Weekly Assignment, Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness Ideas (Week of August 19th)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Family and Friends,

Someone is listening......

On Tuesday, August 7th, a cluster of earthquakes hit the northern Orange County area. The first one was felt at 3:45am with a magnitude of 4-5, and then by another with a 4-5 magnitude about 9:30am. Several other smaller ones were felt the following day.

Our daughter's family, who live in Huntington Beach, felt the earthquakes. Their son came running into their bedroom when the 3:45am one hit. He exclaimed, "Nana, was right!" When the next one hit at 9:30am, once again he exclaimed, a little louder, "Nana, was right!". That night before he went to bed, he folded his clothes and put them next to his bed with his shoes and a flashlight. He wanted to be prepared if another, and possibly bigger, earthquake hit during the night.

He has heard me tell our children and their families many times they need to be prepared and to get ready. It is great to hear that they are hearing me and following the counsel given, especially the younger ones. Thank you Spencer for listening to your Nana!

Just recently I heard the hurricane season this year is going to pretty bad. It is amazing how each year we see people living in the hurricane area scrambling to get ready when a hurricane is approaching. How many of them each year run to the stores for supplies of boards and nails to board up their windows, and to the stores for flashlights and batteries and drink water. Why????? Why do they do this each year? Why do they not store those supplies so when the hurricanes hit, they are not frantically running to the stores again for supplies? Why???? I guess we are all just creature of habit. We need to change our bad habits and be more prepared for what may come our way. Why do we procrastinate and leave it to the last minute? The last minute will be too late. As I said a few weeks ago--"When the emergency is upon us, the time of preparation has past!"

Weekly FREE Monthly Giveaway Drawing Question: What are the three ways to dehydrate fruits, vegetables and meats? Please email your answer to theark.carsonward@gmail.com. Please make sure to add your name if it does not appear in your email address. The next FREE Monthly Giveaway Drawing will be held Sunday, August 26th.

August Goals: Canning, Freezing and Dehydrating, Adding Fruits and Vegetables to our Food Storage

The last two weeks I have shown you how to freeze and can your fruits and vegetables. This week I will show you how to dehydrate them.

Dehydrating Fruits and Vegetables:

Dehydrating is the oldest form of food preservation. In the beginning people used a lot of salt to preserve their food, and they dried their food in the sun or on top of the stove. Today we have food dehydrators to help in the process of drying. Dehydration is safe because if removes the water from the food, mold and bacteria cannot grow on it, and it will not spoil. Drying the food does cause a loss of some of vitamin A and C. It takes 6-16 hours to dehydrate vegetables, 12-18 hours to dehydrate fruits, and 6-20 hours to dehydrate meats. You can dehydrate fruits, vegetables and make beef jerky. Once you have dehydrated them I would seal them in the Mylar pouches/bags with the oxygen absorbers for long term storage.  Then place the Mylar pouches/bags  in the 5 gallon food grade buckets you can purchase with lids.

Different methods of dehydrating food:

1) Sun Drying--Difficult, need 3-4 hour sunny days of at least 100 degrees each day. This will only work in areas where you have this type of weather.
2) Oven Drying--Not very energy efficient, foods are not very tasty in the end, your oven must obtain a temperature below 200 degrees and you need to prop the oven door open to maintain air circulation during the drying time. To much trouble for me!
3) Electric Dehydrators--The best method for dehydrating your food. Now days they are energy efficient and can be operated at a low temperature. Look for electric dehydrated that have heat control and a fan to maintain the air circulation during the drying time. Watch for great sales. Check online too.

Does and Don't of Dehydrating your food (Follow the instructions in your Electric Dehydrator unit):

1) Do not keep the temperature too low or too high, follow the instructions.
2) Food should be dehydrated between 120 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Vegetables at 130 degrees, fruits at 135 degrees, meats are higher at 145-150 degrees.
3) The food should be leathery with no pockets of moisture when you touch it. Fruits, tear and check for moisture at the tear, if there is moisture, it is not dry enough. The vegetables should be tough, but can also be crisp. The meat should be tough, but shouldn't snap apart.
4) When storing your dehydrated food, make sure no moisture can get in. Best to seal in air tight contains, like the Mylar pouches/bags with oxygen absorbers as mentioned above. See the YouTube video on how to do this process yourself.
5) All vegetables except onions, peppers and mushrooms should be washed, sliced and blanched. Check online how long to blanch each type of vegetable you will be dehydrating.
6) All fruits should be washed, pitted and sliced. You can pretreat your fruits with lemon juice to prevent darkening while you are preparing for drying.
7) Dry the fruits and vegetables in single layers on trays.
8) Wipe of the fat of the jerky while it is drying.
9) Jerky does not store for long periods of time. If more than a month freeze or refrigerate. Or, you can seal the jerky in the Mylar pouches/bags, with the oxygen absorbers for longer storage.

