Back to Basics

I used to get sick whenever I ate sandwiches. When I found out I had an high intolerance to soy I cut out mayonaise from m diet. I couldn't figure out what was causing me to still get sick. the cheese wasn't processed and either was the meat. I never thought to check the bread. Low and behold, I checked it, eventually (try today) and there is soy in it. Not only soy, but high fructose corn syrup.

Now, you don't need to have soy or high fructose corn syrup in your food storage. I think a person would be hard-pressed to be able to find a recipe for one of their favorite store-bought items that contains those items. Most store-bought foods that contain high fructose corn syrup are the cheaper brands or versions of things. Do you buy applesauce? It is apples, mashed up apples, sometimes with sugar or cinnamon. Who would have thought that they you were paying for high fructose corn syrup as well. I stopped buying the cheapest applesauce. I want my money buying applesauce, not something different.

Many, try a lot, of store-bought foods, no matter how basic they seem, contain soy or high-fructose corn syrup. Unless you want or have the money to spend on higher priced food that does not contain those ingredients you either have to settle for them or even learn to make your own. However, there is a problem with making your own if you are used to store-bought versions.

If a person makes bread and compares it to the fluffy white stuff from the store there will be huge difference. They not only taste different, but the texture is different as well. If you have to use your food storage and can't get bread from the store, I doubt anyone is going to eat the bread you make if they have only been eating store-bought bread.

I've been working on improving my bread-making skills. They aren't there yet, but when I first started I was hard-pressed to get my husband to eat the stuff. He wanted the bread from the store. It has taken a while to get him used to eating home-made bread, but he loves the stuff now, and so does my daughter. We go through a lot more home-made bread then any amount of store-bought I ever brought home. Not only does it taste better and the ingredients are much simpler, but it is healthier.

If you plan on storing things to make bread, please learn how to make bread and get used to the way it tastes. It is different than store-bought becuase it is 'real' bread.

Bread is not the only food item that tastes different if you make it at home.
I make crackers, wheat thins and graham crackers. I finally figured out how to do them right, but it took some practice, and I almost gave up too.

I can't eat the store-bought wheat thins. They contain soy. So, I learned to make my own. At first I was the only one in the family eating them. My husband complained they weren't as good as the ones in the box, so I ate them all. I could tell the difference. I could taste the added stuff in the store-bought ones.

I want to be a determined person, and want my family to like what I make. I also don't have the money to spend on buying crackers especially if I can make them at home. I want some healthy snacks for my family so I have to learn to make them better so my family will eat them. I practiced on the wheat thin recipe and I finally succeeded. Not only will my husband and daughter eat them, but they will snack on them all day. Now, if there is an emergency and food storage is needed I will be able to make some comfort foods without giving a shock to my family.

If you like something at the store, look at the ingredients, see if you can make it at home with basic ingredients found in your cupboard. You don't need high fructose corn syrup or soy products of sorts. You just need the basics. Sure, you will taste and see the difference, but it will taste much better. I no longer have a filmy after-taste in my mouth from eating a wheat thin from the store. So, challenge yourself, and get back to basics with what you have. Remember, if you store food you want to use it. Store what you eat and eat what you store. If you don't learn now how to use the stuff or make things from basic ingredients, or even get used to the real taste of food, you and your family will be in for a shock and everyone is going to be longing for the fluffy white stuff off the shelf from the store.

Food Prices

So, food prices just keep going up. The last time I went shopping for groceries I picked up a loaf of bread. Ten seconds later I put it back on the shelf. The next day I made bread. I've made bread every few days since. Needless to say, I have been having a lot of fun experimenting and eating my own bread. It tastes so good, and especially wonderful when it is fresh out of the oven. It is enough to force myself to stop eating it. If you put me in a kitchen with fresh warm bread and a jar of jam the two would disappear.

The amount of food prices has definitely put a damper on my efforts to acquire a good food storage. My food budget has decreased while my gas budget has increased. Each time the gas goes up the only place to take money from is the food budget, everything else is set in stone. Thus, I am forced, out of necessity, to find ways to make good use of every bit of food I have along with finding more ways to make my own foods. The same day I put the bread back I looked at so many foods in which I really wanted to buy but instead walked past them knowing I could make them myself. Yesterday I made wheat thins. Tomorrow I make graham crackers.

In a few weeks after I get back from a family reunion I will try making my own yogurt. Every cent counts now. I've taken to making most of the baby food and will hopefully wean the little one off of store bought baby food shortly, until then I am forced to pay a lot of money for food that would really only cost me 10 cents to make (of course, that is just an estimate, I'm just saying...)

There are things I won't give up on, like buying good sales. That is how I am going to still work on my storage. I may only be able to get a few sale items vs. all of them, but some is better than none.

Despite all of the prices, I did get a new can-opener. I did not have a choice because I left the last ones in our old home. They did not make the move with us, so I bought a nicer one, not high end or anything like that, but nicer.