Sprouting Class, August 1, 6pm

I'll be giving a sprouting class Thursday August 1, 2013 at 6pm. 

I will be providing dinner, which will include several types of meals you can make using various types of sprouts.

 

We will talk about the different types of sprouts.  Materials available for sprouting, and ways to keep it inexpensive and simple.









For the record:  all the expensive, fancy sprouting products I bought when I first started ended up in the sandbox when my back was turned.  Now I just use a mason jar and cheese cloth.


Sprouting is so good for you and so easy to learn.  You will hardly notice them as you incorporate them into meals. 

Contact me for more details. 
I hope to see y'all there!

Fuel Storage

In an emergency of any sort, once the dust settles the problem of light, warmth and food preperation  will become evident.  Here are some ideas to get you on the right path . . .

Candles are a great thing to have in your storage since they never “go bad”.  Emergency candles can be bought at Smith and Edwards or Emergency essentials, even Wal-Mart and Macey’s.  Set a goal to purchase 10 candles a month and in a few months you have a year supply that can be stored and forgotten until you need them, or until your great-great-grandkids split them up between themselves.

Alcohol Warmers are great too.  You can buy them at any store that sells camping or catering supplies.  Type "alcohol warmers" into your search enging and you'll see all the fun stoves and supplies you can purchase over the internet.

Insta-Fire is a new fire starting product.  It has water-repellant properties and a thirty year shelf life.  More information is available on their website http://www.instafire.com/home.htm.  It comes in buckets or single packs.  A 5 gallon bucket is $60.

Fire wood needs a relatively dry place to sit.  If you keep it dry then you probably won’t have to ever replace it, just watch for dry rot.  If you only store it for emergency purposes then consider using a wall in your garage, or along the back of your house.  A wall of firewood will get you through an emergency for cooking and warmth.  You can buy perfectly cut wood from dealers in small bits over time, or as one big load.  You can also look for opportunities to get it from friends and neighbors who are getting rid of trees for the cost of time and muscle. 

Or you can go crazy and make your wood storage part of your decore!

Kerosene is another great fuel to have.  A kerosene heater can be bought for just over $100.  Smith and Edwards sells 5 gallon barrels of Kerosene.   Larger quantities need to be bought from dealers.  Kerosene burns clean but has a short shelf life.  You can buy an “extender” (available at Wal-Mart), but even then you only get a few of years before it needs to be replaced.

You can also store coal.  Contact your heating and air conditioning store for dealers.

Remember the matches!  Strike anywhere matches are best and store them in a Ziploc bag just in case.

Be very careful when storing combustible fuels like propane and gasoline.  Do your research and store it away from the house.  We only store enough for the current season.

Food Storage Presentation

I would like to say thank you to the great people of North Ogden Stake who attended my presentation.  I hope you found it helpful, empowering (tell the kids no to sugar and yes to dinner) and a bit entertaining. 

I had a lot of people ask about diabetes and such.  Her are two amazing videos that I found informative and jaw dropping.  The first is Simply Raw that deal specifically with diabets.  The second is FoodMatters "Let thy Food be thy Medicine"

 

Also, just a reminder of the book I strongly recommended.

For those who didn't get to join us I'll include the hand out at the end of this post.

I would like to appologize for not posting for a month.  IT'S SPRING AND I WAS DOING SPRING STUFF OUTSIDE, and loving every second of it.  I hope you are enjoying the warmer weather and have gardens planted.

BrendaBurrup   801-782-7339   practicallyprovident.blogspot.com    brendaburrup@q.com

Functional Family Food Storage on a Budget

To make a budget:

·       Keep track of your expenses for 1 month, every penny.

·       Include Yearly expenses like car registrations and such (divide by 12 months)

·       PAY AN HONEST TITHING FIRST

·       PAY YOURSELF NEXT, even if it is $5.00 in a savings account.

·       Work your food storage goals into the budget.  I put it with groceries.

Education is the key:

·       Providentliving.org then move onto “food storage” typed into your favorite search    engine. 

·       Here is a great blog:  http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/ and there are many others.

·       I recommend Nourishing Tradition by Sally Fallon.  An excellent book that takes nutrition back to the basics.

One of the best things you can do for your health and your budget is to stop buying candy and artificial juices.  

