At this website, http://www.longevity-and-antiaging-secrets.com/benefits-of-honey.html, I found a lot of interesting information on the benefits of raw honey. Here are a few:
Honey, historically in the form of raw honey (and by circumstance also organic) has been used both as a food and a medicine. It has natural antibacterial and antiseptic properties and even forms hydrogen peroxide when in contact with the body, killing bacteria.
Some of the historical medicinal uses of raw honey are:
Wound dressings for healing infections and burns
Treatment for coughs and sore throats
Can be used as a sweetener for diabetics
Treatment of stomach ulcers
Taken for its antioxidant properties
Used as a oral antibacterial
Tonic for the immune system
Used to promote sound sleep
The above list does not come close to covering all the potential benefits of honey, and we are still discovering, or perhaps “rediscovering” new ones.
I suggest you go to this site and read more information. There is also a copy of an article about how raw honey is better for coughs, especially in children, than cough medicine. Very interesting information.
FYI-The processed honey you buy in the store isn't always just honey. Many times they add stuff to it to "stretch the dollar". Though you really shouldn't get processed honey from the store, at least read the label to be sure you're getting 100% honey.
Do some homework and see how much better raw honey is for you. Honey is one of the few things I'm snobby about. I figure if you're going to spend that kind of money on something, it should at least be the best you can get.
I wondered if anyone would like to contribute any recipes they may have using potatoes, wheat or oats. I'll be posting some soon, but wanted to get your input, too. To get a recipe to me, you can either make a comment here, or email me at sunrisemeadows1@live.com. I know there are some great recipes out there you all use on a regular basis that your families love. If you to be anonymous that's fine, just send in those recipes. Michelle
Free gardening classes for Relief Society Sisters in the Saratoga Springs Stake!
The instructor, Gordon Wells, is the author of Successful Home Gardening, a 120 page textbook, which is free to all students. He has a Masters Degree in Agriculture from the University of California and has taught home gardening for many years. He is considered an expert in Utah climate gardening.
When: Wednesday, Sept 23- Oct. 28, 2009 6 Week course, DIFFERENT INFORMATION AT EVERY CLASS
Time: 7 – 9 pm
Locations: September 23rd and 30th classes will be at the Saratoga Springs South Stake Ctr. 2947 Swainson Avenue, Saratoga Springs
October 7th and 14th classes will be held at the Lake Mountain Building 88 West Harbor Parkway, Saratoga Springs
October 21st and 28th classes will be at the Jacobs Ranch Building 267 West Weatherby Drive, Saratoga Springs
In this six week (2 hrs a week) course you will learn all of the basic principles and practical gardening methods which make home gardening easy, enjoyable and productive. Since we are meeting in the chapel, please wear Sunday casual dress. Unfortunately we are unable to provide a nursery so please plan accordingly. Children would be a large distraction and are discouraged from attending.
Here are some great wheat recipes you don't have to use a grinder for. I hope you enjoy them.
This first one comes from www.everydayfoodstorage.net. It's a great blender wheat recipe. I've also included a recipe for caramel syrup that is fabulous. You can also use the recipe for waffles.
Blender Wheat Pancakes
1 Cup Milk (translation for powdered milk is 3 T. Milk and 1 C. Water) 1 Cup Wheat Kernels, whole & uncooked 2 Eggs (2 T. powdered eggs 1/4 C. Water) 2 tsp Baking Powder 1-1/2 tsp Salt 2 Tbs. Oil 2 Tbs. Honey or Sugar
Put milk and wheat kernels in blender.Blend on highest speed for 4 or 5 minutes or until batter is smooth. Add eggs, oil, baking powder, salt and honey or sugar to above batter. Blend on low. Pour out batter into pancakes from the actual blender jar (only one thing to wash!) onto a hot greased or Pam prepared griddle or large frying pan.Cook; flipping pancakes when bubbles pop and create holes.
Caramel Syrup
3/4 C. Butter
1-1/2 C. Sugar
2 T. Light Corn Syrup
3/4 C. Buttermilk
1 t. Baking Soda
2 t. Vanilla
Combine ingredients in sauce pan (it gets frothy so make sure and use a large enough pan so it doesn’t spill over). Stirring constantly, heat sauce until boiling and then boil for 5 minutes.
