Five Things That Changed The Way I Do Food Storage

*This is a repost from 2011
There are so many topics to cover when it comes to Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness.  So when I attended a great class Tuesday at Honeyville Grain called "Five Things That Will Change Your Mind About Food Storage", taught by the store manager Lisa Barker, it got me thinking about how to narrow down the list of all the topics of preparedness to just 5.  Lisa's 5 things are very similar to the 5 things that changed the way I do food storage and also how it has simplified my food storage. (I'll list her ideas at the end of the post) My food storage journey really began on September 11, 2001.  I remember the panicked feeling after watching the Twin Towers fall and then watching the other planes crashing into the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania, and thinking this is it!  The world is ending!  The reason I felt so panicked was I had a 6 month old, 22 month old and a 4 year old and I didn't have more than a week's worth of anything.  My baby was strictly on formula and I only had the one can of formula we were using. I grabbed the kids and went to the grocery store and bought food, paper goods, formula, you name it and I probably bought it.  

As time went by and life looked like it was going to continue I really felt the need to start and continue a food storage program.  I started with basics and had things like flour, but I really didn't know how to store it and rotate it.  I went through several ways of storing my long-term items like a Rubbermaid container, buckets etc.  What I didn't realize was I needed to have a meal plan to create my 3-month supply and at that time I was still cooking whatever sounded good that day for dinner.  I wasted so much food and was really frustrated.  Contemplating what I should do; I know that I was inspired by the Spirit when an idea came to me one Sunday afternoon, and that was to create a menu plan with an ingredient list.  I wrote down every meal that my family ate and then I made an ingredient list of all the items from those meals.  That ingredient list became a built in shopping list. I could buy my ingredients when they went on sale and have a pantry full of food that I used on a daily basis.  This is all kept in a binder with sheet protectors and there’s one for each meal.  This plan has worked for my family for several years now.  What’s great is I can tweak it as I go and add or subtract recipes when we need a change.

My ingredient list that goes with my dinner meal plan.

The ingredient list helps me to see exactly what I need to have in my storage room for a 3-month supply.  I just multiply the item by 3 (which is more than a 3-month supply, but more is better, right?)  and I purchase that quantity.  The CASE LOT sales that are a PERFECT time to purchase items for your pantry!!!  (Because if your food storage plan is to come to my house in an emergency you will probably be disappointed to find that I make you work for free food)  hahaha :)  All kidding aside you really do need a plan for your family!!


Here is my list of the 5 things that changed my mind about food storage:

1. Making a meal plan, ingredient list and shopping for items when they are on sale!!
2. Using the Food Saver to preserve my dehydrated food, spices, chocolate chips, candy, etc. 
3. Gamma Lids!!  These lids have made my life sooooo much easier!  I can open a bucket of wheat just by unscrewing the gamma lid and the resealing it without having to pry open those lids that come with the buckets. 
4. Canning and dehydrating my own food at home!  I never knew how easy it was to can your own meat!  Click HERE to view a previous post on canning meat.  I have also learned to dehydrate almost anything I can get my hands on and then sealing the food in a mason jar with the food saver.  
5. Wheat!  I have loved learning about all the things that wheat can do!  You can grind it into flour, cook it into a cereal, sprout it into a vegetable, crack it and cook it, even ice cream. I am continually amazed at what wheat can do! Making my own bread has been such a fun learning experiment.  Click HERE to see the recipe I use. 

There you have it!  The five things that changed my mind about food storage. These are Lisa's 5 things:

1. Store what you eat...eat what you store!
2. Canning my own foods.
3. Freeze Dried Foods
4. FoodSaver, Meals in a jar
5. I Dare You To Eat It, and It's In the Bag Plans 

EDUCATION IS POWER!!!!

Self-Reliant Saturday-Healthy Meal In A Jar

Many food storage fanatics love the meals in a jar concept.  They are simple to make, save time and money, and are a great option for cooking without having to plan an entire meal.  I came across a very healthy freeze-dried camping meal that makes a great meal-in-a-jar recipe.  (click here to see the original recipe) 

Healthy Chicken & Veggies with Couscous

1 C freeze dried chicken pieces*

1 C whole wheat couscous

3 t chia seeds

1 1/2 C freeze dried mixed vegetables

3 t dried onion flakes

1 T + 1 1/2 t bullion of choice (or 1 1/2t Shirley J bullion)

3/4 t EACH dried thyme, sage, parsley 

3/4 t garlic powder

1/2 t pepper

3/4 t salt (or less depending on your taste)

Layer all ingredients into a quart mason jar. (wide mouth is the easiest to make jarred meals in) Shake gently to allow settling so all ingredients fit in.  Place canning lid on and seal with a food saver jar attachment, or place an oxygen absorber in the jar and tighten with the canning lid and ring.  Serves 4-6 people. Shelf-stable for 3-5 years.

