Posts Tagged ‘food-storage’

Pre-Made Soup Mixes Save Money And Time

In today’s hard economic times, it can be relatively simple to keep your grocery store spending low. How? Making your own pre-made food mixes will help you achieve that goal. I am talking about food mixes that you can make now and can be used for the short term. A pre-made mix is when all of your dry ingredients in a recipe are combined and sealed for later use.

Starting with the weekly sales happening at your local grocery store will be a great place to start. For example, our stores will run sales on dried beans, $1.00 for a 1 pound bag. Buy plenty of bags when these are on sale and now you can make your own soup mixes. They are easy to combine as well as easy to cook when you are ready.

Let’s say you purchase a one pound bag of navy beans, kidney beans and pinto beans. When you get home, make several batches of pre-made soup mix.

Pre-made mix for Bean and Veggie Soup

1 cup dry navy beans

1 cup dry kidney beans

1 cup dry pinto beans

Dehydrated veggies:

1/2 cup celery

1 cup tomatoes

1/2 cup broccoli

1 cup squash

1 cup small soup pasta (e.g. orzo, small shells or rice etc.)

Mix all ingredients together. Basically, you can add whatever veggies you had left over from your garden bounty which you had dehydrated. Whatever dry ingredients you have on hand that will go nicely in soup, throw it in! Small pastas will make a nice addition to the soup too.

I seal mine in Food Saver bags so the machine vacuums out all of the air. You can use Ziploc bags or Tupperware containers if you like since this is for current use.

When you are ready to make a batch of soup:

Bring 6 cups of broth (or water) to a boil. Add your dry soup contents from above and simmer until the beans are tender (about an hour to 90 minutes). And you can add whatever spices you like to the soup. Depending on what you and your family like, you can make it cajun flavored, chili flavored or Italian flavored by adding basil and oregano. It’s up to you. Simply add a teaspoon or two of the spices you like.

The other advantage to this type of soup mix is that when it comes time to making the soup, you can spice it the way you and your family enjoy. You can use chicken broth or vegetarian broth or beef broth. Which one has been on sale recently? When it is, you should stock up.

Some more money saving ideas to feed your family is by using some of the whole grains you’ve purchased for your long term storage. You can pre-assemble some pancake mixes or hot cereal mixes by mixing things like oats, flax seed, dried cranberries, quinoa etc. It’s easy to mix a large batch, then divide that into smaller batches, and store for your family. This will save you more time when your busy life is pulling at you, just grab a bag of mix and add water! Family is served. And money is saved!

Pre-Made Mix for Oatmeal Pancakes

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup oat flour (you can make this by placing oatmeal into your food processor)

1/3 cup all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon grated orange zest (optional)

You can package this recipe into smaller portions, or you can seal the whole recipe together.

When you are ready to make pancakes:

After you have placed your dry ingredient mix (above) into a mixing bowl, then add 1 cup vanilla soy milk (you may also use regular milk – or mixed powdered milk), 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 cup egg whites (2 or 3 large egg whites).

Preheat your nonstick griddle on medium heat. When it’s preheated, use a large spoon or ladle to place batter on the griddle. At this time, you may choose to have some fruit in your pancakes. After you start to see small bubbles appear on the pancakes, then place some banana slices or blueberries on your pancakes. Wait about 30 seconds, then you can flip your pancakes and finish cooking. Serve with honey or maple syrup.

Ladies, these pre-made mixes also make nice inexpensive gifts at Christmas or for birthdays. Especially if you are ‘known’ for your cooking or baking, this idea will be a winner for you.

Remember that storing pre-made mixes is best in air-tight containers (especially good in vacuum sealed bags like the FoodSaver Vacuum Food Sealer) because ingredients like flour and others may lose their shelf life when always exposed to air.

Also remember to take advantage of the sales your grocery store runs and use your coupons!

