Butane lighters

The best types of butane lighters to purchase are the long necked fire starting kind. Smaller lighters designed for lighting cigarettes aren’t as good for starting fires since they can easily burn you and don‘t work as well tipped over. Also, the long necked lighters contain more butane and will therefore last longer. They are so inexpensive that any home should have at least a dozen on hand. Don’t bother investing in high powered pseudo torches – for the price of one of these you can probably buy a case of lighters.

Week # 49: 10 lbs of Barley

Week # 49: 10 lbs of Barley (If you can’t accomplish this in 1 week, don’t worry, just take your time and do it in steps.)

Barley:

 Why do I store it? 

Barley is popular as a staple food, used in soups, as an extender for vegetable proteins and occasionally milled into flour. Barley flour, a by-product of pearling, is used in the United States for baby foods and other specialties. Barley as flatbread or porridge is widely consumed in North Africa and parts of Asia.

Barley’s Fiber for Regularity, Lower Cholesterol, & Intestinal Protection. Wish you were more regular? Let barley give your intestinal health a boost. Because of its neutral flavor, it’s easy to blend barley’s nutrition and texture into a variety of foods: soups, sausages, crackers, casseroles, hot and cold ready-to-eat cereals, snacks, breads, cookies, bagels, side dishes, main dishes and granola.

Nutrition:
Barley is a very good source of fiber and selenium. It also serves as a good source of the minerals phosphorus, copper and manganese.

Livelyhood:

Though the United States produces only 3-5 percent of the 200 million metric tons (7-8 billion bushels) of world barley output, the U.S. is consistently one of the top 10 world barley exporters.

Storage: If possible store unhulled barley.  Stores longer and is more nutritious!

]Barley is generally available in its pearled, hulled and flaked form. It is available prepackaged as well as in bulk containers. Just as with any other food that you may purchase in the bulk section, make sure that the bins containing the barley are covered and that the store has a good product turnover so as to ensure its maximal freshness. Whether purchasing barley in bulk or in a packaged container, make sure that there is no evidence of moisture.

Store barley in a tightly covered container in a cool, dry place. Barley can also be stored in the refrigerator during periods of warmer weather.

Shelf life - The shelf life of Barley is only 2-3 years due to the higher oil content of the grain.  Store only what you need and use on a regular bases.  You can extend the shelf

life by 3 to 5 times by putting it in a canning mason jar and use a Food Savor and jar sealer lids and suck out all the oxygen which breaks down oils over time.

Recipes:

• Curried Turkey and Barley Casserole
• Orange Barley Pilaf and Ham Sauté
• Barley, Berries and Chicken Salad
• Stacked Ham ‘n Barley Supper Salad
• Easy Greek Barley Salad
• Barley Fruit Scones
• Barley Fruit Muffins
• Barley Swiss Muffins
• Cheesy Barley Fritatta
• Barley Breakfast Hash
• Curried Fruit & Barley Salad

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Click on the images below to view all 52 weeks at once or the recipes to go with it, in a .jpg or download the 52 Week Food Purchasing Plan (PDF) or the Custom 52 Week Food Purchasing Plan (Excel file) and calculate exactly how much you’ll need for the size of your family.

 

Easy Home Remedies for the Cold and Flu Season 2012

5 Easy Home Remedies for the Cold and Flu Season 2012

Easy home remedys for the cold and flu season



10+ Natural Cold Remedies

President Benson Videos

Prepare yourself for the great day of the Lord part 1




Prepare yourself the the great day of the Lord part 2

Week # 48: 50 lbs of Wheat (white or red) (our ward owns a wheat grinder:see below)

Week # 35: 50 lbs of Wheat (white or red) (our ward owns a wheat grinder:see below)
(If you can’t accomplish this in 1 week, don’t worry, just take your time and do it in baby steps.)

Baby Steps:

1. Choose location for storage
2. Purchase containers (#10 Cans, Buckets) for wheat or purchase pre-packaged wheat.
3. Purchase your wheat for containers.
4. Fill and date your wheat containers. (Leave some extra wheat out in order to test it some recipes.)

