Gamma Seal Giveaway Winner!

As I have mentioned here before, we love Gamma Seal Lids! So to help spread the love, we gave away a Variety pack of Gamma Seal Lids valued at $52.50! It will look something like this:

Our Winner is Tessa, from Illinois . Congratulations!

Be sure to check back! We do a new giveaway the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month.

Emergency Kit Video

Check out our new video, all about our Emergency Kits.

Emergency Essentials® has been making Emergency Kits for over 24 years. Check out the video to learn some basics about why you would need an emergency kit (sometimes called a bug out bag or 72 hour kit), and some suggestions on the types of things to include.

Freeze-Dried Sweet Potatoes

Freeze-Dried Sweet Potatoes are one of our group items this month. And man have we been having fun with them!

I personally am not a big fan of Sweet Potatoes, but our chefs found ways to sneak them into things without my even noticing.

DEVILED EGGS

6 large eggs hard boiled

3-4 Tblsp mayonaise

1 tsp mustard

1/4 C sweet potatoes hydrated and pureed

1/8 tsp salt

pepper and paprika to taste

Mash together and mix well. Fill eggs and serve.

Take your kids favorite box of Mac and Cheese, mix in 1 cup of rehydrated, pureed FD Sweet Potatoes, and viola! You have successfully fed your kids sweet potatoes.

GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH

2 slices of bread ( your choice)

1/2 C  shredded cheese

1/2 C  sweet potatoes hydrated and pureed

Mix together, should be thick. Spread on bread. Butter both sides of the outer slices of bread, and grill as normal.

CUPCAKES

1 bx yellow cake mix

1 C sweet potatoes  hydrated and pureed

1/4 C water

2 Tblsp vegetable oil

2 large eggs

Blend together and put in cup cake pans lined with cupcake wrappers. Bake as instructed on cake mix.

You could also prepare them in a more traditional, Thanksgiving style. Just rehydrate and then use as you would regular Sweet Potatoes. Here are a bunch of other ideas, all of them delicious!

PANCAKES

   1 C  water

1/2 C  sweet potatoes (hydrated and pureed)

   1 C  pancake mix

1 Tblsp  vegetable oil

Mix ingredients and grill as normal.

OATMEAL

Hydrate and puree add to cooked oatmeal as per taste.

MEATLOAF

1/2 C hydrated and pureed, may leave chunky if preferred.

SOUPS AND STEWS

Add right out of can will hydrate while cooking.

To use as a thickening for soup or stew, hydrate, puree and blend with milk and cornstarch, and add to soup or stew, stir while thickening.

HOMEMADE KETCHUP

1 (6OZ) can tomato paste

1/2 c sweet potatoes hydrated and pureed

1/4 c water

2 Tblsp apple cider vinegar

2 cloves garlic minced

1 Tblsp firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground all spice

1/4 tsp chili powder

Stir all ingredients together in a big sauce pan. Bring to a boil over med high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture has reduced by about half (15-20 min). Let cool before serving. Refrigerate in air tight container for up to 5 days, or freeze in 1/4 cup amounts in zipper lock snack baggies, for up to 3 months.

BUTTERED NOODLES

8oz whole wheat pasta- any kind

1/2 C hydrated sweet potatoes, pureed

1/4 C skim milk

2 Tblsp margarine

2 Tblsp  parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp salt

Cook pasta as directed on pkg, drain. Return pasta to pan stir in pureed sweet potatoes, milk,margarine and salt. Let thicken just a bit and serve. Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on top.

MARINARA SAUCE

add 1/2 C hydrated and pureed sweet potatoes to the sauce.

What other creative ways have you found to use our freeze-dried foods? Feel free to comment below! If you have photos to go along with your recipe, please send them to social@beprepared.com for a chance to be a guest blogger, and a $20 Gift card!!

