Food Storage Made Easy

New and Improved All-American Sun Oven (ok this is really exciting!)

If you’ve followed our blog for a while, you probably know that we both love and use our Global Sun Ovens frequently. We teach about them intensively in our Powerless Cooking Classes because it is such a great way to conserve your fuel as long as you have a sunny day. You can check out a few of our cooking adventures here and here.

Well today we are so excited to tell you about the BRAND NEW ALL-AMERICAN SUN OVEN. The company has taken feedback from customers over the years and has made so many great enhancements to the sun oven. We’re going to highlight some of our favorites in this post, but you can check out the full details over at our Online Store. This new Sun Oven is only available in the U.S. while the Global Sun Oven will still be available in the U.S. and worldwide.

Benefits of the NEW All-American Sun Oven

	20% LARGER INTERIOR: Without increasing the exterior size of the oven, the interior can now accommodate a regular 9×13 pan. HURRAY for this! Now you don’t have to buy special pots and pans or limit your meals to smaller meals.
	EASIER TO ALIGN WITH THE SUN: No more trying to figure out if the oven is aligned properly with the sun (did anyone else feel like the shadow thing was really hard to get right??) The little plastic E-Z Sun Track Indicators take all the guess work out.
	MORE STABLE: The stake at the back is now t-shaped so it is more stable in windy weather, it also includes little stakes you can use to pin it to the ground.
	HOTTER TEMPERATURES: With a thicker glass door and a better sealing gasket, temperatures can now get 10-15% hotter than the Global Sun Oven. On full sunny days you can get up to 360-400 degrees. Woo-hoo!
	BETTER LEVELING RACK: The new rack looks great, you can use it in different ways, including folding it up and placing it on the floor of the sun oven to increase the usable area inside while still allowing air to circulate in the oven. Love this.
	NEW CD: The new CD that comes with every All-American Sun Oven is full of emergency preparedness info, videos, and tons of amazing recipes developed specifically for the sun oven plus FREE recipe organizer software. You can even update the software to download all the new recipes from Sun Ovens website. How cool is that?

If you already own a Sun Oven, we have heard that there will be an upgrade kit that will get you all of the new features (except for the interior capacity). We will keep you posted as soon as it is available.

Sneak Peak at the New Features

Paul Munsen, the President of Sun Ovens International stopped by my house when he was in town last week to give me a sneak peek at the new sun oven. I canNOT wait to get my hands on one of these and start using it! I tried to film a video of him showing me the new features but alas, when you have a 6 year old help film you end up with only half of a video. You can see the half of it that actually recorded after I took the phone from her. I TRIED, please forgive me

Filed Under: Powerless Cooking, Sun Oven Tagged: all american sun oven, Emergency Preparedness, food storage, global sun oven, Powerless Cooking, solar oven, sun oven

Jodi and Julie April 10, 2013 8 Comments

Greek Lentil Soup Recipe

Something I love about where I live is that I have a lot of friends and neighbors interested in eating healthy, and willing to share ideas and recipes. My friend was telling me about a lentil soup she made, and I thought to myself… hmmm I have lentils…that I NEVER use…I should try this recipe.

Well here’s the thing about lentils. They are a quick cooking legume. Most legumes take a long time to cook, but lentils cook fast. Having said that, this recipe tells you to simmer for a couple hours. I am not sure why, but I do know that I have made it WITH the simmer and WITHOUT, and I prefer the simmer. It made it a little more mushy. For some reason, I’m okay with a little mushy for lentil soup. Jodi on the other hand, isn’t okay with lentil soup at all, ever, mushy or not.

Another thing I really liked about this recipe, is that it can be completely shelf stable. In fact, I think I will assemble most of these ingredients into jars, and then have Jodi foodsaver them shut for me and use them as pre-made mixes. Maybe one day I’ll get my own Food Saver. Another appliance I thought I would NEVER need.

