Long-Term Food Storage

Bare-Bones Basics

Many people think of long-term food storage as the supply of food you have stashed in the basement or under the bed.

You buy it, stick it in the closet and forget it, and assume that you're prepared.

You don't have to use it; you just have to have it - just in case.

You've got it under control.

Maybe you do and maybe you don't. What you most likely have stashed away in the basement is a pretty good supply of bare-bones basic foods. These are the kinds of items usually considered for long-term food storage.

Your supply of bare-bones basic foods is a great place to start your long-term food storage program. With a supply of grains, legumes, dry milk, sugar/honey, salt, and a few other supplementary items is what you will need to make these foods edible and functional in simple, easy recipes.

So you're wondering what you would do with those kernels of wheat or that dry milk. Believe it not, these foods are the foundation for most people's diets, even in those fast-food restaurants. Say you stop in for a burger and a chocolate shake at the nearest burger place. Bare-bones basics are part of that meal: the wheat in the bun, oil, salt, and milk and sugar used in the shake.

Of course, there is a big difference between the highly processed ingredients from the burger place and the grains and powdered milk in your storage. But the point is, these bare-bones staples have been basic to society since man began growing food.

How can we exist on just these basics?

It would be difficult to cope with existence on just the basic wheat, beans, dry milk, sugar, and salt. For most people, changing from your current diet to a stringent diet of just these 5 basics would probably cause digestive problems.

There are solutions to this problem.

First, store more than just these 5 items (see the bare-bones basics in the sidebar). Don't store just wheat; store wheat and barley and oats and rice and more. Don't store just beans; store a variety of beans and rice. A small variety of basic foods is a nutritional improvement over a diet of only one grain.

Next, get used to eating these foods before you are forced to eat them. Make it a point to consistently use the grains, beans and other whole foods in your current meal plans. This will prevent you from becoming ill from the marked change if they suddenly must become your mainstay diet.

These types of foods are good, tasty, healthful, and extremely economical - an important factor in these current times of economical uneasyness.

So what can you prepare with some of your long-term food storage items? Here's a recipe to try for fun.

ROASTED WHEAT KERNELS

1/4 cup wheat berries (whole kernels of wheat)
1/2 tablespoon oil
1/8 teaspoon salt

Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet. Add wheat berries and pop
like popcorn. They don’t expand as much as popcorn, but they will
pop. Swirl around in the pan to prevent burning. Sprinkle with salt
while hot. Makes 1⁄3 cup.

Want more recipes?

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Here's what you will discover . . .

Simple recipes using your food storage that will get you rave reviews from your family!
How to "spice" up all those boring, dull tasting, wheat, oats, lentils, and cornmeal.
What to prepare (from your food storage) that your family will beg you for more - it will be hard to "store" this for long.

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