Tuesday, February 17, 2009

3 Month Supply

Our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has asked it's members to gather a 3-months supply of food. Details are on providentliving.org.

This is interesting to me because scientists have recommended that if the bird flu were to mutate and become a human virus, the best way to protect yourself would be to stay in your home for 1-2 months. I've heard many scientists say over the years that it's not a matter of if, but when, this virus will mutate. I should get a lot more scientific and give you references to all that, but I don't have time right now to do that.

What I to do is share this list of dinner meals and supplies needed that I prepared today.

These are the ten dinner meals that I came up with:

Hawaiian Haystacks
Stroganoff
Roast w/Mashed Potatoes
Whetten Enchiladas
Spaghetti
Mexican Mixup
Arroz con Pollo
Ham Loaf
Vegetable Beef Soup (we call it Stone Soup)
Pizza

I made a complete list of everything needed for each meal, including spices and water. This is the list of supplies that I will need for 10 of each of these meals (which comes to 100 meals, a little over 3 months worth of meals.) Here it is:

Au Jous seasoning, 1-1/2 bottles (6 oz size)
Better than Bouillion Beef Base, 1-1/2 bottles (8 oz. size)
Beef, ground 80 lbs.
Bread crumbs, 13-1/2 cans bread crumbs (15 oz. size)
Butter, 7 pkgs of four cubes each
Carrots, 15 cups, diced
Celery, 10 cups diced
Cheddar Cheese, 75 cups, grated
Chicken Boullion, 3-1/2 bottles (8 oz. size)
Chicken breasts, 60
Chili beans, 30 cans
Chili powder, 1 bottle (4.5 oz size)
Chow mein noodles, 5 pkgs.
Crackers, saltines, 3 boxes at Costco
Cream of Celery soup, 10 cans
Cream of Chicken soup, 30 cans
Cream of Mushroom soup, 20 cans
Dry onion soup mix, 5 boxes
Eggs, 7-1/2 dozen
Flour, 95 cups white
French dressing, 5 bottles
Fritos, 10 large bags
Garlic, 1/6 jar of chopped garlic
Garlic powder, 1-1/3 jar (21 oz. size)
Ham, 5 Costco packages
Lawry's seasoning salt, 1-1/2 jar (16 oz. size)
Lettuce, 10 stalks romaine
Lime or lemon juice, 1/3 of an 8 oz. bottle
Milk, 2-3/4 gallons
Mozarella, 15 cups shredded
Saffola oil, 6 bottles (24 oz. size)
Olive oil, 1-1/2 bottles (24 oz. size)
Onions, 14 onions
Onion, minced 3.75 cups, or almost 2 jars of Costco size
Oregano
Paprika
Parmesan cheese, 3 bottles (8 oz. size)
Peas, 30 packages of 1 lb. each
Pepper, one can
Pepperoni, 20 cups
Pineapple Tidbits, 20 cans
Pizza sauce, 10 cans, 8 oz.
Potato Flakes, 3.5 cans (34 serving size)
Potatoes, red - 4 bags (10 lb. size)
Rice, 21.5 lbs.
Roasts, 10
Salt, 1 cup
Sausage, 30 lbs. pork
Sour cream, 3-1/2 tubs (3 lb. size)
Spaghetti noodles, 10 pkgs (2 lb size)
Spaghetti sauce, 20 cans
Stone, 1 scrubbed clean
Sugar, 1/2 cup
Thyme, 1/4 cup
Tomato paste, 2 cans (6 oz size)
Tomato soup, 10 cans
Tomato juice, 6 cans (48 oz size)
Tortillas, 7 pkgs (3 dozen size)
Water, 17-1/4 gallons
Yeast, .625 cups (6 cups in a 2 lb bag)

I have the complete spreadsheet, broken down into recipes and individual ingredients, in case anyone wants it. Just let me know and I'll send you the Excel file by email.

Breakfast and lunch meals would be in addition to this list.

Thanks to my friend DaraDee, and my sister Angie for giving me the idea and impetus, respectively, to do this! Love you guys!

I want to say a word about preparedness. I believe that the five virgins that had their oil the night that the bridegroom came, and he came much later than expected, had oil on hand because that was what the always did. It was part of their daily living, their routine, their habit, to always have extra oil on hand. It was just what they did. So the hour of the bridegroom coming didn't really matter. That wasn't important, because the five wise virgins lived in such a manner as to always be prepared. It's defined them, it's who they WERE.

I want to live like that. I don't care when the Bridegroom is going to come, I just want to be prepared in the best way I can, even if He never comes in my lifetime. I want to walk shoulder to shoulder in the next life with my Mother, my Grandmothers, my Great-Great Grandmothers, etc., who all thought that He might come in their lifetime. He didn't (or hasn't yet, in the case of my mother), but they all lived as to be ready for when He did come. I think that way of living, that having of enough oil is so valuable, that it shapes our lives such that we become who the Lord wants us to become, just by the act of being prepared, or working towards it.

The timing of what we're supposed to be prepared for, well, that is secondary. It's not really that important. The filling of the drops of oil, and always having it on hand as part of our daily ritual, as part of who we are, now THAT's important.

Now, if Buttercup would just get that calf out, we'd feel much better prepared! :)

3 comments:

wenderful said...

Now that's what I call a good post! I have been in the process of making one of those lists but it became too overwhelming. I would love a copy of your list. I may have to change out a few things but at least it would get me further than I am right now. (if you don't mind)

We're praying for Buttercup!

Lorena Holmstead, CHBP, CRTS, LSH said...

My Mom wrote the following:

I am not sure but what the obedience to the principle is just as important as actually having all the food items on hand. In Chile, the Hermanas decided they should save whatever they could and so each one decided to add one less teaspoon of sugar to their Eco hot drink each time they had a cup full and they saved that sugar in a glass jar as the first step in obtaining a food supply. I think that those who have that kind of faith will never be hungry or tested because they proved they would obey. Just my thought. Love, Mom.

annette said...

That is awsome Lorena. It is amazing that we have been told by the prophets for such a long time that it didn't seem real and now all of a sudden it seems very real. We were raised with frugality and it has always just felt right. It feels right now more than ever.