Reheating Instructions:

Make sure to label each jar with recipe name and cooking instructions.  Boil 4 1/2 cups of water in a pot.  Pour in jar ingredients and stir.  Turn off heat and allow to sit at least 10 minutes.  

*to make vegetarian use 1 C TVP or leave out the chicken all together.

Enjoy!!

Field Trip-- A Visit To The LDS Cannery

One of the best places to buy your food storage is at the LDS Cannery.  It is clean, organized, and inexpensive compared with other food storage retailers. The Cannery is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for the use and benefit of its members, but if you aren't a member of the Church find a friend who is and they will gladly take you to purchase food from the cannery. The volunteers that work in the cannery are happy and always willing to help you.  There are two ways to purchase your food storage from the cannery.  One is to take a few hours and can your bulk purchase in #10 cans, or you may purchase the food in bulk and can it at home.  I didn't have time in my day to stay and can my food so I purchased a few things and used my foodsaver to can them at home. 

The above stock photo is from the Church website and gives you a glimpse of how to put food into #10 cans using the canning facility. It is actually fun to do and even more so when you have a group of friends to go with you. 

The day I visited the cannery no one was canning, but I wanted to let you know what the downtown Welfare Square cannery in Salt Lake City looks like.

 I loved the quote on the wall from Harold B. Lee..." Why should the grain elevator be built?  To me there is only one answer.  The elevator stands as a prophecy of a time when we will need wheat; of a time when, perhaps, money cannot buy food."  That's a very sobering thought!

 The food storage basics for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints were also displayed on the wall.  They are plain and simple to follow.  Get the basics....store what you eat...eat what you store...store water....get your finances in order....then work on longer-term storage.  

I bought a 15lb box of dehydrated apples for $69.  These are my favorite dehydrated apples from any food storage retailer.  They are crispy and taste like dessert.  It's really hard to keep them stocked at my house.  

 I "canned" them using my foodsaver and I don't want to admit it, but it may have taken a long time to finish this project. (click HERE to see how I use my foodsaver to dry can) But I shouldn't have complained because I had no idea how long a 35lb box of dehydrated onions would take. 

If you ever want adults to look at you like you are crazy buy a 35lb box of dehydrated onions like you do it everyday.  I got the funniest comments from the volunteers at the cannery when I said I wanted the whole box.  I assured them that I had a plan for them and I knew what I was doing.  The 35lb box cost $72.00 and I think I'm set for onions in my long-term storage :)  

 It took FOREVER it seemed to get them all canned, but it was so worth it to see the final product.  Being prepared gives me peace of mind.

If you don't live near a cannery you can order a few staples, like wheat, sugar, oats, dehydrated apples, a few pastas, and pinto beans, online HERE and also download an order form there as well.  I am truly blessed to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and some of those blessings come from continually working on my food storage.  And I love a Church that will help me accomplish this goal by providing a Cannery for my use.     

Organizing -- How Food Storage Fits In My Kitchen?

Organizing our food storage was the challenge for January.  Click HERE if you missed that post. Now it's time to move out of the storage room and into my kitchen.  Organization is still a big part of my food storage in my kitchen.  Organization, and having a method to my madness, allows me to keep up with my inventory, and it also enables me to cook and use the food before it expires.  

 In one corner of my kitchen I have a dedicated cooking area which allows me to prep meals/bake, and not have to walk around the kitchen to gather what I need.  It is where I have all the measuring spoons/cups, spices, cookbooks that I use most often, mixers, flour, sugars, etc.  I make my bread here, put together dinner here, and pretty much all other food gets made in this area of my kitchen.  

This cupboard is directly above the counter that I use for meal prep.  I keep my baking ingredients and a few spices in this cupboard.  

