Archive for November, 2009
By Catherine Bormant
In case of a natural or man-made disaster, having meals ready to eat (MRE) on hand gives you peace of mind for your family’s survival. The end of the world has been predicted long before the Mayans recorded the last day as December 21, 2012. On Twitter, it is being reported that Oprah calling it quits in 2011 is a sure sign she has insider tips and wants to enjoy her last remaining days before the fat lady sings! In all seriousness, whether 2012 turns out to be a repeat of Y2K (I still have the t-shirt!) or an actual doomsday scenario, it pays to be prepared ahead of schedule!
To prepare for any emergency take the following steps:
- Stock a two week supply of water at your home and office.
- Store a 2 week supply of meals ready to eat non-perishable food at home.
- Assembly a First Aid Kit and include extra medications your family (including pets) may need.
- Keep blankets, flashlights, batteries, multipurpose tools, and a portable radio on hand for home use and stored in your vehicles.
- Pack a 3 day supply of MRE meals in all your vehicles.
One of the companies that produce MRE survival food for the United States military also producing the Sopakco “Sure-Pak 12″ for civilians. The packaged MRE foods contain much of the same emergency food as the military MRE such as the entrees, side items, and desserts.With ordering the ration packs, you have the option of purchasing the meals ready to eat with or without heaters. Optional flameless ration heaters are included in the meal kit which is activated using plain water. For additional savings, the Sure-Paks without heaters cost around $9 less than the emergency meals with heaters.
Each Sure-Pak case comes with twelve separate meals. There are typically six different menus in each case for variety. An example of a MRE survival food menu includes the following:
- Chicken Fajita
- Grilled Beef Patty
- Chicken Cavatelli
- Chicken Strips in Salsa
- Sloppy Joe
- Cajun style rice/beans with beef sausage
Being prepared is the easiest part of survival. Once all your plans are in place, you can forget it and go on with your normal routine. Although, you will be two steps ahead of the game!
For stocking up on Meals Ready to Eat, at http://www.mealsreadytoeat.org/ we have got all the basics covered!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Catherine_Bormant
By: Joseph Parish
Usually there are specific factors involved which determine how long stored foods will last in the food storage pantry. These factors involve such variables as the temperature of your storage facility, the amount of moisture that is in the stored foods, the quantity of air found in the storage container and the actual storage container itself.
More then any other factor involved, the temperature of your storage facilities has the most influence upon the shelf life of your stored food. If your supply of food will be storing in a warm type of environment you can not expect it to last as long as it could if the storage area was in a dry, cool, dark location. I have previously been informed that the optimum temperature should be approximately 40 degrees Fahrenheit or less. Realistically thinking however, this is not always an attainable figure. You should however have a consistent temperature. In other words, don’t allow the facilities to change temperatures from 40 degrees to 90 as this is not good for your food.
Second in importance is the amount of moisture that is contained within the food itself. It is not unusual for high moisture content in foods to spoil while the food is still in the container. This is particularly noticeable in home dehydrated foods. You should select foods that you plan to keep in your long term food storage with a moisture content that is less then 10 percent. Frequently this can only be accomplished by the use of expensive and complicated equipment.
As opposed to making your own dehydrated foods you may wish to consider those freeze dried foods which are prepared especially for long term survival purposes.
Next we need to discuses the air that is contained in the containers themselves. I personally use oxygen absorber packets when I pack my dehydrated foods. All that is required is to carefully place one packet in the jar or other container and close the lid. Within a short period of time you will find that the jar lid has completely sealed itself and removed any air within. Keep in mind that when using these absorbers you must employ a container that can withstand the resulting vacuum pressure.
We always have to take into consideration the containers themselves. To be useful in food storage a container must be able to achieve a hermetically sealed closure. This will ensure that your food has the longest possible life that it can.
I use glass jars and the food grade storage buckets. Many pastry shops around the country obtain much of their icing in large five gallon plastic buckets. Since you can be sure that these are food grade containers they are perfect for storage.
Generally items such as brownie or cake mixes will only last about 12 to 18 months unless they are re-packaged. Older mixes, although not harmful when consumed tend to lose their rising ability after a period of time. Although many people believe that coffee beans will only last for a couple of weeks, I completely disagree with this idea. I had a coffee shop and the unground beans will last for at least a year. After being ground the oils in the beans begin to lose their potency therefore whole beans would be a good bet for survival food storage.
Other important items include canned baby foods. These can be stored unopened in your pantry for approximately one year. Just as unopened containers of shortening are good for 18 to 24 months. The popular Bouillon Cubes will last for as long as 2 years in your pantry.
Copyright @2009 Joseph Parish
http://www.survival-training.info
For more information relating to survival visit us at http://www.survival-training.info
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joseph_Parish
Store food for survival; seems like something you’d do if the world was under attack doesn’t it? Well the world as we know it may not be, but, our world may… Our world meaning, everyday life; what you do on a day to day basis, could be severely interrupted.
O.k. I know your aware of the terrorist threat, but what about the uncommon threats.
Things we take for granted like going to work every day…
…the grocery store having full selves…
…gas flowing freely…
…lights at the flick of a switch.
If, for what ever reason, those things would disappear tomorrow what would life be like.
Uncomfortable to say the least… We live in central Fl. and I rely heavily on the air conditioning. Imagine if you couldn’t cook on the stove or keep your food cold. If you take a moment to think about how your life would feel with out the bare essentials power, gas, or money. I think uncomfortable fits, wouldn’t you say?
Hold on a minute! That didn’t just slide by you did it? “Bare essentials power, gas, or money.” Those are far from the bare essentials! Food, water, shelter, and protection, are your bare essentials; and with out them, helplessness comes to my mind. Now if you can find and butcher your own food I commend you, because I can’t. For the rest of us the only logical thing to do is prepare for the worst and hope for the best! To avoid the helplessness feeling you need to store food and water.
Don’t forget about the water!… very important. When storing water plan on a gallon a day to consume, that’s not including personal hygiene so I plan on two gallons per day per person. I’d rather store to much and not need it than to need more than I stored. When you store your water make sure the containers are food grade. I suggest getting new barrels that are FDA approved, You can get them in 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, and 55 gallon sizes. You can get used barrels, and from what I understand they work great, but I’m afraid what was in them before could eventually leach into the water.
Onto the food. The food is actually pretty easy. There are a couple different approaches. You could either store your own, or you can buy food already packaged and ready to be stored. Storing it yourself seems to me to be the harder way. You would prepare it, can it, and eventually rotate it out. This route also has a shorter self life. The way I suggest is the easier way. Buy no-cook or prep freeze dried foods all ready to be stored. The freeze dried food has a longer self life, up to 25 years, and already has the calorie count calculated. Oh and the military uses the same food Co. What else can you ask for?
I lived and worked out of central Fl. for 16 years now and have seen quite a lot. We’ve been evacuated due to the fires of 98′, left powerless for weeks on end for three hurricanes in 04′, and saw the devastation Faye’s floods brought in 08′. My construction business has felt first hand what this economic crisis can do as well.
The reason I’m writing these articles is I’ve been in emergency situations and we were not prepare. Well… we were some what prepared, not the way we should have been.
I’m hoping these articles will help everyone to better prepare themselves. I don’t want to see anyone unprepared!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bill_R.