Vegetable Dehydrating Chart:

Beans, green: Stem and break beans into 1-inch pieces.Blanch. Dry 6-12 hours until brittle.
Beets: Cook and peel beets. Cut into 1/4-inch pieces. Dry 3-10 hours until leathery.
Broccoli: Cut and dry 4-10 hours.
Carrots: Peel, slice or shred. Dry 6-12 hours until almost brittle.
Cauliflower: Cut and dry 6-14 hours.
Corn: Cut corn off cob after blanching and dry 6-12 hours until brittle.
Mushrooms: Brush off, don't wash. Dry at 90 degrees for 3 hours, and then 125 degrees for the remaining drying time. Dry 4-10 hours until brittle.
Onions: Slice 1/4-inch thick. Dry 6-12 hours until crisp.
Peas: Dry 5-14 hours until brittle.
Peppers, sweet: Remove seeds and chop. Dry 5-12 hours until leathery.
Potatoes: Slice 1/8-inch thick. Dry 6-12 hours until crisp.
Tomatoes: Dip in boiling water to loosen skins, peel,slice or quarter. Dry 6-12 hours until crisp.
Zucchini: Slice 1/8-inch thick and dry 5-10 hours until brittle.

Fruits Dehydrating Chart:

Apples: Peel, core and slice into 3/8-inch rings, or cut into 1/4-inch slices. Pretreat and dry 6-12 hours until pliable.
Apricots: Cut in half and turn inside out to dry. Pretreat and dry 8-20 hours until pliable.
Bananas: Peel, cut into 1/4-inch slices and pretreat. Dry 8-16 hours until pliable or almost crisp.
Blueberries: Dry 10-20 hours until leathery.
Cherries: Cut in half and dry 18-26 hours until leathery and slightly sticky.
Peaches: Peel, halve or quarter. Pretreat and dry 6-20 hours until pliable.
Pears: Peel, cut into 1/4-inch slices, and pretreat. Dry 6-20 hours until leathery.
Pineapple: Core and slice 1/4-inch thick. Dry 6-16 hours until leathery and not sticky.
Strawberries: Halve or cut into 1/4-inch thick slices. Dry 6-16 hours until pliable and almost crisp.

(The above information comes from a website "Farm Living is the Life for Me", farmgal.tripod.com)

Remember: If using an Electric Dehydrator, follow the instructions in the manual and the charts for how long and what temperature to dehydrate.

Weekly Assignment: Adding Fruits and Vegetables to our Food Storage:

This week add more fruits and vegetables to your Food Storage. Only add what your family will eat. Store in a variety of ways, commercially canned fruits and vegetables, frozen, freeze-dried and canned in Mason jars. Do not add fruit juices at this time. We will be working on that one later one.

Food Storage Ideas:

In an emergency situation when there is no electricity, use your refrigerator food first, then your frozen food. Try to open your refrigerator and freezer as little as possible, it will keep the food longer. Once you have used this food, then move onto your canned and dehydrated and freeze-dried food. Save the vegetable liquid from the canned vegetables to help rehydrate the dehydrated and freeze-dried foods. That way you will use less stored water and have more water for drinking. Note: If you have a generator, run the refrigerator/freezer for 1 hour, then unplug the refrigerator/freezer. It will keep it cold for about 23 hours as along as you do not open the doors often. Repeat every day until the electricity is restored.

Emergency Preparedness Ideas:

While our grandson had a great idea to put his clothes, shoes and a flashlight by his bed, I would like to add to his great preparation. Each family member should have an extra large zip lock bag tied to his bed leg with some sturdy shoes, maybe some pants and a t-shirt, a working flashlight with extra batteries, a pair of extra glasses wrapped in a wash cloth, for those who wear glasses, and a crowbar inside the bag. The reason for tying it to the bed leg, in an earthquake, as you know, thing tend to move around and would be hard to find in the dark. This way all you would need to do is reach for the zip lock bag tied to your bed leg. The crowbar is to help you get out of a door or window that might be blocked or jammed.

Weekly Assignment, Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness Ideas (Week of August 12th)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Family and Friends,

Are you feeling overwhelmed when it comes to Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness? Many of us do feel this way, but there is no need to be overwhelmed! Last Sunday in our Relief Society meeting a sister shared a very interesting story about Food Storage and being prepared.

When she was a young girl her family joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her mother soon learned about Food Storage and being prepared for emergencies, or whatever came their way. They did not have a lot of  money, like many of us, but each week she put away one or more cans of food. Before she knew it she had created some Food Storage for their family. When a huge hurricane hit her country, many lives were lost and their possessions. Because her mother had put away food, a little at a time, they had enough food to eat for a month. What a wonderful blessing for their family! Her mother had listened to the council of the church leaders and was obedient to their council.

That is all it takes, no need to feel overwhelmed and that you have to do it all at once, it is a life time process. Just putting away a couple of cans or packages of food each time you go grocery shopping will provide your family peace of mind in knowing that you are being obedient to the council of our church leaders and striving to build up your Food Storage and Emergency Supplies. You and your family will be richly blessed.

Share your story--

If anyone has a similar story about an experience with Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness, please email me your story at theark.carsonward@gmail.com. I would like to share a story once in awhile in this blog that will help others in their preparation. It is great to hear about others successes and struggles with Food Storage and the blessings that have come from striving to be prepared. Names will be keep anonymous.

Weekly FREE Monthly Giveaway Drawing Question---What is the best way to add to our Food Storage and Emergency Supplies? Please email me your answer to theark.carsonward@gmail.com. Please include your name if not in your email address.

