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How To Store What You Eat
By Melanie Cooper

Although maintaining a year supply takes a little planning and organization, it's definitely worth the effort. Begin by making a list of all the meals you like to eat. Then figure out which meals could be stored.

 For example, every Sunday our family makes taco salad. To store this meal we made a list of the ingredients it takes to make this meal:
 pinto beans, rice, tomato sauce, cumin, salt, oil, olives, corn chips, salsa

We generally have other toppings such as tomatoes and lettuce, but those don't store as well. The above ingredients still make a very tasty meal that will fill the belly.

Next, we figure out the quantities needed for each ingredient:
pinto beans = 1.5 cups
rice = 1.5 cups
tomato sauce = 1 8oz can
cumin = 1 Tbsp.
salt = 1 Tbsp.
oil = .25 cup
olives = 1 can
corn chips = .5 bag

(Since salsa is considered more of a luxury we just make a guess as to how much we want to store. )

Next multiply these amounts by 52, since there are 52 weeks in a year:
pinto beans = 78 cups or 31 lbs.
rice = 78 cups or 31 lbs.
tomato sauce = 52 15oz cans
cumin = 52 Tbsp. or 3.25 cups
salt = 52 Tbsp. or 3.25 cups
oil = 13 cups or almost a gallon
olives = 52 6oz cans olives
corn chips = 26 bags of corn chips.

You now know how much to store for one meal a week for one year. If you follow these steps for six more meals you'll have all your dinners taken care of for one year. The more meals you come up with, the more variety you will have in your food storage and the more likely you are to use it throughout the year. Do the same thing for breakfasts and lunches and you have a year supply that you can really eat and use.

It's also important to mention that not all the foods you eat are easily storable. You may be accustomed to eating donuts for breakfast every morning, but it's not really feasible to store a year supply of them. You may need to experiment with some new recipes or eating habits if you truly want to rotate your storage.


Stacy

I love it!   Thanks so much for sharing this information. 

This is a great way to plan for your individual family.  There are staples that every family should have on hand but you do need to be using those items so your body will be used to them like beans and wheat.  Those are life sustaining items and we need to be incorporating them into our every day diets - especially the whole grains.  The whole grains are so important for your health - they can help control your appetite, control cholesterol, help with digestive problems and help regulate blood sugars.  This is a proven fact and I have seen it in my own life. 

As much as you might not want to - EAT WHEAT!