Category: Food Storage

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Reusable Canning Lids

How many canning lids do you have in your storage? Canning in a long term emergency situation means having the supplies to do it. You’ll need your canner, jars, rings, and of course those pesky lids. Lots of them. Those lids that you can only use once and then you need a new lid. And once you’ve used your stash of lids, then what? Or is there a better way? What about canning lids that can be used over and over?

Last fall I tried some Tattler reusable canning lids. I canned jam, tomatoes, and salsa with them. The Tattler company has been making these lids since 1976. They are two pieces–a plastic lid and a rubber gasket. You’ll need the metal rings that came with your jars or you can buy some extras on the Tattler site if you’re short on rings. The lids are BPA free and made in the USA. Tattler has them available for wide mouth and regular jars. The upfront cost of $7.00-$8.00 per dozen is, of course, more than the metal lids, but with regular re-use they pay for themselves pretty quickly.

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ALERT! Peanut Butter Prices about to nearly double!

If you regularly eat peanut butter – or anything with peanuts – get stocked up on it now because the price of Peanut Butter is about to dramatically increase!

U.S. farmers are expected to produce roughly 1.8 million tons of peanuts this year, down nearly 13 percent from last year, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Department of Agriculture. Assuming that estimate holds, it would be smallest harvest recorded since 2006. Continue reading “ALERT! Peanut Butter Prices about to nearly double!”

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Review: Daily Bread Beef Stroganoff With Noodles

The way to a man’s heart is his stomach.  When that man is a prepper, and a blogger, nothing could be more true.  With that said, I was overjoyed recently when I was contacted by one of our local freeze-dried companies.  They were wondering if I would be interested in sampling a couple of their entrees, and writing my opinion on them.  Not exactly a difficult decision there.

What made this choice even better was the timing. I just happened to be heading up that weekend with the guys for a little man-camp time.  What a better way to test things out. Continue reading “Review: Daily Bread Beef Stroganoff With Noodles”

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Curing meat

Cured Meats (from livestrong.com)

Curing meat is an age old process.  It has been used to preserve, intensify flavors, and make unpalatable cuts of meat acceptable for consumption. Most of us don’t worry about the preservation aspect so much anymore, but if you’ve ever made a marinade then you’ve dabbled in curing (perhaps with out even knowing it).  In this post I’m going to go over some of the ingredients needed to cure meat and introduce a couple of salt mixtures that can be very useful in curing your meats.  I’ll also go over some things that could be kept in your food storage.
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Variety in Your Food Storage is a Good Thing

Way back in 1998 sweet husband and I were just getting serious about our food storage.  That’s shortly before we had any kids.  We had the opportunity to do some canning at the LDS dry pack cannery and so we sat down to figure out what to can.

Well, we didn’t have a wheat grinder and didn’t really know what to do with wheat, so that was out.  I’m not sure why we ruled out oatmeal or sugar or whatever else, but we did decide we both liked white rice so we meticulously counted up how much white rice we’d need if we ate it for every meal for an entire year.  True story.  And that is what we canned.  A whole lot of white rice.  Now I know you’re all giggling at the fact that you really can’t live on white rice alone for a year without suffering some serious nutritional issues, but we were young and didn’t think through this very well.

So let me tell you what happens when you buy that much white rice.  Continue reading “Variety in Your Food Storage is a Good Thing”

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Honeyville Grain is Having a Sale!

Just when you thought food prices were going up everywhere, Honeyville Grain is having a 10% off sale today through Friday at 6 pm PST. That’s only 3 days, but if you’ve been in the market for some food storage, now’s a great time to get some. Honeyville is one of my favorite places to shop–that’s where I get my 6 Grain Cereal and Gluten Flour. To get the 10% off, simply enter coupon code: “HOPHOP11” during checkout.

And don’t let the name fool you, they have more than just grains. They also have freeze dried fruits and vegetables and some really tasty hot cocoa (the French Vanilla is my favorite). And you know there’s more, so go browse around their site a bit and see if they have what you’re wanting.

Normally, their prices are a little higher than other places, but they only charge a flat $4.49 shipping anywhere in the continental US for your whole order–not per item. So, that great shipping rate plus the 10% off should make for a fair deal on some good quality food delivered to your doorstep. While you’re there, sign up for their newsletter and you’ll be notified every time they have a sale. Remember, for this sale enter coupon code: “HOPHOP11” during checkout anytime from now until this Friday 4/22/11 at 6:00 pm PST. Happy shopping!

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How Prepared is the Average Latter-day Saint Ward?

It has become cliché for people to suggest that their preparedness efforts consist of a gun and ammo, so that in the event of an emergency they can forcefully demand that their Mormon neighbors give up some of their food storage. But do Mormons store as much food as people think they do? Do we all have a year supply of wheat, beans, rice, and freeze dried snacks?

A few weeks ago, I was called by my Bishop (pastor) to be the new emergency preparedness coordinator for our ward (congregation). In order to better serve those in the ward and help them prepare, I thought it important to begin my efforts with a survey to gauge where our ward stood. I had a fairly good idea due to previous surveys conducted over the past couple of years in our community (see here and here), but wanted a bit more detail, and with the high turnover in our ward, needed updated information.

