Many are surprised to learn that dehydrated and freeze dried vegetables are able to retain most of their health properties and nutrients. This is due to the process in which the vegetables are dried or frozen. The vegetables also retain their flavors and work well in a variety of recipes that utilize food storage items.

The following recipe is a flavorful casserole that can be altered to a family’s tastes. More veggies can be added or substituted. Meat can also be added for a heartier meal.

Veggie Casserole

Ingredients:

2 Cups of dehydrated carrots

2 Cups of dehydrated broccoli

1 Cup of freeze dried onion

1 Can of cream of chicken soup

2 Tablespoons of butter

1 Cup of Bread Crumbs

2 Tablespoons of Italian Seasoning

Directions:

Reconstitute ingredients (carrots, broccoli, onions) before baking. These directions will vary based on brand and packaging type.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

On stovetop, cook onion in butter for 3 minutes, add Italian seasoning.

Add the soup mixture to the onions and seasoning. Mix well. Then, in a baking dish add the carrots and broccoli.

Put the onion and soup mixture on top of the veggies. Add the breadcrumbs by sprinkling evenly on top of the soup mixture.

Place in oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until light browning of breadcrumbs occurs.

Summer is finally here, and not only does that mean it’s time to prepare for the hot weather, it also is a new season to learn to make the most out of our freeze dried food storage supplies. People have a tendency to eat less in hot weather than in cold, and summer mornings are a great time to mix up a great variety of breakfast drinks and smoothies.  Try this simple recipe below for a delicious and satisfying summer breakfast beverage, and enjoy your freeze dried fruits like you may not have thought possible.

Breakfast Freeze Dried Fruit Smoothie

Ingredients

1 cup Plain or fruit flavored yoghurt

1 ¼ cup milk (low fat or whole)

1 ½ cup of your favorite freeze dried fruit (try strawberry and raspberry together)

Directions

Add all the ingredients into a blender and mix. Serve Immediately. (Note that some freeze dried fruit may need to be rehydrated before use. Follow the instructions on the packaging.)

Cooking with our freeze dried food storage as often as we can will help ensure that if we are ever forced to use our supplies due to an emergency situation we will not only have food to eat, but also the ability to create a variety of delicious meals that will satisfy even the most finicky eater. Enjoy.

Having long term food storage is a great thing to do, but what happens when you have to use it?  Have you ever cooked with powdered milk or powered eggs? Knowing how to use the ingredients you are storing is a great way to be prepared for emergencies and also to make sure you are rotating your food storage.

While looking for recipes that use powered milk I ran across everydayfoodstorage.net that has a lot of recipes for using different items in your food storage. I am a sucker for sweets and when I saw her latest post about Tres Leches cake I felt the need to share it.

FOOD STORAGE TRES LECHES CAKE

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Pam or grease a 9 X 13 cake pan

Blend in blender: (put water in first)
1-1/2 Cup water
1/2 Cup + 1 T Dry Powdered Milk

In a mixer:
1 box yellow cake mix, dry
1/3 Cup oil
3 large eggs
1 Cup of the milk mixture from above and reserve the rest in the Refrigerator.
Beat the cake mix, oil, eggs, and 1 Cup milk mixture for 2 minutes on med. speed in the mixer.
Pour into prepared cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
COOL in the pan before continuing.

In Blender:
1/2 Cup hot water
1-2 T butter
1 Cup Dry Powdered Milk
1 Cup Sugar
Blend VERY WELL in blender
add reserved milk mixture above & blend briefly again.

Using a dinner fork, poke holes all over the cake.
Pour the milk mixture evenly over the cake.
Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until liquid is absorbed.
Over night is best!

Serve with whipped topping
Garnish with Sliced Almonds or Toasted Coconut

Store left overs in the Refrigerator

This recipe isn’t totally made out of food storage so let’s talk about a few other things that we can change up to use our food storage.  First, sun ovens are a great survival gear tool to have for any emergency; it allows you the convenience of an oven without needing power.  Second, you can replace your eggs and butter with their powered forms offered for long term food storage.  Learning how to cook and bake with ingredients from your food storage will save a lot of trial and error when you actually need to cook with them.

Because a person can only go a few days without drinking water and still survive, it’s critical for everyone involved in emergency preparedness planning to have a backup reserve of clean drinking water, as well as a way to filter and purify it in case a source becomes contaminated.

In the aftermath of a disaster it’s not uncommon for large numbers of people to loose access to basic utilities as a result of damaged or destroyed facilities or compromised systems. In terms of overall well-being, one of the largest threats can be losing access to the fresh drinking we’ve all become accustomed to having immediate access to. Here are some of the things that could potentially threaten our drinking water that should help reinforce the importance of having an emergency preparedness water plan.

Dirt and Sediment

In terms of actually causing people harm this is probably the least dangerous threat, but there is still some risk of heavy metals, bacteria or parasites that may enter a source from the debris. Typically a good water filtration system will protect people against this type of contamination.

