Rethinking Your Food Storage
We’ve all heard the adage “don’t put your eggs all in one basket.” It’s not just a wise rule of thumb for finances and stocks, but for your food storage as well. There are so many options available to us. Each one has its pros and cons.
However it’s safe to say we all have our food storage comfort zone, our favorite method. For some its bulk buys on canned goods. For some its mason jars of food filled beauty. Others prefer dehydration or freeze dried foods. And I’ve yet to meet someone who didn’t long for more freezer space.
One of the most valuable food storage lessons I’ve ever been taught is to think about how you store your food and not just what you store. For example if you live in an area when storms frequently knock out the power, then relying on your freezer could be asking for problems.
Living here in the Pacific NW I’ve had to reevaluate my favorite method – canning. With our earthquake potential I would lose my food source along with creating some hazardous debris if one hit. Having your food storage spread out among different methods ensures that you have enough food even if the disaster effects a portion of it.
Since rule #1 of food storage is use it or lose it, then its important to use all varieties of stored food as part of your diet. When your food storage is an extension of your pantry then not only are you rotating efficiently but you family is getting used to using them, and you are practicing how to cook with them.
One of the newer methods for food storage is freeze dried foods. They boast 25 year shelf life and the convenience of “just add water” for a fabulous source of nutrition. These companies, like MyFoodStorage.com, offer food with 100% of the RDA of vitamins and minerals. This shelf life and nutritional value is a lot better then a few days in the fridge or a few years in cans.
Freeze dried foods also require less square footage to store than their wetter counterparts. This method has enabled the development of powdered milk, eggs, cheese, and butter; four items that make (or break) practically every meal at my house. These four are also perishable goods that we can’t “stock up on” unless we store them dried. I highly recommend having these freeze dried foods as a part of your food storage plan.
An finally, freeze dried foods offer faster cooking times, most times your entrees are ready in as little as 7-11 minutes! These quick to make, healthy foods are my choice for the foods I have included in my 72-hour kits. We also use them when the power is out because they are quick and easy to prepare.