August Goals: Canning, Freezing and Dehydrating and Adding Fruits and Vegetables to our Food Storage

Canning your Fruits and Tomatoes/Vegetables:

The preparation for canning your fruits and tomatoes is much like the preparation for freezing them. Canning other types of vegetables have to be canned in a Canning Pressure Cooker. Follow the instructions in how to prepare your tomatoes is last week's blog posting on Freezing. Once you have selected good ripe (not to soft) tomatoes, washed them thoroughly, blanched them to remove the peeling, and peeled and diced them, follow the instructions below for canning tomatoes. Warning: You cannot can other types of vegetables by the Water-Bath process, they are not acidic enough

1. Place your diced (or whole, halved or quartered) tomatoes in a large pot. Boil them for five minutes, be careful to not burn the bottom of the pot or the tomatoes. If you use whole tomatoes you will need to add water to cover them and place the water in the canning jars since they will not produce their own liquid.



2. While the tomatoes are boiling, place your canning jars in hot boiling water. Place the caps in hot, but not boiling water (this will damage the seal) and let them sit in the hot water until you are ready for them. Do not use used caps, they may to hold the seal.



3. Removed the canning jars from the boiling water with the jar lifter and set them on a towel out of a draft.
4. If using pint jars place 1 tablespoon of lemon juice in the bottom of the jar. If using quart jars, place 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice in the bottom of the jars. If you are concerned about the bitter taste of the lemon juice, you can add a little sugar to the tomatoes to sweeten them.
5. With the funnel on the jar, pour enough hot tomatoes into the jars just below the bottom of rim.



6. Run a plastic spatula around the inside of the jars to release any air bubbles. Add more tomatoes if needed.



7. Wipe off the edge of the jars with a clean soft towel before sealing them.



8. Seal the jars with the hot caps and lids. Never use used caps and or bent lids. Buy new ones each time you can. Screw them on tight, put not too tight.



9. Have the water in your Water-Bath Canning pot already hot. Place the canning rack in the bottom of the Water-Bath Canning pot, using the canning jar lifter, place the canning jars of tomatoes on the rack so they do not touch each other. Do not stack on top of each other.
10. Cover the jars with more hot water, from another pot of boiling water, until they are covered about 3-4 inches above the top of the canning jars.
11. Cover the pot with the lid, bring to a hard boil and boil for 45 minutes, making sure the water stays above the lids.
12. Remove the canning jars from the pot with your jar lifter and place on a towel out of a draft. This prevents the jars from cracking if put on a cold surface.



13. After awhile you will start to hear the lids "ping". This means your jars are sealed. Leave the jars there until they have completely cooled.
14. Once they are cooled check the lids to make sure they are not springy by pushing in the middle of the caps. If they are, you can do the process again, or put them in the refrigerator and use them within a week.
15. Place labels on the jars with the name of the item inside and the date. Place in a cool, dry dark place. They should keep for 1-3 years.

16. When you open the jars make sure you smell the fruit and tomatoes to make sure they do not smell spoiled. If they do, throw them away immediately.
Note: This same process works for fruits. Check online, or in a canning cookbook, how long to boil them for the type of fruit you are using. This is also a great way to can fruit jams and jellies. Check online for great fruit jams and jellies recipes.

I did not find Water-Bath Canning difficult, just time consuming! But what a great reward you receive once you are done canning. This is just another way to preserve food for your Food Storage. Remember, when canning fruits and tomatoes/vegetables, purchase them when in season to save money. If you have a vegetable garden or fruit trees, this is a great way to preserve them for future use. Citric fruit like lemons, limes, oranges, tangerines, I squeeze out the juice and freeze the juice in freezer double zip lock bags.

Next week I will discuss dehydrating your fruits and vegetables.

Weekly Assignment--Adding Fruits and Vegetable:

Continue to add, each week, some commercially canned, freeze-dried, canned, packaged or frozen fruits and vegetables to your Food Storage. I like to store them in a variety of ways. Watch for sales. To determine how much your family eats, keep track for a month and then multiply by the number of months you are working towards. Remember, if you store freeze-dried fruits and vegetables you will need to store more water to rehydrated them.

Food Storage Ideas:

Our Los Angeles Dry-Pack Cannery--

While giving some service hours at our Bishops Storehouse in Los Angeles on Thursday, Brother Cuppett and I had a few minutes to go over to the Dry-Pack Cannery and speak with Elder and Sister Wooley who run the Cannery, what an awesome, but sad, experience.  A few Sundays ago Elder Wooley spoke in our Sacrament Meeting about our Dry-Pack Cannery. I had not been there since it was remodeled. It is clean, bright and air-conditioned! While we were there, only one person with her daughter came in to do some canning. How sad we are not using our dry-pack cannery! I am at fault on this one too, but I am going to change that! I am afraid if we do not start using our cannery, they may close it down. It use to be open Tuesday through Saturday, now it is only open Tuesday and Thursday from 9am-2pm by appointment only and Saturdays from 9am-2pm, no appointment needed. Trying to escape the summer heat, get together with some friends or another family and do some Food Storage canning for your family. The prices are much cheaper than ordering from food storage companies. See what is available to can there and their prices by going to ProvidentLiving.org, click on Home Storage Center Order Form and print the form. You can either put your freeze-dried food in the #10 metal cans or the Mylar pouches. Call the cannery and make an appointment, take your family (14 years old and up) and can some food for your Food Storage. What a great summer activity!