Cracked Wheat recipes from everydayfoodstorage.net
Did you know that you can use cracked wheat to extend your ground beef, to substitute for nuts or RICE? The nice thing about using it as rice is that it is MUCH FASTER to cook than brown rice. (15-20 minutes MAX!) You can crack wheat in your blender. Coffee grinders are the best for cracking wheat so if you find yourself needing to crack a lot of it I would pay the $10 bucks to buy a coffee grinder. Make sure when you’re cracking wheat in the blender that your blender is completely (and when I say completely I mean COMPLETELY) dry or it won’t crack the wheat. Also, make sure to use small amounts like no more than a little over 1/4 cup at a time.
Practice using cracked wheat as nuts I tried this Strawberry “Nut” Jell-O salad. This is my ULTIMATE FAVORITE Jell-O salad in the WHOLE WORLD. (Have I convinced it tastes awesome yet?) It is different from anything else you’ve seen at a potluck and the cracked wheat in the salad gives a really great texture. It almost tastes like little bits of strawberries in the salad. You’ve got to try this, you’re family will LOVE it and no one NOT NO ONE will guess there is wheat in it!!! Strawberry Nut (Wheat) Molded Salad
1 small pkg. strawberry Jello (I cheated and used raspberry and it was still DELICIOUS) 1 C boiling water
Combine Jell-O and Water & refrigerate until syrupy, then add to the rest (word to the wise-you have to watch this like a hawk. It goes from syrupy to jelled very quickly. I would check it between 15-20 minutes after you put it in the fridge)
1 C cooked cracked wheat for mock nuts 1 C whipped cream or Cool Whip Whipped Topping 1/2 C sugar 2 C mashed fresh strawberries Refrigerate until firm or over night. Serve on a bed of lettuce with a dollop of whipped cream/topping sprinkled with cooked cracked wheat as your mock nuts.These whole kernels need soaking or steam cooking to become tender. When cooked, they have a sweet, nut-like flavor and a slightly chewy texture. There are many ways to prepare dishes with wheat berries, - so experiment!
In using as meat extender, cook cracked wheat, drain, add to ground beef while cooking. It will take on the flavor of the beef and spices as it cooks.
Wheat Berries from positivelyprepared.blogspot.com
The versatility of wheat berries is demonstrated in recipes from cereals to breads, to casserole and to stuffing for chicken or turkey. These recipes call for cooked wheat berries. Wheat berries can be prepared ahead of time and the ready-to-use cooked wheat may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 1 week. They can also be frozen.
Wheat berries are probably the easiest whole wheat food to prepare, and certainly ranks as one of the most versatile foods in use. None of the measurements are critical, and there’s no worry about with stirring, continual watching, etc.
Wheat berries can be made from whole wheat kernels or cracked wheat and can be used to replace rice in most dishes; they can also be substituted for mashed potatoes.
To make wheat berries: In a pot with a fairly tight lid, combine 3 cups of water, and 1 cup of wheat. Bring to a boil. Allow to simmer ½ hour. Turn off the heat and allow the wheat to stand 8-12 hours. Drain any remaining liquid. Use or store in refrigerator, tightly covered, for no more than one week.
Thermos cooked: Put wheat and 2½ cups boiling water in a quart-sized thermos. Screw the top lightly and leave until morning.
Slow cooker method: Simmer ingredients on high for approximately 2-3 hours. Turn off the slow cooker and let it sit overnight untouched.
This brings back memories of growing up. Quite often my mom would have cooked wheat in the crockpot ready for breakfast. Sprinkle a little bit of brown sugar, and top with milk. It makes a delicious hot breakfast.
I know I said that in my next post I would share some wheat recipes, and they are coming soon, but I found out some information today I wanted to share with you. On the site blog.totallyready.com, today, she talked about how there is going to probably be a spike in the price of sugar. I would suggest you read her article and also, so that you are well informed, read the sites she lists to show where she got her information. It's very interesting. Also, pass this information along to your family and friends. I think we all need to be informed about what is going on in the world, at least to some degree, so that we can be sure to be prepared for things that may adversely affect us. I'd love to hear what your thoughts are about the article and information presented. Personally, though I think I probably have plenty of sugar, I'll probably be getting a little bit more. Michelle P.S. Recipes coming asap
Many have said that they don't get any wheat because they don't have a grinder or that they don't make bread. Let me give you some information that may help you realize that wheat is a good thing to have and that you don't need to have a grinder to use it and benefit from it's goodness.