Using freeze dried veggies and spices in soups:

No chopping. Seriously awesome
If you store a variety of freeze dried veggies, you can make a variety of soups and change them up without pre-planning or shopping
You don’t need to measure as much as the recipe says, since when rehydrated they will bulk up a bit
You don’t need to rehydrate freeze dried veggies before making the soup
If you are using a LOT of freeze dried items, you’ll probably want to watch the liquid and add more water in the pot while cooking
Freeze dried spices taste just like fresh, have incredible flavor, and you wont throw away any leftovers from your fridge

So here’s the recipe. If you are wondering what the vinegar is for, so was I. I asked about it on our facebook page. You can see the answers and discussions here.

Greek Lentil Soup

Ingredients:
2 Cups lentils, dried
4 Cups cold water
1 Cup onion, chopped or freeze dried onions
1 clove garlic, crushed
4 Cups beefbroth
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 Cup celery, chopped or freeze dried celery
2 Cups tomatoes, stewed
1 bay leaf
1 Cup carrots, chopped or dried carrots
3 Tblsp parsley, Chopped or freeze dried parsley
1/2 tsp. oregano or freeze dried oregano
2 Tblsp. vinegar

Directions:
1. Wash lentils, drain well. Combine lentils with all ingredients except vinegar. Bring to a boil

2. Lower heat; cover and simmer 2 hours or until lentils are tender

3. Add vinegar and simmer 30 minutes more. Remove bay leaf. Serve soup.
Serves 8

Filed Under: Lentil Recipes Tagged: food storage, food storage recipes, greek lentil soup, lentil soup, lentil soup recipe, lentils

Julie April 3, 2013 2 Comments

New Thrive Sauces (and Seasonings) – Oh My!

You may have seen us mention on Facebook this week that we were able to attend the Shelf Reliance convention last weekend. It was super busy but way fun and we got a ton of information on changes in the company and NEW PRODUCTS! One of the biggest announcements is that they changed their name to THRIVE LIFE. We love the new name and how it emphasizes their Thrive Foods which are just fantastic products.

THRIVE SAUCES

I love love love the new Thrive sauces. They make it so simple to cook with your food storage without having to add in any additional ingredients from the grocery store. You can put together complete and delicious meals. I have tried similar sauce powders from other companies and never been completely thrilled with how they tasted but every one of these ones is delish and super easy to use. After getting home from convention I decided to try one of the sauces each day of the week and I loved how FAST my meals were and how good they were. Even my picky kids snarfed them down without complaining.

Bechamel Sauce

This one is my favorite, it is like a simple white sauce but rich and flavorful and thickens really fast for a quick dinner. I boiled some bowtie pasta and while it cooked I rehydrated some freeze-dried chopped chicken and peas and heated up the sauce. I threw it all together with a little Thrive Spice (more on that later) and had dinner on the table in under 15 minutes. That’s a win around here!

Espagnole Sauce

I usually wait until I have leftovers from a roast beef dinner to make a good beef stew with my mom’s famous mashed potato biscuits. But I don’t make roast that often so I am always a little sad I don’t get to eat yummy stew very much. I decided to try the Beef Stew recipe that we sampled at convention and it didn’t fail me. I again had to cook the biscuits first or else the stew would have been done too fast. I can’t believe how quick these sauces cook up, and adding in the freeze-dried foods just make the meal that much faster, and is great practice for using my food storage.

Tomato Sauce

I wasn’t sure about this one since I’ve already been using the tomato powder for my sauces and loving it. But I cooked this up using the Bolognese Sauce recipe from the Thrive Live (Shelf Reliance) website and it was AMAZING. It was seriously restaurant style sauce. No need to pay $15 for gourmet pasta at a restaurant! I think a big factor in this recipe turning out so great was the freeze-dried spices added in, so I’ll be interested to taste it plain and see if it is just as great.

Veloute Sauce

The Veloute is like a thick chicken gravy and can make a great substitute for cream of chicken or cream of mushroom in any recipe. My first thought was biscuits and gravy so I heated some up and threw in freeze-dried sausage. I actually had to cook my biscuits first since the sauce was done so fast. By the time they were done cooking we were in business.

