Emergency Food Storage - How Do I Educate Myself

It is very important that you take time to educate yourself on the aspects of how to store and prepare your food storage.  You may have just what you need to survive an emergency right in your own home.  However, if you don’t know how to use it or even more important, how to maximize its potential, what good is it? 

I have found that it is essential to study the following when planning and building a food storage plan:

1.   How much to food to store. 

·      Refer to a food storage calculator – see Thrive Planner at susansakurai.shelfreliance.com

·      Calculate your own plan using your own recipes, then compare amounts with a food storage calculator

2.   Basic Nutrition

·      http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/pyramid-full-story/index.html     

    3.  Where to store your food storage

·      Refer to my post – “Emergency Food Storage – Where Do I Store It”

·      Refer to http://survivalacres.com/information/shelflife.html

    4.  Shelf Live of Food

·     Refer to susansakurai.shelfreliance.com

·     Refer to http://survivalacres.com/information/shelflife.html

    5.  What Affects Storage Life

·     http://shop.conserva.de/long-term-food/What-factors-affect-the-shelf-life-of-foodstuffs

The websites listed above are only a few of many that offer good information on these topics.  Check the Internet and library for more information.

The above information can be learned from studying websites, articles and books.  However, don’t stop there.  The rest of the knowledge that you need comes from personal experience.

1.    Find simple recipes that can be made from your food storage that your family will enjoy.  Try them out on them.  If they won’t eat something now, they won’t eat it in an emergency.

2.    Experiment with quantity of food a recipe makes.  You want to make just enough for your needs.  You may not be able to store leftovers and you certainly don’t want to waste food.

3.    If you have stored whole grains and most people do, experiment with cooking them.  Find recipes and cooking methods that you like.

4.    Experiment with the characteristics of different storage food ingredients.  For example, do you know how freeze-dried foods can be substituted for caned or fresh ingredients

5.    Experiment with different cooking methods that are available to you – grill, campfire, solar oven, etc.

6.    Identify any special equipment you will need

Education is important.  If you take time to educate yourself and put your knowledge into practice before the emergency situation occurs, you will be much better prepared to handle the unexpected.  Don’t think of your food storage experience as difficult or unpleasant.  Rather, think of it as something you can learn and have fun with.  Your attitude will transfer to your family, so make the best of it.

Cooking In Emergency Situations - What Equipment Will I Need?

Many people store food for emergency situations and never think about the equipment they will need to actually do the cooking.  Some storage food such as wheat requires special equipment for grinding into flour.  If an emergency is of the type that allows you to stay in your home and you have access to electrical power, you can easily do the cooking without much additional equipment.  However, if there is a loss of electrical power or if you must leave your home, special equipment and cooking methods must be employed. 

In order to use my food storage, what special equipment must I have?

§      Can opener – Non-electric for use in power outages

§      Wheat grinder or mill – Hand operated for use in power outages

What equipment will I need when cooking without power?

§      Fire-safe pots & pans 

§      Hand operated can opener

§      Wind-up clock or watch for timing

§      Knife or pocket knife

§      Aluminum foil

§      Matches, lighter or fire-starter

§      Utensils

§      Saw - Axe 

§      Leather Gloves 

§      Small Grill to put over fire - to pan fry on 

If electricity and gas are unavailable for cooking, what fuels can I safely use?

§      Wood – Fireplace, Wood burning stove, campfire

§      Propane – Outdoor Grill

§      Butane – Portable Camp Stove

§      White Gas – Back Pack Stove

§      Sterno – Can be used indoors

§      Charcoal – Grill or Hibachi

§      Buddy Burner

§      Solar Power – Solar Oven

Things I should know about storing fuel:

§      Laws concerning storage of fuels

§      Fuels should be stored outside the home in a store shed

§      Fuels should be stored in containers special designed for fuel storage

§      Keep fuels in watertight, airtight containers

§      Label fuel containers so as not to get them confused

§      Always keep a fire extinguisher near fuel tanks

§      Some fuels have longer shelf lives than others

§      Know the properties of the fuel you store and how to properly use them

Information about storing fuels has come from the following website: http://cl.publicaster.com/ViewInBrowser.aspx?pubids=7889%7C7591%7C78923%7C87998&digest=U0MibgkRYGZ2hLkaeoik%2Fg&sysid=1

I highly recommend that you read the entire article.

It is very important to study about the various ways of cooking without electrical power.  Books on outdoor cooking can be very helpful.  I recommend practicing using different recipes and cooking methods.  It will not only be fun, but you will gain confidence in cooking in different ways.  Then, if an emergency ever happens, there will be less stress and you will feel confident in handling the situation.

