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handouts Please Note: These handouts can be added to your Food Storage Made Easy Binder or you may simply use them as a resource on your computer. These handouts are supplemental and new information we’ve put out since you purchased the eBook binder.

CONTENTS INCLUDE:

• 7 Day Challenge 2012 o Add to Emergency Preparedness section

• Meats and Food Storage o Add to Step 6 section (as a protein) or Beyond the BabySteps section

• Canning 101 o Add to Step 8 section or Beyond the BabySteps section

• Bread FAQ o Add to Step 5 section

• Planning for Your Future o Add to Emergency Preparedness section

• Oxygen Absorbers 101 o Add to Step 4 section

• Basic CPR and First Aid Tips o Add to Step 10 section or Emergency Preparedness section

• Food Storage and Allergies o Add to Step 4 section

• Long Term Water Storage o Add to Step 2 section

• Water Filtration versus Purification o Add to Step 2 section

• Water Storage Containers o Add to Step 2 section

The Seven Day Challenge was created to celebrate National Emergency Preparedness Month. The Challenge is meant to be a week long series of mock emergencies with daily limitations and tasks to help assess your level of preparedness.

Each day you are given a scenario in which there are limitations and tasks. There are also some advanced tasks to complete should you choose to do so. Actually going through the motions of completing the tasks, while abiding by the limitations will help you learn so much more than just thinking about it. Each day, the prior days tasks and limitations no longer apply.

Once you have completed each day, you will have a report card you can use to assess how well you did. Fill out the report cards so you can fill out the master plan at the end of the challenge of things you need to learn, to do, and to buy.

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Oil prices have skyrocketed causing serious economic crisis and food shortage due to transportation costs. In many areas food is GONE from the shelves. If there is food available it is at ridiculous prices that you cannot afford. Luckily, you have been following our blog and have accumulated quite a bit of food storage. Today you get to USE it!Goal: Have a PLAN for actual meals you can make from your food storage

Today’s Tasks:•Cook all your meals and snacks using only pantry foods•Make a complete meal plan for 7 days (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) using ONLY ingredients you already have in your storage•Do an inventory to determine how long your food supply will last you

Today’s Limitations:•For this day, and ALL days of the challenge: no spending money, no going to stores, and no restaurants•You cannot use any fridge or freezer food (assume it has been used up)•You cannot use fresh produce from your garden (pretend it’s winter)•You cannot use fresh eggs even if you have chickens (someone stole them)

Advanced Tasks:•Make a meal plan for 30 days instead of just 7•Add a dessert to your menu tonight as well•A huge thunderstorm also struck today and your power is out all day. Cook all meals without power!

Make sure your fill out today’s Report Card to see how well you did, to keep track of areas you can improve, to remember things you need to do, and things you need to buy. Use the data to make a game plan to take you to the next level of preparedness, whatever that may be.


http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/fsme/docs/2012day1rc.pdf

Seven Day Challenge Report Card

Oil prices have skyrocketed causing serious economic crisis and food shortage due to transportation costs. In many areas food is GONE from the shelves. If there is food available it is at ridiculous prices that you cannot afford. Luckily, you have been following our blog and have accumulated quite a bit of food storage. Today you get to USE it! Today’s Goal: Have a PLAN for actual meals you can make from your food storage

Daily Evaluation Questions (Things to Ask Yourself)

• Were you able to cook using only pantry items today? What foods did you miss

having? Could you buy powdered or freeze-‐dried versions for storage?

• Do you have all of the ingredients to create 7 days worth of complete meals? What

additional items could you get to have more variety?

• How many months worth of storage do you estimate that you have? Do you have

spices, flavorings, etc. to create recipes from your core storage items?

• What are some ways you can add to your storage with fresh items in an emergency

(i.e. gardening, having chickens, sprouting, etc.)

Daily Notes

Need to Buy:

Need to Do:

Need to Learn:


Your country is experiencing a WAR and the water purification facility in your area has been bombed. All water services coming to your home have been halted indefinitely. (If you use well water, your well was destroyed too!) Today you will practice living without running water in your home and experience cooking, sanitation, hygiene, etc. with STORED water.Goal: Learn what your water needs will truly be in an emergency

Today’s Tasks:•Cook all meals (and CLEAN UP) using only stored water•Take a shower or bath using stored water (Don’t cheat and skip this one!)•Use stored water for flushing toilets•Calculate your usage for the day and use that number to determine how much of a water supply you actually have•FILL any empty water containers you have been procrastinating on filling•Make a plan for how you will collect/purify additional water if/when you run out (use your daily report card to help)

Today’s Limitations:•For this day, and ALL days of the challenge: no spending money, no going to stores, and no restaurants•Do NOT use running water at all. To help you not cheat, you can turn off your main water supply for the day

Advanced Tasks:•To conserve water, use a sanitation kit rather than flush stored water down the toilet.•Get ambitious and do a load of LAUNDRY with stored water.•Go to the nearest source of fresh water and fill up several water containers and purify it.





Your country is experiencing a WAR and the water purification facility in your area has been bombed. All water services coming to your home have been halted indefinitely. (If you use well water, your well was destroyed too!) Today you will practice living without running water in your home and experience cooking, sanitation, hygiene, etc. with STORED water. Today’s Goal: Learn what your water needs will truly be in an emergency.


• Did you have enough water stored to meet your needs for the day?

• Was your water drinkable? What could you do to improve the taste?

• How long would your water last you in an emergency situation?

• What are some ways you could store MORE water?

• Do you have a plan in place for being able to purify additional water?

• How far away is your nearest water source? How else could you obtain additional

water when yours runs out?

• Did you try to do laundry? What is your plan for washing clothes?

Daily Notes

Need to Buy:

Need to Do:

Need to Learn:


Health care costs in your country have gone through the roof. Battles are waging between government, doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies. All doctors have gone on strike leaving a gaping hole in available medical care in your community. Today will focus on what you will need to do to prepare your family for all kinds of medical emergencies, including getting yourselves healthier to avoid dependence on medications (if at all possible) and/or medical interventions.Goal: Get your family’s medical history & supplies in order and get healthy!

