Eat What You Store

Having food storage of any kind is a step in the right direction--to really make your storage work well for you and your family, think about the things you love to eat on a day-to-day basis, and plan to store ingredients that will make those meals possible. Eating what you store will make rotating your food storage easier, and when you need to rely on those supplies to make it through, you'll have the comfort of the everyday foods you love and know how to cook. Follow these simple suggestions, and you’ll see how easily you can put together a supply of nutritious food your family will love to eat in an emergency. You’ll also know how to incorporate it in your daily life when it is time to use it and replace it so your supply stays fresh. First, take a simple inventory of what your family eats on a regular basis and the types of foods they enjoy. Maybe your family really enjoys lasagna or spaghetti, so you may want to store a lot of tomato powder. Or maybe your family loves to have breakfast together every Saturday—in that case, be sure to have some biscuit or pancake mix and scrambled egg mix on hand. Remember to look at the nutritional aspect of your supply so your diet will give you the strength you need if you have to exclusively use your food storage. Make a list of the meals your family enjoys, then purchase the dehydrated and freeze dried products that you will use to make those meals. For example, if your family eats potatoes regularly then you may want to prepare them as a potato casserole that is made with your food storage. Another simple way to plan your food storage is to learn how to use items you are less familiar with. Have you learned the many simple ways to use your wheat? You’ll be surprised how easy it is to use your stored wheat, and the great nutrition it can add to almost any meal. Wheat is substantially less expensive than flour, and will store much longer. It is easy to incorporate this highly nutritive, basic food into your daily life. Here is a simple recipe that will take about one minute to learn or share and can add nutrition to almost everything you eat! Hard to believe? Read on . . . What you’ll need: a Thermos® (or similar type container) a half cup of whole wheat berries (the dry wheat seed) a cup and a half of boiling water. Step one: Fill your Thermos® with hot tap water and put the lid on loosely. Let it sit until the next step. Step two: Bring a cup of water to a boil. Then dump the tap water out of the Thermos®. Step three: Pour the boiling water into the thermos along with the wheat berries. When you do this put the lid on as quickly as possible so the water does not lose heat. Step four: Allow the wheat to "cook" in the Thermos® overnight (about 8 hours). When morning comes you will have "swelled, soft wheat berries" that take on the flavor of anything you add them to. They can be used in so many applications: Wheat prepared in this simple way can be used as a breakfast cereal, a topping on a salad, yogurt, ice cream, a milkshake, a smoothie, your chicken or tuna fish sandwich, spaghetti—almost any meal you make. These berries take on the flavor of whatever you add them to and provide a boost of nutrition. And that’s just one of many simple and easy ways to use your food storage! There are a few other food storage items you may be less familiar with that you can incorporate easily into your cooking. Have you learned that you can save money by substituting textured vegetable protein for meat? Do you know how much easier it is to use dehydrated carrots than peeling and cutting them yourself? You can learn the answers to these questions and many more by reading a little, asking people who have some experience, and having fun practicing when you get an opportunity! Then when an emergency arises you will have confidence that you can make it through. Gaining this confidence is one of the most important reasons to be familiar with, use, and rotate your food storage. Another thing to keep in mind when planning your food storage is this: Though older food storage can lose some of its nutritive value, minerals and carbohydrates last indefinitely and can have crucial value in an emergency. Therefore, never throw old food storage out unless you have something to replace it. Food storage options are varied and can meet the nutritional needs and tastes of any individual or family. We can enjoy scrambled eggs with bacon that taste just like the real thing, beef stroganoff that is creamy and flavorful, and ingredients to make family favorites from scratch. With so many available options, food storage really can be enjoyable to eat and easy to prepare. Just remember to always keep in mind the concept "eat what you store, store what you eat" and your food storage will not only provide necessary nutrition in a crisis, but it will taste delicious to you and your family.