Tag Archives: emergency food storage

Emergency Preparation: Be Prepared

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‘Tis the season to make resolutions; recent polls show that Americans are making a surprising resolution – they are vowing to save more money and be more prepared. It seems we’ve learned the hard way that it’s worth the effort.

FEMA is also encouraging Americans to make individual disaster preparedness plans part of their New Year resolutions. To help, they’ve launched a comprehensive website, Are You Ready?, that provides guidance for making an emergency plan and putting together an emergency kit. The site also offers a free in-depth guide for being prepared for a myriad of emergencies. After reading through the guide, take the online test and if you score 75% or higher, FEMA will send you a certificate of completion.

The 200-page Are You Ready? booklet includes important guidelines for staying safe during a variety of extreme events, including:

  • Floods
  • Tornadoes
  • Hurricanes
  • Lighting strikes
  • Storms
  • Extreme heat
  • Earthquakes
  • Volcanoes
  • Mudslides
  • Tsunamis
  • Fires
  • Wildfires
  • Hazardous material spills
  • Nuclear accidents and explosions
  • Biological emergencies

When it comes to emergency food, FEMA recommends keeping at least a three-day supply of emergency food for your family, pets and service animals in a cool, dry place. Of course, those of us at Wise Food Storage, as well as many of our customers and industry experts, believe it is prudent to have an emergency food supply as food insurance, which can last far longer.

Keep in mind, if you volunteer to work with relief efforts, plan on taking your own food and water.

We at Wise Foods wish you a safe, peaceful 2012 and look forward to helping you keep your new resolution to be prepared.

Article from: wisefoodstorageblog.com

Emergency Preparation

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If you are putting together an emergency-preparedness kit, it is important to remember that you need to have more than just freeze-dried foodand other food items packed away in storage. After all, the food won’t do you much good if you have no way to prepare it and you won’t survive for long if you do not have water available.

Therefore, it is essential to include water as well as some sort of heating source in your kit. Still, even with the proper equipment available, you will need to keep a few emergency cooking tips in mind in order to make your food, equipment, water and other supplies last as long as possible.

What else should you consider?

When it comes to emergency food preparation, some things you need to know include:

  • Most freeze-dried foods are ready to eat just 10 to 12 minutes after adding hot water.
  • Freeze-dried foods can be prepared with cold water, but are generally more flavorful when prepared with hot water.
  • Just bringing water to a boil will destroy all harmful pathogens, so don’t waste fuel and water (through evaporation) by boiling it longer.
  • Have plenty of food items in storage that do not require cooking.
  • Include a reliable heating source, such as Stove In A Can, in your emergency kit.
  • Include ingredient items such as salt and sugar in your emergency kit to help add flavor to your meals and to use with making fresh food items, such as bread.
  • Remember that flour does not store well over the long-term, so include grain and a mill in your kit so you can make your own flour.

If you do not regularly prepare meals from freeze-dried items or from scratch, you might also want to practice making a few meals. This way, you can become comfortable with the process.  You might also want to include a book containing a few recipes and tips within your kit. This way, you will be more comfortable with making the meals when the time comes.

 

Article from: wisefoodstorage.com

Food Storage Tips: Storing Honey

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Honey is much easier to store than to select and buy. Pure honey won’t mold, but may crystallize over time. Exposure to air and moisture can cause color to darken and flavor to intensify and may speed crystallization as well. Comb honey doesn’t store as well liquid honey so you should not expect it to last as long.

Storage temperature is not as important for honey, but it should be kept from freezing and not exposed to high temperatures if possible. Either extreme can cause crystallization and heat may cause flavor to strengthen undesirably.

Filtered liquid honey will last the longest in storage. Storage containers should be opaque, airtight, moisture- and odor-proof. Like any other stored food, honey should be rotated through the storage cycle and replaced with fresh product.

If crystallization does occur, honey can be reliquified by placing the container in a larger container of hot water until it has melted.

Avoid storing honey near heat sources and if using plastic pails don’t keep it near petroleum products (including gasoline engines), chemicals or any other odor-producing products.

