Freeze Dried Fruit, yum, yum!

Have you ever tried freeze dried fruit?  It taste great, it's light weight and nutritious and kids love it! Perfect for any emergency kit. We will be packaging some into mylar bags Thursday, Dec. 4th 7:00 pm.  Please take advantage of this rare opportunity to get your hands on some at really low cost when compared to buying at the store.  Plus, it has a 10+ year shelf life! All orders must be turned in and paid for by Wednesday, Nov. 26th to Kristine Guerrero tovselfreliance@gmail.com. You do not need to be able to attend to participate.

72-hour kits

In a perfect world nothing bad would ever happen...unfortunately we do not live in a perfect world.  That's why we need to be prepared for the unexpected, expecting that the unexpected will happen...unexpectedly.  Are you confused yet? 

Let me explain.  I have a car with over 170K miles on it.  It has never broken down on me while driving, while far away from home, at night, etc.  But chances are, it will eventually.  Most of the time that I'm in my car, I have my 3 kids with me.  I DO NOT want to be in a situation at night when I'm alone with my kids, on the freeway (or worse, a dark road) when my car breaks down...but, if it does, I want to be prepared to take care of myself and my kids.  The only thing that could make that situation worse would be if I didn't have things like a flashlight that works, food and water, extra clothing and diapers and shoes.  That is why I carry an emergency kit in my car.

I also have a kit for my home, for each member of my family.  Chances are that I won't ever be in a "disaster" situation, either in my car or at home, but if there ever is, I want that peace of mind that I have prepared.  I may even need to use my supplies for things other than a disaster.  I broke out mine and my kids rain coats from my emergency car kit the other day when it started raining on my way to Costco.  There wasn't a close parking spot, as usual, and I didn't want my kids to get all wet trying to get them into the store.  It was awesome!  Problem solved!

It may feel overwhelming to think about how to go about getting kits for your family.  Here are a few simple and economical ways that you too can start or build on your and your family's at home and car kits.

First:  GET A BAG!!!  Now this can be any bag to begin with.  You don't have to spend a lot.  Grab an old back pack, duffel bag, suitcase, or even diaper bag.  Remember, anything is better than nothing.  If you don't have enough bags for each member of your family, combine kits. 

 

-Take this opportunity while it's empty to repair any holes or broken straps.  It doesn't have to be pretty as long as it's strong enough to hold your supplies.  --If you want to take an extra step you can spray your bag with water repellent (found in the shoe section in many stores) or get a heavy duty trash bag to line your bag. 

-If you're away from home a lot, get a bag for your car.  It can even be a plastic storage container.

-For those with large families, get a rolling trash can to keep your bags inside.

 

Second:  FOOD AND WATER!  A person can only survive about a week without water.  I promise you that if you are in a stressful situation having to use a lot of physical exertion, it won't take that long.  It is recommended that we drink 2 quarts (or 4 - 16 oz bottles) a day.  Over 3 days that would be 12 bottles per person.  This can be done with bottled water or something like cleaned soda bottles filled with tap water and 1 tsp. regular bleach per quart.  Just make sure you rotate every 6 months.

A person can survive longer without food (about 4 weeks or so).  Again, in a stressful situation with some exertion required, you do not want to have to be without food...especially if you have children.  Stock up on foods that will give you energy and nutrition.  If possible, pack foods that your body is used to.  I personally like trail mix and granola bars.  This is something that will vary based on you and your family's needs and likes.  Start out small adding a few items to begin with and build up from there until you have enough for 3 days.  Something is better than nothing.   Just try and keep it simple.  The less utensils needed and cooking required, the better.

Third:  CLOTHING/SHOES!  Dress for the occasion.  Hope for the best but prepare for the worst.  Worst case scenario, you have no shelter.  If all you had to survive the night was the clothes on your back, you'd want them to be able to keep you warm.  Place a jacket, sweater, pants, hat and extra socks for each person in your kits.  Don't forget the shoes either.  Go to garage sales or thrift stores to find these items.  I love hand-me-downs for this reason.  There is no reason to spend a lot of money on clothes you may never wear.  Fashion won't matter at this point.  Start with one extra change of clothes and build up to last for 3 days. 

Fourth:   EVERYTHING ELSE!!!  This includes your tools, shelter, hygiene supplies, etc.  There could be a lot of things in an emergency kit that might be great to have.  Once you have the basics, you can build upon with these.  Start with the most important like medicines and first aid supplies.  Look at your own family's specific needs.  Again, there is no need to go into debt for this.  Just add things one at a time and rotate as needed.  I recommend every 6 months around General Conference, April and October.
 

