I just joined a co-op for fresh produce, and I can’t wait to get my first batch! I thought I would share a great resource from the co-op site, a chart to help us store and prolong the life of fresh produce. The site also has instructions for making fruit leather. I’ll have to try that next!
This delicious muffin recipe is originally from Kathy Farrell-Kingsley for Family Fun Magazine. It has a simple crunchy topping of granola, the sweetness of banana, and the nice little surprise of mini-chocolate chips inside. This is my daughter’s favorite muffin, and I love the recipe because it has healthier ingredients that can come from my food storage.
BANANA CRUNCH MUFFINS
1 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. wheat bran
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs (or 2 Tbsp. powdered eggs + 1/4 c. water)
2/3 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. mashed bananas (about 2 medium)
1 c. buttermilk (or 2 1/2 Tbsp. buttermilk powder + 1 c. water)
1/4 c. canola oil
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. mini chocolate chips
1 c. granola
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease the bottoms only of 12 muffin cups. In a large bowl, whisk together both flours and the bran, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, bananas, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and stir just until the batter is blended. Fold in the chocolate chips. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin and sprinkle tops with granola. Bake the muffins for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack for about 5 minutes before removing from pan. Makes 1 dozen yummy muffins.
Tags: buttermilk powder, Food Storage Recipes, whole wheat flour
I just tried a yummy new whole wheat waffle recipe. This one uses both whole wheat flour and nonfat dry milk from your food storage. (I’m always looking for ways to rotate that powdered milk!) We topped these with a berry topping and whipped cream, but they are just as good with maple syrup.
WHOLE WHEAT WAFFLES
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour (I like hard white wheat flour)
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. nonfat dry powdered milk (non-instant)
1/4 c. oil
2 eggs, beaten
2 Tbsp. sugar
Enough water to make the right consistency
Stir dry ingredients together, then stir wet ingredients together and combine. Add water last until the batter is the right consistency for waffles. Cook on hot waffle iron.
Tags: Food Storage Recipes, nonfat dry milk, powdered milk, whole wheat
Adding fruits and vegetables to your food storage is like choosing your elective classes in school. They enhance and round out your supply, but the choices are up to you. A common question regarding produce in #10 cans is, “Does it retain its nutritional content?” I often address this when I give a class on food storage, but until a recent comment on this site, I hadn’t realized I’d overlooked it here.
Dehydrated (freeze-dried) foods are very nutritious. In contrast to their water-packed, canned counterparts, these foods retain much more vitamins and nutritional content. They are excellent for everyday cooking as well as long-term food storage. Freeze dried foods have 98% of their moisture removed, but they retain nearly all of their fresh-food flavor, vitamins and nutrients. Dehydrated foods keep their nutritional value because the vitamins have not been cooked out in the initial process.
Aside from nutrition, dehydrated foods are desirable for food storage because they are so light weight. With pits, peelings, and nearly all of the water removed from these foods, they are very light and convenient to store or take with you in an emergency. They are also economical. Generally, dehydrated foods have double the yield of regular canned food, which makes them a smart buy.
Dried foods, however, do lose nutrients due to the use of heat to dry them. They also become concentrated calories. For example, one cup of fresh apricots contains about 74 calories, while one cup of dehydrated apricots contains more than 4 times that amount: 313 calories! The good news is, dried fruits do retain all of their fiber and iron. Drying foods slowly with a home dehydrator is the best method to retain the most nutrients during drying (much healthier than commercial drying).
Tags: dehydrated foods
You can still enjoy fettuccine alfredo, with a few minor adjustments.
I had the opportunity to present a class today on simple changes we can make to improve our diets. I love teaching this type of class because I always learn something new from the discussion with those who attend. Thank you to all of the lovely ladies who attended the three sessions today. I appreciate all of your comments and am anxious to try out some of your ideas. It is fun to discuss the common goal of better health.
Although this presentation wasn’t on my typical preparedness theme, we did touch on several food storage items including grains, oils, sweeteners, and dehydrated fruits and vegetables. Since freeze dried and dehydrated foods retain much more of their nutrients than their canned counterparts, these fruits and vegetables add beneficial nutrients to soups, casseroles, and many other recipes. For any class attendees, I realized that I forgot to mention one of my favorite benefits of storing and using agave nectar! It has a nice 2-3 year shelf life, and doesn’t crystallize like honey.
Anyway, if you missed the class but would like a copy of my handout, you can download it by clicking here: Stake Relief Society Healthy Foods Handout. This file includes the recipe alterations on the Pumpkin Sheet Cake.
