Food Storage Lies, Myths and Tips

When most people think of long term food storage, pantries filled with canned goods is what often comes to mind. However, we have to be very careful with what we store and buy. Things are not always what they seem when it comes with food storage many products claim to be made with the famed 25 year shelf life, but start to read the label and you will find ingredients that will not last more than 2-3 years. This article will teach you what to look for.

When looking at long term storage, you must first look at the ingredients. Can you pronounce every ingredient? Do you see words like hydrogenated, hydrolyzed, or Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)? These words, along with many others indicate artificial flavorings, colorings, and preservatives that can be very harmful to your body, not to mention unstable.

Read the Label

If you have bought food go grab it and let’s look at the label. If you see things like cake flour it only has a shelf life of 8 months to a year. Keep looking; do you see soy bean oil, canola oil, hydrogenated oils or hydrolyzed syrup? Those all have a shelf life of only a year or two, yet they are being sold as 25 year food storage! Don’t forget to also look for things like whole eggs or dairy as well. These ingredients simply cannot last as long as these food storage companies claim and you need to be aware.

To be shelf stable, there also has to be the minimum of water content in the food. The FDA suggests that dehydrated food, using any form of dehydration, must have a water content less than 7%. The problem most companies find with following this mandate is simply cost. Making sure the food actually gets under 7% of water content requires extra time, effort and power, creating a path for shortcuts to be taken which most companies do.

When shortcuts are taken, added preservatives have to be used. By putting in the hydrogenated oils, food storage manufacturers can extend the shelf life of lower quality oils such as vegetable, soy, and safflower oils.  These oils have a natural shelf life of 18 months under preferable conditions. When chemicals and artificial preservatives are introduced, they can store for several years, but they have been altered to an unhealthy form to accomplish it.

When purchasing your food, make sure you do your homework and read the label. It may literally save your life.

Finding a manufacturer that believes in using natural, shelf stable ingredients means that they don’t have to use the artificial chemicals to preserve their long term food storage. The food is just as flavorful, healthy, and nutritious as when it was originally sourced. When you are looking for good ingredients, look for real food products that have been freeze dried and prepared to last. For example things like tomato or onion powder chopped or grated vegetables. Also look for whole foods like whole beans in the food, products that contain these types of ingredients will be sure to provide you the nutrition your body will need, when you need it.

Is Your Food Protected?

Another thing to look for is packaging, this isn’t always the easiest thing to see because many products now come in the large white buckets. While the buckets look good they are not what actually is protecting the food from the elements. When you open up the bucket you will notice that the food is individually packaged in plastic or Mylar type bags. This is crucial to long term food storage because if your packaging fails your food will spoil long before its shelf date. A few things I like to look for is the quality of the bag itself. Is it flimsy and folds easily? That’s a bad sign, look for solid, quality bags at least 5.4 mm think so it will stand the test of time. I also really like the resalable option so you can one use a little at a time and still seal off your food.

The next thing to look for when it comes to packaging is how the provider is eliminating oxygen from the food. This will again provide the product a long shelf life as well as keep it fresh. If the company only provides an oxygen eliminating pack in its product, that’s really not enough to keep the food fresh. Look for a producer that fully nitrogen flushes its food to eliminate all oxygen in each bag.

Getting your food storage doesn’t have to be difficult. Don’t make the mistake of buying from the first food storage company you see and getting food that won’t be edible in an emergency.

Final Interview Day!

Today was our final interview day. We have one step left to approval; CORE training. We should be attending CORE training, signing our paperwork and active on July 9th. But today, today was 'the interview', you know the one where you answer questions about your past and relationships separately and confidentially... Well, after 13 years of marriage - we already knew each others answers. But it was still an interesting experience to go through again. Again, you ask - well yes, again. Read on.

We left early, stopped for doughnuts in Greeley and drove leisurely down to the LDS FS office. We arrived early intending to go to the cannery to load up on sugar and flour. We had everything filled out only to find that they are closed on Fridays! Ah, darn. We decided that we will stop by again on our way back from Arizona in a few weeks.

As we sat in the shade of the trees in the parking lot, we chatted about what we were expecting the interview to be like, what they might ask, how we felt about it. We watched K, our case worker, pull in, unload his car, reload a car, buzz around front, run inside. I commented to R that he seemed to be very over worked. He is always in a meeting, on the phone, out doing a visit, getting back from a visit. Seems like he just goes and goes and goes. I pondered out loud, “I wonder if he likes his job. I know he gets paid, I wonder if the fulfillment of making eternal families everyday makes up for all of the stress.” R assured me that K must be one of the most blessed people we will ever know. He, for a living, gets to help families come together, for eternity. Can you imagine? What an amazing thing to behold once, but to be part of and behold it again and again. I am in awe of K and his dedication to his job, beliefs and the eternal principles that we hold near and dear to our own hearts. K's sweet personality and strong testimony of the truth of what he does permeates everything around him. We feel comforted just being near him and having him help us through this process.

