Boy oh boy, I have neglected my blog! Way too busy with grandkids, canning, dehydrating, and building a pantry. Am I obsessed? Probably, but of course, lack of funds keeps a person from going "all out".
I admire some of the preppers out there that seem to have everything together and enough food to feed the military. Prepping is not what people think - preparing for the end of the world. That's what television likes to portray in order to get viewers. Prepping is more about building an emergency supply of food and personal needs in case of disaster. That disaster could come in many forms - loss of a job, illness, weather disasters like tornados and hurricanes, etc. I remember not that long ago, my husband lost his job. He was without another one for two weeks. One week, in my house, is like DISASTER! About a year later, he lost his current job. He was unemployed for three months! There have been times when my grown children and spouses were without employment or were struggling due to some circumstance. Thanks to my minor prepping, I was able to help out in the food department. None of us starved. As for us, we ended up cashing in my husband's 401K in order to keep the roof over our heads (and we don't live in a big fancy house either), and pay the utility bills. But we had food! Our pantry has definitely been depleted a few times. I can remember back when our kids were younger and money was very tight. We literally had nothing to eat except through the help of my mom and dad and my sister. So for me, prepping is crucial. By doing a little bit when I can, it helps to build a small storage for not only my family, but anyone else in the family who may need it. I don't spend money on clothes, shoes, purses, etc. When I have a little money, I buy food. When items are on sale, I will buy several. I garden, and the produce from it gets dehydrated and stored, or canned. I don't have a big garden. I wish I did. Physically though for me, even a small one is almost too much work (arthritis and getting older!)
Recently, I became interested in meals in a jar. This is where you make a meal up and store it in a mason jar or mylar bag for future use. Very handy when your schedules keep you on the run. Stored "meals" must be made up of dehydrated or freeze dried food. You can purchase dehydrated and freeze dried food from multiple sources. If you have a dehydrator, you can dehydrate produce (veggies and fruit) and use those in your meals. I always watch for when one of grocery stores carry frozen veggies for $1.00 a pound. When they do, I stock up. I usually by 10 bags each of corn, green beans, peas, mixed veggies. Then I dehydrate them. Stored properly with oxygen absorbers, vacuum seal bags, and mylar bags, things you dehydrate will last 30 years, as long as you keep them away from moisture, light, and air.
Another thing for me is the GMO (genetically modified organisms) food. Nearly everything you purchase in the store is GMO. This stuff is POISON! Meats and poultry have been tampered with as well. Fish is unsafe to eat because of the mercury levels in the fish. Organic is the best and really the only way to go. However, I also realize that organic is expensive. But then so are medical bills. So, which do you choose? For me, I would love it to be organic, but a gallon of organic milk is twice the cost of regular milk (and even milk has been tampered with). So, I try to steer clear of what I can, and pray over the rest, asking God to sanctify it.
Would you like to have a pantry you can go to? Start out a little at a time. That's what I did. When you buy a couple cans of corn at the store, buy an extra one or two. Do whatever you can when you can and you will be surprised how quickly your pantry will build. A little is better than nothing. If you want to purchase dehydrated or freeze dried foods, there are several different web sites for this. My personal favorite is Honeyville. I buy my oxygen absorbers and mylar bags from Amazon. Go to rummage sales and look for canning jars. You can even use empty glass mayonnaise jars for storing dehydrated foods or meals in jars. You cannot use those for canning though. For canning, you must have a Ball or Kerr mason jar.
Enough of my ranting today. I will try to get better about blogging and putting up pics as I go. Hope this gives you some ideas!
I admire some of the preppers out there that seem to have everything together and enough food to feed the military. Prepping is not what people think - preparing for the end of the world. That's what television likes to portray in order to get viewers. Prepping is more about building an emergency supply of food and personal needs in case of disaster. That disaster could come in many forms - loss of a job, illness, weather disasters like tornados and hurricanes, etc. I remember not that long ago, my husband lost his job. He was without another one for two weeks. One week, in my house, is like DISASTER! About a year later, he lost his current job. He was unemployed for three months! There have been times when my grown children and spouses were without employment or were struggling due to some circumstance. Thanks to my minor prepping, I was able to help out in the food department. None of us starved. As for us, we ended up cashing in my husband's 401K in order to keep the roof over our heads (and we don't live in a big fancy house either), and pay the utility bills. But we had food! Our pantry has definitely been depleted a few times. I can remember back when our kids were younger and money was very tight. We literally had nothing to eat except through the help of my mom and dad and my sister. So for me, prepping is crucial. By doing a little bit when I can, it helps to build a small storage for not only my family, but anyone else in the family who may need it. I don't spend money on clothes, shoes, purses, etc. When I have a little money, I buy food. When items are on sale, I will buy several. I garden, and the produce from it gets dehydrated and stored, or canned. I don't have a big garden. I wish I did. Physically though for me, even a small one is almost too much work (arthritis and getting older!)
Recently, I became interested in meals in a jar. This is where you make a meal up and store it in a mason jar or mylar bag for future use. Very handy when your schedules keep you on the run. Stored "meals" must be made up of dehydrated or freeze dried food. You can purchase dehydrated and freeze dried food from multiple sources. If you have a dehydrator, you can dehydrate produce (veggies and fruit) and use those in your meals. I always watch for when one of grocery stores carry frozen veggies for $1.00 a pound. When they do, I stock up. I usually by 10 bags each of corn, green beans, peas, mixed veggies. Then I dehydrate them. Stored properly with oxygen absorbers, vacuum seal bags, and mylar bags, things you dehydrate will last 30 years, as long as you keep them away from moisture, light, and air.
Another thing for me is the GMO (genetically modified organisms) food. Nearly everything you purchase in the store is GMO. This stuff is POISON! Meats and poultry have been tampered with as well. Fish is unsafe to eat because of the mercury levels in the fish. Organic is the best and really the only way to go. However, I also realize that organic is expensive. But then so are medical bills. So, which do you choose? For me, I would love it to be organic, but a gallon of organic milk is twice the cost of regular milk (and even milk has been tampered with). So, I try to steer clear of what I can, and pray over the rest, asking God to sanctify it.
Would you like to have a pantry you can go to? Start out a little at a time. That's what I did. When you buy a couple cans of corn at the store, buy an extra one or two. Do whatever you can when you can and you will be surprised how quickly your pantry will build. A little is better than nothing. If you want to purchase dehydrated or freeze dried foods, there are several different web sites for this. My personal favorite is Honeyville. I buy my oxygen absorbers and mylar bags from Amazon. Go to rummage sales and look for canning jars. You can even use empty glass mayonnaise jars for storing dehydrated foods or meals in jars. You cannot use those for canning though. For canning, you must have a Ball or Kerr mason jar.
Enough of my ranting today. I will try to get better about blogging and putting up pics as I go. Hope this gives you some ideas!
posted by quiltmaker at
8:18 AM
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