Using the Food Storage Analyzer™ - Part 3

Part 3 - Using the Analyzer™ to Make Purchases and Plan for Future Purchases

Now I'm ready to purchase those Pinto Beans that I entered in Part 2. First, I'll click on the 'Back to Food Storage Analyzer Main Page' at the top or bottom of the Printer Friendly screen. This takes me back to the main page.

Click on Back to Food Storage Analyzer Main Page
Now I'm going to click on the red Purchase button near the bottom of the page. Clicking on the Purchase button will send all of my 'To Be Purchased' items to the Purchase Confirmation Page.

Click on the red Purchase button
This takes me to the Purchase Confirmation Page where I can see the products that I have selected to purchase. I can return to the Analyzer™ at any time to change my selections. I can also modify my order in my Shopping Cart if needed (e.g., delete an item that I want to purchase in the future.) If I delete an item in my Shopping Cart, it will remain in my 'To Be Purchased' items in the Analyzer™ so that I can buy it in the future.

Now I am ready to click on the Submit button which will take me to BePrepared.com for further processing.

Click on the red Submit button
This takes me to the Order Screen on BePrepared.com where I can purchase my can of Pinto Beans by clicking on 'Proceed to Checkout'. I can't wait to get them! (Remember that quantity changes can be made at this point if needed.)

Order Screen - Click on Proceed to Checkout
On my order confirmation page, there is a box under the Comments section that I can click and my newly purchased items will automatically be updated in the Analyzer™.

Click the Add these items to my Food Storage Analyzer box
When I return to the Analyzer™ my items are now added to my 'Current Food Storage' column.

Final results with Pinto Beans now included in Current Food Storage
This completes our basic 3-part series on Using the Food Storage Analyzer™. We hope you enjoy this revolutionary new food storage tool!

Using the Food Storage Analyzer™ - Part 2

Part 2 - Evaluating your food storage in the Analyzer™

Now that I have entered all of my food items (Part 1), I will click on the Calculate button and then on the Show Calculated Results button to see my results. (As a side note, every time you put a number in the quantity box and hit Enter, the Analyzer™ automatically calculates your results.)

Click on the Calculate button


Click on the Show Calculated Results button
Here are my results so far:

Results for 1 person with a Freeze-Dried Variety Combo
Now I see that I have a total of 8,520 calories in my food storage. This gives me 4.26 days worth of food. From looking at the results, it looks like I have plenty of Vitamin C. But I am short on Iron (I only have 23% of the USRDA), so I want to add some food that is high in Iron in order to increase my Iron content.

Low on Iron (only 23%)
I'm going to click on the Iron button under 'Food Products High in:' to find out what my options are: Click on the Iron button
This takes me to the Iron page and lists the many food items that have a high Iron content. They are listed in order from highest content to lowest.

Page with high content Iron food products
After browsing all of the food, I've decided that a can of Pinto Beans sounds good. So I put a '1' in the Intended Purchases box for the Pinto Beans.

Enter a '1' in the Intended Purchases box next to your selection and hit Enter
Now I'm going to recalculate my results (with the Pinto Beans) by clicking on the Calculate button again (or I can just hit Enter and then click on the Show Calculated Results button).

Click on the Calculate button to recalculate results with added items

Click on the Show Calculated Results button to show new results with added items
Here are my new results with the added #10 can of Pinto Beans (notice that the bean nutritionals show up in the peach colored To Be Purchased column):

New results with added Pinto Beans
I believe the Pinto Beans were an excellent choice as I now have plenty of Iron (171%). Also, I now have a total of 12,360 calories which boosts my supply to 6.18 days. That's pretty good for just one #10 can of Pinto Beans!

New Iron Value (171%) including Pinto Beans
I want to go ahead and print my results, so I'm going to click on the yellow Printer Friendly View with Analyzer Results button.

Click on the yellow Printer Friendly button
Here's the Printer Friendly page:

Click on the Print button on upper left corner of page to print
Now that I've looked at my results and determined that I want to purchase those Pinto Beans, I'm ready to go to Part 3 - Purchasing with the Analyzer™.

Using the Food Storage Analyzer™ - Part 1

We are very excited about the positive responses we have received on our Food Storage Analyzer™. For those of you who haven't had a chance to use it, we decided to show an example of how amazing and comprehensive it is. If you have been wondering how many days or months or years of food storage you have for you and your family, the Food Storage Analyzer™ will calculate this for you (including nutritional information associated with your food). You will see where you may be short and how to best plan future purchases. Best of all, it's free!