Next to my spice/baking cupboard I have my surplus spices (which I seal in jars using my foodsaver), vinegars, sugars/agave syrups.  I also keep my liquid measuring cups in here. I can easily reach up for the ingredients that I need and not waste time walking all over the kitchen.   

Below my prep area I keep my spices in these two drawers.  I like being able to see them all at a glance and it keeps them from getting lost in a cupboard.  I also have them organized by ethnic flavors such as Mexican spices and Italian spices. 

On the opposite side of the kitchen I have a few cupboards that were out of the way for storing everyday cooking ingredients. I would be walking around an island to grab an ingredient if I stored the food I used every day here.  I decided to make these cupboards my smaller can storage area.  

I can see at a glance what I am low on and when I shop at the case lot sales I bring the cases right into the kitchen and unload them right into the cupboard.  The extra cases go out in the storage room.  This has worked really well for me and I love seeing all of the cans neatly lined up on the shelves...yes I may be a little OCD.  

 My Pantry

The ingredients that I cook with every day and the snacks my kids live on are stored in my kitchen pantry.  I have a rotating system that works for me.  I store most of my long-term food in my storage room in bulk.  I then have smaller containers, that I fill from my bulk storage, that I store in my kitchen pantry. I usually keep on top of this because if I am out of something in the pantry I go right out to the storage room and fill up  my pantry container from my bulk buckets.  Click HERE to see a post on my bucket storage. Using Gamma lids really makes this process easy.  Opening a bucket and filling a container takes just a few minutes.

This is my pantry.  I didn't clean it or make it pretty for the picture.  I wanted you all to see it exactly as it looks everyday, with 5 kids in and out of it, all day long.  

I have a few #10 cans stored in here. They are mostly the ingredients that I use to make bread, but there are other #10 cans like onions that I use more often, so I keep the opened can in the pantry and not the storage room.  It saves time walking out to the storage room.

The kids' snacks are on the lower shelf and then a miscellaneous shelf and above that are my pastas.  My lesser used cookbooks also have a home in my pantry.  The red and blue storage bins were purchased at the Dollar Tree store.  They are great for corralling fruit snacks, pretzel bags, paper goods, etc.  I keep my bread, peanut butter and bagels in the blue bin in the lower right corner of this picture.  This way I can grab the bin when I am making lunches for the kids and it is all in one spot. 

This is how my kitchen functions and it works for me. What kinds of organizational tips do you have from your kitchens??

My Food Storge Week In Review- Yogurt, Cottage Cheese, & Bulk Spices

This week I was able to bake a little and add a little to my food storage.  Having basic baking ingredients on hand, like powdered milk, keeps me from running to the store for that one ingredient I need for dinner.  And buying spices and other basic ingredients in bulk really does save money, especially when I can save the bulk of it in mason jars with my foodsaver. 

Here's what I did this week that related to my food storage.

My kids have been begging for lasagna for dinner so we finally got around to having it.  I started the noodles cooking and then realized that I didn't have enough cottage cheese for the filling.  I only had about 1/4 C left and I needed a whole cup.  Not to worry....making a quick batch of cottage cheese is easy.  Plus, it uses powdered milk!

Easy Homemade Cottage Cheese

I followed this recipe in the link from Tactical Intelligence

How To Make Cheese From Powdered Milk

I warmed the milk, added 1 T vinegar, let it sit to create curds, and then drained the curds in cold water.  You are left with basic cottage cheese type curds.  When I added them to the store bought cottage cheese you couldn't tell the homemade from the store bought.  It only took a couple of minutes for the whole process!

I must have had powdered milk on my mind because I made yogurt too this week.  I haven't used acidophilus as a starter for awhile, so I wanted to make sure that this process would still work for me. Usually a small amount of yogurt is used as a starter for a batch of yogurt, but I have found that acidiphilus tablets also work because they have the live active cultures in them.  I followed the recipe HERE from my previous post on yogurt, except I used my yogurt maker and not my thermal cooker.   I blended the powdered milk and water in my blender, added sugar, vanilla flavor, and three crushed acidophilus tablets.(using powdered milk also eliminates the need to heat up the milk and cool it back down because it is already pasteurized) Then let it incubate in my yogurt maker.

It took about 12 hours for the yogurt to set up in my Yogourmet yogurt maker and then I cooled it in the fridge overnight.  

