Venezuela Food Crisis: A Warning to the World

Do you have food security?  You should. It is easy to do.  Just purchase a few extra of what you normally buy every time you go to the store.  Soon, you will have a week's worth of extra food, then two week's worth. Once you have a few month's worth of food in your pantry, you will be ready for most of what you may face when hard times come your way.

By the title of this article, you are probably thinking that most of the world doesn't live in Venezuela, and these are normal times in the USA so why should I bother with food storage. 

But, are these normal times? Even though it started out that way in Venezuela, I think we can all say that no one considers it 'normal' in Venezuela any more! Those people are starving. 

I received this article in my email from Emergency Essentials. It is a good one. I encourage you to read it. (Full disclosure: I purchase some of my food storage from them on a regular basis  - their food is REALLY good!) 

Here are a few other articles I wrote on starting and managing a food storage program.

• What is the point of food storage and a well stocked pantry?
• Self Reliance is more than food storage
• How is your food storage supply coming along?
• What is emergency preparedness?
• Got Water?

If you don't have any food storage, I strongly encourage you to start. You don't want to be dependent on the government in times of crisis. If you have a food storage program at your house, you may want to increase the number of days you can feed your family without going to the store. It sure brings peace of mind!

Actively Managing Your Food Storage

As I work to get things ready for the Emergency Preparedness Fair this weekend, I had to take a dose of humble pie! Some of the things I will recommend others do, I haven't done in a while. One of those things is to inventory food storage supplies. At a minimum, you should inventory it yearly. I haven't inventoried mine in two years!

So I decided that I couldn't tell others to inventory their food storage if I wasn't going to inventory mine. Notebook and pen in hand, I started my inventory. All I have to say is "What a mess!" My numbers were way off! And, I don't know how it happened. 

I have always noted when I pull something from food storage and then add it to the replacement list to get another one. How could my inventory sheet be so wrong? I really have no idea. But, this taught me a lesson: you can't be complacent in managing your food storage! To have an accurate idea of how much you have (and to be sure you have all the ingredients need to cook your planned dinners) you must keep a watch of your inventory! There is no other way around it. Take a yearly inventory!

When I stop to think about it, it doesn't seem logical that I would have food storage and then not know if I can count on it. All that food would really be a waste if I didn't have an ingredient needed to turn it into meals.

Taking inventory doesn't take a lot of time either. It only took me a little over an hour to complete mine. A good portion of that time was taken trying to find things and remember where everything is located. This is another illogical point in my mind. Why did I not take inventory last year, when it only takes a few minutes to complete? I know I got busy, but really, I wasn't able to find one hour in a whole year?  My actions mystify me!

I have a plan to fix this next year. I will now declare one month in the summer as Food Storage Inventory month. If I inventory the items one room at a time, (I have stuff all over the house) it will only take a few minutes each day and overall the time won't even be noticeable.

So, the moral of the story is, don't be complacent like I was! Inventory your food storage soon. That way, you will have peace of mind knowing everything you need will be there when an emergency happens. It really gives you peace of mind knowing that you can feed your family no matter what is happening in the rest of the world!

What Have You Payed for Meat Lately?

This post is only applicable for those who live in the 48 continental United States.

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Have you noticed how much the price of meat is skyrocketing? I honestly don't know how people can afford to buy it at the grocery store! We have been told in the news lately that the supply of beef cattle is quite low here in US. This started last summer because of the cost of feed. I am sure the record drought out west isn't helping either. This situation isn't going to get better anytime soon.

Times like this really test our ability to be frugal. We need to stretch our food dollars further than we ever have before. This is where having food storage is a big help! When you have food storage, you don't need to purchase replacement items until they go on sale. Personally, I think of food storage as an investment. It really helps you plan ahead to save both time and money!

While most people think of dry, shelf stable goods when they think of food storage, I consider the food in my freezer part of my food storage program as well. The difference is, food in the freezer requires a plan in place to deal with it should you ever lose power for a significant amount of time. I accept that and have a plan to can most of my meat if I loose power. (Of course if you lose power in the winter, this is not a problem.)

This type of thinking allows me to take advantage of huge savings by purchasing my meat in bulk. When I started doing this a few years ago, I thought purchasing in bulk was a lot of meat to buy at one time. I don't any more! Buying in bulk allows me to skip the meat section at the grocery store entirely! No longer do I pay retail prices!  

So what exactly do I do? I purchase my meat from Zaycon Foods.

The idea behind Zaycon Foods is that you order meat over the Internet and the company delivers FRESH (never frozen) meat to a local pickup point in your area. You meet the truck in the parking lot and pick up your order. It is fast and easy - you don't even have to get out of the car. The nice people at Zaycon Foods will load it for you!

