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 There are many reasons to stock up on more food that you’ll need in the immediate future. Planning for a storm, preparing for an electrical outage or prepping for the end of the world all require extra food. Before you go out and get a club card at a big-bulk discount store, follow this guide for stockpiling food.
Picture Credit- Wise Food Storage 25 Year Shelf Life!! EBAY- Outtagear
How Much? How Many? How Long?
The question of how much food is enough can essentially be answered with two questions: How many people will need to eat, and for what length of time? It is suggested that adults eat around 2,000 calories per day in a ratio of about 55 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent fat, and 15 percent protein.
So, if three adults want enough food for 10 days, you’ll need enough food for 60,000 calories in the appropriate proportions.
The Mighty Bean
Whole grains and dried legumes or beans not only offer more nutrition for your money than virtually a (Read More....) [...]
 Food Preservation for Beginners
The turbulent nature of our times has made our culture much more aware of the importance of emergency preparedness and particularly in regards to food storage. There are now plenty of places to turn to in order to get help in acquiring a good store of emergency food. Although the competitive nature of the industry has driven prices down and made food storage more affordable than ever before it still requires an investment (both financially and in terms of effort) so it is important to learn how best to preserve the food you are purchasing. There are plenty of ways to stretch the shelf life of food storage items and doing so will help you save a lot of money while still maintaining the peace of mind that comes with a full supply of food storage. The two basic areas that should be considered are processing methods and storage.
Picture Credit- Bormioli Rocco Fido Jars
Processing Methods
The way that a food is processed has great impact on the length of its shelf life. (Read More....) [...]
 Author and food blogger Marisa McClellanwas initially drawn to canning and preserving because it produces something that endures – there’s a finished product that you can enjoy over time. Her mom taught her the basics but it wasn’t until she started shopping at farmers’ markets that she realized she could buy produce in season and make it last throughout the year. Her book Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round offers year-round canning tips
Book Description:
Popular food blogger Marisa McClellan takes you through all manner of food in jars, storing away the tastes of all seasons for later. Basics like jams and jellies are accompanied by pickles, chutneys, conserves, whole fruit, tomato sauces, salsas, marmalades, nut butters, seasonings, and more. Small batches make them easy projects for a canning novice to tackle, and the flavors of vanilla bean, sage, and pe (Read More....)[...]
 Many people understand the importance of having short and long-term food storage. Adequate food storage can protect you and your loved ones from financial crisis, unforeseen natural disasters, disease outbreaks, war time, road closures, economic instability, damaged crops and any number of unforeseen catastrophes which can shut off our food supply. However, there may be areas of your food storage that have been overlooked, leaving you and your loved ones susceptible. Here are three items you won’t want to be without.
Water
Running water seems so common place in our lives that it’s easy to take it for granted every time we turn on the faucet. Humans can survive up to a month without food; however, they can only survive three to seven days without water. Water supplies can become contaminated or even shut off completely for hours or days after a natural disaster.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recommends storing at least 3 gallons of water per person in every household. This amount of water should be sufficient for an average person to survive for 3 days in the event that water sources become scarce or unavailable. In addition to drin (Read More....) [...]
 There are many reasons people decide to establish and maintain a long-term food storage, but they generally tend to fall under the two categories of protection and peace of mind. You never know when personal, city, national or even global tragedy may strike. Can you imagine what your life would be like not being able to satisfy the most basic needs of food and water for you and your family? Food storage is a way to hope for the best and plan for the worst.
- Protection from Financial CrisisAs can be seen from current economic instabilities, it is impossible to foresee what will happen with the economy. Maintaining a proper food storage can protect you from inflation. How long would your savings account last if apples suddenly jumped to $5 per pound and a loaf of bread was $10?
Additionally, there are various individual financial disasters that can occur such as the inability to work due to injury or sickness, job cutbacks, death of a loved one, the need to care for a loved one or any number of large, unplanned financial strains such as medical bills, a lawsuit or costly repairs to your home. It is nearly impossible to know when the money will run out. Your personal foo (Read More....) [...]
 You never know when something terrible might happen, such as a blizzard, hurricane, tornado or earthquake. If one of these natural disasters happen, it is likely that you will not have access to utilities. This situation may result in your inability to cook meals or have access to a working microwave. For these reasons, it is best to stockpile a few kinds of food in an emergency kit. These items can last for months or years and can provide you with basic sustenance if you have no access to utilities or if you are unable to leave your home.
Bottled Water
Keep bottled water on hand in case of an emergency situation. You need to have at least one gallon of water for each person and for each pet for each day of the disaster. Determining how many days you will need supplies can be difficult because you are planning for an unforeseeable event. However, keep at least one week's supply on hand.
Canned Vegetables
Don't let the disaster get your kids out of eating green beans. Canned foods can last for a long time and provide basic nutrients for you and your family. Include canned vegetables such as green beans, corn, peas, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, spinach and hominy.
Canned Meat
Protein can be hard to come by (Read More....) [...]
 As a prepper, better food storage is something always worth looking out for. Even though the root cellar was overshadowed by the refrigerator, this certainly isn’t a confirmation of the refrigerator’s superiority over underground food storage. Sure, the refrigerator fits in your kitchen and features a sleek design, but the root cellar does the same job naturally.
Cellars are perfect for food storage, because the temperature is cool and the humidity can be controlled, no matter where you are on earth. Even in extreme environments (very cold or very hot), a root cellar will work to keep your food supply fresh.
Although root cellars can be expensive to build, for preppers, the benefits far outweigh the cost. Listed below are just a few reasons why taking your food supply underground may be beneficial.
1. If the electricity goes out, your food won’t have to be tossed out: Weather and energy emergencies that cut out electrical power for longer than four hours can leave your refrigerated food spoiled. This means that everything will have to be thrown away and replenished, once the power comes back on. A root cellar always stays at a constant temperature that is just above freezing, and unless it becomes flooded, keeps your food supply fresh and safe during most natural disasters and emergencies. (Read More....)[...]
 Preserving fresh garden vegetables through home canning is a cost-effective way to have great tasting, nutritious food at your fingertips year around. If it grows, cultivated or wild, it can be preserved through canning and eaten later. With basic canning knowledge and a few favorite recipes, anyone can be successful at home canning.
Start Clean
No dirt or debris allowed, not even the tiniest particle or it could ruin an entire batch of home canned food. Sterilize all utensils in a boiling water bath: glass jars, lids, rings, funnels, ladles and any other utensil you’ll be using needs to be sterilized in boiling water for five minutes. Remove items from boiling water with sterilized tongs and place on clean, white towel to dry and cool. Cut out any bad spots in vegetables, wash vegetables thoroughly and set aside.
Vegetable Preparation
There are two types of vegetable preparation methods: cold pack and hot pack. Each type has it’s advantages and disadvantages, and simply comes down to which vegetable prep method you prefer.
In the cold pack method, vegetables are peeled, cut, etc. and placed inside the canning jars in their raw form and cooked during a long canning process. The hot pack method involves prepa (Read More....) [...]
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