made them. Well the answer is … I have an amazing husband He has been sweet enough to make a tutorial for you to show how to make a simple 4×4 vinyl garden box. Feel free to watch the video below, but I have also tried to summarize his instructions if you don’t want to watch the whole thing.
 

How To Build a Vinyl Square Foot Garden Box

Materials Needed:
4″x4″ vinyl post jackets (found in either 72″ or 100″ lengths)
- You can also use 5″x5″ vinyl posts but they have holes pre-drilled in incorrect places)
Vinyl fence slats (found in 16′ lengths)
- You can make your boxes one slat high, but I prefer to do them double
Fence Post Caps (optional)
- You don’t NEED these but they make the boxes look so pretty!
Liquid Nails (optional)
- Can be used to glue the two layers of slats together if you are worried about stability

Tools Needed:
Tape Measure
Pencil
Straight Edge/Ruler
Table Saw or Sawzall or Circular Saw or Hacksaw (to cut vinyl into segments)
Jigsaw or Sawzall or Hacksaw Blade (to cut the post holes, jigsaw works best)

Posts
Measure post lengths to give you 1-2 inches of space at the top, and 4-6 inches of space at the bottom. Then give yourself either 5 1/2 or 11 inches for the slats (depending on whether you are doing one layer or two). Cut 4 equal segments. If you are doing a longer box, you will need to add 2 additional posts to give it more stability in the middle.

Side Slats
Determine the size of box you want to make. For a 4 foot square box you would ideally give yourself a few extra inches on each side since they will be stuck into the posts. However, since the slats come in 16 foot lengths we opted to just make our box a little smaller. Cut into 4 equal segments. Again if you are doing a longer box, make additional slats as necessary. Don’t make the slats longer than 4 or 5 feet in length.

Post Holes
Draw yourself a template for the holes. Start down 1-2 inches from the top of the post (depending on what you measured for). Make sure to mark the center of the post. Measure your fence slat (should be about 1 1/2 inches) and mark that width down the post starting from the center. So you will have 3/4″ on each side of the middle line. You can either measure 11″ and draw the lines, or simply trace around your fence slat to get a pretty good outline. Use a large drill bit to start a hole in the outline. Then using a jigsaw, cut out the hole. You will need two holes per post and they should be on sides right next to each other.

Assembly
If you glued your two layers of slats together, wait for them to dry. Then stick the fence slats into the holes you made in the posts and form your square foot garden box. Once you determine where your box will go, dig holes in the ground for the four post holes and stick your box in! We like to fill our posts with dirt after to make them more stable. Then stick on the post caps for a beautiful finishing touch.

Cost of a 4′x4′ Box (all parts from Home Depot)
72″ vinyl post jacket – $15.97
16′ vinyl slats x 2 – $29.94
Fence post caps x 4 – $6.68
TOTAL COST – $52.59

Time Required
A simple 4×4 box like the one we built can be done in an hour or so. Depending on how much of a perfectionist you are with the measuring and cuts it could take a little longer. If you have a table saw and a jigsaw it could take a little shorter. To do a bigger box with more cuts and more complex measurements it will longer as well. Also if you choose to glue the slats together it’s best to let them dry overnight.

Hope this is helpful! If you or your spouse makes one of these boxes let us know in the comments how it works out for you.

My sister Andrea not only just had a BIRTHDAY, but she also just had a BABY (a cute one). Well since I live a couple hours from my sister, I couldn’t just drop over a meal to help with the adjustment. Instead, I did something kinda fun, kinda food storage dorky”ish” but hey – what else would you expect.

Andrea has been talking about how she really wanted to make the Ezekiel Bread I posted about a few weeks ago because it’s so yummy, easy, and healthy. Andrea has a Wondermill but didn’t have all the different kinds of grains and legumes the recipe calls for (it’s not just a typical recipe). This is us… when we got our Wondermills for Christmas a couple years ago – thanks mom! (Andrea is on the right, Michele is on the left, Nicole is not shown – there I didn’t leave any blood related sisters out- )

With a new baby, we all know how getting to a store can be… So I made her mixes with all the grains and legumes pre-measured. All she has to do is throw a mix in the grinder – then to that flour: add wet ingredients, yeast, and pour into bread pans. Of course I made labels to put on the little baggies – If I had to do it again, I would have gotten larger size labels and been able to do cuter, bigger fonts… but hey – we work with what we have sometimes.

She’s already made her first 3 loaves (each recipe makes that much) and told me her bread is better then my bread…. how rude!

Anyways, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREA! Hope you poured lots and lots of sugary jam on that bread- since it IS your Birthday and all..

In an emergency situation where your municipal water source could be contaminated, it is important to immediately turn off the water entering your home from the main water line. This will help to prevent contamination and will allow you to use alternate water sources in your home such as: hot water heater, toilet tanks (unless a colored disinfectant was used), water pipes, soft water tanks, etc.

Since we did not know how to shut off the main water supply our homes, we commissioned Jodi’s sweet hubby to help with this instructional video. We all need to know how to do these things since you never know who will be home (or not home) when an emergency strikes!

If you live in a newer home you may have a shut-off valve in your house. This is nice because you can avoid the “spider problem” but can be bad if you have children that are rascals (see Julie’s water adventures story). So figure out what type of shut-off valve you have and make sure you know where it is and how to turn it off (and back on!)

Other helpful “Water” Resources

BabyStep 2: Water – basic information on how to get your 2 week supply of water
Alternate Water Sources – Sources of water both inside and outside your home
How to Make an Evaporation Still – Instructions for this method of collecting water
Water Purification – Methods of purifying water from outside sources

If you’re following Grandma Lori’s Extreme Food Storage Makeover, you know that last time we left off with a “to be continued” after Julie TEASED you with pictures of the 3 month supply shop. Well now we are showing your the pantry – all organized and BEAUTIFUL! I love making labels… can you tell? Watch the video to see how Grandma Lori reacted when she saw it all put together!

NEXT UP: THE SCARY STUFF….LONG TERM FOOD STORAGE…

If you’re following Grandma Lori’s Extreme Food Storage Makeover, you know that last time we left off with a “to be continued” after Julie made Lori her full shopping list based on her recipes she wanted to use in her three month food supply. The post was titled “We have a Plan”

Well last week Julie was running out of ideas for Mother’s Day presents so she called up Grandma Lori and said, lets get this shopping trip done! (Because once the shopping was done, she could do the real present – which is organizing the whole food storage room) Grandma Lori wanted to go ahead and buy all the food up front, then replace through normal use, and sale shopping…. So it made for a big shopping trip to say the least.

Surprisingly however, the shop wasn’t NEARLY as painful as we thought it would be. We took the excel file that had calculated exactly everything she needed and used it as our shopping guide. Before we went to the store, we took inventory of what she already and then we were actually in and out of the store fairly quickly.

So for Mother’s Day, Julie and her husband went to Grandma Lori’s and transformed that room into a BEAUTIFUL site with great shelves(donated from Can Organizers), some reorganizing, and CUTE LABELS – that you all are going to ask her to do a tutorial on how to make them….! Stay tuned because those pictures and video are coming later this week!

 
Our class was for people who were “Getting Started”. We were happy that was our topic because we by no means feel like experts. We’re just sharing what we do with our Food Storage in our own experience. We thought since everyone couldn’t be there, we would share our slideshow notes with you… We really ought to make each one of these slides its own post, but for now you’ll have to just enjoy the cliff notes version.

So here goes it – this was our

	This is where we introduced ourselves and told people how we got started.
	For this slide, we made a little disclaimer – while we live and sleep food storage, we’re not total experts – but what we are good at, is helping people get started and excited about their food storage.
	Here we talked about all the SCARY food storage words that paralyzed us when we first got started.
	We weren’t afraid to show where we were 2 years ago, so the audience could see we really have come a LONG way.
	This is where we started talking about the common stumbling blocks. The first stumbling block is having NO IDEA where to start. Our checklists solve that problem.
	The NO SPACE excuse is so OLD! We solved this a long time ago with the help or our readers in our “Small Storage Spaces Solutions” post and handout
	No Time? No problem. Use food storage as a time-saver and cook things ahead of time like pizza pockets and pre-made smoothie mixes
	No Money- No problem. Jodi shared a lot of her lessons learned about how people with small budgets can use food storage to SAVE money.
	Now we get into the “Strategies” – Sometimes you just have to snap and get something done. Pick a day each month to work on things.
	Recommit… If you fall off the Food Storage train, remember you can always come back on and work little by little.
	If at first you don’t succeed- try try again. Like Julie tried again and again to finally fall in love with beans.
	Ever think getting things done with kids around is too hard- plan on things taking an extra 15-20 minutes and involve them. You’ll make great memories and teach great lessons.
	Like Jodi and Julie, get a friend to try all the new and exciting things in the world of Food Storage. Messing up is so much more fun when you have someone to laugh with.
	Make a plan, and use our ebook binder to help you stay organized!

We really had so much fun and met some cool companies and vendors at the fair. We’ll be reviewing some of Peggy Layton’s books, along with Emergency Food in a Nutshell by Leslie Probert and Lisa Harkness. We felt so excited and honored to meet these Food Storage experts.

We also met companies who have all sorts of different types of foods we want to learn more about. We also saw some cool solar ovens/ battery packs we’ll be researching.

Jodi also will probably dedicate an entire post to the lady selling honey of all sorts of varieties and flavors, while Julie tells you how much she drooled over some awesome storage containers – but alas this post is TOO LONG!

See you soon,

Family trip to the dump to get compost for my vegetable gardens – PRICELESS

A BIG pile of … dirt

Gotta love a beater truck that’s not afraid to get dirty (my husband loves classic cars)

Hubby forgot his gloves … I’ll let you chew on that thought for a bit

The kids thought it was a grand adventure!

And my gardens are beeeeeautiful!!!!!!

And now if the weather would just cooperate I could actually start getting something DONE in my beautifully filled garden beds. If you need help with your vegetable gardens this year check out my cousin Emily’s eBooks and website on Square Foot Gardening. Tons of great info that I use all the time!

p.s. Once we recover from the weekend we will be sharing a lot of great stuff about the Food Storage Fair we attended on Saturday. You won’t believe some of the great products and companies we learned about, amazing authors we met, etc. Make sure to subscribe to the blog or follow us on facebook so you don’t miss a thing!

We had a lot of great conversations and met a lot of fun people, here are just a few of the things that stood out.

• “I don’t need Food Storage, I have a whole box of snickers” (quote)
• Running into an old friend from where Julie lived 5 years ago who shared a recipe with Julie that she’ll share soon on the blog
• “You mean YOU are the real Jodi and Julie” (quote)
• Meeting one of our readers who told us she has her Food Storage Made Easy Binder FULL of all sorts of resources she has compiled over the last year, and that a 1 inch binder was just not big enough
• Seeing the shock on people’s face when we showed them what a Wondermill can do, and giving away a Wondermill to a lucky winner
• Watching people avoid direct eye contact with us, as the whole topic of Food Storage mainly just freaked them OUT
• Having YOU our readers come say hi… It was way more fun talking to YOU then talking to people who couldn’t figure out why the Food Storage booth had to be so PINK.