Tips for Apple Chips

Great in salads

"I add these to my coleslaw. They add a crunch and a wonderful sweet taste to the salad. Since I eat coleslaw instead of lettuce, I even add it to my sandwiches. It's great."  --Diana, Texas

Great Value
"I ordered two cases of these when they went on sale. After receiving them, we opened a can to try them out. They are really good! My kids kept coming back for more. Soon after I went on line to order another case. Great alternative to popcorn for movie night."  --Mrs. R, Washington

Fantastic Apple Chips!
"We decided to open a can to see if we liked them. These are fantastic! They are crisp, full of flavor and disappearing fast!" --Karla, Iowa

Gamma Seal Lids

Food Grade buckets are a great method for food storage. They keep your food fresh, help you store in bulk, and can stack, making them more space-efficient. Here at Emergency Essentials®, we love food storage buckets.

What could make these great tools better? Short answer: Gamma Seal Lids

These lids simplify the entire process of using your food. Two rubber gaskets insure an air tight seal. The twist lock action makes it incredibly easy to open and close, getting access to your food. And they come in a variety of colors, allowing you to create a color-coded system for your storage.

Now these lids can be a bit tricky to get on the first time, so lets walk through what I think is the easiest way to get them on and working.

The first step will be to purchase a bucket and Gamma Seal Lid:

 Got them.

The second step is to take the lid off of the adapter ring:

 Righty tighty, lefty loosey

Next, get the adapter ring onto the bucket. This is the tricky part. I recommend that you place the bucket on the ground, then use your knees and hands to force it down. Really put your weight into it. You will hear the ring click into place once you're done:

 This was a surprisingly difficult picture to take.

Then screw the lid on and you are ready to store:

What will you use a Gamma Seal lid for? Do you already have some? Sound off in the comments!

5 Tips to Help You Start Prepping

Too many people make the mistake of thinking that emergencies only happen to "other folks". Beyond the subject of disasters, being prepared should be a part of your normal provident living.

Pictured: Provident living. Not as difficult as you think.

Don't become overwhelmed. Start with small goals and work consistently. Here are a few ideas to help you get started with your preparedness plan.

• Establish a modest preparedness budget. Make it a priority and work at it the best you can. Start with a few items, such as a 72-hour kit, emergency candles, a sleeping bag, and a first aid kit. Then budget enough money monthly to keep adding to your stores of emergency supplies working toward being prepared truly brings peace of mind.
• Get your information from reliable sources. Most sensible programs will coincide with other reputable sources such as books, community preparation and church or government programs. Don't let anyone scare you into thinking that it has to be done all at once or that you must incur heavy debt to achieve your goals.
• That which would be required to sustain life for three days can be easily multiplied for planning tong-term storage needs.
• Be consistent. Within a short time you will have the necessary supplies and equipment to take care of yourself, family members and others.
• Think investment, not expense! Think practically when it comes to assembling a food storage program. Buy the basics and learn to use them. Buy foods that you can rotate and eat regularly instead of storing foods that are unknown to you and that you have never eaten. Buy emergency materials that can be used for other activities such as Scouting events, camping adventures and family road trips. Take care of what you purchase and learn not to waste. The point is, do something and do not procrastinate.

Whether or not we choose to believe that life is dynamic, changes and challenges will come to each of us. How we prepare today can help ensure that we experience a soft landing. Start with a simple plan and use wisdom as you implement that plan.

Sense of Security

It is easy to feel safe and secure in our daily lives. It is easy to assume that nothing will ever happen, that disasters never occur where you live. We asked one of our Founders and Senior VPs to discuss why that mentality can be dangerous.

You can find this, and many other stories, tips, lists and ideas here:

On July 24th some time ago, I was in my office in Orem, UT when I received a phone call from a woman in Southern California. As we were talking, an earthquake shook her home, and she became very afraid. I did my best to instruct her. “Get under a doorway,” I said, trying to calm her.

When the quake ended, she ceased to panic, thanked me for my assistance and went to assess the damage. I sat back, took a deep breath, and mused about the singularity of the experience.

Within hours, one of my employees came into my office and told me that a customer had just experienced a flash flood in Phoenix, Arizona. The street where she lived had literally turned into a dangerous river. After the employee left, I pondered what I had experienced that day. A feeling of smug security came over me. I thought, How grateful I am to live in Orem, Utah where things like this rarely happen.

