Southern Spirit Hunters
Gardening => In The Kitchen => Topic started by: Tina on Feb 17, 2014, 11:51:38 AM
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I have always made like a squirrel and stored foods for emergencies. Maybe it was living on the largest, most active fault in the world. Maybe it was paranoia, in general.
In the 80's I had a personal financial collapse. My kids and I ate well for about 3 months on what I had socked away with no income at all ( and my fridge/freezer gave out at the same time). I had shopped once a month for our basics. If I purchased 4 cans of green beans, I put the new ones away in my stash and brought out four older ones, etc. We ate off of those and all of the other stuff for those 3 months along with fresh fruits from our neighboring trees.
But a over a year ago, almost two, I became really frustrated with the rising prices on everything. And with all of the additives and GMO's added to what we are spoon fed. I began researching alternatives so I could hedge my options for the future. I am trying to plant food if I can keep the critters from devouring it before I can. When I find a sale on things we like, I am trying to preserve it as much as possible.
I love the internet. I have been educating myself like crazy and it is almost an obsession to find the best nutrition at the best prices. Along with the ways to be able to use it all without power if needed. So alternative cooking options and food prep options.
So I have collected about 2 tons of food stored away in every free corner of my house. All with an eye out for nutrition. I don't want to live on just rice and beans for an extended amount of time. Although I do have at least a couple hundred pounds of each all sealed up for long term storage. And I figure if things really go south in a hurry, I will be sharing my stores with others
Jenn got into it a little with me and we chat about it in the evenings along with fun family things. Last night I was trying to describe the difference of freeze dried and dehydrated foods.
The best nutrition is in fresh fruits and vegetables.
Second best is in freeze dried.
Followed by dehydrated, frozen and canned in that order.
Freeze drying is a more expensive process than dehydrating. And not something easily done in a home setting It leaves food without water but not all shriveled up like a raisin and more nutrtion left for you. So more expensive to buy. But the savings in time and nutrition feels right to me. To rehydrate dehydrated food, like apples for instance, takes soaking in water at least over night or boiling for awhile and they are still kind of rubbery. Freeze dried apples will soak up water in minutes and be much more like fresh apples. Nice to add to salads.
So I have collected both freeze dried and dehydrated foods in my storage plans.
Here is a link to some basics of being prepared. I have bought some of my foods from this site but not all. http://beprepared.com/blog/8999/if-youre-new-to-preparedness/ (http://beprepared.com/blog/8999/if-youre-new-to-preparedness/)
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So all of that being said, freeze dried food are new to me for the most part.
The first I had was freeze dried ice cream sandwiches. They make an ice cream sandwich and put it into a little white paper wrapper much like you would buy them in your grocery freezer. They slit that paper and put it in their super freezer machine and it sucks all of the moisture out of it. They seal those into pouches to take camping with you or in #10 cans for your long term storage. I bought a couple of pouches in Walmart camping section to try out. So awesome. It is hard and can be slightly broken due to transit issues but it comes out of the package pretty much full sized. It tastes lust like my beloved ice cream sandwich without the brain freeze. It rehydrates in your mouth to creamy deliciousness.
Next on my to-try-list was a freeze dried meal that I bought on a super sale. Mountain House spaghetti with meat sauce. They take fully a cooked meal and put it into their freeze dry machine and it comes out all dry and lightweight. I opened the can, put a cup of the mix in a bowl, poured on a cup of boiling water and stirred, covered, waited for 10 minutes and stirred and ate.
Pretty good. But also pretty expensive. And a bit too much salt in general like most convenience foods. Good to have on hand but I am not stocking up so much of the full meal type things. Just a few for the times I don't want to or cannot cook regularly.
Next opened can was sliced straw berries. All I can say is awesome! They are great dried, or added to the kids oatmeal or just rehydrated (less than a minute) and eaten with sugar or not much like fresh.
