Back to Basics

When it comes to prepping, the most important thing, the most discussed issue, is food storage.

There are many opinions on what you should store, how often you should use the stored food, and how you should store it. Here is my opinion.

Only purchase and store food stuff that you can't grow yourself.
My pantry includes:

Sugar
Chocolate
baking powder
Salt
Brown Sugar
peppercorn
Canned tropical fruits
cream of tartar
Yeast (you need some to grow more)
Coffee
cloves
vanilla
tropical fruit extracts
nutmeg
flour (for now)
vinegar
canned sea food


These are indeed considered our basics. Everyone will be different. As a small land owner, we grow the remainder of our food. our home grown food pantry includes

Dehydrated onions
onion powder
french onion soup
garlic powder
different dried herbs
Chicken broth/stock
ketchup
dried mustard seed
dried pepper (various)
canned milk
pizza sauce
various jams, jellies and preserves
Alfredo sauce
vegetable stock
various meats
various soups
various canned vegetables
dried meats
dried fruits (for children snacks)
fruit leathers
dried beans
chili
spaghetti sauce
various types of dried noodles
pumpkins (canned and whole)
apples (canned and whole)
potatoes (canned and whole)
squashes (canned and whole)
Sweet potatoes (canned and whole)
popcorn

These are just some of the items. We try to live on our stored items harvest to harvest. Sometimes we do, and other times we can't. We will be trying again this year.

When putting your basic pantry together, make sure that the items you have on hand are things you are unable to grow yourself. And things that you will be using. There is no point in wasting money on items that you don't really like, or items that will go bad before you can use them.

Remember to keep your pantry diary handy. and if you are just starting out, start a diary to see what exactly your family goes through, how often and how much. This is a great starting point to secure your food storage needs.