Tag: Food

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Tax Refund Preparedness

We are coming to the time of the year that has become the second Xmas for many Americans.  And I purposely chose to write xmas because it has nothing to do with the real Christmas we should have celebrated so recently.  What I’m talking about is the look people get in their eyes as they get some portion of their taxes back from government.  To many people this is the only surplus of cash they will see during the whole year, and our business world thrives on the swing in spending this influx of cash creates.

So, if you are one of those looking at receiving a check from Uncle Sam in the next month or two, why not put a little more thought in how it can be used for preparing your family for the year ahead?  The following list of ideas might help stimulate your family in a way far better than buying some toy you’ve been looking at recently.  Each of the following is a simple idea, that will later be posts of their own with all the details you’ll want. Continue reading “Tax Refund Preparedness”

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Review: Tomorrow’s Harvest freeze-dried food

There are several markets that are booming in the current economic climate, and one of those is emergency preparedness and food storage. People are quickly realizing that fiat dollars and credit cards won’t feed the family, and are working quickly to stock up on needed supplies. Many people are flying blind in their pursuit of food storage, and are unsure as to what to store.

Filling this niche and marketing themselves to these customers (and others), several companies offering freeze-dried products have begun to more aggressively promote their products and fill a need in the marketplace. I looked into several companies based in Utah, and ultimately ended up making a small purchase through Tomorrow’s Harvest.

Continue reading “Review: Tomorrow’s Harvest freeze-dried food”

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Blue Chip Food Storage Group Demo in Salem

Blue Chip Group is a Salt Lake based manufacturer of Emergency Food Storage supplies. They will be providing a demonstration of their products on February 5th in Salem, UT at 7 pm.

Here is the info I received on this event:

The Blue Chip Group will be in Salem at the Community Center, 151 W. 300 S. on Thursday, February 5th at 7:00 p.m. Come and taste test Blue Chips food storage items. Preparedness Items will be there for demonstration also. This is a night to help you feel more confident in what you will have in your food storage in case of emergency. Recipes available and you can use these foods in your everyday cooking…they’re that GOOD! If you can’t make it on the 5th you can still group order. Pick up your food storage order form at the Salem city office building. Order forms and money will be due on the following Thursday Feb. 12th at the Salem city building. Please make your check or money orders payable to Kristy Beck and put your check and order form in a sealed envelope.

This is all the information I have at the moment. For those needing directions, please check here.

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50 lbs. Hard Red Wheat $15 in Spanish Fork

I received this from my stake emergency preparedness specialist.

Hi Y’All,
Here is another opportunity to add to your wheat supply.
A friend has made an agreement with a wheat grower in the Delta, Utah area to sell his wheat.
It has been cleaned and is the hard red wheat. The price is 50 lb bag for $15.00. Cash and carry only and 1st come 1st served.
If intersted email Jeremy Taylor at jeremy_r_taylor AT Yahoo DOT com. The wheat can be picked up at his home in Spanish Fork. Contact him for address and when.

I don’t know what quantities are available, but this is an excellent price on wheat at the moment. If you need more wheat to round out your food storage, this is a good opportunity to do so without breaking the bank. If you are able to take advantage of this, please post about your experience.

Keep on preppin’!

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Recall of SurePak MRE’s

Here is a case where the recent Salmonella contaminated Peanut Butter might affect us in unanticipated ways.

A Class I Recall notice has been received from Boca Grande Foods, that there is a potential Salmonella contamination of peanut-based products which were supplied to SOPAKCO, Inc. The recalled Boca Grande Foods peanut butter is packaged in 1-oz and 2-oz squeeze packets and included in certain cases of Sure-Pak 12 Meals. A copy of the Recall Notice is attached. Check it for the affected lot numbers. (You can also it from our home page) Check your emergency supplies to see if you have any of the recalled products, and if you do, fill out the Recall Notice.

from LA CERT website
Continue reading “Recall of SurePak MRE’s”

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Food Prices: Up, Up, and Away!


photo credit: graygoosie

Since most people who know me also know of my passion for all things preparedness, I’m often asked what is a good idea for investing one’s hard-earned money. With $7 trillion (yes, with a ‘T’) of “wealth” having been wiped out recently, people are looking at their 401k results in abject horror. What to do?

Any good investor will tell you that it’s important to diversify, or in other words, not to put all your financial eggs in one basket. For that reason, my advice for the start of a solid investment usually consists of one word: food.

Continue reading “Food Prices: Up, Up, and Away!”

