Frequently Asked Questions
About Grains
and Beans
Q.
How can your grain products be used as food?
A.
· WHEAT can be ground into flour
for baking breads, biscuits, pancakes, cakes, cookies, crackers
and rolls or made into cereal, thickens stews, makes gravies and
coats chicken, meats or vegetables for frying.
· CORN can
be cooked or ground into meal for making breads, tamales,
enchiladas, tortillas, fritters, stuffing's, dressings, fry
coatings for fish, made into baby food (corn meal mush), cereals
and hushpuppies.
· OATS are
already steamed and rolled ready for cooking into oatmeal, baked
into breads, cookies, used as a meat extender or ground into
flour. They are a high source of protein among the grains. Oat
groats may also be stored.
· RICE For long
term storage white is recommended (brown rice does not store well due to high oil content) and
vitamin enriched, ready to be boiled, fried, or ground into rice
powder cereal, baby food, rice
milk (see recipe
section) and flour. Brown rice is great for short term storage
within 3 years, very high in nutrients and delicious.
· BEANS are a great protein and complex carbohydrate source. They are
ready for soaking and then cooking into bean dishes, refried
beans, added to soups and stews. Most beans can be soaked and
sprouted for vitamin and mineral enriched greens added to salads
or sandwiches, see, Sprouting Seeds. A hi-protein bean milk can be made for babies, use
the recipe for soy milk in
Recipes and Trial Foods I,
substituting pinto beans or other beans.
Q. Why should I store
food?
A. Today's
average supermarket turns over its inventory every 72 hours. The
supermarket's many supply chains are dependent on accurate
communication, reliable transportation and split second timing.
This supply system can be overwhelmed by surges in demand; any
emergency can quickly empty supermarket shelves. Good planning and
preparation alleviates worry. It protects from fluctuations in
food prices due to shortages, earthquakes, famine, world economy,
political manipulation, or natural disasters. Stock your homes,
weekend retreats, fishing and hunting camps, RV's, and summer
homes while prices are low and supplies are readily available.
Q. Why store grain?
A. Whole
grain is food in its least expensive form. The consumer provides
the processing. It is very healthy and can be used to create
countless tasty meals. It stores well and is economical.
Q. How do I turn these
basic staples into food my family will eat?
A. We
offer several cookbooks and preparation guides on the Books
and Misc. page. We have also included three free recipe books
under Recipes
and Trail Foods I, Recipes
and Trail Foods II, and Recipes
and Trail Foods III. You
are welcome to save as or print these recipes. In addition you will need
a cooking or heat source to cook foods and a grain mill to grind
grains into flour and corn meal. You will need a supply of pure
water for cooking. See our Water Filters,
under Water Filter Information.
You will need additional sweeteners, spices, salt and oils.
Q. What is your
Ezekiel Bread Mix product?
A. Ezekiel
Bread Mix is a blend of four grains and four beans based on the biblical
recipe of Ezekiel 4:9. It is composed of nutritious Whole Grains
and Beans. Ezekiel Bread Mix must be ground into flour before
being made into bread. It can be baked into Ezekiel bread, or used
in soups or stews. Additional recipes can be found at Recipes
and Trail Foods, Book III. This product sustained the prophet Ezekiel for
390 days. A less expensive formula using Rye instead of Organic
Spelt has been developed. This mixture was tested by food
scientists and has been found to provide all the nutrition necessary for man's survival except the
vitamin provided by sunlight! (Cholesterol in the blood is
converted into Vitamin D by sunlight on the skin.)
Q. Describe your grain
mills.