I am a busy mom of four crazy kids who are in tons of after school activities so having all these new yummy dinner options opened up to me makes me very very happy. If you want to try them too, make sure to shop from our consultant website so that you save off of retail pricing. Click here to check at the sauces at our discounted prices!

p.s. Yes I did mention some spices and seasonings above. Thrive Life came out with a whole line of freeze dried spices and blends that are amazing. The freeze dried spices are so much yummier than dehydrated and taste fresh. More about that in a future post, but for now you can see a sneak peek here. We will fill you in on our personal review soon!

Filed Under: Recipes, Thrive Foods Tagged: cooking with food storage, food storage recipes, shelf reliance, thrive, thrive foods, thrive life

Jodi March 28, 2013 5 Comments

Sourdough 101: Part 2 of 2 (Bread)

Last week, I shared with you the beginning of my sourdough journey. In that post, I talked about the basics of sourdough and how to make or get a sourdough starter. Today I am going to give you the recipe I have been using for the sourdough bread I have been making. It’s been a couple weeks now since I have been experimenting, and I really love it. I am finding out I have so much more to learn about sourdough and all the amazing things you can do with it, and how healthy it is for you. I promise to keep sharing as I go. The good news, is that I have an expert on this stuff as my neighbor and she is teaching me a lot.

I’ll start by giving you the recipe. Then I’ll do a little picture sequence to show you the steps. Hopefully this works for you!

Sourdough Artisan Bread:

Ingredients:
3 Cups Water
1 1/2 Tbs. Salt
1 1/2 Cup Starter
About 6 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour (ground in your wheat grinder)

Instructions:
Mix ingredients together, until the dough forms a ball. You will want it to be sticky.
Put ball of dough in a bowl with lid lightly covering for 12-24 hours
Pull half of the dough out of the bowl, place on pizza stone
Sprinkle with Sesame, Sunflower seeds and Flax (optional)

Bake on pizza stone at 400 for 40-45 min

	Gather all your ingredients and put the water, salt and starter in first. Then add the flour little by little so you can get the right consistency. You’ll want to mix and scrape the dough off the sides of the bowl as you add the flour.
	The consistency you are going to want is rather sticky. If you’re used to making yeast breads, I would say it’s quite a bit stickier than a yeast bread. You’ll want it to have enough flour that the dough can sit in somewhat of a ball, but it doesn’t have to HOLD the ball shape for long. Mix it in a bowl that you can cover. Once it is done mixing, cover for 12-24 hours in your fridge before baking.
	Once you are done with your dough, and its in the fridge, make sure you feed your starter so you can use it again. Mix even amounts wheat flour and water. Leave it out until it’s bubbled and grown about double in size, then keep it in your fridge with a lid on it.
	When baking your bread, you will want to bake it long enough. I made the mistake of not really believing it needed 45 minutes and there was a doughy ball in the middle of it. This recipe makes 2 fair sized loaves. My friend made the mistake of making one loaf out of the whole thing and let’s just say her doughy ball was BIGGER than mine.

So there you have it. Please make sure you give yourself a few tries with this. I felt really nervous the whole time and I had a friend holding my hand the whole way. The worst thing that could happen is it could be a big flop. I’m really proud of myself for getting the hang of this sourdough stuff. It’s an incredible tool for emergency preparedness since the starter is just wheat flour and water, and the bread is wheat flour, water, and salt. Talk about living on few ingredients and the bread is GOOD! I’ve also been making pizza and pancakes with my starter… and I must admit… it sits better in my stomach than regular yeast breads. There are reasons for it I guess. More on that later!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Jodi and Julie March 23, 2013 4 Comments

Getting Started Raising Chickens

When I first told Julie I wanted to get chickens and blog about it, her response was “Jodi, that’s not FOOD STORAGE MADE EASY!” So here is my preface, you don’t have to raise chickens if you want to do food storage. If you are just getting started, make sure to review our “Why Food Storage” series and sign up for our BabyStep Checklists which will walk you through getting your food storage (minus the chickens) over a series of emails for one year.

