Food Storage: Hard Core

Today I had the privilege of meeting a food storage enthusiast named Martha. Wow, she had a system for her family, and it WORKED! Just for the wow factor, she said that her little family of 5 (2 adults, 2 teenagers and 1 pre-teen) were able to now live on a budget of $175 a month on food. Okay, I'm feeding the same number of people, much smaller people, and one of them probably shouldn't count since I eat his portion of nutrients, but I spend double that a month on groceries. So what was she doing?! I thought I'd share some of the things I learned, and although I probably will not adopt her system or her budget necessarily, she had such a well balanced system, there was more than enough information and advice to work into my own system and thus improve our way of life.
MENU:
*Martha: makes a two month menu (takes her about an hour and a half planning every 2 months) of breakfasts and dinners. She writes on her calendar sheet the food storage grain/staple that the meal will include: ie. beans, rice, wheat ect. so that she is rotating and using a variety of grains in her long term food storage.
*Stephanie: makes a one month menu and it seems to be enough for me. Dinners mostly. So I feel alright in this area.
*Improvement: I want to try using more grains and incorporate more dry grains in my food storage. I found out today you can cook beans in a crock pot with little effort, so I am going to learn how to prepare more things from scratch like beans and lentils.
SHOPPING:
*Martha: Only shops the sales. Now I realize, she has her year supply of every day foods already working in her basement, and that is a process over time, and I think that factor is the greatest contributing factor to her current food budget of $175/month. So this is attainable, after some serious thought, time, and work for anyone. She had a list she had created of the ingredients she used most often and an estimated number of how much. When she noticed the items in a sale, she did a quick inventory of her storage room and then restocked the shelf at sale price. That way she is always eating at the lowest possible cost out of pocket. For example, pastas were 50 cents/lb last week, she said she left the store with 30 lbs of spaghetti. She does go to the store weekly, but says some weeks she is only leaving the store with broccoli and apples, the rest is already at home.
*Stephanie: I have a three month list of ingredients I like to have on hand, but this is definitely an area I can improve. I never feel I have a clear idea of what I have in my pantry and storage.
*Improvement: I will now expand my list, and organize my shelves, so I can more accurately shop when things go on sale to really fill the need.
THE FREEZER:
*Martha: has THREE freezers! A chest freezer dedicated to meats, a stand up freezer for everything else, and the fridge/freezer in her kitchen for things that are opened, being used, or left-overs. Yes folks, she freezes her left-overs from dinners, and the hubby takes them for lunches. She cooks a whole bunch of beans at a time and freezes them in smaller quantities to pull out and use. She buys 4 gallons of milk a month when they go on sale, and pours off one-two cups of milk from each one and freezes them. (Speaking of milk, she also stretches her milk with 3/4 dry milk 1/4 regular... I don't think I could do this.) That way she always has milk on hand. She has boxes or bins in her freezers to separate things, so she had a box for frozen fruits, a box for grated cheeses, she even freezes dairy products such as whipping cream, sour cream and cottage cheese. (although I hear these do come out altered...) Her chest freezer has quadrants in it to keep the meats organized so she can always find what she needs. Oh, so much more, but my brain couldn't absorb it all!
*Stephanie: My freezers are a mess! I was looking through the other day and had considered cooking up the "mystery meat" I found just for fun. I do have two freezers, a chest freezer and a fridge/freezer. I do notice that the things in the fridge/freezer get freezer burn if I don't use them quickly enough. We like to freeze things though, brown rice is a great one. We will make up a big pot and freeze it to use when we want to add some fiber to our rice meals. I have also made full meals, ie lasagna, enchiladas, casseroles... and frozen them ready to cook which is helpful in a pinch.
*Improvements: I want to get bins!! What a novel idea to help the organization! I also think I'll buy cheese and milk in greater quantities and try freezing them since it's something our family goes through a lot of (when they are on sale).

WHEW! I'm tired just reviewing those few things. It really was a little exhausting listening to Martha share her techniques. I came home wanting a nap. She has the mentality of a complete organizer, and I unfortunately wasn't blessed with this gift. But I was blessed with the gift of learning. So I can learn while I watch others. There was so much more she went over, and as I act on what I learned, I'll share more... but I think I'll start with this much for now.

Thanks for being my accountability, oh faithful Blogger.

Jesus Loves Me

Amelia gave her first church talk in Primary today. Her topic was "Jesus Loves Me" and with some conversation about the topic and me with a pen and paper in hand, I wrote down her talk for her. This was all Amelia. I was very proud of her.

"Jesus shows his love for me in so many ways. I know that Jesus created me and this world. I know that He gave me my body. I know that He will protect me and help me to know that He is really there. I know He shows his love by being kind and nice to the children. I know that He can help me be nice to my brother and sister. I know that He'll help me be nice and He'll show his love for me. I know He love's my friend, Faith, and we can love our friends like Jesus loves us. I know I can learn about Jesus' love for us when I read the scriptures, and i know He'll help me learn to read. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

Later in conversation (and not included in the talk,) she adds,

"Well, He wanted to die so all His little ones could be resurrected."