I am sold on them. I have purchased mostly #10 cans and they have multiple servings; between 10 and 24 depending on the content and serving size. They can be stored in the sealed cans for 25-30 years. Once opened they store for about a year.
I have also purchased quite a bit of FD meats. I have not tried those yet. But I have some pouches that have a shorter storage life span that I will be trying soon. FD meat is usually cooked and only needs soaking for about 10 minutes. It is pretty expensive stuff like the full meals are.
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Along with food, I have collected alternative food prep and cooking. For Christmas, my older son gave me 2 aluminum airplane food containers. I was thrilled. When you look at camping ovens you will see a small box to set up on your camp stove that may hold a single loaf of bread if you are lucky or a single 8X8 pan of corn bread. I have two bigger, boxes that will hold multiple shelves for baking multiple loaves or rolls or muffins, right on top of my charcoal grill.
I have hand crank wheat and grain grinders for the 800+ hundred pounds of grains I have stored. I have a couple of solar ovens, water filters, and fun stuff like hand crank blender and food processor along with my mandolin. If I have no power, we can still eat.
I have collected cast iron dutch ovens in larger sizes for years. I love cooking and even the planning of it all.
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Interesting. Sounds like you will be fat and sassy in the even of an emergency. I plan on doing some canning this year. I did it in my previous life.
Are the strawberries you're talking about in an actual can? I've never seen strawberries in a can.
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They are in cans, like this;
http://www.thereadystore.com/saratoga-farms-strawberry-slices-10-can (http://www.thereadystore.com/saratoga-farms-strawberry-slices-10-can)
There are 28 half cup servings in there. The contents weigh only 8 ounces.
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Good grief that IS expensive. The other week my niece was talking about buying oranges in a can and I thought that was odd too. Do you find these at your grocery store?
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Yes, mandarin oranges are available canned. Some of the food sites have FD oranges as well. But I have an orange tree that makes me very happy.
That 8 ounces of strawberries will rehydrate to about 14 cups of lovely sliced berries in less minutes, Sheri. And in the can will last quite a few years. I am ready for a catastrophe.
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Tina, I am glad you started this topic. I have become interested in the last couple years in food storage for catastrophic events. Realized that I am in no way, shape, or form prepared for anything after the power outages around here in the past few weeks. Even though we didn't lose power, I need to make like a squirrel and start putting actions to thoughts... :grinnnn:
Please share any other tips on this subject. I know you have probably done more research than I have and I would love to hear your input on what works and what doesn't... :compose:
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First rule of food storage is "store what you eat and eat what you store." Do not go out and fill a room full of wheat berries, if you aren't going to want to spend the time grinding them and baking bread.
Anything you normally buy canned or packaged dry, buy extra. Just a little at a time if you are on a tight budget. Rotate through your cabinets and eat the older stuff first. Put the newer in the back.
Buy zip lock bags for your dry goods. And try to keep everything as airtight as possible except your package of flour, etc that you are currently using. It will make it all last much longer on your shelves. Crackers will retain more "crack". I use ziplock type bags for my items I will rotate through fairly quickly (within a year) but I use my vacuum sealer on things that may hang around longer (my 50+ pounds of pasta)This will also help keep critters at bay, like roaches or grain moths or ants.
Dianna, you want some very quick things on hand that can be eaten now and cold if need be, like your favorite baked beans. And can openers, hand crank. Or canned ravioli is a favorite here. And can openers.
I worried about bread when I first began really storing food. But with all of the alternative cooking methods I have collected together, I am much less worried. But I have canned brown bread (I love this stuff), and can openers, biscuit mix canned for long term storage and crackers and things until I could need to break into my buckets of wheat berries and grinders.
Butter and cheese comes in cans too.
