We survived!

And we didn't even have to starve! Going a week with only what we had on hand was quite an eye opener. We actually ate pretty well - we had enough cereal to make the mornings, bread and peanut butter and jelly for lunches, and decent dinners. It did deplete most of the food we had, so I was greatful that I could go to the grocery store on Saturday and stock up again. Although, I did shop with a different mindframe. I'm definitely going to work on my food storage now - I have a goal to have a month's worth by the end of the year.

Here are the lessons I learned:

1. Powdered milk (the kind that the church puts out) isn't that bad (and the kids don't know the difference!) .

2. I normally waste or throw out a lot of good food that could be used for other meals.

3. Yeast, cheese, and eggs are additional necessities - I can make a lot of things if I have those three things.

4. That while a year's worth of food is great to have, we really need 72-hour kits in case we had to evacuate or had a disaster.

5. We need to stock up on canned or frozen fruits and veggies for variety.

6. I really need to utilize our church cannery.

7. It only costs a few dollars for a bag of flour, bag of sugar, beans or rice, etc. and a little bought each week helps build the storage.

I have to say, though - it was so nice to get a gallon of milk at the store. Even though I didn't mind drinking the dry stuff, it was nice to not have to worry about mixing milk the night before so we had cold milk in the morning. I'm sure you all know about the Church's website that helps with food storage: www.providentliving.org. I love it because you can plug in your family numbers and it calculates how much of the basics you need. I now have a new testimony of how important it is to be prepared. I challange everyone to try going a week with what you have right now - your eyes will be opened, too!