The order process is very easy. You start by signing up to receive emails from the company. When they have a delivery scheduled for your area, you will get an email. Usually you have some time to decide if you want to place an order. The company tends to give about a months noticed before the truck will arrive in your area.  If you're not interested, you are under no obligation to purchase anything! By signing up, you simply gain access to emails notifying you when they will be in your area and what will be available.

At first, you may find the minimum amount you much purchase way too much for your family. That is ok! You can always split an order with some friends or family members. That is what I did when I first started ordering. Now, I usually take 1 or 2 cases of meat just for us! 

It is helpful to have a stand alone freezer. You can find small stand alone freezers in the club warehouses for reasonable prices. Believe me, you can pay for that freezer in a very short time when you purchase meat in bulk!

At the beginning of February, I purchased 40 lbs. of boneless, skinless chicken breasts for $1.89 a pound. Today, I signed up to purchase 40 lbs. of extra lean (93/7) fresh ground beef for $3.99 a pound. While I don't think of that price as a 'sale' price, ground beef in my area is running at about $4.50 a lb. AND that is for 80/20 beef! I purchased 93/7 beef!

I usually divide the meat into dinner size portions. Then, I wrap it in freezer paper and seal it in a foodsaver bag. It keeps the meat from getting that 'freezer burned' flavor and will last in the freezer for well over one year. Just the other day, we ate some ground beef that I purchased from Zaycon Foods in December of 2012. It was great! I don't have too much left so the order of 40 more pounds will come just in time to restock my freezer! I pick it up at the beginning of April.

Depending on where you live, you can purchase more than just chicken and ground beef. Zaycon Foods also offers the following:

• Fresh Premium Hickory Smoked Bacon
• Pork Sausage Links
• Fresh Strawberries
• Natural Non-Homogenized Whole Milk
• Rotisserie Seasoned Turkey Breast Roast
• Orchard Peaches
• Raw Wildflower Honey
• Smoked Pulled Pork
• Premium Choice Angus Sirloin Steaks

If I lived closer to the North West, I would purchase peaches and milk too. Unfortunately, they are not offered where I live (at least not right now). Next time it is offered near me, I am getting some honey and sirloin steaks! 

Everything I have purchased from Zaycon Foods is high quality! It tastes great and is hormone free. The ground beef is grass-fed beef too! Try buying grass-fed beef at a specialty supermarket and I guarantee you won't get it for $3.99 a lb!

I have been so pleased with my experiences with this company that I just had to share! It is a great way to buy superior cuts of meat at a low cost!

Now that's frugal!

More Tips To Help Whole Wheat Bread Rise

One of the most common complaints I hear when people talk about using food storage is that they can't get whole wheat bread to rise well. I can sympathize because I don't like my bread to be as heavy as a brick either. Yet, I still make whole wheat bread. Mine is as high and fluffy as white bread. How do I do it? Well I would like to say it is easy, but it isn't. It takes practice and trying lots of different recipes until you find one that works for you. However, there are some tips that will help.

I have written about tips to help whole wheat bread rise before (I have incorporated some of them into the list below). My advice is to try all of these ideas until you find a recipe and a process that works for you every time you use it, then stick with it! Here are suggestions that have worked for me:

