8 Ways to Make Food Storage a Tasty Success

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Grain and pasta food storage in glass jars
courtesy of preparednesslist.info

When you hear the words “food storage,” what may come to mind is an image of brown, tasteless mush. Granted, when you are in the middle of a crisis, you may not really care about the taste of your meals. But what about the rest of the time? Food storage needs to be regularly used and replaced since it doesn’t last forever. And you are much more likely to use that food storage if you know you can turn it into yummy food. Here are some tips for improving the taste of your food storage.

Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

Sweeten your meals by keeping sugar (white, brown, and powdered), honey, and molasses in you food storage. Or bring up the heat with ground, dried, or whole spices. Other flavorful add-ins that can last a while are salt, herbs, cinnamon, and even cocoa powder. For more information about the storage and shelf-life of these add-ins, visit the “Other” sections of Eat By Date.

Assorted herbs and spices for food storage

Learn to Bake for Life’s Sake

Food storage has all of the essentials for baking: flour, sugar, salt, baking soda/powder, and even eggs. So pull out the apron and tighten your chef hat. Learn to bake a dozen biscuits, a loaf of bread, or a gourmet cake. The possibilities are endless.

baking utensils

Add Variety with Canned Foods

Spaghetti and oatmeal are not the only parts of food storage. Canned foods can have meat, veggies, fruit, and endless varieties of soups. Buy canned foods from the store, or your could also learn how to can them yourself.

canned peaches

Are You Nuts!

Nuts can be food storage? Granted they don’t have a 30 year shelf-life, but they last a long time when stored properly (Eat By Date, Shelf Life of Nuts). Add nuts to your meal, or just have them on hand for a snack.

peanuts

You Can Store Goodies Too

Cheese and butter make anything taste good. Who knew they could be dehydrated and stored as well? Granted, they won’t taste the same as real cheese and butter, but it is BUTTER than nothing. Other goodies that can last a while are cake/brownie mixes, vegetable oil (to fry foods with), popcorn, and freeze-dried ice-cream (yes, the kind the astronauts eat).

dehydrated butter

Keep Beverages Diversified

Powdered milk and water won’t be the only thing you have to drink. Juice can help liven up a dull meal, and it stores well too (Eat By Date, Shelf Life of Fruit Juice). Add some flavored water and soda to the mix.

apple juice

Grow Your Own Fresh Produce

A garden can be a great partner to food storage. Stew some fresh tomatoes to make a sauce for the spaghetti noodles, or shred a zucchini and add it to your food storage flour and sugar to make delicious zucchini bread.

vegetable garden produce

Find Some Recipes

Think of the endless casserole possibilities that the rice and noodles sitting in your food storage can make. Start searching the internet and ask friends; you are bound to find tons of great meals. To start, here are some food storage recipes from Every Day Food Storage and LDS Living.

green bean casserole

Abby graduated from Utah Valley University with a Bachelors degree in English and an emphasis in Writing Studies. She enjoys reading, writing, baking good food, and eating it too.