Sources of information for this blog article have come from the following websites:

http://www.shelfreliance.com/c/university/article/appliances-equipment-emergency-food-storage-preparation

http://midvalleystakeprovidentliving.blogspot.com/2011/09/cooking-without-power.html

Please check my Shelf Reliance website at:

 susansakurai.shelfreliance.com

For more information or to purchase Shelf Reliance Thrive Foods or Emergency Equipment.

Healthy Spinach and Mushroom Alfredo Sauce from Food Storage Ingredients

My son and daughter love Fettuccini Alfredo.  To be honest, I do too.  However, because of the calories and fat, I am always trying to come up with a recipe that is a little more healthy. This recipe is easy, fast and contains much less fat and calories than a typical Alfredo.  Best of all it tastes great.  I used Shrimp because I had some on hand, but if you want to go with a freeze-dried meat, chicken or sausage from your storage would be terrific.  Give it a try.  You will be surprised at how fast and easy it is to make and you may not even have to go out to the store to get the ingredients.

2 C. Water

1/3 C. Instant Powdered Milk

Place instant powdered milk into a mixing bowl.  Gradually whisk in water.  Whisk until all lumps are gone.  Set aside.

2 T. Olive oil

1 T. Butter

2 ½ T. Flour

Add oil and butter to frying pan and bring to medium heat.  Make a rue by adding flour and stirring until smooth.  Cook a few minutes while flour and oil bubbles.  Remove pan from heat and add the following ingredients to the rue:

¼ C.  Dehydrated or freeze-dried Onions

½ C.  Freeze-dried Mushrooms

½ C.  Freeze-dried Spinach

Stir these ingredients into the rue as much as possible.  There are too many ingredients to mix in well, but just try to stir them around until they are mixed.  Put pan back on heat and whisk in reconstituted milk gradually.  Continue cooking on medium heat until thickened.  Immediately add:

About 1 doz. Medium Shrimp              *Note:  Chicken or Sausage can be substituted

2 tsp. Chicken Bouillon

1/8 tsp. Garlic Powder

Salt to taste

Black Pepper – a few shakes or to taste

Cayenne Pepper – a few shakes to give it a little kick

¼ C. Parmesan Cheese

Simmer for about 3 – 4 minutes or until shrimp are done (nice and pink).  If you over cook them, the shrimp will be tough.  Serve immediately over cooked linguini or fettuccini noodles.  Sprinkle with more Parmesan Cheese if you like.

All of the food storage items I used in this recipe are from Shelf Reliance Thrive.  I highly recommend them.  They are of the highest quality, very tasty and easy to use.  Please see my Shelf Reliance website for more information at:

 susansakurai.shelfreliance.com

Then, if you are ready to purchase, contact me at: 

tryinghard458@gmail.com

I will make sure that you get the best price.

Emergency Food Storage - Where Do I Store It?

Many people delay getting their food storage because they don’t know where to store it.  For those living in small apartments or homes, this can be a difficult problem.  It may not be possible to store as much food as you would like, but it is certainly possible to find creative solutions to this problem. 

First, lets consider the important factors that are necessary to maintain the shelf life of your food storage.

·      Temperature – Always store food at a cool constant temperature.  The ideal temperature range is 40 to 70 degrees.  Heat affects nutrition, appearance, texture and taste of food.

·      Humidity – Food containers should be air tight and stored above the floor and away from outside walls.

·      Light – Food storage should be stored in a dark place. Light fades   colors, destroys vitamins, and speeds the rancidity of fats.

·      Pests – Food storage area must be kept clean to avoid the invasion of pests. Immediately cleaning up any spilled food particles.  #10 cans provide the best protection against pest invasion from the outside.  Airtight containers provide the best protection from invasion from inside.  Insects cannot live without air.

During the course of our married life, my husband and I have moved many times.  When we started our life together we rented a 1-bedroom apartment in an old house.  The one closet we had was tiny.  The only place we had to keep our food storage was under the bed.  It wasn’t ideal, but it worked.  My mother happened to work as a clerk in a clothing store.  She was able to provide me with large flat boxes that would easily fit under the bed.  I packed our food storage items in the boxes.  This made access to my food storage easier, as the boxes were easy to slide in and out.   As we moved, had children and added to our food storage, we somehow seemed to find a place to keep our food storage.