A. Some
of our manual grain mills are steel burred with a large hopper and good
output. Their adjustable burrs are designed to accommodate both
coarse and fine grains. See, The
#2 Hand Grist Mill, The
Little Ark and Little Ark Clamp, The
Back to Basic, and the Little
Nugget with stones and chips of imbedded metal to first crack
the grains then mill into a fine flour. The
Country Living is a classic from Germany and has a large
flywheel for ease in manual milling. We also now carry the Family
Grain Mill Modular System, which allows 6 total functions
including Grain, Bean and Coffee Milling, Flaking or rolling of
grains into cereals like oatmeal, Vegetable Processing, Meat
Grinder Attachment, Sausage Stuffer and Pasta Maker, and Wheat
Grass / Berry Press Juicer. It is either motorized or hand
powered. The motorized unit with attachments come with a free hand
unit for use when the power is out. The attachments can be used
with the Bosch Universal Mixer as well. (You may need to purchase
an adapter for some of the attachments.) The Schnitzer Stone Mill
can be used with the Family Grain Mill
motorized unit as well. If your Kitchen
Aid Mixer is 325 watts or more then, we also offer attachments
that will work better than the Kitchen Aid attachments for meat
grinding, milling, vegetable processing and flaking. Our
electric mills include the K-Tec
Kitchen Mill, the Whisper
Mill, The
Deluxe Golden Grain Mill (also with a hand unit for use when
the power is out); this mill is a favorite for small bakeries! For
Commercial Grinding we offer Industrial
Grain Grinders, The
Power 60 with or without manual unit, The
Milpa and various Hammer Mills.
Q. How do I purify
water for cooking and drinking?
A. We
offer affordable, portable water filters. See, Water
Filters.
Q. Why are grains so
inexpensive at this time?
A.
Basic Staples are the least expensive, most nutritious type of
food, because the consumer provides the processing. Crops have
been good and the weather has been conducive to high yields. It is
a good idea to purchase Basic Staples packed for long term
storage, while prices are low. Shelf life on Whole Grains and
Beans average 20 years or longer if packed properly, without
oxygen and stored in a cool dry place out of direct sunlight.
Viable grain has been found stored in thick, sealed jars in the
pyramids of Egypt over 1,000 years old.
Q.
What else will we need to 'Get Prepared'?
A.
You'll need a heat source such as a Volcano
Stove and cooking utensils. You'll want to make sure you have such things as cooking
oil, sugar, salt and spices; and you may want powdered drinks, canned meats,
fruits or vegetables for variety. Dehydrated canned goods have a
much longer shelf life than water packed canned goods. We
recommend supplementing basic staples with good dehydrated foods. You will want some
Non-hybrid vegetable seeds for
planting a garden.
About FEMA
Family Units
Q. Why
should I store food?
A. Today’s average
supermarket turns over its inventory every 72 hours. The supermarket’s
many supply chains are dependent on accurate communication, reliable transportation
and split-second timing. This supply system can be overwhelmed by surges
in demand; any natural or manmade emergency can quickly empty supermarket
shelves. To protect yourself against any disruption in the food supply
chain (or any interruption in your own income), it is wise to keep a reserve pantry.
Q. Why
store grains and beans?
A. Whole grain
is food in its least expensive form. The consumer provides the processing.
It is very healthy and can be used to create countless tasty meals.
Q. Wouldn’t
I be better off just stockpiling canned and dried foods?
A. It's a good
idea to include some familiar canned or dry foods in your pantry for short term
use. These
foods are expensive, however, and their nutritional value declines rather
quickly. Storage life on water packed or oil packed foods is 1-2 years.
For the best value and the longest shelf life, you should build your reserve
around properly packaged whole grains, beans and dehydrated foods, packed in an
oxygen free environment. The Dehydrated foods have a storage
life of 7-10 years. Some mixes such as egg mixes, baking mixes, powdered milk,
and granola may only last 3-5 years if not kept cool. Every family should store
4 to 5 gallons of cooking oil per year and rotate stock. When one gallon is used
up, replace with a fresh one and go on to the next oldest gallon for current
use. If you are planning on living off of storage food for a sustained length of
time this is especially important.
Q. How
do I turn these basic staples into food my family will eat?
A. Cooking the
way our great-grandparents did is not as difficult as you might think.
