Week 19 - Provident Pantry

Morning,
This morning, as I ate my oatmeal for breakfast, I realized that we had worked on storing our cold cereal earlier, but had not yet addressed the hot cereal. So let's take that on for our goal this week.
It looks like most of you have some variation of oatmeal in your ingredient lists. Some of you like the individual packets. Others of you prefer the bulk. Some of you like regular rolled oats. Some of you like the "prepare in 1 minute variety". It is all good. Because there is so much variation in preferences, there is also a lot of variation in expenditure.
We will schedule "Hot Cereal" for 3 weeks. So if there are other hot cereals you want to put in your 3 month storage, feel free. Some of you will have (or be working on adding) rolled oats in your long term storage that can double here for your 3 month storage, so if you want to take these 3 weeks to work on adding items your family normally adds to their oatmeal, i.e. brown sugar and raisins, feel free.
Whatever your approach, let's use these 3 weeks to make sure we have enough hot cereal for our families in our 3 month supplies.
When I was a child, my mother used to assure me that eating my oatmeal in the morning would keep me warm and make me a better student. When I was an adult, my father used to assure me that eating my oatmeal would lower my cholesterol. Either way, it was good for me.
May you life be filled with good things today.
Love,
Marie

Week 17 - Provident Living

For the next couple of weeks, let's focus on pasta.  Be it spaghetti, or ramen, or macaroni, or fetticini, let's go for it.

My 3 month plan calls for 3 16 ounce packages of rice spaghetti, so I think that is what I'll buy this week.  What will you buy?

Hasta la pasta,
Marie

Week 16 - Provident Pantry

Morning,

This week we are still making bread - or more accurately, we are storing the ingredients for the bread we will be needing/making in our 3 month supply. 

I see on your ingredients' lists that some of you have tortillas or frozen roll dough.  If these are ready made and you have freezer space, simply purchase, store, and you are done.  For those of us who have limited freezer space and will need to make bread from scratch, let's make sure we have the ingredients to do so.

So this week let's focus on yeast and sugar and shortening and salt.  

Yeast is probably just for your bread, but the other ingredients may be used in other of your menu items. 

If you have or are also working on your long term storage with us, you already have your sugar and salt, so this week's task is even easier - it is just the yeast and shortening.

Of course, I have not seen your bread recipes, so if you have other items in those recipes, please include those as well this week.

The goal this week is:  We now have our bread requirement for 3 months stored away. 

This is big sisters.  When you complete this, give yourselves a pat on the back.  And you can even serve PB&Js to celebrate with the family:-)!

Blessings,
Marie

Week 14 - Provident Pantry

So...how is your fruit coming?  My grandkids were delighted this weekend when they came over to find that I now have a supply of Tang.  Aw, the simple joys of life.

So let's take a break from fruit (we can always come back) and go on down your ingredients lists.

This week and for the next 2 weeks, let's work on PB&Js, i.e. the ingredients for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  You may have put in peanut butter when we were working on nuts.  You may have put in jelly/jam while we have been working on fruit.  If not pick one, and put it in now.  If so, work on the ingredients for bread. 

Some of you may have the large freezers and can simply pop in loaves of bread.  Others of us need to start down the list of our favorite bread recipe.  How much have you indicated on your ingredients' list will you need of flour?  of salt?  of yeast? etc.

Even though all of you do not have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on your menus, it looks like most of you have the same ingredients although you may be using them for different things, and who knows, in a bind, a PB&J might just hit the spot.

Love,
Marie

PS  My dogs think a little peanut butter is a magnificent treat, so you might stick a little extra in for the dogs in your family;-)

Week 13 - Provident Living

Hi sisters,

This is our third week to put away fruit - canned, dried, frozen.  Feel free to branch out to juices. 

I think this week I am going to put away our requirement for Tang.  How about you?

If you are a canner and do your own canning more in the fall, feel free to look down your list of ingredients for another item.  The important thing is to take the money you have allotted each week to build your 3 month supply and keep building until you have it complete.

Here's to the fruit of your labors!!
Marie

Week 12 - Provident Pantry

Good morning,

Ahhh...the joys of fruit!!!  This week we will continue on putting away the fruit we need for our 3 month plan.  Again, consult your ingredients lists.  As much as we would like fresh fruit, most of us don't have the cold cellars some of our ancestors had, that could keep the apples good for a number of months.  So make any adjustments you need in your plan to get the 3 months supply of fruit, be it canned, or dried (or if you have a large freezer - frozen).