Here are a few creative suggestions of spaces and equipment that people have used:

1.    Between the couch and the wall

2.    Between a bed head board and wall

3.    Along the wall of a closet underneath hanging clothes

4.    Mount 12 inch deep shelves floor to ceiling, along a wall and then cover with drapes hung from the ceiling

5.    Stack boxes and put on a plywood tabletop and cover with a cloth for an end table

6.    Use pieces of furniture with built in storage areas such as a bench that opens up with a storage compartment

7.    Use Shelf Reliance Food Rotation Systems that stand-alone or can be used on existing shelves or under the bed. 

It was a long time until we had an actual space that was designated just for food storage.  I have found that you need to be creative and think out of the box.  Please visit my website to see all of the Shelf Reliance Food Rotation Systems that are available.  They are not only wonderful to take advantage of available space, but they help in the rotation of you food storage.

 susansakurai.shelfreliance.com

*From now until May 20, 2012, the Harvest 72" #10 - 11949
 is on sale.  Sale Price: $229.99
Regular Price: $264.99

The following are the sources of information I used to write this article.

http://www.countrysurvival.com/how-to-store-food-storage/

http://www.countrysurvival.com/where-to-put-your-food-storage/

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/48306/

Food Storage - How Can I Afford It?

Food Storage – How can I afford it?

This is a question that many people struggle with.  A lot has to do with the manner in which you think of food storage.  Often, when people think of the extra money they would have to spend in order to get food storage, they weigh the cost against the likelihood of an emergency situation happening.  If you think of food storage in those terms, you are likely to never be able to accumulate much food storage.  On the other hand, I think of food storage as insurance.  Yes, insurance is very expensive and in most cases, you never have the occasion to collect a benefit. However, in those cases where something does happen, you are very glad that you had the insurance.  In the case of food storage, I have never been confronted with a catastrophe where I needed to survive on my food storage.  On the other hand, our family has gone through several periods of unemployment in which the food storage has come in very handy.

Think of your food storage as a Home Store.

1.   Store only the things your family eats on a regular basis.

2.   Rotate your storage by using and replenishing it on a regular basis

3.   Replenish your storage by purchasing food when it is on sale whenever possible

Build your home store on a budget not an emotion:

1. Decide on a budget you can spend each week or month to build and replenish your home store
2. Never let fear be your motivation for purchasing your food storage
3. Watch the ads for the best prices and use your budget to purchase in larger quantities
4. Join a plan such as the Shelf Reliance Q to gradually build your home store on a steady yet gradual basis.  Shelf Reliance has monthly specials that can be put into the Q, which will save you money  (To Learn more about the Shelf Reliance Q, please click the tab above)

Be Wise with your Home Store purchases:

1. Store what you eat, eat what you store
2. Label each item with the date of purchase
3. Organize your storage so that the oldest item gets used first
4. Store item properly to avoid spoilage – Cool, dark, dry space in proper containers
5. Keep the storage area clean to prevent pest infestation
6. Periodically re-evaluate your Home Store.  Make sure it is meeting the needs of your family and your lifestyle

Be determined:

1. Set a goal, stick with it, make it a way of life

My lifestyle today has changed significantly from that of my parents.  My mother, for the most part, processed her own food storage by freezing, bottling and drying her own garden produce.  She used basic staples to cook with.  Today, life is much faster passed.  It requires most mothers to work outside the home.  Prepared foods, boxed mixes and frozen meals have become a way of life.  Under these conditions, building and maintaining a useable food storage program is challenging.  My solution to this challenge is freeze-dried food.  It is nutritious, appealing, delicious, convenient and easy to prepare.  It is wonderful for food storage because it has a very long shelf life.  I purchase them through the Shelf Reliance Q.  Please click the tab above to learn more about the Q.  If you would like to set up your own Shelf Reliance Q, please visit my website at:

Emergency Food Storage for Short and Long Term Needs

Building and maintaining a viable food storage program requires knowledge and determination.  When I first started working on my food storage plan, I had no idea of where to begin.  In order to be successful, you need to educate yourself in:

1.   The nutritional needs of your family. 

2.   Storage properties of various types of foods

3.   Equipment and preparation methods that can be used in emergency situations

4.   Recipes that are adaptable to emergency situations.

How much food do I need to store

• At least a 2 weeks supply is recommended by FEMA
• Other organizations recommend up to 1 year’s supply of food

What kind of foods is best to store

1. Foods that are high in calories and nutrition
2. Require no refrigeration
3. Require no special preparation
4. Special consideration needs to be made for babies, elderly, nursing mothers and those who require special dietary needs

When I first began building my food storage, it was popular to simply follow one of the plans put out by various organizations.  These plans usually calculated a persons needs by age and sex length of time.  The plan would give you the number of pounds of grains, legumes, cooking oil, powdered milk, salt, sugar or honey and water a person needed for the given time.  The exactness of this type of plan gave people security in that nothing was left to your imagination.  However, when people got to thinking about surviving on that type of plan, it was obvious that surviving would not be pleasant.  Most people in today’s society are not used to eating in the manner that those types of foods alone would provide.  As time passes, it has become a more acceptable philosophy to store what you eat on a regular basis.  This makes food storage more palatable and desirable.