Your FEMA Family Unit should be supplimented with such books as 'Cookin'
With Home Storage' by Peggy Layton and Vicki Tate and 'Natural
Meals in Minutes' by Rita Bingham. These books will help
you prepared delicious and nutritious meals. You will need a
manual Grain Mill
and a cooking source such as the Volcano
Stove for use during power outages or living off the grid
(electrical grid).
Q. How
are your food products packaged?
A. Grains
and Beans are packed in either Regular Buckets (RB) or Super Pails
(SP). Occasionally, you will see the abbreviation (NP) this stands
for 'Nitro pails'. They have been replaced with Regular Buckets
(RB). A regular bucket is a food grade white plastic 6 gallon
bucket, with the foods packed inside. Oxygen Absorbers have been
added to the bucket prior and after adding the foods. The bucket
is sealed with a gasket lid which forms an airtight seal. Super Pails (SP) have the grains,
beans or food products heat sealed in a thick plastic liner and two 500cc oxygen absorbers
added in each gasket lid sealed pail. An airtight seal is formed
by hammering the lid in place. If you live in a humid climate, we
recommend Super Pails. The Plastic or Mylar liner forms an extra
moisture barrier. Our grains and
beans have a minimum shelf life of 7 years and should last 20 or more years.
Gamma Seal lids are also available, which have an airtight seal
and may be screwed on and off for reuse after the gasket lid has
been opened. You would need to purchase these separately or add
them to your order. For instance if you were to purchase 7 RB of
Wheat, 7 RB of Oats, 7 RB of Barley and 7 RB of Rye, we would
recommend that you also purchase 4 Gamma Seal Lids (one for each
type of grain or food you purchase) for use on the open bucket. All 6 gallon buckets are stackable and have
handles for ease in transporting them and storage. Number
10 cans hold about 13 cups of product and have two 300cc oxygen
absorbers included. Number 2.5 cans contain about 3 cups of food
dehydrated and have 1 300cc O2 absorber included. All foods packed
in cans come with snap on lids for use after opening.
Q. Are
your grains and beans organic?
A. Yes.
We carry a wide variety of Organic
Grains and Beans as well as wholesome natural Whole
Grains and Beans. You may mix
and match grains and beans of your preference, the price will
change, but you have complete choice in designing the Family FEMA
unit you desire. If you follow the FEMA
guidelines for quantities of grains, wheat, legumes, salt,
sweeteners and optional milk and eggs, then your FEMA unit will
meet their recommendations. See, FEMA
units page.
Q. What
is your Ezekiel Bread Mix?
A. Ezekiel Bread Mix is a
blend of four grains and four beans based on the Biblical command, where the
Lord told the prophet Ezekiel to make a fasting bread using 4
Beans and 4 Grains, 'to grind it into flour and make it into
bread' Ezekiel
4:9. Ezekiel Bread Mix must be ground into flour
before it can be made into bread. Please, see the recipe on the
Ezekiel
Bread Mix page. It can be baked into Ezekiel bread, or used in soups or
stews. Additional free recipes can be found at Recipes
and Trail Foods III. According to food scientists, this blend provides all the nutrition
necessary for human survival except the vitamin provided by sunlight!
(Cholesterol in the presence of sunlight in your skin converts to
Vitamin D.) An Organic
Ezekiel Mix has now been made, but it doesn't follow the
Biblical pattern, because we were unable to acquire all items in
the Organic Line, therefore resulting in substitutions. You can
sprout the whole grains and beans to make a sprouted bread, but we
do not have a recipe for this.
Q. Are
your grains and beans sproutable?
A. Yes, all of
our unprocessed grains and beans will
sprout. Hulled grains will not sprout such as hulled Rice,
Buckwheat, Oat Groats and Barley. These grains have an inedible
hull which has been removed to make them food grade. We do offer
most of these as Sprout Seeds as
well that are not hulled. If you are purchasing SP or RB then you
should know that prolonged storage
in a nitrogen environment may inhibit the ability of grains and beans to
germinate. Don't wait 20 years and expect as high of a viability as if you
opened the buckets in the first 5-7 years. Our Bulk
Grains and Beans would be better, if you are purchasing in order
to sprout the seed immediately or to plant the seed. Bulk Grains
and Beans have an approximate 1 year shelf life. You will need to
protect the seed from insects, moths and small hungry
creatures.
