Make Food Storage a Priority this year......

Happy New Year!

I am hoping you are starting the new year off with thoughts of being better prepared and ways to protect and bless your family. The following article comes from the Mormon Times and is written by one of my favorite "Food Storage Guru's", Leslie Probert. Listen to her message.....it applies to......you.

Make food storage a priority this year


By Leslie Probert (Published: 2010-01-01 00:16:17)

Food storage is proving to be a lifesaver in these difficult economic times when people know how to use it.

A mother of five children confided recently, "My husband has had half his usual work this last year, causing a significant reduction in income. Because we had our food storage we have had complete peace of mind. I knew I would be able to feed our family.

"This friend has been diligent over the years in purchasing food storage.

She followed a calendar, with food storage items divided among the months, according to when they would most likely be on sale.

Each time she went to the store, she purchased as much as she could of the items of the month. If she found a sale on something else, she bought it instead, returning to the calendar the next visit to the store.

At the end of each year, she started the calendar again.

Her diligence over the years allowed her to acquire a significant store of food, which is blessing her family now.

My friend not only stored food, but regularly tried food storage recipes made entirely from stored foods, including the basics.

Her family already had favorites from food storage recipes before this time of reduced income. Food storage recipes were even requested for birthday meals. She stored what was needed to make delicious recipes. Her diligence has paid off.

To teach their children life lessons, she and her husband have been very open about their financial circumstances.

Having little income, 85 percent of her cooking is food storage meals.

Their children have said they don't notice any difference in things at home, other than mom's baking bread more. Life has stayed very normal.

She has found having a variety of recipes keeps meals interesting and delicious for her family. An added bonus is that she has lost weight by eating whole grains.

Tired from a long day before Christmas, this mother realized, at 5:15 p.m., nothing was started for dinner at 6 p.m.

With the help of a son, who chose Beef and Green Chile Soup by 5:25 p.m., the recipe was assembled by 5:30 p.m. and ready to eat by 6 p.m."That's what I love about food storage recipes. They are SO fast to prepare," she said.

This friend has found homemade bread comforts her family. When her husband has felt discouraged that he cannot find more work, she has taken him to their food storage room, reminding him that he has provided well for their family.

A father of another family, having four children, lost his job in April of last year. The following month he confided, "I am expecting help from Father in heaven in finding a new job because I have been obedient and have my food storage.

"Following church counsel to store a year's supply of food brought increased faith, as he petitioned the Lord for help. In the Lord's good time, he was successful in finding a great job. Having their food storage, and good recipes to make with it, also helped this family until new employment came.

In your time of plenty is the time to prepare for a time of need.

Let us not be as early church members, who were chastened by the Lord, "In the day of their peace they esteemed lightly my counsel ..." (Doctrine and Covenants 101:8).

Storing food is an inspired way to sustain families in lean times, blessing those who have faith to follow such counsel.

Plan this year to make food storage a priority. Make it a goal to see how much you can accomplish by the end of this year. Begin experimenting with recipes. Claim the blessings that come from storing food and knowing how to use it.

Education Week at BYU in review: Leslie Probert

(Image courtesy of www.mormontimes.com)

Well, the LRH finally took time off from work etc to go to Education Week with her mother and sisters. It was fun to spend time with family and also to visit with friends and acquaintances that I had not seen for some time. For the next few posts, I will share with you some of the great information I gleaned while I was at BYU this past week. I have not had such a fun (and exhausting week) in a while. It was well worth the $50.00 admission fee that was charged. I encourage you to try to attend next year if you can make it happen.

We will first discuss some of the things that I took away from Leslie Probert's classes. Her overall title was: Food Storage A.S.A.P. (Amazingly Simple and Practical). Here are some of the highlights that I wanted to share with you all:

• 3-month Food Storage: We all should know by now that we should have 3 months of foods that we know and like on hand. She also suggested that we include some instant meals that do not require cooking for times when we are out of power or we just don't have time to cook.
• Grains: After we have our 3 months supply, we all should know by now that we should store some long-term food storage. In regard to Grains, she suggests that 65% of our grain storage should be in whole grains. The whole grain (not milled) can store for as much as 30 years of stored properly. Flour can store up to 10 years and Corn meal can store up to 5 years. She also stated that very young children and elderly folks need mild grains due to their dietary needs. Rice overtime can develop yellowing and be slightly rancid (smell and taste). I learned in another class that you can rinse the rancid rice and eat it.
• HALT: She used the acronym "HALT" which guides you in storing your foods. They should not be placed in a "Humid" place, should not be exposed to Air or Light and the Temperature should be cool. She suggested that any bottles that are clear (oil etc) be placed in a paper bag to protect the contents from light. She also stated that insects at any stage are destroyed when they are without oxygen for 20 days......so use Oxygen packs!
• Buckets: Reportedly plastic buckets can absorb Oxygen over time. The heavier the plastic, the better protection you have. She recommends that you seal your food items in a Mylar liner inside of your bucket to protect them. Some Mylar bags now come with zippers! I was excited to learn about that! It makes them reusable.
• Canned Foods: She stated that it is safe to eat almost any caned food indefinitely if they are dented or bulging. If they are quite old, you will loose nutrients, but they can sustain life. For ideal color and texture, use caned fruits/vegetables within 2.5 years and canned meats in 5 years.
• #10 Cans: They can old 13 cups of dry material. This is not equivalent to a gallon, which I had thought the #10 cans can hold.
• Simply Gathering Calendar: This is a calendar that lists items when they go on sale. (I will post more specifics on this later). Use the calendar to plan your purchases during the year. When the year is over, do it again as you will have used some of your supplies. You can plan and save precious funds by using this strategy.
  
  

This information was just from her first class! I will share more later. Learn from this "very smart Chick"!