Sources of knowledge that will help you with your food storage plan:

1.  Food Guide Pyramid – Gives average daily guidelines for a healthy diet

2.  Food Storage Calculator (many can be found on line) – gives quantities needed by age, sex and sometimes activity level

Where do I begin?  Make a Plan.

1. Access the needs of your family – How many adults, how many children, any special needs, time period for which you want your storage to last
2. Create a list of food storage menus.  These should be menus that your family enjoys and is used to eating.  The menus should contain ingredients that are easy to store.  For example, a Chef Salad is not adaptable for food storage because you cannot store fresh lettuce.  On the other hand, menu items such as beef stew have ingredients that can readily be stored.  Menus containing commonly used ingredients are best suited to food storage programs.
3. From your list of menus, make a list of ingredients.  These are the ingredients you will need for your food storage.
4. Calculate approximate amounts of the ingredients that you will need for the length of time you food storage will last.  Compare this to the amounts suggested on a food storage calculator.
5. Consider all of the types of food available for storage and there costs and storage shelf life

Start Building Your Food Storage

1.     Make a weekly or monthly budget for food storage

2.     Start with the basics and consistently add to you food storage weekly or monthly

3.     Buy a variety of food storage items along rather than buying a large quantity of one item.

4.     Make sure you are storing all of the items you need. Don’t forget the oil, yeast, soda, baking powder, powdered milk, salt, spices, etc.

5.     It is wise to store vitamins and other medications you use

6.     Don’t forget to store stress relieving foods such as sweets or candy

7.     Be determined – if you stop for a period of time, it is easy to get off track

8.     Find a good place in your home to store your food storage

9.     After you have some food storage on hand, established a plan to rotate your storage.  The best way is to store what you eat and to eat what you store.

10.  Evaluate your storage plan as you rotate it.  Don’t be afraid to add new items and discontinue those you are not using up.

11.  Variety is important to avoid food fatigue

I highly recommend visiting http://EzineArticles.com/1308085 to see how adding a few items to your storage can improve the variety of what you can make from it.

I don’t recommend that you put all your eggs in one food storage basket.  It is best to have packaged, canned, bottled and freeze-dried foods in your storage plan.  Each has its benefits.  My favorite is freeze-dried food.  Although it is a little more expensive, it offers the benefits of high quality nutrition, rich taste and smell, beautiful color and an extended shelf life.  Not only this but it is very convenient to use.

Please visit my Shelf Reliance website at:

susansakurai.shelfreliance.com

to find out more about the benefits of Thrive freeze-dried products or to purchase them.

Emergency Food Storage - What Do I Store for Short Term Emergencies When I Must Leave Home

For the beginner, starting a food storage program can be rather daunting.  Most people do not know which foods are best to sustain their families in an emergency situation, the quantities of food necessary or how to overcome the cost factor involved.  Often people believe that they should have food storage but when it gets right down to purchasing it, they are so frustrated that they put it off until another day.

The most important factor in building food storage is determination.  You must:

1. Believe that it is an important thing to do
2. Investigate what foods are best to store for your family’s needs and the quantities you will need  
3. Check your budget to see how much money you can put toward food storage each week or month
4. Make a plan of what you will buy and the schedule you will follow to accomplish your goal
5. Proceed to build your storage on a regular basis
6. Evaluate your progress
7. Be determined

 There are two types of emergency situations you must consider:

• Emergencies where you must leave your home (prepare for  72 hours to 2 weeks)
• Emergencies where you can remain in your home (prepare for 2 weeks to 2 years)

 For Emergencies where you must leave home:

• Food must be light-weight and easy to carry
• Food must be of the type that require little or no preparation
• Food and supplies should be packed up and ready to go.  You may not have time to gather it together at the time of the emergency.  Make sure that all necessary items for preparation are packed together
• Choose food that your family enjoys to reduce stress
• Purchase food in packages that contain all ingredients or that only need to have water added.

Examples of suitable food for this type of situation:

• Canned Meats
• Beef Stew
• Chili
• Soups
• Energy Bars
• Canned pasta dishes
• Applesauce or fruit cups
• Dried fruits
• Nuts
• Trail Mix
• Crackers
• Small packages of Cereal
• Juice Boxes
• Bottled Water
• Hard Candy
• Granola Bars
• Freeze-dried prepared meals or MREs (light and easy to carry)

Shelf Reliance carries a variety of freeze-dried foods that come in convenient pouches.  These freeze-dried foods would make a highly desirable addition to your 72 to 2 week emergency food storage.  They have also recently come out with a line of Express Meals that only require the addition of boiling water.  These meals are delicious to use at home but could also be used in this type of emergency situation.  For more information or to purchase any of these products, please visit my website at:

susansakurai.shelfreliance.com