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| Step 3: Food Storage |
There are two parts to food storage, short term and long term.
Short term food storage might be thought of as your pantry. Some
people have a pantry that is well stocked with food they eat every day. For
instance, you might have spaghetti once a week. Therefore you have
noodles, sauce or seasonings, tomatoes, ground beef or meatballs,
parmesan, bread sticks or Italian bread, and perhaps a side vegetable. You
also have pot roast every week, so you have all the ingredients for that as
well as a bread and sides.
What I want you to do is make a list of meals you have often. Next, list the
ingredients and how much you need of each. Make up a two week list of
menus and the ingredients needed. Include breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Allow for leftovers. Figure in snacks and deserts. Don't forget the
beverages, spices and condiments. Now, make a master shopping list of two
week's food. Multiply this by 13, and you will have a master list for three
months.
This is what your goal is - to have a three month
pantry.
More would be better. Some food will have to be frozen to last that long,
and you might not have a freezer. Try to get one. They will save you money
in the long run. A freezer and a Foodsaver allows you to buy food in larger
family packs, bag them in meal size portions, and save a bundle. You can look
for items on sale and take advantage of this as well. If a freezer is not an
option, you can still store everything else on your list except for fresh items.
If you have the budget, you can get your three month pantry in short order.
If you don't have a lot of extra cash, budget a specific amount each week or
pay period for pantry food. Look at the store ads and buy your usual foods
but on items that are on sale, buy 13 of them. For instance, I like spaghetti,
and the sauce that is normally $2.49 a jar is on sale for $1.99. Buy 13. You
will spend $24 more today, but save $6.00 over the 13 week period. It has
an expiration date on the jar somewhere. Get the 13 with the longest life.
You may have to get some from the back or bottom, but it will assure you if
you don't eat it for a while, it will be edible longer. Next week, buy 13
pounds of noodles in the largest size you can get, and repackage them in
recipe size bags. You just saved some more. Noodles have a long shelf life,
especially if vacuum sealed. Next week, get the side dishes.
I think you have the idea. When you use something, write it down on your
grocery list for the week. When you replace an item, be sure to keep the
oldest items in the front. Remember, FIFO - First In, First Out.
What should you budget for this. I can't say, but it is important. You may
need to cut back on something to get it in high gear, like one dinner out a
week. Once you get it stocked up, you don't have to do any more stocking,
just replacing the items you use.
Long term food storage is much different from the pantry. Long term
food is geared toward the basics. You might think of it as survival food.
Variety can be had, but at a cost. The choices in long term food storage
range from the basics: wheat, beans, rice, peas, to military like MRE's (Meals
Ready to Eat), to freeze dried and dehydrated complete meals.
The basics can be bought in bulk in your locale and packaged in you garage
or basement. They can also be purchased already packaged in an oxygen
free medium ready to be stored for years. The choice is yours. Some items
are expensive if purchased at your local health food store, packaged in a
mylar bag with oxygen absorbers and stored in a bucket with lid. The bulk
purchasing from a food storage company may save you money, time or both.
The choice is yours. The internet is awash with companies selling survival
food. There you will find whatever you want.
If you choose to store wheat, you will need a grinder to make it into flour.
Flour doesn't store well, maybe a couple of years if properly stored. The
grinder should be geared toward the circumstances you might be in when
you eat it. If the electric grid is up, an electric grinder works great and you
can grind a lot faster than by hand. If you believe the grid will be down,
either intermittently or for a long period, a hand grinder makes a lot of
sense. It is also a lot of work. If you can have both, use the electric when
you can, including before the disaster comes. Bake yourself some
wholesome bread from some wheat berries and get used to making it from
scratch. It requires some practice, some yeast, salt and oil. You don't want
to all of a sudden have to grind wheat and make bread for the first time
when disaster strikes.
Rice is easy, just add water and salt and boil. By now you may have noticed
salt in both the bread and the rice. Better get a fair amount of it unless you
live by a salt mine or the sea. If you plan to store beans, you are going to
want to have salt and other seasonings to make them more palatable.
Throw in some bacon, ham or ham hocks, salt, pepper, onion, garlic, and a
couple of bay leaves and those beans become mighty tasty. If you are from
the South, you may want to store some corn as well as wheat. You are
going to want some cornbread with those beans and bacon.
This is pretty basic food, but it will contain complementary protein and even
without meat, is complete. Nuts don't store that long, but when combined
with bread also yields complete protein.
So, you are going to have a list of long term basics:
wheat
rice
dry beans, several varieties
salt
dry peas, several varieties
Yeast
baking powder and soda
sugar
oil - use and replace before it goes rancid
butter - freeze or can and use or replace before it goes rancid
corn - if Southern
oatmeal - eat for breakfast, grind to make flour, or make cookies
pasta
honey - lasts a long time
powdered milk
What can you make with the above? A lot. All kind of breads, bean dishes,
soups, cakes and cookies. Mexican dishes including refried beans, spanish
rice, flour or corn tortillas, and sopapillas. Sure, you might have to find some
tomatoes, spices, or some meat to supplement, but you can have variety if
you are creative.