We met with K, finished our paperwork and went through our interviews. It was painless and actually pleasant. K helps make this process comfortable. People keep asking me how the paperwork is going and I keep saying that it is fine. They ask if we have questions, no – not really. It is funny because when I started working in Law Enforcement R and I both had to go through intense interviews, they dug into our past – deep, deep into our pasts – and I did a polygraph test, twice. Compared to that, this process is peachy! There is nothing in our past that has not already been dug through and sifted, held to light and examined. We are comfortable with who we are, the paths that have taken us to the place we stand today. We stand together, as one, united and together walk our path in life; we walk together through all things. We are very at peace with this process and our present place; we receive daily verification that we are on the right path, that there is a Birth Mother out there, somewhere for us, that we will be re-united and will be able to start our family with her help.

We left the city, did some grocery shopping and came home. I was a bit swollen when we got back, so I went to lie down. Our dear neighbors (I use the word neighbor loosely), brought us dinner. I cried – they are so thoughtful and helpful to us over the past weeks. Our neighbors, Sandy and Dan Carter live about 4 miles east and 5 miles south of us on 100 acres. They are just on the other side of ‘town’. As members of the church who share the same values and lifestyle we do, they are a blessing to us. We are learning from them and them from us. I cried from their honest care and concern for us. I cried from their ability to know we needed their help and their ability to hear and heed the spirit. We are so blessed.

Downtime, Dogs and Provident Providers

We are still patiently waiting for our adoption Case Worker to make first contact with us. It has been a month and a half since we turned in the first set of paperwork and just over one month since we finished and submitted sections 2 and 3. The receptionist keeps telling me that he will be calling us soon. In the mean time, the State had yet another form for us to fill out - same information as the LDS form, only in a different format. I wonder why they have 2 forms instead of just working together and having one. Maybe it is just all part of the challenge to see if we really do want to adopt? I just sigh, and figure that one more set of paperwork is not back breaking.

We took Sky to the vet this morning. Her eyes have a weird blue glow to them and she is starting to run into things. It is very subtle and you have to be looking for it, but she is definitely having trouble seeing. The blue glow started a few months ago and we thought it was just her pupil color. Then it got bigger and her eyes were bloodshot, so I figured it was from the wind. We kept her inside and used soothing drops on her eyes. Then this weekend, Mom came out and I asked her what she thought. We watched Sky carefully, with 5 dogs running around it was hard, and sure enough, she was having trouble seeing... The vet is sending us to a specialist tonight to run some tests and provide a diagnosis. We are fairly certain that she is almost completely blind. She may be able to see shadows, but not much. We will know more tonight. We are so grateful for the great vets we have for our animals and for their expertise. I have faith that everything will work out the way it is supposed to; I just hope that coincides with what I want!

Due to the stress from that and lack of enthusiasm in general, I took today off. It is nice to be home working on adoption stuff, relaxing, and making cinnamon rolls. I wish it was about 20 degrees warmer!

The Church sent this video, Becoming Provident Providers, out about a week or so ago to help us all learn principles of avoiding debt, discerning between needs and wants, and living close to God in order to be provident providers both spiritually and temporally. We feel compelled to share this message with you. It is our sincere hope that we can all work towards self sufficiency, being debt free and becoming provident providers.



***Update on Sky*** She has glaucoma in both eyes and is mostly (98%) blind. She can differentiate some light from dark and at times can see some shadows. We have her on eye drops to keep the pressure in her eyes down, blood pressure pills to regulate blood flow to the optic nerve and fish oil to help regenerate the nerve. She will never see again, but with continued therapy and care, she will live a long life and will, we hope, get to see more shadows to help navigate. She will be going back to the vet on April 20th to check her progress on this medley of drugs; fingers crossed and prayers said; it will be good news! - Side bar - She loves the canned dog food that is used to disguise the pill and fish oil; she is also enjoying extra attention and pampering. Shigom is a bit jealous and Dozer is not smart enough to know what is going on!

A new calling and an old mission

Emergency preparedness is a topic that is near and dear to my heart. One of the many reasons we moved to the country is to enhance our ability to be self sufficient; and in doing so we will be better prepared for emergencies and disasters that may be coming our way. I was honored to speak sacrament on the importance of emergency preparedness and how we as individuals and families can be prepared. I learned so much more about preparedness during the preparation of my talk and felt compelled to really start working on some of the things on my list. I updated our 2010 goals to include emergency preparedness.