• Use a dough enhancer. I have a homemade one that I love and think it works better than anything you can buy in the store. You can see my recipe for homemade dough enhancer here. I use 1 TBS per cup of flour. 
• Most recipe instructions tell you to let the dough rise in a warm place. That doesn't always work for me when I am making whole wheat bread. I find that you need the environment to be a bit hotter than 'warm'. I let mine rise in 110 - 120 degree environment. You can do that in the oven, a dehydrator (such as one of the Excalibur Food Dehydrators like the Excalibur 2900ECB 9-Tray Economy Dehydrator, Black), outside in a Sun Oven,  or any other very warm place you can find.
• Watch the dough ball, not the recipe. I don't follow recipes exactly, I use them as a guide. Many times when I am trying a new recipe, I find that it isn't working as written because the dough ball isn't the correct consistency for my environment. Now, a dough made of all whole wheat isn't going to look the same as a dough ball made of white flour (at first). Instead, it will look a little bit too wet and sticky. After the dough comes together, let it rest to allow the bran to absorb the liquids in the recipe. Then you should find it has a more 'normal' look. If it doesn't, adjust the recipe until it does. Sometime this requires more flour or water than you think you should add. For example, if it is raining outside, you may need less water! If you live in the desert, you may need a bit more. If you live in a different part of the country from me, you are going to need to adjust the recipe for your environment. Both of us may require different adjustments. So, watch the dough ball. It's consistency will tell you when you have the correct amount of flour/liquid - not the recipe.
• The reason whole wheat bread has that heavy feel is because the bran has rough, sharp edges that tend to damage the gluten strands as they develop. If the gluten strands get cut, the gas that causes the bread to rise escapes and the bread doesn't rise well. Therefore, it ends up thick and dense. One of the ways you can combat this is to remove some of the bran from the flour. I learned this trick when I started making whole wheat angel food cake from food storage. What you do is to gently sift the flour to remove some of the bran. Sifting the flour will remove approximately one tablespoon of bran out of the 3 cups of flour. Sift gently to remove the maximum amount of bran possible. Less bran means less cutting of the gluten strands as the bread develops. Now, you aren't removing all the bran - just some of it, so you still get the health benefits of the whole wheat flour. Sift before you measure the flour for the recipe.
• Use whole wheat bread flour. Personally, I have never seen this in a store. I don't even know if it is available over the Internet. I make my own. You can see all my flour recipes here. I will also repeat it below. It's easy and simple:
• 1 cup whole wheat flour or 1 cup whole wheat all purpose flour (all purpose whole wheat flour is 1/2 cup hard wheat and 1/2 cup soft wheat)
• 1 TBS vital wheat gluten
• 1/8 tsp vitamin C powder (you can also find vital wheat gluten in the grocery store with vitamin C added - if you use that you can omit this ingredient.)
• If the recipe calls for milk, substitute buttermilk, yogurt or kefir. Mix the dairy product with the whole wheat. Don't add anything else yet. Mix into a dough ball. (You can use a machine set on the dough cycle if you would like.) Let it set from a few hours to 24 hours. Then add the rest of the ingredients in the recipe and knead together. (Again, you can use a machine but make sure all the ingredients are incorporated and it looks like a normal dough ball.) This is supposed to make the whole wheat more nutritious by releasing more vitamins. I have read this on the Internet many times in many different places. I will believe it when I see that an analysis has been performed in a lab. I soak whole wheat because I believe the bread rises better! Really! I don't do it all the time, sometimes life gets in the way and I need the bread in a hurry. However, I have noticed a higher rise when I do soak vs. when I don't.
• Really knead the bread. I knead by hand. I would say normally, white bread dough needs about 300 strokes before the first rise. That isn't enough for whole wheat bread.  Whole wheat dough needs between 600 - 700 strokes to really develop the gluten. Try it just once and you will see such a difference! If using a machine instead of hand kneading, adjust the time accordingly. You may need to experiment here to find the best kneading time for whole wheat. 

If none of the above work when you first start, mix whole wheat flour with some white bread flour or all purpose flour. You can start with  2/3 whole wheat flour and 1/3 white flour. There should be no reason bread made with that combination won't rise! Then, slowly over time, start eliminating the white flour from the recipe and replace it with whole wheat. By the time you get to 100% whole wheat, you should be a gourmet bread maker!

What is the Point of Food Storage and a Well Stocked Pantry?

A lot of people I know don't understand food storage. I get questions such as 'Why do you want to grow your own fruits and vegetables when you can just go to the grocery store to buy it? Sometimes it is a struggle to put all my thoughts about food storage into words when I am standing in front of someone who thinks the idea is crazy. However, it is important to me, it saves me money, and I love not having to run to the store to buy something!

I found someone who thinks just like I do over at the blog, A Working Pantry. In this post, Patsy talks about why she works hard to can up food for the winter and the sense of security it provides for her family if they ever had to rely on it. You can read the post here.

I agree with her thoughts! And I will add some of my own: 

My church counsels us to be prepared for adversity in life by having a basic supply of food and water, and some money in savings. Being prepared in such a way is the first step on the journey to self-reliance. Many LDS church members store one years' worth of basic supplies like rice, powdered milk, honey, wheat and beans. Then, a three month supply of the everyday foods you eat. Having this much food stored away gives you a feeling of peace. When adversity comes your way, having food storage allows you to spend what money you do have on other critical things. You can rest assured that you and your family do not have to worry about how you are going to eat!

If you haven't yet started your food storage program, you can start here. In these posts, I have listed lots of other resources to help you get started .

If you have started your program but still have work to do, remember, purchasing a little every week is a better strategy than buying it all at once. Even better, try growing some of it yourself!

I know that when you complete your supply of food storage - and can stand back and look at your well stocked pantry - you will realize it was worth the effort!