 

Article from:www.survival-center.com

Food Storage Tips: Clever Ways to Rotate your Food Storage

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With the unemployment rate up again and home sales still awful it really doesn’t look as though we are going to get out of this inflationary period any time soon. I continue to believe food storage really is the wise way to invest our money right now. I love the fact that I only have to purchase foods that are on sale because my General Store is well stocked and thus I just shop in my closet and replenish only at sale time. I love that feeling and if you have not experienced it yet let me help you to conquer your fears and become self reliant!

Today we will talk about a few tips for rotating and add a couple of recipes.

First: Canned fruits are great in smoothies and you probably already know that. Drain your fruit and place it on a cookie sheet in the freezer. For even more added flavor freeze juice in ice cube trays and add to smoothies or use to cook your oatmeal, no other sweeteners needed! When the fruit is frozen place in freezer bags and you are ready to go any time you need a treat. These fruits are also perfect to use in ice cream both homemade and store bought. Before placing your fruit on a cookie sheet cut it into small pieces and you are now ready to add to a freezer of homemade ice cream or to add to a box of store bought. Simply let the ice cream soften a little and fold in the desired amount of fruit. Place ice cream back in the freezer to refreeze. Now you can have peach ice cream year round not just during the summer months. Try this with diced pineapple and add a little coconut extract to the softened ice cream, then fold in the pineapple…pina colada ice cream! yummy

Next use your canned milk in homemade ice cream, hot cocoa, or add to your powdered milk. Evaporated milk makes everything taste creamy and rich. Not storing evaporated milk? See Food Storage Lesson Four next Monday to discover why you should be. Evaporated milk is also perfect to make your own creamed soups for eating or use as an ingredient.

Canned chicken makes great chicken salad. Don’t be afraid to use your canned meats cold. They are completely cooked and safe to be eaten right out of the can. Canned beef makes great hash. Recipe below. Canned meats are also perfect in soups and casseroles. Don’t forget to include them in your meals. When you head to the freezer ask yourself, would my canned meats work in place of the frozen? At least once a week use a canned variety and you will rotate through with no problem.

I love canned potatoes. I use them many ways but my favorite is for home fries. Recipe follows. It’s just really nice to have more variety in your storage and a fun break from instant potatoes, speaking of which…instant potatoes make a great potato soup and they are perfect to reconstitute and use in a potato bread recipe. Potato breads and rolls are so soft and so yummy!

Home Fries

1 can potatoes

1 onion diced

2 Tbsp. Butter

1 Tbsp. Oil

Paprika

1. Drain and slice potatoes.

2.Saute onion in butter and oil until lightly browned.

3. Sprinkle with a little paprika for an added dimension of flavor and also to add in browning.

4. Salt and pepper to taste. Personally I don’t add either.

Beef Hash

1 can beef chucks

1 medium onion

1 can potatoes

2 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp. oil

1. Dice onion and saute in oil and butter until lightly browned. Cook slowly and do no over cook.

2. Drain and dice beef chunks

3. Drain and dice potatoes.

4. Add beef and potatoes to onions and cook without stirring until lightly crusted.

5. Flip and continue cooking until second side is lightly crusted.

6. Salt and pepper to taste.

I love to serve these with poached eggs on top.

 

Article from: blog.totallyready.com/

Food Storage Recipe: Sicilian Chicken Soup

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Okay, so I love Carrabbas. I have some favorites that I order every time I go. I am sure there are so many other fabulous dishes at Carrabbas, but I always order Sicilian Chicken Soup and Chicken Marsala. Whenever I hear of someone going to Carrabba’s, I tell them, “When they ask if you want soup or salad, you say-Soup! Get their Sicilian Chicken soup. It is delicious!” Well, recently I found a recipe for this soup online. I was skeptical about how similar it would be. Amazingly, this recipe tastes almost just like the original. I have adapted it slightly and changed the directions a bit to facilitate the canning process. This recipe will fill 14 quart sized jars.

