Buy 1 Week of Food

MARCH GOAL: GET ONE WEEK OF FOOD
So set a goal for yourself this month to get one full week of food storage for your family. We are going to work on this every month until June, and then we’ll have it done!

ALREADY GOT IT?
You might have a lot of long-term storage, but there may be short-term items you could add to your food storage to to make meals for your family that would make everyone happy. For my family, that means that I need to have some extra fruit snacks, cheese, and macaroni and cheese in our pantry. A few bags of chips and cookies can’t hurt either! Be sure to consider what you would do if you couldn’t go to the store every week for perishable items like milk, eggs, cheese, meats, bread, etc. You may have a lot of things in your freezer and refrigerator, but in some emergencies you may not have power. You need to have shelf-stable items to help you survive in these circumstances.

Also, if you feel like you’ve already got a handle on your short-term food storage, why not spend a little time or effort sharing what you know and what you have. Talk to your friends and family about how they are doing with their food storage. Make an anonymous donation of shelf-stable foods to a family you know is in need. Offer to teach someone how to make something from scratch. We are all in this together, and if we can help each other meet the goal, we will become a truly Zion people.

FOOD STORAGE IN A BOX
I have found it helpful to put one week of food in a plastic storage box. I like this idea for a few reasons:

1. I have a visual indication of how much food we need for one week, and I know it’s done!
2. It’s portable and convenient—I can take it with me in the car in an emergency, or pull it out on a particularly busy week. I have a menu plan, shopping list, and recipes inside the box, so it’s easy to re-do it when I use it.
3. It keeps treats that I have stocked up on out of sight and out of mind (for the kids AND me!).

Make a 1-Week Menu Plan

Last month we tracked for one week what we ate and spent on food. If you did it, were you surprised by the end result? Did you spend and eat more or less than you expected?

If you missed last month’s goal, just pick up where you are. Track what your family eats and what food you buy with the attached menu plan for a few days. Doing this will help you know better how much food and what type of food you will need for your one-month supply.

This month we want you to take the attached menu plan and make a 1-week menu plan of foods your family likes that will keep well for a while. It’s up to you to decide if that means shelf-stable, freezer-safe, or lasts-a-long-time-in-the-fridge. To save money, take a long look at your pantry. Think about what you could make into meals with what you already have. I like to take an ingredient or two and type it into an online recipe site like allrecipes.com or myrecipes.com and see what what recipes come up.

As we are working on our 1-3 month food storage, we’ve realized we need to get creative on some major food items because we can’t necessarily store a month’s supply—things like milk, bread, cheese, yogurt, and fresh produce. Everyone will have their own solutions and dilemmas as they work on this, but here’s some ideas we’ve discovered that might help:

MILK. Keep a pitcher full of dry milk all mixed up and ready to go in the fridge to use for anything where the taste of the milk doesn’t matter—in baked goods, pancakes, sauces, pudding, etc. You could also keep a gallon or two of milk in your freezer if you have space (it takes several days to defrost, but it tastes fine).

CHEESE. There are shelf-stable cheeses out there (Velveeta, Laughing Cow, etc.) and I learned recently how to can cheddar and mozzarella cheese in jars (let me know if you’re interested, and I can help you do it—it’s really easy!). Some cheeses will keep well in the fridge for a long time, or can be grated and frozen for even longer.

BREAD. Keeping enough bread in your freezer for 1-3 months could take up a lot of space. Why not make your own? Store-bought bread pales in comparison to the homemade stuff! Another added bonus: it doesn’t seem so much like a cop-out to open a can of soup, add fresh-baked bread, and call it dinner. We sometimes have fresh bread and hunks of cheese for dinner with a simple green salad. This can be a huge money-saver if your family buys into it! Think baking bread is something you will never do? Try it. You might be surprised it will taste, even if it doesn't turn out looking pretty!

YOGURT. Did you know you can make yogurt from dry milk? We have a little machine that does it, but basically you just take some milk, add a little yogurt with live cultures, keep it warm for about 6 hours, and you’ve got yogurt. From the yogurt you can make yogurt cheese and all sorts of great baked goods, dips and sauces.

FRESH PRODUCE. Some vegetables and fruits stay fresh a lot longer than others. Root vegetables like carrots, potatoes, garlic and onions can keep for months. Winter squashes, apples and oranges will also last long in a cool place. Or why not try growing your own produce? This is a perfect time to prepare the soil for your spring garden and start planning it out. You can get details about the right time to plant things on your local county extension service website. Our our county's website we can get recommendations for plant varieties and fall planting times.

Once you get a one-week menu plan that you’re happy with, make a shopping list and go shopping. Congratulations! You will then be 25% finished with the goal of 1-month food storage by June 30th.

Stake Goals

Last week in sacrament meeting a member of our stake presidency, Pres. Brown, issued some challenges for our stake, all with a deadline of June 30, 2009:

Read the Book of Mormon. We need to read four pages a day every day until June 30th to accomplish our goal. I am excited about this goal! At first I felt a little overwhelmed, but as I have spent the last week trying to have faith and do as I was asked, I have found the following quote by Ezra Taft Benson to be absolutely true in my own life:

“There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation...to avoid deception...to stay on the strait and narrow path...[Y]ou will find life in greater and greater abundance...love and harmony in the home, greater respect between parent and child, increased spirituality and righteousness.”

