Tag Archives: preparedness

Why You Need A Preparedness Pantry

As I've been sharing about preparedness, I confess I get some people who are very dismissive and try to make prepper jokes. Last week, I had two people who were very skeptical and wanted to know ALL the reasons why they should consider starting to be more prepared.

No matter where you are on your preparedness journey, I believe it's never too late to start. But I guarantee you that starting after the fact is much more difficult. Here's what I've come up with for good reasons to be more prepared:

Peace of Mind: Knowing you have essential supplies stocked up can reduce stress and anxiety during an emergency or shortfall situation. This makes you more self-reliant.
Supply Chain Disruptions: We all remember the toilet paper situation of 2020. But once it was over, people stopped thinking about it. I encourage you to remember that if it happened once, it can happen again. Stockpiling helps make sure you have access to what you need, especially if transportation is disrupted in some way and the grocery store or general goods store cannot easily restock.
Financial Savings: Buying in bulk and during non-emergency times often saves money in the long run. And it's a hedge against the possibility of price gouging that can happen during shortages or crises.
Food Security: I'm firmly against the bucket of garbage being sold as "emergency food." You want to make sure you have what you need on hand.
Health Emergencies: Having medical supplies on hand can be critical during emergencies, especially if access to healthcare facilities is limited. Plus, basic first aid supplies mean you can take the first steps for needed care if emergency responders are elsewhere or cannot get to you.
Power Outages: Having essentials like batteries, a generator, candles, and alternative light sources helps manage power outages effectively so you have light and possibly power.
Job Loss or Pay Cut: Having supplies on hand can help reduce the impact of job loss or income reduction. You'll have a stockpile that you can use while reducing expenditures.
Shortages Due to Panic Buying: Stockpiling prevents the need to participate in panic buying during emergencies, ensuring equitable distribution of resources.
Barter or Trade: It may seem a bit extreme, but if needed, a stockpile can serve as a resource for barter or trade.
Personalized Needs: Anyone with special dietary requirements, medical conditions, or special needs can ensure their needs are met by stockpiling accordingly.
Seasonal Preparedness: Stockpiling seasonal items makes sure you are ready in the event of weather-related emergencies like storms or extreme temperatures.
Natural Disasters: Being prepared is essential for anyone living in an area that is prone to a natural disaster such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, or wildfires.

Whatever your reason for being prepared, it's important to remember that the best time to prepare for an emergency is before there is one. For anyone who wants to learn more, remember that you are always welcome to join The Kitchen Table.

Preparedness Pantry Meal In A Jar

by Mirapreparednesspreparedness

Have you ever had one of those nights where it's dinner time and you haven't started anything? If you have a preparedness pantry, that's not going to be a problem because one of the things that you can do is create meals in jar.

I call it camp stew and its main ingredients are chicken, butternut squash, peas, onions and delicious spices.

Check out the recipe below and the video on how to put it together.

Benefits of Meal in a Jar

Nutritious: You're eating real, single ingredients with no added preservatives or unnecessary fillers.
Convenient: Perfect for those nights when you're too tired to cook from scratch or realize you haven't planned dinner.
Economical: Using dehydrated and freeze-dried ingredients can be cost-effective, especially if you dehydrate some of the ingredients yourself.
Flavorful: Despite being rehydrated, these meals pack a punch in the flavor department, especially with the addition of carefully selected spices.

You can enjoy Camp Stew on its own or over a bed of rice, cauliflower rice, quinoa, or even a baked potato, making it versatile for any dietary preference.

Camp Stew Recipe

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Ingredients

Layer in a wide mouth quart jar:
1 cup freeze-dried chicken
1 cup freeze-dried butternut squash
1/2 cup freeze-dried peas
1/4 cup dehydrated onions
Place in a baggie and layer on top of the dry ingredients:
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 heaping teaspoon parsley
1 tablespoon bouillon

Instructions

Remove baggie with seasonings and set aside
Bring 4 cups of water to a boil
Pour over dry ingredients
Stir and let sit 15 minutes to rehydrate
Drain
Add seasonings and mix well
Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a pan
Add rehydrated ingredients and saute for 5 minutes.
Enjoy!

Notes

If desired can be served over rice, cauliflower rice, quinoa, or baked potato.