PART 1 - Entering your food storage in the Analyzer™

Let's suppose that I am new to food storage and I recently purchased a Freeze-Dried Variety Combo to get started. I need to set up a User Name and password so that I can log onto the Food Storage Analyzer™ and save my food storage data:

• Go to http://foodstorageanalyzer.com/
• Click on yellow Login button in upper right corner
• Click on New User
• Enter your information
• Click Create User
• Click Continue
• Now I'm on the Analyzer™ Main Page

Click on yellow Login button

Click on New User?

Enter your info and click Create User

Front Page of the Analyzer™

Now I need to enter how many people I want to account for. I just have myself, so I need a '1' in the box next to 'How many people is your food storage for?'

The default for the "How many people..." box is 1. That's what I want.
The first item in my Combo is Freeze-Dried Broccoli. I'm going to search for this item so that I can add it to my inventory. I can search for it by the Item # or by the Product Name.


Enter Item # or Product Name into the Search box
Click the Go button or hit Enter and you will see your product on the Search Results page.

Search Results page
Enter a '1' into the Current Food Storage box and press the Enter key (or click the Calculate button - covered in Part 2). The broccoli is now saved under my User Name and will stay unless I delete it.

Enter the amount of your item in the 'Current Food Storage Item' box
I will now repeat this process and enter the remaining 5 items from my combo (Banana Slices, Mozzarella Cheese, Onion Flakes, Green Bell Peppers, and Strawberry Slices).

Searching for Banana Slices

Adding 1 can of Banana Slices
I added the rest of the food items from my combo in the Analyzer™. My next step is to calculate and analyze my results (will be explained in Part 2).

Food Storage Analyzer™ Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Tom S. who has just won a case of Freeze-Dried Strawberries in our most recent Giveaway!

We would like to thank everyone for your excellent input and comments regarding the Food Storage Analyzer™. Don't forget to let your friends and family know about this free and amazing food storage tool.

We are gearing up for our next great giveaway, so check back soon to find out what it will be!

Comfort Foods

In American culture, sweets and desserts are associated with good times and celebrations (birthday cakes, holiday pies, sweets, etc.) Studies have proven how our emotions can affect our bodies. Foods high in sugar or food associated with pleasant memories can cause the release of certain chemicals that affect how we feel.


During hard times such as extended unemployment, food shortages, or during the aftermath of a natural disaster, sweets remind people of better times and give them a sense of normalcy and comfort. Normalcy should be a priority in preparing our families for an emergency.


We recommend storing some “comfort foods.” Comfort foods include desserts, macaroni and cheese, chicken noodle soup and peanut butter. A common adage is "store what you eat and eat what you store." Storing food that you eat on a regular basis and having a way of re-creating these meals in an emergency is wise. Food storage options are broadening to provide more of these comfort items in easy "Just add water" and "Ready to east straight from the package" form.


Some of these "Just add water" and "Ready to eat straight from the package" foods include:

Instant Pudding Mixes

Fudge Brownie Mix

Freeze-Dried Ice Cream

Raspberry Crumble

Blueberry Cheesecake

Freeze-Dried Fruit

Banana Slices

Peanut Butter Powder

Muffin Mixes

and many more...

Spices are also a great addition so you can make your own favorite comfort foods.

Easy Strawberry Lemonade

"The Freeze-Dried Strawberry Slices are great for making strawberry lemonade. Just drop a big handfull into a pitcher of lemonade and give them a little bit of time to soften up. Yummy!"

Bonnie, OREGON

Honey White/Wheat Bread

We just made some terrific Honey White/Wheat Bread the other day using ingredients from our food storage and wanted to share the recipe with everyone. This recipe calls for 2 cups of white flour and 1 cup of wheat flour, but you can use any combination you want. We used a bread machine, but this recipe also works great without one. It makes a 1½ pound loaf. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 cup + 3 Tbsp warm water
1 cup wheat flour
2 cups white flour
1 Tbsp butter or margarine powder
1 Tbsp powdered milk powder
1¾ tsp salt
1 Tbsp wheat gluten
2 Tbsp honey
2 tsp SAF instant yeast

Directions:

Place all ingredients into bread machine in the order listed. Set machine to 1½ pound loaf and light crust.

Just out of the bread machine


Ready to Eat!

Storage on a Shoestring

With the daily cost of living tugging at your pocketbook, you may wonder how in the world you can afford to add one more item to your budget. You may want to store food, but don’t see how your income can be stretched any further. The following tips may help you see how a food storage program can be put together without sacrificing money earmarked for existing bills:

• Set aside a plot of land to grow specific "food storage" plants. Consider growing tomatoes, peppers, and cilantro and putting up some delicious salsa, as well as plain tomatoes, for a rainy day. Or grow other fruits or vegetables that your family enjoys and are easy to prepare for storage. If you live in a condo or apartment, you can grow plants in pots in a windowsill.