Today’s Tasks:•Prepare a family medical plan to include in your Emergency Binder

•Do an inventory of your home medical supplies. Add items to your daily report card that you need to purchase •Print out instructions for basic first aid procedures

•Review CPR guidelines and or sign up for a class•Research any specific medicines you are taking, find out how you can stock pile some, make a plan for how to keep them refrigerated if necessary, etc. (Also consider if making lifestyle changes could help reduce your dependency on them)•Since living a healthy lifestyle is so important for disease prevention, cook healthy meals AND do a physical activity as a family (if applicable) today

Today’s Limitations:•For this day, and ALL days of the challenge: no spending money, no going to stores, and no restaurants.•No eating fattening foods, sugary treats, or drinking soda or alcohol today. (Yes we’re taking away all our vices)

Advanced Tasks:•Purchase additional manuals on first aid and emergency medicine•Learn more about holistic approaches to medicine including essential oils •Practice treating a pretend injury using supplies from your house





Health care costs in your country have sky-‐rocketed. Battles are waging between government, doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies. All doctors have gone on strike leaving a gaping hole in available medical care in your community. Today will focus on what you will need to do to prepare your family for all kinds of medical emergencies, including getting yourselves healthier to avoid dependence on medications and/or medical interventions. Today’s Goal: Get your family’s medical history and supplies in order and get healthy!


• Did you already have a medical plan in place? If not, did you make one today?

• How well-‐stocked are you for medical emergencies? Add to your BUY list!

• What first aid procedures would you need to know how to do if medical assistance was

not available? Did you print out instructions on how to do them?

• Have you taken a class in CPR? If not, have you signed up for one yet?

• How can you reduce dependency on medications or properly store/stockpile them

• What changes can you make in your lifestyle to be healthier?

Daily Notes

Need to Buy:

Need to Do:

Need to Learn:


One of your elderly parents (or grandparents, or dear friend, or child) is having severe health problems and can no longer afford home health care. You were asked to come and live with them for 2 months to help out with their day to day living and have to leave TOMORROW. Today you must help your family prepare for you to have an extended “leave of absence”. If you are single focus on getting your own affairs settled.Goal: Teach your family knowledge and skills that depend on you

Today’s Tasks:•Teach the other members of your household how to do any tasks that normally fall to you (i.e. laundry, cooking basics, mowing the lawn, car maintenance, etc.)•Make sure to pass any financial information on to your spouse, significant other, or another family member.•If you’re the one in charge of managing the family schedule and routines, write it all out and make assignments or arrangements for how the family could make it without you•If you live alone, make a plan for who would look after your house/affairs if you had to leave suddenly•Make a list of all your logins for important websites that family members may need to access. Either print it and put it somewhere secure or save it in a secure manner on your computer

Today’s Limitations:•For this day, and ALL days of the challenge: no spending money, no going to stores, and no restaurants.•No other limitations today.

Advanced Tasks:•After teaching your family how to do your “jobs” actually leave for the day and make them DO THEM.•If you’re single or don’t have a large household, pass along the information to a friend or family for taking care of your house and affairs FOR REAL. Not just a plan for “in case”.





One of your elderly parents (or grandparents, or dear friend, or child) is having severe health problems and can no longer afford home health care. You were asked to come and live with them for 2 months to help out with their day to day living and have to leave TOMORROW. Today you must help your family prepare for you to have an extended “leave of absence”. If you are single focus on getting your own affairs settled. Today’s Goal: Teach your family knowledge and skills that depend on you


• Did your family already know how to do most of your “jobs” or was there a big learning

curve for them? Were you able to pass on the necessary knowledge?

• Did you discuss with your spouse your financial situation if you do the bills?

• If you live alone, did you think through who would take care of your home/affairs if

you were to leave suddenly? Did you actually work out an arrangement?

• Do you have a family schedule/calendar? Is there an easy way to pass on that info to

your family if you were unavailable? Who would do drives to lessons, school, etc.?

Daily Notes

Need to Buy:

Need to Do:

Need to Learn:


A drunk driver struck a power line near your house today. Power is out in your entire neighborhood all day long. You must cook meals for your family using no electricity, and make a NICE Sunday dinner! You must also entertain yourself (and your family members) without electronics (the HORROR).Goal: Practice living without electricity

Today’s Tasks:•Cook all three meals without electricity•Make a NICE Sunday dinner from scratch (no opening up a can of ravioli)•Do something FUN that doesn’t involve power•Do an inventory of your fuel storage, how many meals can you cook with the fuel you have stored?•Review powerless cooking options by doing research online (only time you can use power today)

Today’s Limitations:•For this day, and ALL days of the challenge: no spending money, no going to stores, and no restaurants•DO NOT USE POWER AT ALL TODAY (except to do research)

Advanced Tasks:•There is a big storm going on outside and you can only cook indoors•Your pipes froze during the night so you have to use stored water as well





A drunk driver struck a power line near your house today. Power is out in your entire neighborhood all day long. You must cook meals for your family using no electricity, and make a NICE Sunday dinner! You must also entertain yourself (and your family members) without electronics (the HORROR). Today’s Goal: Practice living without electricity


• Were you able to make all your meals today without power? Was it hard?

• How is your fuel supply? Do you have multiple types of fuel available for use?

• What are some entertaining things you and/or your family can do without power?

• Do you have a plan for indoor powerless cooking? What are situations where you

would not want or be able to cook outside?

• Did you research some powerless cooking options? What are the pros and cons of

different types of tools and fuels?

Daily Notes

Need to Buy:

Need to Do:

Need to Learn:


A horrible hurricane (or earthquake, or other disaster) is about to hit your area. You have to evacuate within minutes and eat out of your 72 hour kits today. While you were gone your house was destroyed. Lots to think about today.Goal: Test your family’s evacuation plan and 72 hour kit foods

Today’s Tasks:•Evacuate your house within 15 minutes of reading today's challenge. You do not know if your house will be destroyed while you are gone so plan accordingly. Stay away until after lunchtime•Eat/drink ONLY out of your 72 hour kits until you return home•While you are out, make a list of potential reasons you may be forced to evacuate. For each scenario, write down where you would go, what type of stuff you would need in your kits, how long you’d be gone, etc. Use this list to re-evaluate what you may or may not include in your kits.•Make a list of all of your valuables to submit to your insurance company since your house was destroyed while you were gone (this is more valuable to have BEFORE you actually lose everything)•Using the daily report card, make a list of things you could do/buy to minimize your losses in a complete house loss (i.e. Fireproof/waterproof safe, computer backup options, safety deposit box for valuables, etc.)