Links:

Freeze-dried ingredients - https://www.thrivelife.com/miradessy

Wide mouth funnel (stainless) - https://amzn.to/49whjjB

Spice + Leaf Vegan Broth Base - https://amzn.to/4bcJky1

Square zip lock baggies - https://amzn.to/47Vj7RT

Kraft paper baggies - https://amzn.to/3u9a7e7 - I like these better and plan to get them next time

How To Shop Smart At Dollar Tree

by Miragrocery, preparednessdollar tree, preparedness

Groceries are a moving target in the retail world, and stores like Dollar Tree are evolving to capture the shifting focus of consumers' food dollars.

In response to the increasing cost of groceries, Dollar Tree is expanding its reach into the market. They plan to install more cooler cases for cold and freezer items, aiming to add approximately 16,000 new cooler doors nationwide.

Shopping Smart

As Dollar Tree ventures into a wider array of grocery offerings, customers are tasked with shopping smarter. It's essential to not only consider the price but also the nutritional value of your purchases.

Here's what to remember:

Size and Value: Budget stores might offer different product sizes, making a Grocery Price Tracking Worksheet a vital tool for smart shopping. Often the budget grocery stores look like a deal until you really compare the prices per ounce rather than per package.
Quality Over Cost: Inexpensive doesn't always equate to healthy. It's important to read labels and choose items that offer nutritional value. Due to their focus on low cost, many budget stores choose to carry cheap products which are usually low in nutrient density. Your body and your health are worth paying more for real food.
Strategic Purchases: Dollar Tree's multiple price points can lead to larger basket sizes. Know your prices and don't be lured into false deals.
Efficient Shopping: Avoid the trap of convenience. Just because you're already at Dollar Tree doesn't mean you should compromise on value or nutrition.
Instant Gratification: While you know snacks and candies aren’t great, if you’re walking aisle after aisle looking for the good deals you may get decision fatigue and succumb to a treat. Or two. And once it comes into the house someone is going to eat it. Don’t do that. Use the same strategy I encourage when shopping at any grocery store. Don’t shop hungry and always grocery shop with a list.

The journey through budget grocery shopping is filled with both opportunities and pitfalls. The key is to shop with intention, keeping both your budget and health in mind. By being mindful and informed, we can navigate the aisles of Dollar Tree and other budget stores without compromising on our standards for nutrition and well-being.

Be prepared

Groceries aren’t the only thing you can get at Dollar Tree. It’s also possible to buy emergency preparedness supplies there. Every Dollar Tree is different, so you’ll need to think about what you might need and then check the aisles to see if your store has those supplies. If needed you may want to check out more than one Dollar Tree in your area.

Here’s what I found at mine:

Safety goggles
Lighter
Mini flashlight
Headlamp flashlight
A pair of gloves (with a suggestion to also have a pair of heavy-duty gloves in your car)
Bungee cords
Paracord
Glow bracelets
Push light
Essentials for a first aid kit
Paper tape
Regular tape (with a recommendation to include duct tape)
Lanyard-style glow sticks

When shopping at the Dollar Tree, or any low cost store, be strategic, be healthy, and most importantly, be savvy with your dollars.

Preparing For The Next Storm

by Mirapreparednessemergency, preparedness, preparing for the next storm, texas winter storm

After a horrific week of winter, finally, some relief from the cold.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I live in Texas. Our state has only just begun recovering from the unprecedented devastation that the winter storms unleashed on February 14.

The deadly temperature caused the pipes to burst, leading to water disruptions for half of our state’s population. My family, and millions of other people, also lost power, forcing everyone to spend days and nights trying to stay warm.

Due to the impassibility of roads for a few days, grocery stores were also unable to resupply. The shelves were emptied, and the weather conditions led to food supply chain issues.

Supply chain shortages; potential price hike

Now that things are warming up and the roads are clear, they should be able to restock the shelves. But there’s another major food challenge due to the storm; grocery prices are probably going up.

There was damage to both crops and livestock. Many tender young plants (such as baby greens) froze, baby chickens froze to death, and dairy farmers have been dumping milk because they’re unable to get it to the dairies.

According to one source, “The drop in production could have short- and medium-term consequences on availability and prices.”

The whole shortage and potential price increase issue makes it important to have food storage on hand. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not talking about The End Of The World As We Know It enormous food storage. But I do believe in having at least 30 days worth on hand plus a water plan. This allows you to have more flexibility when it comes to your food so you’re not limited by what is or isn’t available at the store. It also means learning to modify your diet as needed based on what’s available.