Now, if you are interested in having chickens either for fun, for food, for self reliance, or for an educational experience for your kids … READ ON! (Hint, it’s easier than you think)

Getting Started with Backyard Chickens

The beginning phases of getting chickens is soooo easy and super fun! If you have an IFA or other agricultural supply store in your area you can grab everything there including your chicks. I took my kids and was in and out in 30 minutes, not a big deal at all. You can also purchase all these things online if you don’t have a store in your area that sells them.

Baby Chicks

Housing

Baby chicks will need to be kept very warm, so it’s best to keep them inside or in a heated garage in the beginning. We keep them in the kitchen because we like to play with them. When they get a bit bigger and stinkier I’ll probably move them to the basement. A large cardboard box or a rubbermaid bin will work for the first few weeks. As soon as they get big enough to fly up and perch on the edge of the bin you will want to either find a way to cover the box or move them to a bigger container. We have a very large box we’ll be upgrading them too when they get bigger.

Heat Lamp

For the first 6 weeks or so you’ll need to keep your chicks very warm and the best way to do this is using a heat lamp. You’ll need to rig the lamp up so it sits at the top of your coop. Some of them have little clamps, others have loops you can use to hang them. I used a kitchen chip bag clamp to hold the cord to the box and keep it from falling in. We’re high tech around here. My lamp was $14.50 and the bulb was $3.99 at IFA. Looks like they are a bit cheaper online.

Food/Feeders

I got a small 3 lb hanging feeder and rigged up a way to hang it in our box. Once the chickens are bigger and in their coop you’ll need something bigger, but I didn’t want to have a huge feeder in my little box so I opted to buy a small one now and upgrade to a bigger one later. Mine was $7.50 at IFA. You can also find it at Amazon. For food, I bought two five pound bags of poultry chick starter food. That should last a little while until they get bigger and start eating more!

Water

Last time I had chicks their water container seemed to be a big mess and they’d always poop in it. This time I bought a brooder nipple bottle to hang on the side of the box. I LOVED it until after a few days it just caused the box to disintegrate on that corner because the chicks would cause it to drip out when they played with it. If you were using a plastic bin this would still be a great option because then the birds don’t perch and poop in the water. I put in my old water container instead now.

Chicks

When we raised our last batch of chicks we bought a big mix of breeds and ended up with a few that were our favorites. So this time we bought 2 Rhode Island Reds and 4 Buff Orpingtons. When we got home we noticed they had accidentally snuck 5 Buff Orpingtons in the box though, so we got a bonus There are LOTS of varieties out there but these ones seemed to be nice with our kids and have consistent laying so we went with them. Our chicks were $3.79 each, I know you can order these through the mail but we think it’s fun to go to the store and get them right then!

Summary

My total cost was about $70. You could be a little more or less depending on where you buy your materials and chicks, and how deluxe you go on things. It only took a couple of hours to get everything purchased and set up at our house. It is EASY to get started. It gets harder as they start to outgrow their box and you have to keep them contained. It’s also another post entirely when you get into the details of how you will transition them outside, build a coop, keep them out of your vegetable garden, etc. I’ll keep you updated throughout our little adventure

photo (34)

Filed Under: Raising Animals Tagged: backyard chickens, Emergency Preparedness, getting started raising chicks, raising chickens, self reliance

Jodi March 18, 2013 6 Comments

Making the Most of Your Money When Purchasing Food Storage (aka Tax Refund Week)

Welcome to Tax Refund Week! We often get asked the question “I got some gift money, or I inherited some money – what would you recommend I purchase?”. Talk about a LOADED question. The answer always ends up being: “Well…. it depends”. In this series, we are going to answer that question. There isn’t a universal answer for this, but by going through each topic below, we’re confident you will have a good idea about what may be right for you – should you get a nice tax refund or other unexpected “extra” money!

Back to the answer always ends up being: “Well…it depends”. The reason it depends is because not everyone has the same diets, lifestyles, monthly budgets for Food Storage, and ability or desire to rotate their Food Storage. If you are in the habit of replenishing and using your three month supply, then maybe splurging on an appliance you’ve been waiting for is a good idea. If your budget is super tight, and you haven’t been able to put enough food away for your three month supply – perhaps the appliance can wait and it would be a good idea to stock up on your three month supply foods all at once. If you have no real intention of rotating your Food Storage, and you want to have “just in case” foods, then spending money on some “Just Add Water Meals” would be a good idea. We all have different styles and philosophies, so that’s why: “Well… it depends”.