Appreciate topics of survival, emergency preparedness – or planning for disaster?
Read our current articles on Modern Survival Blog
twitter: MSurvivalBlog
Facebook

Emergency Food 101

Once in awhile, it’s worth repeating the basics. So, here’s some Emergency Food 101. The first thing a newbie prepper does is to start stocking up on extra food. This, after all, is the first building block of the prepper’s castle.

It is also the easiest thing to do, while times are ‘good’. You don’t even need a lot of money to make significant progress, although spending a moderate sum will ensure a well rounded and long lasting food storage supply.

Be sure and collect food supplies that are tailored towards their purpose. There is more than one purpose.

Food for your car kit

A major consideration for your car kit is to have enough food to survive 72-hours for each person who may likely be in the car at any one time. Consider foods that are less likely to spoil or melt while kept in a warm vehicle during the summer, while also being similarly conscious of freezing temperatures during the winter. I have found an effective way to somewhat normalize the temperature of your stored food is to keep it in a insulated ‘cooler’, out of the sun (in the trunk).

Count the calories of the foods you are considering. Avoid low calorie foods. Focus on calorie-dense foods. Plan on 2,000 calories per day. Personally, for my car kit, I keep a variety of items including canned foods such as beef stew, canned chicken and beef. Don’t forget the can-opener, and remember that you can eat food right out of the can without cooking it. I also keep some MRE’s, peanut butter, chocolate bars (they tend to melt after awhile), Food Bars, and a few other items.

Especially being stored in a car, with temperature extremes, be sure and rotate the food often enough (twice a year should be good) and eat it with plenty of time before risking it going bad.

This post is about food, but I must mention ‘water’. You must also store enough water in the car to go along with your food. It’s a good idea to include a portable water filter too.

Food for your backpack kit, a.k.a. bug-out-bag

Again, it is a good idea to plan for 72-hours. The challenge with a backpack is that the intent is for you to carry it. Therefore the food must be as light weight as reasonably possible while still providing the calories you will need (and water).

To a large extent, my bag contains high-calorie Food Bars of various varieties. I like them because they provide a good cross section of sugars, protein, and nutrients. And they are light weight.

Food for your home (everyday consumption)

The best advice here is to simply buy more of what you already eat at home. Don’t go extravagant. Just buy more of the same stuff. What we do is only buy ‘extra’ when we happen to see the things we normally eat go on Sale. Otherwise we don’t bother. If you are starting out though, and feel the urge to get a jump start, well then don’t hesitate to spend normal retail price – you will sleep better knowing you have a surplus in your cupboards!

Here’s the most important thing though, and something that I know many preppers don’t really practice. That is, to actually rotate and eat what you store. Don’t set it on the shelf and forget it. Rotate it! Eat it! This way it won’t spoil.

Food for your home (long term storage)

After you have established a comfortable surplus of your ‘normal’ food, then you can begin to focus on the really long term storage. These are the foods that you will set and forget, for the most part. Things like bulk rice and beans that you properly seal and store to last many years. Freeze dried foods of all varieties in #10 cans that can potentially last for a decade or longer. Bulk wheat and grains, again stored properly will last for years to decades. Sugar. Salt.

Building a supply of long term food storage will cap off your overall food storage plan, providing you with food insurance for getting into a jam while in your vehicle, to having to lug supplies on your back, to bugging in at home for months, to outlasting the apocalypse.

Once you have reached your goal, you will be amazed at the sense of self-reliance that comes along with it. Use that ‘force’ to continue into other areas while striving for independence and self-sufficiency.

How much food should you store for home?
Given that most main-stream people probably don’t have much more than 1 to 2 week’s worth of food, you will be ahead of the pack by anything more than that. I would strive first for 3-months, then 6-months. Ultimately I would push for a one-year supply of rotating food as a very good baseline. It’s easier to accomplish than you may think. If you factor in a stockpile of long term food storage as well, you could conceivably get to several years worth of food once you put your mind to it.

Now go do it!