My favorite sites for info and to purchase my freeze dried foods are:
http://beprepared.com/#default (http://beprepared.com/#default)
http://www.thereadystore.com/ (http://www.thereadystore.com/)
http://www.augasonfarms.com/ (http://www.augasonfarms.com/)
I also shop at the Costco site as they have an emergency food section. And sell things from Augason Farms that are less than at the site. And I compare some prices with some things on Amazon. But Amazon does not give enough info to really buy a lot and feel safe fore me. I have no idea how old that food actually is. Walmart has a section too.
If you love spam, buy some to store. I like canned hams. So I have 6 one pound ones that don't need chilling socked away with an expiration of 2018 or so. Those will make my beans much nicer to eat if I need to dig into them.
When you have options, glass is better than plastic. So extra ketchup or mayo or anything I have is in glass if possible.
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And, Dianna, I wanted to say that you are not alone. The sites I listed above are hopping with business right now. People got a wake up call with this winter they have had. i was ordering something that was taking a long time over a year ago. I asked what was up and the lady on the other end in chat said that Super storm Sandy had them working overtime. I have an order out right now from Feb 14 that has not yet been shipped. I am sure that is because of how much business is happening. I'm not sweating it. It will come in its own time. I'm not in a hurry.
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I'm thinking of getting dehydrated eggs for my food storage. I do love a cake from time to time. What else would powdered eggs be good for?
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duh, I'll bet you could make muffins, cornbread, I'll bet you can substitute them in almost anything.
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You can sub for nearly anything other than boiled eggs. So stir fries, all baking and even just scrambled on your plate beside your bacon. Make your own egg (mc)muffin. Or eggnog without the salmonella worries.
Funny that you said that because Augason Farms has a daily special and eggs are it for today at 25% off.
http://www.augasonfarms.com/Dried-Whole-Eggs-approx.-71-eggs-10-Can-UPC-00946-90161 (http://www.augasonfarms.com/Dried-Whole-Eggs-approx.-71-eggs-10-Can-UPC-00946-90161)
I was dithering on a purchase. I do have 18 cans of powdered eggs already though, so I'll pass for now.
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You can also use these eggs to make your own noodles and pasta.
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Cool ideas Tina thankyou. I won't be buying until March
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I will keep an eye out for Ovaeasy egg crystals sales for March for you. Those have the best reviews of any dried egg products on the market for taste as scrambled or omelets, etc. Closest to fresh than any other. And they work for baking as well. And holding your meatloaf together too.
A very worthwhile investment. I like that they come in a #10 can but are divvied up into airtight sealed packages inside. A dozen per package and six packages per can. That extends the shelve life after the can is opened. You can pull a single package out to use and put the plastic lid back on and the can on the shelf for a few years if needed. Most #10 cans are loose powder and once opened should be used in a few months.
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Ovaeasy - great name.
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Tina, do you can or freeze stuff?
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I do freeze a lot. My freezers are stuffed. But, if the power is out for an extended time, we would have trouble eating all of that before it spoils. Even with my generator. You can only store so much gas.
The only canning I have done is canning dried goods. I have quite a bit of my dehydrated vegetables and some fruits that I have put into jars and sealed with my food saver.
I have a tiny kitchen that doesn't leave much elbow room for working in. I am working on improving my space by creating an outdoor canning area. Alternative cooking. I do have the equipment to water bath can and pressure can.
Using the food saver on dried goods in jars adds a couple of years to the shelf life of things. I buy seasonal candy on sale after holidays and seal it up in jars. We just ate a bunch of Reese's PB hearts from last Valentines day from 2012 to make room to seal up more sale candy. It is amusing that fully half of my current jars are full of things like candy, m&m's and chocolate chips and other fun stuff. They would elevate the mood in a serious situation. I should be able to bake.
I also buy bulk spices and seal those into smaller jars for more shelf life.
At an Asian market I like to go to, I can purchase dehydrated foods that would be more to buy fresh and dry myself. Multiple types of mushrooms and colorful onions. Sealing those into jars extends the shelf life. I can add interest to soups and stews and even salads.