Here is a summary of all the topics that are covered in this series. We obviously encourage taking advantage of sales, and/or building your food storage bit by bit … but sometimes it can be easy (and nice) to buy things all at once. So take a look below and make YOUR game plan for any unexpected cash windfalls you might be blessed with

	BUYING A THREE MONTH SUPPLY IN BULK Ideally, you will purchase your 3 month supply little by little, while taking advantage of sales. However, maybe you haven’t gotten around to it, you haven’t been able to afford it, or you don’t trust your ability to stay on top of sales. You might not live close to regular grocery stores, or you could have any other reason to not add to your 3 month supply little by little. If any of those reasons to not add to your 3 month supply bit by bit sound like you, you may chose to use your tax refund (or a big chunk of change) and buy a lot of it all at once. Our Babystep 3 teaches you all about figuring out how to make a list of everything you may need for your 3 month supply of food. You can chose to use the spreadsheets included, or the printable forms. Read More >>>
	BEST WAYS TO PURCHASE TRADITIONAL FOOD STORAGE When referring to traditional food storage, the food items typically include grains, legumes, sugars, oils, etc. These foods provide a life-sustaining diet and at the very least these should be the ones you store. These items also have a long shelf life thus they are ideal for long term food storage. We recommend including additional foods such as fruits, veggies, meats and powdered dairy products in your traditional food storage to add a variety to your diet, and to allow you more flexibility to make your regular recipes using foods you have stored. A lot of people like to shoot for a goal of storing a one year supply of long term food storage, so buying a big chunk of that at one time when you come across some “extra” money is a great way to make a dent in it. Read More >>>
	WHAT TO KNOW WHEN BUYING JUST ADD WATER MEALS We used to consider storing Just-add-Water meals to be “cheating” when purchasing Food Storage. However, over the years we have come to realize that there is a time and place for this type of food storage. If you go through a short term disaster or need to grab some food and go, having a bucket or two of this kind of food will be invaluable to you. If you choose to store “Just Add Water” meals there are several things to consider as you determine what you need to store. First, decide how many servings your family will need to store. Second, decide if you want to supplement with other foods. Third, plan for the appropriate fuel and water. Read More >>>
	WHAT TYPE OF FOOD STORAGE SHELVES TO BUY Our BabyStep 1 is to get your shelves, and food storage area ready. The reason we have shelves as step number 1 (after your basic eprep) is because when you have a room set up, building and adding to your food storage feels fun. It no longer becomes a task of figuring out where to put stuff. So whether its cheap and temporary shelves, or if you’re more experienced and run into extra money, some of the food rotation shelves can be really nice solutions. When deciding on which shelves to put in your home, there are a lot of things to consider. We go into this is greater depth on our BabyStep 1 page. You may have space or budget issues to deal with, but there are options out there. Depending on what types of foods you are storing, rotating shelves can be a great thing to have. It’s also okay to start small with one shelf, and then add to it as you grow your food storage. Read More >>>
	TOP PICKS FOR EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PRODUCTS There are hundreds (probably thousands) of Emergency Preparedness products available out there. Some products are critical to have, while others just make life easier. Over the years of doing this blog, we have tried lots of different things, and have become dealers for many of them. When determining what it is you need, we always recommend taking care of basics first. Take care of your 72 hour kits, your water storage, basic first aid, and sanitation supplies. After you have taken care of the basics (and have either saved up money or get a nice chunk of change) add to your supplies. If you follow our blog, you know we often try to teach you cheap or free solutions to tie you over in the mean time. Read More >>>
	TOOLS TO USE YOUR FOOD STORAGE DAILY When determining what it is you need in terms of appliances, we recommend the “test yourself” theory. What we mean by that, is test yourself by either borsrowing, or doing things the hard way before buying an appliance. Try making bread by hand before buying an expensive mixer. SURE the mixer WILL make the job easier, and oftentimes make the bread turn out better, but see if you are dedicated enough to the habit or lifestyle before buying something you may never use. We borrowed wheat grinders, canners, and dehydrators before ever getting our own, and it was great practice to allow us to see what it was we wanted. So here are a few of our favorite appliances to help us use and preserve our Food Storage. Read More>>>