Warning! It was just announced that WalMart will start selling genetically engineered/modified sweet corn. Monsanto’s, an American multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation, genetically modified sweet corn is resistant to a common herbicide, which allows farmers to kill weeds without killing the corn. It also contains a toxin that fends off certain pests. Be careful in what you are purchasing. When purchasing fruit and vegetable seeds make sure they are not genetically modified, you want heirloom/hybrid fruit and vegetables seeds. Check all vegetable cans to see if they are genetically modified or heirloom/hybrid, unfortunately, it is not always stated on our canned and packaged foods. Organic fruits and vegetables are your best bet.

Emergency Preparedness Ideas:

"The time has come to get our houses in order ... there is a portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed."     President Gordon B.  Hinckley 168th General Conference, October 1998

Weekly Assignment, Food Storage and Preparedness Ideas (August 5th)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Family and Friends,

A new month and new goals! See the August Goals below.

Weekly FREE Monthly Giveaway Drawing Question:

Why is it important for each of us to learn how to fish? Please email me your answer found in this blog posting to theark.carsonward@gmail.com. Please include your name in the email. Each week you answer the weekly question, your name is entered into the Carson Ward FREE Monthly Giveaway Drawing to held the 4th Sunday of August.

Quote:

"The Lord knows us. The Lord loves us. And the Lord wants to help us. Calamities will come, but we don't have to fear them. If we are willing to be guided and ask for His direction, the Lord through the Holy Ghost will help us prepare for, endure, and recover from natural disasters."  Elder Stanley G. Ellis, of the Seventy

The August 2012 Ensign issue, pages 23-25, has a wonderful article from Elder Stanley G. Ellis, of the Seventy, regarding preparedness, both temporal and spiritual. I encourage each of you to read it. If you do not receive the Ensign in the mail, you can go to "lds.org", click on church magazines, click on Ensign August 2012, locate the article and read it. It is powerful!

Some highlights I particularly enjoyed---

1) Before the Storm: Make Preparation a Family Priority. Follow the impressions you receive from the Holy Ghost immediately. Be prepared for what may come your way!
2) During the Storm: Follow the Revelation You Receive for Your Family. The church leaders can warn us, but only we will receive the revelations pertaining to our own personal family in what we need to do to be protected.
3) After the Storm: Let the Gospel Remove the Sting. Some times in natural disasters we can loose our homes, our personal precious processions, even the life of a loved one. The Stake President in the Joplin Missouri tornado last May 2011, lost his home, all his personal processions and even the Stake Center where his family and the Stake members attending their church meetings. He did not loose a precious family member as many did, but he was so grateful for his knowledge of the Plan of Salvation and that family are eternal.

I have noticed in the Ensign this year, there is an article in almost every monthly issues concerning emergency preparedness. Our church leaders are trying to warn us to be prepared, both temporally and spiritually for what may come our way. Times are tough, but I promise you, they are going to get even tougher. We need to do all we can NOW to be prepared! You do not have to do it all at once, a little at a time, and before you know it you will be prepared. You need food, water, a way to cook if you cannot use your conventional stove, a way to have light if the electricity is out, a way for sanitation if their is no running water, shelter if you cannot stay in your home, a way to take care of emergency medical injuries and needs, and a 72 Hour Individual Emergency Kit/Packback if you have to evacuate your home or work place.

The Lord did not fill the sparrows nest with food, but He gave them food to find and eat. I can fish for you, but that will only give you fish for a day. But, if I teach you how to fish, you will have fish for a life time. That is what this blog is about, teaching you how to fish, how to prepare for yourselves and your families.

Our son Jonathan said, "10% of something is better than 100% of nothing". How true that it. How much do you have? Personally I want the 100%, but at least I know I am working towards it! It takes planning and time. I know there is going to come a time when food and water will not be available in the stores. If we have food and water stored, we will have no need to fear!

August Goals: Canning, Freezing and Dehydrating our Fruits and Vegetables, Adding Fruits and Vegetables to our Food Storage

Another great emergency preparedness skill is preserving fruits and vegetables by learning how to can, freeze and dehydrate them. We will spend this month learning these skills.

I have attached some great websites I found regarding canning, freezing and dehydrating your fruits and vegetables. You can cut and paste them on Google:

Canning:  http://kathi-mygarden.blogspot.com/2007/09/canning-tomatoes-step-by-step.html

Freezing: http://www.pickyourown.org/freezingqa.htm

Dehydrating: http://farmgal.tripod.com/Dehydrate.html

This week I will show you how to blanch your vegetables to prepare them for freezing, and how to freeze them, the easiest way to store your vegetables for future use. They will keep up to a year in your freezer. This is how I do it:

Freezing Vegetables: (You will need firm ripe tomatoes, a large pot, a large bowl with ice, a small strainer or serrated spoon, a strainer, another bowl, quart size double zip lock plastic freezer bags, a knife, a 2 cup measuring up, and a permanent sharpie marker)

1) First, choose only firm ripe tomatoes with no signs of rotting or disease. Clean them thoroughly with water and a soft sponge.

2) Place your tomatoes, giving them enough room to move around, in a pot of boil water. Remove the tomatoes as soon as the skin starts to peel or crack. This should only take about 20-30 seconds if the water is boiling.

3) Remove the tomatoes immediately and place them in a bowl of ice water. This stops the blanching process. Let them sit in the ice water for about 10 minutes. Add more ice as needed.

4) Remove the tomatoes from the ice water and place in a large strainer.

5). Remove the peel with a knife. Place in a bowl. And then dice the tomatoes. You do not have to remove the seeds.

