Variety In Food Storage
When contemplating your food storage plan, remember to provide a wide variety of foods. This point was driven home for our family this past week when we discovered that our daughter can no longer eat any food that contains eggs, dairy in any form from any mammal, wheat, barley, rye, spelt, pork, game meat, packaged foods and only a little bit of beef. It is almost easier to list what she can eat! Her dietary restrictions could send us into even more of a tail spin if we had not stored a wide variety of grains, such as rice, oats and quinoa.
In addition to the dietary restrictions, we suddenly find ourselves having to learn to cook all sorts of new items and rely solely on home-prepared foods. If I had previously relied on packaged foods and had not acquired a variety of skills, a strong knowledge base and research skills this speed bump would have turned into a complete nightmare. She would be eating Rice Chex 24-hours a day!
Regardless of dietary restrictions, everyone should store a variety of grains. Some which can keep for at least 30 years, are relatively affordable and available include hard wheat, white rice (brown rice has more oil, so will not keep as long), oats, barley, rye, spelt, triticale (a hybrid of wheat and rye), and quinoa. If you store a variety of grains, you will be able to accommodate not only a variety of dietary needs, but prevent developing an intolerance to one grain. Variety also allows you greater flexibility in meal planning and the ability to ‘hide’ more whole grains in everyday foods.
In addition to grains, store some sugars in the form of white sugar, brown sugar, honey, agave, powdered sugar and maple sugar.
Variety is also important when choosing dehydrated or freeze-dried foods. Whether you purchase them dehydrated or dehydrate themselves, balance your storage items so that you have greater flexibility in meal planning. Balance yellow (carrots, wax beans) and green vegetables (green beans, cabbage, broccoli). Have a variety of fruits as well.
Even the lowly dried bean offers a smorgasbord of choices. Just as they vary in color and size, beans vary in nutritional value. Choose from pintos, black beans, garbanzos, navy beans, Great Northern beans, kidney beans and red beans. Each variety lends itself to different applications–mix together they can be wonderful!
One of the most important aspects of variety in food storage is in your storage of spices and flavorings. If you are forced to really rely on your food storage, a good dose of flavor will add palate appeal and variety to the most basic of ingredients. Don’t forget the basics of salt, pepper, garlic, onions, chili powder, ginger, cumin, Italian seasonings, bay leaves, curry and dry mustard. Consider stocking up on bullion cubes or powders. For flavorings, think about a choice of extracts such as vanilla, maple, lemon, mint and orange.
Of course, you also have to know how to cook with these things, so begin NOW to learn! If you know how to cook, experiment with new flavors and ingredients.
Variety is truly the spice of life, but it also can prevent the development of food intolerances and make your food storage truly usable. As you incorporate new flavors, textures and grains into your diet, your nutritional status will improve and you will be better prepared to meet any speed bump you encounter on your culinary travels!