We also got to sit next to some GREAT women Bloggers. We had no idea we would make new friends while we were there too. You should totally check out some of our new friends:

• Kara, from Creations by Kara – who makes these totally cute bows that we bought for Jodi’s daughter and Julie’s niece.
• Kim and Kris- the most adorable twins from the DIY Dish who do webisodes teaching you how to do great stuff – one of which is a lamp recovering tutorial that Julie is so going to do – when she “finishes” her bedroom.
• Elisa – a girl after Julie’s own heart (we talked about PIZZA)… she is from Mormon Mommy Blogs (where we contribute monthly) and the Casual Blogger Conference which Julie is hoping to attend (if her husband will agree to take the boys ONE more weekend).
• Vanessa and Camille from Sassy Scoops.  We regretted not going to one of their girls nights outs now that we know they are so fun!

Being busy mommy bloggers we don’t get “out” much and thought it was so fun to meet some of our fellow bloggers in REAL LIFE!

Missed us at the Expo? Well we’re going to be presenters at a Food Storage Fair this Saturday in Ogden… We’re speaking at 9am and 1pm, hope to see you THERE!

WHAT: Food Storage Fair
WHEN: 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Shepherd Student Union Building, Weber State University, 3848 Harrison Blvd., Ogden
ADMISSION: $5, bring a friend and he/she gets in for half-price; preregistration requested, (801) 399-8207

Powdered Milk FAQ

Why should I store powdered milk?
Food storage calculators generally recommend storing either 16 pounds or powdered milk per person or 75 pounds per person. The 16 pound recommendation accounts for one glass of milk per day. However, if you were to be living off of food storage and wanted to cook a variety of foods, you would definitely want to have more milk for baking, etc. Also if you have small children or a nursing mother it is important to have even more powdered milk. Because of the high nutrient levels in powdered milk, if you were unable to find ways to cook your food, you can actually sustain life by ONLY drinking powdered milk for quite some time. So storing more is never a bad thing!

What is the difference between instant and non-instant powdered milk?
Instant powdered milk is similar to instant rice in that it is faster and easier to reconstitute than non-instant formulas. Typically instant powdered milk takes about twice as much powder per gallon as non-instant, but it depends on which brand you are purchasing.

What is a milk alternative?
A milk alternative is NOT 100% milk. It contains a lot of ingredients to make it taste better including whey, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, and high fructose corn syrup. As a result, it taste yummier, but has way less protein and includes some ingredients which are NOT great for you. If you want to use your stored milk in recipes or to make cheese, etc., they would turn out differently than if you used 100% milk. If you just want to drink the milk alternative as a milk flavored yummy drink, it’s ok. However you will be missing out on important nutrients which are even more critical in a time of emergency.

Which brand of powdered milk tastes the best?
The Utah Preppers blog posted an in depth taste test on the most common brands of powdered milk out there. We are so glad they did this because we’ve only personally tried a few brands ourselves. According to their study, the best-tasting milks were:

• Milk alternative: Morning Moos
• Instant powdered milk: Provident Pantry
• Non-instant powdered milk: Rainy Day

Are there any options besides “nonfat” powdered milk?
Yes! Dry whole milk is available although it’s much more difficult to find, especially in bulk. If you just cannot stomach nonfat milk (like Jodi’s dear sweet husband) there is still hope. One brand that we have heard about a lot but haven’t tried yet is Nido. You can often find it in the Hispanic foods section at your local grocery store. Or I found it available online at Amazon.com (don’t you just love Amazon?) It’s pricier than nonfat milk and the storage life will be much shorter due to the fat content of the milk so make sure to watch out for that.

How can I improve the taste of powdered milk?
One trick we learned from Crystal at Everyday Food Storage is to mix a little bit of sugar and vanilla in to your powdered milk and then make sure to serve it cold. This will significantly improve the taste of your milk!

Where can I purchase powdered milk for the best price?
The LDS cannery is the least expensive place to get powdered milk. To find a cannery (home storage center) in your area click here. (Please note that a lot of canneries do not require you to be a member of the LDS church to purchase from them, so contact your local cannery and find out their policies). However, since milk from the cannery is not the best tasting powdered milk, here are some other options. Provident Pantry instant milk is available at Emergency Essentials stores or online. Rainy Day non-instant milk (made by Walton Wheat) is available from Alison’s Pantry online or via a local rep.

What is the shelf life of powdered milk?
While different sources claim the shelf life on powdered milk can be up to 20-25 years, we have also read that the nutrient level significantly drops within that time. So we would definitely recommend incorporating a habit of rotating your powdered milk to keep your supplies as fresh as possible.

What’s the best way to rotate my powdered milk?
Since most people don’t particularly enjoy drinking powdered milk as a replacement to regular milk, we highly recommend using it in RECIPES where it won’t be as noticeable. You can view our food storage recipes to see where we have substituted powdered milk successfully. Or you can also check out our sister site Everyday Food Storage for more great ideas on cooking with your food storage!

p.s. Check back on Wednesday for a recap of our fun at the Utah Valley Women’s Expo and a preview of the event we will be speaking at in Ogden this Saturday!

So I really had no idea why so many people fussed about this bread, I was just excited to try something new… I looked it up and found this:

Ezekiel bread in it’s earliest form can be found in the Holy Bible in the book of Ezekiel chapter 4, verse 9 which says: “Also take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, and put them into one vessel and make bread of them.” (Amplified Bible) In this verse the prophet Ezekiel is told by God to make bread in a certain way and then he lives on water and this bread for 390 days while he resides in the desert.

Ezekiel bread is a bread made from four grains and four beans. Typically it contains wheat, spelt or rye, barley, millet, lentils, great northern beans, kidney beans, and pinto beans ground in a grain mill. The specific mixture of grains and beans has been tested by food scientists and found to be complete nutritionally.

Combined the wet ingredients and got all my grains out. I bought the ones I didn’t already have at the bulk section of a store called Winco here in Utah. I think most health food stores, or stores that sell grains in bulk should have all the ingredients.

Layered the grains in legumes in this clear measuring cup (for no reason other then to take a cute picture…) Isn’t it decorative and beautiful?


Threw all the grains and legumes into my WonderMill wheat grinder that I LOVE and ….

Out came a beautiful flour. I mixed the flour with the wet stuff and kept mixing. The consistency is more like a batter then a doughy bread-

Let the loaves rise, then I baked them and tested it by taking a glob of bread out of the middle…

Ingredients
• 2 1/2 cups wheat berries
• 1 1/2 cups spelt flour
• 1/2 cup barley
• 1/2 cup millet
• 1/4 cup dry green lentils
• 2 tablespoons dry great Northern beans
• 2 tablespoons dry kidney beans
• 2 tablespoons dried pinto beans
• 4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 cup honey
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons salt

Directions
1. Measure the water, honey, olive oil, and yeast into a large bowl. Let sit for 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Stir all of the grains and beans together until well mixed. Grind in a flour mill. Add fresh milled flour and salt to the yeast mixture; stir until well mixed, about 10 minutes. The dough will be like that of a batter bread. Pour dough into two greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.
3. Let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until dough has reached top of the pan.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 to 50 minutes, or until loaves are golden brown.

Utah Valley Women’s Expo

When: April 23rd & 24th, 2010, 11 am to 8 pm (both days)
Where: McKay Events Center, UVU, Orem, Utah
Tickets: Normally $5 but for our readers = FREE

Click on the ticket to print a full-sized version to bring to the show. Tell your friends too!

WonderMill Giveaway

If you don’t have a wheat grinder yet, make sure to stop by our booth and enter to win a FREE Wonder Junior Deluxe hand grinder. We will also have a few electric mills available for sale there if you want to buy one without the hassle and expense of shipping. (If you can’t attend, we’re keeping our shipping FREE for everyone this whole month too!)

LIMITED TO THE EXPO: Food Storage Made Easy Binders ON CD

This is something new and exciting we are doing just for the show. We wanted to make our eBook Binders available for sale to people who visit our booth, so we have made it into a Digital Binder on a disc. The cd contains all of our excel worksheets and the full eBook binder file. We will be selling the digital binders for a special discount of only $12 at the show. You will definitely want to come by and grab one (or more!) at such a great price.

FOR EVERYONE: eBook Binder SALE

For those of you who don’t live in Utah County or who aren’t able to attend the show, we didn’t want to leave you out! We are going to make our eBook binders available on our site for the SAME $5 discount during the days of the Expo. So for FRIDAY AND SATURDAY ONLY you can get the binder download for just $12. WOO HOO!

p.s. If you live in the Ogden area, stay tuned for more information about a special event we will be attending up in your area NEXT WEEK!

So here goes the reason for this post. As we have grown our Facebook page Jodi and I have become very impressed with the amount of knowledge all our readers have to share…. I’ve committed to fix this problem recipe box of mine and I have a few ideas I’m excited to implement. Before delving into it however, I thought I’d selfishly canvas all our readers and ask you guys –

How do you organize and keep your recipes?
Do you have any systems for sharing recipes?
What is your favorite way to sort recipes?

I’ll make you a deal, if you give me your ideas then I’ll share them all and develop some ultra rad way of keeping it together!

Share your ideas in comments, on our Facebook page, or email us at info@foodstoragemadeeasy.net!

Thanks in advance, and I promise to share all the tips!

Gather everything you need to get started, including some helpers.	Chop off the tops of the berries and any gross parts (2 quarts = 1 batch).
Chop up the berries. Oh how I love my imitation slap chop. Although it IS falling apart so I might have to splurge for a REAL one soon!	Pour the beautiful chopped berries into a large pot and start cooking (if you like chunkier jam you can mash the berries with a potato masher first).
Pour in 1/4 c. lemon juice (some recipes don’t call for this).	Add the pectin.
Add 1/2 tsp. of butter to reduce the foaming.	If you like smooth jam like my family, puree it with a Bamix at this step (I love my Bamix too!)
While you wait for the strawberries to come to a boil, measure out 7 cups of sugar into a bowl. (Yes SEVEN!)	Now take a well-deserved quick break and enjoy an ice cold diet coke. This step is mandatory at my house.
Dump the whole bowl of sugar in at once. Bring back to a boil and stir for 1 minute while it boils.	Meanwhile, sterilize your jar lids on the stove and try to ignore the fact that my burner looks freakishly purple.
Remove the pot from the stove and pour the delicious jam into sterilized jars. One batch makes about 4 small jars.	Add the lids and rings and wait for them to pop to know they are sealed. Isn’t this just a beautiful site?

While I didn’t include this part, you should make sure to water bath can your finished jars according to the directions on your pectin package or in your canning guide. This will make sure your jam is properly preserved for long term storage.

Happy jam-making!

We actually started our blog before we really knew what the whole blogging world was all about, so we didn’t discover the beauty of RSS feeds for quite some time. We thought we would share with you a quick lesson on RSS feeds and how to use them so that you don’t have to go through the hassle of manually checking in to see if we have posted anything new.

We asked our tech-savvy cousin Sam to help explain what RSS is and how to use it in a quick tutorial video. You may be seeing more of Sam in the future as we will be picking his brain for a future series on doing “Food Storage on a Budget”. His personal finance blog is a great resource for helping you get your finances in order.