Appreciate topics of survival, emergency preparedness – or planning for disaster?
Read our current articles on Modern Survival Blog
twitter: MSurvivalBlog
Facebook

Flour Storage Best With Mylar Bags

Reader Question: I am interested in Mylar bags. My question is if we could store flour because I know the flour goes bad in 6 months to a year. Another thing I want to know, I don’t have any food grade buckets so could I store it in can buckets? Or could I store the food in the Mylar bags and leave them in the basement without any buckets?

What is the storage life of flour?

All-purpose flour (white) in cabinet storage will have a shelf life up to 8 months if properly stored in a sealed container or if tightly wrapped, and for refrigerator storage, up to one year.

Freshly ground whole wheat flour, if stored at room temperature with plenty of access to oxygen will, after a few weeks or months, goes rancid.  That rancidity is caused by the oxidation and breakdown of the oils in the wheat. Any flour milled from whole grains contains the germs. These are rich in oils (which is one of the benefits of freshly ground flour) and are prone to oxidation or – more commonly – going rancid. Depending on a few factors you can expect a storage life of 4 to 6 weeks.

Don’t try to store unprotected flours longer than a year. Hermetically sealed (for example: Mylar bag) in the absence of oxygen, plan on a storage life of 5 years at a stable temperature of 70 degrees F. They should keep proportionately longer if stored at cooler temperatures.

For optimum shelf life of flour, procure and store the whole grain itself (wheat berries) and do not grind the flour until you need it. Of course you will need a grain mill for this. Whole grain does not lose nutritional value in storage, whereas once ground into flour, the nutrient level begins to drop dramatically. Whole grains will store for decades in an oxygen free environment.

Mylar bags

Use Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers for an oxygen free environment. Air contains about 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, leaving about 1% for the other gasses. If the oxygen is absorbed (with the oxygen absorbers in a sealed Mylar bag), what remains is 99% pure nitrogen in a partial vacuum. Perfect for long term food storage.

Mylar bags do not need to be stored in food-grade buckets. The Mylar bags themselves are the barrier between the food and the outside environment, so long as they are sealed. You could leave the Mylar bags in the basement with no buckets, however I would not put them directly on a concrete floor (use a board or shelves) to avoid the potential of condensation due to the temperature difference between the cold floor and the air (even though most of the air is removed – it’s still a risk). Also, a bucket will serve as protection from the bag becoming punctured, especially from curious rodents.

Note that any sealable bag will work (seal-a-meal type vacuum sealer machines), as long as it holds a vacuum.

How To Seal A Mylar Bag

We would like to involve you, the Reader, more!

So, we’re asking you to chime in with your questions, any questions, ideally relating to the general topics covered in this blog or anything to do with emergency preparedness; survival. From time to time we will post these questions and answers, while you, the questioner, will remain anonymous.

Email your questions here and type “Reader Questions” in the subject line.

If you enjoyed this or topics of emergency preparedness, or are planning for disaster,
Read our current articles on Modern Survival Blog
twitter: MSurvivalBlog

Organization And Pantry Organizers For Your Food Storage

Yesterday I happened to be visiting with a friend for a few hours. We went down into her basement and I saw the nice, well stocked metal pantry shelves her husband had built. Immediately, a big smile came to my face. I turned to her and said, “What a nice pantry! I have to congratulate you on what you’ve stored. Nice job!”

She said that when her husband goes shopping and something is on sale 10 for $10, he buys 10 and we put them down here. Again I complimented her for taking advantage of sales, and storing what they can. I said, “You know you’re doing the right thing, don’t you? The prices are only going to continue to rise.” She agreed.

This little encounter reminded me of how important it is to have your food storage organized and how pantry organizers can make a big difference. I was very pleased to see how nicely her shelves were organized. It’s very important to have your food storage organized.

Why is organization important to your food storage? One thing, is that being organized, will allow you to see at a glance how much of a particular item you have in your storage. This will let you know whether or not you need to purchase more of that item. Being organized will also help you to properly rotate your food.

