Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Ark Prep 101 - A New Way to Store Food!

Food Storage has really come a long way!
They're are so many different options to choose from
when you set up a
Food Storage System!
Here are a few different
options you might like to try:
Bag Meals
Bag Meals are stored in bags and contain EVERY ingredient
you need to make a meal, including the water!
Bag Meals can be stored in the reusable bags
you find at the grocery store. 
It's a good idea to store the recipe with the bag.
Make sure you put the Best Used By Date on the bag.
Use the can or ingredient with the earliest date as your guide.
Mixes
Mixes can be stored in Jars or Sealed in Food Saver Bags.
They usually contain part of the meal.  You will need to add
a few other ingredients to prepare each item.
Categorized Ingredients
This system of storing food can be compared to a grocery store.
"Like Items" are stored together, but each is
stored as a seperate ingredient.
Freeze Dried Meals
Freeze Dried Meals are commercially canned. 
All you have to do to prepared the freeze dried meals
is add water and heat.
They don't have that homemade flavor, but if you're hungry I'm
sure it will taste like you're eating at a 5 star resturant.
(O.K. maybe a 3 star . . . but at least you won't be hungry!)
They do have a long shelf-life when properly stored.
Long-Term Boxes
Long-Term Boxes contain the cans of wheat, beans, rice . . . etc.
that I can at the dry-pack.  I use my long-term ingredients to make
my Mixes and Bag Meals.
They have a long shelf life so they're a great option for storage.
or a
Combination
I use a combination of each of these systems.
I love to have meals on hand or Bag Meals
My pantry is set up specifically for the Bag Meals System.
I add a lot of my Mixes into the Bags which makes
mealtime prep super fast and easy!
I love using Mixes, and because the recipes are my family
favorites and made the exact same way I make all of the other
recipes in my favorite cookbooks, I already know my family
will love the end result!
My food storage room is set up in categories:
Bag Meals
Mixes
Long-Term Boxes
Freeze Dried Meals
and then the
Ingredients and Canned Goods are stored more like
I would find them in the store.
I call my food storage
"My Smith's" . . . my last name is Smith,
 so it totally works!
Each day in June
I will be posting a new
Jar Mix Recipe
with the
Instruction Tags and Lid Toppers.
Each day in July 
I will be posting a
Bag Meal
with the
Recipes and Bag Tags.
As well as the
Scheduled Daily Posts!

3 comments:

kimber said...

You are my HERO!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you soo much I can't wait till June 1st!!! (it's my birthday)lol can't wait to see what you have in store for us! Thanks again! Kimber

Anonymous said...

Oh I bet some of the people in Nashville would love some of those bag meals right now!

Tara M said...

How fun! I can't wait!