Today’s Limitations:•For this day, and ALL days of the challenge: no spending money, no going to stores, and no restaurants•You can’t eat or drink anything besides what is in your 72 hour kits until dinnertime•You must stay away from home until after lunch

Advanced Tasks:•Eat out of your 72 hour kits for dinner too•Evacuate overnight using only supplies from your disaster kit•Contact your insurance company and find out details about what would be covered in a total loss situation like this





A horrible hurricane (or earthquake, or other disaster) is about to hit your area. You have to evacuate within minutes and eat out of your 72 hour kits today. While you were gone your house was destroyed. Lots to think about today. Today’s Goal: Test your family’s evacuation plan and 72 hour kit foods


• Were you able to effectively evacuate within 15 minutes? What could you have done to

make it easier, faster, more efficient?

• How were the foods in your 72 hour kits? If you have kids, did they eat the foods you

had available? What could you add to make your food options better?

• Did you make your list of potential scenarios where you might need to evacuate? How

will this affect your 72 hour kits?

• Did you already have a list of valuables for insurance? If not, did you create one today?

• What can you do to decrease your losses if your house were destroyed?

Daily Notes

Need to Buy:

Need to Do:

Need to Learn:


Today you felt a prompting to do an act of service for someone in need. A dear friend is really struggling and it would be very helpful if you brought him/her a meal or a special treat. You have a super busy day with no time to run to the store, but you still want to make something NICE.Goal: Have a go-to meal or treat on hand for “emergency” acts of service

Today’s Tasks:•Cook either a full dinner or a special treat for someone in need (be prayerful/thoughtful about this and really try to find someone you can do this for)•Use only ingredients from your food storage•Make a list of 2 meals and 2 treats that you can always create from your storage that would be nice enough to give to another family. Make sure you keep the ingredients on hand for them (add to your report card if necessary)•Once you have performed your “act of service” you are DONE with the challenge!•Compile all your report cards from the week into a master list of things to do, learn, and buy

Today’s Limitations:•For this day, and ALL days of the challenge: no spending money, no going to stores, and no restaurants•AFTER you have completed your act of service you can go and get a donut or a big gulp or whatever other indulgence you have been missing out on all week!

Advanced Tasks:•Cook your meal or treat without power•Make a double batch and freeze one for an act of service on another day





Today you felt a prompting to do an act of service for someone in need. A dear friend is really struggling and it would be very helpful if you brought him/her a meal or a special treat. You have a super busy day with no time to run to the store, but you still want to make something NICE. Today’s Goal: Have a go-to meal or treat on hand for “emergency” acts of service


• Were you able to make something NICE for your act of service?

• What ingredients could you start storing to make this easier in the future?

• Did you REALLY do something for someone? You never know how helpful this type of

service can be.

• Take some time today to really think about the things you need to buy, learn, and do to

be better prepared based off of what you learned this week. (Use the master plan

worksheet found on today’s blog post)

Daily Notes

Need to Buy:

Need to Do:

Need to Learn:


THING TO BUY:

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Meats and Food Storage Meats are generally not included in basic Long Term Food Storage Calculators. It is expected that you will get your protein from legumes. However, if you can add some form of meat into your storage it opens up a lot more possibilities for making “normal” meals, can add dense calories/protein, and can help with avoiding flavor fatigue. Here are a few tips on storing meats:

• Buy smaller amounts to start until you are sure you like using that variety, preservation method, etc.

• Consider the shelf life on items and store accordingly • Practice using the foods to make sure they will make good substitutes in your meals

when it comes time to use them • When choosing a preservation method, it helps to think through water necessities (for

rehydration), power needs (if you are freezing meats), and space constraints.

In general it’s a good idea to store meats in a variety of ways to take advantage of the pros and minimize the cons of each method. Keep reading for summaries of each type of meat preservation you may want to consider.

Canning Meats for Home Storage

Canning your own meats is fantastic, but is also a little intimidating for a beginner. We recently did a Canning 101 post to help make things easier for those just getting started. We also made specific tutorial videos for canning chicken and canning ground beef.

Pros of Canned Meats -‐ Can be inexpensive after you have all the tools -‐ Purchase meats on sale and preserve them -‐ Complete control over varieties and flavors you store -‐ Delicious and EASY to use -‐ No water necessary when preparing meals

Cons of Canned Meats -‐ Short shelf life (1-‐2 years) -‐ Takes lots of time to preserve -‐ Can be intimidating, risk of not preserving properly -‐ Some meats may look/taste different than regular cooked foods

If you don’t want to can your own foods you can also purchase a variety of canned meats from the grocery store which can be another great option for getting meat into your storage.


Freezing Meats for Home Storage

Freezing is a very common method for preserving meat. It is best accomplished using a vacuum sealer to avoid freezer burn. Many people choose to count freezer foods in their 3 month supply and plan to hurry and cook or preserve it should the power go out.

Pros of Freezer Meats -‐ Can take advantage of sale prices -‐ Easy to do, does not take a lot of time -‐ Easy to incorporate the foods into regular recipes

Cons of Freezer Meats -‐ Freezers are affected by power loss -‐ Limited amount of space available -‐ Shorter shelf life (6 months – 1 year)

Dehydrating Meats for Home Storage

Dehydrating can be done at home with a Food Dehydrator whereas Freeze-‐Drying needs to be done in a commercial facility. Dehydrated meats are basically just jerkey. You can dehydrate meats yourself to make all kinds of different jerkeys. You can also purchase jerkey at the store.

Pros of Dehydrated Meats -‐ Long shelf life if preserved properly -‐ Inexpensive after equipment is purchased -‐ Wide variety of foods you can make

Cons of Dehydrated Meats -‐ Not good for young children -‐ Can be difficult and time consuming to dehydrate yourself -‐ Not useful for using in recipes as a substitution for regular meats

Freeze-‐Dried Meats for Home Storage

Purchasing freeze-‐dried meats is probably the easiest method for getting meats into your storage and you can be confident that they will last a long time. However, it is also the most expensive of the methods we’ve discussed.

