You know you should be storing food for an emergency, and you even think it’s a great idea, but when it comes to getting started you’re completely lost. Sound familiar? Or maybe it’s just me…

We’ve all seen the lists: buckets and buckets of wheat, pound after pound of rice, so many cans of tomato sauce. And then there’s the cookbooks full of recipes for meals you can make with your food storage. But does any of it actually taste good?

I remember a church activity a few years back where the pot luck was made up of dishes made from food storage. The only thing I knew how to make with my limited food storage was bread, so I brought a loaf of my favorite homemade wheat bread (which was quickly devoured because it’s amazing). As we sampled the variety of food storage dishes, over and over again I kept hearing, “This isn’t too bad for food storage.”

Maybe I’m just a food snob, but that didn’t sound like a glowing recommendation to me. What if I want my food storage to be full of food my family actually enjoys eating? What if my standard of what tastes good doesn’t adjust according to how long it lasts on a shelf?

That was the beginning of my search for a better way to do food storage. My goal was simple: stock my shelves with food that has a good shelf life and we can eat without gritting our teeth and holding our noses.

This is the #1 key that I have learned:

If you want your food storage to be full of food your family will enjoy, stock up on the food your family eats!

Simple, right? Absolutely!

So what does that look like in practice? There are 3 simple, basic steps.

1. Do your meal planning as usual
2. Buy a little extra to store
3. “Shop” from your food storage first to rotate your food

 
Start with your regular meal planning. After you have planned your menu, look it over to find what would store well. When you make your grocery list, indicate where you will buy a few extra of something. Bring it home, write the date on it, and add it to your food storage.

The next week make your menu and grocery list like usual, but before you go the store, shop in your food storage first. Anything on your list that you have in storage, move to the kitchen pantry to be eaten. The new food you buy goes straight to food storage to replace what you took. Always be sure to take the oldest food off the storage shelf. This will help you rotate your food storage so it doesn’t go bad sitting too long on the shelf.

For example,  my family is having spaghetti this week. That stores great, so I am going to buy a few extra packages of noodles and jars of sauce and add them to my food storage. Since I already have spaghetti sauce on my storage shelf, I will use that old sauce for dinner this week and add the new sauce to my storage shelf. That’s it!

How much extra you buy will depend entirely on your budget and storage space. It’s completely up to you. If you don’t eat a lot of canned/non-perishable food, you may have to adapt this to your lifestyle a little more.

 
Here are a few more ideas of simple ways to put this into practice:

• chili is on the menu, so buy a case instead of a can

• your kids love chicken noodle soup for lunch, so buy enough soup for a week instead of a day

• try out some “dump” recipes – recipes that call for a few cans of something to be dumped together in a pan and heated. That kind of meal is perfect for food storage!

Buying extra of what you are already eating and storing it away for an emergency gives you an entire food storage full of food you family loves to eat.

Do you have any food storage tips for me? I am always looking for a little extra help when it comes to food storage! 🙂

If you want a little extra help with your emergency preparedness (and really, who doesn’t???), you are going to love the giveaway I have for you today. Kristina from Mother’s Niche put this one together, too, and I would be so excited to win these prizes!

First let me tell you a little about the generous company who is providing the prizes: Honeyville. Since 1951 Honeyville has grown from a specialty grain mill into a national food supplier leader specializing in storable foods, quality baking ingredients, and kitchen appliances. They strive to offer excellent quality foods at competitive prices to all of their customers no matter what your volume requirement is. Honeyville’s diverse line of products includes freeze dried and dehydrated foods, whole grains, flours, baking ingredients, canned foods, corn products, and much, much more.

I am so impressed with Honeyville’s amazing products to help us prepare for an emergency. Look at these amazing prizes you could win!

5-Day Survival Backpack: This includes food for 5 days (38 entrees), a portable stove and 24 fuel tablets, stainless steel cup, squeeze flashlight, 5-in-1 survival whistle, waterproof matches, mylar blanket, emergency poncho, playing cards, 47-piece first aid and hygiene kit (including 37 piece bandage kit, N95 dust mask, pocket tissues, 3 wet naps, and waste bag). The backpack is light weight with plenty of extra room for clothes and other personal items you may want to add.

LifeStraw: This is a portable, personal water filter that fits in your back pocket and cleans enough drinking water for one person for one full year! That’s a minimum of 264 gallons. This amazing little straw only weighs 2 ounces, is made of durable plastic, is chemical free, and does not require batteries or power of any kind.

2 Water Bricks: A water storage system that can hold water, food, or other items you would want to keep dry and safe. One large brick can hold up to 3.5 gallons of water, and the small brick holds up to 1.6 gallons of water. These can be stacked up to 4 feet high without toppling over. They have a long shelf life and can last indefinitely when used properly.

In addition to this giveaway, Honeyville is also offering a special sale just for you! Use code READY10 to get 10% off your purchase. So if you just can’t wait to see if you’re the winner, happy shopping! Good Luck!!

 
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