RSS Feeds Made Easy

Now that you have the knowledge, we encourage you to go out and subscribe today! Don’t forget to add all your other favorite food storage blogs to your google reader too. It’s a great way to stay informed on all the latest food storage news around the web. Check out our Useful Links page for some of our favorites.

Well we had a great “Food Storage Fools Day” where we actually did some things we have been putting off FoReVeR! We were so glad our readers joined us and got some great emails, facebook discussions, pictures and feedback about what you all did. Wasn’t it so much more fun to do it together? We were just glad to have the accountability to actually DO stuff.

Although Julie was tending her nephew, had unexpected dinner plans come up, and was kinda feeling lazy on April 1st, she was THRILLED to have this day to FORCE her to get some things done! These are the things she accomplished.

-Purchased propane fuel and charcoal for the Volcano II stove she has. This is her current “electricity free” cooking plan, but it wouldn’t have worked well without fuel!
-Got some new foods for her 72 hour kits that required no cooking. Some of the things she added were beef jerky, raisins, granola bars, crackers with canned chicken, and new candy.
-Took all the disaster kits supplies out of the big awkward bin that is hard to carry and moved it into two bags.
-Packed bigger clothes for her toddler in the bags, and actually put clothes for the baby in the bag.

Jodi has been feeling behind with her gardening. Even though the weather was awful this week she was still able to get a great start on some of her gardening tasks that she has been putting off for several weeks now. Here’s what she got done:

- Printed and put together her new gardening binder
- Planned out and typed up her garden plans for this year.
- Sorted through all her seeds and made a list of what she still needs to purchase
- Planted a TON of seeds in her jiffy pellets using the planting schedule from her gardening binder
- Made a plan for getting the outside gardens ready for planting some seeds directly outdoors, hopefully to be done this following week!
- NOW I finally feel ready to start gardening this year, yay!

For those of you who submitted your pictures and results we entered you into a giveaway for our Food Storage Made Easy Binders! And the winners are…

Stephanie W
Alisa D
Sondra M

Email us at info@foodstoragemadeeasy.net and we’ll get you the download!

Here are a few of the pictures we got from all of you! Good job guys, you inspired us with your emails, hard work, and diligence!

Today, Julie commits to:
-packing some supplies for her new baby in her 72 hour kits – at this rate he’ll be a toddler before she does it!
-getting fuel for her volcano cooker (her current option for powerless cooking)
-put her disasters kit into backpacks, not a big awkward bin

Today, Jodi commits to:
-Actually start her seeds (last week’s gardening post got her motivated)
-Fill her new water boxes – like with WATER – not just good intentions

So initially we were going to just tell you to do something, have you post it in the comments and call it good BUT OF COURSE…

So a lot of you already committed to something in last week’s post or on Facebook. If you haven’t already, hurry up and pick something.

Once you have COMPLETED something you’ve been putting off, email us the details WITH a picture at info@foodstoragemadeeasy.net. You can also put your pictures on the Facebook fan page. Submissions must be received by FRIDAY NIGHT.

Monday we are going to post a bunch of pictures of our own and of your progress and randomly pick 3 LUCKY WINNERS TO GET OUR FOOD STORAGE MADE EASY EBOOK FREE- (You have to ACTUALLY do something, and submit a picture via email to qualify – info@foodstoragemadeeasy.net)

Dinner Is In The Jar

Quick and Easy Dinner Mixes in Mason Jars or Mylar Bags
by Kathy Clark
 
 
 

Background: If you know Jodi and me, you would be surprised at how much we differ, while being very similar at the same time.  When my husband and I met, he told Jodi (his sister) – “I met a girl I know you’re going to like- she’s just like YOU!” When it comes to cooking, meal planning and recipes however; the only thing we have in common is our deep and abiding love for Cadbury mini-eggs- which you would know about if you were a Facebook Fan.  Anyways, I’m SO not into recipes. I wing meal planning, make things up, and barely measure stuff.   Since incorporating food storage into my daily cooking however, I have found myself using more recipes and was even EXCITED to review this book.   “Dinner Is In The Jar” is filled with meal mix recipes that can be easily stored in mason jars or mylar bags.  By following the instructions, recipes, and guides you can create a suppy of easily prepared dinners using food storage ingredients for emergencies and convenience.  A lot of the recipes have add-ons like meat, or cheese for when you are actually making them, but most of the ingredients are in fact “In The Jar”.

What I Liked: What I liked most about this book is the simplicity and instructions.  Each recipe has a list of ingredients to put in your mason jar or mylar bag.  With each recipes comes a page with labels you can photocopy that have the instructions for actually cooking the meal when the time comes.  I also liked a lot of the meal ideas.  They were meals that you would like eating and that sounded N-O-R-M-A-L.  I’m not into fancy hard recipes.

Favorite Tip: My favorite tip is the step-by-step instructions on how to use mylar bags instead of mason jars.  Mason jars can be expensive and using mylar bags is a great alternative.  Kathy even suggests giving these as gifts and I could totally see myself decorating the labels, tying ribbons around them and using them as neighbor gifts come Christmas.

Feedback: If I had one suggestion for getting the most out of this book, I would plan on preparing the mixes in a group with friends, family members or neighbors. Some mixes require a lot of different spices or ingredients and I imagine buying the stuff in bulk would make it more cost effective.  If you don’t plan on making these in a group setting, then probably plan on making large quantity of a few recipes, rather then a few of each kind of recipe – did that makes sense?

Summary: For someone looking to make pre-made mixes and have easy to use instructions, recipes, and labels “Dinner In A Jar” is AWESOME!

And of course, we wanted to share these “HOW-TO’s” with all of you so that you can be prepared too. (If you have already purchased a Food Storage Made Easy Binder we will DEFINITELY be including these as handouts in the free updates). So let’s get started!

In the event of an emergency, if you have identified a potential natural gas leak, it is important to shut off your natural gas and then report the leak to 911 or to your local gas company. Here is a quick video showing how to shut off your main gas valve as well as the gas to your furnace/water heater.
 

How to Identify an Outside Gas Leak:

• Hissing, roaring or blowing sound
• Dirt being blown into the air
• Water being blown into the air at a pond, river, or creek
• Continuous bubbling in wet, flooded areas
• Fire at or near exposed piping
• Flames apparently emanating from the ground
• Dead or brown vegetation in an otherwise moist or green field
• A “rotten-egg” odor (this is the most common sign inside your home)

Important Reminders:

• The gas company has to come and restart your service if you shut off the gas, so make sure you only do it IF you identify a leak. If there is no leak then it is not necessary to turn off your gas.
• If a gas leak is discovered, turn off any potential “ignition” sources and evacuate everyone from the area
• Do not attempt to make repairs or extinguish fires

Square Foot Gardening FAQ

Hello FSME readers! I’m exited to have the chance to answer some of your gardening questions! Just a little background on me—I’m a mom of two boys, and this is my fourth year of gardening. I’m not an expert, but I am determined to learn all I can and pass it on to others. So here we go!

1. What soil mix is best for raised bed gardens?
I suggest a combination of ingredients called Mel’s Mix. It is equal parts compost, vermiculite, and peat moss. For specific instructions, go to my website and click on the Build It tab, then read the post there.

Each spring I add more compost to my boxes—I usually need to add one quarter to one third of the volume of my garden bed. Also, after harvesting you can replant in that square. Before you do, add a scoop of compost and mix it in.

2. What are cold frames and how do you use them?
A cold frame is like putting a glass roof on your garden. Imagine a mini-greenhouse, built around your garden beds. It helps you plant and grow sooner, and it extends the season later by protecting the plants. I would not suggest using cold frames if you are a beginner unless your weather conditions require it.

3. SEEDS

3a. Do higher quality seeds really make a difference?
YES! I’ve personally experienced this. You know those super cheap seeds by American Seed Company? There’s a reason they are so inexpensive. They have a very low germination rate, about 10%, which means you are paying for a bunch of seeds that won’t sprout.

3b. Where do you buy your seeds?
I have always purchased whatever brand I find at Wal-Mart, Home Depot, or IFA (Intermountain Farmers Association, the local farm coop store). I have found all of these seeds to be similarly priced and comparable in quality.

The advantage of buying seeds at a local store (like IFA) is that they often carry brands that have been developed specifically for the climate in which you live. The advantage of purchasing from a catalog is that you can choose from endless varieties and types of vegetables. I just hate waiting for something to come in the mail!

3c. What are Heirloom seeds?
Heirloom seeds, or vegetables, are varieties that were grown in the “old days.” Many have been used for over 50 or 100 years, and there are many more varieties. However, they are not as disease resistant as the seeds you will find at the store.

Since the industrialization of agriculture, seeds have been bred for consistency and disease resistance. This has resulted in fewer varieties (sort of a “one size fits all”) and hybrids, which are more expensive.

3d. How do I store seeds?
If you use the square foot gardening method, chances are you’ll have tons of seeds leftover. I put mine in snack size ziplock baggies, so if the seeds spill out it’s no big deal. Then I keep them in a cool, dry place. In the summer I put them in my fridge or basement. In the winter I keep them in the garage.

4. What are good plants for colder climates?

Root veggies (beets, carrots, onions, leeks, turnips, radishes, potatoes)
Cabbage family (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, mustard)
Peas and beans

If you have a short growing season, buy varieties that harvest in a shorter time frame.

5. Can you share any composting tips for beginners?
Don’t do it. Okay, that’s not totally true. If you have the space and want to compost for environmental reasons, by all means go ahead. But unless you have a lot of mass (think 100 gallons) and are willing to do a lot of work (turn it every week), you won’t be generating compost for this year. I live on 1/5 of an acre and with the grass clippings and the food scraps from a family of 3, combined with donated leaves, I have barely made enough compost to refill a box or two.

There is no compact, easy, non-messy, non-labor-intensive way to make compost that I know of. I am going to research composting this summer by interviewing my friends and neighbors to see if anyone has a magic composting trick.

The only composting I know of that is compact, very little work, but does use food scraps (fruits and veggies only), is vermacomposting—that’s right, with worms. I have a friend who does this. The compost she gets is like gold, but is measured in cups, not cubic feet. I’m going to do a post on this as well!

6. What’s the best way for a beginner to get started? Step-by-step instructions!
See my special offer below.

We had too many questions for one post, so stay tuned for more great info from Emily coming soon in a future post!

Gardening For Beginners

Emily is the author of a set of two new eBooks that are super helpful for beginner gardeners. We love her easy step-by-step approach to gardening that walks you through the entire process, just like our BabyStep program does for your food storage! She is offering a limited time discount to Food Storage Made Easy readers.

If you’re following Grandma Lori’s Extreme Food Storage Makeover, you know that last week we left off with a “to be continued” after Julie asked Lori all the questions to make Grandma Lori’s personal 3 month plan.

Julie opened up her favorite computer software program…. excel… and went to town putting in Lori’s dinner recipes into our 3 month supply planning sheet.

• We put in 12 different dinners, then repeated the more popular ones to get 30 days of dinners
• We then watched excel do all the math for a 3 month supply
• We put in a variety of lunch, snack and breakfast ideas and guessed what she would use in a month and allowed excel to do the math to get us 3 months
• To see the completed excel click here
• We now have printed her master ingredient list (see pdf)

• We’re going to inventory what Lori has on hand and put it into excel
• We’ll see what’s left to buy
• Buy and stock pantry

Stay tuned as we keep at it… This is not an overnight project!