Pros of Freeze-‐Dried Meats -‐ 20-‐25 year shelf life -‐ Easy to store in large quantities -‐ Easy to substitute into regular recipes -‐ Commercially purchased so safety is not a concern

Cons of Freeze-‐Dried Meats -‐ Must have water storage to rehydrate -‐ Expensive price-‐per pound of meat -‐ They don’t work in ALL meat recipes (i.e. chicken on a grill)


Canning 101 Get a GOOD Canning Guide

Ball has put out several canning books that I think are very helpful. Our favorite go-‐to manual is the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. If there is anything you are thinking of canning, there should be instructions in there for you. Make sure to take note of the sections on altitudes as you may find that your processing times are different if you live in a very high (or low) area.

Another book we’d recommend if you like to see more step by step instructions, beautiful photography, and personal tips, is Yes, You Can! And Freeze and Dry It, Too by Daniel Gasteiger. Click here to see a full review on why we love that book. It’s really fun to sit and browse through and great for seeing instructions laid out very clearly.

My pressure canner also came with a booklet with details on processing times for that particular machine. That’s a great resource to use as well. Get Your Canning Tools Canning Jars I usually see these in Wal-‐Mart at this time of year. Another great place to look is at garage sales or second hand stores. If you buy new jars it’s nice because they come with lids and rings. If you are going to use the Tattler Reusable Lids you’ll need enough rings for a few batches since you process the jars using rings, and then have to leave them on while the jars cool. You can also find jars at a reasonable price on Amazon. Canning Lids For all canning projects you must have canning lids and rings. This can be an expensive part of canning because you are supposed to buy new lids every time. At $4-‐$5 per box of 12 that can really add to the expense of one jar of food. I recently have started to buy Tattler Reusable Canning Lids (I buy a few boxes before each big canning session I do so it’s not too expensive all at once). I’ve had a great experience with them so far and I love that I don’t have to throw them away after one use.


Water Bath Canner and/or Pressure Canner If you are wanting process high acid fruits and vegetables all you need is a basic water bath canner. If you want to process meats, beans, and some vegetables, you will need a pressure canner. A pressure canner as a water bath canner (you need a 23 qt pressure canner in order to water bath quart jars due to the size). So if you think you will do both kinds of canning just go with a large pressure canner to avoid making two purchases. Here are a few links to the canners we recommend. Presto Pressure Canner

I have the 16 quart shown here but would love to upgrade to a 23 quart some day.

All-‐American Pressure Canner

This is a higher-‐end model of canner. It doesn’t have any gaskets and it is a heavy-‐duty machine. You will never need another canner.

Water Bath Canner

This is your basic canner. I see these at garage sales quite often, so keep your eyes peeled. They are also fairly inexpensive to buy new.

Optional Tools You can buy extra tools that you may want to have on hand such as tongs, a large funnel, a lid lifter, etc. which will make your canning tasks much easier. Many of these are available by doing a search on Amazon.com How to Actually Can Things! Over the years we’ve done several tutorials on canning some of our favorite things. If you are new to canning, these can be a great way to follow step-‐by-‐step and give you the confidence to get started on your own. Visit http://foodstoragemadeeeasy.net and click on the Self-‐Reliance tab and then look in the Canning section and you will find several tutorials to help you as you embark on this adventure.


Bread FAQ Q. What is your favorite bread recipe? A. Our favorite recipes come from the Deals to Meals blog, the directions below is our modified version

7 c. whole wheat flour (grind your own with your Wondermill) 2/3 c. vital wheat gluten (buy at Honeyville) 2 1/2 T. instant yeast (we like the SAF brand) 5 c. hot water (120-‐130 F) 2 T. salt 2/3 c. oil 2/3 c. honey or 1 c. sugar (I like honey the best!) 2 1/2 T. bottled lemon juice 5 c. whole wheat flour Mix together the first three ingredients in your mixer with a dough hook. Add water all at once and mix for 1 minute; cover and let rest for 10 minutes (this is called sponging). Add salt, oil, honey or sugar, and lemon juice and beat for 1 minute. Add last flour, 1 cup at a time, beating between each cup. Beat for about 6-‐10 minutes until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. This makes very soft dough. Spray counter with pam and take dough out of the bowl. Do NOT flour your counter, this will add dryness you don’t want in the bread. You basically want your dough to feel a “little” sticky. Separate dough into bread pans, and let rise until double in size. Bake at 350 for 22-‐30 mins or until browned. This depends on your oven, just watch it a little and cover with foil if it looks like it’s getting brown too fast. On the Deals to Meals blog, they do a quick rise with this bread, but I find that by the time I’ve cleaned up the kitchen and gotten all my ingredients put away, the bread is ready to go in the oven anyway. This recipe will make 6 loaves of bread. Q. Do I have to use a stand mixer to make good homemade bread? A. NO! During our annual 7 Day Challenge we had a challenge where we had to make bread using NO ELECTRICITY at all. I made this same recipe and ground it by hand, kneading it by hand (yes my kneading needs work), and cooked it in a Sun Oven and cardboard box oven. It wasn’t easy but it worked!


