Earthquake Preparedness Reminders

The earthquake in northern California last weekend can now be added to the growing list of natural disasters our world is experiencing.  If you haven't learned from these disasters and started storing away food and water, you may want to take a good, long look at your priorities right now.  Take a few moments and make a plan for your family.  Have water, food, shoes under your bed, flashlights in every bedroom, BE READY!!  

Say what you will about FEMA, but they have a great printout that you can use to start your emergency family plan.  Click HERE to print your copy and start your plan today!

 Earthquakes are unique because we don't know when they will hit.  There are few warning signs, if any, of an earthquake happening.  But those of us who live in areas that have earthquakes have no excuse to not be ready for one.  Having food and water is so important, but another important part of earthquake preparedness is to prepare your children.  Show them where to go in your home during the quake.  Call your children's schools and find out what their emergency plans are.  Decide on a meeting place outside of your home.  All members of your family should know where this meeting place is if they are not home during a disaster.  I have 5 children in 4 different schools.  If I am not able to get to the schools, my two oldest will walk to the two schools by them and collect their siblings and proceed to walk home, if able.  We've decided to meet at our church building down the road.  Once decided, your family plan needs to be talked about often so it becomes common knowledge for your family. A Plan....it's so important!!!!

After a quake there will be mass confusion, property damage, and probably chaos for awhile. 

-Try not to tie up phone lines, use text messages instead.  

-Don't light a match or lighter until you are positive there are NO GAS leaks!  If you must turn off your gas don't try to turn it back on, leave it to a professional.  

-Be prepared for after shocks.  They could happen for a week, or longer, after a quake.  

-Be careful if the quake happened at night.  Glass will most likely be everywhere.  Always keep a pair of sneakers under your bed, along with a flashlight.

Power Surges

Power Strips only protect from one surge.

 While listening to the radio after the California quake last week, I learned a great tip.  There will most likely be power surges following a quake.  The easiest thing to do would be to unplug all your electronics, but having a surge protector is smart too.  But did you know that a power strip surge protector will only work once!  I had no idea!  So if you do experience a power surge, you will most likely need to purchase new power strips for your electronics.  Oh, and there isn't a power strip strong enough to withstand a lightning strike.  If you are experiencing lightning go around and unplug everything. Just as a precaution.


Please BE PREPARED!!!   This is why I have this blog, to help all of you NOW, before the disaster strikes!

Prepare Today Homemade - Homemade Fruit Snacks

Who has an abundance of zucchini right now?  Are neighbors leaving them on your porch in the middle of the night?  If so, I have a recipe for you!  Enjoy this popular post from a few years ago.  It is still a favorite of mine!!

This recipe is going to sound bizarre, weird, and totally gross, BUT stay with me because they are really yummy!!  I have been trying to find a way to make fruit snacks at home.  My kids really like them, but to get 6 little pouches in a box at the grocery store seems like a waste of money.  So I was really excited to find this recipe for making fruit snacks out of ZUCCHINI?!?!?!   I know exactly what you are thinking because I thought the same thing.  How on earth can you make fruit snacks out of a zucchini??  I'll show you :)

 First you will need those big zucchinis that you found in the garden, after going on vacation, and you don't know what to do with them. 

 Peel, core, and dice into about 1" pieces.  Don't make them too small because we are going to dehydrate them and they will shrink.  

 In the recipe that I found the author used Kool-Aid and 1 1/2 C of sugar to "season" her zucchini but I already had a #10 can of strawberry flavored gelatin and I wanted to see if it would work.  I only used the gelatin for the flavor and color, it didn't thicken or make the fruit snack any different then using koolaid.  In my first batch I didn't add enough of the gelatin and they weren't very sweet, so I added 3 C of the gelatin to about 3 C of water.  I also added about a cup of sugar to the second batch to sweeten it up.  {I never said these were healthy :) Look at the ingredients on a package of fruit snacks}  You could experiment with sweeteners and find one that will make these a little bit healthier, you could use Splenda. Fruit Juice is also another great option when trying these.
 
My friend Lisa loves using koolaid and mixing up all the flavors.  My other friend Linda uses organic fruit juice and no sugar, and it works great for both!!

Bring 3-4 C of water and the gelatin, or kool-aid, to a boil and stir in your chopped zucchini.  

Bring to a boil and then let simmer with the lid on for 30 minutes.  When they are finished boiling drain the liquid into a bowl because you can boil a second batch in the same liquid.  Let the zucchini drain for about 10 minutes so they aren't so saturated when you dehydrate them.

 Spread the zucchini in your dehydrator or oven.  If you are using your oven you will need the lowest temperature, or crack open your oven door to lower the heat.  I dehydrated the zucchini at about 130 degrees for about 8 hours.  This is the cool part....when they are done they have a kind of crisp edge with a chewy center, JUST like a fruit snack.  I really couldn't believe it and my child who hates everything actually ate them and has asked me to make more!!  