• When the next urge to splurge on fast food or a pizza hits you, resist it! Take the $10 or $15 you would have spent and invest it in food storage.
  
• Sprouting seeds cost pennies to purchase, yet yield big dividends in nutrition. Learn how to grow this economical source of greens. Sprouts are tasty additions to salads, sandwiches, soups, and stir-fry and can be grown in a matter of days. (Note: Never sprout seeds intended for planting in gardens.) For more information, review the Insight Article on Growing Your Own Food.

• How many times do you buy food at the store, and put it in the refrigerator--only to throw it out a week or two later because you forgot to use it? Plan a menu and stick to it. Cut the waste, and every time you go to the grocery store for your major shopping, set aside an extra $5 that you normally would have spent on perishable vegetables you usually end up discarding. Within a month, you will have enough savings to purchase a "favorite something" on your food storage list.
  
• Come up with your own creative ways to save or make money, then use it to add to your food storage. Involve the whole family, perhaps a family paper route or other job will provide just what you need.

• Store what you and your family will eat. Don't just arbitrarily put together a food storage list. Purchase the basics (honey, salt, wheat, powdered milk, grains, legumes, and garden seeds), and build upon that (don’t forget the non-food items as well). Sit down with family members and organize a personalized plan. Systematically develop your storage according to you and your family's food preferences.

• Remember that a short-term, as well as a long-term food storage program is the most sensible. If you cannot afford a year supply, work on a 72 hour supply, then a week supply, and so on.

Storing extra food and other necessities is just as important as having money saved in the bank. Once you have some extra food, remember to keep it dry and cool. Also, learn to rotate it as much as possible so that it doesn't go to waste.

When a crisis arrives, good people work together--so do your part to prepare and share. It is amazing how we can help each other.

What Makes SuperPails So Super?

Six-gallon SuperPails hold an amount of food equal to about eight #10 cans. In addition to saving you money, the pails are stackable, so they save space in tight storage areas. Each item (except honey) is sealed in a metallized bag and has an oxygen absorber enclosed.

Food Storage Analyzer™ Giveaway

In celebration of our revolutionary new Food Storage Analyzer™ (currently in beta version) we are having another fantastic giveaway! This time around, you have the opportunity to be entered twice for a chance to win a case (6 - #10 cans) of our famous Freeze-Dried Strawberry Slices (regularly sold for over $140.00).


We are so confident you will find this analyzer useful, we are giving away product just to have you try it!


First, you will be entered when you sign up as a user of our Food Storage Analyzer™. This free service allows you to save your information for future use and analysis. Simply click here or on the button below↓ to go to the login page and sign up. If you currently have an account (User Name and password) we have already signed you up for your first entry!


Second, leave a comment on this post (click on COMMENTS below) or via email at Blog@BePrepared.com about the Analyzer™ and receive a second entry to win the Strawberries. We really hope that you will enjoy the amazing features and capabilities of our newly released Food Storage Analyzer™.

All entries received through Monday, July 27th will be entered into the drawing (remember, if you already have an account [User Name and password] you have automatically received your first entry). The winner will chosen at random and posted on the blog no later than Friday, July 31st.

Please note: We welcome comments and entries from everyone; however, free shipping of the case of strawberries is included to the 48 contiguous United States only. For any locations outside this area, the winner is responsible for arranging and paying their own shipping costs.

Cooking Essential: YEAST

Yeast is a necessity when it comes to baking. It would make sense that any storage plan that includes grains would also include yeast.

Active Instant Yeast has smaller granules with a high concentration of live cells compared to other forms of yeast. Instant yeast does not require re-hydration, it can be added to any dry dough mixture.

We have always liked SAF Instant Yeast, and are excited to now carry SAF Instant Premium Yeast. SAF Instant Premium Yeast is a new and improved storage yeast. It provides larger volume, ferments faster and is more active than other dry yeasts. It can store up to 5 years in the freezer!

If you are wondering if the yeast you have stored is still active, please follow these directions to find out: Mix 1 tsp. white sugar into ½ cup of warm water (around 110 degrees), mix in 2¼ tsp. of yeast. If the mixture has risen to the top of the container within 10 minutes, the yeast is active and does not need to be replaced. It is wise to test your yeast if you have any concerns regarding its quality.

½ cup warm water, 1 tsp. sugar, 2¼ tsp. yeast

After 10 minutes (liquid and yeast have risen from ½ cup to 1 cup)

Recent customer comment:

"I love SAF yeast. It has a long shelf life. I like to use it with dough enhancer to make hearty whole wheat bread. Even with hard red wheat flour, the dough rises & makes a light & fluffy loaf of bread. My favorite feature is that the breads & goodies don't get that stale day-after taste if they sit on the counter for a few days."
                                                                                                             Jenna, SOUTH CAROLINA