The following week I was called as the Ward Dry Pack Canning Specialist; how perfect is that?! Now I get to work on our food supply each month; no excuses!

If you are unsure if this is something you should be doing, check out this pamphlet that is put out by the church. It will help you get an idea of why food storage is necessary and how to start. I ask that you read and ponder the message from the first Presidency contained in the pamphlet that states:
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
Our Heavenly Father created this beautiful earth, with all its abundance, for our benefit and use. His purpose is to provide for our needs as we walk in faith and obedience. He has lovingly commanded us to “prepare every needful thing” (see D&C 109:8) so that, should adversity come, we may care for ourselves and our neighbors and support bishops as they care for others.
We encourage Church members worldwide to prepare for adversity in life by having a basic supply of food and water and some money in savings.
We ask that you be wise as you store food and water and build your savings. Do not go to extremes; it is not prudent, for example, to go into debt to establish your food storage all at once. With careful planning, you can, over time, establish a home storage supply and a financial reserve.
We realize that some of you may not have financial resources or space for such storage. Some of you may be prohibited by law from storing large amounts of food. We encourage you to store as much as circumstances allow.
May the Lord bless you in your home storage efforts.
The First Presidency

I know that I am not alone in needing to finish my year supply of food and other emergency essentials. I have attached a few of my favorite links to get you started. When you have a spare moment or two, take some time to just browse the sites - become aware of what is available and what you will need. There are several great spreadsheets that will automatically calculate what you need and how much for the number of people in your family - If you need one, let me know and I can email you a copy of the one I use (it is the best); in the mean time I will try to figure out how to post it on the blog (don't hold your breath!).

http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/start-here/
http://www.providentliving.org/channel/0,11677,1706-1,00.html
http://beprepared.com/

It is best to start with a goal of 3 months - - then work up to a year. That way, in an emergency, you will have everything you need for 3 months and won't be living off your year supply of wheat and only wheat (yuck!)

If you don't have the money right now to start on food, you are not off the hook! As we are working on our adoption paperwork, we are having to provide documentation of almost everything. Since we have moved several times, I have most of the paperwork in one place. While it is not organized, it is all together in one folder in my 'records' drawer in the office. During this process of adoption, we are making copies, and putting them into our Grab-and-Go Binder, we are also making scanned copies to a CD AND a USB drive. Three copies? Really?! I feel confident that you can never have too many copies of important things, and they should be stored in different places.

Grab-and-Go Binder
What the heck is a Grab-and-Go Binder, you ask? A Grab-and-Go Binder is a vital part of any family preparedness plan, and is one of the first things you should put together. This binder will contain all of your most critical information in one place for any type emergency, even if it’s just a quick trip to the ER.

For this project you’ll need a 1″ three-ring binder, a set of tabbed dividers, paper protectors and a copy machine. The binder you create will be unique to your family, but here are some suggestions to get you started.

Label a divider for each of the following sections, and then begin inserting copies of your documents.

Financial Documents
1. copies of the fronts and backs of debit/credit cards
2. copies of house and vehicle titles and registrations
3. copy of your will or living trust
4. names, addresses and phone numbers of all banks
5. other important documents related to employment and/or a family business
6. copies of your insurance policies (life, health, auto, homeowners, etc.)
7. copies of tax papers
8. copies of retirement plans

Personal Documents
1. names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses of relatives and close friends
2. copies of:
* marriage license
* temple sealing certificate
* birth certificates
* drivers licenses
* CCW permits
* pet vaccine records
* passports
* Social Security cards
* Fingerprint cards for each family member
3. a list of firearm serial numbers
4. legal documents pertaining to child custody or adoption
5. recent photos of each family member and each pet
6. color photos of your house and each room in the house
7. photos of anything of particular value
8. military documents
9. diplomas and transcripts
10. appraisals
11. copies of funeral/mortuary plots and plans
12. real estate documents

Medical Documents
1. copy of health insurance cards
2. a list of blood types for each family member
3. names, addresses and phone numbers of all doctors
4. medical histories of each family member
5. immunization records
6. a list of current prescriptions, dosage, and pharmacy contact information

With your finished Grab-and-Go Binder, you’ll have the peace of mind knowing that your family can focus on a quick evacuation without trying to retrieve scattered family records.

What to do with the originals? It’s probably best to keep them in a fireproof safe or a safety deposit box. Also, be sure at least two other trusted people have access to that box in case you become incapacitated.

Good luck getting started and let me know if you need help! We will eventually have all of this posted on our website; eventually.