Getting Prepared and Having Peace of Mind

April 2010

Food for thought: A disaster such as a flood, an earthquake, or a snowstorm could hit a city or an entire region, cutting off roads and making it impossible for FOOD and other items to be transported to the markets. Political unrest or strikes by truckers, shippers, or rail workers could interfere with the transport of FOODS. Other types of disasters, such as famine resulting from drought, hurricanes, floods, and even wars, have occurred in many countries and could occur again. When such disasters affect the entire community, FOOD and other supplies often cannot be obtained, even if money is available. How many food items have been recalled in the past year? Some examples are lettuce, eggs, meat, peanut butter, pet food, salsa, cheese, tomatoes, and more. A family can also experience an emergency in the form of illness or unemployment that results in a lack of income, making it necessary to rely on home FOOD STORAGE.

Upcoming Preparedness Events:

Cannery Tues, Apr. 6th – 6-8 pm CERT Training: Scheduled for May

Hard White Wheat, Oats, and “Girls Choice” 15^th and 22^nd, 6 am – 2 pm, Ward Bldg

Did you know: Morning Moo (sold at Costco and other places) is a substitute milk with corn syrup and hydrogenated oils in it. The Cannery milk and Maple Island milk are non-fat dry milks, with Vitamin A & D3. Both taste great and are good for you.

Let’s talk about oil:

Since oil is so important in our food storage and has such a short shelf life, I have been doing some research on this. Here is what I have found: The most stable oils to store are olive (which should be used at low heat and for drizzling on foods, having a flashpoint of about 350 and coconut oil, which has a flashpoint of about 380-400 better for pan frying. Both have a longer shelf life than most other oils and shortening on the market. The real secret to the shelf life in storing your olive or coconut oil, in most cases, is how you store it. Oils should be stored in glass or metal, not in plastic. Over time the oil will eat through the plastic leaking out and allowing oxygen in. Olive oil has been used even after 20 years in a metal can. Coconut oil is very popular as it is a medium chain saturated fat, also with no trans fatty acids. Coconut oil seems to have an indefinite shelf life as it is found in tropical climates and never seems to go rancid when stored out of direct sunlight. In the tropics it is always a liquid, since it’s melting point is 76 degrees F. In North America, it will usually be a solid, butter-like consistency. It can be stored either way. Most coconut oils have the coconut scent, but Tropical Traditions, www.tropicaltraditions.com, uses a steam deodorizing process on some of it’s oils which removes the sweet coconut smell and makes it a bland, tasteless oil which some prefer for cooking. They do not use chemicals or solvent extracts. The oil is not hydrogenated. Dan Pointer, a food storage specialist, has had their oils tested and found them to be the best he has come across. He has been using them for some time. One thing I questioned the company about was whether the EPCO (Expeller-Pressed Coconut Oil) was made from fresh coconuts, not dried. Their chart showed otherwise. They assured me it was and were in the process of changing that. They list their shelf life at 18 – 24 months, but their product has proven itself to be far longer and with higher quality. I will continue to research this topic. I have been using the EPCO from Tropical Traditions and my family likes it. If you are interested in purchasing it locally and at a discount, you can contact Lee Lloyd at 568-6088.

Recipe of the Month: Maple Syrup

1 c. brown sugar (lightly packed), 3 c. water, 5 t. cornstarch, 1 t. maple flavoring

Cook sugar, water, and cornstarch until slightly thickened. Stir in flavoring.