Hello preppers!
It has been a good while since I have been able to apply some time to share prepping ideas or tips. I just completed a post on my farm blog that shares how much my family of five spends on shopping, groceries and preparation. It is so important that we all appreciate the times we live in...
Feel free to swing over and check it out!
Shopping Groceries and Preparation
Jennifer
Double Nickel Farm
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Showing posts with label pantry foods and storage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pantry foods and storage. Show all posts
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Thursday, October 22, 2009
On the Shelves of the Pantry
1. Rice- what an easy and inexpensive way to fill up your pantry. To make your rice provide all the nutrients necessary read this, as it is very helpful and will ensure that the protein in rice will help you if you are shy of meats.
For my family a one year supply of rice is about 250 lbs according to this calculator. Rice is an incredibly easy food to prepare and there are far too numerous recipes to list...on the farm we eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner...just prepared a different way.
2. Brown sugar-this is such a great item to have. In the calculator above it suggest having 15 lbs for a family of five, but we use brown sugar much more than white sugar, as it is not refined. We do have white sugar, but I am thinning that out. We use this as a sweetener for drinks-yummy.
3. Store bought canned veggies- I try and buy veggies without anything but water...but sometimes I do buy because of a sale. We have an abundance of corn, peas, green beans, carrots, asparagus, and spinach. Did you know that combining a yellow vegetable and a green vegetable together will help reduce or lower your triglycerides? Did you know that you can make carrot cookies or carrot bread with canned carrots? We have a few hundred cans of veggies in the pantry-based on sales.
4. Condiments- mayonnaise, mustard, dressings, BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Kikomon, Parmesan cheese and Ketchup. I confess that these are loaded with corn syrup and sugars, but I like to have them sometimes. I buy these items totally on sale. For example I just bought 12 BBQ sauces for $3.60!Oh and they are Kraft! If you watch the sales and use coupons you'd be amazed at what you can do for your pantry.
5. Peanut butter- I am giving this its own separate number as it should be!! I love peanut butter, peanuts and any side on either! We buy this from Costco as it is still the cheapest place to buy peanut butter so inexpensive.
6. Pickles- we eat about a gallon to two gallons each month! Yep we love them so I have a variety of pickles in the pantry. I buy the gallons for about $3.50 at Costco, and then supplement the slices or variety when they go on sale. I think I have 8 gallons in the pantry and five medium jars of slices. Don't forget that you can drink the pickle juice!!
7. Canned tomatoes gets its own category also! I have never canned my own tomatoes as we eat them as fast as they come in. So I buy gallons of tomatoes from Costco. We have about 15 gallons in the pantry...I use this for salsa primarily as we use salsa pretty much every day with lunch and dinner. Try tossing salsa on top of white rice- yummy!!! By the way the whole peeled tomatoes are superb!
8. Drinks- no not alcohol, although I recommend having something like vodka in your storage as you can use that to make tinctures, and sterilize wounds. Now back to drinks, black tea to make sun tea, flavored teas to get you through sicknesses, coffee, Gatorade, punch mixes. We also buy one or two canned drinks such as apple juice or orange juice. They are pricey, but last a good while and are not exposed to sunlight which changes the taste of the drink. We have the generic V-8 too which is my favorite. (approximately 5 gallons of coffee, 70 mixes of koolaid, 3 tubs of Gatorade, 6 boxes of teas, 25 cans of fruit drinks 2 qts)
9. Powdered milk- I use this when I make oatmeal, arroz con leche and what ever. I have two 5 gallon buckets. I bought on sale the boxes, then filled up the five gallon buckets.
10. tomato sauce- this is such a good starter for your cooking, it can be made into tomato juice or as a soup base, or in anything. I buy salt free type. I have about 200 cans of tomato sauce.
11. Oils- olive oil, I use this exclusively in my baking and cooking. I also have lard and Crisco. I use both...and have several of each. I have three gallons of olive oil.
12. Canned meats- I have tuna, sardines, and ham. We have the beef, so I will be canning lots over the next few weeks so I can turn off the freezer.
