How do I Make a Food Storage Anyway??!

I have many friends and acquaintances who have seen what we do, or how we eat, and they think we have some sort of magic formula or way of acquiring food.

Often people tell me they can't get a food storage because they don't  have a couple thousand dollars to buy it all in one shot.

I will tell you a secret - neither do I!!

What we do have though is determination.

When we were first starting our food storage journey, we were discouraged because we lived on a small budget and didn't have the cash to spare to buy more than one or two things here and there.

But, determination wins all the time. 

Here are six ways we have made food storage happen at our house:

1.  We grow a pretty large garden.

 It is a whole family effort. 
We have contests (last year my 3rd son and DH tried different ways to grow corn to see who could have the best harvest), we weed every single day for an hour as a family, we grow things that strike us as cool - but also things that will feed us.

We have a very large selection of seeds we've ordered...

...and saved.
I firmly believe that if we are storing food, we should also store enough seed for the next year to grow. 
So, as a result, we save seed.

2.  I never say no when someone offers me free canning jars.

As a result I have more than I need, but I also have enough to share. 
I also have enough to give to my kids as they move out. 
When my son got his own place in a nearby city, I had extra for his essentials and didn't worry about shorting myself.

That leads me into...

3. I can everything.
For real.
I am pretty sure there isn't anything I haven't tried now.  Haha

Canning can be quite expensive.
Or, if you grow your own, shop sales, and barter, you can have quite a stash of food set aside for cheaper and healthier than what you get in the store.

4. I try really hard to never say no to free produce.

This means that sometimes I don't know what I'm going to do with that 50lb zucchini, or how the heck I'm going to process 100lbs of apples, but I always am thankful I took the time to put it up and found a way to make it happen.

5.  I barter like crazy.

Everyone has something extra.
I've bartered pigs for photo sessions and taco shells.
Extra grain for chicks.
Soap for cherries.
Garden design help for honey.
The list is only limited by your own imagination!  People are generally willing (even eager) to barter.  This means that your food storage can grow while you trade your surplus.

6.  I buy in bulk.

Maybe this means I find an excellent price on Oats, or dry beans.
Sometimes I run to the store for sugar and it's on sale, so I buy two.
Or, I'm picking up baking powder, and it costs $5 more to get a 2gal bucket of it instead of a 500mL container. 
I always go for the bigger package because I tuck the rest away in my storage.

I know that some of these tips don't  work for everyone, but at least some do.

You may not have room for a large garden, but you do have room for a few pots to grow some cukes or tomatoes.  Then canning your extra.

You may not have room to store a million jars, but you do have room to tuck some jam away that you made when strawberries were on sale.

You may not have room to store 300lbs of wheat per person, but 5gal buckets store nicely tucked into that broom closet or behind your hanging clothes.

It has taken me MANY years to gather my stores.  It did not come overnight.  No matter where you are in your journey, there is always room for one step forward.  The important part is taking that first step. 

So, come with me.

Let's take that first step together.

I celebrate every single success of yours.  If it your first time making jam, and you made 4 jars (!), or it is your 34th year canning and you tucked away 600 jars or produce.
Every success is 100% worth the celebration!

Please call, text, email, comment if there is anything I can help you with!

Food Storage Fun - Cornmeal Tacos

I have been debating for a very long time about what I want to do with this blog if I start writing again.

I thought about writing practical lists.

Possible tips and things to buy.

Maybe something about this novel virus.

But I've decided I want to start focusing on practical things we can do to help keep our family alive during some sort of emergency.

Enter my first idea.

The other day I picked up 25 lbs of cornmeal for my storage.  

I was asked 3 times what I was going to do with it.

I've also been asked about what to do with other things I keep in my long term storage.

So...I thought I would focus on how I use things in my storage.  Enter "Food Storage Fun".

(Because food storage friday ties me to a day of the week and I'm just not that kind of girl anymore.  😂)

To start this fun off, I'm going to give you one of the easiest recipes you will ever see.

Cornmeal Taco Shells

1/2 Cup Cornmeal

1 Cup Flour

1 1/2 Cup Cold Water

1/4 tsp Salt

1 Egg

Mix it all together.

In a very hot, ungreased frying pan, swirl the batter on the bottom until it is covering the whole thing.

Flip when the edges start to lift up and the top is dry.

Remove when other side is cooked.

Seriously easy, and so yummy.

We ate ours tonight with a simple cheese sauce that I added scramble fried pork to (from our goats and pigs respectfully).
Also some home canned salsa, sauerkraut (get those probiotics!), and lettuce.

Simple and so delish.

These also taste yummy with:
*Peanut butter/hazelnut spread and apples/bananas.
*Scrambled eggs and salsa
*Refried beans and cheese
*Milk Meat and cheese and pico

And so much more.

