Once again we are being asked to be 

prepared with a 72 hour kit. 

Consider this situation:
It's 2:00am and a flash flood forces you to evacuate your home-fast.
There's no time to gather food from the kitchen, fill bottles with water,
grab a first-aid kit from the closet and snatch a flashlight and a portable
radio from the bedroom.  You need to have these items packed and ready
in one place before disaster strikes. Takes long enough just to get everyone
out the door with their shoes or slippers on..

So, what do you really need?
Pack at least a 3-day supply of food and water, and store it in a handy place.
One gallon per person per day for drinking and personal hygiene.
Choose foods that are easy to carry, nutritious and ready-to-eat. In addition,
pack these emergency items:

*Medical supplies and first-aid manual
*Hygiene supplies
*Portable radio, flashlight and extra batteries
*Shovel (folding) and other useful tools
*Household liquid bleach to  purify drinking water
*Money (coins and small bills) and matches in a waterproof container
*Fire extinguisher
*Blanket and extra clothing
*Infant and small children's needs  (if appropriate)
*Manual can opener
*Garbage bag
*Change of clothes (sweats, underwear, socks, etc.) roll them up tight and
place them in a gallon size freezer zip-lock bag. They will stay dry and together
that way.

If the Electricity Goes Off.....
FIRST-use perishable food from the refrigerator.

THEN- use the foods from the freezer.  To minimize the number of times
you open the freezer door, post a list of freezer contents on it.  In a well
-fitted, well-insulated freezer, food will usually still have ice crystals in their
centers (meaning foods are safe to eat)  for at least 3 days.

FINALLY- begin to use non-perishable foods and staples.

Having listed this, (which is from FEMA , and RED CROSS,)
I have been asked to be more specific on food. So, here's some ideas
of what our family packs.

granola bars, fruit snacks, smarties ( hard tack, mints for adults ) something
to suck on makes life easier, it seems.
Use snacks that don't melt, (chocolate, more clean up and thirsty mouths.)
I like putting small items in a zip-lock bag.
Pop-open type cans of things like: soup, stew, chili, fruit, vienna sausages,
chicken, tuna, or ham salad with crackers
(comes together in  a little box available at most stores and even the $1 store).
Most foods that have a little ring to pull open are ready to eat.  Cold isn't so
bad and is better than going hungry. Pack some plastic spoons!!
High calorie foods are good in this case because you may not be able to eat till
 you're full.
Small bottles of water or water pouches are especially good for little hands.
You don't end up spilling and wasting as much, if you know what I mean.
Also juice boxes or boxed milk. The flavored ones are good as well.
You may need a small sippy cup in your little ones' back pack for peace of mind.
I would also make sure you have some wet wipes.  They can be a travel size or
in a zip-lock bag.  Just make sure you replace them once in a while or re-hydrate
them if needed.

For cleaning, it's nice to have a small spray bottle with water in and another one
with water and a little bit of liquid soap. Much less water is needed that way. This
is a good item to have in your trunk of your car in that kit.

Make sure each kit has each item. If you get separated and all the flashlights
 are in dad's back pack, you will all be in the dark! Except for dad.

This should give you an idea of things you can use. Easy and light weight items are
good to think about. Remember, you might need to be able to carry your back-pack.
You  don't need to spend a lot of money.  Be creative and practical.  $1 stores are
a good source for small things like wet-wipes, hand sanitizer, chapstick, kleenexes,
and other such things. Pencil and notebook or small toy for kids keeps them happier.

One more thing. When you are putting together your pack, label the outside with
some sort of tag that says:
your name
son or daughter of:
wife or husband of:
address:
This is needed information if a child gets lost or a person is injured and unable
to communicate. Little stretchy 1/2" wide band bracelets are good to have in your kit to
put on everyone or to have medication or allergy info on. You've seen these on
our kids oft times for whatever event.

Happy packing everyone!

Which wheat should I store?

I've been asked some things about wheat that I thought I should post.
Below are two sights that you can read if you are interested in 
more than  what I have listed here.

Questions:
1-Which wheat should I store?
2-Is red wheat better than white?
3-What is the difference?
4-What is the differences between soft and hard wheat?

Answers:
1- You can store either white or red HARD wheat. They both store well.
2- No. Both are nutritionally equivalent.
3- The difference is the color, flavor and sweetness.  White wheat  yields 1-3 %
more flour and produces lighter colored products.  White wheat does not contain the strongly-flavored phenolic compounds that are in red wheat. This gives white wheat 
a milder flavor, and also means that products made with white wheat require less added sweetener to attain the same level of perceived sweetness.

