What's In Your Pantry?

(one of my Team Prepperific faithful members posing with my recent case lot purchases. See how uber excited he is about stockpiling!)

 

When you think about food storage, do you think about 5 gallon buckets , #10 cans, or cases of wheat, beans, rice, powdered milk, tuna, tomatoes, green beans, and oatmeal shoved in an obscure corner of the basement, collecting dust, just waiting for the end of the world. It's fabulous if that is what you have stock piled, so far, but when the Zombies come,what will you be whipping up for dinner based on what's in your food stash?  Odds are good that Peachy Tuna Surprise or Honey Wheat Chili are not going to go over well.

Approaching food storage as a collection of shelf stable consumables to be used only in case of emergency is setting yourself up for a lot of stress; at a time when you will probably already be riding the tidal wave of  " Oh no! What are we going to do now?!?". Feeding your family foods that they have never, or rarely eaten, especially in times of stress, will not be a pleasant experience. Plus, if they are not part of the families regular menu, some items may cause gastric distress (also not a pleasant experience). Another question to ask is," Will I even know how to prepare (fill in the blank here)?"

A better solution is to use The Pantry Principle to food storage. Basically, the Pantry Principle is compiling a list of food items that your family eats regularly, and use that as the master list to build a useable stash of food. In addition to building up a stockpile of items that your family will eat, you will be using those items in your regular menu. Frequently replacing the items that you have used.
I personally switched to this method years ago, after having to live out of my basement "grocery store" for several months. Let's just say, macaroni, oatmeal, and tuna played heavily into our menu.

Using the Pantry Principle provides opportunities for you to:

• Create a menu of recipes and foods that your family likes to eat.
• Rotating your stock of food by eating it regularly, avoiding stale and spoiled food.
• Get your family use to the idea of eating certain foods. Gradually introducing dried beans, wheat flour, powdered milk, canned fruit and veggies into your diet is much less traumatic than throwing your white bread loving family into the deep end, so to speak.
• Allow yourself the chance to learn how to cook with the above items. Learning new skills along the way.
• Save money on your grocery budget.  Having a stash of pantry basics will save you from running to the store to buy a "few items" to make dinner, spending much more money than you had planned on. In addition to curtailing extra trips to the store, once you have a decent amount of things stored away, you can wait to restock until the items you need are on sale.

The Prudent Homemaker's blog is a fabulous resource of how to strictly feed your family out of your food storage on a daily basis. I have used her ideas for inspiration on streamlining my own pantry. If your are confused about the basic idea of the Pantry Principle this blog gives you a great explanation of how it works. So... what's in your pantry?

How To Start Building Your Food Storage On The Cheap

 



(Excuse the halo above the canned goods. Photography is obviously no my super power!)

 



Food storage......a year's supply......a little something for a rainy day. We all know that it is important to have some basic food and household supplies stocked up for "just in case".  It is always a good idea to be prepared, but where to start? It is more than daunting to picture cases of wheat, powdered milk, flour, sugar, oil, canned fruit and vegetables stacked four high in your mind's eye. Even more so, to get that mental plan out of your head and into your basement storage room, or wherever else you can squirrel away a few items. It's enough to set a person into panic mode! Never fear! Rome wasn't built in a day......and food storage doesn't have to be, either.

Starting a stockpile is as simple as adding a few extra items to your grocery list each week. Starting small doesn't make such a huge dent in your budget. To start you should:

• Make a list of grocery items that you use on a regular basis. What  will your family eat happily? In times of stress nobody wants to experience the drama that will inevitably ensue when you serve something deemed less the palatable by the troops.
• Make a list of personal and household items you use daily. In the event that employment is lost non food items are not included in state assisted food programs. How many of each item will you need to tide you over for a few months or a year?
• Decide how much of your weekly grocery budget you can to set aside for food storage items? Even five or ten dollars worth of items will build up quickly.
• Watch for the items on your list to go on sale and then stock up. Toothpaste, soap, laundry detergent, etc. will always go on sale every three to four weeks. Take advantage and buy one or two extra.