For example, I started using pantry organizers (‘can racks’) similar to this Soup Can Rack , several years ago and they are a great help. The oldest can should be in the front. When you buy new cans, they get loaded in the back. Whenever you remove a can, the next oldest one will roll to the front. Rotation made easy! Here is an example of smaller pantry organizers that will fit in your cupboard. Here’s another great idea for your cupboards, a multi-tier ‘Expand A Shelf’ so you can see what you have, all the way to the back!

A large metal shelving unit may work in your basement nicely and keep prying eyes off your food supplies. We feel it is important to keep your extra food items ‘hidden’ from view to avoid potential issues, should disaster strike.

Now, the can racks will only work for cans. If you have food that is in boxes, you can do what we do depending on where you are storing them. If you have room, you can store them like the cans, with the oldest box in front and the newer ones in the back of the row. You would then always take from the front of the row and stock new items from the back of the row.

We have also stored boxed food from ‘left to right’ in an area that wasn’t deep enough to make rows. With the left to right principle, always take from the right and restock from the left.

There are so many organization aids and pantry organizers for your pantry. I recommend you try a can rack or two, they work very well.

You may find that your ‘initial’ organization may take a good amount of your time to set up. But, believe me, once you are organized, your time will be saved!

If you enjoyed this or topics of emergency preparedness, or are planning for disaster,
Read our current articles on Modern Survival Blog

Best Food Storage: Canned or Freeze Dried?

Reader Question:

I’d like to hear opinions on canned vs freeze dried food in an area where clean water would not be abundant in a disaster, Southern California.

Answer:

The thought that immediately comes to mind is find a way to store more water! Not only would you need water to rehydrate your food, but you will also need water to drink. You will need water for sanitation too. The general rule of thumb is a gallon of water per person, per day, minimum.

“Unless you live on property with natural occurring water, you need to have excess water storage available for an emergency. Depending on your weight, physical activity, and environment, the human body needs nearly 1 gallon of water per day. Human beings are made up of about 60% water. We sweat out about 2 cups water per day. We lose 1 cup per day from exhaling and we eliminate about 6 cups of it. Your life depends on daily replenishment of water.”

Source: Modern Survival Blog

The next thing I thought is that I would store both types of food as I do right now. Canned foods will last for several years (or more – depending) and are essentially already cooked, so you can eat them right out of the can, without heating, if circumstances do not provide you with a means to heat your canned  food.

Canned foods will last for a few years, but they are also heavier to carry if you have to bug out. Canned foods will also take up a fair amount of physical space. Freeze dried food is much lighter weight and has a shelf life of about 25 years, but you do need to add water.

Why should you store both types? Well, if you really want to be prepared, then you should be ready for almost any kind of situation that can occur. Some may be short term while others could be very long term. Both types of food could be used as you hunker down and stay inside your home. The emergency situation or disaster that you are preparing for will lead to whether you will ‘bug out’ or ‘bug in’ and will help you determine which food to store or to carry with you.

Freeze dried food is light weight and some of it could be put in ziploc bags or containers for example, for a survival pack or bug-out-bag. Canned foods won’t be practical here. On the other hand, canned foods are ready-to-eat and are simple for at home.

In summary, I would suggest for your situation to concentrate first on canned foods and then build up a supply of water storage and freeze dried food. I would also determine where you would ‘bug out’ if you had to leave for greener pastures.

“Whether you live in a region prone to natural disasters or if you are emergency survival preparedness minded, it is imperative that you store water for you and your family, BEFORE you think about storing food.”

Source: Survival Water Storage

We would like to involve you, the Reader, more!

So, we’re asking you to chime in with your questions, any questions, ideally relating to the general topics covered in this blog or anything to do with emergency preparedness; survival. From time to time we will post these questions and answers, while you, the questioner, will remain anonymous.

Email questions to the following and type “Reader Questions” into the subject line.

If you enjoyed this or topics of emergency preparedness, or are planning for disaster,
Read our current articles on Modern Survival Blog