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I am not finding any good sales on the Ovaeasy eggs this month. I will still point it out if I do find it in the future. By the hundreds of reviews I have read, those are the best eggs for eating and for cooking.
Unless I find a great sale on freeze dried meat, I am done buying any more for now. It is expensive, like between $50-$60 for a #10 can. Those hold an average of 24 half cup servings each. so $2 per serving or more. Used in soups or stews I would plan on less than a half cup serving so it would cost less. But I have found sales this past month or so and have plenty stocked up. In a wide variety of options.
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I'm the emergency preparedness coordinator for my branch so I'll be researching this subject. Thanks for starting it.
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Awesome, Tammy! What are the parameters of your job? And can I help with any answers I may have culled from my research?
The LDS has pretty much shut down their canneries due to gov't harassment. You can still purchase some basics but not can your own in their facilities. It is sad.
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Well my Relief Society president loves little hints and tips that she can give at the end of the meeting. Things that pertain to keeping food storage useable and interesting. For example how to areate stale water by pouring it from one container to another to get rid of the stale taste.
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Things like to lay a wooden spoon across the top of a pot of boiling pasta to keep it from boiling over? Or a cotton mop head will provide many hours of wick for homemade candles, wax or oil?
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Yes exactly.
I have another question. Can the powdered eggs be substituted for eggs in breakfast drinks? I would think they would be safer but would they taste ok and incorporate well?
Thank you for all your help on these.
I'm currently working out of this cookbook that is called making your own groceries. It is perfect for food storage type recipes.
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Yes, powdered eggs can be subbed into those recipes. They would mix easily in a blender and I would begin with a light hand on them until you got the taste right for you.
Usually, one tablespoon of egg powder equals one egg with a couple tablespoons of water.
A caution on the egg products available.
There is pure egg powder that is nothing but dehydrated whole eggs.
There is scrambled egg mix which is the egg powder mixed with milk powder and maybe other ingredients.
There is egg white powder which is pure with no yolks. Good for meringues and baking, etc.)
There is freeze dried scrambled eggs which are fully cooked scrambles that are freeze dried and just adding hot water and waiting 5 minutes or so are ready to eat. Those are not so good for any other cooking or baking applications. But great for quick eating or camping, etc.
I need to look up that book to see if it is something I would like, Tammy. My most recent acquisition is a book on preserving meat, dairy and eggs.
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Let me know what you think of it. It sounds like something I should probably read.
My latest acquisition is a meat slicer. I'm looking forward to making my own lunch meat. And making more tv dinners.
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Is it a hand crank slicer or electric? My husband would pick up any kind of meat slicer he saw. I have a few electric and a couple of hand crank slicers.
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This one is electric and it has the guard. I can't wait to try it. I'll either get a turkey roast or a beef roast next payday.
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Cool! Do you know what brand?
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Food has always fascinated me. Not just preparing or eating it but the history.
Protein is made up of amino acids. There are a certain number of amino acids that need to be eaten by us. The only foods that contain all of the aminos we need are in meats, dairy and eggs.
Protein can be found in other foods like beans and wheat, nuts and corn, rice, etc. But in none of these is it complete with all of the amino acids needed. Your body cannot use it as a protein and will starve to death even if you fill up on any one thing constantly. They need to be mixed up together in a meal to be used.
The history part. Ancient civilizations gathered corn or beans and found it dried well for winter storage. They found that they had plenty but were sickening and dying by the end of winter. Starving to death. Eventually they found that mixing those beans and corn into the same meal corrected that problem. The American natives made succotash. The Incans made beans on corn tortillas. The pioneers made beans and cornbread. The Orient went with rice and beans. Ancient Europeans put beans on bread. All the parts of our ancient societies found that to thrive, they needed to mix it up.
You can eat a glob of peanut butter on a spoon but your body cannot use it as it is needed. It uses it like a fat. But put it on a piece of bread and you have something good going.
