Store what you eat / Eat what you store

• 30 Jan 2012
• neybar
• 2 responses

This is yet another “Eat what you store / Store what you eat” post.  I had a few experiences in the last week or so that has worked me up to this article.

Eat what you store

First.  A few weeks ago I went to get some cooking oil from our storage area.  I discovered to my dismay that well over half of my oil had gone rancid.  I’m not sure if I had a tempurature fluxuation or what happened.  Bottom line:  I was almost out of oil.  Fortunately it didn’t ruin my dinner plans, but imaging discovering that your oil was bad in the middle of a crisis?  The oil was out of date, but my previous experience has lead me to believe that generally oil has more longevity than is stamped on the bottle. (more…)

Tags: Food, Food Storage, preparedness

Honey in the News

• 09 Nov 2011
• ekim
• 2 responses

Local Raw Honey, image from freshstepsonline.com

There have been a few articles lately in the news regarding honey, mainly in response to a Food Safety News study that was published this week. To sum it up, the report found that most honey purchased in stores had been highly processed to the point that all the pollen had been removed. Aside from no longer supplying healthy benefits by containing pollen, removing all traces of pollen also makes it impossible to track the location of origin for honey if it turns out to be contaminated or otherwise harmful. (more…)

Tags: Community, Honey, Links, local, Raw

OvaEasy Eggs

• 27 Oct 2011
• Jayce
• 3 responses

Heading out on a hike recently, I needed to find a good item for breakfast.  Having already converted my friends to the awesomeness that is freeze-dried eggs, I wanted to try something new.  I’ve long been anti- dehydrated/powdered eggs after having far too many bad experiences with them. To me they still always taste odd, and it leaves me not wanting eggs for a while afterwards.  However, I do have a love for eggs and really wanted to have some on our hike.  So as I was browsing along a local sporting good store, I happened upon a new item. (more…)

Tags: Food, Food Storage, hiking, Reviews

Reusable Canning Lids

• 20 Oct 2011
• angela
• 4 responses

How many canning lids do you have in your storage? Canning in a long term emergency situation means having the supplies to do it. You’ll need your canner, jars, rings, and of course those pesky lids. Lots of them. Those lids that you can only use once and then you need a new lid. And once you’ve used your stash of lids, then what? Or is there a better way? What about canning lids that can be used over and over?

Last fall I tried some Tattler reusable canning lids. I canned jam, tomatoes, and salsa with them. The Tattler company has been making these lids since 1976. They are two pieces–a plastic lid and a rubber gasket. You’ll need the metal rings that came with your jars or you can buy some extras on the Tattler site if you’re short on rings. The lids are BPA free and made in the USA. Tattler has them available for wide mouth and regular jars. The upfront cost of $7.00-$8.00 per dozen is, of course, more than the metal lids, but with regular re-use they pay for themselves pretty quickly.

(more…)

Tags: Canning, Food Storage, preps, Storing Systems, supplies

ALERT! Peanut Butter Prices about to nearly double!

• 14 Oct 2011
• phil801
• 1 response

If you regularly eat peanut butter – or anything with peanuts – get stocked up on it now because the price of Peanut Butter is about to dramatically increase!

U.S. farmers are expected to produce roughly 1.8 million tons of peanuts this year, down nearly 13 percent from last year, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Department of Agriculture. Assuming that estimate holds, it would be smallest harvest recorded since 2006. (more…)

Tags: Food Storage

Review: Daily Bread Beef Stroganoff With Noodles

• 27 Sep 2011
• Jayce
• 3 responses

The way to a man’s heart is his stomach.  When that man is a prepper, and a blogger, nothing could be more true.  With that said, I was overjoyed recently when I was contacted by one of our local freeze-dried companies.  They were wondering if I would be interested in sampling a couple of their entrees, and writing my opinion on them.  Not exactly a difficult decision there.

What made this choice even better was the timing. I just happened to be heading up that weekend with the guys for a little man-camp time.  What a better way to test things out. (more…)

Tags: Food, Food Storage, gear, Reviews

Curing meat

• 29 Jun 2011
• neybar
• 2 responses

Cured Meats (from livestrong.com)

Curing meat is an age old process.  It has been used to preserve, intensify flavors, and make unpalatable cuts of meat acceptable for consumption. Most of us don’t worry about the preservation aspect so much anymore, but if you’ve ever made a marinade then you’ve dabbled in curing (perhaps with out even knowing it).  In this post I’m going to go over some of the ingredients needed to cure meat and introduce a couple of salt mixtures that can be very useful in curing your meats.  I’ll also go over some things that could be kept in your food storage.
(more…)

Tags: BBQ, Cooking, curing, Food Storage, preps

Variety in Your Food Storage is a Good Thing

• 27 Jun 2011
• angela
• 3 responses

Way back in 1998 sweet husband and I were just getting serious about our food storage.  That’s shortly before we had any kids.  We had the opportunity to do some canning at the LDS dry pack cannery and so we sat down to figure out what to can.