Self-Reliance is More Than Food Storage

Food Storage (along with water storage), gardening, preserving the bounty from your garden as well as the ability to prepare and cook those foods are topics I cover extensively on this blog. However, that is not all there is to be self-reliant. In the uncertain times the USA (and the rest of the world) is currently going through, we need to be prepared with more than food and water. 

Here is a quote about being self-reliant from one of my Church's leaders:

"We become self-reliant through obtaining sufficient knowledge, education and literacy; by managing money and resources wisely, being spiritually strong, preparing for emergencies and eventualities; and by having physical health and social and emotional well-being." (Julie B. Beck, "The Welfare Responsibilities of the Relief Society President, Basic Principles of Welfare and Self-Reliance (2009), 4-5)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has a plan to help you start on your way to complete self-reliance (and you don't have to be a Church member to read what they have to say.) It includes five basic areas:

• Education
• Emergency Preparedness
• Finances
• Health
• Home Storage

Let me give you my interpretation of my Church's counsel on each of these:

Education: What this means is education and literacy. I am going to describe it as a lifetime love of learning. (That is my term, not the official Church description.) The bottom line of this is you can't support your family without a good job. You can't get a good job without an education. This doesn't necessarily mean college - it includes technical training as well. 

A love of learning helps in this situation because when you love to learn, you will be willing to invest the time needed to continuously update your skill set. The best jobs go to those who have skills in the latest technologies!

Emergency Preparedness: I do cover Emergency Preparedness on this blog. You can read more about it here. At a minimum, you should have a plan to answer the following questions:

• What would you do if you get stuck in your car in a snowstorm, rushing flood waters, ice storm or an abandoned stretch of road? 
• What would you do if you had to leave your car and walk to get help on a very hot summer day? 
• What would you do if you were ordered to evacuate your home for a period of time?   
• What would you do if you experienced electric or water disruptions for a lengthy period of time?

Finances: Do you have a rainy day fund? How do you plan to handle it when the car breaks down? You can't avoid it, even a new car will break down or require repairs eventually. What about when your TV breaks? Or what if you drop your computer and need to replace it? Unexpected things happen to us all the time. You need to be prepared with savings in the bank so you can weather life's storms. This also includes living below your means. I heard Dave Ramsey say once that we all need to "act our wage". I think that statement is quite profound and I have never forgotten it. Of course it isn't possible to do this if you are watching every dollar that you make go out the door to support a lifestyle heavy with debt. If your answer to this is that you don't make enough money to get out of debt, let me refer you to the first bullet point on Education.

Health: I don't think I mention health enough. Other then eating foods that are grown chemical free, switching to whole grains and removing chemical cleaners from your home, I haven't mentioned how important it is to take care of yourself. In Church yesterday, one of our speakers was talking about how your body is a "Temple of the Lord." It is! AND it is the only one you are going to get! Take care of it so you can get the maximum mileage possible from it.

Home Storage: Home storage includes a storage of food as well as other necessary supplies you need to live (without a trip to the store) for an extended period of time. How long? I am counseled to have a minimum of three months worth of storage of everyday items. One year's worth of storage for life sustaining basics like wheat, rice, oats, powdered milk and honey. You can read more about food storage here. 

If all this appeals to you and you think being self-reliant is something you are interested in doing, you can see more information about each of these areas on the following web sites:

• providentliving.org
• The Mormon Channel: Provident Living

If you Google the term "Provident Living" you will see many other resources as well. The journey of 1,000 miles begins with the first step! Start your self-reliant journey today!

Food Storage is More Than Food

How is your food storage coming along? If you are new to the blog, and don't know exactly what food storage is, you can read about it here, here and here.

In order to make your food storage program successful (so you can use when you need it, such as in an emergency, when you loose power or maybe when you have an ice storm) you really need to include other food related items to help you cook and serve meals. For example, I have mentioned many times that you need a few different ways to cook. I discuss 10 different ways you can cook here, in my series on Cooking without Electricity.

Still, that may not cover everything you need. So you will have all that you may need available to keep your family fed, consider adding the following to your food storage program:

• Aluminium foil, saran wrap and wax paper (include aluminium pans as well so you can eliminate or greatly reduce the amount of pans you need to wash)
• Hand dish washing detergent
• Plastic silverware and plastic or paper cups
• Napkins and paper towels
• Baby wipes for easy cleanup (the water may be off too)
• Matches, charcoal or propane canisters (I store charcoal in 5 gallon buckets to protect it from moisture.)
• An extra can opener
• A basic first aid kit

Next time you are at the grocery store, add an extra item from this list to your cart. Do that each time you go to the store and soon you will have a supply that will see you through any emergency!