10 Reasons to love Whole Wheat:

1. It’s more nutritious, providing several more minerals, vitamins (18 more to be exact!), and natural photochemicals than white flour.
2. Relax! It has More B Vitamins which are known to help with nerves & stress.
3. Get cleaned out. Whole wheat provides more fiber, preventing constipation & diverticulosis. The American Dietetic Association recommends 20-35 grams daily, the average American consumes only 12 grams.
4. Lose weight and keep it off! Whole wheat has a lot of fiber which has almost no calories, keeps you fuller for longer, absorbs 3x it’s weight in water, cuts absorption of calories, cleans out impurities, requires more chewing, and takes 1/2 as much to fill you up and takes longer to digest.
5. Reduces your risk of colon cancer & other diseases.
6. Lowers blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and risk of adult on set Diabetes.
7. Cheaper! It will lower your food costs by at 30% to 50%!
8. Lowers doctor visits, bills, & medications.
9. Lowers Dentist Bills by cutting down on tooth decay.
10. Eating Whole Wheat keeps your body both emotionally and physically used to wheat.

Differences between White & Red Wheat:
“The main difference between hard red wheat and hard white wheat is color genes. Both have similar fiber and protein levels. But whole-grain bread from hard white wheat is less bitter–some say sweeter–than whole-grain bread from hard red wheat. That’s because white wheat’s outer kernel contains fewer tannins and phenolic compounds.” (Scientists redesign white wheat Agricultural Research, June, 1994 by Linda Cooke)

They also taste different. Red wheat has a more “nutty” flavor while white wheat’s mild flavor makes it easier hidden in bakery items.

Hard Red Wheat

Hard White Wheat

Recipes with wheat:

If You ONLY Have: Water, Wheat, Salt, Shortening or Oil You Can Make:

• Sprouted wheat
• Cooked cracked wheat
• Cooked whole wheat
• Wheat grass
• Gluten (a strange bread-type food that has a very high protein content)
• Tortillas

Just Add: Powdered Milk, Powdered Eggs, Honey or Sugar, Flour And You Can Make the Items Above PLUS:

• Wheat pudding
• German pancakes
• Crepes
• Pasta

Just Add: Yeast, Baking Powder, Baking Soda And You Can Make the Items Above PLUS:

• Puddings/custards
• Pancakes
• Some varieties of cookies
• Waffles
• Muffins/English muffins
• Breads
• Biscuits
• Some varieties of crackers

Just Add: Tomatoes, Powdered Butter and Cheese, Unflavored Gelatin, Canned Milk, Canned FruitsAnd You Can Make the Items Above PLUS:

• Meatless dinners
• Meatless casseroles
• Cream sauces
• Jello salads
• Whipped cream desserts
• Baby formula

Just Add: Rice, Legumes, Beef/Chicken Broth, Canned Meats, Dried Potatoes, Dehydrated VegetablesAnd You Can Make the Items Above PLUS:

• Lots of great chunky soups
• Chili
• Refried beans
• Rice dinners
• Rice puddings
• Sandwiches
• Many different dinners and casseroles

Just Add: Extras such as Oats, Raisins, Nuts, Spices, Juice, Peanut Butter, Cream of Tarter, etc.And You Can Make the Items Above PLUS:

• A wide variety of almost any type of food you would want to cook

As you can see, with a bit of planning (and a fabulous food storage recipe book on hand - Victoria's how much is enough? Food Storage Cookbook), you can be confident that you will be able to create healthy, filling, comforting meals for your family should a true emergency occur. It will also be helpful to start using and rotating through these foods in your every day cooking so that you can find the recipes your family likes, get them used to eating these foods, and ensure that all of your storage retains its maximum freshness.

Shelf life of wheat?
30+ years if low-moisture foods are properly packaged and stored at room temperature or cooler (75°F/24°C or lower) remain nutritious and edible.

How can I store Wheat?
Recommended containers for longer-term storage include the following

• # 10 cans (available at Church home storage centers)
• Foil pouches (available through Church Distribution Services)

These containers, used with oxygen absorber packets, eliminate food-borne insects and help preserve nutritional quality and taste. Oxygen absorber packets are available at Church home storage centers or through Church Distribution Services.

Under certain conditions, you can also use plastic buckets for longer-term storage of wheat, dry beans, and other dry products.

