In a world that has become increasingly dependent, many are striving to become more self reliant. Food storage and self sufficiency bring a sense of well being and peace of mind. It isn’t just about hoarding food that you someday might eat, it’s about storing food your family eats on a regular basis while growing what you are able.
Start with a three month supply of what you would normally use to make meals with. I’m working on choosing simple recipes of meals I know my family will eat. I started small, with seven dinners, and then am working my way up to enough breakfasts, lunches and dinners for 3 months. It’s been a process, and it takes time, but knowing that I could go for three months without having to spend a dime on groceries is a glorious feeling.
Remember, that when storing food, we need food that is healthy. Food storage and healthy foods don’t have to be at opposite ends of the spectrum.
One meal I chose for my three month supply was fried rice. I switched out the usual white rice for brown rice, which works well as brown rice has about a 1 year shelf life. I chose a healthy olive oil, with a sesame oil to finish it off with. Instead of the usual peas and corn, I chose freeze dried red peppers, carrots, green onions and lots of garlic. Remember, not only can you use any veggies your family loves, you can also dehydrate or freeze your own!
I keep a three month supply of chicken in my freezer, and decided to use that as my main protein in this dish.
I’ve started freezing eggs, and can use those in my fried rice.
For my 3 month (12 weeks) Fried Rice ingredient supply I figured the following amounts:
- 24 cups of brown rice
- 1 quart of olive oil. (There are 52 Tablespoons to a quart. This will give me extra oil, but that’s okay.)
- 48 eggs (There are 96 eggs in a #10 can of dehydrated eggs.)
- 1 #10 can Thrive freeze dried red bell peppers. (You can dehydrate your own!)
- 1 pantry sized can Thrive freeze dried green onions. (You can dehydrate your own!)
- 1 #10 can Thrive freeze dried carrots. (You can dehydrate your own!)
- 18 cups of fresh or freeze dried chicken.
- 1 quart soy sauce (Again, it’s more than I’ll need)Follow any basic fried rice recipe.And viola! You have your first bulk purchased family meal.
What meals do you make on a regular basis that you could convert to a bulk purchased, shelf stable, food storage recipe? Please share in the comments!
This is great!! I have dinners but struggle with breakfasts and lunches. Please post more!!
I bulk make lasagne! they go so fast and they are just as easy to make 3 or 4 and freeze than to make one.
Twitter: kadiera
Oct 15, 15
Hm. If my freezer counts….we make double of a lot of things and freeze the leftovers. My freezer is pretty full right now, and pretty much all we’re buying for the next few weeks is fresh fruits and veggies, bread, and milk if I can help it.
Tacos (especially if you know how to make tortillas) – instead of tomatoes, use jarred or frozen salsa. Freeze blocks of cheese. Freeze ground beef (I cook ours first and then freeze in meal-sized portions).
Any kind of pasta – I’ve taken to making spaghetti sauce by the 6x recipe, and then freezing in meal sized containers.
Stir fry of any sort – frozen veggies, any protein, a little soy or teriyaki sauce….rice, or noodles. Japanese Yakisoba is made with soy sauce and ketchup as the sauce (and is surprisingly tasty).
Baking powder biscuits are quick and easy (and basically only require shelf stable ingredients). I keep frozen hash browns (but freeze dried work too) and sausage patties. Banana bread (or any quick bread) can be made and frozen….and I freeze my bananas when they’re getting brown to make bread later.
If you can make sandwich bread, almost anything goes for lunches. Things like jelly and honey should be in your storage plan too…
And soup! You can make soup from bullion, canned chicken, and frozen or freeze dried veggies, but it’s flexible – whole chicken? Make your own stock. Got a bunch of veggies from the garden that need to be eaten? Throw them in.