Q. Do you have a recipe that is not so huge? A. Our favorite recipe is very easy to cut in half and you could probably quarter it and get one larger loaf. If you want a recipe specifically designed to be a ONE LOAF recipe, search our site for the Honey Whole Wheat Bread Recipe. It’s yummy but doesn’t use 100% whole wheat. Q. Do you have to use Vital Wheat Gluten? A. One of our favorite things about our FAVORITE bread recipe is the TEXTURE. We feel that vital wheat gluten and the “sponging” process are the keys to this as we have not had any other recipes turn out as well without using other additives. One of our readers shared this: “I use Wheat Protein Isolate (from Honeyville) instead of Vital Wheat Gluten – it’s more concentrated than VWG, less expensive, and I need less to get the same boost from the protein for a soft crumb. I use about 1/3 to 1/2 as much of the WPI as VWG.” There are several other things that can be used as dough enhancers but I would recommend finding a recipe that uses them specifically instead of trying to sub them in this recipe for the gluten. Q. Can this recipe be frozen to use later? A. YES! It would work similar to frozen Rhodes Rolls. You will need to remove the loaves from the freezer with enough time to let them thaw AND rise. If you use the dough for pizza crust you can either roll it out after it thaws, or freeze it on your pizza pan already rolled out. Q. How do you use this dough for pizza? A. Here are Julie’s instructions on making pizza: “I make a HALF recipe, and then split that into 3 equal parts. I use two for bread and the third for pizza. I roll it out right away, and then just use a metal pizza pan, although I have used a stone as well and it has been great. I usually let it rise 1 hour or more. I find that the pizza dough getting MORE of a rise than the bread makes it yummier. You can also put it in the fridge for the day, then bring it out an hour or so before you want to cook it as well. Cook at for about 15 minutes or so at 425 with sauce, cheese and toppings on it. Spray your pan with pam if you’re not using a stone. If you like crunchy crust, you can take the pizza and put it right on the rack (take the pan out from under it) for the last 3-‐4 minutes. Just watch it closely – I can’t say the timing exactly, as I’m a watcher for pizza, not a timer. Wheat pizza takes a little longer to cook than white but this recipe is GOOD for pizza!” If you like a deeper dish pizza you can follow Jodi’s directions for pizza, “For a thicker crust pizza you will need to use about half of a HALF batch. Use a cookie sheet that has sides on it. This makes a large pizza with a thick crust. Melt about 1/2 cup of butter in the pizza pan in the oven. Pull it out and plop your dough on it. Spread the dough out with your hands all the way to the edges flipping it over a few times to get it covered in butter (I never said this was the HEALTHY method). Let it rise a little while you pull out all your toppings. I don’t raise mine for very long since I use more dough to get the thicker crust and it would get HUGE. I’m impatient so maybe if I used less dough and let it raise longer I could get an equivalent crust. This one turns out thick and chewy almost like breadsticks. Bake at 425 for 10-‐15 minutes or until everything is golden brown. YUM”


Q. Can I substitute Agave for the honey/sugar? A. While we have not personally tried this, we have a friend who always makes bread with Agave. We would recommend following the normal recommendations for Agave and use slightly less than the called for amount of honey. If you try it, let us know how it turns out and how much you used! Q. Do you have to grease your pans before putting the dough in? A. YES! It will make it much easier to get it out when they are done. Q. How can I keep my crust from getting too dark? A. Check on your bread after about 10-‐15 minutes. If it looks like it is getting dark but not quite cooked yet, put a layer of tinfoil over the top. It will give you a perfect light brown crust. Q. What type of wheat should I use for this recipe? A. Our favorite is hard white wheat as it seems to have less of a “wheaty” flavor. However if you like that strong wheat flavor hard red wheat will work just fine too. Q. What is the benefit of storing wheat and making this recipe with wheat flour versus storing all-‐purpose white flour? A. There are two big benefits to having whole wheat in your food storage. First, is the shelf life. Wheat will store almost indefinitely making it a great item to keep on hand without having to worry as much about rotation. Second, the health benefits of using whole grains are HUGE. All-‐purpose flour has been stripped of most of the nutrients in order to give it a decent shelf life. Q. Do you have to use fresh ground wheat every time? A. When you grind your wheat it will lose a lot of the nutrients after 24 hours. It will also go rancid within a few weeks. If you store the wheat in your freezer it will keep it from going rancid but we believe the nutrients will still be lost. Ideally you would grind it before making each batch, but a lot of times it’s easier to grind a big batch of wheat up and keep it in the freezer. Either way will work just fine for our FAVORITE recipe. Q. What kind of yeast do you use? A. We use saf instant yeast. When you use instant yeast, you don’t have to “proof” it. Proofing yeast is when you add it to hot water and wait until it activates before combining it with other ingredients. We like using saf instant yeast, because you can throw it into the recipe and not have any worries. Q. What should the consistency of the dough feel like A. Your dough should feel a little on the sticky side. If you over flour, or add flour AFTER you have done the kneading, you will get a crumbly bread. If your dough is too sticky to handle, spray it with Pam and spray the counter with Pam. That will make your dough more workable, and fluffy.


Planning for Your Future While this is a topic most people don’t want to think about, it’s very important to do at least some basic estate planning as soon as you have any assets and/or dependents. I recently attended a class at my church on basic estate planning. I wanted to share what I learned, but my disclosure is to definitely consult with your own professional on this topic as each family’s needs and wants vary greatly.

Benefits of Estate Planning

• Avoid having your assets tied up in probate • Clear directions on what will happen to your children should you and your spouse both

pass away • Beneficiaries can pay less inheritance tax • Allows YOU to make decisions, rather than the courts • Peace of mind in knowing things are taken care of

CREATE A WILL

A will is the foundation of your estate planning. Without a will the courts will decide what happens to your children and your assets, and your family that is left behind could be in for a mess. Your will should include the following items:

• Nominate a guardian for any children you have • List your assets and how you want them distributed • Name an executor of your estate to take care of fulfilling your wishes

A few things to consider:

• Beneficiaries on life insurance policies and financial accounts will take precedence over a will, so make sure they are all updated appropriately.

• EVERYONE that has assets should have a will. • Review your will each year, modify it should any major life changes occur such as the

death of a beneficiary, addition of new beneficiaries, major changes in financial situation, etc.

• Don’t hide your will in a safe deposit box. Keep a copy somewhere your family can easily find it.


ESTABLISH A REVOKABLE TRUST

A trust is used to distribute your assets without the use of courts or attorneys. If a husband and wife both put their assets into a trust, only ONE inheritance tax is charged rather than one on each of them (I wasn’t exactly sure what this stuff means but it sounds like a way to let your heirs keep more of a your money which is a good thing, hehe). Here are some things to note about trusts:

• Money and assets in your trust are not protected from lawsuits against you. • IRAs should not be included in the trust as they are able to roll directly into the IRA of an

heir with no penalties • You should select ONE trustee to manage the assets in your trust according to the

directions you leave in your will • The trust should be updated if your trustee changes or your beneficiaries change • You should include a “Pour-‐Over Will” which is a safety net to administer property that

is not in your trust due to accidental exclusion or that was acquired after your death

HAVE A LIVING WILL

Having a living will allows you to decide whether or not you want to remain on artificial life support when there is no chance of recovery. It relieves your family of the burden of having to make that decision. This is a very good thing to have.

HAVE A DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY

A durable power of attorney allows you to name someone of your choice to handle your affairs in the event that you become unable to do so. You can specify what those circumstances are.