Fruit pie filling...in a hurry!

Here's a great idea for when you want a fresh baked friut pie but don't want to do all of the work for it.

Goof-Proof Pie Crust:
4 cups flour
2t salt
1T sugar  
1¾ c shortening  
1 ¾ c ICE water
1 egg
1T white vinegar      

Whisk flour, sugar, and salt, cut in shortening. Combine water, egg, and vinegar together. Stir into flour mix.  Divide into 5, make into flat balls, freeze.  Makes 5 1-crust pie shells.
NOTE:  if you prefer to use premade pie crust, keep pie shells or rounds of Never Fail Pie Crust in the freezer.

Apple Pie filling:  
Eyeball method:   Peel, core, slice apples.  This is all done to your family’s taste. Put the sliced apples into a large pan. Add sugar to taste, cinnamon and nutmeg as desired. Add just a bit of water to the pan to keep the apples from scorching. Cook until the apples are somewhat tender…you don’t want mush. At this point, you can bottle or freeze your filling as desired.

To bottle the filling: fill HOT quart jars to within about ½ inch of the top. (If you’re going to leave out the spices, you might want to put a teaspoon of lemon juice on the top to prevent browning).  Wipe of the bottle rim, cap, put the ring on the bottle. Process for 10 minutes in a water bath or a steam canner.
                                 
To Freeze pie filling:  Line an EMPTY pie plate with 2 long pieces of plastic wrap crossing each other.  Transfer your hot apples to a bowl to slightly cool.  Adjust your spices to the apples, and add 3 Tablespoon quick cooking tapioca; stirring gently to mix.  Pour/layer your slices into the pie plate, fold the plastic wrap over the pie filling to cover. Put in the freezer until solid. When it’s a solid disk, remove from the pie pan and put your “fruit Frisbee” into a heavy plastic freezer bag. Also works with peaches & boysenberries.

To make your pie:
Frozen pie filling: thaw your shell, slip the fruit Frisbee into the shell, cover with a crumble topping, Bake 400 deg. For 15 minutes, then down to 350 until done.

Bottled filling will need to have the tapioca added. Open bottles, put in bowl, stir in 3T instant tapioca. Pour into unbaked pie shell, either cover with another pie shell or use the crumble topping.

Crumb topping:
1/3 C sugar  
¾ C flour
6T COLD/frozen  butter.

Process with knife blade in food processor.  Sprinkle over pie, bake on foil lined baking sheet.

For apple sauce keep cooking the apples past the pie filling stage and make chunky apple sauce, or go all the way to apple sauce consistency.  Apples that are on the bland side can be kicked up a notch with a bit of lemon juice which also keeps the apple sauce from browning.

NOTE: These recipes were for apple pie but can be applied to other types of fruit pie as well.

Thanks to Luana Wells for this great demo!

Make your own Fruit Roll-ups!

…and when I say fruit roll ups…I mean FRUIT roll ups not fruit flavored roll ups. These super healthy treats are great for kids and much easier than you may think! Plus, you can even use food storage to make it all happen. Yes, sometimes the world is perfect! ;)   Now before you start worrying that you won’t be able to try this because you don’t have a dehydrator-think again!  As long as you have an oven, you can do this!  And did I mention these are much cheaper to make than the real fruit leather you can buy?  Yep-cooking from scratch is a good thing my friends!

Ingredients:

2 cups freeze dried fruit (I like to do 1 c. strawberries and a ½ c. each of raspberries and blueberries)

1/3 cup warm water

Method:

Place fruit and water in blender and blend until very smooth. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick spray. Pour fruit mixture onto aluminum foil and spread evenly and thin on top of aluminum foil. Bake at 250 degrees for 25 minutes. WITH OUT OPENING YOUR OVEN DOOR, turn the oven off and let sit for 8 hours. After 8 hours, peel fruit leather off aluminum foil and place on wax, parchment or cling wrap. Cut into long strips with scissors and roll up.

Find out about it here:

Everyday Food Storage Recipes-Food Storage & Recipe Blog

Powdered Eggs

What are powdered eggs?

Powdered eggs are made from REAL fresh eggs, this shouldn't be confused with an egg substitute. First, the eggs are washed and then opened. The liquid product is then filtered and chilled, which destroys bacteria such as salmonella. Next, the egg product are dried, usually through a spray-drying process, to create a free-flowing powder.

