my kind of RS activity

Back in October or so, I got called to be... um... I don't even know what my calling is called now. It used to be the Enrichment leader. So I'm whatever that is.

Anyway, I love it. It's my favorite calling of all time. It's basically planning parties, which I love. I've been having fun coming up with new and different activities to do in our ward.

And there's an idea floating around in my head that I am just dying to do... but there is no way I can do it in my current ward. It just wouldn't work with the dynamics we have. So I'm sharing it with you, in case someone thinks it would work better for them.

The activity? Zombie Preparedness Fair.

Yeah, that sounds kind of morbid and weird for a church activity. I know. Really, it's just a preparedness fair, where we would have rotating classes about food storage and 72 hour kits, making your own emergency supplies (like these or these), or a dutch oven cooking class. Stuff like that that we have all heard a million times before. 
Just calling it a Zombie Preparedness Fair makes it a little bit more interesting, don't you think?

February food storage

My February food storage goal was lunch foods: macaroni and cheese, granola bars, crackers, beef jerky, dried and canned fruit, canned beans, peanut butter, nuts, etc. However, beef jerky and nuts were wayyyy more expensive than I expected, so I didn't get any of those. We will have to get our protein at dinner. I don't think I got quite 3 months worth of well-rounded lunches, but as long as have a good breakfast and a good dinner, lunch can be more of a snack (for me and Jason at least) and I think we will survive.

Along with my actual food storage purchases, I have decided to learn a new skill or prepare in another way each month as well. In February I cleaned out my pantry. I hung 5 wire shelving units for canned goods on the wall, which freed up a lot of shelf space. I moved my tupperware and cleaning supplies into the cabinet under the sink, which freed up even more shelf space. If I move my bottles of water down to the crawlspace, then I will have another large storage area in the kitchen for our 6 month supply. Since my 6 month supply is going to be shelf-stable, "normal" foods, I want it all in the kitchen so I don't have to go down to the crawlspace for every day things. The crawlspace will be dedicated to our water and long-term food storage.

Next month: learn to bake bread. My $5 breadmaker from DI will come in handy with that goal!

Food storage: January

Last Thursday the girls and I made our first trip to Costco to do our January food storage shopping.

It was overwhelming.

My food storage goal for January was a 3-month supply of breakfast foods. I ended up with a huuuuuge bag of Quaker oatmeal, a huge bag of pancake mix (it makes 220 pancakes), a box of chocolate instant breakfast, and two cans of powdered milk (it will make 44 quarts). I still would like a few more cans of applesauce and fruit, but the powdered milk was more expensive than I realized, so that will have to wait for another month.

I'm not a fan of plain oatmeal, so part of my brown sugar storage will go to sweetening it. I also started mixing applesauce into plain cooked oatmeal and yum! It's great!! The instant breakfast is for me and Jason--since it's fortified and full of extra protein and vitamins, I thought it would be a good thing to have on hand if we are living on a skimpy diet.

Along with the 12 boxes of cereal currently in our pantry, I think I met my goal.

Shelf-stable meals

When I sat down to make my shelf-stable menu, it was under the assumption that if we are using our food storage because of our financial situation, we can supplement with fresh fruits and vegetables from the garden or grocery store, and if we are using it because of a disaster, all that matters is that it will keep us alive.

Thus, these meals are very blah and unimaginative. I only planned seven, so we will be eating the same thing every week, which I know will get old.

If you have shelf-stable meals please leave a comment with the recipe!! I would love some more ideas!

Breakfast foods

Oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins 2x

Dry cereal with (powdered) milk 3x

Muffins and applesauce

Pancakes with (powdered) scrambled eggs

Lunch foods

Macaroni and cheese 2x

Tuna and canned fruit

Crackers, beef jerky, and nuts and dried fruit

Peanut butter and honey sandwiches (homemade bread if necessary) x3

Dinner foods

Spaghetti and vegetables (frozen if possible, canned if last resort)

Chili and Bisquick biscuits

Chicken, tomatoes, and rice (using canned chicken and tomatoes)

Chicken and biscuits (using canned chicken, Bisquick, canned vegetables, and cream of chicken soup)

Canned stew and Bisquick biscuits

Creamy chicken and rice (using canned chicken, cream of chicken soup, and rice)

Ok, I thought I had seven meals, but I guess I only have six for dinner. So the seventh night would have to be a repeat or pancakes and scrambled eggs.

Like I said, these meals will be supplemented with things from the grocery store or garden. I also plan on stocking up on cake mixes, cookie mixes, and baking ingredients. Even if we have to eat the same six meals over and over for a full year, I want my kids to have a treat once in awhile.

my food storage journey

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have always been counseled to prudently build up a year's supply of food and other necessitites that can be used in times of need, whether this need arises from a natural disaster or a loss of income or other financial blow.

This was my goal last year.

I completely failed.

But this year I have a plan.

I am going to build up a 6 month supply (you gotta start somewhere) of food and supplies for $50/month this year.

Would you like to join me?

(I need people to keep me accountable)

The first thing I did was make a simple one-week menu of meals I can make out of completely shelf-stable food. I used this simple menu to figure out how much of each ingredient I would need for a week, then for a month, then for three months. So I have a basic idea of how much food I will need for three months.

Then I took each month of the year and decided what I would buy with my $50 that month. In January, it will go to a 3-month supply of breakfast foods, February is lunch and snack foods, March and April are dinner foods, May is baking supplies, and June is toiletries and household goods.

So by June I should have a 3-month supply of everything. In July, the schedule starts over, so by the end of the year, I should meet my goal with a 6-month supply of food and necessities.

I'm using two important principles in this plan.

First, instead of buying canned wheat and beans and scary things like that, I am focusing my energies on foods that are already incorporated into our daily diet: rice, canned tomatoes, canned chicken, chili, oatmeal, etc.

Second, since these are things we already eat, I will rotate our food storage throughout the year. This means I will use them as the need arises, and replenish the supply during my normal grocery shopping.

Someone tell me this will work...