Q. Describe
your grain mills.
A. We
recommend The Little Ark
Grain Mill for grinding Ezekiel Bread Mix into flour. It is
reasonably priced at $101.50 + S&H. It is a manual grain mill,
but can easily be motorized by adding the additional motor and
adapter kit. This grain mill is able to grind both grains, beans
and large seeds such as corn, coffee, or Kidney beans. We also
carry an inexpensive Back
to Basics Grain Mill for $52.00 + S&H. It is a good mill
for grinding Wheat and small seeds in small quantities. Our
popular premier grinder is The
Country Living Grain Mill. If you are serious about grinding
your whole grains into flour over an extended period of time for
the nutritional benefits or as a life style; The
Country Living Grain Mill is the right one for you. It
requires much less energy and strength and will last several
lifetimes. It is fast and easy, will handle grains, large seeds,
beans and corn. Accessories,
Motor and Motorization Kit are also available.
Q. How
do I purify water for cooking and drinking?
A.
Please, see our complete Water pages.
We have a complete array of Packaged
Emergency Water, Water
Filtering Bottles, British
Berkefeld Water Filters, Mission
Filters, Water Purifiers, Countertop
Filters, Whole House Filters
and Under the Counter Filtering
Systems. We also carry Water
Distillers and Desalinating Equipment. In an emergency, you should have water stored for use.
We offer Water Barrels, Water Drums from 55 gallon down to 15
gallon storage containers and water packaging bags, see Water
Storage. The most
inexpensive way to store water is to add 16 eye dropper drops of
chlorine bleach to a gallon of water. Store in a shaded or cool,
dry, dark place. If you are using 2 liter
soft drink bottles to store the water then, the amount is 3-4 eye dropper drops of chlorine
bleach to 2 liters of water. This water will store indefinitely.
If you do not want to drink the chlorinated water, then filter it
for drinking through a charcoal filtering system such as the 'Mission
Filter'. The average person needs 2 quarts of water per day and up to 4
quarts of water if the temperature is hot or strenuous work is
necessary. You should keep a 3 day supply of clean drinking water
for every person in your household and some for cooking at all
times. It would be wise to read this emergency
preparedness information prepared by FEMA http://www.fema.gov/pte/diskit.htm.
Q. What
is not included in my FEMA Family Unit?
A. There
are a few things you will want on hand in addition to the basic Family Unit if
you are in a sustained disaster. You will need a supply of clean
drinking water. You’ll need a heat source (charcoal, pellets or
wood) and cooking utensils, such as one of the Complete Volcano
Stove packages. You’ll want to make sure
you have such things as cooking oil, baking supplies, and
spices, and you may want powdered drinks, canned meats, TVP (textured vegetable
protein flavored like ham, sausage, bacon, taco, sloppy joe,
barbeque, beef or chicken) fruits & vegetables
for variety. Dehydrated fruits and vegetables
have a shelf life of
7-15 years compared
to water or oil packed foods lasting only 1-2 years. Dehydrated Mixes such as Corn
Bread, Pancake mix, powdered eggs, honey bread and roll mix and powdered milk should be rotated after 3
years. Although, FEMA says that powdered milk can be stored indefinitely in a
Nitrogen environment if kept in a cool place. You may want a Non-Hybrid
Seed Garden Kit to plant a vegetable garden, save some of that seed and
plant the succeeding year's crop from your saved seed. FEMA
recommends several items besides food in a disaster preparedness
checklist. See, http://www.fema.gov/pte/diskit.htm.
We do have Emergency
Preparedness items.
FEMA also recommends storing Vitamins. We carry
Super Spectrum / Nutrivita.
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