Why should I have powdered eggs in my food storage?

• It can save YOU money! To figure it out, you should know that most can't contain the equivalent of 12 1/2 dozen large eggs (or about 18 dozen medium eggs). So take the total price of the cans and divide it by 12 1/2 (or 18th if you normally purchase medium eggs) to see what the cost per dozen is.
• No fear of harmul bacterias like Salmonella. You can use it in doughs and better and have your kids (or maybe even you!) eat the dough or lick the beaters again without any fear of bacteria. (Remember, powdered eggs have the bacteria like salmonella killed in the drying process.)
• You can half an egg now!
• It's a great way to have kids helping you cook (no spilled eggs or egg shells in your food).
• You never know when egg prices will rise or when a shortage will come so even if it's not cheaper to use your powdered eggs right now, I'd still suggest getting some to have on hand in case one of the scenarios occurs.

How do I use powdered eggs in my baking/cooking?

It's simple really, in any recipe calling for eggs use 1T dry egg powder + 2 T water for a medium egg or 2 T dry egg powder + 1/4 c water for an extra large egg.  Basically it's double the water for however much egg powder you use. Just add the egg powder with your dry ingredients and the water with your liquid ingredients.

Overcoming your food storage fears

President Ezra Taft Benson said, "The revelation to store food may be as essential to our temporal salvation today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah...For the righteous, the gospel provides a warning before a calamity, a program for the crises, a refuge for each disaster.  The Lord has...warned us of famines, but the righteous will have listened to prophets and stored at least a year's supply of survival food."

The Lord declared in D&C 82:10 that if we obey Him, He is bound to bless us. 
And in 1 Nephi 3:7, that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them. 

Elder Vaughn J Featherstone adds, "The Lord will make it possible, if we make a firm commitment, for every Latter-Day Saint family to have a year supply of food reserves...All we have to do is to decide, commit to do it, and then keep a commitment.  Miracles will take place; the way will be opened."

So what are your delays? What are your excuses? 

You don't have space?
store it under your bed!  In the corners of your closets (we all have a little free floor space!) 

You don't know where to start?

1. ONE CAN AT A TIME! seriously! just get one can of something you can use! Eggs, Powdered Milk, whole wheat, dehydrated veggìes...and start using it in your everyday cooking! Or buy a can of rice and a can of beans and store them somewhere.  Seriously!  Start with one can.  you will be amazed how quickly your supply grows. 
2. The church pamphlet "All is safely gathered in" says start with a simple 3 month supply
1. idea: come up with a few simple meals that your family could live off - a week or two.  maintain a 3 month supply of ingredients and continually rotate them! 
2. (hint: incorporating your "longer term" items into your 3 month supply makes it easier to rotate) 
3. then water.  2 weeks worth.  1 gallon per day per person FOR DRINKING! (you need more for cleaning or cooking.) 
1. store cases of water bottles with your food supply.  stick one under your bathroom sinks.  stick one in the back of your food cupboard in your kitchen.  Keep a few in the garage and rotate them out regularly. 
4. then a sufficient reserve of $ 
5. then focus on the longer term food

If you are anything like me, keeping track of your food storage while "rotating" things into your everyday use gets complicated! I use a spreadsheet I found at http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2009/03/09/long-term-food-storage-calculator/

You can download it, put in the number of people in your family and the number of months of long term storage items you are aiming for and it calculates how much you need.  I update it every 6 months (around conference time) when i'm doing my 72 hr kit and emergency binder updates.  It works for me. :)

PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO WITH FOOD STORAGE IS START!
find a system that works for you and just start building your storage.  if you have already started and aren't good at keeping track, try the spreadsheet.  if keeping track seems like too much and you have nothing in your supply, pick a few items and a place to store them and do it.  If you have no water stored, go get some.  Just take one step and you will see the Lord's promises made sure in your life. :)


Below are some of the questions asked in relief society and their answers. 