If trying to figure this out in your head is still making you a little nervous, or you are the kind of person that likes to have things written out. The ladies at Classy Clutter have devised a great cheat sheet. They have broken down what to purchase week by week to get your food storage off to a great start. Most of the items on the list can be purchased for around $5.00. Click HERE to print out the weekly list. To make it even easier I will remind you each week on my FACEBOOK page what the must buy items are.

Got Goals?

It seems that at the beginning of each new year everyone feels obligated to set resolutions, myself included. Lose weight, organize the house, meditate for X number of minutes each day, or maybe read that classic novel. The possibilities are endless! I am not suggesting that setting resolutions is a bad thing, quite the contrary. Resolutions or goals, as I like to call them, are a great way to improve yourself, boost confidence, set priorities, and keep you focused on positive changes in your life.

This year I would like to challenge you to set a goal or two out of the norm. Take a moment to think about something you could or would like to learn or improve upon this year that will help you live a little more providently. Food, healthcare, and utility costs are projected to continue to rise. Employment isn't always stable. Budgets will only stretch so far, money isn't limitless (oh, how I wish I could grow a money tree!).

Focus on your families needs. Is there debt to be eliminated, or at least pared down to a more manageable amount? Maybe saving for a down payment on a house or a car? Perhaps your Emergency Fund is a smoking crater of despair after a string of unexpected expenses, and needs to be replenished. Would you like to be more organized at mealtime, or trim down the grocery budget?  How about growing some of your own food?

In order to successfully reach any goals, I have found there are a few steps to follow to keep me on track.

1. Make one or two goals at a time. Too many at once will be frustrating and overwhelming.
2. Write your goals down. Committing them to paper makes them real.
3. Set up a plan to complete your goal. Step by step if necessary.
4. Choose a time frame to have the goal completed. Having a finish line will keep you focused.
5. Recruit a "partner in crime" if you feel like you can't accomplish your goal on your own. Everything is more fun with a buddy.
6. Don't expect instant gratification. Some things take time to achieve or perfect.
7. Be positive. You can do it!

Now it's your turn. How do you successfully reach your goals?

.

Slow Cooker "Refried" Beans

Right now I live in a house full of growing boys. Boys that never seem to stop eating. I have watched them consume an entire box of cereal in a single sitting....right after dinner. That's why  refried beans are a staple at our house. My boys will eat them everyday with tortilla chips, or as quesadillas or burritos. They are a cheap snack or dinner.  You can buy cans of refried beans for convenience, but if you go through a can or two at a sitting, the cost adds up. I can make a 6 quart slow cooker full for about $1.00. The best part is that most of the process is totally hands off. The hardest part is remembering to soak the beans overnight.

 

 

Slow Cooker Refried Beans

 

 

3 cups                             dried pinto beans (or a variety to equal three cups)

1 large                            onion

1 (4oz)                            can green chilies (or home canned or 1 fresh jalapeno pepper)                                        with the  juice

1 tablespoon                  minced onion

1 tablespoon                  chicken bullion (tomato bullion, found in the Hispanic aisle is good too)

1/2 teaspoon                  cumin

1 teaspoon                     chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoon               black pepper

2 1/2 teaspoon               salt
9 cups                            water



 

 

The night before you want to cook your beans, add the 3 cups of dried pinto beans in a 6 quart slow cooker. You can also use a blend of dried beans. We like red or black beans mixed in with our pintos.

 

 

Cover your beans with cold water. Make sure the water covers the beans by at least two inches of water. Cover slow cooker with the lid, and let it sit overnight (8 hours).

 



 

 In the morning drain and rinse your beans. It's important to rinse your beans to prevent "gastric distress", especially if you live with boys. 



 



Gather up your ingredients.