Amelia, your testimony is amazing and wonderful! I love my sweet girl. I really didn't know being a parent and watching your children learn to do such big things could feel this rewarding. It's nice, and I love being a mom!

Family Fun: A Visit to the Aquarium

I love it when our Saturdays turn into a family fun day. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does, it's like a breath of fresh air to get out and do something all together. Today we ventured to the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy for the first time. I have to say, I was impressed! When we got there, the outside looked like a painted up old grocery store (So I had my doubts) , but inside was like a giant fish zoo, with fish of all kinds, frogs of all kinds, they even had a giant anaconda AND a tank full of sharks. Amelia loved the petting pools, one with stingrays and the other with various starfish. Lucy liked finding Nemo and the seahorse display. It was a really fun place. Saturdays seem a little busy, but they did all sorts of feedings and shows, probably because of the crowds. I am actually really looking forward to a return visit with my family. What a fun day!

Seahorses, Jellies, and Sharks, Oh MY!

I think we went to the ray tank at least 5 times.
Amelia couldn't get enough.

Finding Nemo

Baby Smiles

I couldn't believe I actually caught his first smile on camera, but I did it! It was after a good nights sleep and a full belly, I was talking to him and he looked at me and grinned a very big, very deliberate grin. I just love these first moments with my babies.

He's been practicing facial expressions ever since.8 weeks old today.

The Little Fairy Dance

Amelia has been dancing for 5 months now with the Hale Center Theater and LOVES it. She knows and anticipates Sunday's, because the day after Sunday she goes to dance class. I never was much of a dancer, so I'm really glad my daughter is having the opportunity to learn to dance somewhere. Maybe it will give her more grace and confidence on the dance floor later on than I ever had. Speaking of confidence, she had her first ballet recital today. It was so cute! The little girls did their very best and had a lot of fun. Amelia didn't seem nervous at all to be in front of all the people, and when I asked her if it was scary or fun, she told me it wasn't scary at all. What a good experience for her.

A Day of Rest.

Well, today was comical. To the point of complete exhaustion, comical. Sunday's are not my favorite day as a mom. I think I used to like Sunday's and I think I might like them again someday. But for now I strongly dislike them. I will refrain from hating them, because I might get struck down by lightning if I were to say that. So for now, I strongly dislike.

Today was especially exhausting. My girls haven't napped or slept really well in weeks, the baby isn't going to bed until sometime after midnight and I am just tired. But I told myself I would make it to church today, ALL of church. So I took my shower, put on make-up (which seems to be happening less and less often lately) and got ready. However, that isn't enough for a mom. Not with 3 little ones anyway. I then had to chase down two little girls, fix their hair, find their dresses, tights, shoes ect. In all of that taking multiple breaks to feed a baby, change a baby and put a baby down for naps. (Oh and I think I also forgot to mention Lucy has decided to be a big girl this week and we are in the middle of potty training her... which really means training ME) Then I had to entertain the little girls who were bored and becoming destructive. (Did I mention how tired I already was?) Luckily paper and pencils did the trick. But then I had to find them all food (again) with just enough time to eat a couple bites of food myself before the baby cried (again). So already pushing time I made the decision to get the family to church before feeding the baby, otherwise everyone would be late for their classes. So he (the baby) cried, a lot, while we shuffled off to church (late). Dallan had to drop us off at the curb for lack of parking, and so me and the three kids (one screaming and two with dirty faces) ran into church (I mean, walked oh so reverently...) where I gave a quick wet wipe to each of the dirty faces and sent them to class while I hurried off to the mother's lounge with a screaming baby. I made it in to Relief Society for the closing song. That was nice. Now time to take Lucy to the bathroom.

Our Sacrament Meeting is last, and I was asked to say the invocation for the meeting, which I foolishly thought would work. However in the shuffle of girls needing to go to the bathroom and getting to the chapel, Matthew decided it was time to eat again. So Dallan held the screaming baby out in the foyer until I had said the prayer and then without pausing from the pulpit, off I went to the mothers lounge. 30 minutes later I rejoined my family, when Lucy requested to use the restrooms. So up I was again. Finally thinking I could sit and enjoy the meeting with my family, Lucy realized she had unfinished business and needed more time on the potty. Ugh! And this time it involved a pants clean up and excited declarations of success from her while she was sitting in her stall. By the time she was done, the meeting was near done, but when we got back to the pew I was handed Matthew who had decided he wanted a turn getting his pants changed. Off I went AGAIN to the bathrooms, where upon removing the boys diaper he started pooping all over the changing pad.

And that was church today. Followed by no naps. The phrase "a day of rest" must be referring to some other group of people. Cause it sure ain't one here.

A Bless-ed Day

Getting ready for the big day

Doesn't he look so handsome in his little bow tie and vest?
I love this little guy so much!

The proud parentsThe crazy trioOne big happy, eternal familyMatthew and his Maternal HeritageThe Paternal bunchThe GrandparentsIt truly was a blessed day!
Matthew Dallan Simper - January 3, 2010