Isn’t this so fun? WHAT ARE YOU DOING to build your Food Storage. Join us in our April 1st “Don’t be a Food Storage Fool Day”

How to Grow Easter Grass With Wheat – Instructions

Step 1: Soak a heaping cup of wheat kernels in a bowl of water overnight.

The wheat should have teeny tiny sprouts. Aren’t they cute?

Step 2: Line your Easter basket(s) with saran wrap.

Step 3: Fill the basket with soil

Step 4: Soak the soil with water, get it nice and wet

The kids think this part is really fun

Step 5: Spoon a thick layer of wheat onto of the soil. Mist with a little more water.

Doesn’t that look so nice?

Step 6: Wrap the basket(s) in plastic or a ziplock bag. Try to make it airtight.

Look how cute our baskets (and kids) are before the plastic.

Step 7: Set in a warm place and leave the plastic on until most of the seeds have started to sprout grass. Remove plastic and mist daily if it looks dry.

Step 8: Enjoy a nice thick blanket of REAL Easter grass in a few weeks!

Don’t forget to try to have at least one accident along the way. It makes life exciting

HAVE FUN and HAPPY EASTER!!!

In The Trenches

Financial Survival During Times of Hardship
by Carol Schultz-Weil
 
 
 

Background: For those of you who have followed Julie and I on our food storage journey over the past two years, you may recall that in the beginning we couldn’t seem to get a grasp on using food storage during natural disasters (i.e. If there is an earthquake and you have no power, how are you going to COOK all that wheat anyway?) So we decided to focus on the thought that we were much more likely to have an “economic disaster” in our lives and we wanted to use food storage to help be prepared for that. Well about 3 months after we started our blog and started to build our food storage, my husband lost his job and was unemployed for about three months. Luckily I had already stockpiled quite a lot of 3 month supply food storage and we were able to spend only about $20-$30 on groceries during those months. Every little bit helps when you are living off of savings! When we were given a copy of In The Trenches: Financial Survival During Times of Hardship I knew that I wanted to be the one to read and review it since this topic hits close to home for me. (My husband recently lost his job AGAIN but we were lucky enough to find a replacement job in less than a week this time!)

What I Liked: In The Trenches is not a typical “finance book”. If you want a step-by-step, more formal plan all laid out for you, I highly recommend getting Dave Ramsey: The Total Money Makeover (Dave and HIS BabySteps have literally changed my life). However, if you are looking for a more personal and friendly approach, perhaps just a few tips to survive during hard times, In The Trenches is fantastic. Carol Schultz-Weil shares her stories of living for 6 months without indoor plumbing, and going from being a bank manager to working at McDonalds. She literally has lived in the trenches and pulled herself out. She offers some great tips on saving money, but the real appeal is the emotional support she gives you throughout the book. It’s one thing to cope with numbers on paper, it’s another to be able to get through each day when your kids need new shoes and you feel like a failure.

Favorite Tip: One of the questions we get asked a lot is “How do you build up a food storage on a tight budget?” In The Trenches addresses this very issue using a simple method that everyone can start using immediately. The concept she suggests doesn’t even require a change in your budget. All you do is take your normal grocery budget each month and set aside 10% of it as a “stocking up fund”. Each month at the grocery store you use that special fund and “stock up” on 1 or 2 items at the store that are on sale and that are part of your family’s normal diet. Using our 3 month supply worksheets can help you easily know EXACTLY which items to watch for to go on sale. After a few months, you will be buying less and less food at full prices and can save your family a lot of money on groceries. If you are interested in long term food storage you can use that savings and start purchasing some of the bulk items like wheat, sugar, oats, etc. Remember this is all coming out of your original grocery budget so it is really something you can do and not worry about extra expenses!

Feedback: In The Trenches provides some great worksheets to help you analyze your budget, expenses, net worth, etc. However, some of the sheets are too small to be very usable. I would want to photocopy and enlarge them all so I could fill them out properly. It would be really nice if they could be made available in pdfs or as an excel file on her blog.

Summary: For someone going through a time of financial hardship, In The Trenches can be a great tool to use. If you are just looking for some creative tips for saving money and living a cheaper lifestyle you will find this book to be helpful too.

Last week we posted the “Questions to Ask Yourself” when planning your 3 month supply. Julie got together with Grandma Lori and asked her those questions so they could formulate a plan. Watch the video to see what Grandma Lori’s answers were, and then read on to see her very own custom plan.

Grandma Lori mostly wants a 3 month supply of foods she eats regularly using meats she can store in a freezer. She also wants to get the foods all at once and then from there use and rotate. Like we’ve said before each persons plan, budget, and preferences will dictate a personal game plan.

1. Lori gave Julie a list of 12 of her most common dinner recipes (in the video Lori thought it would be a good idea to use the forms, but since Julie was feeling generous, she told Lori she would take Lori’s recipes and fill out the excel form for her).
2. Lori listed breakfast, lunch, and snack ideas to buy a lot of, but isn’t going to plan each day like she wants to for dinners.
3. Julie is going to compile the master list of ingredients to shop for based on the recipes and what Lori already has on hand.
4. Julie, Lori and Jodi will make a fun trip to the stores and get the foods.
5. Julie, Lori and Jodi are going to be build the shelves that CanOrganizers are going to donate for Grandma Lori’s pantry.
6. STOCK the pantry!
7. Lori will use and replace the foods. YAY!

Stay tuned as we complete and document action items #3-#7.

]]> http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/03/15/grandma-loris-3-month-food-supply-game-plan/feed/ 8 http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/03/11/food-storage-classes/ http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/03/11/food-storage-classes/#comments Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:04:21 +0000 Jodi -- Food Storage Made Easy http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/?p=4065 Ever since we started this blog we have been asked if we would be willing to come and teach classes. In the beginning we didn’t feel qualified, and in recent times we have been so busy with families, jobs, and blogging, that we could not fit it into our schedules. However, for the next few months we have an uncommon lull in our schedules so we are going to take advantage of it and get out and TEACH!

How to Submit a Request

1. Plan an event you would like to have us attend
Church groups, emergency preparedness fairs, office sac lunch seminars, etc.
2. Select your topic
General food storage overview, 3 month supply planning, using long term food storage, wheat/wheat grinders, water storage, etc.
3. Select 2 potential weeks from our schedule of availability (see below)
We will teach one class per week, we can be flexible with what day it is on)
4. Please EMAIL US your request including the day and times you are hoping for
We will schedule your event and confirm with you based on our availability

Schedule of Availability

SORRY – ALL DATES ARE NOW TAKEN!
We will be at Utah Valley Spring Women’s Expo on April 23th & 24th if you want to come learn and see us. We’ll have more details and possibly tickets to giveway soon!

April 4-10: taken – April 7
April 11-17: Lehi–April 14
April 18-24: Murray– April 22, Utah Valley Women’s Expo–April 23-24
April 25-May 1: Lehi–April 29, Weber State University Food Storage Fair–May 1
May 2-8: Spanish Fork–May 4th
May 9-15: SLC–May 11th
May 16-22: Provo — May 18th
May 23-29: West Valley — May 27th

Limitations:

• Event must be located in Utah County or Salt Lake County
• Event must be held in a public location (i.e. church, library, etc.)
• We prefer events to be held during weekdays
• We ask that a minimum of 15 people be committed to any event we come to

We are so excited to have the chance to meet some of our readers in person!

p.s. PLEASE don’t leave requests in the comments. In order to schedule an event you MUST email us at info@foodstoragemadeeasy.net so that we can keep track of all requests more easily.

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]]> http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/03/11/food-storage-classes/feed/ 13 http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/03/07/questions-to-ask-yourself-3-month-supply/ http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/03/07/questions-to-ask-yourself-3-month-supply/#comments Sun, 07 Mar 2010 07:03:18 +0000 Jodi and Julie http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/?p=4039
When it comes to getting a 3 month supply of food together, we have found that a lot of people get so much anxiety over the whole thing that they don’t do it at all. We’re getting ready to help Grandma Lori with her 3 month supply in our Extreme Food Storage Makeover. In doing so we have compiled a list of questions to ask her that will help us formulate a plan. Ask yourself these questions, and as you do so you’ll see a plan start to form – with some resources on our site to help.

Are you storing a 3 month supply of food for a potential job loss? For a potential natural disaster? For meal planning purposes? Whatever it is that you are doing this for will influence how you go about planning, so first – decide – Why Am I Doing This? Check out our complete series on “Why Food Storage?”, if you haven’t figured this one out yet.

Are you the type that thinks your 3 month plan can only have shelf stable items? Do you think fridge and freezer foods count in your 3 month plan? Do you want to make a plan based on the assumption that you can still buy produce to fill in holes in your recipes? Once you have decided which types of foods you want in your 3 month plan, you’ll be able to filter your recipes to fit that criteria. ***disclaimer*** While it’s always good to have some shelf stable recipes, we think planning strictly shelf stable meals is a hard place to start for beginners-

• Some people find that buying foods they use often in bulk fit their goals for a 3 month plan.
• Some people like to plan their meals on our printable pdf forms with good old fashioned pens and pencils. (found on our BabyStep 3 page)
• If you’re really wanting to get detailed, you can use our 3 month supply excel spreadsheet and go to town including all ingredients for all your recipes and then watch it automatically calculate how many of each item you need.(found on our BabyStep 3 page)

While the end goal is to use foods daily from your pantry, and replace them with your regular grocery shopping, to get your supply kick started you may need to budget a certain amount of money to get your supply going. Figure out what you can spare until you have a supply built up and think of it as an investment.

When you have determined WHAT you need to buy, develop a plan to purchase. For some great info on this – visit our sister site The Food Storage Shopper. She is currently revamping her site, but you can still find some information to help you while it’s under construction. You may decide buying one extra each time works for you, or you might get into coupon and sale shopping and buy things only when on sale. Whatever fits your style, having a game plan in place will surely help.

Good luck, and remember there aren’t RIGHT answers to these questions. If we have learned anything in doing this for the last 2 years its that EVERYONE has a different style, and you need to figure out what works for you!

]]> http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/03/07/questions-to-ask-yourself-3-month-supply/feed/ 4 http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/03/04/square-foot-gardening-101/ http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/03/04/square-foot-gardening-101/#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 07:19:16 +0000 Jodi and Julie http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/?p=4023 One of the BEST and CHEAPEST ways to store fruits and vegetables is to garden and/or preserve them yourself. If this feels overwhelming to you, don’t worry, we understand! Check out Jodi’s Gardening Failures post from last fall for example However, if this is something you really WANT to learn more about, we are going to help you achieve success this year.

If you are a brand new beginner, here is a fantastic intro to Square Foot Gardening that we filmed last summer with our cousin Emily. We love love love the Square Foot Garden method developed by Mel Bartholemew.
 