Good baby food comes off your dinner plate, not out of a little jar.  Soak your oatmeal for a few hours, add a bit of mashed fruit or veggies and you have the best, easiest to digest food.  Make it even better by adding a few additional ground grains.  The same is true for seniors who can’t eat regular food. 

Put lots of brown sugar in your 3 month food supply and raw honey in your long term supply.  If you had to eat oatmeal every day for even a few weeks you’ll want the brown sugar just to swallow it.  Add maple flavoring to your food storage.  You’ll have maple and brown sugar oatmeal every day.

As far as cooking with your food storage; that takes practice.  If you go to my blog you will see a tab that says 10 course pinto bean meal.  Do you store pinto beans?  Do you know how to cook them?  Would the smell of them cooking make your kids gag?  If you put even one pinto bean in a lasagna would the kids go to bed hungry?

Get your family away from processed, freezer foods.  Add a cup of ground grains to your cake mixes.  Pizzas are the easiest thing in the world to make with food storage if you know how to put together a simple dough, some condensed soup for sauce (I use spaghetti sauce anyway) and anything else you have to throw on the top.  No cheese required.        

Focus on reality.  If you are living on a tight budget do you really need the fancy freeze dried dinners?  Start with a 3 month supply of the food and toiletries you use every day.   Get a bag of wheat for every member of your family, when sprouted this will keep you alive for a year.  Remember fat in your long-term food storage.  Canned butter and suet or tallow never needs to be rotated and is so healthy for you.  Olive and coconut oil are equally healthy but need to be rotated every year or so.  HYDROGONATED OILS ARE BAD!

Brown rice.  Start by adding ¼ cup of brown rice in your cooker.  Then bump it up to 3 parts white rice 1 part brown rice.  Brown rice takes a little extra water and time to cook.  Un used brown rice can be added to your compost heap.  I’ve included a great dog food recipe so you can always rotate through your brown rice.

I really just want to empower you to use your food storage as a way to eat healthier.  Tell your kids no to the sugary, processed food.  Get them used to the wholeness of grains and real oils.

Dog food from scratch

2 parts grain, 1 part meat, 1/3 part veggie and 1 Tablespoon oil.

For my 40lb. dog I put 6 cups of water in my slow cooker.  I add 2 cups brown rice and ½ cup of oatmeal and a heaping tablespoon of ground grains.  I stir that up then throw 3 frozen chicken breasts in the pot and cook overnight.  The next morning I take the chicken out and mush it up and add a can of veggies and some finely shredded carrot, then the cooked rice and ¼ of olive oil.  I mix it all together and split it up into 4 containers.  That gives me 4 days worth of dog food, feeding her ½ a container in the morning and the other half at night.  She poops less and her coat is the shiniest coat on any mutt I have ever seen.

Easy pizza dough

½ - ¾ C warm water, 1 T yeast, 1 t sugar, 2 C flour, 1 T oil, ½ t salt

Mix, knead, let rise, flatten, add toppings,then bake 425 for 13-15 min.

Organization Is Key

I've had some people ask about inventory and organization.  Easy!!!!  for it you need 5 legal pads, some graph paper and lots and lots of pencils.  Just kidding.  I do know people with such extensive preparations that they do have huge spread sheets; and I know that some people have all their stuff scanned into a computer.  Wow.

Long-term food storage rotation.

One thing to admit to yourself is that your long term food storage is like insurance.  You may not use it but you're glad you have it.  Unless you make 10 loaves of bread a week, you are not going to rotate through your wheat fast enough to even stress about it.  If you have pinto beans with every meal, great; but most of us don't so it's more trouble than it is worth to try and rotate.  Stash the 100 lbs of beans and think about it in another 30 years.  I have bags stored that I don't touch (because I can't reach them, "thank you husband");  and I have one bucket of beans that I use, when it is low I buy the next replacement bag.

So much of what you store is based on how much room you have.  If you are storing your grains under your stairs then you won't beable to put the new bags in the back, so stash the wheat, be grateful you have it and then in 30 years if you haven't used it yet start replacing it gradually over then next year.  In my head I have a grand design for a mini-grainery to fit under the stairs:  pour new wheat in the top, take wheat from the bottom - genious!  I have 4 kids, several hobies and a couple volunteer jobs.  The mini-grainery will have to wait.




