Welcome to BabySteps Checklist #7. Now that you have been learned more about using your wheat, we are going to give you a new food storage food to try ... legumes! Don't worry, legumes is just a fancy word for beans and also includes lentils, split peas, and dry soup mixes. For this checklist we are going to be purchasing dried beans, some more Baking Ingredients, add in another Non-Food Item, and of course continue to bolster our Three Month Food Supply.

Dried beans are an excellent item for food storage because they are very inexpensive, have a long storage life, and can be made into a lot of different recipes. Once you actually learn how to use them you will find ways to use beans very often in your everyday cooking. Most people are comfortable with using canned beans so learning to use dried beans is a new experience. It's best to start out with a few different varieties of beans until you learn the kinds your family likes best, then you can stock up more on those varieties.


Purchase 25 lbs of dried beans
    Choose from black, pinto, navy, chick peas, kidney, white northern, garbonzo, lima, soy, etc.

Thrive Life: Dried Beans
Emergency Essentials: Provident Pantry Dried Beans
Honeyville Grain: Dried Beans

Purchase 4 lbs of shortening

Thrive Life: Shortening Powder
Emergency Essentials: Shortening Powder
Honeyville Grain: Shortening Powder

Purchase 1 qt of salad dressing

Purchase a few extra boxes of laundry detergent
    We recommend using a service like Deals to Meals to find the lowest prices

Purchase something from your 3 month supply list
    - Stock up on sale items, buy some things in bulk, or pick up a few extras items each shopping trip
    - Don't forget to check Deals to Meals for what's on sale this week!


Educate yourself on dried beans and how to use them
    - Read Let's Talk About Beans to learn more dried beans
    - Read the Do's and Don'ts of Beans for tips on using beans
    - Read the Benefits of Beans to learn about the health benefits of beans
    - Learn How to Cook Dried Beans using a pressure cooker

Research pressure cookers, determine if you want to buy one, and start saving up for one

Try using dried beans instead of canned beans in some recipes
    Real Chili Beans make a delicious thick crock pot chili
    Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup can be made with instant beans or regular dried beans
    Homemade Hummus made out of garbanzo beans ... healthy AND cheap!

Try making some homemade salad dressings like Julie's Ranch Dip


Update your 3 month supply inventory sheet of what foods you already have stored


If you received this checklist from a friend, but would like to start getting them yourself, please visit
http://foodstoragemadeeasy.NET/babystep-checklists and sign up today for the Babystep Checklists!