How will we help you this year?
1. We will be posting periodic updates on how we are doing in our gardens along with details about what we will be doing next so you can follow along in your own gardens (ok we’ll be honest, JODI will be doing this, Julie hasn’t caught the gardening bug yet).
2. We will be having Emily from mysquarefootgarden.net do a series of guest blog posts on some of the more advanced gardening topics (leave a comment below if you have a specific topic you would like to have covered). Emily has some great eBooks you can check out by clicking the banner below. And her website offers tons of free information all through the gardening season!

Use coupon code FSME20 to get 20% off the bundle!

Jodi’s To-Do’s This Week
1. Make a garden plan
2. Purchase grow lights (Emily convinced me that these are golden!)
3. Purchase materials needed to start seedlings (soil, plant pots, etc.)
4. Catalog leftover seeds and purchase any I am short on
5. Start appropriate seedlings indoors and plant peas outdoors (yay!)
6. Convince dear husband to help me start prepping my garden beds

Happy Gardening!!!

]]> http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/03/04/square-foot-gardening-101/feed/ 24 http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/28/food-storage-wake-up-call/ http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/28/food-storage-wake-up-call/#comments Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:36:35 +0000 Julie - Food Storage Made Easy http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/?p=4012 With the recent earthquakes, I have been thinking about my food storage and preparedness plan and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I am guilty of a little procrastination over here! It seems like anytime Jodi and I do progress updates, they turn into confessionals, but bit by bit we make improvements and feel much more prepared then when we started our blog!

Anyways, as my little picture story will show, I hadn’t put my food away since I bought it… ahem ahem over a month ago. I finally got around to it this weekend and I also got around to building (or having my husband build) these awesome cardboard rotating racks from Can Organizer. Check Them Out!(I like the shorter ones for my size shelves, but they have different options) My son shoots hockey pucks in our basement and is CONSTANTLY tipping over my neatly organized cans and it drives me crazy! I am just getting started on turning the tipsy stacks into perfectly sound racks and I love it already!

I’m also happy to report that while I was watching the news this weekend, I realized I actually do have a few things going for me! They were saying that the people should evacuate because of the tsumami threats and to take only important documents and GO! In our emergency plan we suggest this and even have a whole plan for creating an emergency binder. I was happy to know in case I needed to evacuate, I would have all my important stuff together – all ready for me to go!

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]]> http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/28/food-storage-wake-up-call/feed/ 5 http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/25/attic-storage-space/ http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/25/attic-storage-space/#comments Thu, 25 Feb 2010 07:16:36 +0000 Jodi -- Food Storage Made Easy http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/?p=4001 One of the biggest concerns people have when getting started with their food storage is “Where do I store all of this food???”. A while back we posed this question to our readers and we got some fabulous results which we compiled into the Small Spaces Storage Solutions handout.

My husband (the handyman who helped us make our first rotating can racks) has come up with a fabulous new storage solution for our house. He was working as an airline pilot for a while and was based in Houston, Texas — the land of no basements. The apartment that he lived in during his “on days” made use of their ATTIC for storage space. Ever since he stayed in that apartment he dreamed of converting our attic into a functional storage area.

After a long time of deliberating, several Home Depot trips, and a gaping hole cut into the bedroom ceiling … we finally got a solution that works!

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The magical ladder (pre-install)	Ladder installed, so cool!
The kids loved helping	Beautiful new storage space!

While it doesn’t necessarily work to store food (due to extreme heat and cold) … it’s a fabulous way to store everything else thus making room for more food in the other areas of our home. Isn’t my husband the greatest? And the best part about having the attic stairway is that I can actually climb up there myself and access our storage!

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]]> http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/25/attic-storage-space/feed/ 7 http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/22/giveaway-winner-announced-your-feedback/ http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/22/giveaway-winner-announced-your-feedback/#comments Mon, 22 Feb 2010 07:32:08 +0000 Jodi -- Food Storage Made Easy http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/?p=3982

Last week we had a giveaway for a Trekker 2 Disaster Kit from Emergency Essentials. A 3 day supply for 2 people, retail value $99.95 on sale this month for $84.99. The lucky winner is the person with the username (we’ll email you to get your address):

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We were so thrilled with the feedback we got on what topics you guys would like to learn more about, that we compiled it all into a spreadsheet (yes we love spreadsheets) to help us better analyze and categorize it. We wanted to share a summary of the results so you can get a sneak preview of some of the (much-requested) topics we will be covering on our blog in the future. (Don’t forget to use the search box at the top left to see some of these topics that we have already covered!)

1. Water Storage (for large families, in small spaces, filters, water sources, purification)
2. Alternative Cooking Methods (solar ovens, rocket stoves, dutch oven cooking)
3. 72 Hour Kits (people still have a LOT of questions about the best way to do these)
4. Emergency Preparedness for Special Situations (small children, pets, allergies, etc.)
5. Self Reliance (canning, dehydrating, gardening)
6. Rotation and Organization (tracking inventory, cooking with food storage, etc.)
7. Proper Storage of Long Term Food Storage
8. Alternate Heat Sources
9. Preparation for Specific Disaster Situation
10. First Aid Information

As you can see, that’s just a “small” list of items that you’d like us to tackle. Wish us luck! We are still learning ourselves but we will happily share what we learn with all of you as we learn it.

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]]> http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/22/giveaway-winner-announced-your-feedback/feed/ 5 http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/18/food-storage-and-fondant/ http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/18/food-storage-and-fondant/#comments Thu, 18 Feb 2010 07:15:16 +0000 Julie - Food Storage Made Easy http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/?p=3944 Ok so this is TOTALLY stretching it – but when a sister gets married you have no time for coming up with new posts – so you’ll have to use your imagination.

IMAGINE – you have to make a wedding cake and you only have food storage items as ingredients – well YOU CAN! Last summer I forced myself to try fondant icing after wasting hours upon hours watching the cake decorating shows thinking it looked so totally cool.

Well it turns out I found this great recipe with really great instructions and it uses SHELF STABLE (that’s how I am making this post relevant) ingredients. The only 3 ingredients are marshmallows, powdered sugar, and shortening.

So I tried a little for fun cake and then my sister got engaged and she thought I should make her wedding cake -my very first wedding cake -. HELLO SCARY! Well it actually turned out and I had a blast doing it.

No one warned me how sad I would be when the bride and groom took the knife to my very first wedding cake masterpiece and RUINED IT!

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]]> http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/18/food-storage-and-fondant/feed/ 23 http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/15/disaster-kits-and-a-giveaway/ http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/15/disaster-kits-and-a-giveaway/#comments Mon, 15 Feb 2010 07:28:10 +0000 Jodi and Julie http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/?p=3853 GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED – RESULTS WILL BE POSTED SOON!

Our Grandma Lori Food Storage Makeover project has led to quite a few questions from readers on the different types of “ready-made” Disaster Kits that are available. We initially outlined three disaster kit options and chose our recommendations based off of Grandma Lori’s preferences. We asked our friends at Emergency Essentials to help us put together a list of all of the kits that they have available and when you might use each one. They gave us some great information for us to share with you, and also offered to do a GIVEAWAY of one of their great kits. Yay for one of our lucky readers!

To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment telling us what aspects of Emergency Preparedness you would like to learn more about. The winner will be randomly selected from all of the comments. The giveaway will run until next Sunday, February 21st at 10 pm MST and the winner will be posted Monday.

A Trekker 2 Disaster Kit from Emergency Essentials. A 3 day supply for 2 people, retail value $99.95 on sale this month for $84.99. See below for more information on what the Trekker 2 kit contains.

Bottled Emergency Kits {more info}
Bottled kits are economical and contain basic emergency supplies neatly packed into a 32 oz. water bottle for easy transport. They contains items such as hand & body warmers, ponchos, emergency blankets, matches, flashlights, whistles, basic first aid kits, and more.

Starter Emergency Kit {more info}
This can act as a basic kit or an add-on to any other emergency kit for additional people. It includes food, water, light, warmth, communication, and more.
 

3-Day Lite Emergency Kit {more info}
This economical kit gives you the basics you will need in an emergency. It includes food, water, warmth, light, communication, and first aid all packed in a medium backpack for easy transporting.
 

Roadwise™ Emergency Kit {more info}
This kit includes items specially selected for storage in your automobile.
 
 

3-Day Emergency Kit {more info}
Calorie food bars and aqua blox allow this kit to be stored in varied temperatures so it can also be used as an auto emergency kit. It contains basic food, water, warmth, first aid, light and communication items all packaged in a medium sized backpack. Recommended for one person for up to three days.

Trekker™ Kits
These kits are designed for either one (Trekker I™),
two (Trekker II™), and four people (Trekker IV™). The Trekker II™ Kit was rated ‘Best Value’ by the Wall Street Journal. These kits contain calorie food bars, aqua blox, and over 120 (Trekker I™), 150 (Trekker II™), and 275 (Trekker IV™) additional preparedness items. Some additional items found in our Trekker™ Kits that are not found in our 3-Day Emergency Kit are fire starters, purification tablets, more extensive first aid kits, additional hygiene items, and larger backpacks for storing the additional items.

ReadyWise™ Kits
Our ReadyWise™ line combines portability with convenience and ease. In addition to calorie food bars, these kits include MRE’s and MRE Heaters providing additional variety and nutrition. They offer a more comprehensive first aid kit when compared to our Trekker options as well as some additional items including a wool blend blanket, flashlight with the ability to charge a cell phone, and some emergency tools. ReadyWise kits are available in either 1 person or 2 person kits.

Comp™ Kits
Comp™ is short for ‘comprehensive’ which is the word that best describes this line. We have combined the convenience and ease of MRE’s and MRE Heaters with over
280 (Comp I™) and 390 (Comp II™) emergency supplies. These kits offer improved warmth, cooking, light and communication, first aid and sanitation, storage and tools supplies when compared to other kits. Some additional items that are unique to this line include an emergency toilet and water storage kit, our finest first aid kit in any of our 3 day kits, survival book, sewing kit, tri-fold shovel, and Deluxe Hiking Pack.

We hope you find this information helpful when selecting your Disaster Kits!

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]]> http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/15/disaster-kits-and-a-giveaway/feed/ 249 http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/11/food-storage-recipes-catalina-chicken/ http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/11/food-storage-recipes-catalina-chicken/#comments Thu, 11 Feb 2010 06:01:52 +0000 Jodi -- Food Storage Made Easy http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/?p=3837 This is a recipe that Julie taught me one Mother’s Day several years ago. We were planning a dinner for my mom (the infamous Grandma Lori) and she popped out this way easy and way delicious recipe that his since become a staple in my family. In fact, last night when I made it my kids snarfed it up without one single complaint (if you know my kids you will know how rare that is). Without further ado … here is the recipe!

Catalina Chicken (from the kitchen of Julie)

Ingredients:
1 small jar of apricot/pineapple preserves
1 small bottle of catalina salad dressing
1 1/2 – 2 lbs diced chicken

Directions:
Mix the sauce in a 9×13 pan. Add in the diced chicken. Let marinade for several hours if you can, but it’s not necessary. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until chicken is cooked. Serve over rice.

I TOLD YOU IT WAS EASY!!!!

