Part of being prepared is being resourceful and using items for more than one purpose. It’s important to be able to know how to use items like Baking Soda again and again to help you in different regards.

Baking soda is a great tool in your multi-use arsenal! You can use it for cleaning, cooking, refreshing, maintaining and more! Here are a few ideas!

1. Make toothpaste
You can combine baking soda with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide solution to create a non-fluoride toothpaste.

2. Facial scrub
Instead of going to an expensive spa, make your own facial scrub! Make a paste of 3 parts baking soda to 1 part water. Rub in a gentle circular motion to exfoliate the skin. Rinse clean. This is gentle enough for daily use.

3. Deodorant
Pat baking soda under your arms to neutralize body odor. It’s a great alternative to harsher deodorants.

4. Use as an Antacid
Baking soda is a safe and effective antacid to relieve heartburn, sour stomach and/or acid indigestion. Refer to baking soda package for instructions.

5. Treat Insect Bites & Itchy Skin
For insect bites, make a paste out of baking soda and water, and apply as a salve onto affected skin. To ease the itch, shake some baking soda into your hand and rub it into damp skin after bath or shower.

6. Make a Bath Soak
Add 1/2 cup of baking soda to your bath to neutralize acids on the skin and help wash away oil and perspiration, it also makes your skin feel very soft. Epsom salts are pretty miraculous for the bath too.

7. Soothe Your Feet
Dissolve 3 tablespoons of baking soda in a tub of warm water and soak feet. Gently scrub.

8. Make a Hand Cleanser and Softener
Skip harsh soaps and gently scrub away ground-in dirt and neutralize odors on hands with a paste of 3 parts baking soda to 1 part water, or 3 parts baking soda to gentle liquid hand soap. Then rinse clean.

9. Freshen Sponges
Soak stale-smelling sponges in a strong baking soda solution to get rid of the mess (4 tablespoons of baking soda dissolved in 1 quart of warm water).

10. Polish Silver Flatware
Use a baking soda paste made with 3 parts baking soda to 1 part water. Rub onto the silver with a clean cloth or sponge. Rinse thoroughly and dry for shining sterling and silver-plated serving pieces.

11. Clean Shower Curtains
Clean and deodorize your vinyl shower curtain by sprinkling baking soda directly on a clean damp sponge or brush. Scrub the shower curtain and rinse clean. Hang it up to dry.

12. Boost Your Liquid Laundry Detergent
Give your laundry a boost by adding 1/2 cup of baking soda to your laundry to make liquid detergent work harder. A better balance of pH in the wash gets clothes cleaner, fresher and brighter.

13. Gently Clean Baby Clothes
Baby skin requires the most gentle of cleansers, which are increasingly available, but odor and stain fighters are often harsh. For tough stains add 1/2 cup of baking soda to your liquid laundry detergent, or a 1/2 cup in the rinse cycle for deodorization.

14. Remove Oil and Grease Stains
Use baking soda to clean up light-duty oil and grease spills on your garage floor or in your driveway. Sprinkle baking soda on the spot and scrub with a wet brush.

15. Clean Batteries
Baking soda can be used to neutralize battery acid corrosion on cars, mowers, etc. because its a mild alkali. Be sure to disconnect the battery terminals before cleaning. Make a paste of 3 parts baking soda to 1 part water, apply with a damp cloth to scrub corrosion from the battery terminal. After cleaning and re-connecting the terminals, wipe them with petroleum jelly to prevent future corrosion. Please be careful when working around a battery–they contain a strong acid.

16. Deodorize Your Refrigerator
Place an open box in the back of the fridge to neutralize odors.

17. Deodorize the Cutting Board
Sprinkle the cutting board with baking soda, scrub, rinse.

18. Remove Odor From Carpets
Liberally sprinkle baking soda on the carpet. Let set overnight, or as long as possible (the longer it sets the better it works). Sweep up the larger amounts of baking soda, and vacuum up the rest. (Note that your vacuum cleaner bag will get full and heavy.)

19. Remove Odor From Vacuum Cleaners
By using the method above for carpets, you will also deodorize your vacuum cleaner.

20. Camping Cure-all
Baking soda is a must-have for your next camping trip. It’s a dish washer, pot scrubber, hand cleanser, deodorant, toothpaste, fire extinguisher and many other uses.