Within a few hours a policeman came to our corporate headquarters and told us that we would have to immediately evacuate the building. A nearby chemical plant had caught fire, and there was a possibility of an explosion taking place. When I arrived home, a short distance from my office, another police officer was informing our neighborhood that the area had become unsafe and that we may have to leave until the emergency was contained.

The lesson I learned that day has stuck with me over the years: No one is immune to all danger, and no one lives in a place that is totally free from the unexpected.

-Don W Pectol, VP, Emergency Essentials.

Red Feather Butter

Lets face it: Butter is delicious. And it makes almost everything taste better. And while I am sure we could live without it, what would be the point?

Enter Red Feather Butter: a 12 oz can of real creamery butter for your food storage:

Everything tastes better with butter

Three things I love about this butter:

• Shelf life: The manufacturer says that Red Feather Butter will store for 2 years in good conditions. In ideal, cool conditions, an unopened can could be expected to last much longer than that.
• Ingredients: The ingredients list is exactly two items long: Pasteurized Cream, Salt. No preservatives or artificial ingredients!
• Taste: Delicious. Honestly some of the best butter I have ever had.

Butter is a great way to add oils and fats to your diet, as well as getting that comfort-food feeling in a disaster or emergency.

A handy tip from a customer who tried the Red Feather Butter:

"I am using a supply of Red Feather butter purchased over 3 years ago and it is still great. Probably the best butter (bar none) I've ever tasted. Suggestion: When opening the can open both ends and use the lid to push the contents from the can into a container for storage in fridge."

What do you think? Is butter a necessity or a luxury? Would you add butter to your food storage?

2011: What Our Customers Said

At Emergency Essentials®, we pride ourselves on quality, price and customer satisfaction. So, how well did we do in 2011? Here are just a few things that our customers had to say:

Jenna J.
I just cracked open a can of your cinnamon almond granola - SO GOOD. Even my picky eater girls loved it. Thank you for providing such great quality long term food storage at a decent price! Merry Christmas!! 

Lissa Y.
I just want to thank you for having such a friendly staff at your call center. I can't recall the woman's name, but she was very nice, informative and helped me make the best decision for getting Christmas gifts for my sister and my parents. Not only was it a surprise that what I wanted was on sale, it shipped to me faster than what was told to me! I bought 2 of your Trekker II emergency kits and they arrived literally a day and a half later! Fast Friendly and Efficient service! Can't Beat That!

Douglas S.
Sent an E-mail to Emergency Essentials about the status of a recent order. Got a reply the very next morning that order was shipping shortly. The quickest reply about an order I have gotten. Best customer service in the world. 5 STARS.
Thank You, Emergency Essentials. 

Peter Shaw
Okay, so I made wheat bread from scratch, using the recipe on the can of Emergency Essentials' Dough Enhancer. Turned out well this time. When it was done cooling, I sliced it up, made sandwiches and took my girl friend for a picnic in a local park. Great memory made with Emergency Essentials! :)

Rudy Sylvester
I’ve purchased several of your products in the past couple of years and have been trying them at random. I have to say that in all honesty that every thing that I’ve tried has been great. I’m very satisfied with the taste, quality and ease of incorporating it into a daily meal. If I had only the products that I’ve purchased from you to live on for the length of time of stored food I have I would have many fine meals.

Have you had a great experience with one of our products? Feel free to share it in the comments!

Chicken Ala King

The great thing about this delicious recipe for Chicken Ala King is that you don't have to use just food storage. The entire recipe CAN come right out of your Freeze Dried or Dehydrated food storage. But if you have fresh vegetables, use them! Or fresh chicken, cream or butter. Whatever you happen to have.

This recipe is a great one to try now, to get ready for when you will have to cook this. If you're using our FD Chicken, FD Asparagus, FD Green Peppers or FD Zucchini, or using fresh versions of the same, I think you will find this dish delicious and simple to make.

Also, any Freeze Dried Vegetable could be used in this recipe, as well as all of our different poultry options. This is great with  FD Chicken, or FD Asian Chicken, or FD Turkey.

Anyone tried this one? What is your favorite food storage recipe?