But don't shun the fats. You will starve to death without those too. There are so many parts of nutrition that are fat soluble like vitamin D. So go ahead and butter that cornbread or add a piece of fatback or ham hock to those beans. It is more than flavoring. It is a necessity to health.
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Tina, that's contrary to what all these diet people say. Suzanne Somers for one and I think Marilu Henner for another and I can't remember who all. They are against food combining saying that certain gastric enzymes are released to digest certain foods and if you combine foods at a meal they won't be properly digested. I've never understood that theory though because beans are considered a carb and a protein so why can't you mix them in real life.
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That didn't come out correctly because I'm agreeing with you Tina.
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There are going to be hundreds of people disagreeing with this, I guess. I do like the history lessons learned by so many, though. So I will do it my way. So far my stomach has been kind to me and released all of the enzymes I need to digest what I put into it.
Like I never bought into the healthy oils campaign. I tried canola oil and tossed it out. I did begin to use less fats in general. And I rarely eat out. All of California is, by law, healthy oils in restaurants and it is yucky. But I stick to real butter or coconut oil or something like to do what I need to do with my food. I feel that even lard is more 'real' food than margarine is. I am trying to find an olive oil that I like. I am not too fond of it in general.
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Margarine is one molecule away from being plastic. I never use margarine. I ALWAYS use real butter. If I must use oil, it is normally canola. But I don't use much in the way of oils. And I don't agree with limiting meats. When I ate low carb, I ate a LOT of beef and pork, and I was the healthiest I had been in years. I really need to get back to eating that way.
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I think it matters more on how you feel when eating low carb. I would miss my carbs so badly, I'd feel like death warmed over. I don't eat much meat. It is more a seasoning than a main part of most of my meals. But
I feel good and my weight is fairly steady.
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Low carb doesn't mean meat only. Done right you eat a lot of veggies too. Nutrient dense, lower carb veggies, which leaves out one of my favorites - corn. lol The point being, meat, in my opinion, is not bad for you.
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No, it is not bad for you. I believe in meat.
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It's a Rival meat slicer.
Special diets are a pain. I believe moderation in all things is much more effective for me. I may loose slowly but I do loose without feeling deprived.
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How is the meat slicing for you, Tammy?
I plan on using more of my food storage now. I want to know how to use the newer to me things and get my little family use to eating it too as well as cycling the older items out. And money is tight this month with property taxes due. So it is a good time to try out things already on hand. When money loosens up in a month or so, I will replace what we liked if needed.
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I've been to chicken to try it yet.
I know what you mean about using your food storage and getting your family used to recipes that use it. I'm building a cook book for my church that focuses on food storage recipes and ideas. If I ever get done with it maybe you'll get a copy for christmas.
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Today will be a chicken and rice stir fry. I have bunches of chicken to use up. I have frozen veggies and want to lower the amount in my deep freeze so as to defrost.
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I ordered the ovaeasy powdered eggs. I'm looking forward to trying it. Do you have any suggestions about the powdered butter?
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I have #10 cans of powdered butter on hand. But it has its limits. It is good for adding a buttery flavor to some baking and things but it won't add the richness and moisture of real butter. It does add some vitamin A and calcium.
I have several cans of this in my food storage.
http://beprepared.com/red-feather-creamery-butter-12-oz-can.html (http://beprepared.com/red-feather-creamery-butter-12-oz-can.html)
I also have ghee which is canned butter with the milk solids removed (longer storage life and higher smoking point). I want to try canning some of my own butter too for when I find it on sale.
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I have read about people using ghee before and was curious about what it was. Thank you, Tina. Now I know it is something I would eat... :grinnnn:
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You have had seafood with clarified butter for dipping? That is ghee.
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I don't do seafood, Tina. Lobster makes me sick to my stomach... :BigGrin:
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I am sorry, Dianna. That was more of an example than a dietary suggestion. I don't eat much lobster because the price makes my tummy sad.
