The Thought Proccess

So exactly what is Brandy's plan? Well, I don't have every little detail sorted out, but I do have a basic concept and rationale behind it. As mentioned before, I am currently working on building up my food storage. But unlike your conventional storing methods, I'm working out a system that I think will work well for me and my family. One reason I have never really been enthusiastic about food storage is because I honestly have a hard time wrapping my head around bulk food storing. I know there are many smart people out there who not only know every poundage needed of every item to feed their family, they also know how to implement black beans into chocolate cake and dry milk into pancake mix, thus using their food supply and rotating it regularly. I am just not wired like that. Now for my disclaimer: I WILL be storing the basic bulk items but with a different intention for them than as my main source of sustenance in times of need. More like a supplement to my very well thought out and planned source for dining.

The thought out, planned source of dining will be a series of meals pre-made, stored, and rotated through. I will be compiling two types of pre-made meals: Freezer Meals and Bag Meals. Due to the delicacy of Freezer meals, this type will only be a small percentage of my year supply. My main focus will be on Bag Meals. These are recipes that feed a family of about 4, that include ONLY ingredients that can be stored long term. All the ingredients are kept in a bag with the recipe and instruction tagged to it. Thus the name Bag Meal. SHOUT OUT to my awesome friend and food storage mentor, Heather, for teaching me about bag meals. You're pretty amazing Heather! Thank you! It is my goal to have 365 dinners in 26 weeks, 365 breakfasts in 52 weeks, and 365 lunches in 78 weeks. In 18 months, if I do it right, I will have breakfast, lunch, and dinner ready to cook for an entire year.

See, like I said, I can't wrap my head around 100lbs of this and 85lbs of that. What will I make? How can I be SURE there's enough for everyone? What if I erroneously ration in the begining stages of a crisis and end up short? These are the questions that bring FEAR into food storage for me. Not to mention the paralyzing vision of standing in my storage room, during a time of crisis, with the weight of the world on my shoulders, and hungry little ones depending on me, while I try to decide what to make for dinner out of all this STUFF!? Having pre-made meals ready to cook eliminates that stress completely. Even now, while things are relatively good for me and my family, my least favorite thing is trying to figure out what to make for dinner! So I know if times get hard, and I HAVE to live off of the food in my pantry, "What's for dinner?" is a question I already want answered.

So there is the thinking behind my endeavor. It may sound crazy and it might be more expensive at times, but it sure feels like a good thing to try. I will be posting my planned meals and deadlines for myself on my calendar. I started last week and will post that work soon. I hope I can keep to the schedule. Wish me luck!