Short term food storage might be thought of as your pantry. Some
people have a pantry that is well stocked with food they eat every day. For
instance, you might have spaghetti once a week. Therefore you have
noodles, sauce or seasonings, tomatoes, ground beef or meatballs,
parmesan, bread sticks or Italian bread, and perhaps a side vegetable. You
also have pot roast every week, so you have all the ingredients for that as
well as a bread and sides.
What I want you to do is make a list of meals you have often. Next, list the
ingredients and how much you need of each. Make up a two week list of
menus and the ingredients needed. Include breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Allow for leftovers. Figure in snacks and deserts. Don't forget the
beverages, spices and condiments. Now, make a master shopping list of two
week's food. Multiply this by 13, and you will have a master list for three
months.
This is what your goal is - to have a three month
pantry.
More would be better. Some food will have to be frozen to last that long,
and you might not have a freezer. Try to get one. They will save you money
in the long run. A freezer and a Foodsaver allows you to buy food in larger
family packs, bag them in meal size portions, and save a bundle. You can look
for items on sale and take advantage of this as well. If a freezer is not an
option, you can still store everything else on your list except for fresh items.
If you have the budget, you can get your three month pantry in short order.
If you don't have a lot of extra cash, budget a specific amount each week or
pay period for pantry food. Look at the store ads and buy your usual foods
but on items that are on sale, buy 13 of them. For instance, I like spaghetti,
and the sauce that is normally $2.49 a jar is on sale for $1.99. Buy 13. You
will spend $24 more today, but save $6.00 over the 13 week period. It has
an expiration date on the jar somewhere. Get the 13 with the longest life.
You may have to get some from the back or bottom, but it will assure you if
you don't eat it for a while, it will be edible longer. Next week, buy 13
pounds of noodles in the largest size you can get, and repackage them in
recipe size bags. You just saved some more. Noodles have a long shelf life,
especially if vacuum sealed. Next week, get the side dishes.
I think you have the idea. When you use something, write it down on your
grocery list for the week. When you replace an item, be sure to keep the
oldest items in the front. Remember, FIFO - First In, First Out.
What should you budget for this. I can't say, but it is important. You may
need to cut back on something to get it in high gear, like one dinner out a
week. Once you get it stocked up, you don't have to do any more stocking,
just replacing the items you use.
Long term food storage is much different from the pantry. Long term
food is geared toward the basics. You might think of it as survival food.
Variety can be had, but at a cost. The choices in long term food storage
range from the basics: wheat, beans, rice, peas, to military like MRE's (Meals
Ready to Eat), to freeze dried and dehydrated complete meals.
The basics can be bought in bulk in your locale and packaged in you garage
or basement. They can also be purchased already packaged in an oxygen
free medium ready to be stored for years. The choice is yours. Some items
are expensive if purchased at your local health food store, packaged in a
mylar bag with oxygen absorbers and stored in a bucket with lid. The bulk
purchasing from a food storage company may save you money, time or both.
The choice is yours. The internet is awash with companies selling survival
food. There you will find whatever you want.
If you choose to store wheat, you will need a grinder to make it into flour.
Flour doesn't store well, maybe a couple of years if properly stored. The
grinder should be geared toward the circumstances you might be in when
you eat it. If the electric grid is up, an electric grinder works great and you
can grind a lot faster than by hand. If you believe the grid will be down,
either intermittently or for a long period, a hand grinder makes a lot of
sense. It is also a lot of work. If you can have both, use the electric when
you can, including before the disaster comes. Bake yourself some
wholesome bread from some wheat berries and get used to making it from
scratch. It requires some practice, some yeast, salt and oil. You don't want
to all of a sudden have to grind wheat and make bread for the first time
when disaster strikes.
Rice is easy, just add water and salt and boil. By now you may have noticed
salt in both the bread and the rice. Better get a fair amount of it unless you
live by a salt mine or the sea. If you plan to store beans, you are going to
want to have salt and other seasonings to make them more palatable.
Throw in some bacon, ham or ham hocks, salt, pepper, onion, garlic, and a
couple of bay leaves and those beans become mighty tasty. If you are from
the South, you may want to store some corn as well as wheat. You are
going to want some cornbread with those beans and bacon.
This is pretty basic food, but it will contain complementary protein and even
without meat, is complete. Nuts don't store that long, but when combined
with bread also yields complete protein.
So, you are going to have a list of long term basics:
wheat
rice
dry beans, several varieties
salt
dry peas, several varieties
Yeast
baking powder and soda
sugar
oil - use and replace before it goes rancid
butter - freeze or can and use or replace before it goes rancid
corn - if Southern
oatmeal - eat for breakfast, grind to make flour, or make cookies
pasta
honey - lasts a long time
powdered milk
What can you make with the above? A lot. All kind of breads, bean dishes,
soups, cakes and cookies. Mexican dishes including refried beans, spanish
rice, flour or corn tortillas, and sopapillas. Sure, you might have to find some
tomatoes, spices, or some meat to supplement, but you can have variety if
you are creative.