Variations

Meat
The only problem with this recipe is it calls for diced chicken. In my current state (5 months pregnant) I find it completely nauseating and cumbersome to have to thaw, trim, and chop raw chicken. It dawned on my that if I had some bottled chicken on hand, I could just open up a bottle and have this recipe ready to go in less than 5 minutes. This re-motivated me to work on one of my New Year’s Resolutions and break open my new pressure canner as soon as chicken goes on sale again.

Jam
While I used some jam from the LDS cannery, you can use any apricot preserves but it’s definitely the best with pineapple. If I have cans of pineapple on hand it’s also yummy to add in a few pineapple chunks too.

Rice
I am ashamed to admit this, but even though I have tried Julie’s magical tips on How to Cook Rice it STILL never works very well for me. In an emergency I will suffer through crunchy or mushy rice … but for day to day cooking I have admitted my failings and have started to use the rice cooker I got for Christmas (apparently my husband was a bit disappointed in my rice cooking skills too). I figure at least it’s better than relying on Minute Rice

Keep these few ingredients on hand and next time you are in a crunch for a quick and easy meal, you will have everything you need!

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]]> http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/11/food-storage-recipes-catalina-chicken/feed/ 21 http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/08/valentines-day-and-food-storage/ http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/08/valentines-day-and-food-storage/#comments Mon, 08 Feb 2010 06:01:20 +0000 Jodi and Julie http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/?p=3827 We made this post last year- but figured it’s still appropriate since it’s almost Valentines Day again and a lot of our readers have never seen this… If you made this last year remember to restock any foods (if your spouse hasn’t already sneaked them and ate them already). If you haven’t seen this before, then here you go….

Are you having a hard time deciding what to get your “special someone” for Valentines Day? Well worry no more. We have made it easy for you – and what’s better then the gift of preparedness? Send your loved one to work with a special 72 Hour Kit for the Office. We even made a contents list and cute little tag for you to attach to the container you gather the contents in.

For the tag – that reads “Because I always want you to be safe” and contents list, click here. As always, you may customize this list to meet your specific needs and don’t worry if you can’t get all the items at once. Put a few of the items in, and keep giving them extra “parts” as special surprises through out the year.

IN THE KIT (buy trial size if you can)
- food (protein bars, granola bars, beef jerky, candy, fruit roll ups)
- toothbrush/toothpaste
- washcloth/facewash/bodywash
- shampoo/conditioner
- razor/shaving cream/deodorant
- change of socks/underwear
- kleenex/wet wipes
- hand sanitizer
- travel-size first aid kit including small bottle of Tylenol
- work gloves
- rain poncho
- space blanket
- small flashlight with spare batteries
- a whistle (to draw the attention of rescue workers)
- carbon-filtering dust mask (for smoke, dust, debris, etc.)
- small novel
- small radio with spare batteries
- cash (small bills for vending machines)
- contents list

WITH THE KIT
- crow bar
- water

To print the tag and contents list, click here, or click on either of the images. Good luck and Happy Valentines Day!

p.s. If you want to give your husband a hint on something to get for YOU, you can always send him the link to our Food Storage Made Easy Binders

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]]> http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/08/valentines-day-and-food-storage/feed/ 7 http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/04/disaster-kit-scavenger-hunt/ http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/04/disaster-kit-scavenger-hunt/#comments Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:46:11 +0000 Jodi and Julie http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/?p=3802 Are you STILL procrastinating getting your disasters kit together? Well we thought of a fun way for you and your family to GET IT DONE! Presenting the Food Storage Made Easy….

Get your family together for a fun night. Whether you hunt for the items in your house or at a store, make it fun! Included in the scavenger hunt are strips of paper you can cut with the name and image of the item – that way young kids can get involved too! Cut up the strips and assign different family members different items. Make it a race and see how quickly and fun getting prepared can be!

When you’re all done make sure you store your kit in a safe place you would have quick access to in times of evacuation. Click on the image to download your scavenger hunt kit today!

Also – don’t forget to fill out your family plan and get your evacuation plan including car kit in order!

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]]> http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/04/disaster-kit-scavenger-hunt/feed/ 7 http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/01/food-storage-makeover-disaster-kits-part-two/ http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/02/01/food-storage-makeover-disaster-kits-part-two/#comments Mon, 01 Feb 2010 07:18:30 +0000 Jodi and Julie http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/?p=3780

Today is the DAY! We got Grandma Lori’s disaster kits all purchased and compiled and she is very excited with the results. We started out this phase of our Food Storage Makeover by discussing the three different options available for disaster kits. After some discussion, we found a solution that worked well for Grandma Lori. Check out our video below to see our discussion and the final results!

We have had a lot of people ask us about options for buying kits that are already put together. We got the one in the video from Emergency Essentials who has a huge selection of different kits you can purchase depending on your family’s needs. We will be doing a post later this month discussing some of the different options. (*hint* There just MAY be a giveaway associated with that post!)

p.s. We came up with a really fun way to get the whole family involved in putting together your kits that we will be sharing with you soon, so stay tuned!

We’re so excited about our Extreme Makeover: Food Storage Edition project we are working on with Grandma Lori. We decided to start with getting her Disaster Kits put together. Disaster kits consist of a 3 day supply of food, water, and emergency items). As we went through our Emergency Preparedness worksheets we realized that they might not be ideal for every situation (including Grandma Lori’s). We came up with the following 3 options to discuss with her:

Make sure to stay tuned next Monday for the next video in this series to see what Grandma Lori decided on and to see the results of the first phase of her Food Storage Makeover!

Print it out and put it in your Food Storage Made Easy Ebook Binder (we’ll be including this handout in our next free binder email updates – just in case you were wondering).

If you get wet from rain, snow or sweat, change into clothing that is dry. Wet clothing loses its insulation value and extracts body heat 240 times faster than dry clothing. Wool clothing and blankets are preferred. Cotton clothing, particularly denim, retains water. Woll clothing is insulating, water resistant, and keeps your body warm even if it is wet.

Covering your head is vital as you can lose up to 80% of your body heat through your head. A knitted wool stocking hat is good.

Feet can be kept warm by wearing wool socks and wearing two pair if your shoes are large enough. A towel could also be wrapped over shoes and duct-taped on.

Several thin layers of loose-fitting clothing retain body heat and can be removed easily if body starts to perspire and/or you are chilling. Water & wind resistant outer clothing with a hood. Also, scarf or towel to cover your mouth to keep cold air from your lungs.

Two or more people huddled together inside two sleeping bags zipped together will be warmer than each in separate sleeping bags. A smaller bag can also be placed inside a larger-sized one.

If trapped in your car during a snowstorm, run heater 10 minutes every hour. Make sure the exhaust pipe is not blocked by snow and open one window a crack to allow ventilation.

Good in wind or rain. Put a wool blanket between you and the Mylar blanket, if possible.

You can also use socks filled with rice/beans and tied shut. Heat the packs/socks in a fire or coals. They will maintain heat for a period of time. Rocks or bricks can also be heated thoroughly, then carefully wrapped in towels or newspapers.

Leaves, newspaper, straw, etc. (stuffed between two layers of clothing). Tie your shoe laces around the cuffs of your pants to hold material in. If you were trapped in a car during a snowstorm, use the stuffing from the seat cushions.

This can be worn as a rain jacket or can insulate the body if stuffed with dry leaves or grass

***Modified from a church handout, no sources credited***

p.s. Do you have any more ideas for alternate heat sources? Share them in the comments below!

This year we will be striving to learn new things about specific kinds of disasters and more about emergency preparedness skills (like the whole cooking without power, and a new and improved 72-hour kit)

We thought the best place to start was to know what could likely occur where we live. Some states are more prone to certain types of disasters then others. We remembered this AWESOME chart we wanted to share with you guys to help you get started also. Found in Making the Best of Basics (an incredible resource everyone should have) is a chart that outlines potential disasters by state. DOWNLOAD the chart by clicking on it, look up your state, and start along this journey with us of learning about different kinds of natural disasters and what you need to do in them. Thank you to James Talmage Stevens for letting us share the chart from his book with you!

When we first started our Food Storage programs thinking about all this literally freaked us out, but since we have become more and more prepared, we are now feeling ready to learn more about and tackle some of the sticky stuff this year. If you’re just starting out, don’t get too overwhelmed, start with our checklists that help you start your program little by little!

One of our readers referred us to a new product called the CanOrganizer which is basically an easy and cheap way to make these shelves on your own. We immediately contacted the company and got some of their products to try. We were so impressed with them that we decided to become affiliates and offer them on our website for those of you who like to do things the EASY way.

To learn more about these awesome shelf units click here. They have great prices, especially if you order in bulk and they ship all over the United States.

We know you will love these shelves as much as we do. The CanOrganizers are going to be playing a large role in our Food Storage Makeover project so stay tuned for more excitement and pictures of the shelves in action!

My sweet mom (Grandma Lori) donated her food dehydrator to me when we first started to learn about food storage. However, I haven’t been ambitious enough to use it yet. We have had some great tips and resources sent in by readers and I am determined to put some of it into action.

When first getting started in food storage, all of the disaster/emergency prep stuff really overwhelmed me. Now that I have food more under control, I feel ready to step up and start to become better prepared for specific types of natural disasters. Our Seven Day Challenge really made me think and my goal is to get more prepared this year.

I love our three month supply worksheet. I have long wished I had something that specific for my long term food storage. I want to be able to plan meals for my year supply and know I have the right ingredients to make the meals I will be cooking. This is a huge goal for me this year which will take a lot of work but I know it will be worth it!

I want to start sprouting regularly and really use it in more in my regular cooking.  I must confess, it still totally scares me.  The good news is, there’s a chapter dedicated solely to sprouting in James Talmage Stevens book – Making the Best of Basics … and he sent us both a copy for being on his radio show last month.  With his help, I plan to MASTER sprouting once and for all!

I have never been one for following recipes – HOWEVER since I have started using my food storage, I’ll go ahead and admit, I need and use recipes. My current management system of those recipes is pretty pathetic, so I’m gonna beat Jodi on this one and figure out a way to put them all in the same place (and not bring my laptop into the kitchen as I cook anymore!)

I want to learn more about cooking without power. This is a topic I have never ventured into really because …. of fear …. but I’m gonna figure that one out this year too (well at least partially).

For months now Jodi’s mom has hinted that she would like us to help her get her food storage organized, under control, and finished! So for Christmas we decided to give her an “Extreme Makeover” – food storage style. We’re going to be documenting the process for you so you can come along for the journey. So let’s get started:

Based on our initial conversations with Jodi’s mom, we have come up with the following game plan to help her achieve her Food Storage Extreme Makeover:

• Fill out Family Emergency Plan
• Purchase/Compile Disaster Kits and Car Kits
• Increase water storage
• 3 month supply plan
• Purchase 3 month supply foods
• Work on alternative cooking methods for long term storage

We will be updating the Extreme Makeover Index Page with all the posts we do – so make sure you check it out.

p.s. In case you are speculating … YES Jodi is pregnant

Later today: Extreme Makeover – Food Storage Edition
We are putting the finishing touches on our new series and we hope you are going to just LOVE it. Since it involves some coordination (and some cameos from Jodi’s mom) it won’t be posted until later this evening. So make sure to check back and find out what it’s all about!