Freeze dried meats are available in a few main types, white chicken dices (or crumbles sometimes), white turkey dices, beef dices or ground beef and ham dices and sausage crumbles. It is also fairly expensive at between $50-$70 per #10 can (18-24 servings depending on the serving size). I looked at eating just those options over the long term and got pretty bored just thinking about it.
Then I saw pork chops. They are freeze dried raw and after sitting in water for about 10 minutes, need cooking. When I could afford some (About $60 per can, I think) I bought some of those to add interest to our options. Next I found salmon fillets. Those are also raw and need cooking after rehydration. But I added those when they were on sale for about $20 a can.
This month Emergency Essentials has cooked shrimp in a #10 can, freeze dried. It is a new product and about $90 per can of between 300-500 in each. But the sale is about $40 per can and I ordered 2. Those arrived today and I am thrilled to have them to add to the variety of foods on hand. I can make stir fries and gumbo and toss some into salads and.......
Other than the freeze dried meat included in the freeze dried spaghetti, I have never tried freeze dried meat. I have some less expensive packages to try and will report back on those as I use them. I do not want to open my bigger cans until it becomes necessary. Or until I worry that they will outlive their 30 year life expectancy. But the smaller packages were my first meat purchase and don't have as long of a shelf life; 5 -10 years or so. I want to practice using them so I'll have better ideas when I may really need to cook with this stuff.
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Oh, I forgot the FD flame broiled beef patties that I got a couple cans of. They also have meatballs, FD, that I haven't yet bought. I love variety.
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Thank you Tina for the heads up on the butter. I'll definitely go with the rather than the flakes.
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Eventually, maybe you can do both, Tammy.
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tammy, i have (or had) a food slicer that i used so much i nearly burned it up. i don't know where it is now, but have wished for it a few times. it is great. i used it for frozen or near frozen meat to make stir fry or jerky, for cold cooked meats for sandwiches, and for other things that i am drawing a blank on right now. but please, please, please, use the guard. it will slice your fingers right off if you do not. there is a reason the guards on the professional machines cannot be removed.
i also have a manual slicer (mandolin) that i use sometimes for veggies. it doesn't work so well for meats or hard veggies (think sweet potatoes) as the blade is stationary. i do not have a crank slicer.
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I have 2 Rival slicers and as I was just looking for the brand, I found that I have two hand crank slicers too. I have not done as many larger roasts as I did when John was alive. But I am very glad to have these options.
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I have the flank steak for dehydrating now I'm looking for a nice marinade. I may have already said that.
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Keep it simple, Tammy.
I am adding dried spinach to my food stores today. I cannot eat much spinach and have it stay with me. But I can in little bits. So I am happy to add this option to our someday nutrition.
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Do you have a good recipe for kale crisps?
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Do you mean dried kale chips, Tammy?
Here are six recipes for a dehydrator:
http://www.dehydratorreview.net/articles/kale-roundup-six-recipes-dehydrated-kale-chips (http://www.dehydratorreview.net/articles/kale-roundup-six-recipes-dehydrated-kale-chips)
And one for the oven:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/crispy-kale-chips-recipe.html (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/crispy-kale-chips-recipe.html)
All of these can be mix and matched according to what sounds best to you.
My favorite kale chip was sprinkled with dry ranch dressing mix.
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I was reading that kale will take on other flavors well, sort of like chicken.
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I have never tried it with anything but kosher salt or with ranch dressing dry mix. And the time I dried it, I left off the olive oil because I just don't like it. So it was super crumbly. So I will try it with another type of oil next time.
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I just used olive oil and salt the time I tried. I will try again with the ranch powder. That sounds good.
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I finally got the recipes off of the site. i look forward to trying them. They look good. i'd love to hear your feedback if you do any of them.
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Along with my food storage, I have collected other things. I mentioned alternative cooking options. I can cook with propane as long as that holds out on a couple of different stoves. I can cook with charcoal on my grill and even use wood in it. I can cook on my wood stoves. Plus solar ovens and other fun stuff.