21. Extinguish Fires
Baking soda can help in the initial handling of minor grease or electrical kitchen fires, because when baking soda is heated, it gives off carbon dioxide, which helps to smother the flames. For small cooking fires (frying pans, broilers, ovens, grills), turn off the gas or electricity if you can safely do so. Stand back and throw handfuls of baking soda at the base of the flame to help put out the fire–and call the Fire Department just to be safe.

22. Septic Care
Regular use of baking soda in your drains can help keep your septic system flowing freely. One cup of baking soda per week will help maintain a favorable pH in your septic tank.

23.  Fruit and Vegetable Scrub
Baking soda is the food safe way to clean dirt and residue off fresh fruit and vegetables. Just sprinkle a little on a clean damp sponge, scrub and rinse.

24. Clean the Microwave
Baking soda on a clean damp sponge cleans gently inside and outside the microwave and never leaves a harsh chemical smell. Rinse well with water.

25.  Relieve Diaper Rash
Put two tablespoons in your baby’s bathwater to help relieve diaper rash.

26. Fresh Flowers
Keep cut flowers fresh longer by adding a teaspoon to the water in the vase.

27. Repel Rain
Wipe your windshield with it to repel rain.

28. Music Fruit Relief
Soak dried beans to a baking soda solution to make them more digestible.

29. Spot-Treat Acne
You can make a paste with baking soda and water. Apply the paste to surface zits. It probably won’t work as well for deep blemishes.

30.  Obviously, Cooking
Use it as a substitute for baking powder by mixing with it with cream of tartar or vinegar.

Thanks to care2.com for contributing to this article.

What ideas do you have? Comment below to tell us what you’ve used baking soda for!

A few years ago we set out on a quest to provide our customers with a high-quality egg product for their food storage pantries.

You’ll remember the powdered eggs that your grandma would serve up – disgusting! And while other companies tried to serve these on a silver platter – we couldn’t do that. Our motto here is that “If it’s not good enough for our family, it’s not good enough for you!” And we stuck by that.

- The 10 Mistakes of Raising Chickens - 

OvaEasy Egg Crystals
After years of searching, we finally found an egg product for your food storage that we really believe in. OvaEasy Egg Crystals taste like a real egg, have an long shelf-life, and prepare like a typical egg.

They are made from 100 percent all-natural, pure whole eggs. The eggs are made with a revolutionary new technology that keeps the nutrition of fresh eggs! You can use them like you would any other farm-fresh egg! They can be used in recipes or just eaten as a scrambled egg.

7 year shelf-life
According to the American Egg Board, “Plain whole egg solids [powdered egg] have a shelf life of about one month at room temperature and about a year at refrigerated temperatures.” That means that while other companies say they have a long shelf-life, powdered eggs have only been shown to only have a one year shelf-life.

However, OvaEasy Egg Crystals have a shelf-life of 7 years! And since Nutriom, the makers of Ova Easy, are military suppliers, they used the U.S. Army Labs shelf-life tests to prove it!

This photo shows how Ova Easy eggs compared to powdered eggs in an accelerated shelf-life test. After only a year and a half, the typical powdered eggs look more like stuffing than eggs. I wouldn’t recommend eating that!

- How do you compare food storage apples to apples? -

More nutrition than powdered eggs
In fact, the browning effect on the powdered eggs is due to chemical reactions that are degrading the nutritional value of the proteins in the egg powder.

However, OvaEasy Egg Crystals keep their protein nutritional value. And that’s what food storage is all about, right? You want a product that will keep you healthy and full.

Eggs that taste like eggs
The best part about OvaEasy Egg Crystals is that they taste like real eggs. They don’t have that powdery taste that you’ve had to bare eat in the past.

Take a look at a review that King5 in Seattle did. They tested OvaEasy Eggs in a restaurant to compare it to other eggs and everyone was surprised at how good they tasted.

What do you think?
Have you tried OvaEasy Eggs? Get a pouch size bag to test out and see what you think! We’d love to hear if you like them.