Managing Your Food Storage

I am sure some of you are hesitant to purchase large number 10 cans of food for your food storage program.  I know I was when I first started. My thoughts centered around the question "What am I supposed to do with the rest of the can now that I opened it?" If I lived in Arizona or some other 'dry' state, I am sure the plastic top on the can would suffice and it could stay on the shelf in the pantry.  That doesn't work here in the south.  Even in the winter months, the contents of the can will collect moisture and ruin the food in a matter of weeks. It usually takes me four to five months to finish a can. So, what do you do? Let me show you!

I just opened a new can of powdered eggs. To ensure I rotate my food storage, I label the can with the month/year I purchased it.   When I need something, I always take the oldest can. This can of egg powder was purchased in December 2010.
 

I got what I needed for the recipe I was making and put the plastic top back on the can to deal with later.  My procedure is to leave the can on the kitchen counter where I can see it so I know it needs to be stored correctly (otherwise I would forget about it).  It usually takes me a few days to get to it. This can sat for three days before I repackaged it.

To repackage it, I take some out and place it in a quart canning jar (I have lots of those at my house!) This will go into the refrigerator to use now.

The rest of the can will be repackaged with my Food Saver.  I love this appliance! (I know, it uses electricity!!) I usually reseal freeze-dried fruit in quart caning jars as well as package the onion and garlic powder that I make into pint and half-pint jars. For powdered products like milk, eggs, sour cream, or tomato powder, I like to use the food saver bags. I made four packets of eggs just like the one below.

As you can see, I have a paper towel in the bag with the powdered eggs. The paper towel helps to keep the egg powder out of the Food Saver machine while it is pulling the air out. There is less clean up when you use a paper towel. Each bag is labeled with the purchase date and the date the can was opened. I also use an extra large bag so I can reseal it a few times. That way I only need to take what I want, and then I can reseal the bag.

The packets are then put back in storage. This year I have been trying something new. I have been placing the resealed packages of powdered milk and eggs in the freezer. I thought I would try it as an experiment to see if the food would last longer/taste better by being stored in the freezer.  Normally, I would just place the packages under a bed. I think after my year long experiment, I can honestly say I don't see a difference between the frozen packages vs. non-frozen ones. But for now, I think I will keep the packages in the freezer. However, if it comes to not having any room for the turkeys I purchase to feed Molly, I will move the packages to under a bed.

Now that the packages are put back into food storage, it is time to update the supply list.

And the last thing I do is add the item to my food storage purchase list so I can replace it! 

Oh, on a side note, I thought I would share a picture of the can openers we have at our house.

 

While we have purchased many swing away can openers over the years, they always end up breaking. We find ourselves coming back to these openers over and over again.  Now, they are the only ones we use. The P-38 on the left side of the picture has been on my key chain for over 30 years and still works great! It only takes a few seconds to open a number 10 can with one of these.


So, with very little effort, you can successfully add number 10 cans to your food storage program! The best part about purchasing number 10 cans is the money you save!

Is That Food Still Safe to Eat?

Have you ever wondered what the answer is to the following questions:

• The olive oil has turned cloudy: Is it still OK?
• Are eggs still safe after the expiration date?
• Is it safe to leave canned food leftovers in the can?
• Is raw ground beef OK if it is turning brown?
• Can you safely reuse marinade?
• Do spices ever go bad?
• Is bottled water safe to drink after the expiration date?

I found this really cool web site called Still Tasty that is dedicated to answering questions on food safety. It gives guidance on how to store all kinds of food, answers specific questions like the ones above and has blog entries too! 

There is even an iPhone App so you can check out the site while you are in the grocery store!

The site has a search feature if you are looking for information on a specific food item.  You can also use the buttons across the top of the page to help you get the type of information you want.

With food prices as high as they are, we all need to get the most value possible out of the money we spend on food. I now have this site in my Favorites folder!

Honey, The Perfect Food

I normally don't like to post about the same topic twice in a row, but I am going to make an exception this week.  Honey is an excellent food to keep in your food storage program.  In fact, I am going to go so far as to say it is critical.

Honey has many uses.  Some of the more common ones are to put it in hot drinks where it can sooth a sore throat, drizzle it on oatmeal, drizzle it on graham crackers or my personal favorite - use it when making homemade bread or other goodies. I love it on oatmeal and graham crackers too!

I know some people who store a five gallon bucket of honey. I don't have that much, but I do have about 15 lbs. I also store 7 lbs of molasses. For the purposes of this post, I will lump honey and molasses together. I use molasses in my bread recipes too. And besides, it is critical for those yummy gingerbread cookies at Christmas time!