4-There are two types of white wheat- hard and soft. The differences between the two 
are found mainly in the end products for which they are used. Hard white wheat is best
for long term storage. Soft white wheat has a lower protein level than hard wheat. Soft 
wheat is used mainly for bakery products other than bread; pastries, cakes, and cookies. 
It is also used for cereals, flat breads, and crackers. Both white wheat classes make quality 100% whole wheat products.

Hope this answers most everyone's questions.  If you have any more, let me know
and I will  try and get them answered.

Happy Baking!

http://www.wellnessproposals.com/nutrition/handouts/grains-fiber/truth-about-white-wheat.pdf

http://www.wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/whole-white-wheat-faq

Whole Wheat Muffins

1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 cup milk, 2% or fat free
2 cups white whole wheat flour

Preheat oven to 400* F. Have ingredients at room
temperature.  Line a muffin tin with paper cups or spray
to coat the bottom of the tin. With electric mixer, cream
margarine, sugars, and soda, scraping bowl with spatula.
  In a small bowl, using a fork, beat together egg and vanilla;
add to creamed mixture.  Beat till light and fluffy.  Add milk.
Gradually add flour and lightly stir till dry ingredients are barely
moistened. Over mixing will make the muffins tough and form
tunnels.
  Fill muffin tins 2/3 full and bake 15-17 minutes or till browned
and done.  Remove from tin and cool on wire rack.  12 servings

Nutrition:  calories/serving: 231, 5 g protein; 34 g carbohydrates;
9 g fat; 19 mg cholesterol; 3 g fiber; 14 mcg folate; 1 mg iron;
120 mg sodium

Hope your gardens are doing well.
If you haven't started yet, it's not too late to start.
Most everything is safe to plant now. Hopefully we
won't need the wall-of-water on our plants any longer.

BREAD MAKING
Here is a site for those of you that wanted to watch
 an easy video on making bread.  This one is using hard
 white wheat flour but you can use which ever kind you
want to.  It's just a nice basic video in a normal
 kitchen setting.
http://everydayfoodstorage.net/wonders-of-bread

Wonders of Whole Wheat Bread

everydayfoodstorage.net

Learn how to use your food storage wheat to make delicious bread!

 You'll be amazed at how easy and delicious it can be

This would be my grandson wanting to eat the giant loaf his mother

just made.

Want to try a warm drink that isn't chocolate?

I really like Stephen's gourmet French Vanilla

Hot chocolate. Here's a drink similar to that.

3/4 cup water

1 rounded tsp. honey

a couple drops vanilla

3 rounded Tbsp. dry milk

Heat water in microwave about 45

seconds or until hot. Stir in remaining

ingredients and stir. Adjust honey and

milk to desired sweetness and richness.



















Thinking about gardens yet?

It's that time of year again to be thinking about your

garden. Make a plan of what

you want to plant and start getting ready. Broccoli, cauliflower, onions, spinach

and such will be the first things that need to get planted; probably about the end of

this month if we don't have snow on the ground still.

It's Apple time once again. If you want a good recipe for

Apple Pie Filling, look under canning and find the

Apple Pie recipe using Clear Jel A. It's a

yummy one.

Basic Disaster Kit

Here is the list recommended by FEMA for your 72 hour kit.

* 3 day supply of non-perishable food

* 3 day supply of water-one gallon of water per person per day

* portable, battery powered radio or television and extra batteries

* flashlight and extra batteries

* first aid kit and manual

* sanitation and hygiene items (moist towelettes and toilet paper)

* matches and waterproof container

* whistle

* extra clothing

* kitchen accessories and cooking utensils, including a can opener

* photo copy of credit and identification cards

* cash and coins

* special needs items such as, prescriptions, eye glasses, contact solution

hearing aid batteries

* other items to meet your unique family needs

If you live in a cold climate, you must think about warmth.

It is possible that you will not have heat. Think about your

clothing and bedding supplies. Be sure to include one complete

change of clothing and shoes per person. Including:

* jacket or coat

* long pants

* long sleeve shirt

* sturdy shoes

* hat, mittens, and scarf

* sleeping bag or warm blanket (per person)

Be sure to account for growing children and other family changes.

Change stored food and water every six months and replace them

with fresh supplies. Keep items in airtight plastic bags and place in

an easy to carry container: back pack, duffel bag,, etc. Keep in a place

where temperature is cool. Re-think your needs every year.

****************************************************

This list will need to be adapted to your own family needs.

Remember you have to carry it or pull it, so go light as possible.

If it is winter you will most likely already have a jacket or coat

on when you leave your house. It's a good idea to keep a pair

of gloves or mittens in your coat pocket.

A little time preparing now, saves many hours of worry, later.

Happy preparing!