Filed Under: Tax Return Week Tagged: bulk purchasing food storage, Emergency Preparedness, food storage, tax refund

Jodi and Julie March 14, 2013 Leave a Comment

Sourdough 101: Part 1 of 2

Alright, today I’m going to be sharing something with you that I’m still learning about myself. I started learning about sourdough starters and sourdough bread last week. I was sharing my experiments with you all on Facebook and had a lot of requests to post recipes and instructions. Can I just say – I’M TOTALLY NEW AT THIS, and hesitant to even share because it’s kind of like the blind leading the blind here… but I’ll just tell you what I learned. That is actually how we started our blog in the first place, so it feels familiar to be totally clueless over here!

Today I’m going to share some research, and basic information on sourdough and sourdough starters. Then next week I’ll share the recipe for the bread I made.

What is Sourdough?

So, before learning about sourdough this last weekend, to me sourdough was a yummy bread I got at restaurants, dipped in oil and vinegar. Whenever I would eat said yummy bread, I would think to myself, if only this could be whole wheat- maybe then I wouldn’t feel so guilty. Well technically defined, sourdough is:

So, basically… I guess you can say…sourdough is a way of making bread (or pizza dough, pancakes, pretzels) leaven, or “rise”. Sounds kind of nasty when you say words like fermenting, but it’s the truth. And you’ve probably all eaten it.

What is a Sourdough Starter?

You may have gotten one of those Amish Friendship Bread Starters and made a sweet bread at some point in your life. I had, but I didn’t get what it really was. I’m not even entirely sure if it’s the same thing as what I did this weekend, but that is the only sourdough starter experience I had ever had.

The sourdough starter I used was a mixture of whole wheat flour and water, put through a process of mixing, and waiting to get it bubbly. I used the sourdough starter as part of my recipe in my bread. The starter is what made it leaven or rise.

How do I make a Sourdough Starter?

The sourdough starter I used was made by a friend of a friend of a friend, who actually turned out to be one of my friends too. Anyways, she made it following a process similar to the one found at this link. When I was talking about sourdough starters on facebook, one of our readers shared this link and it sounded like the process my friend used. Since I’m new at this, I decided my first experiment ought to be with a tried and tested starter. I think I’ll venture into trying to make my own one day because I think it’s a good skill to have, but for now I’m happy with mine.

After you have your starter made, you use most of it in a recipe, then you “feed” what is left with more flour and water, and then it grows and you can use it again. You keep repeating that process over and over again.

I would recommend you find a friend who may already have one going and ask if you can “have” some of their starter. They probably will know what you are talking about, and it turns out, it’s not that weird to share starters.

Where do I buy a Sourdough Starter?

So it seems as though you can buy starters. Like I’ve said a few times, I’M NEW AT THIS, so I don’t really know… but with a little internet research it looks like you can buy some at King Arthur Flour. It appears as though there are some really good reviews on this product, so it might be worth trying.

What are the Benefits of using Sourdough Starters?

So from an Emergency Preparedness standpoint, knowing how to make a sourdough starter is a great skill. Learning how, and being able to make bread from only wheat, water, salt and starter is a REALLY good thing. You never know what ingredients may run out, go bad, or not be around. I’m really excited to be learning more about this and look forward to messing around making my own starter one day.

Not only is it a good skill to have, turns out this kind of bread has some health benefits. Some more internet research led me to this article by Shannon at Simplebites.net that was very interesting. The part I liked the most from this article was this:

Like all other fermentation processes, the bacteria present in the sourdough starter eat the starch and sugars present in the grain. This results in a lowering of the starch or carbohydrate content of the bread, which is helpful for keeping blood sugar levels regulated. It also increases some of the vitamin and mineral content of the grain.

For a mom of three trying to lose baby weight, I don’t mind hearing words like “lowering carbohydrate content”.