You might also be interested in:
How to Make Your Own Chicken Coop
12 Onion Uses That Will Make You Cry (For Joy)
10 Uses of Salt You’ve Never Used

What is a READYpack? These 6-can collections are a great way to test out new products while still getting the bulk savings!

READYpacks are collections of 6-can food storage items that are typically bundled with like items. So for example, the Gourmet Vegetable READYpack includes 1 can of Diced Broccoli Florets, 2 cans of Potato Chunks, 1 can of Zucchini Slices, Cauliflower Pearls and Asparagus.

If you were to purchase all of these items separately, you’d pay a little more than $116. However, if you purchased them together in the READYpack, you’d save $11!

We have a wide variety of READYpacks including collections of fruits, vegetables, just-add-water meals, meats, dairy products, breakfasts and more!

You can typically save 8 – 10 percent when purchasing READYpacks instead of cans individually.

Take a look at some of our selection of READYpacks here.

If you have any questions, please let us know! We’ll try and answer the question as quickly as possible!

Dehydrating can be a very fun activity and save you space and money! While dehydrating isn’t an exact science, there are a few tips and tricks that you can use to dehydrate your food in the best way possible.

Take a look at our list and add your tips too! Comment below to tell us your tips and tricks!

General

1. Dehydrating foods can result in a loss of some nutrients, although the foods will still be nutritious. Vitamin C is most commonly destroyed by heat.
2. The fiber content of fruits usually remains the same after dehydration. Take this into consideration when choosing what to preserve.
3. Humid air can slow down the dehydration process.
4. Dehydrated fruits and vegetables are lower in fat than regular produce. However, their calories are higher per serving because of their density. For example, you would receive the same amount of calories from 1 cup of fresh apples and ½ cup of dehydrated apples.

Preparation

1. When dehydrating food, you should always start with fresh, good quality food. Bruised and old foods don’t tend to yield good results.
2. You can dip your apples in a bath of lemon juice and cold water. This will keep the apples from discoloring when dehydrating. You can also dip fruits in orange or pineapple juice.
3. Although it’s not necessary every time, blanching or dipping your food before dehydration can prevent against bacteria.
4. Try and slice all of your foods to the same size. This will help all the food dehydrate at the same rate.
5. Cook potatoes before dehydrating. If not, they will turn black in the dehydrator. You can also put potatoes in the fridge the night before dehydration to make it easier to peel, cut or shred them.
6. Steam low-acid foods before you dehydrate them. These include things like beets, corn, peas, beans, broccoli, pumpkins, etc.
7. You can ask your butcher to slice your beef for dehydration. They will usually cut it to ¼-inch thick.

Dehydrating

1. Try to dehydrate the food as quickly as possible. The higher the temperature the better. However, if you make the temperature too high, the food will become hard on the outside and soft on the inside. Be aware of the temperature at which you are dehydrating and be sure to follow the manufacturer’s guidelines.
2. Many fruits and can be pureed or blended beforehand to be made into fruit strips or rolls. Instead of adding sugar to the mix, add honey or corn syrup.

After

1. Be sure to cool all the food before you store it.
2. Store the dehydrated food in airtight containers or plastic bags to keep out moisture.
3. It’s recommended that you freeze your dehydrated meat. Many times, dehydrated meats can still go rancid.

Just for fun

1. You can dehydrate tomato sauce from a jar! It will look similiar to a fruit roll-up. They can then be easily rehydrated with water! It’s a great way to bring sauces on camping trips without having to pack in heavy, bulky jars!

Summary
We’ve also created this awesome cheat sheet that you can use. You can also print off the PDF and keep it with your dehydrator for reference.

You can also print this cheatsheet off to keep with your dehydrator. Click here. (PDF)

*Please note that these numbers do not apply to our American Harvest Snackmaster Express. With the Snackmaster, you can dehydrate food faster and easier.

So, what tips and tricks do you have? Comment below!

You might have noticed while shopping for food storage that you have come across cans of meat TVP and others without the TVP distinction. For example, Saratoga Farms offers a Freeze-dried Ground Beef but they also offer a Beef Crumble TVP. What’s the difference?