I'm putting in canned peaches this week.  What is your choice?

Keep remembering to put your stickers with expiration dates on them on your products when you get them home from the grocers, and when you are organizing them in your storage spot be sure to put the ones that need to used first up front.

And I imagine you are all in the rotating business now for the items we have added earlier.  Keep training your family to help you with this.  I only have one to train, so I realize my task may be a little easier, but here is an example from our family.

When Mark takes a box of cold cereal out of the storage place under the bed, he goes and writes on the grocery list they we need cold cereal with and "S" behind it, to remind us both that this goes into storage.  Then when we get back from the grocery store, he is really good about getting our stickers out, putting it on the top of the cereal box right by the expiration date and circling the expiration date, and then taking it into the bedroom, pulling out the box we keep the cereal in, checking the expiration date with the others, and putting it in the order it belongs.

Remember to keep it fun.  Families like fun!

May your efforts bring forth delicious fruit this week!
Marie

Week 11 - Provident Pantry

A is for apple!

Morning Sisters,

This week, let's focus on our fruit, whether it is canned, or frozen, or dried.  In fact, let's take 3 weeks and see how far we get, in storing away our 3 months supply of fruit.

I think I'll work on applesauce this week.  What about you?

Fruitfully yours,
Marie

Week 10 - Provident Pantry

Hi sisters,

To complete the song from last week:

....the more you toot, the better you feel, so let's have beans for every meal. What can I say, it was one of my kids' favorite tunes.

So I am seeing still more beans on the ingredients lists that have been sent in, so let's keep adding to the beans, whether it is black beans, pinto beans, refried beans, garbonzo beans, etc., spend the money you have allotted for building up your 3 month storage on beans, either canned or dry (whatever your ingredient list calls for) this week. If you have all your beans of this kind, the optional choice this week could be green beans (which we will visit again as a choice when we add canned vegetables).

And as always, if you run across a good deal on beans, please let us know.

And, if your beans are doubling as part of your year's supply, remember the Home Storage Center in Round Rock sells black, pinto, refried, and white beans in bulk and they have a 5.2 lbs prepackaged pinto beans.

Take care...toot, toot,

Marie

Week 8 - Provident Pantry

Hi,

As promised, this week we are still working at getting our 3 months of meat/fish in place. How are you doing? Please drop me a note to let me know what you purchased this past week, what you are planning on purchasing this week, and how many more weeks you think we need to focus on meat acquisition.

Here is the response I would probably send to me if I were you: This past week, I chose to work on getting my tuna fish in place. This week I plan on getting my canned chicken in place. I am still working through how to address the beef/hamburger needs and how I want to set that up, so let's do meat at least another week.

And again, if you are finding "deals" out there, let the rest of us know.

And again, be sure to use your stickers and keep track of expiration dates. I will be forwarding a great email I received from Jill this week about organization. Please contact her for details.

A hunting we will go,

Marie

Week 7 - Provident Pantry

I am munching on some jerky as I am writing this. Curious, since for the next 4 weeks we are going to focus on adding meat/fish to our 3 month food storage. I had to smile this morning. I felt we had gone back to hunter/gatherer designations. The last two weeks we were gathering in cereal (grain) and now we will be hunting meat.

On the plans you have sent me, I see listings for lunch meat, tuna, bacon, hamburger, hot dogs, canned chicken, canned beef, etc. And at $5 per week per every two people in your family, it may take you more than 4 weeks to get your meat all "salted" away. Not to worry. There will be other weeks where you already have the assigned item and meat will be your alternative choice. I do notice that the amount of meat per family is quite variable, so after this week, I will include alternate assignments for those of you that very quickly put away for your meat/fish needs.

So up to now, you have probably easily been incorporating the things you are buying into your pantries or under your beds. Now will start the storage challenge. If you have large freezers, hallelujah, you may have the space you need. If you are like me, you may have realized that 3 months of meat is NOT going to fit in your small above-the-frig freezer. I have had to go back and make some adjustments to my menus and rely more on canned meats. I have also located a new source for a canned hamburger that I am willing to try to see if it might be an option. Please share with us your own challenges in regard to meat/fish. Other sisters may have suggestions. Also, as you go out to purchase, if you find some good deals, please let us know. There may be others that would like to take advantage of the bargain.