Another article I found interesting is called “Sourdough for Health” and can be found here.

Come back next week for Part 2

Next week, I’ll share the recipe I used, with step-by-step instructions on how I made this bread! If you’re interested in trying this out, perhaps in the meantime you can work at getting your own starter either going, borrowed, or bought. In the words of my dear husband: “It seems like these food storage experiments you go about doing are scary and confusing when you start, but after you do them once they actually aren’t that hard”.

Filed Under: Wheat Recipes Tagged: Emergency Preparedness, food storage, sour dough, sourdough, sourdough bread, sourdough starter

Julie March 5, 2013 Leave a Comment

FOOD REVIEW: Egg White Powder

At the start of this year I started the Insanity diet/exercise program. If you have seen or heard of this you will indeed know that I am INSANE. It is tough stuff. But I finally decided that since my “baby” was turning one I might actually REALLY have to lost the last of my baby weight. Sigh.

Well one of the easiest meals on this diet plan involves eating a mixture of eggs and egg whites. I like eating this, I eat it every day. I don’t like throwing away egg yolks every day because I have no use for THAT MANY egg yolks. Not to mention I hate having to go to Costco every three days to buy more eggs.

One day as I was washing 3 egg yolks down the sink I had an epiphany, I have a whole can of Egg White Powder sitting in my cupboard! I’m not gonna lie, I had bought them but had no idea how I would use them as I don’t really make any recipes that call for just egg whites. So I decided to mix one whole egg and the equivalent of 3 egg whites of the powder mix (1 T. powder, 2 T. water). I scrambled them up and they were just AWESOME for my homemade Egg McMuffin. Just throw on some sliced ham or turkey, a little shredded cheese (optional if you want to save the calories) and put it on a whole wheat English Muffin. YUM!

What I LOVED
- No throwing away egg yolks!
- Cheaper than buying fresh eggs (it works out to just over $1 per dozen “eggs” even including tax and shipping)
- No wasted refrigerator space
- Healthy and low calorie way to get in some protein
- Easier clean-up
- Saves time not cracking as many eggs and separating out the yolks

What I didn’t love
- When i mixed the powder and water it seemed a bit clumpy, it still scrambled up just fine, but it worried me

ON SALE THIS MONTH!

Ok if you want to try these out, they are actually on sale at Shelf Reliance for the month of February, yippee! It’s just $12.59 for a pantry can size to try out, or $12.09 if you are a monthly Q customer. If you purchase in a #10 can size you will get a significantly better “cost per egg”(I used #10 can size for my calculations above). Check them out on our consultant website to make sure you get the best sale price. All orders must be placed by 5:00 pm MST on March 1st!

Filed Under: Powdered Eggs Recipes Tagged: egg white powder, egg white recipes, homemade egg mcmuffins, powdered egg whites, powdered eggs, thrive egg whites

Jodi and Julie February 26, 2013 Leave a Comment

“FUEL THE FIRE” FEBRUARY

We hope you have enjoyed our “Fuel the Fire” in February series. We have had fun learning about and sharing a lot of different fuel options you may consider adding to your Emergency Preparedness Plan. Enjoy the overview of the series below.

If you aren’t signed up already for our FREE CHECKLISTS, make sure you get on the list. You’ll get a free checklist every 2 weeks to help you plan, buy, and use your Food Storage.

This year we wanted to do something educational, but keep with the theme of Valentine’s Day, so we are going to be celebrating Fuel the Fire February by discussing all the different fuels you may be using for your powerless cooking.

The most common fuels people store for powerless cooking are:

Wood
Charcoal
Propane
Butane
Kerosene
Alcohol

There are many considerations when you determine which fuels to store such as: storage limits, using indoors versus outdoors, storing indoors versus outdoors, what types of cooking appliances you can use, etc. For an overview of a lot of these common fuels please check out our Cooking Fuels Overview handout from our Powerless Cooking Class.

While most people are familiar with the above fuels, there have been quite a few new products developed lately that are really great for emergency preparedness/powerless cooking needs. We have been gradually researching, trying, and storing quite a few of these fuels and want to teach you guys more about them.

