The degree of our preparation will be equal to the extent of our obedience, which will determine the measure of our peace of mind. "Neil H. Leash"

Welcome to the beginning of the Jenks Ward Preparedness Blog. Our goal is to help all of those that have a desire to focus on becoming more self sufficent. This blog will contain information that will assist you in getting your houses in order. The content on this page will be updated weekly with new information to assist you as you begin the process of preparing. Remember, "If ye are prepared ye shall not fear".




Why the fuss about food storage?

How long would your family last if something happened to disrupt America's food supply? What if new shipments stopped coming in to your local grocery stores? How long could you continue to feed your family? There are many risks out there that could cause a disruption of our food supply including: crop failures, droughts, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, terrorist attacks, economic depression, disease outbreaks, etc... If you have auto and homeowners insurance to protect you financially from accidents and disasters, why not also protect your very lives with food and water? Food and Water storage are a form of insurance that is very inexpensive and becomes priceless during an emergency. Every family should keep an emergency three month food supply and a two week supply of drinking water in their home at all times. You of course don't need to run right down to the grocery store right now and spend a bunch of money to accomplish this.

WHEAT

*Wheat is categorized into several different types - Hard Red or Hard White are best for long term storage and for most peoples needs. The soft wheats are used in making pastries and crackers and are not as versital as the hard. So, we only store hard wheat and prefere the hard white.

*Wheat if stored properly can last 30 plus years. If you are using wheat that is over 20 years old it is best to add gluten flour to it when baking bread.

*Store in #10 cans, Mylar bags, buckets with mylar liners, EPEC bottles.
Store in a cool dry area, never store it directly on a concrete floor.

*Whole wheat flour goes rancid within 30 days of grinding. So be sure to only grind what you can use within a couple of weeks and store in the refrigerator or freezer.

-1 Cup of wheat grinds into approximately 2 cups of flour
-A #10 can of wheat holds around 13 cups and will produce more than 20 Cups of flour.

Tips for Using Wheat Flour

When starting to cook with wheat flour try some of these tips!

*Use it in recipes your family already likes, your family favorites!
*Try using it in your dessert recipes first, who can resist desserts!
*Start by mixing your wheat flour 50/50 with white flour in your recipes. This will be a
huge hit it yields excellent results
*1 Cup of Whole wheat flour minus 2 Tablespoons = 1 cup white flour
(I usually only do this with quick breads and cake mixes when mixing 100% Wheat)
* As you are baking with whole wheat or even half wheat watch your food closely because it will look brown and done sometimes before it is really done! It is a learning curve. The more you cook with it the more familiar you will become with the new color of done!

Whole Wheat Flour Recipes

Sugar Cookies

Combine the following and blend together:
1 C Granulated Sugar
½ C Butter (softened)
2 Eggs
2 Tbsp Cream or milk
1 tsp Vanilla

Next add:
2 ½ Cups Flour (white or wheat or ½ ½ )
½ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Baking Soda

Mix together and chill dough for 4 hours.
When ready to bake preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough on floured surface to ¼ to ½ inch thick bake for 8 minutes don’t let them brown. Cool on cooling rack then frost with almond frosting.

Almond Frosting
Beat together until smooth:
½ C of softened butter
2 C powder Sugar
¼ tsp Almond Extract
1 to 2 Tbsp Milk
Add color if desired and frost. Frosting needs to be thick enough to stick to spoon but soft enough to spread easily. Add milk accordingly.



Wheat Texas Sheet Cake

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup buttermilk or milk soured with vinegar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsweetened
cocoa powder
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
DIRECTIONS:
1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease and flour jelly roll pan or line with parchment paper.

2.In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and white sugar. Set aside.

3.In a saucepan, heat 1/2 cup butter, shortening, and 1/4 cup cocoa until boiling. Stir frequently. Pour chocolate mixture over flour and sugar. Stir in buttermilk, eggs, baking soda and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Spread into jelly roll pan.

4.Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.

5. While cake bakes, prepare frosting. Combine 1/2 cup butter or margarine, milk and 2 tablespoons cocoa in a saucepan. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Beat in confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread warm frosting over cake as soon as it is taken from the oven. Cool.



