My Favorite Food Storage Gadget!

One of the hurdles that many people face when thinking about food storage is wondering where to put it. I have stuffed it in the hall closet, under the bed, really just about anywhere I could think of. You do what you have to when you want to accomplish a goal, and I made it work for as long as I could. The main problem that I had is that I would forget where I had put things, and by the time that I had found them, it was already past the expiration date.

Then I saw a commercial on BYU television that changed my life in terms of food storage. This commercial showcased the most wonderful system! It was a free-standing rack that held cans. Lots of cans! The neat thing is that you load the new cans into the top of the appropriate row, and you use from the bottom of the row; therefore, you are always using the oldest food first.

I ordered my unit from a company called "Shelf Reliance". They have units in various sizes, and they even have little racks that fit on your existing pantry shelves. I won't lie to you -- it definitely was what my budget would call an "investment piece", but I figured that if it helped me to keep my food storage from going bad, it was worth the money. Plus, I waited until they had a sale, and I got a really good deal on it. They do have sales from time to time, so I would advise that you check with them often.

There are other companies who sell "first-in, first-out" can rotation devices. If you want to shop around then I would suggest searching the internet for "food storage racks" or "food can racks". I cannot vouch for this particular item because I have not tried it personally, but there is a site that has plans to build your own -- great if the ready-made rack is cost prohibitive for now. (I would love to know about anyone's experience with this.)

Whichever option is best for you, there is organizational help for food storage out there!

Help From Someone Who Knows! (The Queen of Food Storage!)

When it comes to striving toward the goal of long-term food storage, no one has helped me more than a lady by the name of Wendy DeWitt, and I've never even met her. She came and gave a presentation in our area a few years ago. I didn't go, but the Old Coot Who Married Me went, and he came home and told me all about it. What I heard changed my attitude about my ability to actually achieve having a decent level of food storage for our family.

For years I had been under the impression that having "food storage" meant having a ton of wheat -- with which I had absolutely no idea of what to do! Wendy DeWitt changed all of that! Her message was simple: store what you eat (plus a few of the basics). Instead of accumulating immense quantities of things I wouldn't normally use, I started looking at what we would normally eat for breakfast and dinner for one week. I then made a list of the ingredients that I would need to make all of those meals and multiplied it by 52 weeks. This would be what I would need to have a year's supply. I could then start buying items while they were on sale, and fill in my menu ingredient list. If you would like more ideas on buying food storage, including setting a food storage budget, The Idea Door has some great ideas!

Is a year's supply a little too overwhelming for you? Then strive for a 3-month supply. Is three months still a little much? Start with striving for a 2-week supply. Why two weeks? Because if there was ever a "health" scare that required a quarantine (is anyone thinking "swine flu"?), you could expect it to last a good two weeks.

The good news is that if you missed Wendy Dewitt's presentation, too, then you can watch it thanks to the internet! She also has a blog that is worth checking out, and she wrote a neat little guide on food storage and solar cooking called, "Everything Under the Sun".

I hope that you find her as inspiring and informative and "Gan"-"Green Thumb" and I have found her to be! She truly is the "Queen of Food Storage" for me!

How Long Will My Food Stay Fresh? Ask an Extension Agent!

Whether you are looking at long-term food storage, or just keeping the groceries for the month fresh, it's important to store items in the proper way and have a good idea of each item's shelf life. This is where I have found state/county extension services to be a great resource. Whether it is food storage, gardening, or emergency preparedness, extension agents have a wealth of knowlege to share and I always have found them to be more than happy to help.

One of my favorite information sheets on food shelf life is from the Texas AgriLife Extension: "Safe Home Food Storage" . Another good information sheet is from the Virginia Cooperative Extension and is called "Food Storage Guidelines for Consumers".

Our area is prone to thunderstorms with high winds and we sometimes lose electrical service; the longest that we have been without service is about a day and a half (just enough to start worrying about the refrigerator!). I found the information from the Texas AgriLife Extension Service that tells how long refrigerated food will stay fresh after the power is off to be very helpful. In fact, this website has a whole list of great information about disaster preparedness and recovery!

Whole-Wheat Pancakes

For those of you who have some wheat stored away, here's another recipe to help you use it. The thing that I really like about this one is that there is no wheat grinder involved -- plus, almost everyone likes pancakes! ("Gan"-"Green Thumb" likes pancakes "drowning" in maple syrup!)

Whole Wheat Pancakes

1 cup milk

3/4 cup wheat

2 eggs

1/8 cup oil

1 Tablespoon honey

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder

Place milk and wheat in a blender and blend at high speed for 4 minutes. After 4 minutes, turn blender off and and add eggs, oil, and honey, then blend on "low" speed. After these are blended in, turn blender off and add baking soda, salt, and baking powder; turn blender on just long enough to get these ingredients blended in -- DO NOT OVERBLEND! Pour batter as normal and cook. Makes about twelve 5" pancakes.