Nachos

This is by far my family's favorite "fast food" food storage meal. It is so quick and easy, uses powdered milk, and is much more healthy than any canned cheese version you can buy.

It all begins with my famous white sauce mix.

Whisk together white sauce mix and hot tap water.

Stir constantly while cooking until it begins to boil and thicken.

Add remaining ingredients. To rehydrate the onion, put it in a small bowl with a little water and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds. Do this before you begin cooking the meal since you have to be stirring the white sauce mix and you won't have a free hand.

This is a motion shot when I am stirring in the cheese. You really can play with the flavors of cheese that you add. If you like a spicy cheese, use pepper jack or stir in a little hot sauce. We go for the mild version most often at our house since that is what the kids prefer.

Continue to stir over the heat until it is the thickness you desire. It usually takes 1-2 minutes of boiling time to thicken up.

This is still a little too thin.

Serve over chips and top with your favorite nacho toppings. It is also delicious over broccoli or as a dip for bread. The leftovers will thicken quite a bit in the fridge. Just add a bit of milk, heat up, and mix for another round another day.

Nachos
5 Tbsp white sauce mix	1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 cup hot water	1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
⅛ tsp pepper	½ cup Mozzarella cheese, grated
1 tsp dried, minced onion reconstituted
In a saucepan, whisk white sauce mix and water together and cook until smooth. As sauce begins to thicken, add remaining ingredients. Serve over tortilla chips. Top with chili, spiced hamburger, sliced black olives, salsa, etc. You can use pepper jack cheese for a more spicy sauce.

Book Reviews

I thought I would share some of the kind words people have sent me since reading a copy of my new book. I am so grateful to learn it is encouraging others to prepare just a little more and actually use that food storage they have been storing for so long. I do have just a few copies left here at my home just send me a quick email if you would like one. Otherwise, it is available on Amazon.com for anyone else who may be reading this from somewhere other than the Boise area.

From Carina -

Yeah!! I made my first batch of White Sauce mix last night AND my first "dinner experiment" with this sausage gravy and biscuits - they were great!! I've always been afraid of gravy - always lumpy or never sets up - but this worked out so well and tasted great. I still have to convince my kids that it's good, but at this point in my pregnancy, if I like it, it's a keeper :-) Thanks Tammy!

From Steph - 

Tamara,

I received your book yesterday afternoon and I have already read through the entire book.  It is wonderful!!!  I think I mentioned to you I joined the church when I was 18 and not having grown up with food storage or emergency preparedness it can seem overwhelming at times.

You put things in a very simple and straightforward manner.  I feel like I am able to accomplish the necessary steps for my family without feeling overwhelmed.  Thank you so much for the effort you put into this book. 

I love the recipes!!!  I am so anxious to try the recipes.   This will sound silly but the cannery has always been a bit intimidating to me.  I have never been and the way it works has never been fully explained to me.  I seem to get confused on if I can just go purchase already packed items or if I need to work for a couple of hours before purchasing items.  I now know I just need to dig in and find out! 

You should see my book!  I have different colored tabs all over the book now for reference!  I already warned my husband that we are going to get even more prepared!  I have been working on our food storage and water storage for the last several years, but the food storage is still meager.  The ideas you gave have helped me jump start my own program for my family.  I am really excited to go forward and get my family more prepared!

From Claire - 

I dropped by your house and your kind husband gave me a copy of the book.  I immediately made a white sauce mix with some powdered milk I've had for 15 years.  I added cheese and other ingredients and we had your nachoes for dinner.  The kids loved them.  So glad you wrote this book.  Thanks!

From Gwen - 

I'm LOVING it! Thanks for writing this book!  In fact, I just picked up some freeze-dried fruits today so I can see what ones my family likes, and start trying to reconstitute them in my cooking... oh, and Pamela and I made a batch of rainbow dehydrated apples today... so yum! Thank you so much for the jello idea... I have always stored lots of jello because it's a great substitute for sugar in sugar cookies, and now I have one more use for it... Yay! You are awesome! I can't wait to get the garden planted next week.  I have so many wonderful plans for my dehydrator this fall!
Thanks!

Gardening Teaches Great Lessons

President Spencer W. Kimball counseled: “I hope that we understand that, while having a garden, for instance, is often useful in reducing food costs and making available delicious fresh fruits and vegetables, it does much more than this. Who can gauge the value of that special chat between daughter and Dad as they weed or water the garden? How do we evaluate the good that comes from the obvious lessons of planting, cultivating, and the eternal law of the harvest? And how do we measure the family togetherness and cooperating that must accompany successful canning? Yes, we are laying up resources in store, but perhaps the greater good is contained in the lessons of life we learn as we live providently and extend to our children their pioneer heritage.” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1977, p. 125; or Ensign, Nov. 1977, p. 78.) This heritage includes teaching our children how to work.

You don't have to have a lot of space to grow a garden. You can plant many vegetables right in your flower beds. My sister even planted tomatoes in 5-gallon buckets on her small patio when she was in college. Stop dragging your feet, if you have been, and plan a garden this week as a family. Get everyone involved - it's much more fun that way!

Source: James E. Faust, “The Responsibility for Welfare Rests with Me and My Family,” Ensign, May 1986, 20

Canned and Frozen is Healthy!

Here is a great article written in response to a question sent in by someone who was basically needing to live on storable meals because of the distance to the grocery store. It helps to remind us that frozen and canned fruits and vegetables are healthy and we are perfectly fine feeding our families these items as we rotate our stored food. It helps to make sure that we can prepare them in a manner our families will like and it can save a lot of money in the process that can be put toward other preparedness goals.

Every weekday, a CNNHealth expert doctor answers a viewer question. On Friday, it's Dr. Melina Jampolis, a physician nutrition specialist.