Summary

If you have less than $10 million in assets, these four documents should be sufficient for your needs and are very reasonably priced to have established. If you have more than $10 million you will need to explore some more complex estate planning options.

Hopefully that was a helpful little overview for you. Now you should be able to at least know some of the questions to ask if you go to have a meeting with a lawyer to get your affairs in order. Please remember we’re not trying to give legal counsel, just give you some things to think about for you to research further.


Oxygen Absorbers 101 We do not have a lot of experience with packaging foods for LONG TERM food storage as we have only been working on our storage for 4 years and have been very diligent about rotating it. However, we get asked questions about it a lot and started to do a little research when we came upon a very helpful article at LDS.ORG. We are highlighting part of the article here for you, but urge you to check out the lds.org food storage information for TONS of tips on storing your food long term. The part we are highlighting is the Oxygen Absorbers section.

Oxygen Absorbers Oxygen absorbers protect dry foods from insect damage and help preserve product quality. They are used when dry foods are packaged in sealed containers. Oxygen absorbers can be purchased from home storage centers and Church Distribution Services, or they can be ordered from store.lds.org. (You can also find them at Emergency Essentials – type in Oxygen Absorbers in search) What are oxygen absorbers made of? Oxygen absorbers are small packets that contain an iron powder. The packets are made of a material that allows oxygen and moisture to enter but does not allow the iron powder to leak out. How do oxygen absorbers work? Moisture in the packaged food causes the iron in the oxygen absorber to rust. As it oxidizes, the iron absorbs oxygen. Oxygen absorbers rated for 300 cubic centimeters (cc) of oxygen work well for properly packaged dry food in containers of up to one-‐gallon capacity (4 liters). Is the use of oxygen absorbers equivalent to vacuum packaging? Oxygen absorbers remove oxygen more effectively than vacuum packaging. Air is about 20 percent oxygen and 80 percent nitrogen. Absorbers remove only the oxygen. The air left in the container is mostly nitrogen and will not affect the food or allow the growth of insects. What types of products can be stored using oxygen absorbers? Products should be low in moisture and oil content. If the moisture content is not low enough (about 10 percent or less), storing products in reduced oxygen packaging may result in botulism poisoning.


What types of containers can be used with oxygen absorbers for food storage? Oxygen absorbers should be used with containers that provide an effective barrier against moisture and oxygen. The following containers work well:

• Metal cans with seamed lids. • Foil pouches (such as those provided by Church home storage centers and available

from store.lds.org). • PETE plastic bottles with airtight, screw-‐on lids. • Glass canning jars with metal lids that have gaskets.

Oxygen absorbers are not an effective treatment method for plastic buckets, milk bottles, or other types of plastic bottles not identified as PETE or PET under the recycle symbol. What is the proper way to use oxygen absorbers?

1. Cut open the top of the bag of absorbers. Do not open the individual absorber packets. 2. Remove the number of absorbers from the bag that you will use in the next 20 to 30

minutes, and spread them out on a tray. Remove additional groups of absorbers from the supply as you need them during the packaging process, but do not open and close the bag repeatedly to get only a few absorbers at a time.

3. Reseal the remaining supply of absorbers by one of the following methods. Do not store absorbers in ziplock bags.

• Seal the bag of absorbers with the special blue clamp provided by the home storage center.

• Seal the bag of absorbers with an impulse heat sealer. • For longer storage when an impulse sealer is not available, remove the absorbers

from the bag and place them into a glass canning jar that has a metal lid with a gasket. A one-‐pint jar (500 ml) will hold 25 absorbers.

4. Place one absorber into each container of food as it is packaged. So there you have a highlighted part of the article. Check it out for more tips on packaging food for longer term storage!


Basic CPR and First Aid I recently attended a first aid and CPR class at my local church. I learned a lot and wanted to share some of my notes of what I was taught with you here. I would strongly encourage you to take an official CPR class to get more formal instructions.

“New” CPR Guidelines

This was not a formal CPR class but it was great to get a handle on the general principles. There have been some changes to what the American Heart Association recommends for people to know about performing CPR. Since 2008 they have been encouraging all Americans to learn Hands-‐Only CPR in order to be able to potentially save the life of someone in cardiac arrest. The American Heart Association website says:

Hands-‐Only CPR (CPR with just chest compressions) has been proven to be as effective as CPR with breaths in treating adult cardiac arrest victims. A study published in the March 8 issue of Circulation states: “Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes showed that people who view a CPR instructional video are significantly more likely to attempt life-‐saving resuscitation.”

Official AHA Hands-‐Only® CPR instructional video.

To view the official video type this into your browser: http://youtu.be/zSgmledxFe8

A few extra notes from my class:

• For small children use one hand only and compress only about half the distance from your and to the ground

• For infants only use 2 fingers • The first two compressions will be difficult and feel a bit “crunchy” as the ribs break

away from cartilage, it should get easier after that. • Don’t stop doing compressions until a doctor pronounces them dead, someone with

higher training takes over, or you are so tired you are about to pass out • Don’t check for a pulse or for breathing before you start, just start compressions

immediately after calling 911. Precious time is lost otherwise.

What to do for POISONING

• If you have ANY concerns about what a person (or pet) has eaten, call poison control immediately. The phone number is 1-‐800-‐222-‐1222


What to do for CHOKING

Try to determine if it is a partial obstruction or a complete obstruction. If it’s partial, the object should be able to work it’s way out and the person is still able to breathe slightly. There is nothing you can do for this. If it is a complete obstruction, perform the heimlich maneuver. This is done by wrapping your arms around the person, place your thumb on their belly button, then make a fist and wrap your other hand around that fist. Pull up and back until the obstruction is removed. If the person goes unconscious, perform CPR.

What to do for severe BLEEDING

Call 911 if the cut is gushing, very deep, or a gaping wound. Do your best to stop or minimized the bleeding. If you are using a rag or towel to stop the bleeding, make sure to sterilize it first. You can attempt to stop the bleeding in one of three ways:

• Apply pressure, either directly (push right on the injury) or indirect (wrap a towel AROUND the injury)

• Use pressure points. Find any place you feel a heart beat near the wound and apply pressure (i.e. under the bicep)

• Elevate the injury

Once you have stopped the bleeding, do not remove the towel to check on the injury. Wait until medical help arrives or you get to a hospital.