6) Place about 2 cups of your diced tomatoes in a quart size double zip lock plastic freezer bag and write on the bag "Diced Peeled Tomatoes, 2 cups, and the date".The store brand bags work great. Seal part of the bag, then remove all the excess air, complete sealing the bag and lay them flat for better storage space. I then like to take 4 of these quart size zip lock bags and place them in a large double zip lock plastic freezer bag to ensure they do not get frost bite. Note: I like to put about 2 cups in each bag since that is what I usually in soups, casseroles and spaghetti sauces I make.

7) Store the tomatoes in your freezer for up to one year.

Next week I will discuss canning your fruits and vegetables.

Weekly Canning, Freezing, Dehydrating Assignment:

1) This week freeze tomatoes. If you have tomatoes from your garden use those, if not, this is the time of year where you can usually get great prices on tomatoes, purchase those. Freeze your tomatoes as instructed above and place them in your freezer for future use. Another way to store food in your Food Storage.

Note: You can also freeze other vegetables like corn on the cob, squashes, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, peas, etc. See the website mentioned above about freezing other vegetables. If you do not blanch your squashes and zucchini they will only keep for about 4 months. Blanched vegetables will keep for one year in your freezer. See the table in the website for how long to blanch each type of vegetable. Pumpkins, I peel them, cut up the pumpkin into pieces, boil until tender, strain the pumpkin, let it cool, and then run the pumpkin through my blender to create a puree. Then I put 2 cups in a quart double zip lock plastic freezer bag and freeze them lying flat. I write "Pumpkin, 2 cups, and the date" on each bag. I put 4 quart bags in a large freezer double zip lock bag and freeze it lying flat in my freezer. Good for pumpkin pie (you will not need to add the water in recipe) and pumpkin bread, muffins and cookies. I freeze the other vegetables from our garden, or purchased from the grocery store at season,  as mentioned above, like the diced tomatoes.

Weekly Adding Fruits and Vegetables to your Food Storage Assignment:

1) Purchase some canned and/or freeze-dried vegetables this week for your Food Storage. Remember, only purchase what your family will eat! Watch for sales, and purchase extra cans when you do your weekly grocery shopping. Watch the expiration dates, especially when purchasing them from places like the 99 Cent Store, the Dollar Tree and other discount stores. Costco and Sam's Club is a great place to purchase them by the case (8-12 cans in case). Most canned vegetables will store for about 2-3 years if stored in a cool dry dark place, like your pantry or other cupboard. If you store your Food Storage in your garage, it drastically diminishes the storage time, too hot. Note: I would start with canned corn since the price of corn is going up 50%, if it has not already, due the Midwest drought.

I also believe in having a variety of stored fruits and vegetables: Commercially canned from the regular grocery stores, Costco and Sam's Club, freeze-dried in #10 cans or Mylar pouches, freezing to put in your refrigerator freezer, having a vegetable garden, and canning your own fruits and vegetables.

One of the better priced companies for dehydrated and freeze-dried #10 canned products I find, besides the LDS Dry-Pack Cannery,  is emergencyessentials.com (also under beprepared.com). Go online to their company, in the search box, put "vegetables" (or what ever you are looking for) and click on "Go". They continually have items on sale. Example for this month: peas $13.99 ($16.95), Cauliflower $11.89 ($14.95), diced zucchini $13.49 ($15.50), vegetable comb of 6 different types of vegetables $82.95 ($90.88). The LDS Dry-Pack Cannery has limited freeze-dried vegetables, but very reasonable.

Of course, the cheapest way to preserve vegetables and fruit, is to grow you own and then can, freeze or dehydrate them yourself. You can even share with your family, Home Teaching/Visiting Teaching families, and your neighbors.

Food Storage Ideas:

Storing your Food Storage: Cut and paste the link below on Google. This also goes for the regular commercially canned and packaged foods you purchase in the grocery stores.

http://beprepared.com/article.asp_Q_ai_E_109_A_c2a_E_mt_A_name_E_Storing%20Your%20Food%20Storage

Emergency Preparedness Ideas:

With your family take a moment to imagine that there is a fire in your home. You only have seconds to get out. Try this activity in your Family Home Evening. What would you do, what are your escape routes, how would you account for all your household family members, where would you meet outside? You should have two escape routes and your children should know what to do. Discuss a fire in your home and what each person needs to do. In our home, we had an older child responsible for a younger one in getting them out of the window or the door. Example: Penny was 12, Tammy was 10 and Heidi was 2, they shared a bedroom. They were responsible for making sure Heidi got out of the house if we were not available. We taught our children how to open a window, and how to break the window and put a blanket over the bottom of the window so they would not get cut, if necessary to escape. We taught them to check a closed door to see if it was hot, hot means the fire is just outside and do not open the door.If you have a two story house, teach them how to get down the fire ladder stored upstairs and where it is kept. You should have one in each bedroom in case you cannot get out of the door. We had a meeting place at our neighbor's yard to make sure everyone was accounted for. We emphasized for them to never go back into a burning house if someone was missing. To get help from a neighbor. You should have at least two fire drills a year. We had ours quarterly.

Weekly Assignment, Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness Ideas (Week of July 29th)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Family and Friends,

Quote:

"When the emergency is upon us, the time of preparation has passed!" (Anonymous)

"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places." (Matthew 24:7)

Wow! So much to talk about this week!