Tips to start your “preparedness plan”

Here are some tips that I believe are useful in an emergency situation (this is mostly geared toward winter). I encourage you to print this list out and keep it somewhere for reference.

This information is also good to share with friends, neighbors, and family so they can be prepared as well.

1.Prepare your home and car

Make sure your car tank is full. If you have gas cans (and you should), make sure those are full also. In the middle of an emergency, gas stations may not be able to resupply. Plus you want to be able to leave if you need to. A full tank also prevents the tank from freezing in very low temperatures (yes, your gas tank can freeze).

Weatherproof your home. Turn off your outside water, wrap your exterior pipes, and winterize your faucets. There are covers you can buy at the hardware store (get them now for next time). In an emergency, a pool noodle can be sliced up and used for pipe insulation. In case of a burst pipe (hopefully not), know where your shutoff valve is.

If you have a frozen pipe, you can shut off the water so that it will hopefully won’t burst when the water comes back on. Heating a frozen pipe with a hairdryer may help melt the frozen part. Keep faucets dripping to help prevent pipes from freezing. If pipes are on an outside wall, you want to keep the cabinet doors open so that any residual heat from the house can help keep the pipes warm.

2. Have a water & food plan

Store water in pots, pans, the bathtub, or an Aquatainer. It can be used to flush toilets, wash, and cook with. The recommendation is one gallon per person (or pet) per day for drinking, one gallon for cleaning, and one gallon for personal care.

Have some sort of filtration device like a Big Berkey in case you need to pull water from a non-sanitized source (nearby running water, a pool, etc.).

Have food on hand which does not need to be cooked to be eaten. This is in case you don’t have a way to cook it. You’re still going to want to be able to eat something. Be aware that your body burns more calories when you’re cold trying to stay warm. Just shivering can burn as much as 400 calories per hour.

You can heat water and cook on your grill. This makes it important to have an extra propane tank. DO NOT bring your grill into your home; this is not safe. If the weather is inclement, you can try to find an overhang or, worst case, use it in the garage with the door open

3. Create an emergency kit

Create a family-sized emergency supply kit and smaller “go kits” for the whole family. Include disinfectant wipes and spray, soap, hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol, and at least two masks per person age two or older in your household.

Know where your flashlights and batteries are. Do not rely on your cell phone for a flashlight, as this will run it down too much.

Have long-burning candles for light. I use the prayer candles, the tall ones in a glass jar. I get them at the dollar store. They’re supposed to be good for as much as 40 hours.

Get some of the glow-in-the-dark bracelets (I get mine at the dollar store). If you have pets in the home, once it gets dark, this is a good way to be able to see where your pet is so you don’t trip over them.

If you have a wood-burning fireplace, you need to have the wood in advance of the storm to use it for heat. It kind of goes without saying, but it can be hard to find wood during the storm.

The nickel in the freezer trick. this lets you know how much your freezer defrosted during a power outage. Place a nickel on top of frozen water in a cup. After a power outage look and see if where the nickel is. If it’s at the bottom that tell you the water thawed and then refroze. The food in your freezer is no longer safe to eat.

4. Keep yourself (and your pets) warm during the storm

Wear a hat. Many people put on socks, sweaters, and sweatpants but forget that you can lose a lot of heat through your head.

Layer, layer, layer. Wearing a big sweater isn’t going to be as helpful as wearing several layers. Those layers help to trap air to keep you warmer.

Keep yourself warm using hot water containers. Wrap bottles or a jar filled with hot water with a towel around it to cuddle with under the blankets

Keep your core temperature up. While you have power, put pots of water on the stove to boil. Not only does this help to keep heat in the house, but it’s also a source of hot water for drinking. Once the power goes out, you can put that hot water into insulated thermoses to stay hot for beverages.

Prevent drafts by rolling up towels and pillowcases. Place them at the bottoms of doors and windows. You can also close your blinds or curtains to create a bit of a barrier to keep the cold air from chilling the space quite so much.

Bring your pets indoors. Bring your fur babies inside or provide a shelter to keep them safe and warm. Make sure that they also have access to unfrozen water.

If you’re interested in knowing more, you can schedule a personalized Preparedness Pantry Consultation with me to create a plan for your family.