Well, we didn’t have a wheat grinder and didn’t really know what to do with wheat, so that was out.  I’m not sure why we ruled out oatmeal or sugar or whatever else, but we did decide we both liked white rice so we meticulously counted up how much white rice we’d need if we ate it for every meal for an entire year.  True story.  And that is what we canned.  A whole lot of white rice.  Now I know you’re all giggling at the fact that you really can’t live on white rice alone for a year without suffering some serious nutritional issues, but we were young and didn’t think through this very well.

So let me tell you what happens when you buy that much white rice.  (more…)

Tags: Food, Food Storage

Honeyville Grain is Having a Sale!

• 20 Apr 2011
• angela
• 1 response

Just when you thought food prices were going up everywhere, Honeyville Grain is having a 10% off sale today through Friday at 6 pm PST. That’s only 3 days, but if you’ve been in the market for some food storage, now’s a great time to get some. Honeyville is one of my favorite places to shop–that’s where I get my 6 Grain Cereal and Gluten Flour. To get the 10% off, simply enter coupon code: “HOPHOP11” during checkout.

And don’t let the name fool you, they have more than just grains. They also have freeze dried fruits and vegetables and some really tasty hot cocoa (the French Vanilla is my favorite). And you know there’s more, so go browse around their site a bit and see if they have what you’re wanting.

Normally, their prices are a little higher than other places, but they only charge a flat $4.49 shipping anywhere in the continental US for your whole order–not per item. So, that great shipping rate plus the 10% off should make for a fair deal on some good quality food delivered to your doorstep. While you’re there, sign up for their newsletter and you’ll be notified every time they have a sale. Remember, for this sale enter coupon code: “HOPHOP11” during checkout anytime from now until this Friday 4/22/11 at 6:00 pm PST. Happy shopping!

How Prepared is the Average Latter-day Saint Ward?

• 01 Apr 2011
• Connor
• 9 responses

It has become cliché for people to suggest that their preparedness efforts consist of a gun and ammo, so that in the event of an emergency they can forcefully demand that their Mormon neighbors give up some of their food storage. But do Mormons store as much food as people think they do? Do we all have a year supply of wheat, beans, rice, and freeze dried snacks?

A few weeks ago, I was called by my Bishop (pastor) to be the new emergency preparedness coordinator for our ward (congregation). In order to better serve those in the ward and help them prepare, I thought it important to begin my efforts with a survey to gauge where our ward stood. I had a fairly good idea due to previous surveys conducted over the past couple of years in our community (see here and here), but wanted a bit more detail, and with the high turnover in our ward, needed updated information.

(more…)

Tags: Food, Food Storage, mormonism, preparedness, utah

Building a 3 Month Supply using Case Lot Sales

• 31 Mar 2011
• ekim
• 1 response

Case lot image from http://tightwadmomsfrugalforum.blogspot.com

Inevitably, each year in the weeks preceding the LDS General Conference sessions in April and October grocery stores in Utah begin their Case Lot sales. In case you aren’t familiar with the term, a Case Lot sale is a sale that allows you to purchase food (and other) items at a discount from a regular grocery store. The only catch is that you need to buy them a case at a time.

This can really help build of your emergency food supply quickly. Given that there are generally 12 to 24 cans or jars in a case, this is the perfect opportunity to scratch that Food Storage To-Do off your New Year’s Resolution list. As we have touted many, many times before, there are many reasons to have at a minimum a three-month supply of food you eat on a regular basis be it financial, natural disaster or otherwise.

Lucky for you (and all of us for that matter), our friends at Prepared LDS Family have updated their Case Lot spreadsheet. As always, we are greatly appreciative of the work and effort that went into this.

In addition to the spreadsheet will help you find the best deals this Case Lot season, there is also a 3 Month Supply post. This excellent resource details out what a basic 3 month supply for one person should consist of, then lists prices for items to fill that list along with the case lot costs for both Macey’s and Smith’s.

Many of the Bulk Food Suppliers on our Resources page also offer case lot sales during this same time period.

Go over and take a look!

Tags: Food, Food Storage, Links, preps, Sales

Amazing deal on shelving

• 26 Nov 2010
• wade
• 1 response

Need a way to store all your preps? Ready to get your food storage off the floor? I’ve been dreaming of shelves for a long time but have always had it on the some-day list. Well, today’s your day. I just got back from Lowe’s and if you hurry, there are still some left. They have 48′ x 24′ x 72′ steel shelving units on sale for $49. These are the same style as the famous Gorilla Rack shelves. These shelves are normally $100, but you also have to pay $50 to ship them. Amazon has them for $132 with free shipping. Sam’s Club currently has them for $72, but you have to have a membership and happen to live near one of their warehouses.

Anyway, today, Lowe’s is selling the shelves for $49 and there isn’t a limit on quantity. Don’t be confused by the website saying the brand is Edsal while the packaging says Muscle Rack. Muscle Rack is simply a trade name. You can find Edsal’s products packaged under several names, including Maxi Rack. I spent a lot of time researching and reading reviews about these shelving units yesterday and I’m of the opinion that they are all the same as the Gorilla Rack. Time to get organized!