 



 

Quarter your onion, and add to the slow cooker. Follow with the spices, garlic, and canjar of chili peppers. 

 

 

Cover with 9 cups of water. Turn the slow cooker on high, and cook for 8 hours. 

 

 

 

After the beans are cooked (they should smash easily with a fork). Remove lid and turn off slow cooker. Let the bean mixture rest for at least half an hour before you blend.

 

 

Using a slotted spoon, transfer beans into a blender or food processor to blend your beans. Make sure to add a small amount of liquid with the beans to make them smooth and reduce stress on your appliance (we don't want to burn out the motor).

  

 

This make a lot of beans! Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for 3 days. They also freeze beautifully. Transfer cold beans into plastic freezer bags or storage containers and put in the freezer. They will last in the freezer for 6 months.

 

Dried beans are great staple to have in food storage or in your pantry. They are a great budget stretcher!  Beans are super cheap, especially if you buy them in bulk. Stocking up is usually not a problem, because they can be last for a long time, if stored properly. On a side note, if they are really old they will not soften when cooked. Also, they are a complete source of protein if paired with rice, or cheese. 

Your turn to comment! Are beans part of your weekly menu?

 

Provident Living: All The Cool Kids Are Doing It!

 





 

 



For all of those who know me, it comes as no surprise, that my recent calling, as Emergency Preparedness Specialist in our Ward, has me all sorts of excited. All things provident causes a "burning in my bosom" that makes me want to shout out a big, " Hooray! Let's go grind some wheat and bake some bread!". I am the product of three generations of amazing women who raised families through difficult times with very little money, but with lots of love. They have taught me to be resourceful, prepare for what life may have in store for you, be glad for the opportunity to do so,  and that compassion and serving others is the greatest opportunity you can be given. Believe me, during my formative years, there was always a mother or grandmother encouraging (and sometimes demanding) that I take a hands on approach to learning basic domestic skills (i.e. sewing, gardening, cooking, canning, budgeting, and saving for a rainy day). Sometimes there was much drama and eye rolling, from my youthful self, at such unimportant demands. After all, who needs to know all this "stuff"?

Fast forward several years, and I find myself a young wife and mother on a budget that doesn't seem to want to stretch as far as I want or need it to.  All of a sudden, a  basic knowledge of  these skills didn't seem so silly. At first trying to implement provident living techniques seemed daunting. Where to start. Of course, I told myself menu planning, cooking and baking from scratch, preserving garden produce for "later", mending clothes, building a food storage and savings account, were only things I would have to do until we started making better money.  Fast forward 20 something years later, and we are still waiting for times to get better. It seems as your income grows, so does your family and the demands on the budget. Many times our family has been thankful for the stockpiles of sugar, flour, and canned goods in the basement that have gotten us through.

There is a comfort in knowing you have taken steps towards preparing yourself and your family for the "rainy" day that will inevitably come. It's not just catastrophic natural disasters that we should be prepared for (even though it is definitely necessary, considering the stream of floods, earthquakes, and natural rumblings we have seen worldwide), but the personal setbacks that may come ( job loss, unexpected financial obligations, health scares, etc.). "Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh;" (D & C 1:12).

My job is to make preparing for what may come is a little easier, and a lot less scary. I have been learning it through trial and error for quite awhile now. That is why I have started this blog. When I  started my back to the basics lifestyle, I needed help and ideas of where to start, and how to get organized. I have discovered tons of great sites with straight forward and easy how to tutorials on the Internet (Woot! Woot! for Pinterest), e books, and in regular books (For you old schoolers, like me. Most are available at the library). Here I can share what I have learned with you, and together we can learn to be the Proverbial Ant from the fable "The Ant and the Grasshopper".

As a jumping off point go stop by http://www.providentliving.org/?lang=eng. This site explains the importance of  preparedness from the Church's perspective.  Please feel free to leave a comment! I would love for you to share your thoughts!