Meal Planning

Here's some tips for MEAL PLANNING!!

-Have a list of meals your family likes. (Don't feel bad if ramen noodles or Hamburger Helper is on your list)

-Space out similar meals. For example, you may not want to have spaghetti and lasagna in the same week. This is on reason I prefer planning for the whole month. I would make breakfast food every other day if I could but my husband doesn't love that, so I plan on one breakfast food meal a week.

-Plan for a leftover night. We usually have one day a week when we need to clean out the fridge. It doesn't always fall on the same day every week, so I have to be flexible, but I LOVE leftover night.

-Plan for new recipes! To shake things up a little, plan a new recipe once a week or once every other week. This can help you find new favorites for your meal list. (Remember to use recipes that include your food storage, so you can learn HOW to use ingredients you may not be used to and so that your food gets rotated.)

-Use a blank calendar and/or make a list of all the meals. A few months ago I was writing meals done on a blank calendar that I printed from Word. I liked this way. Lately, I have just been writing a big list of what I have ingredients for so I can cook whatever I feel like that night.

I also like to keep track of what I actually ended up making (or if we ate out) so that when I am meal planning I can remember what we've had most recently and try to plan so different meals. I have a binder with my calendars and lists so I can look through it quickly. My favorite recipes are also in this binder and print outs or notes about recipes I want to try.

Meal planning helps me to feel a little more in control of my day, helps with my general sanity, and saves me money because I'm not going to the store every other day for things I need.

HAPPY PLANNING!

*This is an update post from earlier this year, I know. But I think it's good to review. :)

72-hour kit REVIEW

Over the last 9 months we have been talking about building a 3-month supply as well as 72-hour kit. If you've been following the PLAN 9 steps created by the Southwest Utah Health Department, you've gone through ALL 9 steps in the last 9 months. Hooray!

Here's a review of the 9 steps!!!

Step 1: Water! It is recommended that we store a 2 week supply of water, which is 14 gallons per person.

Step 2: Food! There are lots of choices when it comes to food, but it's smart to store what your family will actually eat. In case of emergency, you don't want to make it more miserable by eating cardboard.

Step 3: Clothing! Having at least a set of clothing for each family member in your kit is great. You may also want to have a sweater and extra shoes.

Step 4: Medication! It's handy to have extra over the counter medications in case of evacualtion or just to have in case you run out at home. You also may have prescription meds that will are necessary to have on hand in case of an emergency.

Step 5: Flashlights! Having a couple flashlights with extra batteries will be necessary in more emergencies.

Step 6: Can Opener! I don't have a can opener in my 72-hour kit, because I don't have cans in my 72-hour kit, but because so much of my food storage is canned, I need spare can openers for my food storage.

Step 7: Radio! Having a battery operated radio may be necessary in case of an emergency. If something happened to the satelites and all the cell phones and the internet went down (AAHHH!!) radios may be the only way for communication.

Step 8: Toiletries! Items like soap, toothpaste, feminine products, diapers, etc. are an important addition to your 72-hour kit.

Step 9: First Aid Kit! You can put together your own first aid kit or buy one at the store. Either way, having the basic frist aid items is important.

So we've made it all the way through...but don't worry. We're just going to start over! If you have the items we talk about, you can rotate them or just pat yourself on the back!

3-month supply: Veggies

From WikiCommons, by: Elina Mark

Let's talk about your 3-month supply of Vegetables!!!

How much? According to THIS spreadsheet, you need to store about 30 lbs per person. Since the fruit amount is 15 lbs, I am personally going with 15 lbs per person.

What? There are dozens of different vegetable products you can store. Here's a short list: Canned vegetables (peas, corn, green beans, carrots, potatoes, etc.), frozen vegetables, dried vegetables, potatoe flakes, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, pumpkin, pickles, and more.

The best thing to do is to think of what you use in your family. You may not want to store something that you never eat, although remember that VARIETY is so important.

Here are some prices. Keep in mind that these are low, stock-up prices and you may not see these often.

Canned corn, green beans, carrots and peas: $.03/oz which is $.49 per can.

Tomato sauce: $.03/oz.

Diced and stewed tomatoes: $.03/oz.

Spaghetti sauce: $.03/oz.

Canned potatoes, beets, and mixed vegetables: $.05/oz.

Frozen veggies like corn, peas, mixed: $.05/oz.

Tomato paste: $.07/oz.

Salsa: $.10/oz.

Potato flakes: $.11/oz.

Green chilies: $.12/oz.

Canned pumpkin: $.12/oz.

Canned mushrooms: $.13/oz.

Dried onion: $.17/oz.

Dried carrots: $.19/oz.

Financial Emergency Fund

 

Image courtesy of U.S. Department of the Treasury

Having some cash on hand is an important part of any Emergency Plan. In case of an emergency that causes ATMs or credit card machines to go down, you will need cash to get yourself gas, food, transportation, etc.

Remember to have a variety of money, mostly smaller amounts because you never know if someone will be able to make change.

You may want to have a few hundred dollars in your Emergency Binder as well as some in your car.

In addition to having emergency cash, saving at least $1000 in a checking or savings account can help you have peace of mind in the event that you need new tires or another unexpected event. 

