Nuggets of News Blog 

How Prepared Are You and Your Family? Whether it's a Severe Recession, Flood, Earthquake, Hurricane, or complete End of the World as we know it, each of us MUST be PERSONALLY PREPARED to "weather-the-storm" — and that means kids too. When crisis strikes, (or you see it on the six o'clock news) the time to prepare is over. Sort of like trying to buy insurance when the house is on fire. NOW is the time to SERIOUSLY REVIEW your preparedness supplies while time is on your side. Don't delay, but do involve your children in your prepping plans. Experts know that preparing kids ahead of time and helping them feel like part of the plan is extremely important to their health and well-being.

One of the wisest steps toward emergency preparedness you'll ever make is to have long storing food reserves on hand— enough for 2 to 6 weeks (a 4 to 12 month reserve would even be better). Food-related problems are averted if kids are already acclimated to freeze-dried food in advance. Introduce foods to your children BEFORE emergencies so there are no picky-eater meltdowns at a critical time. Here are some tips:

• Choose some freeze-dried meals that are already familiar to your child such as Cheesy Macaroni and Chili Macaroni.
• Add some freeze-dried fruits with dipping sauces to their meals. Not only will it balance the nutritional intake, kids are endlessly fascinated with dipping their food.
• Make a game of trying the various entrees and letting them pick their favorite. When they’ve picked it, they feel like it’s “theirs.”
• Keep their favorites in a semi-regular rotation on non-emergency days so freeze-dried meals don’t seem unusual.
• If they’re old enough to safely handle hot water, let them help prepare their own freeze-dried meals.

Emergency food supplies are not only a good idea at home, but are ideal for long-term storage at your hooch when you're out gold prospecting, or in a family cabin you might only use during hunting season or on weekends during the summer.

TV shows like Doomsday Preppers might seem extreme, but the principles of being prepared are mainstream and very sensible. And what better way to prepare than to make sure you have emergency food in reserve "just in case."