Sewage

Flooding can be the most serious threat to an otherwise safe drinking water source. Backed up sewage systems can spread harmful microbial agents through waterways at a rapid rate, and introduce microorganisms, organics, traces of metal that can be very dangerous if consumed. And of course there will be a distinct foul taste and smell.

Pathogens

There is always a chance of ingesting some kind of harmful bacteria if a person drinks from an open river, stream or lake without first purifying or boiling the water first, but the result of flooding or earthquakes can greatly enhance the risk of contracting a waterborne disease such as botulism, dysentery or giardia.

Industrial Waste, Gas, Nuclear

These and other chemical production processes can potentially be huge hazards after a natural disaster as they can cause serious and long term harm to ground water. In 2005 nearly 20% of the fresh water used in the United States came from ground water, a source that is especially susceptible to the harms of spilled or leaked industrial product.

Food and water are essential for life. Not having these items available in times of natural disasters and emergencies can be very dangerous. Most of us cannot imagine not being able to feed hungry family members due to lack of food. Preparation is vital to avoiding hunger, malnutrition and possible starvation in an emergency situation.

Many Americans tend to forget past times, only a couple of generations ago, when food storage was essential for survival in most regions around the country. This was long before big box grocery stores and smaller convenience stores were located only miles, or less, from most homes located in the city, suburb or township areas. In times of disaster, these commodities in these retail stores can be destroyed or inaccessible.

We can learn valuable lessons from the preparedness efforts of our great grandparents. We can apply these traditional lessons with foods that have been created with modern technology to create the best emergency preparedness freeze dried food storage available.

There are many reasons to take advantage of freeze dried food storage items for emergency preparedness needs. The benefits of freeze dried items include:

Long Shelf Life: High quality freeze dried food items can last up to 25 years. This exceeds the shelf lives of many other preparedness edible items including brown rice and soft grains.

Convenient Packaging: Many companies that distribute food for preparedness understand the needs for easy storage and portability. They have created containers that are both stackable and easy to move.

Easy Preparation: Freeze dried food items are created to be prepared easily with very few ingredients. Some of the most popular meal options only need water to be reconstituted and ready to eat.

Food items are an essential part of any emergency preparedness plan. It is invaluable to know that your family will be fed well even if a disaster strikes unexpectedly.

After any natural disaster there are always health risks that must be dealt with. Getting to know the different natural disasters you are most likely to encounter is the first step in preparing for the different risks you may face.  Whether you are dealing with injuries, water contamination or mental trauma all health risks are serious and must be prepared for.

With all natural disasters there will be a range of injuries from cuts and bruises to more serious life threatening problems.  The first thing to do is have a stocked first aid kit that has a wide range of equipment to handle basic first aid.  If you find that your injury is more severe than you can handle find out where there is a nearby functioning medical treatment center.  Please note that in some disasters the hospitals may not be the place to get treated since they may have been damaged.  Keeping an emergency radio in your survival gear is a great way to know where you are supposed to go.

Contaminated water is always something to be aware of; the Center for Disease Control has some tips to stay safe including keeping away from standing water that may have been exposed to sewage.  Make sure you have safe drinking water and other uncontaminated water for hygiene purposes.  If you are dealing with contaminated water from a flood make sure you are properly disinfecting and drying your home and personal items out.  If you can’t disinfect an item, you may think about throwing it out in case mold or bacteria have already infected the item.

Mental trauma is not a health risk that is often talked about with natural disasters but is prevalent in every disaster.  This does not mean that you will have mental problems forever, just that you may be dealing with extra anxiety, lack of sleep, or depression from loss.  These problems are normal and will go away after the disaster is over but if they happen to persist then it’s a good idea to seek medical advice.  In the mean time having some pain killers with a sleep aid in your survival gear might go a long way to allowing your body to relax enough to sleep, this is in no way meant to be a diagnosis just a suggestion.  Including other items in your survival gear that will lower your stress and calm your children are great ideas to have on hand. If your mental trauma is more intense, like from the loss of a loved one, you may require other medical support.

These health risks are only a few of the possible risks you may face.  Make sure you think about all the possibilities when putting your survival gear together.  There are always more things you can add, but make sure your basics are covered so that you are prepared no matter what you and your family must face.

Everyone does food storage a little differently. Some of us buy goods solely for the purpose of storing the food away, hoping in the back of our minds that we never have to actually use the stuff, while others pursue a more active role by constantly adding more products, using the provisions and then replenishing as they go.

It’s important to remember that the process of building a food storage supply doesn’t mean that those who want to be better prepared have to store away buckets and buckets of food they dread eating. Instead, food storage should be comprised of the kinds of things a family enjoys eating every day. It also means having foods that store well and that can be used as the foundation in preparing all kinds of recipes.

That’s why there are a growing number of people who now take items from their long term food storage supply (then replenish of course) and learn how to make delicious meals using things like dehydrated milk, canned/bottled fruit and veggies or ground wheat flour.  This proactive approach to better utilizing and understanding the goods in your storage means that if and when a disaster ever occurs, you’ll know exactly how to make the most out of your supplies.