I want to experiment with other flavors, but this is definitely a recipe I am making again. I am letting my zucchini grow big on purpose now :)

Homemade Zucchini Fruit Snacks
2-3 medium to large zucchinis about 4 C (mine were about 8-10" long)
3-4 C water (just enough to cover the zucchini in the pan)*
3 C flavored gelatin OR 2 packages any flavor Kool-Aid
1 1/2 C sugar if using Kool-Aid, OR sugar to taste if using gelatin or fruit juice


Wash, peel and core the zucchini.  Chop into 1" pieces.  Boil your water, sugar, gelatin or kool-aide.  Stir in zucchini and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.  Drain, saving the liquid for another batch, and let sit for 10 minutes.  Spread zucchini onto dehydrator trays and dehydrate at 130 degrees for 8-10 hours or until slightly pliable.  They will harden as they cool so don't over dry them or they will be hard as a rock.  If you are using your oven, spread zucchini onto cookie sheets and dry on the lowest setting your oven will go. 

*Juice can be substituted for the water, koolaid, and sugar. Use just enough juice to cover the zucchini and boil.   

Here is how my friend Lisa makes her zucchini snacks :) She's my go-to food storage professional friend :)

 After making the snacks many, many, many times now, I have changed ours to be the following, especially when I use the huge zukes! 12 c. water, 6 packets of KoolAid and 5 cups of sugar. I cut my zucchini in 1 inch by 8 inch strips so that they are more like Twizzlers. We have found that they don't disappear quite so quickly. I bring my liquid to a boil and then put about 12 cups or so of the zucchini in and bring it to a boil again, at which point I put the lid on and turn down the heat to about a 3 and allow it to simmer for about 20-25 minutes and then dehydrate on the racks. I've also found that it works best if I add an extra packet of just the KoolAid for the second batch but not any extra sugar. It keeps the flavor bright when I'm making so much. With my Excalibur I end up making 2 batches of 2 different flavors (so 4 different batches) that it takes to fill my dehydrator. Yum!



Enjoy the Journey!
Enjoy the Blessings!
Feel the PEACE!!

Vacation and Emergency Preparedness

For the past ten days I was on vacation with my family.  Family vacations are fun but they always have me thinking, what if?  What if our car breaks down in the middle of the desert and it's 109°?  What if one of my children becomes ill?  What if we got lost? (it could happen)  What if there is an earthquake, the roads are destroyed, and we can't get home? Some may call me paranoid but these thoughts do cross my mind.  

Our vacation this year was in California and we drove from Utah.  Along the way there is a stretch of desert and it was well over 100° for a good part of the drive.  This part of the trip always makes me nervous.  It's a real fear of mine that we will break down somewhere in the Mojave desert.  There are several things I do to calm my nerves.

• We always have two cases of water, if not more on our trip.
• We take enough food to last at least 3 days in our car.  
• We always have blankets and a tarp in case our car breaks down and we need shelter, or something to lay on as we change a tire.
• We carry small bills just in the off chance we would need to buy items in an emergency.

My husband will usually humor me and he kind of laughs that I want that much water and food with us, but he won't be laughing when/if we actually needed it all.  We use the water and snacks along the way and it actually saves us a TON of money. Have you seen the prices of food and water at gas stations in the middle of no where??

So my husband humors me by taking extra water and food, but he was not so into taking our whole car kit.  If I was driving alone with the kids it would've been in there, but we were packed to the brim with 5 kids and all their stuff.  The car kit I usually keep in our vehicle was left at home (along with our first aid kit).  We didn't break down or have any other car issues, thank goodness, but I knew if something happened we would have food and water for a little while until help arrived.

Click HERE to view my previous post on car kits. 

Remember the first aid kit that got left behind in the car kit.....One of the lessons I learned on this trip was to be better prepared with first aid supplies.  I do carry bandaids in my purse but the two incidents that happened required a little more than a bandaid.  First accident involved my 14 year old, a large rock in the sand, and her toe nail.  I was at the house when she came inside in tears and limping.  As she was walking across the sand she hit a rock in the sand and it ripped half her toe nail off.  Now, I always thought I didn't have any problem with blood and injuries.  Well, good to know, it was sooooo gross and I had a hard time staying calm while helping her.  We cleaned it up with water and I gave her a bandaid, but it would have been nice to have Neosporin, gauze, and small nail clippers.  I had to purchase all of those items at the store.  Even a small first aid kit (which is in my car kit that wasn't allowed on this trip ;) would have helped in this situation.  Lesson learned!!