I'm sure you've heard that wheat is the staff of life. This is because wheat has many nutrients to sustain life. The leaders of the Church have been telling us for years to store wheat. Wheat is the basis for many food items such as breads, pasta, cookies (mmm), pie crust, cake just to name a few. Yes, you could store white flour, but white flour only has a short storage life, where wheat will last, if properly stored, for almost ever. Wheat flour has better nutritional value than white flour as well. There is more protein and less carbohydrates in wheat flour than in white flour. Not to mention the vitamin and minerals that is lost when wheat flour is processed and made shelf stable. I'm not saying not to store any white flour, I'm just saying that wheat is a great way to not only sustain life, but to live a healthier life.
Okay, so now that we have the nutritional and storage life out of the way let's talk about how to use the wheat. Of course you can make bread. Now let me say about bread making that I think every one should at least try to make bread. I mean really try, not just try it once, have it not quite work like you think it should and give up. Give it a few tries. Be sure you have a good recipe and good ingredients to begin with. Don't think you are going to make great bread with old, out dated ingredients. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Okay, with that said, I also believe we all have talents. Some of us are good at some things and some of us are good at other things. If you've really put your heart into trying to make bread and it just doesn't turn out as an edible product, I firmly believe in the barter system. Store your own wheat and other bread making necessities, find a friend who does make good bread and make a deal with her (or him, not to discriminate) that you will do something in exchange for their bread making abilities. Does this idea make anyone feel any better? Good.
What else can you use wheat for, especially if you don't have a grinder? You can make the most delicious blender pancakes and waffles. All you need is a blender. You can also make popped wheat, which is kind of like making popcorn. You can turn it into bulgar wheat, which is really a pretty easy process, and use it as a meat extender.
If you don't have a grinder and really want to start using wheat as part of your diet, I'm sure you know someone who does have a grinder who would be happy to let you go to their house, and grind up a bunch of wheat for you to store for use. Keeping fresh ground wheat flour in the fridge or freezer will help maintain its nutritional value as well as keep it from going rancid since the wheat germ has a lot of fat, the flour will go rancid if not kept cool.
Once you get some wheat ground, you can begin to introduce it into your families diet a little at a time. Whole grains and beans are items you want to begin feeding your family a little at a time. The reason is because in a colon that isn't used to a lot of bulky fiber, those foods can cause gas. If there is a lot of gas, there is a lot of pain. You don't want to do this to your family. Even small amounts once or twice a week is a good start.
Be sure to store spices and leavening ingredients, too. You can't do much without leavening, unless you don't mind flat breads, cakes, cookies, etc.
In the next post I'll post some great recipes you can use with and without ground wheat. Be brave. Try some new things. If you have a good attitude about your basic storage items, the more likely your children and hopefully spouse, will too. Keep up the great work, Michelle
I found out recently that there are lower prices at the cannery as of late. If you want to know what the prices are at the cannery just go to providentliving.org, click on "Home storage order form download" on the right of the screen. Call me if you have issues. Michelle
I don't think I've mentioned before about how to not have a barf bowl. If I spelled barf wrong, sorry, I don't like that word anyway. Okay, so what do if you have a child who is sick if you don't give them a bowl to be sick in? Here is a trick I learned years ago when my oldest daughter would get car sick if we went more than 10 miles in a car. You get a paper bag and you fold down the top about an inch to give it some stability. Then you put it in a plastic grocery bag. When the child gets sick they throw up in the paper bag. When they are done throwing up, you simply roll up the paper bag, tie up the plastic bag, and throw it all away. No muss, no fuss. The germs, as well as othe mess, is all contained in the bags. For a small child, suggest keeping on hand the large grocery bags so it's easier for them to get it all into the bag. Older children can use a smaller lunch bag, if you're concerned they might not quite get to the toilet in time. Better safe than sorry. If you're like me, you'll love this idea, because I would rather clean up almost anything but throw up. But, unfortunately if you have children, it's going to happen. Happy no cleaning! Michelle
Do you know how the flu is spread? According to the CDC "the main way that flu viruses are thought to spread is from person to person in respiratory droplets of coughs and sneezes. This can happen when droplets from a cough or sneeze of an infected person are propelled through the air and deposited on the mouth or nose of people nearby" (eeewww). "Influenza viruses may also be spread when a person touches respiratory droplets on another person or an object and then touches their own mouth or nose (or someone else's mouth or nose) before washing their hands"(again eeewww).