Ingredients:
5 celery ribs
4 medium carrots, peeled (or 25-30 baby carrots)
1 large yellow onion
2 medium potatoes, peeled
1 large green bell pepper
1(14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley (or dried)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 large Costco-sized rotissere chicken (or two small chickens), cooked, deboned and cut into chunks
chicken broth
Small tube pasta (we use Barilla Ditalini) -add when ready to serve

Using a food processer, shred/blend all vegetables. (Be careful when chopping potatoes in processor not to blend too much–the starch in the potatoes can turn it into potato paste.) Add seasonings. Stir until evenly combined. Spoon mixture into jars. Next, evenly add chicken peices to each jar. Finally, add chicken broth to jars until full, leaving 1 inch headspace at top. Process at 15 pounds pressure for 75 minutes. When you are ready to serve the soup, pour the contents of jar into pot and bring to a boil. Add approximately one cup of pasta for each quart of soup. Boil according to directions on pasta packaging. Grate fresh parmigian cheese over the top and enjoy.

 

Article from: youcancan.blogspot.com

Food storage for those who hate to cook

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A Food Storage turn-off for some is the assumed need to possess extensive cooking skills.  Although there is some truth to needing to know how to prepare beans and other dry goods from scratch and learning simple recipes to incorporate food storage items into your menus, there are other super simple options for those who feel like fish out of water in the kitchen.  I was recently introduced to  ready-made meals.  These are individually packaged meals that only require water.   The representatives who showed me the product,  left me a sample of Chicken Teriyakki with Rice.  It was of course very easy to prepare, and was surprisingly good.  All of my kids gobbled up their samples and wanted to know when I would be ordering more.  The company touts these packaged meals as “efficient, compact and easy to store, ready in 10 minutes, and great tasting.”  The representatives also told me that their products have a 25 year shelf life.  So, for a person who doesn’t want to store a bunch of #10 cans of products they don’t know how to use, this may be an ideal option for long-term food storage.

We enjoy cooking and we cycle all of our food storage items, so stocking a large amount of these ready-made meals as our main source of food storage isn’t the best option for my family.  (Plus, I know my kids will want to eat them for lunch all summer.)  However, they are so handy and tasty that I think they will be a great addition to our 72-hour kits.  They are very light weight and would be perfect for backpackers as well.  And, we thought they would be handy for camping. You can click on the following links to order a sample of the ready made meals I was talking about.

60 Serving Gourmet Entree

Free Shipping!!!

 