First, Congratulations to Sally Salcido! She won our Carson Ward July FREE Monthly Giveaway Drawing last week. She won items for her 72 Hour Emergency Preparedness Family Bag: a small folding stove, 2 heat cells (like Sterno cans), a mess kit, a silverware set, and water proof matches. All these items will help her cook the food in her 72 Hour Emergency Preparedness Food Kit.

Next, Food prices are going up! Last week I mentioned this on the blog and now here it is! I heard on several news reports on Wednesday that meat, poultry, and pork will be going up 2%-5%, and all corn and soybean products will be going up 50%. Why? Because of the drought in the Midwest. Ranchers are taking their livestock to the slaughter houses earlier this year due to no grass in the fields and higher prices for corn and grains to feed their livestock. At first, the prices will be low due to a surplus in the market, but once that is gone, the prices will go up. Corn, think about how many of your foods have some type of corn product in them, and soybeans and soybean products are going up due to the loss of the Midwest crops because of the drought this summer. I fear this foods may even become unavailable. My suggestion--stock up now before they go up. Buy corn and soybeans by the case if you can at Costco or Sam's Club and other grocery stores.

How is your Vegetable Garden growing? Our vegetable garden is doing much better this year. I love going out each day and finding more vegetables to pick, it is like finding little treasures in our garden. If you did not plant a summer garden in the Spring, we will be working on our Winter garden soon, this are the cool vegetables like lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, etc.

Well, I did it! Ever since we have had a garden I have been wanting to learn how to "can" our vegetables and fruit, and have felt a little overwhelmed to try it. This year I decided I would do it, and I have. I have only done the water bath canning so far, the pressure cooker one still scares me a little. I will talk about it more next week on the blog since one of our goals for August is Canning, Freezing and Dehydrating. I am hoping to have a class in August on this for those interested.

FREE Monthly Giveaway Drawing Question: When is it to late to prepare? Please email me your answer to have your name entered into the August FREE Monthly Giveaway Drawing. Please include your name if it is not in your email address.

Final week for our July Goals: Paper Products and Adding Condiments to our Food Storage--

Weekly Paper Product Assignment:

1) This week add paper towels and napkins to your Paper Product Supplies. You can find napkins at most grocery stores and discount stores for $1. Paper towels, watch for sales and compare with Costco and Sam's Club prices, sometimes they are better. Determine how much of these products your family uses in one month and then multiply by the number of months you have set your Food Storage and Emergency Supply goals, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months.

Weekly Adding Condiments Assignment:

1) This week continue to add the condiments your family uses. See all the July blog Condiment assignments to help you. Remember to keep them in a cool, dry, dark place.

Next week we start our August Goals: Canning, Freezing and Dehydrating, Adding Vegetables and Fruits to our Food Storage.

Food Storage Ideas and Emergency Preparedness Ideas:

Did you know that less than 6% of LDS families have an adequate Emergency Supply? Which one are you?

This week someone emailed me a great 222 page "LDS Preparedness Manual". It is great and very thorough. I would suggest you look it over and save it as a favorite on your computer for future reference. I printed mine out, with the "draft" setting, because I like things like this in front of me. I put it into notebook. For all those who I have email addresses for I will email you the attachment. If you would like the email, please email me your email address at theark.carsonward@gmail.com. Please include you name since some email addresses do not have your name in the email address. Otherwise, go to Google and put in "LDS Preparedness Manual (Free)" and it will come up.  

Weekly Assignment, Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness Ideas (Week of July 22nd)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Family and Friends,

What will you do if food prices sky rocket or become unavailable?

The midwest is experiencing a severe drought this season! As our daughter drives to work in Kansas, she lives on the border of Missouri and Kansas, she sees the dying drought corn fields. On the weather channel yesterday I saw the bleak pictures of corn fields, wheat fields and soybean fields, two thirds of the farmers fields throughout the midwest are destroyed due to the drought. They are trying to save as much of the soybean crops as possible, but the picture is bleak.

What does this mean for us? Extremely high prices on food in the grocery store. Some items may become unavailable. If you read the labels on most food products, you will notice most of them have some type of corn product in them. Live stock are feed corn and other grains too, which will make the cost of beef, pork and other meat products extremely high. What will you do when you cannot afford the prices, or no food is available at all?

Many I speak with, and things I hear on CNN, have great concerns for what is ahead, possible before this year is over, or the very beginning of next year. Some fear the stock market is going to crash. The presidential election is going to effect the economy greatly. What would we do if there was rioting, civil unrest, and maybe even a civil war in our own country? I strongly fear very tough days are ahead of us. The Spirit has testified this to me, and many others I have spoken with!

I have been saying, in this blog, for two years to get ready, get your food storage and water storage, get your emergency supplies ready! We all need to be as self-sufficient as possible. Who knows what is down the road? Who knows if food will be to expensive or unavailable? Who knows if we will have electricity, gas and water? The scriptures warn us over and over of the coming days and to be prepared.

It is never to late to start preparing for the day ahead! Start now! Protect your loved ones! Use the things in this blog to help you prepare. Read the information under "Postings" on the right side to see what you need to do to prepared, where you fall short. Make a plan for you and your family, set goals to accomplishment them. We have been counseled by our General Authorities to not go into debt when purchasing our Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness Supplies!

If we are doing all we can to stay very close to the Spirit, Heavenly Father will guide us, but we need to do our part! We need to be prepared! We need to do it now!!!