 This picture is after I scooped out a little bit to make yogurt cheese.  The finished yogurt is smooth and creamy, perfect!

The yogurt that I scooped out is now draining over my sink in a cheese bag that came with my yogurt maker.  Cheesecloth or a clean t-shirt would also work over a sieve.  I only tried a little of the yogurt to see if we really liked it as yogurt cheese.  This cheese will be soft like a cream cheese, hopefully. We're going to eat it on bagels...yum!

Update on the cream cheese, aka yogurt cheese.  As I was putting the yogurt into the cheese bag I remembered that I had flavored the yogurt with sugar and vanilla.  So the yogurt cheese came out a little sweeter then I would like on crackers.  And I am also thinking that making yogurt cheese will take some practice.  I let it drain too long and was kind of dry.  It was still spreadable, but not as moist as cream cheese from the store is.  Next time I will check the yogurt cheese sooner.  But it was edible and kind of cool to know it works!  Especially knowing that it started out as powdered milk, water, and acidophilus tablets!

Spices in your food storage are almost as important as the basic ingredients.  Have you ever had to eat plain rice, or potatoes, every night without any flavoring.  It would be beyond bland and the family would probably rebel!  I like to keep many spices on hand for a variety in our cooking.  I finally made it to Winco this week to stock up on spices, and a few bulk items that I was running low on.  I bought basil, cinnamon, cumin, cocoa powder, and garlic powder. After refilling my smaller spice containers I sealed up the extra with the foodsaver to keep them fresh for much longer then sitting in my spice drawer.

Transferring from bag to bottle. 

Click HERE to see detailed instructions on how I seal my jars.

Notice that I use more than just mason jars.  Old spaghetti sauce jars and any other glass jar with a metal lid will work with the foodsaver. 

It may not seem like a huge deal, but these small things make my food storage usable and manageable.  It takes a little organizing and some time to get used to a food storage system, but when you find what works for you, food storage becomes part of your every day life. 

Using the FoodSaver to Seal Dry Goods

Preserving and extending the life of food is important when you are planning on what food to add to your food storage .  Food is expensive and if there is a way to extend the shelf life by a couple of years, it's worth looking into.  There is a simple and relatively inexpensive way to prolong the life of food, and it's called a Foodsaver.  I'm sure a lot of you have heard of, or even use a foodsaver, but it is also a great little appliance for sealing dried foods.  I use my foodsaver and mason jars (or other food safe jars that have a metal lid, like spaghetti sauce jars) to seal up dried foods like candy, spices, chocolate chips, food from #10 cans, rice, beans, wheat, dehydrated foods...the list can go on and on. 

 

Freeze-dried cheese and cocoa powder sealed in mason jars.

The FoodSaver

 

I bought my foodsaver a few years ago on Ebay for around $50, and the tall canister I found on Amazon for about $20.  The canister is designed for sealing food inside of it, but it also works to seal mason jars. It acts like an air chamber that eliminates all air from the mason jar.  Today I am sealing candy, a must have in our food storage.  A store in my neighborhood is closing and all candy was 50% off.   I couldn't pass that deal up and ended up buying a bag to store for later chocolate cravings.  Besides cravings, it's important to have comfort foods, normal foods, in your storage.  This will give your family a sense of normalcy in an emergency.  Plus it also comes in handy when you need to make a treat last minute!!



When looking for a Foodsaver, make sure it has a port on the front of it. It is necessary to connect a hose from the base unit to the canister to suck all the air out.   I don't use my foodsaver for sealing using foodsaver bags, which most people want it for, so I bought the smallest unit I could find.

The port holds the hose that will attach to the Foodsaver canister, which sucks all of the air out of the glass jars. 


Now the fun begins.  Decide what you want to seal and put it into mason jars.  Every jar size will work.  I have sealed every size, from tiny jelly jars to half gallon jars.  And it is quite simple to do, unlike the teenage girl in the photo.  She's in a dramatic phase!  My 6 year old had no problem stuffing candy into the jars.  And don't worry about empty space in the jars, this isn't like canning, it will still seal with air pockets.

Some candy will already be in packages and filled with air.  I make a small cut in the bags to enable air to escape while sealing. Otherwise the bag will fill up with air, like a balloon, and take up too much space in the mason jar.  Yes, you could just pour the candy into the jar, but I think it stays fresher when they are in the original packaging. 