What is TVP?
TVP stands for Textured Vegetable Protein. Basically, TVP is high-fiber, high-protein meat substitute. It’s made from soy flour after the soybean oil has been extracted. It is cooked under pressure and dried. You might have also seen TVP being called Textured Soy Flour (TSF).

Another major difference is that TVP is dehydrated instead of freeze-dried. So, when you prepare the TVP you will need to cook it for a bit before it’s ready to eat.

Uses of TVP
You’re probably more familiar with TVP than you realize. TVP is used on a wide scale at restaurants and in public schools. The TVP is rehydrated and has a great shelf-life, so many companies use it for the benefit of storage and shipping.

You’ve probably seen TVP on pizza toppings, as bacon bits, in sloppy joes and more!

Benefits of TVP
TVP is more affordable. Since cuts of meat can be pretty expensive, this is a great substitute that doesn’t lack for taste. You get the similar taste for less price.

It’s easy to prepare. All you have to do is add water to the TVP, simmer it for a few minutes and it’s ready to use in your family’s favorite recipes. You can also substitute it in meals by just adding a bit more water and letting it simmer for a few minutes longer.

Substitute for diets. TVP is a great substitute for vegetarians or people on a Kosher diet.

Would you rather have meat?
Higher level of protein. While TVP is a great substitute for protein, if you compare a cup of TVP to a cup of meat, the regular freeze-dried meat will have more protein in it.

Less sodium. Since salt and other flavoring is added to the TVP to make it taste good, more often than not they have higher sodium levels.

Less soy. TVP will have higher soy levels than meat. If you are on a low-soy diet or want to avoid soy, meats will be a better choice.

Calories can be one of the most important aspects of a food storage meal. It is important to find a food storage supply that is balanced and provides enough calories in case of an emergency. EverydayHealth.com states:

As a general rule, people need a minimum of 1,200 calories daily to stay healthy. People who have a strenuous fitness routine or perform many daily activities need more calories. If you have reduced your calorie intake below 1,200 calories a day, you could be hurting your body …

“Consuming less than 1,200 calories per day may make it difficult to meet vitamin and mineral needs via food,” says nutrition therapist Andrea Spivack, MA, RD, LDN, with Penn Behavioral Health at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. (Read the original article.)

Typically, the first outward sign of undernutrition is a drop in body fat, according to Medline Plus, a service of the National Institutes of Health, or NIH. In serious cases, bones protrude, cheeks appear hollow, hair falls out and skin becomes inelastic and thin.

Other symptoms of undernutrition include loss of appetite, irritability, unresponsiveness, fatigue and an inability to stay warm. Patients will find it hard to complete everyday tasks due to weakness. More serious complications can also occur, depending on the severity of the calorie deficiency. (Read the original article at LiveStrong.com)

I looked through some of our older blog posts from years gone past and realized that we should recycle some of them as many newer visitors will have never come across the information, so without further ado here is an oldie but goody!

Oats are an incredibly versatile and valuable whole grain like wheat, barley, rye, and corn. Like all whole grains, oats have three major parts:

• BRAN: a protective outer covering which is a mostly inedible but rich in fiber which the seed used to nourish itself until it germinates and sprouts. Most oatmeal purchased in stores have the bran removed
• ENDOSPERM: the largest portion of the seed the provides the energy the germ needs to grow and sprout and gives the grain its starchy texture. The oat endosperm contains no gluten but is grown and processed parallel with other grains to such an extent gluten may be present in the final product.
• GERM: a small nutrient packed portion of the grain that is essentially the baby plant which will germinates and sprout.

The term “food storage” is used rather loosely in the emergency preparedness industry. Depending on who is sharing the information it can mean anything from a pail of beans to the canned food in your pantry. In this blog we’ll briefly outline the  different types of food storage and make you aware of their pros and cons.

Food in your pantry

This is the starting point for your food storage. Depending on your family size, having enough food to last you at least two weeks in your pantry is one of the most cost effective ways to have food stored. I came from a large family, so we had a large room where we stored many weeks worth of food. It worked great for the family because my mom rarely had to run to the grocery store in a hurry. She would use our storage room as her grocery store and then restock that when she went shopping. I strongly recommend having a well stocked pantry with food that you are eating and will eat.