Apple Muffins

These dark, moist muffins will keep well for several days. You don't even need to heat them up to enjoy them, which makes them a perfect after-school snack. The brown sugar sprinkled on top adds a crunchy touch, for all you muffin top lovers out there.
1 cup (4 ounces) White Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces)Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup (8 ounces) buttermilk or milk soured with vinegar
2 large apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Grease and flour a 12 cup muffin tin and set aside. Mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and set aside. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and add the granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of the brown sugar. Beat until fluffy. Add the egg and mix well; stop once to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.Mix in the buttermilk gently. (If you over-mix, the buttermilk will cause the mixture to curdle.) Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the apple chunks. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, sprinkling the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar on top. Bake for 10 minutes, turn the heat down to 400°F, and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool the muffins for 5 minutes in the tin, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Yield: 12 muffins.

Water Storage The Essential Nutrient

Do you have enough water stored for your family in the event of an emergency? If so, is it stored properly? Having ready, potable water available for immediate use is one of the most important ways to help your family be prepared for an emergency.


How much do I need?
Adults need to drink at least two quarts of water each day. Children, nursing mothers, and ill people may need more. Additional water is needed for food preparation and hygiene—for a total of one gallon per adult per day. The Church recommends storing a two-week supply as a minimum. For an adult, that’s 14 gallons (53 liters).


What do I store it in?
-Use only food-grade containers. Smaller containers made of PETE plastic or heavier plastic buckets or drums work well.
-Clean, sanitize, and thoroughly rinse all containers prior to use. A sanitizing solution can be prepared by adding 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of liquid household chlorine bleach (5 to 6% sodium hypochlorite) to one quart (1 liter) of water. Only household bleach without thickeners, scents, or additives should be used.
Do not use plastic milk/juice jugs, because they do not seal well and tend to become brittle over time. Do not use containers previously .used to store non-food products
Milk protein and fruit sugars cannot be adequately removed from these containers and provide an environment for bacterial growth when water is stored in them.


If you buy your water from the store in it's original containers, then follow manufacturers expiration dates.

Where do I store it?
-Store in a cool, dark place when available.
-Replace the water every six months. (unless commercial packed then use expiration date)
-Do not store were water damage would occur if a leak happens.
-Store some in your freezer. Frozen bottles of water help to improve the efficiency of our half empty freezer, and in the event of a power outage will help to protect the food from thawing.

How do I prepare the water for storage?
-If the water from a municipal source it is already chlorinated you do not need to add anything before storing it. (city water)
-If the water is not chlorinated and is clear, add eight drops of household bleach (5 percent sodium hypochlorite) per gallon. If the water is not chlorinated and is cloudy, add 16 drops per gallon. Seal the containers tightly. Only household bleach without thickeners, scents, or additives should be used

Purifying Water
*If water is polluted, strain through paper towels, paper coffee filters, or several layers of clean cloth into a container to remove any sediment or flaking material. Then boil the water vigorously for 10 minutes, as this will usually make it safe to drink. Add one additional minute for each 10,000 feet of altitude, depending on the area you live in.

*Another method of purification is to strain the water as described above, and then to chemically purify it by adding liquid bleach or tincture of iodine. Do not use granular forms of household bleach as they are poisonous.

Bleach
For clear water, use 8 drops of bleach per gallon of water. If the water is cloudy, then these amounts should be doubled. Store an eye dropper with your emergency supplies, to be used only for this purpose.
Mix thoroughly by stirring or shaking water in a container. Let the water stand for 30 minutes. A slight chlorine odor should be detectable. If not then the dosage should be repeated and the water allowed to stand for an additional 15 minutes.
Liquid bleach loses strength over time. For this reason mark each bleach container with the current date. Use with in one-year.

Iodine
Iodine has been used to disinfect water for nearly a century. It has
advantages over chlorine in convenience; many find the
taste less offensive as well. It appears safe for short and intermediate length
use (3-6 months), but questions remain about its safety in long-term usage.
It should not be used by persons with allergy to iodine, persons with active
thyroid disease, or pregnant women. Iodine is available in numerous forms,
which can be confusing. 2% solutions 8 drops/liter 8mg tablets 1
tablet/liter be sure to read label and follow guidelines on bottle.