Jill Waggoner and Linda Hancock have found a source for meat that seems to be more affordable than the local grocery stores and of good quality. It is a company that is looking to come into the Austin area. If you would like more information on their source, please contact them directly.

My daughter-in-law cans her own meat for her storage. She saves money that way, and it is REALLY good tasting. Please let me know if there are any of you who would like to have a RS class on meat canning. We would be glad to set that up this year if you would like.

Remember to put your stickers (where you have written the expiration dates) on each meat item before you store it away.

Happy hunting and fishing,

Marie

Week 6 - Provident Pantry

As promised, this is the second week of getting 3 months worth of our cold cereal into our storage. I don't know about you, but I am having a fun time getting each of these things tucked away. Tonight when we got back from the grocery store, Mark even got out our green labels we are using and helped me get the cereal boxes stickered and stored. Hope it is catching on in your families as well.

One thing I realize I didn't address on your spreadsheets is that you probably need a column where you can check off items as you complete your 3 month supply of each item. I'm noticing a sense of accomplishment as that column is starting to fill in. We will get there sisters. We will get there.

Remember once you get the full 3 month supply of any item into storage you start rotating it into your regular food, using the oldest item first and immediately replacing it in the 3 month storage.

Cereally yours,

Marie

Week 4 - Provident Pantry

YOU SISTERS ROCK,


You have done the hardest part. You have completed your menus. You have completed the ingredients list. You have completed the calculations. Yahoo!!! Give yourselves pats on the back.


Today we start stocking. The first thing you will need is stickers. Rule of thumb is keep them colorful and make sure you can write on them. A rectangular file label sticker works fine as do the round ones. EVERY food item in your home that is part of your 3 month food supply needs to have a sticker on it.


So: The first task this week is to go around your kitchen/pantry/storage and put a sticker on everything that is already part of your 3 month food supply. Be sure you check the expiration date and write it on each label. You may realize that you need to do a little organization as you complete this task, because you will need to be using up the food that has the earliest expiration date first. Those of you who have served in the Bishops' Storehouse or worked in a grocery store have seen this organization on a much larger basis.


Alternate sticker assignment: You can also just put the stickers on the individual items as we address them each week.


As I have looked at the menus you have sent me, it looks like something most of us need is a 3 month supply of milk for our family. However, I also see that some of you already have your milk supply, so if you do, the alternate focus this month is nuts. (And if you already have milk and nuts, pick something you think is a little more unique to your family and work on getting it.)


Milk: Using myself as an example, my first preference is "straight from the grocery store" 2% milk. However, as you saw on my example, I need 15 gallons and there is no way I have room for that in my refrigerator. So the first task for me has been to find an alternative.


The Home Storage Center offers a high quality nonfat dry milk. I believe a 25 lb bag costs about $47.20 and if you can it in the #10 cans with the oxygen absorbers or seal it in the pouches it will store up to 20 years. (I do not know how many servings are in 25 lbs.) So, it is one of those things you could purchase, put your sticker on it with the expiration date, and not worry about rotating it into your daily eating as you will be most of what we have in our 3 month supply. Indeed, many of you already have it in your long term storage.


What I have found with Mark and I, though, is that we generally gag on nonfat dry milk for drinking, although we can easily use it for baking. So I have found an alternative that mixes very well for drinking although it needs to be cold and have a little vanilla in it. If you are interested in the specific product I use, I would be glad to share that with you on an individual basis, but I am not going to be trying to "sell" certain items, brands or food storage companies to you, so I will not include it here in the general group email or in the blog.


Again, we do welcome price shopping hints from any of you. As you go out to buy your milk and you find a good deal, please let the rest of us know.


So the assignment this week is to either spend $5 per every two people in your family on a fresh milk substitute or put that $5 per every two people in an envelope and put the envelope in a safe spot where we can collect money that we will be spending on milk a little later in the year. On the envelope write that the money is designated for milk storage. If you purchase this week, be sure you label it and put it in the area you have designated for your 3 month supply.


