Saturday, September 10, 2011

Week 36

FOOD STORAGE TIP OF THE WEEK


Food Storage:  8 Cans of Soup

Extra Item:  2 Months of Laundry Soap


Some Local Bargains:

Lin's
Western Family Cream of Chicken or Mushroom Soup - 10.75 oz. @ $1.09 (10.1 cents/oz.)
Campbell's Tomato Soup - 10.75 oz. @ $0.85 (7.9 cents/oz.)
Western Family Beef Broth - 14.5 oz. @ $0.89 (6.1 cents/oz.)
Basic Laundry Detergent - 30 lbs. @ $9.69 (32.3 cents/lb.) *** Best Value***

Dollar Tree
Campbell's Soup (assorted) - 10.75 oz. & 14.75 oz. @ $1.00 (9.3 & 6.8 cents/oz.)
Sun Laundry Detergent - 1.5 lbs. @ $1.00 (66.7 cents/oz.)
LA's Totally Awesome Liquid Laundry Detergent - 64 oz. @ $1.00 (1.6 cents/oz.) ***Best Value***

Smith's
Kroger Soup (assorted) - 10.5 oz. @ $0.89 (8.5 cents/oz.)
Kroger & Campbell's Chunky Soup (assorted) - 18.8 oz. @ $1.25 (6.6 cents/oz.)
Kroger Value Laundry Detergent - 22 lbs. @ $9.97 (45.3 cents/lb.)

Family Dollar
Family Gourmet Cream of Chicken, Tomato or Chicken Noodle Soup - 10.5 oz. @ $0.50 (4.8 cents/oz.) ***Best Value***
Top Ramen - 6 pk @ $1.00
Nissin Cup Soup - 3 pk. @ $1.00
Sun Liquid Laundry Detergent - 188 oz. @ $6.00 (3.2 cents/oz.)
Sun Liquid Laundry Detergent - 250 oz. @ $8.00 (3.2 cents/oz.)

Big Lots
Campbell's Tomato or Chicken Noodle Soup - 15.2 oz. @ $0.90 (5.9 cents/oz.)
Organic Imagine Harvest Corn Soup - 32 oz. @ $1.50 (3.1 cents/oz.)
Sun Laundry Detergent - 188 oz. @ $6.00 (3.2 cents/oz.)

Wal Mart
Great Values Tomato Soup - 10.75 oz. @ $0.62 (5.8 cents/oz.)
Great Values Chicken Noodle Soup - 10.75 oz. @ $0.64 (6.0 cents/oz.)
Sun Laundry Detergent - 22.7 lbs. @ $9.97 (43.9 cents/lb.)
Sun Liquid Laundry Detergent - 250 oz. @ $9.94 (4.0 cents/oz.)



Family Gear Box:  Assemble an activity box with games, cards and other favorite toys.


Family Preparation:  Arrange for someone to help your children if you are at work and not able to return home during a disaster.


Spiritual Preparation:  Read "Gratitude:  A Path to Happiness" by Bonnie D. Parkin, May 2007 Ensign, P. 34.

Gratitude is a Spirit-filled principle.  It opens our minds to a universe permeated with the richness of a living God.  Make a list each day of the blessings you have in your life.


Food For Thought:

Since the days are getting shorter and the nights cooler, this week we'd like to spotlight one of our favorite treats/comfort foods and storage possibilities: POPCORN!

According to the Alternative Field Crops Manual published by the University of Wisconsin, popcorn is nutritionally one of the best all-around snack foods, providing 67% as much protein, 110% as much iron and as much calcium as an equal amount of beef. An average 1.5-ounce serving of popcorn supplies the same energy as two eggs; and a cup of un-buttered popcorn contains less calories than half a medium grapefruit. In addition, hull is excellent roughage, comparing favorably with bran flakes or whole wheat toast.

To read the rest of the article, go to the following link:

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/popcorn.html

A favorite treat for many is caramel corn.  If you'd like to make a lower-calorie, more nutritious version of it, air pop some corn, put it in a bowl and dribble Agave Nectar over the top (I got mine at Sunshine Nutrition in Cedar City) and sprinkle with a little salt if you prefer.  Stir it around a bit then spread out on a baking sheet (no oil required) and bake at 325-350 degrees for approximately 10-15 minutes or until it starts to brown a little.  You can also use honey but it's not as fluid as the Agave and so is messier and stickier.  I prefer the light Agave Nectar for it's very mild taste.

We got a great bit of information from one of the lovely sisters at the Cedar City Cannery who told us that corn meal is actually made of ground popcorn.  So we came home and threw a cup in the Vitamix blender and guess what - instant cornmeal!  This is great because you can store the whole grain and just grind it as you need it, thereby retaining its nutritional value.

Wikipedia includes the following Health Risk information:

Popcorn is included on the list of foods that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends not serving to children under four, because of the risk of choking.  Special "hull-less" popcorn has been developed that offers an alternative for small children and for people with braces or other dental problems who may otherwise need to avoid popcorn.

Microwaveable popcorn represents a special case, since it is designed to be cooked along with its various flavoring agents. One of these common artificial-butter flavorants, diacetyl, has been implicated in causing respiratory ailments.

Here is a link to the rest of the article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popcorn

Local

Popcorn Prices

Lin's - Western Family Popcorn - 4 lbs. @ $3.49 (87.3 cents/lb.)
Smith's - Yellow Popcorn - 4 lbs. @ $2.99 (74.8 cents/lb.)
Smith's - White Popcorn - 2 lbs. @ $1.69 (84.5 cents/lb.)
Cal Ranch - Gold Mine Popcorn - 12.5 lbs. @ $9.99 (79.9 cents/lb.)
Wal Mart - Great Values Popcorn - 2 lbs. @ $1.48 (74 cents/lb.)

Online Prices:
http://www.instawares.com/bulk-bag-yellow-corn.par-1021.0.7.htm?Ts=0 - Paragon 50 lb. Bag @ $22.31 + $8.95 Shipping = $31.26 (62.5 cents/lb.)
http://beprepared.com/search.asp?t=ss&ss=popcorn&image1.x=15&image1.y=6 - Superpail Yellow Popcorn - 45 lbs @ $54.95 + $6.00 Shipping = $60.95 ($1.35/lb.)

We also found 50 lb. bags of feed grade popcorn at IFA for $17.29 (34.6 cents/lb.).  We asked what the difference was between "feed grade" and "food grade" and they couldn't give us a definite answer other than that the feed grade was not as highly regulated as the food grade.  We decided to buy a bag and try it ourselves because if it was still good quality the savings would be substantial.  We found that you had to sort through and pick out chipped, broken or dark pieces and that when you cooked it, although it popped just fine and was nice and crunchy, the kernels were significantly smaller and some had a slight musty taste.  Upon further reading, it is our understanding that the food grade is more carefully dried to the proper moisture level for long term keeping without molding so easily.  So although it is edible and a lot cheaper, unfortunately we cannot recommend it for food storage.

If you are buying bulk popcorn, here is a current reminder on local deals for storage containers.  Please also remember the wonderful opportunity allowed us by the Cedar City LDS Cannery to be able to check out the home canner and purchase #10 cans to can your own popcorn or other bulk items at home.

5 Gallon Buckets & Lids:

Lin's
Bucket - $4.99
Gamma Lid (screw top) - $5.99

IFA
Bucket - 4.99
Lid - $1.39
Gamma Lid - $5.99

Wal Mart
Bucket - $4.48
Lid - $1.17
Gamma Lid - $6.98

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