I have collected together sterno-type fuel cans and liquid paraffin to make my own liquid candles. I bought cotton mop heads to use for wicks at some future date.
A depression era grandmother came up with this most missed list: "nails, garden seeds, wire, string, sewing supplies, clothes pins, bleach, disinfectant, and vanilla."
It is an interesting list.
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...A depression era grandmother came up with this most missed list: "nails, garden seeds, wire, string, sewing supplies, clothes pins, bleach, disinfectant, and vanilla."
It is an interesting list.
tina, that is a good list actually. when i lived "at home" we used to pound nails straight and re-use them all the time. of course, i had depression era grandparents. sewing thread was another thing, as well as writing paper, and pens and pencils.
one thing i learned today about food storage is that apples have too much air in them to pressure can. that is, if you want apple slices or chunks. they cannot be pressure canned, in spite of the instructions i found. the apples try to escape the jars, and end up looking rather like that expanding foam spray stuff... it is kind of funny now that i have the mess cleaned up. and i do wish i had taken a photo...
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I wish you had taken a photo too.
I knew it was a good list. I already save/collect all of these items.
I listened and learned from my grandmother. I also listened other people in the know in my life.
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On a recent Time Magazine cover, they had a curl of butter and a blurb about "They had it wrong". Fats are not bad for us. I could not read the whole article without subscribing online.And I did not see the magazine on the rack at the store. But I already know about what it says. Mainstream nutritionists and doctors have been fed the 'bad fats' since the 70's and in turn have fed the info to the general populace.
But I never really bought into it. I use butter and lard and coconut oil. I save my bacon grease.
Although I'd like to find bacon and meats without the nitrites and things. I used to use corn oil or vegetable oil but stopped that about 10 years ago as I learned about GMOs.
I am glad that the real food is coming back.
I ordered an old favorite cookbook last week and it arrived yesterday. The Junk Food alternative was a fun book to learn about nutrition in the 70's when I borrowed it from a neighbor. I had to return it eventually. It was printed before microwaves were the norm and before soy was so adulterated by genetics. But it still has some good ideas for feeding my family nutrition in the form of fun food.
So it got me thinking about another favorite cookbook I had. I cannot find that cookbook so I ordered it from Amazon this morning. Good Food for Hard Times was also good for breaking down the nutrition for me. And it had some true basics in the form of food shopping lists if you lost everything in a fire or flood or some other disaster. Or lists if you had some basics on hand like salt, spices and sugar. I loved that book and cannot figure out whatever happened to it. It helped a lot when we were very low on foodstuffs in the house. It gave me ideas about what I could fix that the kids would be happy with and be pretty healthy too.
When I was alone with my older set of kids and a couple of fosters, (5 altogether) money was often very tight. I shopped once a month, mostly with some exceptions for fresh milk and bread, sometimes. Although I baked much of my own bread.
The city's school lunches printed out a monthly menu and reading it you could see that they had the same thing for each day of the week. It would be chicken or turkey on Monday's, pasta on Tuesdays, pizza on Wednesdays, etc. Only some variations for occasional holidays. Seemed like a good idea to me so I made my monthly menu similarly only used different days than the school menu so my kids would not be having pasta twice in a single day. So my kids always knew that something like Mondays would be hot dog or polish sausage night. And prepared a different way each Monday of the month. On buns, grilled sausage and potatoes another Monday, followed by beanie wienies the next, etc. It was fairly regular but not set in stone. If someone bought us pizza, we were good with that too. I almost always had a cole slaw or fresh veggies on the side with these meals.
That type of shopping and menu planning made for great budgeting.
With my food storage I am having a little more difficulty planning actual meals So I am using a food storage calculator to make sure I have enough protein, vitamins, carbs and minerals for each family member. I so want a wide variety of food available.