May I make a suggestion to possibly help us all fair better in the fall and winter with the flu virus, whether it's the swine flu or seasonal flu. Start now encouraging your little children to cover their mouth when they cough or sneeze with their upper arm. Also, for those of us who were taught as children to cover our mouths with our hand, change to covering with a tissue, which you would not ever reuse, or your upper arm. Then as quickly after the sneeze or cough as possible, clean hands with either hand sanitizer or soap and water. Obsession is not always a bad thing. Also, don't forget to wash hands after being at the store. You don't know what kind of people have been touching anything at the store.
Let me tell you a story to prove my point. I was at Target one day, in the book area. I was looking down an aisle when I saw a woman holding a book, which she proceded to cough several times on, using the book to "cover the cough"and then put it back on the shelf. If someone were to come along within even 24 hours later and tough that book, what ever germs this woman had that caused her to cough, would then get on the other person's hands and then on any thing they touched.
Okay, I think you get the point. Now really is the time to start planning for the fall and winter season. The easiest way to prepare is to make a list and then get a couple of things a week until the list is finished. Have fun getting prepared! Michelle
Hey everyone, I've been getting some comments from people about how they are having a hard time making a menu plan for their storage because they don't know what meals to plan. So, I thought it would be a good idea to do some brain storming together to not only share ideas on meals, but to also see how really not hard it is to do. And just in time for the fall case lot sales. Anyone, including those not in our ward are invited, and men too, are invited to come to the church on Tuesday, July 28th at 7:00. I hope you will plan to come, invite friends and family and a notebook to write everything down. I think it will be a very helpful activity.
FYI: SMITH'S IN AMERICAN FORK IS CLOSING! 20% OFF THE WHOLE STORE-EVEN IT IS ALREADY ON SALE!
I have always been a person that like to find the best deals. I have spent my time online an pouring over the paper to ensure I get the greatest value for my dollar, but now I have found an easier way...
I log onto http://www.grocerysmarts.com/. When you put in the password g84ckc you can pull up grocery lists for all the local stores. The grocery lists have information on how good of a deal an item is and where to find coupons. (In many cases there are links to online coupons.)
I know many of you probably found this site long ago, but in case any of you are still spending your time pouring over ads instead of spending time with your family...there is an easier way!
Every day you need to do each of the items below. For each one you do, you get 1 point. You can earn up to 11 points a day for a total of 77 points a week.
POINTS: 1.Eat 5 servings of fruits & vegetables. A serving can be a fruit or vegetable, a half cup of cooked vegetables or 2 cups of leafy green vegetables.
2.Drink 5-8 glasses of water a day. You can add Crystal Light if you want to make it easier, but make sure half of it is plain water. (Minimum 40 oz)
3.Get 7 hours of sleep a night. If you come up short, you can nap during the day- the 7 hours do not have to be consecutive.
4.Exercise 30 minutes a day. Make sure it is more than a leisurely walk. (You always get the exercise point on Sunday as long as you go to church.)
5.No soft drinks or alcohol. None.
6.No sweets. No cookies, candy, cake etc. (A little brown sugar or honey in oatmeal is fine.)
7.No unhealthy food choices; fries, chips, Cheezits, Ritz and other snack crackers and processed cheese. (Baked chips and Wheat Thins/Triscuits are okay, but try snacking on fruits, vegetables or nuts.)
8.No eating after 8:00 p.m.- unless you work out for 2 hours or burn 1500 calories.
9.Eat 2 servings of whole grains or legumes per day.
10.One-on-one family connection. Spend quality one-on-one time with your spouse, child or other family member.
11.Study your scriptures for at least 15 minutes.
