Survival 101~ Part 3~ FOOD

"Food preparedness"
PART 3
In this "Blog class" I'll be talking about FOOD. Yes, I know that 99% of this blog deals with emergency food preparedness! BUT, Isnt it important!?

In our day to day living its so easy to just "run to the store" to pick up something for dinner. Or go out and "grab " something to eat at our local fast food place but think of this......
If there was a  major power outage...Your local market wouldnt be able to run their coolers, be able to use the cash registers or even open the doors! The whole area where you live would be in panic mode! Anyone who could get to the markets would buy everything they could get their hands on and more! That is providing they had the cash on hand! On any given day....How much cash do you have on you? If youre like most we keep our meager means in the bank and use debit cards. But what if you couldnt use your debit or credit cards? What if the stores could only accept cash? What then? What if this "Emergancy" happens before you got paid? Like most once again we are more likely one of the millions of families living pay check to pay check. I STRONGLY suggest that you keep some cash stashed somewhere you can access it quickly.

Another thing I'd like you to ask yourself....Do I have enough food on hand to feed my family for a week or at least 3 days without going to the market? You should be able to at least say YES to 3 days worth of food!
Red Cross and FEMA say you should have at the very least 3 days of food for you to sustain you and your family in case of an emergency. As for Bill and I we have a 6-8 month supply of food.
EVERYONE should have a "Bugout" bag with 3 days worth of food as well as other supplies you'll need for emergency evacuation. The next "Blog class" will be dealing with "Bug out " bags .

So, where to begin....We talked about water in our last blog class. YOU HAVE TO HAVE IT!
You also want to make sure you have enough for cooking. Please reference that last blog class for the minimum requirements of water for each person and pet in your household.
There are Basic items you should keep on hand...As well as other staples.
You should have things that will be shelf stable for long periods of time and that will keep without refrigeration such as the following:
* Rice and pasta
* Canned veggies and fruits
*Spaghetti sauce and tomato sauce
*Powdered milk
*Powdered drink mixes
*Hard wheat (Can be cooked and used for a meat substitute, hot cereal, casseroles and ground for bread)
*Basic baking supplies (Yeast, salt, baking powder, baking soda)
*Cooking oils and shortening
* Spices and sauces
*Soups, canned and dry
*crackers
* Dried fruit
* Canned meats (Tuna, salmon, roast beef and ham)
*Dehydrated Vegetables ( Takes up less room, re hydrates like fresh and you have a better handle of portion control without waste!)
* White sugar
*brown and powdered sugars
*Honey
*Dried beans and peas
* Pre assembled sauce mixes (Chili, spaghetti, taco etc.)
*Canned milk
* Dried cheeses (Parmesan)
*Powdered eggs
*Peanut butter
*Jam and jelly
*Condiments
* Quick oats
* Salt, pepper, garlic ,Vinegar ANY spices that you would normally cook with.
* Granola bars, granola, dried cereals
*Juice . Canned, bottled or cartons.
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A HAND CAN OPENER!
A well stocked pantry will assure you and your family a piece of mind as well as you being prepared!
When stocking up you should sit down and figure out what exactly your family eats...what it would take to create a whole meal and what it would be right down to how much water you need to prepare it!
In an earlier post on this blog I gave a 'Formula" that you can use to be able to figure out what you will need for each person for each meal. It will help you in planning what you need to get etc. This is a great plan! I know its very overwhelming if you are just getting started in Emergency preparation. But please dont let it detour you! If you ever have a question and need help please contact me! I would be more than happy to assist you however I can!
Now, I think the first thing you'll need to do is go and see what you do already have on hand. Make a list of it and see how many meals could you possibly make from what you have on hand. Then figure out your meal plan.
How I got started was just picking up a little here and there as I regularly shopped. If you see that your favorite soup is on sale, pick up 2 for now and 2 to store! I look for specials and closeouts on dry and canned items.And then try to buy a few.
Costco and other large warehouse type stores have great deals all the time! I just picked up a 8 pack of dehydrated hash browns in small cartons. I believe they were around $7. We love them and eat them quite a bit so that was a great thing to put in our food storage!
Emergency food preparedness doesnt have to cost a arm and a leg!
One of my FAVORITE stores is the 99Cent store!
I can go in and pick up so many excellent prep items for 99 cents each! We have stocked our first aid kits with items from there as well as personal health care needs and barter items!!!!
So look around! You'll be amazed at what you can get for very little that will be worth so much more to you when you really need it!
ALSO!!! Use your coupons! Thats a great way to get things for your emergency pantry for free or very little! PLUS, there are TONS of FREE sample products online!!!! It will only take a few minutes to request them and then you'll have those little extras!!!!
Another Idea would be buy in bulk and share with friends and family! That way you could get more of a selection without breaking the bank!
The way I look at it is make sure you have the the things that will sustain you, healthy food items that will keep you and your family healthy and alive! And something that you like and would want to eat!
PLEASE, make sure you obtain either a good cookbook pertaining to using the foods you are storing OR download recipes and compile a book. If you dont cook alot from scratch on a regular basis you will need it!

Another thing we will be talking about soon is alternative cooking sources!

I hope this will assist you in your preparations! Be diligent! And dont let this scare you into just being passive about this! It's TIME to be pro active in your families survival!
Remember Katrina? It took days for FEMA to even bring food and clean water to folks! AND now Hurricane Sandy! Look at all the households who do not have electricity OR water! And it's still roaring thru as I type this! I cant even think of all those people who havent prepared for a huge natural disaster or any emergency!!!! My God! This will be horrible!
So PLEASE!!!! I beg of you! Prepare !!!!!!!!
It dosent have to be big but at least you will have the knowledge and at least something on hand!
A disaster can happen at any moment!
Natural such as a storm, earthquake, floods, tsunami, tornadoes, hurricanes, droughts you name it! No matter where we live something can and WIll happen!
Man made, pandemics, Nuclear...Mass power outages, civil unrest and even a economic crash! Even if its just a personal one like a loss of a job or a major illness! You have nothing to lose! And everything to gain!

Well, Peace my friends! I will be back with the next Blog class...Your "Bug out Bag"!

Sherry