FREE Monthly Giveaway Drawing Weekly Question:

Why might food prices sky rocket and become unavailable? Please email me your answer to
theark.carsonward@gmail.com to enter your name this week. The latest you can enter your name this week for the July drawing is Saturday by 10PM. This Sunday will be our July FREE Monthly Giveaway Drawing. Please remember to put your name in your email if it does not appear in your email address.

July Goals---Paper Products and Adding Condiments to our Food Storage:

Weekly Paper Products Assignment:

1) This week add silverware (forks, spoons, knives) to your Emergency Supplies. You will need to determine how many of each you will need per day, per family member for the number of months (3 months, 6 months, 12 months) you are working towards. The big warehouses like Costco and Sam's Club may give you a better price than the traditional grocery stores and discount places. Compare the prises.

Weekly Condiments Assignment:

1) Continue to add the condiments your family uses to your Food Storage. See previous blog postings for this month concerning condiment and how much to add.

Food Storage Ideas:

Tips using your Food Storage in daily cooking:

1) I find making soups and casseroles is a great way to rotate canned and dehydrated vegetables, tomatoes, tomato sauce, broths, beans and packaged rice, pasta and noodles.
2) Out of cooking oil? When baking a cake you can replace the oil by using the same amount of pureed beans in place of the oil. If the recipe calls for 1/3 cup of oil then use 1/3 of purred beans.
Note: If chocolate cake use pinto beans, black beans or kidney beans. If a white or yellow cake use white navy beans or butter beans. To puree take a can of bean with the liquid and puree in a blender. Use as needed. Also cuts down on fats and calories!
3) If you store dehydrated powdered eggs rotate them by using them in cooking recipes (cakes, nut breads, cookies, etc.). Follow directions on powdered eggs regarding how much equals one egg.
4) On a daily basis when the recipe calls for eggs or milk use your powdered eggs and powder milk to help rotate them.

Emergency Preparedness Ideas:

1) Good source of light: Olive oil and a wick in a glass or metal container is smokeless and a good source of light.
2) If you have no heat in your house and it is cold: You can take your mattresses and make a shelter in a room. All of you go in and it will conserve your body heat.
3) Block out harmful chemicals and cold in your home: Collect newspapers and get some industrial strength plastic and duck tape to cover and insulate your windows. Also cover all the doors that lead outside with plastic and duck tape. Stuff the newspaper between the windows and the plastic. You want to keep as much of the chemicals and cold out as possible. It will be dark after you do this, so get a light source before covering the windows. You can also stuff newspaper between your clothes and body to keep warn.

Remember: We love your comments, ideas and experiences. We all learn from each other. Please put your comments below.

Weekly Assignment, Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness Ideas (Week of July 15th)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Family and Friends,

Quote:

"Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come,...." (Doctrine and Covenants 1:12)

Why be Spiritually prepared?

Many times I have mentioned being spiritually prepared as well as being temporally prepared. Yesterday our daughter Heidi called to share a very interesting spiritually experience they had while driving back home from Missouri to California. Here is their story...

They stopped at a hotel in Amarillo, Texas that they had scheduled ahead of time. As Heidi entered their hotel room she did not have a good feeling. She did not know what it was, but things just did not seem right. She thought maybe it was just her, not saying anything to her husband they headed off to dinner. While driving back from dinner she had the same feeling and Jason mentioned it too. Neither wanted to say anything thinking it was just them. They got to the hotel and entered the room again, still feeling uneasy about it, they went to the front desk to see if they could get a refund for the room. They explaining that they are religious people, and they believe in following the Spirit, had nothing against their hotel, just knew they needed to change hotels. The man understood, and after some negotiating they were able to get a refund and change hotels. They left the hotel for a new one, and both understood from the Spirit that their son Bradley would have been seriously injured while in the swimming pool. Once they entered the new hotel they felt at peace. This is why we listen to the Spirit!

How does being spiritually prepared help us be temporally prepared? Being spiritually prepared will protect us and our family, just like in the story above, and guide us with what we need to do to become temporally prepared. The Spirit will warn us of impending dangers too, guiding us to a safe place. What if their was going to be a disaster, wouldn't you want to be in tune with the Spirit so you would know what to do? What emergency supplies and food should you store? The Spirit will guide you with that too, if you just pray and ask.

Weekly FREE Monthly Giveaway Drawing Question:

Why is it good to keep at least a half a tank of gas in your vehicles at all times? Please email me the answer to theark.carsonward@gmail.com to have your have name entered to the July FREE Monthly Giveaway Drawing. Remember to include your name if your name is not in your email address.

July Goals: Adding Non-Food Items and Condiments to your Food Storage and Emergency Supplies

Weekly Non-Food Items Assignment:

1) This week add paper cups (for cold and hot drinks).  You will need to determine how many paper cups you will need to store for your family. You will probably need 3 cups per day per person in your household. You may even want to store some extra ones too, but first get the amount you will need for the number of months you are working towards, then add extra ones later on. Great tip: One way we save on paper cups is to write the person's name on the cup with a permanent sharpie marker, that is their cup for the day. Keep some permanent sharpie markers with your paper cups.

Weekly Condiments Assignment:

1) This week add another type of condiment (ketchup, mustard, relish, etc.) your family eats for the Food Storage amount of months you are working towards. Watch for sales. Remember to check the 99 Cent, Dollar Tree and other discount place for the expiration dates, you want the date to be at least a year away. The only way to determine the amount to store for 3 months, 6 months, 12 months is to keep track of how much you use for that particular condiment in a month, and then multiply by the number of months you are working towards.