I would love to hear from you about what you would like to know.  I am by no means an expert, and honestly have changed quite a bit since I wrote here last, but I will try to share my practical experience if I have it to help you.

Meanwhile, here are some recipes to play with as you use your food storage (here), enjoy!

Solid Lotion

I promise this is the last of my "home remedies" posts for a while.  Promise!

BUT, these are awesome people.  Gotta post them!

This is a lotion bar.

Solid lotion.

It works kind of awesome.  ::)

You hold the bar in your hand, and the heat from your skin makes it soft enough to spread on your skin.  So much for taking way too much lotion (wait - am I the only one who does that??!) and needing to smear it all over in places that don't necessarily need it.

I can just use this on the places I want it right then.  I find it works especially good on my feet!

So, wanna make your own?

My oldest son and I experimented with a few different recipes, and this is our favorite:

Solid Lotion Bars

1 part Coconut Oil
1 part Shea or Cocoa Butter
1 part Beeswax

Melt the solid oils/butters together in a double boiler (or glass jar in some boiling water) and add:

2 Tbsp Infused Oil
60 drops of Essential Oil
Vitamin E

Mix well and pour into molds.  I just used some silicone muffin tins.  Let stand until hard (like about 8 hours) and pop out.  Use on all your dry skin.

Cheers

How To Host an Herbal Exchange

A Herbal Exchange?

An Herbal Exchange?

Oh well.  It was an exchange!

A few months ago I ran across a photo of an exchange that a woman did.  She did it just before Christmas and used the products for her gifts.  

I loved the idea, but wanted to do it just after Christmas because I didn't want to overload my friends with stuff to do.

I asked around, texted, emailed, and told people to invite friends.  After a couple weeks, I had 15 people committed to exchanging.

This was perfect because 15 is a do-able number.

Also 15 gives you a wonderful assortment of things to play with!!

I made a muscle rub based on the muscle balm I already make.  Placed it in little jars and printed a recipe (see below if you want it).  This is what else I got:
Flu Buster Kit (lotion and capsules to take)
Lavender and Calendula Body Butter
Shower Disks
Breath Easy Lotion
Balm of Gilead Burn Cream
Solid Perfume Sticks
Calendula Salve
Marigold Salve
First Aid Salve
Coffee Soap
Almond Lotion
Shampoo Bar and Pineapple Weed Infused Soap

Super fun!!

I knew all but two of the attendee's, but all of them didn't know each other as they came from different places.  It was great fun to get together and discuss our methods of why we chose what we did, what it works for, and how we made it.

We had 3 ladies who had made only the one product they brought before.  We had some who had a couple products under their belt.  And we had the rest who had been doing this for at least a couple years.  It was a grand showing and telling time for all of us!

If you ever get the chance to try something like this....grab it!!  It was a wonderful time for all of us.

Now the recipe:

Muscle Rub

In a glass jar:
20 gr beeswax
25 gr Coconut Oil
20 gr Shea Butter (or Cocoa butter)

Melt and pour into a blender.  When it is almost solid (but not solid), begin to blend and add in a steady stream:

3/4 C Infused Oil (I use a few kinds, comfrey, calendula, plantain, chickweed, arnica...to name a few options)
2/3 C Distilled Water
40 drops of Essential Oil (I use a pain blend I developed)
0.1 oz Vitamin E Oil

Blend just until mixed and thickened.  Pour into glass containers to let solidify.

This will keep for about a year in a cool, dark place.

Rub onto sore muscles, headaches, pain, and inflammation.

Cheers!

Head and Muscle Ache Balm

In my last post I talked about the balm I made for muscle aches and headaches.  I thought I would share it with you.

It is amazing for temporary relief.  I am a big fan of something that I can do that doesn't damage my kidneys as much as taking the massive amounts of drugs it requires to tame one of my headaches!

To use for muscle pain rub on affected area as often as needed.

To use for headaches (seems to work for most types of headache) rub on temples (be careful because the fumes make your eyes water so I always lay down after), back of the neck on your brain stem, and on the forehead.  Apply as needed.

Headache and Muscle Balm

0.3 oz Peppermint EO
0.3 oz Lavender EO
0.1 oz Frankincense EO
0.1 oz Wintergreen EO
0.1 oz Birch EO
0.5 oz Cocoa Butter
0.2 oz Castor Oil
0.4 oz Bees Wax

Place the Essential Oils in a separate container.
Melt the butter, oil, and wax in a heat proof, glass container.  Use a pan with some water boiling in the bottom.  It will take about 5 min or so.
Add the EO's and heat till mixed well.

Pour into your containers.
Let set up and use on all muscle aches.
Be careful around eyes and mucus membranes.  You do not want to get this in there.  If you do, immediately flush with water and get it all out.  (not speaking from experience or anything as I rubbed my eye frantically with a towel!!)

This causes a pleasant cool burn.  It will be almost instant relief of muscle pain.