What to do for HEAD TRAUMA

If a person (usually a child) falls or receives some trauma to the head, check for the seriousness of the injury. If they are vomiting, go unconscious, act strange, get lethargic, or have a dramatic difference in pupil sizes these are all signs that it could be serious. If any of these symptoms occur, take the person to a doctor.

What to do for HEAT EMERGENCIES

Heat affects the young, old, and already sick much more than normal healthy adults. Heat exhaustion is quite common and is recognized by cool and clammy skin, nausea, and dizziness. Get the person out of the sun, keep cool, and have them drink lots of water. If heat exhaustion is not treated within 2-‐3 days, it can develop into heat stroke which is VERY dangerous. Signs of heat stroke are red skin, radiating heat, becoming incoherent or unconscious, and their body can’t control its temperature. This can be deadly, get medical attention IMMEDIATELY.

First Aid Kits

One last thing they mentioned in the class is to have a well-‐stocked first aid kit in your home.


Food Storage & Allergies For the past couple of years, we have been getting the question: ”How do I do food storage if I have an allergy to “insert food item here?”. We most commonly get the question about gluten – which is why we made a day of it in one of our 7 day challenges.

Julie recently had a house guest and at the last minute found out that she had a gluten intolerance. She was really thrown for a loop by having her friend over for the weekend, when she had PLANNED to make pizza, cinnamon rolls, pancakes, and other gluten filled foods. She spent the full weekend really pondering how she would DEAL with this if she were all of a sudden unable to eat gluten – or some other food. Here are her ideas.

ADAPTING TO THE ALLERGY

Well I STARTED to formulate a plan. The first thing I would do is start living my new life, and see how I adapt. I’ll use gluten as an example, since it is so common. I think there would be 2 main ways of dealing with this. I’m guessing you may choose to go all one way, or a do a variety. Either way…. I think you would choose:

1. To go forward living without the types of foods that contain gluten, make other choices and stock accordingly. For example, you would maybe choose to eat more rice, corn, quinoa, and a variety of other grains and make meals that these grains are typically found in. In other words, say adios to breads etc. OR

2. To go forward trying to modify recipes that typically contain gluten to allow yourself to eat foods like the foods you are used to. For example, you may find a way to make pizza dough, breads, pancakes and other pastries using substitutions that are gluten free.

I think it would be silly to try and remake a whole food storage plan, before you figured out what your new lifestyle will hold if you got diagnosed with a gluten (or any other) allergy. I know my friend told me she has just stayed away from gluten food replacements like gluten free breads, pizzas and pastas, and just stuck with other foods. I think I would do some of that, with a lot of research and hard work to come up with ways to still be able to eat breads, pizza, and pastas-‐ because I love them so much! Maybe I would get over them a little, but I think I’d for sure try. So that’s my point, after seeing how I would adapt to the allergy, THEN I would formulate a plan based on what foods I had in my new diet.


MAKING THE PLAN

In my plan for “if I had an allergy”, I decided I would go to BabyStep 4, and rethink it. We have an excel spreadsheet that contains a list of foods for a common one year supply. I would use that list of a starting point, and then I would start doing replacements. So, for example, if I couldn’t eat wheat, I would replace pound for pound other grains in place of wheat.

If I had decided on trying to make pizza doughs and breads gluten free, I would ADD to the calculator the ingredients needed for that. I’m still very new to the gluten free world, but I know there are ways of making flours gluten free with ingredients that do the job of gluten. Something like Xanthan Gum? Don’t judge me if that’s not the right word, I’M NEW and ADMITTEDLY not that rad at this gluten free stuff!

So if I had to break it down step by step:

1. Determine what foods you eat 2. Replace foods you can’t eat on a standard calculator 3. Add foods you need to make your new diet come together to the standard calculator

Ok, so now I can’t claim to be an expert in all this allergy stuff, but I can at least say, I’ve been really thinking about it. We’ll continue to give it more thought, and hopefully more posts in the future.


Long Term Water Loss In the case of a long term water shortage, there are many considerations. Ideally you will have a filtration and purification method in place, and the ability to gather more water in case of a long term emergency, but this may not always be the case. Here are some tips on how to conserve the little water that you have or are able to collect.

• First off, FILL YOUR WATER CONTAINERS. We hear from SO many people that they have containers that they just haven’t gotten around to filling yet.

• Bathe in a large bucket or bin, and use bottles that have the types of tops that squirt (refillable condiment containers) when pressure is applied. This will help with faster rinsing. Use the remaining bath water in the bucket for flushing toilets.

• Use coralite bath wipes, for quick bathing. • Store some no rinse shampoo and conditioner for hair. • Have paper plates, plastic cups, and disposable tableware to use to allow you to cut back

on dish water. • Use recipes that mix most ingredients in one dish or pan that you serve straight from to

cut back on dish-washing. • Store wet wipes and hand sanitizer to help clean up messes and wash hands. • Tap into your water heater and toilet tanks for water if you run out of stored water. • Wear your hair in ponytails, or wear hats when you can’t wash your hair as frequently

during prolonged times with no water. • If you have a swamp cooler that runs on water, make sure you have back-up cooling

methods such as fans or wet rags to cool your body off during hotter weather. • Fill liquid soap/detergent bottles with water. You’ll have water for washing small load of

dishes. Soapy water for hands, and the bottles squirt out better then soda or juice containers.

• Save water from cooking noodles or other foods to use for other things. Use water from canned vegetables.

• Don’t wait until you are out of clean clothes to do laundry! If you’re always on top of your laundry, hopefully if crisis hits you won’t be stuck with 7-10 loads of dirty laundry to do.

• If you have to do laundry get a bucket, put a little baking soda, a tad of water, plunge by hand or with plunger. No need to rinse with baking soda. Baking soda will eradicate smell too.

• If you’re water has a funny taste, store drink flavoring to improve the taste. You can also aerate the water by pouring it back and forth between two containers. It adds oxygen to the water and gets rid of the stale taste.

• Flush conservatively. Use water you previously used for bathing or washing dishes to flush the toilets.


Water Filtration vs. Purification

There are three main situations where you need water storage. We’ve talked about the first two on our blog already, and today we want to cover the third one.

