Healthy Eating with Food Storage

Want to work on making healthy meals from your food storage?  Below are some reasons to start cooking from your food storage and to think healthy!

• Reasons to cook from food storage-You can control what is in your food!  You have the ability to control quantities of salts and sugar or honey in homemade foods. You have the ability to use food that has not been processed (or at least choose what processed food to use). You can make the switch to eating healthier...yes...even living on food storage!

      --- At Natural Family Recipes.com, http://www.naturalfamilyrecipes.com/,  you can find reasons to switch to healthier eating, how to make the switch, and lots of simple recipes.
      ---The Mayo Clinic has hundreds of healthy recipes to browse and try http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-recipes/RecipeIndex
      ---Try typing "healthy recipes" into an internet search engine (like Google) and see what you find =)

• Whole Grains- Among other things, whole grains have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and the risk of many types of cancer. Check out the following site for a list of the benefits of whole grain foods and how to determine the amount of whole grain in packaged products http://www.healthcastle.com/whole-grains.shtml  (Did you know that many products that claim to be “Whole Grain” really aren’t, or are merely sprinkled with a little bit of whole grain?)
• Beans- are inexpensive, easy to store and prepare and are a great source of protein.  You would be surprised at the many different varieties and uses of beans.  Check out this link for lots of information http://www.recipenet.org/health/articles/beans.htm  (Did you know you can use white beans in place of shortening in most recipes?  See post under the "Beans" category)
• Sprouting- Sprouts are a great idea anytime, but are a must for times when fresh produce may not be available.  Check out this link for a primer on what you need to know http://www.primalseeds.org/sprouting.htm
• Gardening-  A 2008 survey of gardeners found that the #1 reason to garden was to have safe and healthy food and the #2 reason was for exercise (1 hour of moderate gardening burns 300 calories).  Following is a list of just 3 of the many informative sites on gardening:    

           http://www.mysquarefootgarden.net      http://backyardgardener.com   
           http://www.gardenguiedes.com 

• Packaged Food- Packaged foods are convenient and easy to store.  The following link allows you to compare popular packaged food items and read a review by a registered dietitian so that you can make informed and healthier choices   http://www.healthcastle.com/product-review.shtml#

Check out the links below for more ideas:

• Food Pyramid-  designed by the USDA, MyPyramid.gov can help you choose the foods and amounts that are right for you. For a quick estimate of what and how much you need to eat, enter your age, sex, and activity level.   http://www.mypyramid.gov/mypyramid/index.aspx 

• Check out this information on home canning and preserving:   http://www.freshpreserving.com/,
 http://youcancan.blogspot.com/

• Shelf-life Chart-  This link is to the North Dakota State University's chart which lists foods and tells how long you can store items on the shelf, in the refrigerator and in the freezer.  http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/foods/fn579-1.htm

• "A World Of Wisdom" cookbook by Amy Cox Jones http://wowcookbook.homestead.com/  is a cookbook full of recipes organized seasonally! She goes through each season, Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring (and has a year round section) and gives you recipes for meals that use foods that are in season. Not only is this cost effective, but it also is good for you – did you know that a lot of foods provide you with certain nutrients that are needed for that time of year. She also gives you tips on how to start eating healthier. What I liked most about this cook book is that I actually know what the ingredients are! Often times healthy cookbooks have all these ingredients that intimidate me. She also uses wheat berries in some of the recipes – which is great for people without grinders. Oh and there is a section on basics with milks, sauces, and dressings that are healthy and easy to make!  Reviewed by Julie of Fun With Food Storage

Easy White Bean Dip

 If you like hummus, I think you will like this.  It is really good served with chips or raw veggies.

1 can white beans
1 TBS lemon juice
1 TBS olive oil
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Place all ingredients in a food processor fitted with a blade.  Blend until very smooth.  Chill and serve with fresh veggies, crackers, or chips.

Storage Rack & 72 Hour Kits

Here is a picture of a Shelf-Reliance Pantry 51" in a bedroom closet:

Here is a picture of 72 Hour Bags/Backpacks for a family of 4-

Food Storage Methods

Below are links to a variety of methods for starting and building your food storage.  Don't be afraid to adapt these methods to something that will work for you.

