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:
- Freeze-dried meats
- Freeze-dried cheese
- Freeze-dried onions
- Freeze-dried celery
- Freeze-dried mushrooms
- Freeze-dried spinach
- Freeze-dried strawberries
Why I find using freeze-dried foods convenient.
- Fast and easy to use.
- Easy to use in my own recipes
- Always available, even when the fresh item is out of season
- Have vivid delicious tastes and aromas
- Allow me to use only the amount I need (no waste)
- They are always in my pantry ready to be used even if I haven’t had time to shop for fresh items
- Long shelf life
- They make great healthy snacks for children just as they are
- My family loves them
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.