Food Storage Ideas:

The best advise I can give you is ROTATE, ROTATE, ROTATE your Food Storage! Do not waste money by throwing away expired food! Inventory your Food Storage every 3 months. Food that is in your Food Storage about to expire should be moved to your everyday pantry. Replace the rotated food  from your Food Storage immediately.

Emergency Preparedness Ideas:

1) Here is a great idea I received from someone regarding gas in our vehicles...

One of things that we do to always be ready is to never let any of our vehicle fuel tanks get less than half full. This should include all large lawn and garden equipment that are completely refueled after each use.

This practice provides four benefits:
1.Wherever anyone of us happens to be we have the ability to drive a minimum of 250 miles.
2.We have a minimum of an additional 30-60 gallons of fuel for our generator.
3. This practice also reminds us each time we fuel at half-a-tank why we are doing it and keep preparedness in mind.
4. And the everyday bonus benefit of reducing condensation in the fuel tanks.

2) Toilet paper is a great bartering item for things you might need, keep extra on hand.

3) Always keep cash in your car and at home. ATM machines, banks and store cash
registers/monitors will not work if there no electricity.

Remember: All comments, suggestions, ideas and experiences are most welcome. Post them in the comment section below or email them to me at theark.carsonward@gmail.com.

Weekly Assignment, Food Storage and Preparedness Ideas (Week of July 8th)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Family and Friends,

Quotes:

"Prepare ye prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh."  (Doctrine and Covenants 1:12)

"Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing:...." (Doctrine and Covenants 88:119)

"If we are wise with our means, we will be prepared for hard times." (President George Albert Smith)

I love Aesop's Fables story abut the "The Grasshopper and the Ants". Are we like the ant who harvests his supplies when they are available and stores them up against the day when it would not be possible to obtain them? Or, are we like the grasshopper, a much larger insect, who does not lay up anything in store for hard times, but depends upon providence, or others, to provide him what he needs?

When our son was on his mission in Honduras there were two missions. His mission president felt a very strong warning he need to stock up on supplies, food, water, etc. for his missionaries. He did not know why, but followed the warning. He told the other mission president in Honduras of his concerns, but that mission president decided not to heed the warning. Several months later a devastating hurricane hit Honduras, the one mission president was able to take care of his missionaries and also help the other mission.

Brothers and Sisters, hard times are here, and more are ahead! Are we the ant or the grasshopper? Are we prepared for the harder times ahead, or do we think others will provide for us and our loved ones? We have been admonished over and over by our General, Stake and Ward Leaders and in the scriptures to be prepared. What does it take for us to follow that admonish? Some day will be to late! We need to fill our storehouses (our homes) now! Just a little at a time, and you will astonished by how much you have stored.

What would happen if our infrastructure (computer systems, roads, freeways, etc.) fell apart? What if the trucks could not get through to deliver food to the markets? Our grocery markets only have about 2 weeks of food in inventory. We have all seen on the news how quickly food disappears off the shelves when there is an impending danger. What would we do?

Let's not be like the grasshopper who depends on providence or others, which will probably not come, and will starve. But, let's be like the ant, and store up "every needful thing" for our family.

FREE Monthly Giveaway Drawing Weekly Question:

What is the difference between the ant and the grasshopper, and why do we need to be like the ant? Please email me the answer to theark.carsonward@gmail.com. Please remember to include your name if your name is not in your email address.

July Goals: Adding Non-Food Items and Condiments to your Food Storage and Emergency Supplies

Weekly Non-Food Items Assignment:

1) This week add paper bowls (hot/cold) to your Food Storage. You will  need to determine how many meals a week you would use paper bowls, example: breakfast--cereal, oatmeal, lunch/dinner--soups, stews, etc. Remember, you will need that many for each person in the family.

Weekly Condiments Assignment:

1) This week add 1 month to 12 months supply, what ever your goal is, of one of the condiments your family eats. You will need to determine how much of that condiment you use in a month and then multiply by the number of months (1-12 months) for your goal. If you purchase them at the 99 Cent Store, Dollar Tree, etc., watch the expiration dates. Sometimes they expire in just a few days, and sometimes they have already expired.

Food Storage Idea:

Where do I store my Food Storage? Designate different places in your home. You can use your garage, but it is really to hot and your shelf life is diminished drastically. I really do not encourage anyone to store food in their garage unless it is insulated and the food can be kept cool and dry. You will need to rotate your food more often. The best place to store your Food Storage is in your house. You can store food in cupboards, closets, and under beds. When you purchase coffee tables or end/bed side tables, purchase ones with storage. Go on line for more ideas. Be creative!

Emergency Preparedness Ideas:

When your family gets together discuss Emergency Preparedness. Assess how prepared each family is and what they need and encouragement them to be prepared. Work together as a family and set goals to accomplish the goals. Have a monthly family meeting, either in person, by email, by phone or skype. Refer to this blog for ideas and encourage them to check out the blog weekly for ideas.

Keep all your different types of emergency supplies in groups. Example, keep all your shelter supplies together in one place in your garage or backyard storage shed. Keep all your cooking supplies together in one place. Keep all your sanitation supplies together in one place. That way they are easier to inventory and get to them when you need them.

Remember: We love our comments, ideas and experiences. Please post them below. We all need to help each other prepare!