• Food Storage Made Easy and its sister sites have a ton of easy to access information and offer step-by-step help on planning and gathering food storage http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/start-here/

• What I call the "Family Favorites Method"---Still one of my favorite methods sites- lots of helpful direction- http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/FN_500.pdf 

• Wendy Dewitt's "Everything Under the Sun"--the first link here is for a You Tube video of  part 1 of her 9 video series, the other videos can be found on the right side of the page http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhGaTlwYs-s.      The second link is for her Class Booklet- http://www.theideadoor.com/PDF%20Files/RS/EverythingUnderTheSun.pdf

• Track my foodstorage.com's blog, "Food Storage Girl,"  has this method on how to organize a short term food supply in individual meal bags---http://foodstoragegirl.trackmyfoodstorage.com/post/2010/01/15/Short-Term-Food-Storage-Tips.aspx

Organizing & Tracking Your Food Storage

SHELVES/CAN RACKS

• Fun with Food Storage-  Baby Step 1 is shelves.  Information includes not only shelves, but can rotating racks (homemade can rotating rack pattern) and small spaces storage ideas.
       http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/babysteps/step-1-shelves/  

•  Shelf Reliance- Expensive, but might be worth the investment.  I bought the Pantry 51" to fit in a bedroom closet-  I LOVE it!  http://www.shelfreliance.com/

•  Rack N Roll-  I liked these can and small item organizers  http://www.rnrfoodorganizers.com/

• Check out other food storage supplier sites as many of them carry shelves and can racks  (see the left hand side of this blog for a list.

PLANNING & INVENTORY SHEETS

• Track My Foodstorage.com-  Free site that provides a computer-based planning and inventory system.  For a fee you can upgrade to the premium version for added features. http://www.trackmyfoodstorage.com/ 

•  Utah State University Extension-  This is the family favorites method site, which has planning and inventory sheets to print. http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/FN_500.pdf 

•  Fun With Food Storage-  One "Baby Steps" checklist can be received every 2 weeks by email or you can purchase their e-binder to receive all of the checklists at once. http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/babystep-checklists

•  Fun With Food Storage-  Baby Step 3 is planning your 3 month supply.  At this link you will find a spreadsheet to help you plan and track your 3 month supply.  http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2008/07/24/3-month-food-supply/

• The Ultimate Food Storage Worksheet-  I haven't tried this one personally, but thought I would include it.  http://www.wrightsonline.net/preparedness/html/spreadsheet.html  

• Leslie O. Andersen, “Tracking Our Food Storage,” Ensign, Feb. 1996, 71 For years I struggled with keeping track of my year’s supply of basic foods. I tried keeping lists of what I had, but the lists changed weekly. I was taking inventory much too often.
  Then, while a friend was visiting a bicycle shop, she noticed their system for inventory control. Inspiration struck! We each adapted the idea to our own food storage system with wonderful results. Here’s what we did:
  1. On a poster board, tape or glue pockets made of index cards cut in half, one for each kind of food in your basic year’s supply. Each pocket is labeled by the type of food, number of packages or units, amount in each package, and the total amount needed for a year’s supply of that item. For example, one pocket might be labeled “spaghetti—48 boxes x 2 lbs. = 96 lbs.”
  2. We make an inventory card for each package or unit. Spaghetti, for example, would need forty-eight cards, each with “spaghetti—2 lbs.” written on it. Those forty-eight cards are placed in the labeled pocket. Do the same with each food item.
  3. Whenever someone takes an item from storage, that person also pulls a card from the pocket and brings both items to the kitchen. We place the card in an envelope taped behind a cupboard door in the kitchen.
  We color-coded the cards to represent the source for obtaining each food item. Foods obtained from the cannery are kept on red cards, grocery store items on green ones, warehouse items on blue, and home-canned items are on pink cards.
  It’s a simple matter before shopping to pull all the green cards from the envelope when planning a trip to the store, or all the red cards when I plan for a trip to the cannery. I know exactly what needs to be replaced. As items are restocked, I replace the cards in the poster board pockets.
  We hang our poster board in our storage area. Now we are able to keep our year’s supply of food fully stocked.
   

Square Foot Gardening

Square Foot Gardening is a great idea for people with small yards or people who want their garden contained in a small area.

Check out the following link for step-by-step help from the planning stages to the harvest!

http://www.mysquarefootgarden.net/

Canned Goods Shelf-life

I found this information on canned good shelf-life and thought it was important to share:

Taken from Wendi Dewitt's blog- http://everythingunderthesunblog.blogspot.com/ 

Thursday, May 6, 2010

http://extension.usu.edu/foodstorage/htm/canned-goods/

This quote is from the University of Utah Extension Center.

"Commercially canned foods should retain their best quality until the expiration code date on the can. This date is usually 2-5 years from the manufacture date. High acid foods usually have a shorter shelf life than low acid foods. For emergency storage, commercially canned foods in metal or jars will remain safe to consume as long as the seal has not been broken."

The Canned Food Alliance also shares this view that canned foods are safe to eat as long as the can is not damaged in any way. They will lose nutritional value but are safe to eat. With this information, and the knowledge that most of the foods from the cannery will last 20 and 30 years, food storage and it's rotation have become much easier for everyone.