Later this week: Food Storage New Year’s Resolutions
We have been plotting and planning and finally came up with some resolutions that we are really excited about. We will be sharing them later this week but in the meantime, we’d love to hear what YOUR resolutions are. Head over to our Facebook Discussion and share with everyone. (Remember, you don’t have to have a facebook account to view the discussion)

Later this month: BabyStep Checklists Revised
After having gone through a full year of our BabySteps Checklists we have a few ideas on how to make them better, along with some different recipes to include as well. If you have purchased a Food Storage Made Easy Binder you will be receiving the updated lists as part of your free updates for life!

Later this year: Exciting new topics!
While we want to continue to make things simple and easy for beginners, we also enjoy sharing what we learn as we are progressing in our own knowledge and experience. Some of the things we are going to delve more into this year include proper storage methods, powerless cooking, dehydration, advanced canning, and more! So continue to follow along with us if these are topics that sound interesting to you. And we also have some more giveaways and neat new products to share with you as well!

We hope you all have a fabulous 2010 and are ready to make this the year you “get it done”. We will be right here to help you along the way and share your successes (and failures). Don’t forget to check back to make sure you don’t miss a single thing!

We will be taking the holidays off from blogging to spend time with our families. Make sure to come back and visit after the New Year. We have some AMAZING things planned and can’t wait to share them with you!

p.s. Don’t forget the Electric WonderMill sale ends December 31st so get your orders in by then to take advantage of the $20 price break!

AND THE WINNER IS: Tammy

There was no last name in the comment but we will be emailing you to get your address to receive your prize. Congratulations!

If you want to get your own water storage kits or anything else from Emergency Essentials, make sure to CLICK HERE to get free shipping on your first order over $30! This is a special deal they are giving just for Food Storage Made Easy readers. We love hooking you guys up with great deals Julie is loving her boxes and Jodi ordered a set of her own as well.

Here’s another look at how the Water Storage Boxes worked for us:

If you’ve been following us for awhile, you know at the beginning of the year we had some New Years Resolutions. Well now is the time we TELL ALL about how we did. We’re excited about how this year went, and can’t wait to share our goals for 2010 in a few weeks!

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• I want to save up enough money to buy a wheat grinder so I don’t have to borrow Julie’s any more


Yay! This one was easy for me! When I wrote my resolutions last year my husband was out of a job so a wheat grinder purchase seemed far off. However, he was able to become employed in January and we got a little bit of money for Christmas and we decided that a wheat grinder would be a good investment since we used our food storage so much when he was out of work. The electric mills are on sale this month, so if you have extra Christmas money this year, now is a great time to get your own!



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• I want to plan my summer garden specifically with canning in mind


This one SHOULD have been an A+ as I started with a great plan and the best of intentions, but I had some setbacks along the way. You can read about my failures on my “lessons learned from gardening” post. However, I WAS still able to can some delicious applesauce and strawberry jam this year. Yay!


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• I want to create a recipe binder full of meals that use my long term food storage items and cook from it frequently


While I haven’t completed my recipe binder yet, I HAVE accumulated a TON of recipes and I use my food storage almost every day. I am still constantly pulling my laptop into the kitchen to follow recipes so I definitely still have room for improvement here. Next year it will be complete … I SWEAR!

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• I want to cook more with dry beans and quit being so afraid of the soaking concept


I have to admit, I put this goal as a way to FORCE me to get into beans. I was SO scared of them. I can’t believe how much I have learned this year about them. I learned to use them to make hummus, cream of chicken soup, and to replace my canned beans.


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• I want to plan dinners ahead of time to use more of my long term foods


I have done pretty well on this goal, but have to be honest there is room for improvement. I use my long term food storage ALL the time in my meals now, but I admit, I don’t meal plan that much. I have a bunch of recipes I love and use often, but I think I’m giving up on the dream of being a meal planner – it’s just not my style.


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• I want to find a way to help people who hate excel do an effective 3 month food supply plan even though the current excel file ROCKS! But I know, I know you don’t all love excel


I was able to make a pdf for people to make their 3 month plan, and I think it’s worked out well… What I’d really love to do now is make a cooler simpler online way, but I’m not that tech savvy so… sorry about that!

Stay tuned as we unveil next years goals in the next couple of weeks. We’re gonna have some fun ones, and Julie is giving herself another one to FORCE her into something she’s scared of.

Super Cherry Pie Recipe

Ingredients:
1/3 c. slivered almonds – press into pie shell before baking, then bake
1 c. Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk*
1 tsp. vanilla
½ c. cream, whipped
1/3 c. lemon juice
½ tsp. almond extract

Directions:
Mix together all ingredients in the order listed. Pour into pie shell and top with 1 can of Wilderness Cherry Pie Filling. Refrigerate 3 hours or longer.

*Recipe for Eagle Sweetened Condensed Milk (14 oz can)

From http://everydayfoodstorage.net

1/2 C. hot water
1 C. Powdered Milk
1 C. Sugar
1 T. Butter

Directions: Blend in blender very well. Can be stored in the refrigerator or frozen.

Here are a list of common spices/herbs to get you started:

Herbs*
Basil
Bay Leaves
Chives
Cilantro
Dill
Mint
Oregano
Parsley
Rosemary
Sage
Tarragon
Thyme

Spices*
Allspice
Black Pepper
Caraway
Cardamom
Celery Salt/Seed
Chili Powder
Cinnamon
Cloves
Coriander
Cumin
Fennel
Fenugreek
Garlic Powder/Salt
Ginger
Mustard Seed/Dry Mustard
Nutmeg
Onion Powder/Salt
Paprika
Red pepper flakes
Saffron
Turmeric
Vanilla
White Pepper

* Herbs are the leafy, green plant parts used for flavouring purposes, and may be used fresh or dried, typically cut into very small pieces. Spices are dried and often ground or grated into a powder. Small seeds, such as fennel and mustard seeds, are used both whole and in powder form.

p.s. Feel free to add your own ideas in the comments below

In our quest to find a solution, Jodi came across Water Kits from Emergency Essentials while she was at an Emergency Preparedness Fair put on by her church. Here is a run down of the product taken from the website:

Basic 25 Gallon Boxed Water Kit

When the emergency requires you to evacuate, this kit possibly is, besides your family, the most important item to take with you. After filling, each box weighs approximately 40 lbs. The kit includes five heavy-duty (stackable up to three high to save space) each with its own metalized five-gallon water storage bag with pour spout. In an emergency, the heavy-duty boxes can be converted to portable toilets, making the kit even more useful.

This set stores 25 gallons of water for $35! When we shopped around for our plastic jugs we couldn’t beat that price! We especially like that you can store 3 high and save SPACE. We mentioned these as a great gift idea in our 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS! Check that out if you haven’t already!

Here is a little journey of us putting them together.

You can download a copy of the show at: http://www.BlogTalkRadio.com/James-Talmage-Stevens. Our feature was aired on December 2, 2009.

To order your own copy of James Talmage Steven’s best-selling Family Preparedness Guide, please click here.

p.s. Leave us a comment and let us know if you’d like to hear more of this type of thing from us in the future.

Our Christmas present to our readers this year, is a 12 Days of Food Storage Christmas with a TWIST – it wont be 12 days, it will be 12 hours…

Rather then drag it out for 12 days, and to allow you the TIME to get going on this – we will be posting all 12 “days” TODAY! Every hour, we’ll post another one of the 12 “days”. Each post will have gift ideas you can use for family, friends, or people you know that are in need. We thought it would be a good idea to help you, help others with their Food Storage this year.

• An option that’s FREE or under $1
• An option that costs $5-15
• A more expensive option…

We also have this pdf for you to print out that has tags for each day, name tags, and images you can print, and attach to the gifts.

So here is the list of the DAYS- each link will start working as we post the “days” each hour.

Day 1: Emergency Preparedness
Day 2: Shelves
Day 3: Water
Day 4: 3 Month Supply
Day 5:Long Term Education
Day 6: Grains
Day 7: Legumes
Day 8: Baking Goods
Day 9: Fruits and Vegetables
Day 10: Comfort Foods
Day 11: Non-Food Items
Day 12: Checklists

Merry Christmas, and thanks for making this year so fun for us!

Once you have complete the first 11 days for a friend, or family member, it’s time for them to keep the journey going themselves. To help them do that, we have our BabyStep Checklists:

Free Email Checklists

Have the person you are giving to sign up for our free email checklists. You could even sign up for them with their email address and print out the first checklist for their gift. The checklists last for one year, and are sent every 2 weeks. After following the 26 checklists they will have a full food storage.

Food Storage Made Easy Binder Ebook

Compiled into an ebook is all of our 26 checklists, along with all our BabyStep information posts, and recipe index. It’s over 100 pages and is a great gift to help someone really get going. You can email the eBook to your friend or burn it to a disc and wrap it up with the Day 12 Tags attached.

Assemble Food Storage Made Easy Binder Ebook for them

An even greater gift would be the eBook assembled into a Food Storage Made Easy Binder. You buy the eBook, print it out, and assemble it into a binder with the Day 12 Tags attached. Instructions on how to do so are included with the eBook.

To help you with this one, until MIDNIGHT MST TONIGHT, we are selling the eBook for $5 off! You can only purchase it at the discounted price at this link.

Back to the 12 Days List

Although Food Storage (and Christmas for that matter) are a lot about food, we can’t forget the non-food items that are important and necessary to store! Remember to share some of these ideas and cuten them up with ribbons and the Day 11 Tags:

Tube of Toothpaste

Do we need to explain much here?

Package of Toilet Paper

Again, enough said

Assortment of Paper Products or Cleaning Supplies

Put together a gift basket, full of items from our non-foods list. These kinds of things are really nice for people on a tight budget because they aren’t things you think of as life-sustaining, but you would NOT want to be without them in an emergency.

Back to the 12 Days List

NOW THIS feels like Christmas. We had plenty ideas for this part of the 12 days of Christmas. Feel free to use some of these, or choose your own. Comfort foods are definitely things people need in time of any type of crisis:

Candy Bar or Pudding Mix

Even just a candy bar or 2 in your storage for just in case scenarios are great. Pick up the person’s favorite one and surprise them with a little treat to have in time of need (and tell them they can’t eat it right away, they have to store it Tie a cute ribbon around the candy bar and add the Day 10 Tags and you’re all set.

Big Baskets of Goodies (that would store well)

Take a look at our list of common comfort foods and pick some to compile in a gift basket with the Day 10 Tags attached. Trust us- these are things people want in times of stress!

Extra Set of Common Spices

A great thing to store one extra of is all your spices. Spices can be pricey, so it’s not something people tend to buy extra of on a regular basis. Surprise someone with an extra spice set and don’t forget the Day 10 Tags!

Back to the 12 Days List

While not critical for sustaining life, fruits and vegetables are a welcome addition to any food storage program for the health benefits, variety, and to help you save money on your day to day grocery shopping. Include the Day 9 Tags to complete today’s gift ideas:

Gardening Seeds

Gardening is a great way to become more self reliant. Try giving a few packs of gardening seeds to help motivate people to get going on gardening. If you know the person doesn’t have a lot of space, pick herbs, or things you can grow on kitchen counters.

