Thinking of having food on hand for three months can seems like a big task, but it can be EASY!
Plan ahead to build your 3 month supply.
Try this basic outline:
- Set aside some grocery money each month
- Determine what foods your family uses a lot, or what recipes are your family's favorites that you repeat often
- peanut butter, olive oil, brown rie, diced tomatoes, oats, canned fruit or veggies, etc.
- One option is to make a two-week menu for your family and then double all the ingredients for the recipes listed.
- ONLY BUY THINGS YOU EAT! If you don't like canned peas, don't buy them and especially don't buy them in bulk!
- Look at grocery ads each week for sales on items you use often
- Don't just buy one, buy 10 of that thing so you can make multiple recipes. Maybe aim to do this for 3-4 things each month.
- Keep track of what you use up so you can buy more and cross things off your list that you don't use as often as you thought.
**When you double a batch of food, decide whether it can freeze well. We double a lot of our dinners, such as stroganoff, sweet & sour chicken, chili and soups, etc. and then freeze the leftovers. You can freeze leftovers in zip-loc bags. Freeze the amount your family would eat in one meal, then you only have to pull the bag of and defrost it! Also, if you freeze the bags flat on a cookie sheet, once frozen you can stack them closely and it doesn't take up much room. For things like stroganoff or a homemade spaghetti sauce, just freeze the sauce and make the potatoes or pasta fresh.
Foods that Freeze well:
- Butter
- Meat (cooked or raw)
- Grains
- Nuts & Seeds
- Bread (Freeze extra loves right when you get them. To defrost them, just let the sit on the counter untouched. They keep amazingly well. If microwaved they can change texture, as well as if you wait and freeze the bread when it is almost bad. Make sure the loaves are sliced before freezing! This helps it defrost well and allows you to defrost portions of the loaf separately.)
- Grated hard cheeses
- Peeled bananas (use for cooking)
- Peaches (sliced/diced), magoes, berries
- Red Plum tomatoes (less water, the better)
- Corn kernels
- Carrots (helpful to dice or slice before freezing)
- Green beans
- Roasted summer squash (cook before freezing)
- Peppers
- Peas and beans
- Onions (double bag or store in glass jar so your freezer doesn't smell of onions!)
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Fresh herbs (if you buy herbs such as cilantro but only use half of the bunch, chop the remaining bit and place into ice cube trays. Cover with water or oil and freeze. Use for cooking)
Tips & Tricks:
- Cheaper to store basic ingredients (such as flour or sugar) than ready made mixes, and you can use them for multiple purposes.
- Unrefined grains and healthy fats make your meals go farther and keep your family more full (and healthy!)
- Only use resealable freezer bags once. They don't seal as well the second time and food will more likely get frost.
- Save or reuse salsa jars, pasta sauce bottles, etc. to freeze things in. Glass fares well in the freezer. If freezing liquids, don't fill completely to the top, let it freeze without the lid on, then put on lid after it's frozen
- Keep an eye out for "10 for 10" sales at grocery stores
- Ask grocery stores or people at farmer's markets if they do a 10% discount or similar discount on cases of fresh produce. You can freeze, can, or store the extra.
- Try a new recipe each month using one or more of your staple ingredients (such as trying an asian peanut sauce using peanut butter or a different soup with beans, etc.)