If your like me and enjoy cooking but lack any bold creativity in the kitchen (whether we’re including food storage items or not), there are a lot of great books out there that make superb recommendations on cooking staples, and offer thousands of recipes using the products you may already have stored away.

So just how creative can you get with your canned goods, milled whole grains, freeze dried food and potato flakes?  You’ll never know unless you try.

I’m a Boy Scout. We’ll, not anymore, but I was a long time ago. Although there were definitely moments when I didn’t want to be a scout I never really had a choice because my father was always, always involved with scouting programs in one way or another.

I mention this not to tell you about my adventures from summer camp or how many merit badges I earned (a lot), but to emphasize how my dad’s involvement in scouting carried over into the home. The end result of his dedication to the principles of the BSA was a family of four kids who, although weren’t always excited about stocking a survival kit, learning how to tie a sheep shank of making a flotation device out of a pair of jeans, all acquired the foundation for a set of skills that carried into adulthood–even after there was no threat of being grounded.

There are a lot of resources out there that identify five basic survival skills, and I can say from my own personal experience that being taught these technique while I was young made a lasting impression on me.

Starting a Fire-Perhaps the best, most important survival skill a person can have. Stay warm, keep animals away, cook food and boil water.

Food and Water Management-Teach the importance of rationing food and water, and perhaps identifying some natural, edible plants in your area. It’s also a good idea to reinforce the importance of filtering water, boiling it or both when collecting from an open source.

Building a Basic Shelter-No engineering degree required, but it’s important to be able to construct a basic shelter like a lean-to or hut made of debris in order to protect yourself from severe weather.

Basic First Aid-Basic skills paired with calm nerves can go a long way when it comes to treating an injury. First aid is not only an important survival skill, but can be potentially useful in every day life.

Signaling for Help-If your young ones are better at producing smoke than flames it’s not a total loss (but keep working on it). Smoke is a great way to signal for help, and it’s also a good idea to keep a whistle and a small mirror in your survival kit to help identify your location to rescue teams.

My Bonus Skill:

Tying Useful Knots-Of course this is only useful in a survival situation if you have a rope with you, but knowing a basic selection of knots and hitches can be useful in a variety of situations, both practical and precarious.

Thanks to the lessons of my youth and the influence of my father I’m not only comfortable in the outdoors, but I know that if it were required I would be able to perform any of these tasks in a survival situation. Besides, it’s still important to teach your family skills that will pertain to the natural environment, even if we do live in a digital world.

Ace Bandage
Adhesive Tape
Antibiotic Ointment
Antiseptic Wipes
Bandages
Cotton Balls and Q Tips
Disposable Latex Gloves
Scissors

Some other great ideas to add for general uses are:

Burn Ointment
Butterfly Stitches
Eye Wash (Saline Solution)
Gauze (various sizes)
Hydro-cortisone Ointment
Hand Sanitizer or Soap
Insect Bite Kit
Instant Cold and Heat Packs
Needles
Petroleum Jelly
Rubbing Alcohol
Safety Pins
Sterile Pads
Suction Device for Flushing out Wounds
Thermometer
Tourniquet
Tweezers
Wet Wipes
Aloe Vera
Antihistamines
Aspirin or Ibuprofen
Antacids
Anti-Diarrhea Pills
Calamine Lotion

When buying the items above think about your individual family.  Do they tend to have hay fever?  Is someone allergic to certain medicines?  Be sure to keep special needs in mind, like personal medications or if you have young children you may want to make sure you have medicine that is safe for them to take.You may also want to consider your family pets and their medical needs.
The great thing about building your family’s own first aid kit is that it is customizable to your exact needs.  When compiling your family’s survival gear you may also decide that each individual family member needs their own specialized first aid kit.

Because water is vital to anyone’s survival, learning how to filter your water in emergency situations is crucial.  There are many different methods out there but we are going to focus on three of them, water purifiers, outdoor water filters, and water bottles with filters.

Water purifiers come in different varieties.  There are UV wands that emit UV light to kill the micro organisms, but this does not get rid of the grit and grim that you could also have in your water.  There are also tablets that you can use to kill the microorganisms but these have a shelf life and once they have been opened they must be used quickly.  The tablets usually use iodine or chlorine to kill the organisms but check into both before you choose one because some people may be allergic to iodine.

Outdoor water filters are usually water pumps that will pump your water through a filter to remove all sediment and debris you might have in your water.  Some water filters will also filter for microorganisms.  These water pumps don’t always catch all the smaller organisms so check to see what the filter on the pump is good for, and know what organisms are common in your area so you can treat your water accordingly.

Water bottles with filters are easy to carry and fairly light weight; with this option you are just carrying your water bottle and do not need anything else to purify the water.  These water bottles have filters inside them to remove microorganisms and sediment.  Make sure that the water bottle you choose protects from the different microorganisms in your area.  This is a great option to reduce equipment and weight and most of these water bottles can filter up to 50 gallons of water.

Make sure you always have back up options to clean your water like boiling it in case your other methods don’t work.  It is always better to make sure your drinking water is safe to drink even if that means purifying it more than once.