I found a few websites that offer some additional advice on what you can do with all that honey. 

• Seven ways to use honey for whatever ails you.  I found this honey link on The SurvivalistBlog.net website.
• Medicinal Uses for Honey, Pollen and Other Bee Products
• 20 Unusual Uses for Honey

If you don't have any honey in your food storage program, I strongly encourage you to add at least a small bottle.  It lasts practically forever in the original package.  If it does ever crystallize, you can heat it in the microwave or place the container in a pan of hot water until it is re-melted. You can also use it in the crystallized state.  On many occasions, I have used it that way in my bread recipes.

Even if you never eat it, honey has so many other uses that it makes it an important item to store. Consider adding a bottle (or two) of honey to your food storage program!

How Is Your Food Storage Supply Coming Along?

Planning a long term food supply is critical for weathering any storm life may throw at you. My church counsels that we each need a one year supply of foods for our family.  (Three months supply of foods you normally eat and a one year supply of longer term foods such as rice.)

I know I have mentioned the importance of food storage a few times on this blog.  You can read some of those posts here. How are you doing gathering your supply? Are you having any challenges? If you are, feel free to ask questions in the comments below.  I will be happy to help.

I have gathered a few additional web sites that I think may help you determine how to start or refine your food storage plan.

• Choosing Groceries for Long Term Storage
• Setting Up a Three Month Supply of Food
• Food Storage Advice
• Food Storage Tips

To cut costs, take advantage of BOGO sales. Try purchasing fruits and vegetables in season when they are cheapest. Try avoiding the expense of fruits and vegetables that must be imported. The additional handling costs will add little value. You may also consider clipping coupons for additional savings. Don't forget that with the holiday season coming soon, baking supplies will go on sale. 

 It is an excellent time to stock up if you can!

Got Water?

Have you ever been in a hurricane or the aftermath of a hurricane without power or water? Have you ever been in an ice storm where the power was cut off for days? Have you ever been in a snow storm where the roads were blocked and you couldn’t get out? Have you ever been laid off? Have you ever been sick and could not work? What would you do if you could not get to the store? What would you do if the stores were all closed or the shelves were empty?

September is National Preparedness Month in the United States, so it is a good time to talk about food storage and emergency preparedness for all contingencies. Having food storage is important, but it is not the most important thing. It is not possible to be prepared for emergencies unless you have water storage as well. Just think about it.  What would you do if you turned the tap on and nothing happened? If you have a well that requires an electric pump to bring the water to your tap and you loose electricity, what would you do?. If you have city water and a wide spread electric outage that goes for an extended time, what would you do?  It is not guaranteed in an emergency that you will always have clean tap water from your faucets. What should you do?  Store water!

FEMA recommends that each household keep two weeks of water for each person in the house.  I can state for certain, this isn't one gallon per person.  Think about all the times you turn on the water.  Cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, taking a shower, brushing your teeth all require water. Not to mention what you need to drink in a day.  If it is hot outside or if you are doing heavy physical work, you need even more.

Storing a lot of water is a challenge.  It is heavy and takes up a lot of space. You really have to get creative to think about where you are going to put it. Here are a few places on the Internet that will give you some ideas:

The Safely Gathered In blog has a series of posts on water that covers storing water in two liter bottles, storing water in other containers, purifying water, and finding some unique sources of potable water.

The Prepared LDS Family blog has a post on using 55 gallon drums to hold water.

Here is a picture of how I store most of my water.  I can't have 55 gallon drums because I don't have the space.  I do have the space for some five gallon containers shown here. I put them in my closets.

This one is on the kitchen table because I am rotating the water in it.  I do this every year.  I have city water so I don't really need to change it more than that.  For the most part, I also don't worry about algae growth but if that is a concern for you, you can add a few drops of bleach to keep the water clean. I know some people who store well water always add a few drops of bleach to their water containers before filling them. 

When you open the container to change the water after one year of storage, it may smell a bit musty.  I will say, the first time I opened a water container that was stored for one year, I was a bit concerned about the smell. You can remove the musty smell by pouring the water back and forth between two containers to add some air to it.  You can also filter it, if needed.  I have drank water stored for one year and it tasted fine. But until you get used to it, the musty smell is a bit disconcerting. When rotating water, I usually use my stored water to water my houseplants.

This is one of the mylar bags I use to store my water.

  

Once you refill the bag and seal up the box, be sure to update the date so you know when to rotate it next year.

Back into the closet it goes.

As you can see, I got these from Emergency Essentials. I have mentioned before how much I really like this store.  I don't get any compensation to talk about them.  I have been a satisfied customer for over three years.