Here are a couple things to keep in mind:

• Make sure you buy food that you’ll eat – I see people make the mistake of buying canned food at a case lot sale, but it is food they never want to eat. So even though the food was a great price, the food just sat in their pantry.
• Shelf life – This brings me to my next point of the shelf life of wet packed canned from you local grocery. The best rule of thumb is that your canned food will last at least 2 years. A lot of canned food will last much longer than that, maybe even up to 5 years. Foods that are high in acid content such as tomatoes and fruits will be closer to the 2 year range. If the canned food is past the expiration date, you should carefully inspect the food (the sniff test) and then make your best determination whether it is still safe to eat.

Once your pantry is stocked and you feel comfortable there, you need to consider more long term food storage products. These fall into three main categories:

1. Dry bulk food items

2. Dehydrated foods

3. Freeze-dried foods

Dry bulk food items

The items in this category include wheat, beans, rice, rolled oats, sugar and other staples. They are typically bulk packed in either cans or buckets. These items can be good to have around, but here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Preparation - It is difficult to turn these dry bulk food items items into something edible. If you are going to store food in this way, then you have to go all the way. You will need wheat grinders, lots of fuel (to cook these items into something edible) and additional ingredients to make the food usable. Just the fuel alone will be difficult to store and in the quantities you will need. So just remember, you have to go all in with this approach or you won’t be able to use it when you need it.

• Shelf life – Most of these items will store for a very long time. If stored properly, the wheat, beans, rice and oats will store for many, many years and probably many decades.

• Taste and Nutrition – These dry bulk storage foods typically will give you excellent nutrition. As for taste, that depends on what you can make out them. A pot of beans, doesn’t taste that great without some other ingredients added to it.

Dehydrated Food

This type of shelf stable food is processed using high heat. The high temperatures remove the moisture from the food which gives allows for the extended shelf life. The two things that really affect shelf life are moisture and oxygen. Here are few things to consider with dehydrated food:

• Shelf life – because of how the food is processed, the shelf life for most dehydrated items is 5-10 years. A few items might be a couple years longer and a few items might be a couple years shorter (such as dairy). So all that being said, dehydrated food is on the shorter end of the spectrum for long term shelf life.

• Taste and nutrition – again, because of how the food is processed using high heat, it actually damages the food and removes nutritional value as well as flavor. You will find with dehydrated food that it just won’t taste quite as good (sometimes it will taste awful!) and the food will look a little off.

• Preparation – most dehydrated food requires that you add and cook it. This requires fuel and a stove to be able to do so. It is easy to prepare, but it does take time. For example, dehydrated soup mixes will require cooking for up to 30 minutes. Over time that will use a lot of fuel.

Freeze-dried food

Freeze-dried food uses a unique process to make the food shelf stable. Rather than using high heat, it uses low heat in a vacuum chamber to slowly remove the moisture from the food. Because of how it is processed, the food retains nearly 100% of the natural nutrients, enzymes and taste. Freeze-dried food is my choice for long term food storage because it is the best in all three categories. Here are a few things to consider with freeze-dried food:

• Shelf life – freeze-dried food will give you the longest shelf life. You will get at least 25 years and more than likely much longer. I have heard of 40 year old freeze-dried food being tested and it has lost very little taste or nutritional value.

• Taste and Nutrition – This is another outstanding quality of freeze-dried food. It tastes like fresh food. The entrees, fruits and vegetables taste fresh and not processed. The flavor isn’t muted or dull. It will also retain the same texture, color and look of the fresh food. Because it is processed in low heat, the food retains 99% of all the fresh vitamins, nutrients and enzymes of the fresh food. This food tastes so good that I eat it regularly for my lunches and I know many other people that do the same.

• Preparation – again, another exceptional quality of freeze-dried food is how easy the preparation is. This food is designed for just add water simplicity. All you have to do is add hot water, stir and wait about 5 minutes and you have a meal. Because of that, your fuel costs are very low and you don’t have to spend valuable time in the preparation.

Remember with food storage that the most important thing is to start. But, I want to make sure you are spending your hard earned money on a product that you will use and will last.