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Building a 3 Month Supply using Case Lot Sales

Case lot image
Case lot image from http://tightwadmomsfrugalforum.blogspot.com

Inevitably, each year in the weeks preceding the LDS General Conference sessions in April and October grocery stores in Utah begin their Case Lot sales. In case you aren’t familiar with the term, a Case Lot sale is a sale that allows you to purchase food (and other) items at a discount from a regular grocery store. The only catch is that you need to buy them a case at a time.

 

This can really help build of your emergency food supply quickly. Given that there are generally 12 to 24 cans or jars in a case, this is the perfect opportunity to scratch that Food Storage To-Do off your New Year’s Resolution list. As we have touted many, many times before, there are many reasons to have at a minimum a three-month supply of food you eat on a regular basis be it financial, natural disaster or otherwise.

Lucky for you (and all of us for that matter), our friends at Prepared LDS Family have updated their Case Lot spreadsheet. As always, we are greatly appreciative of the work and effort that went into this.

In addition to the spreadsheet will help you find the best deals this Case Lot season, there is also a 3 Month Supply post. This excellent resource details out what a basic 3 month supply for one person should consist of, then lists prices for items to fill that list along with the case lot costs for both Macey’s and Smith’s.

Many of the Bulk Food Suppliers on our Resources page also offer case lot sales during this same time period.

Go over and take a look!

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Amazing deal on shelving

Need a way to store all your preps? Ready to get your food storage off the floor? I’ve been dreaming of shelves for a long time but have always had it on the some-day list. Well, today’s your day. I just got back from Lowe’s and if you hurry, there are still some left. They have 48′ x 24′ x 72′ steel shelving units on sale for $49. These are the same style as the famous Gorilla Rack shelves. These shelves are normally $100, but you also have to pay $50 to ship them. Amazon has them for $132 with free shipping. Sam’s Club currently has them for $72, but you have to have a membership and happen to live near one of their warehouses.

Anyway, today, Lowe’s is selling the shelves for $49 and there isn’t a limit on quantity. Don’t be confused by the website saying the brand is Edsal while the packaging says Muscle Rack. Muscle Rack is simply a trade name. You can find Edsal’s products packaged under several names, including Maxi Rack. I spent a lot of time researching and reading reviews about these shelving units yesterday and I’m of the opinion that they are all the same as the Gorilla Rack. Time to get organized!

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Limited Time Sale

For those looking for some discounts on your food storage, and especially on a few bigger items, this might be exactly what you need.  Our friends at Home Storage Basics are having their Harvest closeout sale.  The following is from the email they sent out.

Home Storage Basics, American Fork Utah!

Harvest Inventory sale one week only! Ends October 23, 2010

Inventory IN the store is 15 % OFF, Except Shirley J Seasoning items.

In celebration of our Store Anniversary we are selling all our used floor models of the BOSCH, BOSCH Compact, Nutrimill, and Wondermill at great prices! All items have been out for a year- some gently used other have seen a lot of cookies in their day! Come visit us for pricing!

Sale ends October 23, 2010!

Questions?  Call 801-756-7600

Please check us out at Homestoragebasics.org

If you are in Utah or Salt Lake counties, you should make sure to check this shop out.  The owner (a friend of mine) is the best resource around for all things wheat and grain related, and the bakery they have in the shop is excellent.  Please check them out and support a great local business.

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Preparedness on People’s Minds

Today’s edition of the Deseret News carries a story about the subject of preparedness being on people’s minds in increased fashion.

A recent poll of New York City residents found that about half are now thinking about preparedness, compared with 18 percent who were considering it in 2004. And increasingly there are associations of and websites for so-called “preppers.”

Earthquakes and economic meltdowns have made the need more “believable,” said Emergency Essentials co-owner Don Pectol, who has seen an uptick in interest in emergency preparedness.

The problem, Pectol notes, is that money and time are both tight. While desire is higher, it might not be as easy to accomplish in this economy. And those who are not at all prepared for an emergency feel like “they’re being asked to eat an elephant.”

It’s our hope at Utah Preppers that we can make the subject of preparedness easier, more affordable, and more realistic for those who understand its importance. It’s been a slow Spring around here since we’ve all been busy, but expect things to pick up over the next few weeks and months as we share some important information on how you and your family can better be prepared for the future.

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2 Food Storage Classes in Spanish Fork, April 15th

There will be two classes on Food Storage taught in Spanish Fork on Thursday evening.

Debbie Kent lives in the Southern California. She has been married for 30 years. She and her husband are the proud parents of 6 beautiful children, and grandparents of 3. She has been an advocate of food storage and emergency preparedness since her early teen age years. She enjoys giving emergency preparedness lessons each month at her church. Much of the resources found on this website are the culmination of hours of preparation for these lessons. She sincerely hopes that in sharing this information, other’s may benefit from her efforts. http://peaceofpreparedness.com/

Spanish Fork, April 15th, 2 classes by Debbie Kent
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