Water purification tablets
Water purification tablets will purify one liter of water. The tablets have a
shelf life of two years and lose their effectiveness if them get damp.
When purify your water, only purify enough to last a maximum of 48 hours. Water allowed to sit for longer than this may become re-contaminated.

There are a lot of people that try to say that you should use Grapefruit Seed Extract GSE, or Colloidal Silver. The problem with these are that the products you buy are not regulated by the FDA and so the concentration varies so much from product to product, making it a guessing game. We personally stick to the tried and true method of HOUSE HOLD BLEACH for our long term storage and the water tablets for our 72 hour kits.

Additional Water Sources in Emergency

In addition to your stored water, there are a number of other possible sources of water in your home:

Water drained from the hot water tank if the tank remains upright.
Immediately after a major disaster, we can prevent contamination of our hot water tank supply by shutting off the water valve that leads from the water main into the house. To drain the tank, follow these instructions:
Turn off the gas or electric supply to the tank.
Close the water intake valve into the tank by closing the faucet at the top of the tank.
Drain water into a container by opening the faucet at the bottom of the tank. Never turn the gas or electricity back on until the valve is reopened and the tank is full of water.
Drain water every six months allowing water to drain until it flows clear. This process will ensure that the tank remains free of mineral and rust deposits and will also save on fuel!
Water remaining in the pipes.

If your home is multilevel, you can drain the existing water in the pipes by gravity flow, after the water line into the house has been shut off.
Open a faucet on the top floor and drain water from a faucet at the lowest level.

Water from a swimming pool.
This water can be used for hygiene purposes only. If consumed, this water could cause
diarrhea, stomach cramps, and illness.

Ideas For 3 Month Supply

Some simple ideas for a 3 month supply

Breakfast:
Oatmeal, Pancake Mix & Syrup, Muffin Mix, Malto Meal, grits, biscuit and gravy mixes.


Lunch & Dinner:
Pasta: Spaghetti, Mac & Cheese, Egg Noodles, Angel Hair Pasta, Ramen Noodles
Soups: Cream of Chicken Soup, Chicken Noodle Soup, Cream of Broccoli & Cheese Soup, Tomato Soup, Cream of Mushroom
Canned Items: Beans (Refried, Black), Tomatoes, Tomato Sauce and Paste, Fruit, Evaporated milk, Meats (Tuna, Chicken, Ham, Fish, Spam), Stews, Chicken & Beef Broth, Ravioli's,
Seasonings: Taco, Garlic, Spaghetti, Chili, Gravy Mixes,
Boxes: Tuna Helper, Chicken Helper, Hamburger Helper, Rice-A-Roni
Misc: Peanut Butter & Jelly, Crackers, Cooking Oil, juices/pre-packaged drinks


Always keep ingredients to make homemade cookies, some candy/snack food that would be good for moral boost!

3 Month Plan

How Do I Gather and Build Food Supplies?
1. Gather family favorite recipes
2. Select 7 nutritious meals your family enjoys
3. Using these meals, create a shopping list.
4. Determine your weekly food budget
5. Begin by purchasing a few items to start building a 1 week of meals.
6. Gradually increase your supply until it is sufficient for 3 months.

Every family should keep an emergency three month food supply and a two week supply of drinking water in their home at all times. You of course don't need to run right down to the grocery store right now and spend a bunch of money to accomplish this. Just as you would with a savings account, it can be built slowly adding a little more each month until you meet your goal. One way to do this buying a few extra items each week to build up to a one-week supply of food. At that point, you can gradually increase your supply until it is sufficient for three months. Make sure that these items regularly rotated so they don't go bad.
It is important to remember that these are foods that you can get at your grocery store of choice. It should be based on what your family will eat and be replaced as you go through your meals. The shelf life of these foods isn't intended to focus on long shelf life but on foods that will keep for 3 months that you will actually cook with.
Start with stuff you KNOW you will eat and know you can use/cook! If you can't do three months, start with a week, even if you do it a can or box or two at a time.