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

Jan’s Fabulous Food Storage Recipes Converting Stored Foods Into Useable Meals by Jan LeBaron

Background: This book is written by Jan LeBaron, a woman who has life experience I personally can learn from. She was raised in a family of 9, and had 4 kids of her own. She’s always loved learning from her mom how to cook, and she knows so much about the basics and beyond. You can tell just by flipping through her book, she loves cooking REAL food for REAL people. Sometimes recipe books can get a little too fancy for my real life situation – but this one feels normal. On the cover of the book, it says “Converting Stored Foods Into Useable Meals”. I feel that is just what this book does, tells you how to use your stored foods in recipes you will come to love. She also has some great information about beans, grains, and other common food storage items.

What I Liked:

• Lots of sections including- Beverages, Bread, Beans and Bean Flours, Breakfasts, Casseroles, Cheese, Condiments, Cookies, Deserts, Meat, Cooking with TVP, Main Dishes, Mexican Dishes, Whole Grains, Perfect Pasta, Storing, Soups and Stews, Vegetables and Potatoes, Emergency Tips
• Brief education before each section about the types of foods you will be using
• Really gives you ideas for common food storage items
• Recipes for many basics- yogurt, sauces, cheeses, cream soups, condiments
• Helpful tips to make cooking your meals faster (prepare ahead type ideas)
• A TON of recipes – really so many

Favorite Part: I think my favorite part of this book is how many recipes there are for basic necessities you may not ever think of making from scratch. Things like tortillas, pasta noodles, yogurt, cheeses, pasta sauces, condensed soups, mayonnaise and more. In a situation where these items may not be available, I’d definitely pull out this book for a handy guide and resource. In fact, since making them from your own ingredients can be so much healthier (and cheaper), I can see myself learning to use these recipes in everyday life. I also like how regular a lot of the recipes are. I’m not ALL that fancy of a cooker – I get overwhelmed when I see recipes that call for things I have never heard of!

Feedback: Just in case you’re a picture kind of person, I do have to let you know the recipes don’t have pictures- although I really don’t feel like it’s that much of a drawback. The information is so valuable and practical I would recommend this book for sure for those who don’t know what to do with the Food they have stored.

Summary: Jan’s Fabulous Food Storage Recipes is a great book full or recipes and helpful cooking tools. If you already have your food storage, and just don’t know what to do with it – this is a great book for you!

-Jodi Weiss Schroeder
http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net