1. What is the shelf life of different foods? opened/unopened etc...
I found a link on the food storage made easy website.  a super simple chart that you could print up and keep with your food storage.  The link is:
http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2009/04/26/food-storage-shelf-life-2/

2. What are the food storage "necessities" vs "extras"
I found the following information online.  (http://www.countrysurvival.com/basic-food-storage/) This info was the best sum up of why the basics are the "necessities," so i'm leaving it in the author's own words:
The basic food storage is the absolute necessities. It is composed of life-sustaining foods that store well for long periods. A year’s supply of garden seeds for planting should be stored so that the diet may be supplemented with fresh vegetables. Basic food storage for one year per person (2400 calories per day) should include the following: 

400 pounds of grains (wheat, barely, rice, oats)
60 pounds of dry beans and legumes
20 pounds of fats and oils
60 pounds of honey and sugars
75 pounds of dry milk
5 pounds of salt 

Although people prepare with a much more diverse supply, the basics will provide a foundation of food for the following reasons:
a. LONG SHELF LIFE - except for powdered milk, unrefined basic storage foods will store indefinitely when kept dry, dark, airtight, and at 70 degrees or below. Higher temperatures shorten shelf life, but foods will still last longer than canned goods stored the same way.
b. THEY ARE THE LEAST EXPENSIVE FOODS – a year’s supply of basic foods for an adult can cost as little as $200 to $250. A year’s supply of any other kind or combination of foods costs $700 to $4000 for each adult.
c. THEY PROVIDE THE MOST NUTRITION FOR THE VOLUME – basic foods are dry foods except for the fats and oils. Water is necessary for many of them to be cooked and/or eaten. Therefore, the space necessary for storage is much less than canned goods which have liquid in addition to the food.
d. THEY PROVIDE ALL BUT VITAMINS A & C – even these vitamins can be provided by unusual grains such as amaranth. Sprouting can also provide small amounts. It is best, though, to store vitamins and/or garden seeds for fresh vegetables until a supply of canned fruits and vegetables can be maintained.
e. THEY ARE THE BASIS OF A HEALTHY DISEASE PREVENTION DIET – nutrition and health research indicates that the healthiest diets are low fat, high fiber, high complex carbohydrate diets. Whole grains, legumes, and low-fat milk are all a part of this diet.

Most freeze dried/dehydrated foods are supplemental...either for ease of cooking or taste, but also to add variety to your cooking options and to allow for different nutrtients.

3.  How do i store it?
The ideal storage environment for food storage is: 

75 degrees or lower
low light
sealed from oxygen - there are many options for repackaging once the original seal is broken (here are a few examples...)
use a vacuum packing tool and special packaging
use a mylar bag and an oxygen absorber
use a mason jar and an oxygen absorber, then store in a dark cupboard or a paper bag 

**random info:  coconut oil has a much longer shelf life than most other oils and is better for you in many ways, so that may be an option for storing "oils and fats." check the packaging of the coconut oil for official numbers. :)


4.  How much water is needed for dehydrated/freeze dried food?
I found that there is an avg 1/1 ratio. 1 cup water to one cup food. so you will need to check the quantities on your food to be specific, but the amount would be significant in order to eat it. 
we are counseled to keep AT LEAST a 2 week supply of water.  that's 1 gallon per person per day for drinking (not cleaning or cooking...so you would have to adjust if you were incorporating only freeze dried/dehydrated into your food supply)

*Thanks to Kim Kunz for putting this together

Beans Beans!

Pressure Can your own beans!

Canning Beans

This recipe can be used for any kind of dried beans…pinto, black, white northern, garbanzo, etc….

Wash and clean beans in a strainer or sort on the counter first, make sure all rocks and dirt are separated and removed.  Wash and sterilize all jars before in dishwasher. 

For pint size jars:
2/3 c. beans (just under 2/3rds cup, not quite)
½ tsp salt
Hot water to the top of jar leaving about half an inch of head space.

For quart size jars:
1 1/3 c. beans
1 tsp salt

Hot water to the top of jar leaving about half an inch of head space.

Wipe the top of jar with a paper towel to make sure there is no dirt of cuts in the jar.  Put warm lid on the jar (lids should be warmed on the stove in hot water ahead of time).  Seal with ring.

Place in pressure canner, making sure not to have the jars touching.
You should be able to get 7-8 pint size jars in the canner and 5-6 quart size in the canner. Canner should only have 3 quarts water in it, plus 1 tbsp. distilled vinegar added.

Seal pressure canner lid and bring to a full boil.  You will see steam rising through the pressure valve at full throttle.  Let it boil on full steam for 10 minutes.  After ten minutes, put black valve seal over the valve to build up steam.  As soon as the gauge reads about “11”, you will want to keep that pressure there for 75 minutes constant for pint size and 90 minutes for quart size.  Never leave the pressure canner unattended,  and make sure it stays at that constant pressure of at least 11. Adjust heat accordingly.

After the time is finished, DON’T remove the lid until the pressure is down and it has COOLED.  When removing, make sure each jar is sealed.