Article From: allaboutfoodstorage.com

Food Storage Tip: 10 Essential Food Storage Shopping Tips

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Food Storage Shopping Tips

1.      Think in terms of calories per person per day. High stress situations require more calories. Under normal circumstances, adults need 2000-2600 calories per day, more if very active. Children need 1500-1600 calories per day or more to maintain growth and energy1. Be sure you can determine how many calories per person per day you are purchasing. If you are unable to determine the quantities in a kit, combo, or year supply, you may find yourself not having as much nourishment as you thought. For example, 2,000 calories per day for a month for one person is about 60,000 total calories; for a year, 730,000.
2.       Look for nutritious calories, not empty calories. Try to get calories from as wide a variety of sources as possible. A lot of calories from sugar drinks or candy are far less healthy than from balanced meals.
3.       Be informed about nutritional values. For example, how much daily nutritional value, on average, will you get in carbohydrates, protein, iron, or vitamins A or C? During times of stress or disease, nutritional values take on additional importance.
4.      Do not rely entirely on number of servings. Not all servings are created equal. Servings per person can be misleading if it’s not clear what the serving size is or what is included. For example, a cup of orange drink, a cup of beef stroganoff, a tablespoon of butter, or a quarter teaspoon of salt all technically count as a “serving.” Make sure you are comfortable with what your supplier means by “servings per person.” Three servings per day could mean only 600 calories per day. Also, serving sizes for similar products are not necessarily consistent from one supplier to the next.
5.      Be concerned about menu fatigue. Buying only a few menu options may be challenging to endure should you ever need to use your food over an extended period of time. The more variety you have, the more enjoyable your eating experiences will be and less shock it will cause to your body. Think through in your mind what it would be like to eat entirely from your food storage for a week, a month, six months, or longer and compare that to the variety you’ve enjoyed over the past week. Having a variety of grains, legumes, dairy, meats, fruits and vegetables plus a variety of seasonings on hand will go a long way toward expanding your meal options. Clearly, you should not sacrifice calories and nutrition for the sake of variety and yummy meals–after all, your first priority is to save lives—but for almost no additional cost, and with some forethought, you can have a dramatically more enjoyable and healthy food supply.
6.      Be aware of weights and volumes. Gross or shipping weight includes the weight of the packaging materials. “Net weight” is only the weight of the food and the best measure of how much food the package contains. Knowing the net weight or volume of what you are buying makes it easier to comparison shop. For example, focus on dollars per ounce (weight) or dollars per gallon of like items when comparison shopping, just as you do when shopping at the grocery store. Remember that the equivalent quantity of food occupies more space if it’s freeze-dried than if it were dehydrated.
7.      Know what kind of cook you are. Better yet, anticipate which kind of cooking you most want to do during an extended period of difficulty. If you like to cook or bake from scratch, you can save money by emphasizing basics like wheat, rice, legumes, milk, eggs, and individual types of dehydrated vegetables, fruits, and seasonings. This gives you the greatest flexibility for menu choices and is the best way to avoid menu fatigue. If you prefer just-add-water options, you can save time and heat resources using dehydrated or freeze-dried meals or entrées. If you want to heat and eat without adding water, MREs (Meals-Ready-to-Eat)—like what the military uses—may be the ticket. Most people settle on a combination of all of the above, due to the variety they allow, to save both money and time.
8.      Scrutinize shipping and handling charges. Food storage orders can be quite heavy and shipping can be a major cost if you’re not careful. Some suppliers charge a flat fee, others charge according to the weight of the order. Take into account the entire cost, including shipping, when price comparing. A reasonable flat shipping charge presents an opportunity to add additional items to the order without incurring additional shipping costs.
9.      Don’t just look at the price. Not all food storage companies are the same nor do they package and price their products the same. Products perpetually on sale may actually not be the best available price. Beware when price per net weight, calories per day, cans per case, number of complete meals, etc. are not determinable. This might be a situation where you are not getting the best value for your dollar.
10. Understand the pros and cons of the different kinds of packaging. The enemies of food that has been prepared and packaged for long term storage are heat, moisture, oxygen, and light. Protecting against heat depends 100% on where the product is stored, but the other three—moisture, light, and oxygen—are mostly controlled by the packaging. Make sure oxygen is removed from the container by either use of an oxygen absorber or by nitrogen flushing. For pails, which are not 100% air tight, make sure the product is sealed inside a metallized bag (a common brand is Mylar®), otherwise oxygen will leak back in. Certain freeze-dried foods kept in oxygen-free cans that are stored in a cool, dry environment can retain nutritive value for 25 years or more (see tip regarding shelf life).

60 Serving Gourmet Entrees

Free Shipping

Article From: preparednesspantry.blogspot.com

Food Storage Tip: Buying in Bulk to Ease the Budget

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Sometimes it is hard to know how to incorporate bulk foods from your food storage into your diet if you are not use to cooking them. I remember years ago reading cookbooks and health related books and filling my head with great ideas on how to save money and cook better food for my family.  I found a store way on the other end of town that sold bulk foods in barrels that you scooped out, bagged and labeled yourself.  So I brought home my treasures and then thought.. now what do I do with it. I tried some recipes and a few turned out and some did not but in the end most days I went back to what I knew how to cook and the bulk items sat on my shelf. However, slowly I began to learn more, cook more and figured out how to incorporate these cost saving, nutritious foods into my diet. That began my journey into not only saving money (I admit this was my biggest desire when I started) but also I began to see and understand the health benefits for my family.

Types of Bulk Food?
What type of bulk food am I referring to? They would be mostly grains and beans and a few other miscellaneous types of foods. Here is a list of what I buy in bulk:

Beans:
Red beans
White beans
Pinto beans
Black beans
Split peas
Lentils

Grains:
Oats
Wheat
Brown rice
Corn
Pop corn
Miscellaneous Foods
Seasonings
Powdered milk
Honey
Whole wheat pasta
Cane juice crystals
Sucanat
Baking items such as:
Salt
Baking soda
Baking powder
Nuts
Coconut

It is amazing with the above list and a few items from your freezer and refrigerator what you can create to feed your family.

Article from: thefamilyhomestead.com


Food Storage Tip: Which one is more economical – Dehydrating, Freezing or Canning?

