Food Storage As Convenience Food



How do you think of your food storage? 

Over time, the way I have thought of my food storage has evolved.  In the beginning, when I was building my food storage, it never entered my mind that I should rotate it.  In my mind it was an insurance policy for the future and not to be used until the time of need actually came.  I remember purchasing 100 lbs. of powdered milk and sealing it up in 5 gallon plastic buckets feeling very comfortable that it would provide for me and my family if we needed it.  Fortunately, no major time of need came.  However, at the end of the 20 years I realized that the milk along with many of the other items I had stored for so long had lost their nutritive value and in essence had been wasted.  This filled me with guilt.

I began to realize that if I was going to have food storage it needed to be rotated and managed.  At that point, I began to learn how to use my food storage in the everyday meals that I made for my family.  At that point, I learned to purchase only the items I would actually use.  I also learned how to manage the items so that they would be used before they reached their expiration date.  I wasn’t always successful, but I greatly decreased the food that was wasted.

When freeze-dried foods became available, I found that they were not only good for long term food storage, but that they were also great for convenience foods.  Freeze-dried foods with their vivid taste and aroma are very desirable.  They can easily be substituted in your own recipes without loss of taste, aroma, nutrition, texture or color.  The fact that they are fast and easy to rehydrate and require no slicing or chopping speeds up the cooking process.  They make the task of rotating all of my food storage easier and more convenient.  I find that they are great time savers, giving me more time to spend with my family.   I stock my pantry with the following items to use as convenience food:

1. Freeze-dried meats
2.      Freeze-dried cheese
3.      Freeze-dried onions
4.      Freeze-dried celery
5.      Freeze-dried mushrooms
6.      Freeze-dried spinach
7.      Freeze-dried strawberries

 A large variety of freeze-dried foods are available, making it easy to find the items you use most often.

Why I find using freeze-dried foods convenient.

1. Fast and easy to use.
2. Easy to use in my own recipes
3. Always available, even when the fresh item is out of season
4. Have vivid delicious tastes and aromas
5. Allow me to use only the amount I need (no waste)
6. They are always in my pantry ready to be used even if I haven’t had time to shop for fresh items
7. Long shelf life
8. They make great healthy snacks for children just as they are
9. My family loves them  

I enjoy cooking meals from scratch.  I find that freeze-dried foods used in combination with my regular food storage items make it possible to make a large variety of very desirable meals that my family loves.  This makes it easy to continually rotate my food storage and prevent waste.  If you don’t enjoy cooking or don’t have the time to cook from scratch, freeze-dried foods can be a great convenience food for you.  You will be surprised at the amount of time you can save by using them.  They can make it possible for you to actually keep and rotate a viable food storage for your family. 

If you are interested in more information about freeze-dried foods or would like to purchase freeze-dried foods, please click the link below to go to my Shelf Reliance website.

susansakurai.shelfreliance.com

Managing Your Food Storage - Waste Not, Want Not

Shortly after I was married, my husband and I thought that it would be a good idea to have some emergency food storage.  So, we purchased 100lbs. of non-instant powdered milk.  Of Course, I had no idea of how to use it, but somehow it gave me a secure feeling just knowing it was there in case of emergency.  Well, as newly weds often do, we moved 6 times in the first 6 years that we were married and the powdered milk, along with other storage items were carted from house to house from Utah to California and back never being used once.  About that time I opened the first plastic bucket of powdered milk and over the next few years used less than a cup full about 10 times.  Three houses and 20 years later, we finally decided that the milk probably had lost all of its nutrients and we threw it out.  We felt guilty and wasteful for throwing it out.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t the only thing that we wasted.  It had provided us with a sense of security over those years, but we could have gotten so much more benefit out of it if we had just managed it better.   I decided that I must follow a few simple rules to better manage my food storage and the money I would put into it:

Rule #1:  Store only what you eat and eat what you store.

This left me with a few challenges: 

• Finding a way to use the items I already had in my storage in a way that I could use them regularly in meals that my family would enjoy.
• Purchasing bulk storage items that I would actually use.
• Adding freeze-dried fruits, vegetables and meats to my storage to give variety

Rule #2:  Purchase wisely and don’t put your food storage dollars into one basket.

Buy a variety of food types:

• Buy case lots of canned goods when they are on sale
• Take advantage of sales on staple foods and buy in quantity
• Buy freeze-dried fruits, vegetables, meats, and cheeses to supplement your canned goods.  Especially ones that don’t usually come in cans.  They have a long shelf life and are convenient, fast and easy to use

Rule #3:  Manage what you have.

• Don’t buy more than you can use in one year
• Organize your food storage pantry as if it were a home store
• Label each item with the date it was purchased
• Organize them so that the oldest items are near the front of the shelves
• Keep a food storage inventory sheet on the door of your pantry or food storage room
• Keep track of what you have used, how much you have on hand and what you need to buy, what you need to use
• Plan ahead, watch for sales on the items you need
• Replenish your supply before it runs out

Rule #4:  Learn all you can about cooking

• Take the time to cook items from scratch several times a week
• Learn to substitute freeze-dried foods, whole egg powder, and instant milk powder into recipes that your family likes.
• Introduce your family to new recipes
• Try to cook only with food storage items
• Use the internet to learn more about foods
• Make sure that your are eating a balanced diet

Don’t get discouraged.  It is not an easy thing to manage a years worth of food.  Just keep trying.  If you hate to cook or you work long hours, it is OK to store lots of mixes and partially prepared foods.  Don’t feel like you have to be Susie Homemaker.  However, if you enjoy cooking, have fun and get into it.  Your family will be happy with the delicious meals that you make and you can be proud of how you are managing your food budget.

If you don’t have any food storage, there is no better time that the present to start.

• Set a monthly food storage budget
• Get a few extra items every week
• Save money by watch the grocery ads
• Plan ahead for spring and fall case lot sales
• Be consistent

Once you have your food storage up and running, you can enjoy the extra time you will save by not having to go to the store so often.  You will enjoy the extra money you will save from not eating out so much.  Best of all you will enjoy better health.

Please visit my Shelf Reliance website where you can see a large variety of food storage items, emergency items and shelving.  Our products are of the finest quality and can be purchased directly from my website.  Go to my Shelf Reliance website by clicking the link below.

  

 susansakurai.shelfreliance.com