Monday Message

"Today, I emphasize a most basic principle: home production and storage. Have you ever paused to realize what would happen to your community or nation if transportation were paralyzed or if we had a war or depression? How would you and your neighbors obtain food? How long would the corner grocery store—or supermarket—sustain the needs of the community?" (President Ezra Taft Benson)

"Let us be in a position so we are able to not only feed ourselves through the home production and storage, but others as well." (President Ezra Taft Benson)

In Argentina, Relief Society leaders are trying to teach the importance of food storage. They wrote: "Unfortunately, most of the sisters [here] cannot afford to buy an extra kilo of sugar, or flour, or an extra liter of oil. However, they have been encouraged to save, even just a spoonful at a time." (Elaine L. Jack)

"A cardinal principle of the gospel is to prepare for the day of scarcity. Work, industry, frugality are part of the royal order of life." (Bishop Keith B. McMullin)

"Start now to create a plan if you don’t already have one, or update your present plan. Watch for best buys that will fit into your year’s supply. We are not in a situation that requires panic buying, but we do need to be careful in purchasing and rotating the storage that we’re putting away. The instability in the world today makes it imperative that we take heed of the counsel and prepare for the future." (L. Tom Perry)

"Decide as a family that there will be no vacation or holiday next year unless you have your year’s supply. Many Church members could buy a full year’s supply of the basics from what they would save by not taking a vacation. Take the vacation time and work on a family garden. Be together, and it can be just as much fun." (Vaughn J. Featherston) *Intended as a suggestion. For the full context, read his talk here.

I think I could not enjoy a vacation knowing I did not have storage in. I once heard someone give a talk and say a person hasn't any business buying antiques if they did not have their storage in, it has helped me to have perspective.

They just said our wheat is going up. Wheat is in an awful lot of the food that we all eat so we need to take that into account.

I think now is the time to be stocking up on the very basics like dried beans, pasta, instant potatoes, flour (whichever kind you can eat). One time I told a lady about putting flour in five gallon food-safe buckets. When I saw her later, she said she had her flour and sugar in and showed us one bucket of flour and one of sugar. I then told her we were going through a bucket a month of each for our family so I kindly explained more would be needed.

It is easy to think it is a lot but when you have to do everything from scratch - cookies, bread, biscuits, rolls, brownies, pies, cakes, pancakes, waffles...you go through a lot of flour.

And that isn't all you need - yeast and lots of it. I get those two pound bags at Sam's. Get quite a few and store them in the freezer. I put one in a quart jar I keep in the refrigerator, this is my using jar. Then you have baking powder and baking soda and salt, I store powdered milk, and I keep my chocolate ingredients on hand.

You can use those ingredients to make my favorite chocolate cake, scroll down here for the recipe - http://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2020/04/monday-message_20.html 

Think about everything you eat then plan your storage.

What is the most expensive meal you eat? Is it fifty dollars for example. What could you get for that amount of money? Oatmeal, beans, pasta, flour, sugar, cornmeal, popcorn, canned tomatoes....so give up those meals for a time and use the money to stock your pantry. Get oil and shortening, get one dollar brownie mixes, get pancake complete mixes that you only have to add water to - it can be waffles or pancakes. You can purchase syrup or get the ingredients to make your own, have brown sugar and jams and jellies.

If you do not can meat get canned tuna, chicken, ham, beef. We store dried beef. I make a white sauce and add a little cheese and chopped up dried beef to it. We have this over toast or mashed potatoes. If you can, try canning meat, it is the easiest to can. Have beans and rice too.

https://jamiecooksitup.net/2012/08/40-food-storage-recipes-and-food-storagepantry-staple-lists/ - this can be helpful to get you thinking.

https://www.pinterest.com/mamakven/food-storage-recipes/ - more ideas.

https://www.fromvalerieskitchen.com/easy-pantry-staple-recipes-food-stocking-storage-tips/

https://preparednessmama.com/basic-food-storage/ - anything out of Utah is great food.

https://preppersuniversity.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Food-Storage-Recipes.pdf - this has very helpful information.

I wanted you to see eating this food can be good, you are not just eating beans although beans in things taste great too.

Peanut butter, jams jellies any of them in sandwiches on biscuits on waffles or pancakes or even fry bread is wonderful.

There are many recipes in this cookbook that are very easy and if you don't have a bread machine do it by hand it is just the same, here's my post with the recipes inside - http://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2020/04/monday-message_20.html

https://extension.usu.edu/sanpete/files/Soup_or_Sauce_SOS_Mix.pdf - my favorite.

https://chickensintheroad.com/cooking/homemade-hamburger-helper/ my other fav.

https://www.theideadoor.com/home-family-resources/self-reliance/food-storage/everything-under-the-sun/ - this is fantastic, another fav. I use her egg replacer recipe, it's one you should have in your binder.

Well I just want you to have the best resources out there. Things are changing and will be for quite a while, we need to adapt.

Keep working on your skills...

This is what I worked over trying different ways of doing it till I got the one I like which is the red one.

I took some of the fabric I used to cover the ironing board with, cut them into strips and used them to decorated a bit in my sewing area.

Missy says build those binders with recipes and information like egg substitutes.

Gus says remember to keep being safe, remember to be kind in all things and pray for Ukraine.

Get out your binders add your frugal recipes.