13. Fruits- I have raisins, prunes(yep) applesauce, peaches, pears, pineapples, fruit cocktail...some I have canned and some store bought. I buy only fruits in natural juices- again I have been reducing the corn syrup in our diets. I have a couple hundred or more. I canned 70 plus applesauce, so you get the idea.
14. Pasta's- we are like most Americans I suppose, as we do like our pasta. I have lasagna, spaghetti, elbow, shells, fideo and three colored rotini. I have about 30 or so lbs.
15. Spices- this is important- so I have several containers to resupply my spice cupboard. Don't forget salt and pepper. I have 25 lbs of salt...and about 8 lbs of sea salt for home made toothpaste.
Well that is the peek for now- The key to a pantry is understanding that balance should be maintained. If you have three hundred lbs of flour, and nothing else you're are going to be in trouble. One must also rotate foods and replenish ones supplies.
I have not gone over the complete inventory- just a peek!
(c) Double Nickel Farm
Monday, April 6, 2009
What's in your Pantry?
This is a parade of food pantry's to make you think about your food storage methods. I strongly urge you to keep records of your foods in the pantry and rotate your food. I believe that the way the economy is that a well stocked pantry may keep your family fed while you get back to basics and learn how to not only grow your own foods but be able to put the food up(canning, preserving, drying).
Pantry #1 organized
This pantry is quite organized-which is critical to managing your foods and rotating. There is a good number of dried goods(long shelf life) with canned beans, fruit, veggies, and honey. The bottom shelf has a luxury item of sorts- instant potatoes.(which is a quick food to cook) even over a campfire. Notice the canned salmon on the left lower shelf. You need to have some meats canned, or freeze dried, or dehydrated. In the local grocery, you can buy a variety of fish, turkey, chicken, ham, roast beef, spam, and Vienna sausages. One can also buy summer sausage that does not need to be refrigerated until opened, and beef jerky which never needs to be refrigerated.
Pantry #2 Fantastic space used totally incorrectly
How long can this pantry feed anyone? Well not for very long that is for sure. Soda with its empty nutritional value is a waste of space. Mind you, I have enjoyed many an iced filled soda, but to fill a pantry with soda and almost nothing else will lead to the last diet EVER. This pantry also has many prepackaged box meals-whether cereal or the dinner mixes above them. I am always one to look for bargains and time savers, but the older I get the more I realize that these are exactly like the soda. They are filled with excess calories with the least amount of beneficial nutrition.
Pantry #3
This is a photo of a church distribution, but I like the way I can use this in my post, so I am! This pantry looks both organized and full compared to Pantry #2. It has a variety and food to last longer, but it is lacking flour, sugars, legumes, rice, to name a few.
Pantry #4 Obsessive compulsive pantry
Now this is a show home pantry! Water is included in this storage which is a plus, but only for a week or so. This pantry is balanced yet will provide NO nutritional balance. I won't say anything else.
Pantry #5 Holy Toledo...
If you store food like this, you may as well flush a $20.00 bill down the toilet every day. Nothing is organized, it would be impossible to quickly assemble a meal, and it looks like some food is stored on the floor. Kudos to the really cool shelving unit, but that is not what makes a good pantry. I am betting that this pantry has several items opened because they did not realize that one was already open.(notice the two Pam spray cans- one on an upper shelf and one below).
Pantry #6 Finally
This pantry is from an LDS family. Notice the five gallon buckets on the floor...they can be stored on the floor(although it is not recommended to store them on cement floor). In these buckets are grains, oats, sugar, flour, and the likes. Notice the water on the right. There is also a variety of canned goods, box goods, and other items. This pantry continues on either side and holds a years worth of food. Some sits in its case until the old food is used first.
I have a list of suggested items for a pantry to buy in the month of April.
A- apples(applesauce, dried apples, apple butter) apricots, asparagus,
P- peas, peaches, pears, pineapples, peanuts, peanut butter
R-rice, rotini,
I- Italian dressing, Italian seasoning,
L- legumes, lard,
This is something simple to make you build up a variety in the pantry because if you only have 200 lbs of rice life will be tedious. In any situation your emotional health is as important to your health as anything. So begin a simple plan but be diligent.