While I have a few of these containers filled with water, it is not my only water storage.  I have purchased some water storage containers from the big box stores as well (in the camping section). Those are nine gallon containers.

I consider this my first line of defense if I loose the ability to get water from the tap.  However, if I had to rely on this water for an extended period of time, I would quickly run out. After that, I would have to rely on a secondary water source.

Most people don't realize it, but almost everyone has a secondary water source in their house that is potable.  It is the hot water heater!  Once the heater is completely shut off, you can drain the water and use it in an emergency.  This should be between 30 to 50 or more gallons depending on the size of your hot water heater.

If any emergency continues beyond that, you must look for open water sources such as a local stream, swimming pool or pond. This water will need to be filtered to remove impurities, or boiled to make it safe.  You can always boil it over an open fire if necessary or you can purchase filters such as this one.  I have a Berkey Filter System for a 'just in case' emergency.  If you are interested in a filter system for your own water storage program, you can search the Internet and find many different filtering options in different price ranges.

Be prepared to face an emergency...not scared!

Do You Have Problems Getting Whole Wheat Bread to Rise?

Making your own bread is fun and very rewarding.  We have not bought a loaf of bread in years.  If you are new to bread making, I suggest you start with white bread flour to get a feel for the dough and how it rises.

After you have mastered that, you can switch to whole wheat. We buy wheat and grind it ourselves.  It is cheaper to grind your own flour and wheat berries store better than flour purchased at the grocery store.  It is also healthier. You can mix the flour 50/50 and use 50% whole wheat and 50% white bread flour if you would like.  You can read about how to turn the wheat berries into specialty flours here.

I know a lot of people think whole wheat bread is very dense and feels like a brick when compared to white bread. I will write a post on how to make bread soon. In the meantime, let me assure you that as you gain experience, your whole wheat bread can rise just as high as white bread.  Here is one tip I use to help my whole wheat bread rise higher. Use 1 TBS per cup of whole wheat flour.

Whole Wheat Dough Enhancer

1 Cup Powdered Milk
2 Cups Vital Wheat gluten
2 tsp Powdered Ginger
1 pkg Pectin
4 TBS Gelatin
4 TBS Lecithin
1 TBS Ascorbic Acid

If you're interested in trying it, you can purchase dough enhancer in the grocery store.  You can find it in the same isle as the flour.  However, pound for pound, making your own dough enhancer is cheaper. Also, you will find that the individual ingredients store better than the box of dough enhancer you could purchase at the store. 

This is a great idea to add to your food storage program!

Where Do You Put Your Food Storage?

How are you coming with your food storage plan? I know the idea of food storage is new to some of you.  If you don't have a basement, you might be thinking you have no place to put any additional food. This is the time to think creatively!  I don't have a basement either and I have a year's worth of food storage. 

So, I'd like to offer a bit of encouragement and show you a few of the places I put my food storage. I should note that this is the way my closets look.  No cleaning was involved here - I opened the door and snapped the picture.  (I think the statement about the lack of cleaning the closets will be obvious when you see the pictures of them for yourself!)

Now, just for clarification, this does not include the items I am currently using in my pantry.  While I do have some food storage in my pantry (most of it spices), the majority of my food storage is somewhere else in the house.  Let me show you some of the places I put it.

The majority of my stuff is here, under the stairs.

I have a door to the space under the stairs.  It has a concrete floor but I placed plywood over the concrete. What you see here is the food I have stored on the plywood. The boxes to the right hold Number 10 cans full of freeze dried vegetables, fruit and meat. There are five gallon buckets of varius types of wheat in the back with some food on top of them like mayonnaise and peanut butter.  Since all good food storage programs should also include water storage, on the left you can see some of my water boxes. It should be noted that it is not necessary to purchase containers for your water storage, you can use old soda bottles (two liter) that have been cleaned. I know a lot of people who store water this way.

Here are some additional five gallon buckets of wheat. This closet is where we store our winter coats during the summer.

Up on top of this closet is where we store our first aid supplies.

Another closet with some items purchased at the LDS Cannery. This is rice, instant potatoes. pinto beans and some hard white wheat. It is all stored in Number 10 cans. Notice the vinegar in front of the boxes! I got it at Sam's Club. The brown box on top contains some apple juice that I canned myself.

Unfortunately, I do not have any additional closet space that I can devote to food storage. So, I had to get creative.   I've found a handy spot most people don't consider for storage is the space under the bed. Here is what I have under one of our beds This space is reserved for food that I have canned myself from the garden. The boxes that house the jars were originally sent to me in the mail. The dust ruffle is tucked under the box springs for the purpose of the picture.