Asked by Nate, Yellowstone National Park

I live in a very remote location: Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park. I have a hard time buying groceries that are healthy. There is no way I could get to the store even once a week. I end up buying in bulk: frozen (limited space), cans, dry just-add-water type stuff. Any suggestions for better eating?

Expert answer

Hi Nate. I answered a similar question not too long ago from a woman who could not get to the store often due to physical limitations, but I feel that this is so important, particularly with so many nutrition professionals encouraging us to eat fresh fruits, vegetables and meats from the local farmer's market, that it is worth discussing in even more detail.

I don't mean to imply at all that there is anything wrong with eating fresh and local. It is without a doubt incredibly healthy and environmentally friendly. It is just not practical, affordable or even possible for many people in this country like you who still wish to eat as healthy as possible.

Here are a few ideas for bulk frozen, cans, and just-add-water type stuff.

Frozen fruits and veggies are great

As I've mentioned before, they are loaded with nutrients as they are often frozen very quickly after being picked. Just avoid boiling vegetables in water, as this could deplete some of the nutrients. Try microwaving with only a couple of tablespoons of water or steaming.

Frozen fruit could be used to make smoothies (even though it's cold out) by adding protein powder that could be bought in bulk and would not take too much room while adding high-quality protein to your diet.

Cans are OK too

Canned beans are a terrific source of fiber and a good source of protein. Drain the water and rinse the beans to remove a good deal of the sodium. Other canned vegetables such as green beans, tomatoes, corn, peas, carrots, even pumpkin (and more) are good too.

Just try to choose lower-sodium options if possible and drain when you can. Here is a great link for ideas on using canned vegetables. Canned fruit is a healthy, nutrient dense choice too, as long as you choose varieties that are canned in their own juice without added sugar.

Finally, canned chicken is a good lean protein option, and canned tuna and salmon packed in water are an economical way to get protein and heart healthy omega 3s twice a week as recommended by the American Heart Association.

Remember nuts, seeds, dried fruit

These can be stockpiled in bulk and provide healthy fat, fiber, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, all of which are essential for optimal health. They work great as snacks (or toppings for oatmeal or cereal). Just watch portions sizes (consider pre-portioning out several servings) as they are calorie dense and could lead to weight gain if over-consumed.

Try shelf stable milk

Non-fat dry milk is an option as are shelf-stable milks like almond milk and soy milk. Just make sure to avoid those with added sugar for optimal health.

Whole grains are great

Whole grain pasta, barley, brown rice, oats, and whole grain cereal (make sure the word whole grain is first on the ingredient list when it comes to cereal) can all be bought in bulk, so make sure to stock up on these to get your minimum daily three servings of whole grains.

If you want to add protein to breakfast and can't get to the store to buy eggs, try adding the protein powder I mentioned above to your oatmeal (plus a little extra water) to boost your morning protein intake.

So as you can see, even if you can get to the store only once a month and don't have access to fresh food very often, you can still eat a healthy, balanced diet full of whole grains, a variety of vegetables and fruit, lean protein, healthy fat and low-fat dairy. And if you want to throw in a little dark chocolate for a small after-dinner treat, you'd be following this doctor's orders (even with your shopping limitations) quite well.

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/18/how-can-i-eat-healthy-if-i-have-to-buy-in-bulk/?hpt=Sbin

My books are here!

They made it - all 100 of them! I will be home Tuesday afternoon and evening as well as Wednesday afternoon and evening for anyone who pre-ordered a copy to pick yours up.

I do have a few extra so if you missed out on the pre-order stop by and grab one before they are gone.

They cost $15.90 each.

I hope they inspire you to go home and cook something with your food storage!

Money for a TRUE emergency

It is very important that everyone has some money saved for those unexpected emergencies. It is a hard and fast rule that emergencies will occur. One thing to think about is the need to have a certain amount of your emergency fund in cash stashed at home or in your 72-hour kit. People who have lived through natural disasters have learned that when the power is out for weeks at a time, cash is a necessary requirement. Stores are often willing to sell their goods, but can't access your funds through a debit or credit card. You'll have to decide how much to keep in cash, but be sure and have smaller size bills since people may have difficulty making change.

We've learned to hide it in hard-to-get places so we aren't tempted to raid the stash to pay for a babysitter or to give our kids allowance. We want it to be there if there ever was a TRUE emergency.

Just something to think about -

Lessons from Japan

Watching all the news reports about Japan this week, I couldn't help but ask myself, "Would we be ready?"

I don't think there is any amount of preparation that would make you feel ready for the huge tsunami that wiped out entire cities. Any food storage or preparations would be washed away for sure. If something like that were to happen and we were to survive, we would be relying on others for help. I can't help but think we would see miracles as people stepped up to help us. Heavenly Father always blesses those who are obedient to counsel.

All the other families in Japan who still have their homes are facing other dilemmas at this point. They are facing shortages in gas, food, electricity, etc. It is for these families that advance preparation would have been very helpful. The families that took steps to have a 72-hour kit are ready to quickly evacuate if radiation levels require it. The families with food and fuel storage who live far from the nuclear plant can wait out the disaster in the safety of their own homes. The families who had talked through an emergency plan are able to peacefully act and carry out their plan.

I'm sure more lessons will come out of Japan in the next few weeks and months. As for me, I  am taking this as a reminder to go through my 72-hour kit and get it updated. I also want to inventory the food and fuel we have on hand and make sure we have the amounts we will need.

I may never be in a situation like those in Japan, but if I ever am, I want to be one of the families with a plan. Most importantly, I want to be one of the families that can pray to Heavenly Father knowing we have kept his counsel so I can in all confidence ask for His help to pull us through.

I hope these thoughts can motivate you to create a plan for your own family.