If you have your milk, spend or save your $5 per every 2 people this week on nuts. For example, in my plan, I need 5 Cups of almonds. I purchase mine at a local store where I measure it and put it in a bag at the store and then transfer it to a heavy duty zip bag where I label it and put in the box under my bed. Then when I am done with the partial bag that is in my cupboard, I get the bag from under my bed and start using it, and immediately buy another 5 C bag of almonds to label and put under my bed. This is also a good example of the kind of rotating you will be doing with most of the items in your 3 month storage. As soon as you have the complete amount of an item you need for 3 months, you rotate it into your daily eating, immediately replacing the amount you take out of the 3 month storage.


Have fun this week, stocking or saving for your milk and nuts!!!

Week 3 - Provident Pantry

You guys rock!!!

So, you have your menus for 9 days - check!

 

And you have made your ingredient lists for those menus - check!

 

You have identified problem areas, i.e. my fresh carrot storage problem, and changed or adapted the ingredients list - check! (With our carrot problem, I realized that the other way Mark likes carrots is cooked in orange juice, so I changed fresh carrots to dried carrots and Tang to my ingredient list.)

 

Now this week, add up the amounts you need for each ingredient and times it by 10 so you know how much you need of that ingredient.

For example, we use some milk almost every day, and that I have discovered that for the 9 days, I will need 24 cups of milk. 24 cups of milk times 10 is 240 cups of milk. And 240 cups of milk is 15 gallons. Now... times 10 is a piece of cake. Converting to gallons...not so much. So here is one of my favorite internet converting sites:

http://www.calculateme.com/Volume/index.htm

 

If you have another site that works well for you, please share it with the rest of us.

Now, while I would love to have fresh milk, obviously I won't have room for 15 gallons in my refrigerator, so my task now is to decide on which powdered/canned milk when reconstituted with water will taste the best. So I'll ask you guys. Do you have a favorite that your family will actually drink or have on cereal?

 

Now when you have your menus, and calculated ingredients list in place, please send them off to me this week. I will be using these lists to determine our shopping lists for the next weeks. We will be working through a number of basics first. (Don't worry, we'll work in the tapioca and jalepenos down the road.)

There is fun in the preparing,

Marie

P.S. I know there are a few of you who are a little concerned about your families not having enough variety, along the lines of, "Are they going to get sick of having 9 days of meals repeated 10 times if they had to live on that food for 3 months?" I chose this method simply because I thought that it was easily doable and easily calculatable (times 10). However, if you want to prepare a whole month of menus and times it by 3, here is a site I really like:

http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/babysteps/step-3-three-months-of-normal-food/

 

Week 2 - Provident Pantry

Good morning sisters,

 

I am getting some of your menus back. Good for you!!! I know some of you are still working on this aspect. Good for you!!!

This week is a little more time consuming. Whereas last week's task probably took you an hour. This week it will probably take you 3 hours. So budget your time. This week you will also be identifying things in your menus that may need to be re-thought. For example, we eat fresh carrots/veggies with a lot of our meals. Fresh won't keep for 3 months, sooooo, what can I replace that with. Mark doesn't like frozen or canned carrots, so we are in discussions as I speak .

 

The other thing Mark and I quickly noted is we have a very limited freezer. And while a number of things will keep in the freezer, we are going to have to change some things to canned rather than frozen.

 

A head's up for next week: Next week we will be calculating how much of every ingredient you will need for the 3 month's supply.

If you do and like spreadsheets, you can use that format. You can just write it all out on paper if you prefer.

One of the things that will help our group's vitality and help us help each other is if we do some talking to one another about our challenges.  I know some of us have to keep vegan, diabetic, celiac, etc., needs in mind. So if you would like some input, please ask us all.

So, in quick summary, the tasks for this week are:

1. Make your ingredient list for all your menus from last week. Remember, you don't need to do your calculations until NEXT week.

2. Identify any areas of your menus that need to be changed and change them.

Can't wait to hear how it is coming,

Marie

Week 1 - Provident Pantry

Dear Sisters,

Here we go!!

This week the task is to design menus for 9 days.  Please include menus for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack. A heads up, since this is a 3 month storage, you will probably not be using fresh fruits and vegetables, so be thinking canned/frozen/dried. These menus should be meals that your family enjoys and are a regular part of your family's everyday eating.

Another heads up: next week will probably be the most time consuming piece of this project as you will be submitting a list of ingredients for all the menus, so if next week is going to be super busy, feel free to get a head start on that this week.

Have fun creating your menus. Can't wait to see them,