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Adding to your long term supply using dehydration

Someone sent me these great videos on dehydrating food and using it in your food storage. The woman in the presentation is very knowledgeable about the subject and shows the correct way to dehydrate, store and use your food while helping to avoid some of the common pitfalls along the way.

These videos have changed the way I think about dehydrating food at home. Many of the tips about using oxygen absorbers, buying buckets, etc. are useful for other types of food storage as well.

Give them a thorough watching, take notes and let us know what you think.

Continue reading “Adding to your long term supply using dehydration”

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Huge Pasta Sale in Lehi


photo credit: wagner campelo

In need of some pasta for your food storage? There is a massive sale going on right now in Lehi. Inside a not-yet-opened restaurant near Hutch’s Furniture (95 W. Main Street), an individual is selling to the public boxes of pasta he has acquired in a bulk sale.

Here’s the scoop: all types of pasta are 75 cents per pound. (Contrasted to average bulk prices of $1.50 to $3.00 per pound, depending on the type of pasta). If you buy 10 or more boxes (boxes are between 20-40 pounds), it goes down to 65 cents per pound.

Continue reading “Huge Pasta Sale in Lehi”

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Dinner Grouping

One of the most important factors in being able to build up a quality food storage program is to actually store the food that you will eat and find a way to rotate that stored food into your daily diet.  The problem many of us face is that while pizza is fast and convenient, and the pizza boxes stack really well, the food sure doesn’t last.  I also don’t think that if I ordered an extra meal from the local Chinese delivery place, that I could just throw it onto my food storage shelving and expect it to do any good.images1

Part of the problem is that most families, especially those of my admittedly younger age group, have grown so accustomed to having cheap, tasteful food at our fingertips that we have lost the skill of actually cooking for ourselves.  The family dinner at the table has become a thing of the past as have the requisite skills from planning meals ahead of time to storing for particular meal needs.  Fortunately, for the past couple of years my family has participated in a program with several of our neighbors that has helped combat this trend and created an excellent, yet unplanned opportunity for us all to build up our food storage supplies and skills.

How does it work?  Let’s look at the basics of our dinner group program.

Continue reading “Dinner Grouping”

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Starting the New Year – Rounding out Food Storage

The New Year is a great time to do a full inventory of your Food Storage – especially your rotating day to day storage – to make sure you know what you have. By doing this you’re able to make a list of things you need to get to re-stock everything and start the year with a fully year’s supply of food. We recently finished doing this at my house and I thought I would share some of the results with you.

store_room_med

Continue reading “Starting the New Year – Rounding out Food Storage”

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SOS Sportster Solar Oven

I ordered a Solar Oven Society Sportster Oven with optional reflectors on a Monday and it arrived on my door step a precisely one week later. My neighbor has a Global Sun Oven, but hasn’t used it. Not having any experience with this subject, and not knowing anyone who had used one, I performed some research online.

One of the best reviews I read was by Cook’s Illustrated based on the number of models, the breadth of tests and overall quality of the written review. My wife swears by their advice and their reviews are generally spot on, so I ended up going with the model they recommended most highly. I’ll freely admit that it didn’t hurt that the oven was similarly priced with its closest competitors but also included two pots, a water pasteurization indicator and a cookbook.

A post reviewing the performance of this model (SOS Sportster Solar Oven) as well as a comparison with the Global Sun Oven is on my list of projects. If all goes well, I will be able to perform those tests this coming Saturday.

So without further ado, Unboxing the Solar Oven Society Sportster Solar Oven:
Continue reading “SOS Sportster Solar Oven”

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January Utah Food Co-Op

Another reminder that the Utah Food Co-Op orders are due this Friday (the 9th).  As I mentioned last month, this is a great way to get high quality food, at a very good price.

Fresh Food
Fresh Food

Pictured on the right was a single ‘share’ order from the December order. That night part of it went  to make a great crock-pot stew that fed my family for several meals, and still had food left for quite a few more.  The included bread loaf was excellent, and fruits were good.  I do wish I’d also picked up a “Harvest” share, as the extra veggie (includes and extra variety) were some great looking avocados.

We also bought some of the cider, as well as the Nutty Guys sampler.  The cider was the best I’ve had since leaving Washington State where I grew up.  Fresh, and tasting of just high quality apples.  The Nut’s were great, and cheaper than buying anywhere else.  So if you have a little more room in your budget, it’s worth checking out the add-on deals you can get.

Check out the January Order Form.

Wondering if there is a distribution point near you? Check out the list.

Remember, there’s never a better time to start shopping more economically than now, and utilizing the local co-op is a way to not only help yourself budget better, but to help those around you.