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The costs of energy, equipment, etc. have clearly changed and will vary according to your personal situation, i.e. your energy costs and how good you are at finding bargains on packaging, etc.   Still, I think this is an eye-opening comparison.

Individual situations aside, it’s clear that dehydrating and canning are extremely cost-efficient ways to store food.  Of course, that doesn’t mean that freezing isn’t a great option either.  I mean, if it costs 16.2 cents per pound to freeze something and you can secure the type of deal that I did at a local store about 4 months ago when we got grass fed lamb for about 3.25 / pound, then paying an extra 16 cents per pound still makes the lamb a great deal.  Also, there are just some things that lend themselves better to one form of preservation than to another.  For example, I don’t wish to can or dehydrate meat or chicken broth, but those items both freeze quite well.

FOOD PRESERVATION ECONOMIC COMPARISON

FREEZING:

Estimated cost – 16.2 cents/pound

Equipment Needed: Freezer @ $270 amortized over 20 years* = $13.50/year

Repairs: 2% of purchase price = $5.40/year

Packaging: $25.00

Electricity: To operate freezer at 5 cents/kilowatt hour = $35.28
To blanch 250 pounds of food (4 min/pound) = $1.99

Total to process 500 pounds of food:                                                     $81.17

CANNING:

Estimated cost – 5.5 cents/pound

Equipment Needed: Pressure canner @ $65 amortized over 20 years* =  $3.25
Water bath canner @ $10 amortized over 20 years = $0.50

Repairs: 2% of purchase price = $1.30

Packaging: 24 dz quart jars @ $4.39/dz amortized over 10 years = $10.53
24 dz lids replaced each year @ $.49/dz = $11.76

Electricity: To pressure can 140 quarts at 5 cents/kilowatt hour = $1.44
To water bath can 140 quarts =  $2.22

Total to process 560 pounds of food in 280 quarts: = $31.00

DEHYDRATING:

Estimated cost – 4.8 cents/pound

Equipment Needed: Electric Dehydrator @ $190 amortized over 20 years* = $9.50/year

Repairs: 2% of purchase price = $3.80

Packaging: $500 one-pound plastic bags = $2.50

Electricity: For drying food = $6.50
For blanching 250 pounds of food (4 minutes/pound)= $1.99

Total to process 500 pounds of food:                                                     $24.29

Click the images below to Preview and Buy these products

Excalibur 3900 Deluxe Series 9 Tray Food Dehydrator – Black


Ball Regular Mouth Jars with Lids and Bands, 16-Ounce Pint Size, 12 Count

 

Article from: wholenewmom.com

Water Storage Guidelines

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Commercially bottled water in PETE (or PET) plastic containers may be purchased. Follow the container’s “best if used by” dates as a rotation guideline. Avoid plastic containers that are not PETE plastic.

If you choose to package water yourself, consider the following guidelines:

Containers

  • Use only food-grade containers. Smaller containers made of PETE plastic or heavier plastic buckets or drums work well.
  • Clean, sanitize, and thoroughly rinse all containers prior to use. A sanitizing solution can be prepared by adding 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of liquid household chlorine bleach (5 to 6% sodium hypochlorite) to one quart (1 liter) of water. Only household bleach without thickeners, scents, or additives should be used.
  • Do not use plastic milk jugs, because they do not seal well and tend to become brittle over time.
  • Do not use containers previously used to store non-food products.

Water Pretreatment

  • Water from a chlorinated municipal water supply does not need further treatment when stored in clean, food-grade containers.
  • Non-chlorinated water should be treated with bleach. Add 1/8 of a teaspoon (8 drops) of liquid household chlorine bleach (5 to 6% sodium hypochlorite) for every gallon (4 liters) of water. Only household bleach without thickeners, scents, or additives should be used.

Storage

  • Containers should be emptied and refilled regularly.
  • Store water only where potential leakage would not damage your home or apartment.
  • Protect stored water from light and heat. Some containers may also require protection from freezing.
  • The taste of stored water can be improved by pouring it back and forth between two containers before use.

Buy a Container Now!!!

(Click the images below)

Article from: http://www.providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,7534-1-4065-1,00.html