3 month food storage rotation.
I only store enough flour to fit on a certain shelf.  The flour container in my kitchen fits 5lbs so I store 6 5bl bags and it works out to about a 6 month supply.  I know that if I run out then I have plenty of wheat I can grind.

Same with the sugar.  I have that on a particular shelf that fits just so much sugar and if something happens and I need more I have 80 lbs of honey in my long-term storage that never needs to be rotated.

The key is to get organized.  Figure out what you want to keep in your 3-months-or-more food storage, organize it and then replace as you use.  You do not need a big excell sheet to keep track of your storage.  Keep an index card on your fridge.  As you use something write it down.  The next time you do a big shopping trip you know what to buy.

For example.  I love Kroger Macaroni and Cheese.  I think it is better than the name brand.  At a case-lot sale you can buy a case of mac and cheese for $.25 per box.  We have the case we are eating our way through and then an un-opened case underneath.  When the next case-lot sale comes along, if I've opened the last case then I buy a new one.  If I still have a whole case then I wait until next time.

Decide your staples that you always want on your shelves, like canned corn.  Think how how many cans you want for a 3 month supply, like 20.  Assign one spot on your shelf that fits that many corn then you always know how many you have. 


                                                       Not enough space

We are a peculiar people, and proud of it!  That includes our food storage.  You are commanded/encouraged to store as much as you can.  If you only have room for a month's supply then so be it, but get that month's supply.  The only food I have in my kitchen is flour, sugar, cooking oil, and spices (okay, and what's in the fridge).  Everything else is stored throughout the house.  You don't see it, but it's there. 

You do not need a designanted food pantry or food storage!!!  If you don't have enough room on a shelf for 3 months supply of corn, get a tote from Walmart or the DI and keep it under a bed.  I built a bench for under a window; I keep small appliances, cans of wheat, rice, beans, and oats in it.

Water Storage For The Ages

Water is an essential part of Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness.  Without water you will die within 48 hours.  Without continued clean water we die within two weeks. 

Basic Water Storage

Store water in juice jugs, 2 liter soda bottles, and 55 gallon blue barrels.  DO NOT STORE WATER IN THE GALLON JUGS THEY ARE SOLD IN AT THE STORE!!!!  You know the ones like milk jugs.  Also, do not store your water directly on or against concrete.  The chemiclas in the concrete will eat through the plastic and the water will take on the flavor of the cement (or anything it's stored by).  They say the blue barrels can go on cement but I still stick a scrap piece of wood or a few layers of cardboard under mine.

The goal, as set by leading preparedness expert Tim Woolf, is to have one 55 gallon barrel per person in your family.  In reality, after drinking and cooking this may last 2 weeks.  I am working on this and plan on sending each kid packing with their barrel and 400lbs of wheat as they get married.   Until you have a barrel per person, start filling soda bottles.  Then as you get the barrells you can recycle the pop bottles.

You should also have at least 1 gallon in every room in your home in case you are suddenly stuck in that room for an extended period of time (while emergency crews dig through the rubble). 

Treating your stored water is easy.  DON’T.  If you have city water that is pretreated then you do not have to add anything.  If your containers are clean then you shouldn’t have to rotate.  Now please continue reading, don’t stop here or you won’t have the whole picture.

Water Treatment

Like I said in the above paragraph, if you have city water you do not need to treat the water you put in your containers and you don't have to rotate, unless you want to.

The best single thing you can add to your food storage shelf is an under $20 bottle of powdered chlorine!  One bottle will clean enough water to supply your entire block with water for a month or more.  If 15 families in our ward had these then the entire ward would be set for several months.

To use this all you do is add ¼ teaspoon (let me repeat) 1/4 TEASPOON to a 55 gallon barrel of water from a good source (I’ll expand on that in a moment).  Put the lid on and let it sit for 24 hours.  If you want the chlorine smell and taste gone then let the barrel sit for another 24 hours without the lid.  Do the math:  1 barrel with chlorine/lid on, 1 barrel lid off, 1 barrel being used.

The limitation of this is it only kills biological contaminants.  It doesn’t cleeeeean the water.  Unless you know your water source is clean of non biological contaminants you also need a good filter that will take out the dirt, petroleum (gasoline/oil) and  the radioactive dust (I know you were thinking it).