Now here is my shaking reality- don't begin simple, but ... spend and fill up the pantry. Every time I go to the store the prices are increasing. If something you use is on sale, load up. For example my local store is having a case lot sale and I definitely shopped accordingly.
Many prep sites give sound advice of buying foods that last 20 or so years, etc. If you are starting today, the time to find the deals on those items is going fast. I also suggest being stingy on price as the more you have the better off you will be. Stretch your dollar long and far, as an empty pantry vs. a well stocked one is what will get you through to your garden harvest.
@Double Nickel Farm
Pantry #1 organized
This pantry is quite organized-which is critical to managing your foods and rotating. There is a good number of dried goods(long shelf life) with canned beans, fruit, veggies, and honey. The bottom shelf has a luxury item of sorts- instant potatoes.(which is a quick food to cook) even over a campfire. Notice the canned salmon on the left lower shelf. You need to have some meats canned, or freeze dried, or dehydrated. In the local grocery, you can buy a variety of fish, turkey, chicken, ham, roast beef, spam, and Vienna sausages. One can also buy summer sausage that does not need to be refrigerated until opened, and beef jerky which never needs to be refrigerated.
Pantry #2 Fantastic space used totally incorrectly
How long can this pantry feed anyone? Well not for very long that is for sure. Soda with its empty nutritional value is a waste of space. Mind you, I have enjoyed many an iced filled soda, but to fill a pantry with soda and almost nothing else will lead to the last diet EVER. This pantry also has many prepackaged box meals-whether cereal or the dinner mixes above them. I am always one to look for bargains and time savers, but the older I get the more I realize that these are exactly like the soda. They are filled with excess calories with the least amount of beneficial nutrition.
Pantry #3
This is a photo of a church distribution, but I like the way I can use this in my post, so I am! This pantry looks both organized and full compared to Pantry #2. It has a variety and food to last longer, but it is lacking flour, sugars, legumes, rice, to name a few.Pantry #4 Obsessive compulsive pantry
Now this is a show home pantry! Water is included in this storage which is a plus, but only for a week or so. This pantry is balanced yet will provide NO nutritional balance. I won't say anything else.
Pantry #5 Holy Toledo...
If you store food like this, you may as well flush a $20.00 bill down the toilet every day. Nothing is organized, it would be impossible to quickly assemble a meal, and it looks like some food is stored on the floor. Kudos to the really cool shelving unit, but that is not what makes a good pantry. I am betting that this pantry has several items opened because they did not realize that one was already open.(notice the two Pam spray cans- one on an upper shelf and one below).Pantry #6 Finally
This pantry is from an LDS family. Notice the five gallon buckets on the floor...they can be stored on the floor(although it is not recommended to store them on cement floor). In these buckets are grains, oats, sugar, flour, and the likes. Notice the water on the right. There is also a variety of canned goods, box goods, and other items. This pantry continues on either side and holds a years worth of food. Some sits in its case until the old food is used first.
I have a list of suggested items for a pantry to buy in the month of April.
A- apples(applesauce, dried apples, apple butter) apricots, asparagus,
P- peas, peaches, pears, pineapples, peanuts, peanut butter
R-rice, rotini,
I- Italian dressing, Italian seasoning,
L- legumes, lard,
This is something simple to make you build up a variety in the pantry because if you only have 200 lbs of rice life will be tedious. In any situation your emotional health is as important to your health as anything. So begin a simple plan but be diligent.
Now here is my shaking reality- don't begin simple, but ... spend and fill up the pantry. Every time I go to the store the prices are increasing. If something you use is on sale, load up. For example my local store is having a case lot sale and I definitely shopped accordingly.
Many prep sites give sound advice of buying foods that last 20 or so years, etc. If you are starting today, the time to find the deals on those items is going fast. I also suggest being stingy on price as the more you have the better off you will be. Stretch your dollar long and far, as an empty pantry vs. a well stocked one is what will get you through to your garden harvest.
@Double Nickel Farm
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