Homemade Granola {Food Storage Recipe!}

I don't know about you, but this whole economy thing has been kinda sorta freaking me out. I've been trying to be a lot more frugal with things, and especially trying to learn how to cook with our food storage basics (wheat, oats, beans, etc.) so I don't have to be trying to learn when things get tough, I'm under a lot of stress and don't know what the heck I'm doing. I also figure that if I learn to cook with what I have in food storage now, my kids won't be all picky about it later.

So, ANYWAYYYYY...I decided to make homemade granola recently. I have to say, it turned out AMAZING! Granola can be really expensive! At Safeway it's around $4 a box. A little box at that. I made about 7 cups of it for around $1. No joke. And it tasted SOOOO much better than the store bought granola with all sorts of random preservatives and who knows what in it! Now, aren't you just dying for the recipe? :)

HEEEERE YOU GO!

 

Honey Coconut Granola

4 C. rolled oats
1 C. whole wheat flour (you can use white, too...)
3/4 C. honey OR
1 cup maple syrup  (It just gives it more of a maple-ish flavor)
1 C. coconut
1/4 C. cooking oil
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C. chopped pecans (optional)

Thoroughly mix together. Spread on a cookie sheet, bake at 300 degrees for 25 minutes stirring occasionally while baking.


You can also add things like sesame seeds, cinnamon, chopped almonds, raisins, etc. but add the raisins AFTER you bake it or it'll be like eating raisin flavored rocks. And we ALL know that eating raisin flavored rocks is no fun.


The best part is that granola is so versatile! It's not just for breakfast. You can put in on parfaits or use it as an ice cream topping! You can even use it as cobbler topping in your dutch ovens. Man, I love this stuff. Oh man. I'm starving. I think I'll go have a snack, and I'll bet you can't guess what it is. :)


ENJOY, my sweet little granola munchers!

Food Storage: Step 1

Food storage. Just the word used to freak me out. Like, "Hey, go build a mountain!" I knew it was something I wanted for my family, but I had NO idea how to obtain it or even where to start! Especially after I got married. We lived in a tiny little apartment above a hair salon with no extra storage space that I could think of. We were struggling newlyweds in college and didn't have a gazillion dollars to spend on food storage like this. HECK...I didn't even know how to cook very well yet!

I'd see a picture like this:

...and immediately my brain would hit panic mode and just switch the channel. 

So, where did I start? With a food storage calculator. 

All you do is fill in the blanks and it will calculate what you and your family need for food storage for 1 year. 

In our little family we have 3 family members ages 7+, and 2 kids ages 0-6. So, fill in the blanks, click "Calculate"...

and it will calculate what you need.

HOLY FREAKING COW!!! 600 pounds of wheat!?! You have GOT to be kidding me, right? Now we're back to GO BUILD A MOUNTAIN.

Don't switch the channel!!! Don't switch the channel!!! 

Remember, this is only step one. Now, you don't even have to start a full year supply. I didn't. I started out with just building a 3 month supply. It was much more obtainable for me, and it was just nice to know that I had something to fall back on. As our family grew, we were done with college and were on our feet, we started expanding our food storage.

So, if you wanted to start a 6 month food storage supply you would divide the numbers from the calculator by 2. Instead of 600 pounds of wheat you'd need 300. For 3 month food storage supply, you would just take the numbers from the calculator and divide them by 4. So, instead of 600 pounds of flour, you would store 150 pounds. Much easier to chew on, yes?  (And honestly, it doesn't take as long to store it up as you think. Wheat is HEAVY so the pounds add up fast.)

So...this is your first assignment. Click on the link and get your food storage calculator results. 1 year, 6 months, or 3 months, whatever you feel is an attainable goal.Write it down or print it out and keep it where it's accessible. Easy as that!

Ready...set...GO!

food storage calculator. 

Stay tuned for Food Storage: Step 2 and other great emergency preparedness topics and tips!

Thanks for stopping by!