Water Filtration

There are chemical filters, micro pour filters, bio sand filters, and any other kind of filter you can dream of.  Some very, VERY expensive and others homemade with stuff you can buy at the hardware store for a few dollars.

One of the best filters you can buy is the Aquarain.  It uses gravity and ceramic filters to purify up to 25 gallons a day.  The water needs to be free from debris but the filter will take everything else out. If you are interested go to their website at http://www.aquarain.com .  I also have a lady out of draper that buys these in bulk so she might have a better price.  Her email is preparednessproducts@comcast.net .  There is a problem with these:  The ceramic filters are extremely fragile.  One tiny crack and the filter is useless.

An awesome filter you can make at home is a sand filter.  It’s like taking the city’s water treatment plant and putting it in a Rubbermaid garbage can, or even a 5 gallon bucket.  Here is a basic diagram of a sand filter.  You can also look up videos on Utube.  OR if we have enough interested people, we can make this a ward activity.  The only thing I would add to my filter is a layer of “activated carbon” that you can buy at any pet store with a fish isle.

In Short

Start with filling the two liter soda bottle from family parties and stuffing them in the back of closets.  Then add blue barrels.  Then add a filter, or learn how to make one.   In an emergency (like Katrina or Japan) Start using your stored water while you collect water to start filtering:  you filter out the big stuff (a friend said “pick out the body parts” ewww!), send the water through your filter and then chlorine it to heck.



Wheat Sprouts

I recieved a great comment from Lisa saying that she was able to sprout some old canned wheat.  I'm so glad!  I was told that wheat canned with an oxygen absorber wont sprout.  I worked with a lady at the cannery who said her canned wheat would not sprout.  I'm not sure what the discrepancy is but if you have had experience with sprouting canned wheat (or any and all experiences with wheat sprouts) I would love to hear from you!  brendaburrup@q.com  -if you're curious, I store my wheat in buckets.


Why sprout your wheat?  It makes the wheat more nutritious and esier to digest because it breaks down the gluten, which is what our bodies have a hard time with.  Celiacs should NOT eat wheat berries, sprouted or otherwise.

I'll do a post on how to sprout but if you can't wait then simply google "wheat sprouts".  You will find hundreds of uses and recipes.  I dry the sprouts at a low temperature in my dehydrator and then I use my manual grinder to turn it into a course flour that I add to my breads.  Sprouted wheat has lost it's gluten so it can't be used as a bread flour on it's own.  I add about 1/4 to my dough, or you can research gluten free baking to find out how to make breads without regular wheat flour.  It adds a delicious, nutty flavor.  Mmmm.

Wheat grass is different.  Amazingly nutritious and medicinal, it is so easy to grow at home! A container, some dirt or pete moss and vwala! Wheat Grass!  It can be added to smoothies, or just muched on when you're felling a little bovine-ish.  Usually it is juiced.  You can buy just the juice at healthfood stores.  Anne Wigmore uses it in everything at her health spa on the east coast.  There are some great books about wheat grass and its medicinal qualities and all the different ways you can use it.  CELIACS I've known do fine with wheat grass.  I think of it as aloe vera without the slime.

Community Gardens, 2 Options

We have a ward community garden and North Ogden has a city community garden. 

Ward Garden

The ward community garden is our front yard.  We have no plans on landscaping this wonderful, east facing yard for several years so it might as well be put to some use.  It has sprinklers and a water spigot for easy water access.  It is also on private property in a secluded neighborhood, which is nice.  The ward community garden has pleasant property owners that promise not to bug you while you garden.  You are welcome to make your garden plot as simple or as ornate as you want.  You can also have as much, or as little, space as you need – depending on how many families request a piece of the pie. 
Terms and conditions:  the only drawback is that you are responsible for digging up the dirt, or setting up your own raised garden bed and supplying your own dirt.

Call or type if you are interested:  Brenda at brendaburrup@q.com or 801-737-7339.

North Ogden City Garden

The city’s community garden is located on an empty lot behind the city office buildings at 2550 North 550 East.  The person in charge of that garden is Lori Frasier, 737-0587.  She is taking a list of interested citizens.  The city is planning on setting up 4’X4’ raised garden beds for individual families.  They are currently talking to local businesses hoping to get help with set-up.  It has water and has plenty of sun, even with the giant pine tree.