During the week you get 3 free points. For example, one day you can use a free point for one normal size dessert or use another free point for missing exercise one day. These points do not accumulate. Use it or lose it.
Report your points every Monday to Danielle Cahoon at sdcahoon@hotmail.com or (801) 768-8125. You get one extra point if you report before 1:00 p.m.
If you are the weekly winner, you get 1 extra free point the following week. All 6 weekly winners and the 4 people with the top total points will be entered in a drawing for a grand prize.
You have 1 free day during the 6 week period where you can get all 11 points without having to follow any of the rules. Use it wisely!
If you would like some wheat at a good price, here's you chance. I will be picking it up Monday, July 6th and I need your order before then.
DETAILS: 50 lb bag of Hard Red Wheat- $11.00, harvested last fall (You could use our stake's drypack canner to package this wheat) or 45 lb bucket of Hard Red Wheat- $18.50, harvested last fall
I have always started my canning in the fall. I love having a variety of apple, pear and peach items in my pantry along with the homemade salsa.
This summer I have activity looked for places to get free or very inexpensive fruits to preserve. One of the fruits people just give away are mulberries. Mulberries grow on trees and are not hard to harvest; you just set tarps on the ground and shake the branches of the tree. I have never seen anything like it! Pie cherries (sour cherries) are also ready to be picked right now. Perhaps you know someone that will not be using the fruit on their trees, please let me know and we will see if anyone in the ward could use it.
This has resulted in many jars of jams, syrups and preserves in the past couple weeks. You can find a lot of recipes online at www.fooddownunder.com or at the local extension office. If you have not canned before or are not an experienced canner, Michelle or I would be happy to show you the basics. (Since we are at a high elevation, remember to process your jars for long enough.)
This week I will be using pie cherries to make canned cherries and cherry pie filling. I will also be trying a vegetable Antipasto recipe soon. (I have made canned bing cherries, cherry syrup, bing cherry jam, cherry raspberry jam, mulberry syrup, mulberry apple syrup, mulberry cherry apple syrup, mulberry jam, raspberry mulberry apricot jam, mulberry peach jam and raspberry apricot jam.) If any of these recipes interest you, let me know!
Those of you who were at the Provident Living Fair in March may have picked up information on building a water storage unit to store water barrels on their side. I recently got an email from Phil Bruick about the use of those units. Here it is.
Michelle, Your email about the barrels reminded me that I was going to contact you after your ward preparedness saturday presentation a few months ago. Bro. Johnson had on his table plans for stacking two of the barrels on their sides one above another. My brother and I had thought of that but when we talked to a bunch of people about such a project, we were informed that the barrels were never made to lay on their sides and that the seams would not hold eventually. Based on that information we abandoned the idea but I'm concerned that some may try that and find themselves with a great deal of water in their garage or basement. We have since found a source for 250 gallon barrels that are only 21" in diameter. A little pricy but can store much more water in the same footprint. Phil I emailed Phil back and asked for the source of the larger barrels which I will post for your information. I take full responsibility for that information being available, as it was my suggestion. It was a good idea, but unfortunately not practical. Thanks for your understanding.
I would like to recommend you think about heirloom (non-hybrid) vegi's when you purchase your plants this year. If you don't know why that is important, I'll tell you. The plants and seeds you get from the store are what is called Hybrids. The problem is that hybrid vegetables can not be used to get seeds for the next years plantings. They are made this way on purpose, so you have to buy new every year. Right now that isn't so much of a problem, but in trying to live even more providently, or in the event that for some reason we don't have seeds or plants or money for that matter to purchase, we would already have seed available to us for free if we had heirloom seeds. Heirloom vegetables, unlike hybrids, do have the ability to produce useable seed for the next years planting. They are a little bit more expensive, like by a dollar or two per plant, but in the long run so much more frugal than buying new seeds or plants every year. I have information from a couple who grow and sell organic heirloom plants. I have the info. in an email, and since I'm pretty computer iliterate, you will need to email me if you want the info. Email me at getyourstorage@hotmail.com and I will forward you the email I got from them. It has a list of all their plants. Just to give you an idea, they have 65 different kinds of tomato plants and I believe about 100 types of plants to choose from. Imagine the variety you could have in your garden and then on your table for your family to eat. I will give info. on saving seeds in the fall. It's not hard at all. Happy gardening. Michelle
If you remember me telling you a few months ago about the pasta deals in Lehi, which closed, and you didn't get there in time. You're in luck. They're doing it again. Here is the ad from ksl.com.