	ReadyFuel: This is a new product from Lindon Farms. It is a gel that can be used indoors or outdoors, and won’t freeze, evaporate, or melt. It’s very light and each packet contains a little metal sheet that can be turned into a holder for your pot. It’s a great little fuel for camping or small cooking needs like boiling water. READ OUR READY FUEL OVERVIEW
	InstaFire: If you’ve followed our blog for a while you will know that we think InstaFire is a great product. It can be stored inside in convenient buckets, it burns in any kind of weather, and will even burn wet wood. It is handy to use in any kind of portable stove or even just on the ground. It’s definitely a nice supplement to go along with your other fuels. READ OUR INSTA FIRE OVERVIEW
	Fuel Disks: There are a few companies putting out fuel pellets or pucks that can be used in stoves such as the Firebox, or Cube Stove. The disks can be re-used if you don’t use the whole thing. They are easy to burn but must be used outside. They store easily and conveniently indoors or out. They are a very efficient fuel with one pellet lasting for one hour of cooking. READ OUR FUEL DISK OVERVIEW
	Solar Power: If you can find a way to harness the sun, solar power can be a great FREE and renewable fuel source for you. We have loved using our Sun Ovens whenever weather permits to conserve other fuels for cloudy days. With the new dehydrating racks you can also have a source for dehydrating fresh foods in a powerless emergency. READ OUR SUN OVEN OVERVIEW
	Stoves: We’re ending off Fuel The Fire February with a quick overview of some stoves you may be able to use with the different fuels we have talked about. While this is only scratching the surface on cooking stoves, we thought you may be interested in a few options such as Make Your Own, Firebox, Cube Stove, and Volcano. READ OUR STOVE OVERVIEW

Filed Under: Powerless Cooking Tagged: emergency fuel, Emergency Preparedness, fuel cells, instafire, readyfuel

Jodi and Julie February 19, 2013 Leave a Comment

Cooking Stoves Overview

Description:
We’re ending off Fuel The Fire February with a quick overview of some stoves you may be able to use with the different fuels we have talked about. While this is only scratching the surface on cooking stoves, we thought you may be interested in a few options.

	Make Your Own #10 Can Stove: A cheap and easy way to build a portable stove is by using a #10 can, cutting out holes for ventilation and placing wires in to hold various sizes of pots. We did a fun tutorial on how to make #10 can stoves, packed with fuels as a gift. PRO: FREE to make CON: Not all that efficient or sturdy (you will end up using more fuel) CLICK HERE TO SEE A TUTORIAL
	Cube Stove: The Cube is made of durable alumized steel with an electrostatic surface which reflects heat better than stainless steel or other comparable surfaces. It can be used in 7 different positions to accommodate different needs, such as cooking fast or slow, or cooking on a large pot or small cup. PRO: Small, durable, reusable, very inexpensive CON: Doesn’t fold down flat like the Firebox CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW OR LEARN MORE
	Firebox Stove: Firebox 5″ Folding Campfire Stove: “The most portable, versatile, easy to use cooking stove ever.” It’s a thin, portable campfire and multi-fuel stove with a 5″ combustion chamber that burns very efficiently. Simply place combustible fuels in the Firebox and ignite from the top or bottom through the fire grate. PRO: Very efficient, will conserve fuel, folds down into a thin flat stove CON: Costs more than the free or cheap options CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW OR LEARN MORE
	Volcano Stove: The Volcano Grill’s unique heating chamber channels the heat upwards towards your food, instead of wasting fuel by expelling heat out the sides and bottom. You can use the Volcano with a variety of fuels, and cook with pots and pans, grills, woks, or dutch ovens. Perfect for camping and or emergency preparedness PRO: Can use a variety of fuel such as propane, charcoal, Insta fire. You can grill, bake, fry and more CON: This is a heavier, larger stove. Not meant for compact backpacking situations CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW OR LEARN MORE

Filed Under: Powerless Cooking Tagged: backpacking stoves, cube stove, Emergency Preparedness, firebox, Powerless Cooking, volcano grill

Jodi and Julie February 19, 2013 1 Comment