Sunday, February 10, 2013

Stocking dry storage for survival and living in a healthy home

You should feel good when you walk into your kitchen and especially upon opening your cabinets. this is the place that you nourish your body! If you are eating and living consciously then hopefully you are avoiding packaged foods and are purchasing bulk foods or growing your own. Bulk foods are stored in glass jars for the best quality. I have collected jars over time to get me to this point, I am thankful to have almost all our dry foods stored in glass jars. This dry storage cabinet could sustain us for months in case of food emergency. In fact I keep very few canned goods in the house because we do not prefer canned goods. Many of these seeds, nuts and grains can be soaked and sprouted for optimal nutrition.

On the bottom shelf I have stored the dry foods we eat most often such as; nuts, seeds, and whole grains. Currently on this shelf are sesame seeds, black caraway seeds, chia seeds, pecans, walnuts, dried fruit, oats (steel cut and rolled), linen bags used for food storage, sprouting, and making nut milks, tahini, almond butter, pine nuts, several varieties of beans, almond slivers, lentils, wheat berries, alfalfa seeds, broccoli seeds, and more!

Baking and more dry storage occupy the second shelf. Although we try to avoid baked goods and sweets, there are times that we will make a healthier version of some popular sweet treats. So any of those ingredients are kept on the top shelf where they are out if reach. Currently on this shelf are: Teff flour, almond meal, flax seed, flax meal, peanut butter, organic spectrum vegetable shortening, dehydrated vegan soups (just add hot water), raw cacao powder, cacao butter, dry coconut, and more!