Accident number two involved the same child, I think I see a trend now and it scares me, and a hot chaffing dish at the hotel.  As she was reaching for a pancake her inner wrist touched the chaffing dish and she got burned.  It was about 3 inches in diameter and was hurting her badly.  She did ice it but kept telling me it was really painful.  I, mother of the year, kept brushing her off and was busy packing all of our gear up.  As we were getting in the car I took a look at her arm and marched her straight to the front desk of the hotel.  They immediately pulled out a first aid kit and gave her aloe to put on it.  They had us wait while they checked with the hotel kitchen to see if they had any burn cream.  Lucky for us they did, along with a burn patch, gauze, and aloe with lidocaine in it.  I could've easily had a few of the burn patches in a first aid kit.  If we had been anywhere besides a hotel I would've had to purchase those items as well.  (and yes we got a discount on our room because of the accident.  I didn't ask, they offered)  The burn patches were similar to these sold on Amazon.

So, the big lesson learned this trip was to have a fully stocked mini first aid kit!!  Of course now I'll have all the items that I needed and some other random injury will happen that I'm not prepared for, but at least I'll have burn patches and neosporin.  Being prepared for every injury is almost impossible, but having a well stocked first aid kit will give you peace of mind in the mean time. 

Feast or Famine?

Feast or Famine?  Which are you choosing in times of distress or emergency?  I know which one I choose!  

In the LDS church we have been counseled for many, many years to have a one year supply of food and supplies on hand for rough times ahead.  But for so many, a year supply of everything we eat and use on a daily basis is pretty much impossible.  I think we often overlook the fact that the one year supply foods we are counseled to have are meant to be survival foods, foods that will keep us alive in a time of emergency.  We are not to have a year supply of every single food and non-food necessity that we use on a daily basis.  Ingredients such as wheat, oats, rice, beans, powdered milk, sugar/honey, etc. are considered long-term (25-30 years in #10 cans) supply foods. They will keep you fed but they will not fatten you up.  Think of a one year supply as survival food, not the pop tarts the kids like for breakfast. Your 3-month supply will be the normal foods that you use on a regular basis. 

What recipes could you come up with, using only the basic long-term ingredients?  It won't be fancy, but it would keep you alive!

If you read the information in the link below you'll notice that the list of foods for long-term storage come from the grain category. Remember to store the long-term grains your family will eat. But also think of alternative ways to use items that are nutritious but maybe your family doesn't care for.  If your family doesn't like cooked beans, store dried beans and grind them into a bean flour and add them into baked goods.  It will add fiber and protein to breads and other baked goods.  Take stock TODAY and see where you could add a little more.  And learn to use these ingredients, don't store them away for 30 years.  I can only beg for so long for you to get your food storage :)  


Click HERE to read through the very informative booklet put out by the Utah State University Extension services called Cooking With Food Storage Ingredients.  It's full of great information and recipes using basic long-term food storage.

My Food Storage Week In Review: Dehydrating

The end of summer.  It's always exciting and sad at the same time.  The late nights are coming to a close and early morning school days will begin.  The end of summer also means gardens are producing and we are able to enjoy fresh fruits and veggies.  And hopefully your garden has a surplus that must be canned, dehydrated, or frozen.  My sister has a great garden and was kind enough to share some of her apricots with me.  We ate a few and then I decided to make fruit leather with the rest.

It was really simple.  My son pulled apart the apricots, they were tiny, took out the pit, and we blended it all up in the blender.  I thought I might need to add water, but the pulp was juicy enough to easily pour.  

We poured five trays of apricot fruit leather and stacked them up on the dehydrator.

While the dehydrator was out and running, a tray of grapes were added.  I had a few bags of grapes that were close to expiration and my six year old offered to dehydrate them for me.  I didn't want to pull them all off the stems and poke holes in each one. This is where the eager six year old comes in handy.

She pulled them off the stems, poked a hole in each grape, to allow moisture to escape easier, and placed them on the dehydrator.

 
And a quick 3 days later she had.....

...Raisins!  They were perfect!  And she was so happy with herself.  Self-reliant kids....love it!

The last item to go in the dehydrator was an older package of mushrooms.  I wasn't sure that I should dehydrate them because of their age, but I tried them anyway.  They dried fine, actually really well, but they smelled horrible after.  I threw them away, just in case there was something wrong with them.  I couldn't handle the smell from the jar after they were dried so I definitely didn't want to eat them.  Now I know why the professionals always say to use the best fruits and veggies to dehydrate.  

Here are the mushrooms and fruit leather after drying.

The mushrooms were fail #1 and the fruit leather, although dried really well, was kind of fail #2. They were so tart, I should've added a little bit of honey to the mixture before drying.  I'm going to pulse it into a powder and add it to smoothies and yogurt. 

There were several dehydrating lessons that I learned this time around.  I'll use fresher ingredients next time and I also need to remember that I have a dehydrator and use it more often.  I could be saving a lot more produce, and money, by dehydrating the surplus instead of sending it to it's death in the bottom drawer of the fridge. 

What preps are you working on??