Pasta blowout continues...
Lehi, UT 84043 - May 12, 2009
On Friday May 15th from 11am to 7pm and Saturday May 16th from 10am to 3pm we will have our pasta for sale at incredible prices. We will also be selling spices, flavors and more. We are back this week at Emmett's and Ethel's at 90 East Main Street in Lehi.
We encourage large groups to order to get the best price possible. You can get your bulk boxed pasta product as low as $.55 a pound based on the volume of your order! We also want to introduce more of our product line for Flavors Gourmet, which includes over 75 spices and flavors. What a perfect way to add to your food storage.
If you have any questions or for a list of available pasta send me an e-mail at steve@flavorsgourmet.com.
On May 23rd we will be in Logan, Utah. On May 30th we will be selling in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Details for our locations will be announced weekly.
I would get in on this if you can. I personally think their spices are a bit expensive, but it would be your choice to purchase or not.
I was wondering if any of you would like to share, besides with your circle of friends, what you have been doing over the last few months to help get your family prepared? I know we can all learn from each other. Even if you have only done small things, you might inspire someone. Many times it's the small things that make the biggest difference. Next week I will be posting more things for you to work on. Sorry it's taken so long for me to post anything. We also will be doing some group buys and making some useful kits and things. Keep an eye and ear out. Let's hear from you. I know you're doing something, share it with everyone.
Some of you were probably waiting to see if and when I would say something about the swine flu. I hate to disappoint, so here you go. First, I would suggest that you visit the utahpreppers.com site for some good info on preparing for the possibility of a pandemic. You can also go to the providentliving.org site to find info. on preparing and handling pandemic issues.
When my V.T's visited me today, (give them some slack, I was recuperating from surgery last week, and the week before was spring break) I was asked what my thoughts are about the swine flu. I, of course, told them not to panic, we never want to panic, though many times we'd like to. Just use the panic energy to move us into action. I was also asked to give my 5 most important things would be to do right now. It was hard, but if I remember right, girls correct me if I'm wrong, but I told them these would be my suggestions and in this order: 1. water-we can live a long time with water, but not long without it. Remember, minimum of 1 gal. per day enough for 2 weeks, and this is just for drinking. Since there will most likely be a lot of people staying home because either they are sick or family members are sick, there may not be electricity to pump our water, so be prepared. 2.Food-making sure we have easily preparable (is that a word, apparently not but I like it) to get us through the most stressful time, which in my opinion is the first week or so, but please make sure you have at least your 3 month supply. 3.sanitation supplies-there are several things in this category. For over all germ cleaning, you bleach is good to kill the flu germs. Also, for when you need to care for the sick, face masks and gloves are good. It might be a good idea too, to get some hand sanitizer, for extra measures. These are just some basics, I could go on a bit longer, but don't want to over whelm you. Also, if you don't like to use bleach, there are other things you could use, like tea tree or lemon oils to kill germs. 4.light, cooking and heat-you will need to see at night, cook food and keep your family warm because if no one is working, there possibly won't be any electricity. 5.symptom control-to help make those in your family who do unfortunately come down with the flu, you will want some items to help them feel better. Items to help with chest congestion, coughing, vomit control, etc. May I suggest that instead of using a vomit bowl, keep paper bags (grocery sized for those who are small and would have a hard time getting to a smaller bag, start asking for paper instead of plastic where possible), put a paper bag inside a plastic bag. When someone vomits, they do it in the paper bag, you roll up the paper bag inside the plastic and take it out side. I don't know about you, but I don't like cleaning up after vomit. Those are my top 5 tips for pandemic prepping. These are really basic and can for sure be added to, but if you have these things, you'll be better off than most, and will hopefully fair pretty well. Think about the fact that if you're ready for a pandemic, you're going to be ready for just about any situation. It would be great if you would leave your thoughts and suggestions in the comment box. Let's do this together. Michelle