• Grab N Go: Have some small, portable water containers included as part of your Disaster Kits so you can grab them in case of an evacuation.

• Bulk Storage at Home: In case of an emergency where your water supply is cut off for a short period of time, you should have at least a two week supply of drinkable water on hand. Choose water storage containers that fit your space and budget constraints.

• Long Term Water Needs: Since you can’t store endless amounts of water, if there is a long term water shortage, you must find a source of water and have some means of ensuring that it is drinkable via filtration and/or purification.

We want to explain the difference between filtration and purification so that should you need to access water for a long term emergency, you will know how to properly treat your water. Depending on how contaminated your water is, a simple filter may be safe enough. But it is usually better to be on the safe side and fully purify all drinking water. Water Filtration Think of water filtration like a strainer. You have a filter with tiny holes in it which will block certain undesirable things from getting through. Any chunks of dirt, rocks, bugs, etc. will be filtered out. Most filters today will also do a good job at blocking protozoa (i.e. Cryptosporidium, Giardia) and bacteria (i.e. Salmonella, E. coli). However, viruses are so small that they will get through the holes in a regular filter. If you use a water “filter” it is a good idea to also purify the water once you have strained out the larger impurities. Here are some of the common water FILTERS you may be aware of:

• Katadyn® Gravity TRK • Seychelle Water Filters


Water Purification Water purification makes water safe to drink but does not necessarily remove all undesirable elements from the water (large items such as dirt, rocks, etc.). Water can be purified by boiling it (for at least 3 minutes to kill everything), by using chemicals such as iodine or chlorine, by using UV, or by using special water purifiers that are rated to actually kill viruses (i.e. Enteric, Hepatitis A, Norovirus, Rotavirus). Here are a few products that only PURIFY your water:

• Water Purification Tablets • SteriPens (UV light sterilization)

Filtration/Purification Combos If you prefer to have one product that will both filter and purify your water there are two great ones that we recommend. The Berkey Water Filter is very popular among our readers and it’s great for both every day use AND for emergency situations. There is a new product called AquaPail which works in a different way than the Berkey but is equally effective. It has an indefinite shelf life so you can store it and know that it is available in a long term water emergency. If you are reading this as a printout and would like more information about any of the products mentioned, you may visit the online post at: http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2012/03/27/water-filtration-versus-purification/


Water Storage Containers We recommend storing 2 weeks worth of drinking water for your family at 1 gallon per person per day at a minimum. If you have a large family or a smaller home, this can prove to be a difficult task. If you have some solutions in place for purification/filtration your storage needs may be less. However, we feel like it is never a bad thing to have lots of actual water stored in case you don’t have access to ANY water in an emergency.

Used 2 Liter Pop Bottles or Juice Bottles

Pros – Essentially FREE if you buy them anyway or get from someone else – Convenient size for smaller water emergencies – Easy to store anywhere in the house

Cons – Must rotate every 6 months to 1 year – Hard to clean out enough that the taste isn’t a bit “off” – Concern about bacteria if not cleaned out well enough

Best Used For – 72 Hour Kits – People on a tight budget – Small spaces storage solutions

Store-Bought Water Bottles

Pros – Great tasting, so it’s ideal for drinking water – Easy to rotate through the individual bottles – Easy to store anywhere in the house

Cons – Must rotate every 6 months to 1 year – Price per gallon can be fairly expensive – Difficult to store in large quantities – Bottles will freeze in winter, and chemicals can leach into them in severe heat, so not ideal for car kits in extreme conditions


Best Used For – 72 hour kits – People concerned with taste of drinking water – Small emergencies

Small Water Pouches or Water Cartons

Pros – 5 year shelf life! – Awesome for 72 hour kits – Water typically won’t freeze in the pouches or small water boxes

Cons – Expensive storage method – Not ideal for large quantities – Not available in local stores everywhere

Best Used For – 72 Hour Kits – Car kits

Found Online – Mayday Emergency Water Pouch – Aqua Blox Water Box

5/6 Gallon Plastic Jugs

Pros – Decent price per gallon – More convenient size than large barrels – Pretty easy to empty and rotate – Easy to find in the camping section of most stores

Cons – Many of these jugs end up having problems with cracking and leaking so beware – 5 or 6 gallon jugs can be HEAVY if you are trying to pour with them and haul them up and down stairs by yourself – Must be rotated every 6 months to 1 year – Take up a lot of space in storage since you can’t stack them

Best Used For – Smaller storage spaces – Tighter budgets


Found Online – Options at Amazon.com – 5 Gallon Container from Shelf Reliance

Water Box Kits (Mylar bags inside cardboard boxes)

Pros – Good price per gallon – Stackable up to 3 boxes high – Only have to rotate every 5 years

Cons – A little bit complicated to set them up and fill them – Wasted space in your storage room above the stack of boxes – Not very convenient for accessing small amounts of your water storage – Not available in local stores everywhere

Best Used For – Larger quantities for people who don’t like rotating – Great for sliding under beds or sticking on closet shelves

Found Online – Water Storage Box Kit from Emergency Essentials

Water Bricks

Pros – 3.5 gallons per brick makes it more manageable than 5/6 gallon containers – Stackable from floor to ceiling! – They are safe to freeze so can be stored outside – Great size to stash under beds, in closets, etc.

Cons – A little more expensive per gallon – Not available in local stores everywhere

Best Used For – Storage rooms where space is an issue – Shorter term water emergencies for drinking and cooking – People without considerable budget restraints

Found Online – Water Brick Containers


Water Barrels

Pros – Best solution for storing LOTS of water – Available in multiple sizes from 30 gallons up to 250 gallons – With additives, can extend rotation needs to every 5 years – Great use of floor space in a storage room with water barrel towers

Cons – Slightly difficult to fill and rotate – Not very accessible when you have to actual USE the water – Not an ideal solution in small homes/storage areas and can’t be stored outside

Best Used For – Longer term water shortages – Large quantities of water storage

Found Online – Water Barrel Towers – Water Barrels from Emergency Essentials – Water Barrels from Shelf Reliance

Remember, you will probably find that a combination of these storage containers works well for you. We use almost all of these options for one purpose or another in our water storage.

If you are reading this as a printout and would like more information about any of the products mentioned, you may visit the online post at:

http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2012/01/16/water-storage-containers-pros-and-cons/

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