In my reading this week, I found a promise that certainly applies to us today and gives us hope as we face difficult times now and in the future:

“if the Gentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks—And harden not their hearts against the Lamb of God . . . They shall be a blessed people upon the promised land forever . . .” (1 Nephi 14:1-2)

I want to allow the Lord to take away my stumbling blocks by letting His word and work into my life . Here’s a site to help you calculate your own Book of Mormon reading goal:
http://lds.about.com/library/weekly/2004/blscripture_calculators.htm

This goal includes children! Pres. Brown encouraged us to be creative as we figure out how to do this with our children. Brother Beck suggested yesterday that we get the Book of Mormon playing in our car with tapes, CDs or an portable music player and we will be surprised how much we and our children get out of it. Check out this link on the Church website to figure out how to download the Book of Mormon to your portable music player:
http://www.lds.org/mp3/newarchive/0,18615,5249-1,00.html

Pray daily as families, couples & individuals. Brother Beck suggested that we schedule a time for each of these prayers to happen so we don’t forget and so we have most or all of the family at home. There is great power in family prayer on both ends of our day.

Have 1 month of food storage on hand. I've started by keeping track of what my family eats for a week. After that, I drew up a menu plan for a one-week supply of food storage. Though it's not always easy, I'm trying to include mostly foods that will last at least three months on my or in the fridge/freezer.

Get cash in your 72-hour kits. As we've calculated how much ywe need, we've imagined we're taking a 3-day road trip and you can’t use your credit card. We plan to put that amount in smaller bills in our 72-hour kits.

Last week I witnessed a 72-hour kit in action during an everyday emergency. I was with Cheri Evans and our kids were playing on a playground. Her preschooler had a little accident and needed a change of clothes. Without a hint of panic, Cheri calmly walked to her car, pulled out a small rolling suitcase she keeps there with her 72-hour kit inside. She had a change of clothes for her son, and an extra one for another little boy who needed a change of clothes too. Cheri told me she is surprised how much she uses her car kit for extra clothes, snacks, water, and first aid. She just has to remember to replace the items she uses, and then she’s set for the next everyday emergency. I felt very inspired by her preparedness and plan to put a similar kit in my car this week.

There’s a lot to do, but if we take it one small step at a time, having faith that the Lord will cover our weaknesses and shortcomings if we do our best, we will be ready for whatever may lie ahead for us. I know this is true because I’ve seen it happen over and over in my life, and in the lives of others around me.

THIS WEEK’S CHALLENGE: Track What We Eat!

I'm working on figuring out how to get my 3-month food supply in order. Follow me on a week-by-week challenge as I try to figure out how much we need, what we need, how to store it, how to rotate it, etc.

What meals have we eaten this week?
Sunday (1 guest)
Indian Food--Rajma Dal, Jeera Rice, Spicy Corn, and Raitha (Rich made it!)
Dessert: Ice Cream & Hot Fudge

Monday
Succotash Chowder, Green Salad, Bread
Dessert: Choc. Chip Cookies

Tuesday
Tacos & Taco Salad

Wednesday
Pasta with Tomato Alfredo Sauce & Green Salad with Feta, Tomato & Onion

Thursday
Yogurt Chicken Nuggets, Rice, Baby Carrots & Steamed Broccoli

Friday
Homemade Pizza

Saturday
Pinto Beans & Rice

How much food did we consume?

3 gallons of milk
1 gallon mixed dry milk
Hot cocoa mix (1/4 of a #10 can!)
1 lb. cheddar cheese
1 lb. mozzarella cheese
10 cheese sticks
6 oz. feta cheese
1.5 qts. yogurt
1 pint sour cream
1 pint half & half
1 lb. butter

1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 can tomato sauce
4 lbs frozen corn
1 lb. frozen lima beans
1 lb. broccoli
1 head green leaf lettuce
1 cucumber
3 onions
4 tomatoes
2 avocados
2 potatoes
5 apples
10 bananas
5 oranges
5 lemons
chives
lemon basil

6 c. dry rice
2 lbs. pasta
3 loaves homemade wheat bread
2 homemade pizza crusts
8 tacos shells
1 box Cheez-It Crackers
1 box fruit snacks

1 lb. pinto beans
2 cans kidney beans
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. chicken
1/2 lb. slice ham
1/2 c. peanut butter

How much did that food cost?
Hmmm. . . I'm estimating about $100-$150

When I look back, I'm actually surprised that the food we actually consumed was not as much as I expected it would be. Now I know that for a 3-month supply, how much cash I'll need to spend, and about how much food I need. Next week's challenge will be to come up with a 1-week menu plan that excites me AND includes food that will last a long time on the shelf, fridge, or freezer (a tall order for this fresh-food-lovin' girl!).

Here's an inspiring quote from Bishop McMullin that reminds me that preparedness and food storage is for men and women to worry about together--I need to work together with my better half to set and accomplish our preparedness goals this year:

Inspired preparation rests on the foundation of faith in Jesus Christ, obedience, and a provident lifestyle. Members should not go to extremes, but they should begin. We call upon priesthood bearers to store sufficient so that you and your family can weather the vicissitudes of life. Please see to it that those entrusted to your watchcare . . . prepare now for rainy days ahead.

Bishop Keith B. McMullin, “Lay Up in Store,” April 2007

Happy squirreling away!

A New Year, a New Plan

I've got a plan for 2009, with a focus for each of five areas each month. Here's the ones for January:

JANUARY: Whaddya Got? Whaddya Need

Spiritual Preparedness:
Focus on personal prayer

Emergency Preparedness:
Check & Replenish 72-Hour Kits

3-Month Food Storage:
Keep track of what your family eats and how much you spend on food for at least one week. Clean out those cabinets and closets to make room for more food storage. Keep track of spending for the month.

Home Storage:
Inventory current food storage--how many months do you have of the basics?

Financial Reserve:
Make a jar for saving change. Decide how much cash your family needs to put in your 72-hour kit and set aside 1/6 of that amount.