Canning Supplies

A fun way to start using foods you garden, or buy in season for great prices is by canning them. A lot of people don’t have what you need to start canning and don’t think of buying it for themselves. A small canning kit is a great idea to get started.

Food Dehydrator

Another way to preserve fruits and veggies is through dehydrating. Again, if you’re feeling generous a great idea is a food dehydrator. You might want to be sure this is something the person is open/ready to get going on. You wouldn’t want to intimidate them too much

Back to the 12 Days List

Extra Container of Salt

Salt is one of those things that you run out of, and don’t necessarily think of storing. Find or buy a container of salt and make it cute with ribbons, or put it in a gift bag, and remind them Food Storage isn’t just grains and legumes.

A #10 Can of Powdered Milk

Powdered Milk can be one of those things that are hard to find, or hard to remember to use. Give someone a nice #10 can, or box and challenge them to try it out the next time they are cooking with milk.

A #10 Can of Powdered Eggs

Another item that is hard to find, and can be pricey if you don’t live where they sell it locally is powdered eggs. Try giving someone a #10 can of powdered eggs to help them try out a new thing they may not have thought of.

Back to the 12 Days List

Next up on our list is Legumes! Legumes can be very intimidating to a lot of people so this is a great one to help people realize they aren’t so bad. Here are some ideas to help people use, and understand legumes a little better:

12 Bean Soup

Purchase a 1 lb bag of 12 bean soup mix from the grocery store. Tie a ribbon around it and include the Day 7 Tags. If you want to be really ambitious you can include this 12 Bean Soup Recipe on a cute recipe card too. It’s delicious!

Sprouting Kit

Ever tried sprouting? Well if you know someone who wants to get into the real good stuff, give them this sprouting kit. Sprouting is a great way to use some of your food storage, and it’s super healthy and nutritious! Add your Day 7 Tags and it’s the perfect food storage gift.

Pressure Cooker

Here’s another one of those – if you’re feeling REALLY generous gifts. This pressure cooker is a DREAM come true for cooking dry beans. No pre-soaking, waiting hours, and worrying about your beans turning out ever again! Don’t forget your Day 7 Tags.

Back to the 12 Days List

Now we’re on to the real nuts and bolts of Food Storage. Help someone out this holiday season by showing them how to actually USE their Food Storage. Day 6 is going to start the actual food items with GRAINS. Make sure to add your Day 6 Tags to whichever gift option you choose.

Blender Wheat Pancake Mix

If you haven’t seen Crystal’s Blender Wheat Pancake mix gift idea, you’re gonna love it! Check it out here. It wont cost you much, but will surely impress and motivate someone to use their food storage.

Wheat and Handout

Get some of those cute decorative plastic food baggies and fill it with your favorite grain. Maybe wheat, pasta, rice – whatever you wish. If you fill it with Wheat for someone who doesn’t have a wheat grinder, make sure you print out this post for them. It has A BUNCH of ideas on how to use wheat without a wheat grinder.

WonderMill

If you’re feeling REALLY, and we mean REALLY generous – give the gift of a WonderMill! For the month of December Wondermill has their electric mills on sale for $239.95. We’re dealers and offer free shipping – so now is the perfect time for a gift you know they will love!

Back to the 12 Days List

A lot of people have a hard time storing all the “Food Storage” type foods because they have no idea how much to store, or how to use it. Use these great ideas to help people get going and don’t forget to add the cute Day 5 Tags:

Print-Out of Long Term Needs

Here is a handout that includes instructions and a food storage calculator that you can print out, tie a ribbon around, and give to someone. This will help them determine quantities of foods to purchase based on their family size.

Favorite Food Storage Recipe Delivered

Since it IS Christmas, try baking one of your favorite food storage recipes and bring it over to a friend. Who doesn’t love treats?! Tell them (after they have tried it) that you used Food Storage and they can too!

Any Number of Food Storage Books

To really help someone learn about Food Storage, give them one of these great books:
The Family Preparedness Handbook
I Can’t Believe It’s Food Storage
Country Beans
Marlene’s Magic with Food Storage
Food Storage 101

Back to the 12 Days List

It’s recommended before getting heavily into storing “long term foods” such as grains and legumes, to start with a 3 month supply of foods you typically eat. Ideally you’ll start gradually using your grains and legumes in foods you typically eat, but before getting overwhelmed with that … start with your typical foods:

Planning Sheets

Print out these worksheets to help someone get started on their 3 Month Plan. There is an Instruction Sheet, a Menu Plan Sheet and an Inventory Sheet. You will need to print the Menu Plan Sheet multiple times depending on how many different meals you want to plan. There is also a video tutorial to go along with these printable forms found here. Put the printed worksheets in sheet protects or roll them up and tie a ribbon around them. Don’t forget to attach the Day 4 tag!

2-3 Cans of Common Foods

Buy a few cans of common foods, tie a bow around them and add the Day 4 tag. This gift will help someone get started on storing extra food by giving them a few ideas of things to store.

A Basket of Canned Goods

If you’re feeling really generous, get a cute basket, and fill it with tons of common foods. Tell the person, they have to use this in their Food Storage as a way to get a great jump start. Don’t forget to add the Day 4 tag as a finishing touch.

Back to the 12 Days List

Water is the most necessary item to have stored! You can last without food for much longer then you can last without water. Make sure you stress the importance of water storage as you help people get started. Whichever option you choose, don’t forget to add your Day 3 Tag!

Water in Juice/Pop Jugs

Did you know you can store water in Pop or Juice bottles. This a great little token to give someone to help them get started. Put a ribbon around it to make it cute. Make sure you don’t use empty milk jugs – the plastic in milk jugs will deteriorate.

Water Filter

While we DEFINITELY recommend STORING water, we have found that it’s a good idea to have a way to clean water in case you run out, or to get extra for dishes or other things. Check out these inexpensive water bottle filters as a possible gift idea.

Water Containers

A great gift idea is these water containers from Emergency Essentials. Stay tuned on these! Next week we are going to be doing a review and GIVEAWAY on them. We’re so excited to test them out! TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY ENDING DEC 21 GO HERE.

Back to the 12 Days List

Once you are ready to make the Food Storage Plunge, it really feels great to know you have a well organized PLACE to put all that food. We recommend starting with 1 to 2 shelves and then moving on from there. You don’t need an entire room custom built to get going! Check out these ideas:

Small Spaces Solutions Handout

Do you know someone who complains about starting a Food Storage due to lack of space. Well help them out by giving them this AMAZING handout. Compiled from reader suggestions, is a list of amazing ideas on where to store food in small spaces. Print out the handout and put it in sheet protects or roll it up and tie a ribbon around it. Don’t forget to attach the Day 2 tag!

Cardboard Shelf

Have you seen those great little rotating shelf racks that you put your food in and the oldest rolls to the front. Check out this rotating rack Jodi’s husband made out of cardboard. Make one for only the cost of cardboard and glue! For an extra bonus, include some canned goods with the shelf. Attach the Day 2 tag and you’re all set.

Large Shelves

Try a nice heavy duty shelf or 2 to really help someone get started. You can find these at hardware stores, walmart, or even online. You can choose which shelf would work best by thinking about how much space the person may or may not have.

BONUS: You can also include these cute labels as a bonus! And don’t forget your Day 2 tag.

Back to the 12 Days List

The best way to start a Food Storage, is with Emergency Preparedness. In fact, it’s one of the most popular reasons why people decide to get going on a Food Storage in the first place. Help someone start out their journey right- with some of the following ideas:

Emergency Preparedness Plan

Print out our Emergency Preparedness plan that has detailed checklists to help a family make their family plan, build a disasters kit – including a 72 hour kit, and put together an evacuations list and car kit. Roll up the pages, tie it up with a cute ribbon and attach the Day 1 tag.

Car Kit or 72 Hour Kit

Make, or purchase a pre-made Car Kit, or 72 Hour Kit. These can be found at stores, or online. Consider even just putting together a little first aid kit for someone’s car. Don’t forget to attach the Day 1 tag to your kit!

Subscription to Mozy

One thing people rarely think about with Emergency Preparedness is computer back-up. With all the pictures, work, and data on our computers, the last thing we would want in case of a fire or earthquake is to loose all that precious stuff! Consider purchasing a monthly, or one-year subscription to our favorite online back up. See why we love it here! Print out the receipt, roll it up, and tie a ribbon around it and attach your Day 1 tag. Anyone would be thrilled to receive this on their doorstep!

Back to the 12 Days List

SALE ITEM: Food Storage Made Easy eBook Binders

For 2 DAYS ONLY (until 12:00 midnight MST Tuesday night) you can purchase one of our Binder eBooks at a $5 discount! If you don’t like waiting for your next BabySteps Checklist to come out, now is your chance to grab the entire set plus all of the additional material that comes with them. Sale has now ENDED!

SALE ITEM: Emergency Essentials Deals and Giveaways

To celebrate the Holiday Season, Emergency Essentials is offering 10 Days of Holiday Deals and Giveaways – starting today! Each weekday from today through December 11th they will offer great pricing on one of their emergency preparedness products, as well as have a drawing to give one of the featured products away. Visit their blog for more details.

SALE ITEM: WonderMill Electric Mill

From now until December 31st, WonderMill is running a sale on the Electric Grain Mills. Instead of the regular price of $259.95 it is now available for only $239.95. You can also take advantage of our free shipping promotion to get your mill at rock bottom prices.

SALE ITEM: 72 Hour Kit from The Ready Project

Save 30% off of a 2 person 72 hour kit from The Ready Project. Regular price is $64.95 but sale price is $44.95 plus free shipping! You may purchase your kit at The Ready Project’s website.

SALE ITEM: Mozy Online Backup

Save $15 on a 1-year MozyHome subscription and $30 on a 2-year MozyHome subscription with promo code MOZY. Hurry, offer ends Monday, November 30, 2009. Click here to purchase your online backup subscription TODAY!

AND DON’T FORGET:

Coming tomorrow is our 12 Days Of Food Storage Christmas. We will be celebrating all day, with a post each hour!

AND ONE MORE THING:

Wednesday we are going to be on the James Talmage Stevens Radio Talk Show Online. Come listen at the following at link at 6:00 PM MST.

James Talmage Stevens is an expert in Family Preparedness and author of The Family Preparedness Handbook. We are honored to be able to be his guests.

Growing up as a kid in Canada I always ate “Habitant Pea Soup”. It was warm and delicious on a cold winters day. When I moved to the States I could never find my favorite soup and lived for 10 years without it! While in a class about legumes I stumbled upon Rita Bingham’s Country Beans book and found this recipe.

It tasted just like my favorite childhood soup, was EASY, and or course, used food storage. Here’s the recipe:

Pea Soup:

Ingredients:
2½ T of dried peas (green or yellow) ground to make 3 T pea flour
1 ½ c. cold water
2 t chicken bouillon

Directions:
Mix ½ c cold water and 3 T pea flour in a bowl, set aside. Bring 1 cup and 2 t of chicken bouillon to a boil. Add in pea mixture. Bring back to a boil. Soup will thicken. You can add shredded carrots, veggies, or onion powder.

For other food storage recipes check out:

Our Food Storage Recipes Page
Our sister site EverydayFoodStorage.NET
I Can’t Believe It’s Food Storage book