Getting Started - Step 3

Once we had our 3 month supply purchased and nicely organized, I didn't want anyone to touch it. I know - that kind of defeats the purpose. The key to making food storage work for you is actually using it.

Here are a few ideas for using/rotating your 3 month supply:

1. Store the foods that your family will eat.
A lot of recommendations for a 3 month supply include processed/packaged foods that have a long shelf life. That's great - if your family will eat it. If not, then you'll end up taking a big trip to the local food bank to donate your soon to be expired 3 month supply. If you store the foods you regularly eat, and then rotate them over a 3 month time period, you won't have to worry about expiration dates.

2. Use fresh, but plan for canned.
I love our produce co-op and all of the wonderful farmers markets we have here. We use fresh ingredients as much as possible. Most of the meals in our 3 month supply include fresh ingredients, but can be made from the can as well. For example, my Italian skillet includes pasta tossed with tomatoes, fresh mushrooms and spinach, and feta cheese. But, I can also make it with canned ingredients. I usually use a combination of fresh and canned items to make sure that I'm rotating my food storage.

3. Use Menus
Whether you plan meals weekly or monthly, a menu will help you rotate your food storage. It also helps your food budget and answers the daily question of "Mom, what's for dinner?"

Here are a few ideas for organizing your menu:

Index Cards
My sister-in-law uses a sheet protector designed to hold baseball/collector cards. She folds a 3X5 index card in half and writes the name of the meal on the front. Inside the card is the recipe for that meal. She uses these cards to plan her monthly menu, slipping them into the sheet protector pockets. The main meals are the same each month, but she can rearrange as needed. The sheet protector menu hangs on the side of the fridge.

Post-It Notes
A friend of mine, who loves color coding, spreadsheets and all things Post-It, created her own calendar on the computer. She prints out her blank calendar and then uses small post it notes that fit in each square. She lists one meal from her 3 month supply list on each note and then arranges the post it notes on the calendar. If she changes her mind, or something comes up, she simply rearranges the post it notes to fit her schedule. This gives her flexibility during the month, but ensures that she is including (and rotating) all of the meals from her 3 month supply.
Since she loves to color code everything, she uses yellow post-its for chicken, pink for beef, blue for pork and green for vegetarian meals.

Blank Calendar and Menu List
I use a blank monthly calendar to plan my meals. I pencil in dinner for each day using the meals from my 3 month supply list. I have 18 meals on my list and I use each meal once. I fill in the remaining dates with seasonal favorites, new recipes I want to try, and a pizza night or two. This way I'm using/rotating the foods from my 3 month supply, but I still have plenty of flexibility.

More Ideas for Menu Planning:
The Hillbilly Housewife
Simple Mom
Passionate Homemaking
Menu plans from Food Manufacturers

Menu Planners
Menus 4 Moms menu planner
Better Budgeting Printable Menu Plan
Monthly Menu Planner from Organized Home