There are five items I feel strongly that every family should store in their food storage. Storing items like fruits, vegetables, and chocolate chips are awesome to have in your storage (and personally I would be devastated to live without), but we could live without them if we had to. These five items would be very difficult to live without and would make living comfortably a little difficult. Nicely enough, 3 of the 5 are all on sale THIS week, so take advantage and stock up on items that could sustain life, and prepare your family for any economic or natural disaster
#1 WATER:
Fill emptied out detergent containers with water–don’t rinse, the extra soap is great for washing/cleaning water.
(Fill 2 liter pop bottles with water)We can only live 3 days without water, so this is the ABSOLUTE, MOST IMPORTANT item you can store in your storage. You can’t have enough of it! Store it under beds, in emptied out jugs or juice containers, fill up 55 gallon drums, fill up used liquid detergent containers, etc. The sky is the limit! The more you store, the better off you will be in an emergency. If you choose to store water in water bottles (great for drinking, 72 hour kits and easy to grab & go), watch for a 24 pk. of water bottles for under $2.50.
You will need 3-4 (24pks.) per person for a 2 week supply of drinking water. If you choose to store water other ways, you can lower that amount. Water will ‘last’ 2-3 years, so don’t worry about buying too much. *TIP: Keep drink mixes like Kool Aid, Crystal Light, etc. so when you have to drink your stale water, it will actually taste good 😉
#2 WHEAT
Wheat is the second most important item to have in your storage. Wheat is nearly a complete protein which means your body can survive long term by eating only wheat (with water and a little oil). Wheat will last nearly forever, so you can store as much as you can afford..you won’t be sorry! Wheat is important to store even if you don’t know how to use it. All you would need to do is boil wheat in water, add a little milk (powdered milk) and honey/sugar and you have a meal that will fill you up and keep you full (one cup of wheat equals approx 620 calories).
For those of you who are wanting to learn to use the wheat you are storing, our blog is full of delicious recipes to use your wheat berries and/or flour: Wheat Blender Waffles, Wheat Berry Cereal, Whole Wheat Bread, Whole Wheat Chocolate Pancakes, Orange Wheat Pancakes, and Cinnamon Wheat Waffles.
MACEYS HAS AUGASON FARMS 50 LB. BAG OF RED OR WHITE WHEAT $14.99
A year supply of wheat per person is 100 lbs., however, buy as much as you can afford (you may have to keep your neighbors alive too 😉 That’s only $30 for a YEAR supply of wheat..not too shabby!
#3 POWDERED MILK
Who doesn’t drink, or use milk in your cooking, on a daily basis? Not very many of us. Many people don’t store powdered milk because they don’t know what to use it in, and they are affraid it doesn’t taste good. They don’t realize if you had NO access to milk, you (and your children) would need the nutrients and vitamin D that come from milk. Not only would your cereal be extremely dry, but your children (especially babies) would suffer without the fat & vitamins they need from milk.
Powdered milk rarely goes on sale, so the best place to purchase this is at a LDS Dry Pack Cannery. You can can their milk in #10 cans, or buy it in bulk. If you can the milk in #10 cans it will last over 30 years. Can it, store it, and don’t worry about it for a long time. You will be glad you bought it if an emergency situation happened! Visit this post to find out the different types of milks you can store (milk alternates, nonfat, instant, etc.).
POWDERED MILK RECIPES
#4 OIL
Oil is an important item to have in your food storage for many reasons. Not only do our bodies need a small amount of oil every day for survival, but oil is what gives food flavor, keeps food moist, helps cooking & frying easier, and is needed in most bread or baked good recipes.. Oil can come in many forms: vegetable oil, canola oil, olive oil, butter, margarine, shortening, etc.
Costco is the least expensive place to purchase oil in bulk. Watch the sales throughout the year for all different types of oil to go on sale for red/great deals.
#5 POWDERED EGGS
Let’s be honest, who doesn’t go through more than a dozen eggs each week? Eggs are in nearly every baked good, many breads, a common breakfast food, and in many main dish recipes. Without eggs, we wouldn’t be able to make many of the foods we are used to eating. Powdered eggs work just like real eggs. All you need to do is mix 1 T. egg powdered with 2 T. water and you have the equivalence of one egg. This equation (1 T.+ 2 T.=1 egg) might be different than what is on your can. If your can says to add more egg powder, change the amount on your can! These amounts just went up in the last couple years, and it it bogus! The 1 T. egg powdered is still what you need, they just want you to buy more product. Use this equation and your powdered eggs will be LESS expensive than your store bought eggs which will save you money on your grocery bill!
Year supply: 1-2 cans per person