We recently were able to travel to Washington state to be with family after my husband's uncle passed away. This is the first trip in which we have not had to go into credit card debt. Of course, now we have to build up our savings. That is frustrating sometimes. But our kids were able to see their grandparents, 3 great-grandparents and lots of aunts, uncles and cousins who they may not have ever met otherwise.

It is recommended that we have 3-months of our family income in savings. But remember, just do one thing at a time.

So...let's review:

1. Have $100-200 CASH in your home and/or car. (Remember to have small increments: $1, $5, $10 and $20.)

2. Build up $1000 in checking or savings. (Or in cash, if you prefer.)

3. Save 3 months worth of your family income. (Make a goal, keep your budget and don't get discouraged!)

Canning Tips

Last week I canned peaches and pears. And of course, forgot to take pictures. The picture above was from 2008 when I canned 4 boxes of pears...and I was 8 months pregnant. What can I say? I love to can!

Since this month's 3-month supply is FRUIT, I decided to post some canning tips.

First of all...SAVE YOUR JARS. For the first few years I canned, I had to buy jars. Now, I just reuse jars and so canning only costs me the price of the fruit and new LIDS.



That brings us to the next tip. You CANNOT reuse the lids when canning. There is a rubber ring on each lid that helps to seal the bottle. You can reuse RINGS and JARS but not lids.

There are 4 different things you can can with.

1. Water bath canner
2. Steam canner
3 Pressure canner
4. Vacuum sealer

CLICK HERE to read what each canner does.

This is my take on them.

Water canners take a lot of water and a long time to get up to temperature. I'm a klutz so I would scald myself, I'm sure. But, it's an easy way to can fruits.

Steam canning is my favorite. With a steam canner you only need a few cups of water, although you do have streams of steam to worry about for about 30 minutes. (That's why I can after my kids are asleep.)

Pressure canning is a little more complicated, but not impossible. You HAVE to use a pressure canning when canning potatoes, meats, and other low acid foods to prevent botulism. (I canned some pears with a pressure canner last year and it makes them too soft.)

Vacuuming canning is something I have only a little experience with. Last year a friend and I canned some dried fruits and veggies using a FoodSaver with a special attachment for jars. This is a great way to split up a large can of dried fruit or portion out a large bag of dried beans.

We could talk about canning all day, but if you get a good book on canning or find a good website (my favorite is PaulNoll.com) and follow the instructions, you'll be fine.

My last tip is this: Go with the flow. Sometimes things don't go as you expect. Here's a photo of me in Sept. 2008 (largely pregnant) lifting the top of a cracked jar from my steam canner. I had a jar crack on me this year too. Sigh.


Remember, canning can be an inexpensive way to add to your food storage and it's a great skill to have!

72-hour kit: First aid kit

Each 72-hour kit should include a basic first aid kit. There are small pre-made kits at the store or you can make your own.

Here are some basic items you could include:

Bandages, varying sizes
Alcohol wipes
Triple antibiotic cream
Non-prescription drugs
Gloves

Obivously there is about a hundred more things you could add. Just remember that SOMETHING is better than NOTHING, so get something small put together and add to it as needed.


Besides in your 72-hour kits, your car is an important place to have a first aid kit.


This is step 9 on the PLAN 9 pamphlet put together by the Southwest Utah Public Health Department.

3-month supply: Fruit

Photo taken by: Abhijit Tembhekar

Let's talk about a 3-month supply of FRUIT!!!

How much? About 16 lbs per person

What? Apple slices, raisins, and other dried fruits, apple sauce, canned fruit (our favorites are pineapple, mandarin oranges and fruit cocktail), etc.

You can use THIS template from Prepared LDS Family to help you decide how much of each items to have in your supply.


PRICE LIST for some fruits:

Peaches and Pears, canned: $.03/oz.
Applesauce, canned: $.04/oz.
Mandarin oranges, canned: $.04/oz.
Fruit cocktail: $.05/oz.
Pineapple, canned: $.05/oz.
Fruit cups: $.39 per cup.
Raisins: $1.94/lb.
Apricots, dried: $3.50/ lb.
Banana slices: $3.76/lb.
Apple Slices: $4.84/lb is a GREAT deal!


Obviously dried fruit is quite expensive in comparison, but remember that having a VARIETY in your food storage is important.

One thing that I don't have priced out is FROZEN FRUIT. For a short term supply (like 1, 2 or 3 months) you could (and probably SHOULD) include some frozen fruit. Whether you buy a bag from the store or freeze your own, it can be a useful way to add more fruit to your diet and to your storage.

FREEZING food is one of my favorite things, whether it be fruit, veggies, meats, or even things like shredded cheese and bread.

CANNING is also a great way to store fruit. Depending on what grows where you live, you can often get bulk fruits during harvest time. Canning is more time consuming and a little complicated at first, but is a great way to add to your food supply.

Valerie at Prepared LDS Family wrote a great blog entry back in February called: "Are Canned Fruits and Vegetables Healthy For You?" It talks about how canned fruit is processed at its peak and can sometimes be even better for you nutritionally than fresh fruit that has sat on trucks or in the store for weeks. Obviously fresh fruit is normally best, it is important to have some stored and to use it regularly.