How Prepared Are You?

While reading on one of my fave blogs today she made a post about her Sunday school class yesterday.  They were talking about emergency preparedness.  The instructor asked them several questions.  She listed them on her blog post.  They were really good questions.  A few of them I had to think about.  Here they are:

• Do you know where your 72-hour kit is and how to use it?
• Do you have a kit for each member of your family?
• Do your kids know what is in it?
• Is the 72-hour kit up to date?
• Do you own a battery-powered radio?
• In an emergency, do you know where to find emergency information for our area?
• Do you have a family emergency plan?
• Have you practiced it recently?
• Do you carry a paper list of contacts with a phone number of someone at least 100 miles away for everyone to contact?
• Do you have an emergency kit in your car? In your office?
• How long will it take for you to walk home from work?
• Do you know where you will evacuate?
• Can you bring your 72-hour kit to an evacuation center if needed? Or can you stay home and shelter in place?
• Do you own a shovel?
• The government can bring emergency drinking water in trucks, but when they do, what kind of container to you own to carry the water in?
• Do you own a tent or travel trailer?
• Do you have 2 gallons of water per day per person? 1 gallon for drinking and 1 gallon for sanitary use?
• Is your hot water heater strapped to the wall?
• Do you know how to shut off your water so you can use it?
• Do you know how to shut off the gas? Only shut it off if you smell gas.

Now is the time to get your 72 hr kits together.  There are different ways you can do it.  You can assemble them your self or you can buy pre-assembled kits.  For my family I have pieced them together.  If I cold go back AND I could afford it I would buy pre-assembled kits and add the personal items to it.  As I have built our kits over the years I have never felt that they have been complete.  They have been a huge source of stress. 

Whether you decide to piece yours together or buy pre-assembled kits I have what you need.  We have all sorts of different items that you can build your kit with and we also have several different kits to choose from.  Click here to go to my website.  Click on the buy tab and then on the left side you will see the different options for emergency kits and supplies.

Thinking about those questions, how prepared are you?  I know my family will be working on a few of those in the coming weeks!

Granola Bars

A few days ago my sister who has helped me with the design of my blog sent me a txt asking when I changed my blog.  I had no idea what she was talking about as I had not changed anything on it.  After a minute she realized she was at the wrong blog.  She went to self reliance by Jamie.

I can see how she would get that confused with mine.  We have the same name and I sell Shelf reliance products.  Anyways I asked her to send me the link to the blog so I could take a look.  I was very impressed with what I was seeing.  I looked through her blog and found some yummy sounding recipes and great info.  I love a good food storage/emergency preparedness blog and another I have found.

I am all about making homemade when I can.  I have been trying for about a year now to find a good granola bar recipe.  I have tried several different recipes and they have all tasted good. BUT when I go to cut them into bars they either crumble or fall apart when I pick them up.  My other problem is I compare them to store bought granola bars.  With these I need to remember that the homemade bars are not going to be like the store bought bars.  Anyways Jamie at self reliance by Jamie  about a year ago posted a recipe for granola bars.  They looked and sounded good so I tried her recipe yesterday.  Oh my goodness....I found my granola bar recipe.  Thanks Jamie!  These not only taste good but I was able to cut them into bars and they held up!!!

Granola Bars

4 1/2 c rolled oats (regular, not quick)

1 c flour ( I like to use whole wheat flour)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 c butter, melted

1/2 c honey

1/3 c brown sugar, packed

1/2 c mini chocolate chips (raisins, craisins, other dried fruit, whatever you like!)

Combine all ingredients but the chocolate chips (or whatever you are putting in). Mix and then add the chocolate chips in and mix again. Press into a greased pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 18-22 minutes. Enjoy!!

**this is a basic recipe. . . if you like other things, try putting them in and make it your own recipe! Nuts, seeds, coconut, peanut butter. . . the options are endless!**

 

These are NOT my pics, they are Jamie`s.  To see her blog for this recipe click here.

Instant Milk

I will admit, I have been putting off trying our instant powdered milk.  I have tried non-instant powdered milk from another company, and it wasn't bad, but in order for it to taste good I had to add 1/4 tsp of clear vanilla and 1/2 tsp of sugar for 1 gallon of milk.  It was drinkable but my kids didn't enjoy it.  I DO use non-instant powdered milk for baking!

I have had SO MANY people tell me how good the instant milk is so I decided to try it at a party I had yesterday.  I will say that it needed to be a little colder, but it tasted like fat free milk!  It was GOOD!!  Even my 13 yr old daughter, who did not like the other companies non-instant powdered milk, liked this milk.  She said she could, and would, drink this and wouldn't complain at all!  Every one at the party agreed that this didnt even taste like instant powdered milk.

I have mentioned instant milk and non-instant powdered milk.  There is a difference.  Non-instant powdered milk is better for baking.  You can use it to drink but you need to add 1/2 tsp of sugar and 1/4 tsp of clear vanilla to make it drink able to make it drinkable.  My kids still complained about it even with adding the sugar and vanilla.  Non-instant powdered milk is also much harder to mix up.  It will have clumps in it and it is just a pain to make. 

Instant milk is better for drinking.  It almost dissolves with out any mixing from you.  Just remember that no matter which kind of milk you use MAKE SURE IT IS COLD before you drink it.  If its not cold it is not going to taste good!

Happy Mothers Day!

Happy Mothers Day to all you wonderful Mothers!  But most especially my Mom!  She is the best Mom I could ask for!  LOVE YOU! This pic is of me and my 3 Moms.  My Mom is on the left.