Types of Wheat Grinders:  

Prices of Wheat Grinders

Manual Wheat Grinders

Low: $20-30 models will not grind flour, only coarse corn meal, etc. Not very useful.

Medium: $75-$175 is a good price range. Back to Basics Grain Mill is $75. It can grind fine enough for bread flour but not for very fine cake flour. Wonder Junior is higher-priced at $169 but it can grind into cake flour.

High: Up to $400 for the Country Living Grain Mill. It is quicker than other manual grinders and is able to grind a fine cake flour.

KitchenAid Attachments

$100-120, some may be used on any stand mixer.Electric Wheat Grinders

Low: Under $200 for grinders such as the Blendtec Grain Mill. Its drawbacks are it is very noisy and cannot do very coarse grinds.

Medium: $200-$300 can get you a great grinder. The two most popular electric grinders are the WonderMill and the NutriMill. In my tests I found the WonderMill to be faster, quieter, cleaner, and easier to store. And priced at $239 it is even cheaper than the NutriMill which is $269.

High: Over $300 is an unnecessary amount to spend in my opinion. There are heavy duty models out there but you can get the job done with the mid-range models.

Sample Wheat Grinders:
Click here to see sample wheat grinders or here to view a detailed comparison chart.

One not included in the above comparison which is actually my favorite can be viewed here.

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Click on the images below to view all 52 weeks at once or the recipes to go with it, in a .jpg or download the 52 Week Food Purchasing Plan (PDF) or the Custom 52 Week Food Purchasing Plan (Excel file) and calculate exactly how much you’ll need for the size of your family.

 

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Week # 47: 4 Gallons of Bleach

Week # 47: 4 Gallons of Bleach
(If you can’t accomplish this in 1 week, don’t worry, just take your time and do it in baby steps.)

Bleach 
For this purpose we are suggesting bleach here for water purification and as a disinfectant. So if you need more for other uses then please by all means store more.

Shelf life- one years so please rotate!

To Purify Water:
If your water supply is not known to be safe or has become polluted, it should be purified before use. Water purification is generally a two-step process.

Step 1: Clarify
Cloudy or dirty water must first be made clear. It may be passed through filter paper, fine cloth, or other filter. It may be allowed to settle and the clear water on top carefully drawn. Filtered or clear settled water should always be disinfected before use.

Step 2: Disinfect

Boiling Method
Bringing water to a rolling boil for 3 to 5 minutes will kill most water-borne microorganisms. However, prolonged boiling of small quantities of water may concentrate toxic contaminants if present.

Bleach Method
Adding 1/8 of a teaspoon (8 drops) of fresh liquid household chlorine bleach (5 to 6% sodium hypochlorite) to every gallon (4 liters) of water will kill most microorganisms. Only household bleach without thickeners, scents, or additives should be used. The use of bleach does not address toxic contamination.
EMERGENCY WATER PURIFICATION VOLUME CALCULATOR here.

Print the following chart and keep it next to your Bleach.

The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency Web site provides additional information about water purification.

[Source: ProvidentLiving.org]

For General Disinfecting:
Bleach emits potentially lethal fumes, so it should never be used full-strength. When using bleach as a disinfectant, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommend using a 1:10 solution. Follow these steps to make a 1:10 bleach solution safely.

Use the following method to disinfect hard, nonporous surfaces at home:

1. Create bleach solution using ¾ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach per gallon of water. (use spray bottle or bucket)
2. Wash, wipe or rinse items/area with water, then apply solution.
3. Let stand 5 minutes.
4. Rinse thoroughly and air dry.
5. Discard any unused Solution
Chlorine bleach solution begins to lose its disinfectant power quickly when exposed to heat, sunlight, and evaporation. In order to be sure your solution is still strong enough to kill germs, you should mix a fresh batch each day and discard whatever amount you don’t use at the end of the day.

Print this chart and keep next to your bleach too.

[Source: Clorox.com]
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Click on the images below to view all 52 weeks at once or the recipes to go with it, in a .jpg or download the 52 Week Food Purchasing Plan (PDF) or the Custom 52 Week Food Purchasing Plan (Excel file) and calculate exactly how much you’ll need for the size of your family.

