I kinda liked bein' a kid because other people were responsible for me. Now, as mother, I realize Jimmy and I are responsible for 3 1/2 tots who will rely on us for survival. Kindof a lot of pressure when you think about life flipping upside down in a crisis, disaster, or emergency, which is probably why I don't think about Emergency Preparedness every moment of every day.
3-month supply: I stock up on a ton of canned foods we eat regularly, but honestly I have no idea if we'd really be okay for 3 months if all we had was what is in our pantry and storage room.
So after mulling it over all week, I finally found {this amazing spreadsheet} on Food Storage Made Easy. I had to watch the youtube video to figure out how it worked but I think it's really a clever system. It still requires oodles of planning and time on my part to fill it out, but it helps me think realistically about what I need to make 3 months food complete.
And since I have a 6-week meal plan, I'm thinking I could take the meals with the fewest fresh ingredients to put in my one-month plan. Any ideas on this and how to make it easy and work for ya?
Here are my questions:
Milk: honestly I can't imagine drinking powdered milk or even Morning Moo ... not even on cereal. So - what to do?
Cheese: the other day I was wondering what we'd do without cheese. It makes everything better. Then a friend blogged about how she learned to wax her own cheese that will sit on the shelf for a long period of time. {This website} basically summed it up. I have another handout from my friend if anyone is interested. Has anyone tried this before? I kinda want to do it.
Butter: I read today that you can freeze butter. Have you tried it? Have you frozen Margarine or spread with success?
My other issues are how to successfully substitute for fresh meats, veggies, and fruits. We eat canned veggies and fruits and we freeze some, but I'd miss stuff you can't freeze like lettuce and such. We freeze ground beef and chicken but I don't have a freezer big enough to hold 3-months worth. Hmmm... what to do?
Pandemic Stuff: Like many of you, I've been thinking about what we'd do and how we'd survive if we were told we couldn't leave our house for a few weeks. We might go bonkers together for so long. :) But would we have enough food and supplies (diapers, toilet paper, etc)??
I was also reminded this week about how it is when everyone panics and rushes the stores for items that would sell out quickly in a disaster. This happened right before Hurricane Charley when we were in Florida. The grocery store was crazy with no water bottles and basic essentials.
At the first of the week, I saw a link from my cousin to buy N-95 Masks for a good deal. I figured since they were pretty cheap, it would be a good idea just to have them on hand in our emergency supplies. I bought them online and they arrived today. Well, today I checked that same website and the same masks were nearly twice the cost as a few days ago because of the craziness with swine flu. And other websites had them on backorder. So - just makes me think about what things I need to stock in my supplies to be prepared before the rest of society goes bonkers and snags everything up.
Taking Inventory: Tomorrow I head into the depths of my food storage room and pantry to see what's really in there. This Prepared LDS Family blog} has some ideas for taking inventory on food storage. I wrote everything down once upon a time, but I never update when I take stuff out of storage. Any ideas of what has worked for you on keeping an accurate inventory?
10 comments:
I've wondered these things too. Great post! I have frozen butter and margarine before and it's fine, just takes a while to thaw. Also, I have frozen milk before but again, it takes about a day or two to thaw out and takes up a lot of room in the freezer, but it can be done! I will be checking back to see what others have to say. All this has been going through my head too! I curious to hear what others think and how they prepare for stuff like this!
Love this stuff- now if I actually did something with it! I happen to freeze my butter and margarine in our deep freeze and then rotate them out when I need them. Works great for me!
I always freeze my butter and margarine. And, my sister just told me that the brand new Walmart in Saratoga Springs (just opened 2 days ago) had an entire isle devoted to food storage. She bought powdered margarine and powdered honey last night. I've never tried it, but it's a good idea. As for the powdered milk- I hate milk! I haven't drank regular milk for at least 20 years. However, at an enrichment that I was in charge of 2 weeks ago- it was at the cannery and the food was all food storage. I mixed some up and put 2 teaspoons of vanilla in it. I chilled it for 24 hours before we drank it and honestly, it tasted just like skim milk- this coming from a girl who doesn't drink milk at all! You could also mix it half and half with regular milk- I'm sure your kids would never know the difference. I also buy the canned Costco chicken breast all the time- it's all I use. Unless we are grilling chicken or having chicken breast- I use the canned chicken. I have about 100 cans in my food storage and I use it a couple of times a week- it's great! I bought the N95 masks this week too- it was a great deal when they were on sale!
I freeze butter and margerine. Both are just fine. (I know you already have been told this by others, but by the mouth of two or three witnesses. . .
Love that spreadsheet! Thanks for sharing the link. I freeze butter all the time too. And canned meats work okay, I just prefer fresh. I think I will try and used more canned tho, see if we can get used to it.
Like the others I freeze butter all the time. Works great!
I have a recipe for canned butter. I've never tried it, but I could pass it on to you if you're ever interested. I'm going to try it one of these times...
Heather. We need to talk. Seriously. I'm totally into all this right now so if you ever want to chat, call me. I've got some good ideas I've picked up on the way that might be helpful.
If I had the space, I have been reading that you can also freeze milk, just open and use a cup or so, then freeze in the carton, thaw in the fridge and shake regularly. I also get cheese from Costco, shred it, and freeze it. You've got me thinking about all of these things, too, especially with hurricane season coming and travis leaving (how convenient). Anyway, I checked out that food storage made easy site, and I am all gung ho now. Thanks for the inspiration!
Heather, I have also been told that if you buy Sharp Tillamock cheese you can store it without doing anything to it. It is shrink wrapped like the wax without having to wax it. I have some but haven't used it. Don't really plan to unless I have to. I also have a butter recipe that can sit on a shelf. I freeze mine all the time. It is amazing what happens when people panic. :) You are great! Thanks for the spreadsheet idea. Rotating my storage is what I find hard. :)
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