Here is another bed with some grocery items under it.

I also use my book shelves for storage of canned foods.  Here is one of my bookshelves with a close up of what is behind the books.

To keep it all straight, I have a food storage binder with everything listed in it.

Most of the time, I can find what I want when I need it. However, I must say that sometimes it is a workout removing all the boxes to get something out of storage when it is in the box on the bottom. Someday, I hope to have a room dedicated totally to food storage! 

Where are you putting your food storage? Let us know in the comments!

Tips To Help You Gather Your Food Storage

I just read in the Wall Street Journal about the financial mess in Greece.  Based on what I have read, Greece doesn't have much hope for a fast or easy end to their problems. It seems they won't take responsibility for their own mess. If they go back to the Drachma for their currency, the citizens of Greece can expect both food and medical shortages.

Don't think that can't happen here. It can! One way to protect yourself and your family is to gather foods that can be stored long term. As I have mentioned before, it doesn't have to cost a lot of money.  A little effort, week by week can really add up. Next time you go to the grocery store, buy an extra can or two of vegetables and a bag of rice.  Next week, get an extra box of oatmeal. Soon, you will have enough food to keep your family alive for a few weeks, then a few months. 

The best place to start is to take an inventory of what you eat and buy extra of that. Stick with familiar foods you eat everyday (this is especially true for children). No need to buy things you don't like or won't eat. If you don't like it now, you won't eat it in an emergency! 

To help you plan how to gather what you need, I have compiled a list of web sites that helped me when I was getting started.

• How To Start A Food Storage Program
• Food Storage Made Easy: Take Baby Steps to Starting Your Food Storage Program
• Start Your Food Storage on $10 a Week
• Food Storage:Why? What? How?
• Seven Major Mistakes in Food Storage
• Food Storage

Start Preparing Today!

Do You Have Food Storage?

Have you ever been in a hurricane or the aftermath of a hurricane without power or water?  Have you ever been in an ice storm where the power was cut off for days?  Have you ever been in a snow storm where the roads were blocked and you couldn’t get out?  Have you ever been laid off?  Have you ever been sick and could not work?  What would you do if you could not get to the store? What would you do if the stores were all closed or the shelves were empty?

My church counsels us to be prepared for adversity in life by having a basic supply of food and water, and some money in savings.  Being prepared in such a way is the first step on the journey to self-reliance. Today, I would like focus on one of the most fundamental steps along that journey; having a supply of food.  You should have a minimum of a 3-month supply of shelf stable food for you and your family (including pets). 
Many LDS church members store one years’ worth of basic supplies like rice, powdered milk, honey, wheat and beans.  Then, a three month supply of the everyday foods you eat.  Having this much food stored away gives you a feeling of peace.  When adversity comes your way, having food storage allows you to spend what money you do have on other critical things.  You can rest assured that you and your family do not have to worry about how you are going to eat.

You may be wondering where you put all this food.  Well, the easiest place to put your food storage is in a basement, if you have it.  I do understand if you are saying to yourself, “But I don’t have a basement.”  I don’t either.  Those of us without basements need to think creatively on where we can put our food storage.  I promise I have lots of ideas and tips to get it all to fit in your house, apartment or condo.  Watch for some posts on that in coming months.

Before we need to have a place to put our food storage, we need to have food to store.  You don’t need to purchase it all at once.  My one year supply of food and other necessities took me 3 years to gather.  Start slow and gradually add to it.  When you go to the grocery store, buy an extra can of vegetables and an extra can of fruit.  Then, on your next visit, buy an extra bag of rice. Slowly, build up a week’s supply of the foods your family likes to eat.  After you have a one week supply, set your goal at two weeks, then one month, and so on.  Some of it, you don’t have to purchase at all.  You can grow it. Every year, I grow a one year supply of all the vegetables we eat in our house.  Don’t have a garden?  It isn’t too late to start.  I live in the south and I don’t have this year’s garden in yet.  I plan to put my seeds in sometime during the next week or two.  I’ll post pictures and show you.  Don’t have any room for a garden? You can grow select vegetables and herbs in pots on a patio.  All my tomatoes and sweet potatoes will be grown in pots.

One common problem with food storage is finding new ways to cook with it. I am constantly looking for new ways to use my food storage so everyone in my house will eat it. Recipes that receive the ‘thumbs up’ signal will be shared here. My goal is to post food storage recipes two to three times a month. Can’t wait that long? Check out my blog list. The blogs listed there frequently feature shelf stable recipes you can try right now.