After filling the mason jar, add a lid and band.  This is really important...Don't tighten the lid too tight!!  Twist the ring on until just tightened, not any tighter.

Place the jar into the canister and attach the hose. 

On my machine there are stars on the corners and that is where you press, with both hands, to start the machine.  My 6 year old is the one using the machine in the photo.  She loves to help!

The machine does all the work for you.  It will make a loud humming noise while working but just let it do its thing.  It will almost be over when a green light goes on.  Wait for the green light to blink, then hit cancel, and take the hose off of the canister, not the machine end.

After taking off the hose, press the grey button on top of the canister and hold it down until all the air has escaped.  You'll be able to tell by sound when the air is done.  It sounds like a balloon losing air.

Your mason jar is now sealed!  Check the lid on your jar to see if it clicks when you press on it.  If it still moves up and down you will have to re-seal it. 

 Problem Solving When a Jar Doesn't Seal

•  Check the rim of the jar and make sure it is clean,  check the underside of the lid too. You don't want any food particles or dirt/dust to be on a jar or lid. 
• Always check glass jars for nicks or scratches especially along the rim of the jar.  Jars with defects shouldn't be used for food any longer. 
• Old or used lids may not seal very well.  Use new lids for best results.
• It you still can't get a seal, place a lid upside down on the original lid and try sealing again.  This usually solves the problem.
• Your ring may be screwed on too tightly.  Check how tightly you turned the ring on the lid.  Finger tight, not screwed on all the way.
• If you are sealing powdered items, such as spices, flour, baking soda, cake mixes, etc. place a muffin liner, or cut-to-fit paper towel, in the top of the jar before putting the lid and ring on.  This will create a barrier between the powdered item and the foodsaver.  You don't want fine food particles getting into your foodsaver hose.  It WILL ruin your foodsaver.  
• When using pickle jars, spaghetti sauce jars, and other food safe jars, clean them well!  If the lids aren't clean it may not seal.  I like the smaller pickle relish and jam jars for sealing extra spices in. 

It only took about 10 minutes to finish all the jars in the picture.  I take the rings off and store the jars on a shelf in my storage room.  And I have been know to hide the candy jars where they aren't easily accessible.  That helps the kids forget that we have them.  Ok, it helps ME forget we have them :)  Once on the shelf the jars should have a life of 2-5 years.  I have read varying time frames for the shelf life of sealed food in mason jars.  I always go with my own intuition and my sight, smell, and taste of something before eating it.  If it passes those tests, we eat it.  Most of the time food will lose nutrients, but won't be bad and make you sick. 

A simple and affordable way to preserve food and extend the shelf-life.  All in one little machine! Check your local thrift stores and garage sales for these amazing little contraptions.  People love to try the latest craze and the foodsaver was one of those crazes a few years ago.  I found a large canister, brand new in the original wrapping, at a second hand store for $2.  Just make sure the foodsaver unit has a port on the front and you'll be ready to start sealing!

Back-To-Basics: 3-Month Supply Part 3- Storage

Click HERE for part 1 and HERE for part 2 of the 3-month supply posts.  Today's post will be....

Storing food has two rules:

1. Store food properly to maintain the nutrients, keep it edible, and save you money.
2. Use the containers, jars, buckets, #10 cans, etc. that work FOR YOU!

Although I said to store food in containers that work for you please only store food in containers that were manufactured to store food.  Plastics will absorb what's in them.  If a bucket had some kind of chemical in it, don't use it for food.  Same goes for used buckets that had food with vinegar, garlic or other strong flavors.  It will be almost impossible to get those smells out of the buckets.  Vinegar flavored oats does not sound appetizing.

Most foods that will be in your 3-month storage will be smaller and can be stored in their original packaging.  But there are ingredients that I use in my daily cooking that I buy in bulk and need to be stored properly.  Wheat, flour, oats, millet, sugar, brown sugar, rice, are all bulk items that I use regularly.  I am going to show you what works for me and how I store my food, both short and long term.  It may or may not work for you.  Hopefully I have convinced you that #10 cans of "just in case" food aren't the best plan.  Your stored food needs to be foods you use daily, and they will need to be accessible, or you won't want to bother getting it out and using it. 

