But that got me thinking about the Proverbs 31 woman who “is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all of her household are clothed in scarlet”.  Why does the Proverbs 31 woman not fear what is to come; because she is prepared.  There is a lot of talk lately about the on going war, food shortages, fuel shortages and such.  With all of our daily routine and trying to cut our weekly grocery bills we sometimes do not plan for what might to come.  I wanted to give and ask for some practical advice on storing up food.

Now do not think I am suggesting what so many did during the Y2K debacle.  I actually had a relative order 20 cases of MRE’s (each case had 10 MRE’s in them)  For those of you who do not know what these are; they are Military Ready to Eat meals.  They are sealed in a waterproof case with matches, snacks, toilet paper ( prior to the Gulf War they had a pack of cigarettes in them.)   They are terribly expensive (over $60 a case)  and not very tasty.  Of course, if you can get a good deal on military surplus and are starving, they come in very handy.  The upside is you can eat them straight out of the package without water or heating them.  However, the relative’s over $500 investment ended up in the landfill because they do not keep forever.   (We were able to scoop up a couple of the cases for us and friends)

Freeze dried foods, like the kind for hikers are generally great tasting and have an indefinite shelf life; however, you have to have clean water to make them and are terribly expensive.  If you come across a good deal, it never hurts to have a couple. 

Freezing food is great but if you ever loose power you are in a pickle.  Been there, done that.  I live in a house now where I have no room for one.

Canning is great...if you know how to do it and have the equipment. My sister-in-law and I are working on learning together.

A more practical solution for some of us may be the following. 

1)   Canned Food - every week I go shopping I pick up one or two extra cans of food. Now I have been getting vegetables and soups.  Now while I usually make my own soups, canned ones are good to have on hand because of their shelf life and I can not make something from scratch if there is nothing to buy at the store.  I will store the most recent purchase way in the back of the cabinet.  That way as I am nearing an expiration date, I can use the soup up.

2)       Box of dry milk.  This is great because it requires no refrigeration until made up..(I also use this a lot in baking.)

3)       Jars of peanut butter. These have a lot of protein; the military supplies this in the MRE’s I told you about.

4)       Rice  we do not eat this anyway so I do not bother with it.

5)       Flour  I usually have 4 bags of bread flour and 2 of all-purpose in my cabinet at all times. I only keep this 2 month supply because I have to go out of my way to a store that carries the bread flour.   The problem with storing flour is it can go rancid after a year if in a high heat and humid environment; do not keep more than a 6 month supply on hand.  I also keep at least 1-2 jars of yeast. 

6)       Bottled water. This is something we do not have to worry about because fortunately we are on a well and we have a portable generator for the business.  We also have a clear water spring near us.

All of these can be kept in a regular kitchen cabinet without special or expensive equipment.  By purchasing one or two items a shopping trip and replacing items as you use them, this will not create a huge financial drain.  A few items are a good idea.  Enough for 5 years may be a bit much.   You can prepare without going overboard and a smart woman or man will think of the future for their household.

 If anyone has any other practical advice PLEASE share it.

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