 

Food Storage Friday #13: Ideal Conditions for my Food Storage

Honeyville Farms - Cookin' Cousins

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Food Storage Friday #13: Ideal Conditions for my Food Storage Posted: 09 Nov 2012 03:11 PM PST One of the most frequent questions we get here at Honeyville about our products is their shelf life. When you offer a large amount of products geared towards long term storage, it only makes sense. While many of our great products (including our entire line of foods sealed in #10 cans) have the shelf life printed on them, that shelf life can depend on where and how you store that product. Because of this, we thought that for today's Food Storage Friday post, we'll discuss what the best conditions are to ensure extended shelf life of your food storage, and also what we should do after we open a sealed product. Where should I store my food? If you're like me, the first thing you think of when you hear of food storage is a large basement with shelves to the ceiling stocked perfectly with #10 cans, 6-gallon buckets, and sealed mason jars. While this is probably the food storage set up we all dream about, most of us may never get to that point. So for the rest of us, when it comes to our food storage needs, taking maximum advantage of minimal space is key. Some ways to find an ideal food storage pantry (when you don't have a basement) is to take a quick survey of your home and how space is used. Is there a coat closet full of old clothes or boxes not being used? How about that extra space under the bed? What about that space in the garage just in front of the cars? Places like these, with the addition of a few shelves or shelving units, can make an ideal food storage spot. What are the best food storage conditions? What you need for food to store properly can be summed up in two words: Dry and Cool. Nothing helps shelf life more than a dry, cool location away from direct sunlight. This is the reason why (besides space) we always see those photos of amazing food storage pantries located in people's basements. What is more dry, cool, and away from direct sunlight than a basement? Not only does dry, cool, and out of the sun apply to the pantry location, but also whatever the food is sealed in. Are you a fan of our 50 lb bags of wheat, rice, or grains? We are too, but throwing a few bags on the bottom shelf of your food storage pantry will only give you a year or two of storage life, and that's if the bag itself doesn't get moist or break open. Taking them from the bag and sealing them in one of our 6-gallon buckets, with oxygen absorbers, extends your shelf life for grain from 1-year in the bag to 15-20 years in the bucket. Placing a Mylar bag in the 6 gallon bucket and sealing your rice and beans in the bag, in addition to the bucket, helps give you some added security. What do I do after I open my product? One big question we get, especially in regards to our products sealed in our #10 cans, is what to do after the product has been opened. Once the can is open, the seal is broken, and oxygen is now in the container. When it comes to food storage, nothing kills your shelf life quicker than oxygen, so the thing to remember is the quicker you can seal up that product, the longer the shelf life will be. One thing to do would be to put the remaining product in a few 1/2 gallon mason jars, then placing an oxygen absorber in each jar. This will allow the shelf life of your food to stay strong even after it's been open. Use a canning funnel to pour the remaining product from the package into the jar. Pour as much product you can in each jar. This will eliminate room for oxygen. Remember to keep a little room at the top for the Oxygen absorber. Once the jar is full, drop the oxygen absorber in and screw the lid on. The oxygen absorber will not only seal the jar, but also absorb any remaining oxygen left in the container. Remember that oxygen absorbers begin to work as soon as they come in contact with oxygen, so make sure that your jars are full and ready to be sealed before you open up a pack. Oxygen absorbers are also not reusable, so once you open up a jar, the absorber is done! Check the lid a day after to make sure it sealed. If the middle of the lid doesn't push down, you'll know the oxygen absorber did it's job and sealed the lid tight. Remember to use the proper size and number of oxygen absorbers for the container. One 100cc oxygen absorber can be used towards 1/2 gallon of Grains, Flours, or Rice, or a 1 quart of Pasta and Beans. We offer oxygen absorbers in 100cc, 300cc, and500cc packets. Another great way to store your Grains, Rice, and Beans, as we mentioned above, would be in a 6 gallon bucket with a Gamma Lid. Just remember with all products, the more you open them, the more time you lose off of the shelf life of that product. Though we may not all have our dream Food Storage Pantry, we can all take the steps needed to better our own food storage and extend its shelf life by taking the steps to store it correctly.