Now, hard core preppers may think I'm crazy to show you what I have and how I store it, but I am comfortable in showing my storage room.  It's to help you, I hope ;)  I am lucky, very lucky, to have a storage room just off of my garage. It is just steps away from my kitchen and it holds A LOT!  The bottom row all around the room are 5-gallon buckets.  Around 70 of them.  I know this because I carried them into the moving truck and back out again.  I keep wheat, rice, sugar, oats, millet, and flour in them.  Most, if not all of them have gamma lids for ease.  I use these buckets to fill my smaller kitchen pantry containers.  It's soooo much easier to have a gamma lid when I need to refill a smaller container. 

I tried using different colors for different items, but it turned into just using what I had when I needed a bucket.  I am kind of OCD when it comes to organizing and I really want the lids to all match....some day.  

Buckets are great for long-term storage.  I do have #10 cans of long-term wheat and milk that will last 25-30 years, but I like buckets for most of my storage. Mylar bags inside of the buckets will give you another barrier against air, light, and rodents.  I live in a very dry climate and so far, no rodents.  I'm OK with no Mylar bags, see rule 2 above.


 Pastas and other grains....

 

For my pastas I use these bins that I found at a local discount store.  We use this food in a year or less, so I feel a #10 can would be overdoing it.  I take the pasta out of these bins and put them in my kitchen pantry in vertical storage containers. 

I can pour directly from these containers, also found at the same local discount store, into a pan of boiling water.  Plus I love the way they line up and have labels. 

 

I also have a variety of these containers for mixes and larger amounts of food like rice and wheat.  The brown nuggets are actually beef tvp, not dog food, like my kids call it.

There are a few items that I store in mason jars.  I am a big fan of the foodsaver! I love to seal up dehydrated foods that I have dehydrated at home, and also food from #10 cans that I won't be using in a timely matter before they go bad. (click HERE to view all my posts on using the foodsaver)

Oh, and I like to seal chocolate too.  Click HERE to see that post :)

I opened my #10 can of freeze dried cheese to use it one night, but needed to make sure the remaining cheese stayed freeze dried.  I sealed the remaining cheese in mason jars.  We use a lot of cocoa powder at my house and I make sure it stays fresh by sealing it in jars with the foodsaver. 

Storage Re-Cap

-BUCKETS:  Decide how often you are going to use certain foods, long-term or short-term, in your storage and use containers that are appropriate for that use.  Don't buy sealed buckets, or #10 cans,  if you are going to need to use an item often, this is where gamma lids come in handy!  Decide if buckets, #10 cans, or a little of both work for you.

-#10 CANS:  #10 cans are perfect for long-term storage and for items that you aren't going to use on a daily basis.  I have powdered milk, freeze-dried fruits and veggies, freeze-dried cheese, rice, oats, and wheat stored in #10 cans.  If they were canned properly, all of those items are good for 25+ years in a #10 can.  Sugars, pastas, and other grains I prefer to keep in buckets. I use them more frequently and feel having them canned would waste money.

-ORGANIZATION:  Having shelves organized and labeled will allow you to rotate through your food before it's expiration.  I have buckets, #10 cans, plastic bins, smaller canned food, mason jars, a little of everything, stored on shelves, in buckets in my storage room, and smaller containers in my pantry,  and I rotate bulk items from the larger containers to the smaller containers.  This is what works for me and allows me to find what I need quickly.  There are many can rotater shelving units on the market and even a few homemade versions on pinterest.  I store my smaller cans in a Can Organizer.  Click HERE to view a post on how I put them together.  It's another area you need to research to find what works for you.  *Remember rule #2 :)

-STORE PROPERLY:  When I purchase food I immediately put it away.  This is a not a time for procrastination!!  Get the buckets out and fill them. Put cans away.  Don't let food sit out.  Label cans with dates, if that helps you to remember when to rotate it. Remember FIFO- first in first out- older cans go up front and newer cans go behind.  Don't assume you'll remember when you bought things.  (that's from experience too :)

-EAT IT:  Most importantly....eat what you store!!! Don't store foods just because a website or book says you are suppose to have x amount of something.  I detest most canned veggies, I'm sorry, but I can't eat them, so I have dehydrated and freeze dried versions, and extra water stored instead.  I do have #10 cans of milk and buckets of wheat that I don't use everyday, but almost everything else in my food storage gets used, almost daily!  That is how it has to work for rotation.  Store what you eat....eat what you store!!