Here's the link to my 72-hour emergency prep. pack.
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Emergency preparedness covers so much that it can be overwhelming. It's time-consuming, expensive, and a pain in the behind! As a mother, I'm concerned with being prepared for everything, all the "what ifs." What if my son hurts himself out on the ranch and too far from help, what if he has an allergic reaction, what if he gets lost hunting? These fears can weigh on us, whether they're for ourselves or our loved ones. It seems to me that there are 2-types of people, those that expect the worst and those that assume it'll never happen to them.
For those that want to prepare for the worst, I'm here to help you! For everyone else, remember, "it's better safe than sorry." Trying to prepare for everything at once is too much. You start googling, and down the rabbit-hole, you go. You can look at this article from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for a comprehensive look at how to prepare for all types of disasters.
Many are concerned with preparing for the Covid-19 pandemic. Covid-19 is not the only thing to consider. What about wildfires, hurricanes, floods, major power outages, earthquakes, and the list goes on? Some of the people in recent disasters have only minutes to get out! One man said he had 30 seconds to grab what he needed and go.
There are two different issues here. One is staying in; the other is getting out! I am going to address both problems. First, I'll talk about "go bags," "E.D.C." (everyday carry), or "bug-out bags." All these bags and an emergency home supply, are you crazy?
That many bags is too much for me. I will show you what I've put in my 72-hour emergency pack! Everyone should have a bag adapted to them. How much weight can you carry? How many calories do you need? What is your environment like? Any health concerns?
72-hr Emergency Pack
Assorted Food (protein bars, tuna, fruit packs)
Sugar + Salt + 1 liter of water = hydration solution
Clothes
For those that are making a pack for "in case of emergency," there's more to do.
Additional Items for an Emergency Pack
See the links below for suggested important information.
https://www.ready.gov/financial-preparedness
A burrito bowl, when I first heard of this delicious twist on a classic favorite, I was in a drive-thru. I know shame on me, but it was a crazy afternoon way past the lunch hour and many more hours of work ahead of us. I needed food, fast hence the drive-thru. Being a vegetarian drive-thru food is usually so hard for me to find something good to eat that isn't just a starch filled with oil. On this particular day, I found my soon to be ALL time FAVORITE. I ordered my meatless "protein bowl" at this place. For $5 I felt like I was getting my money's worth. It tasted great, looked awesome, was filling, and I didn't feel guilty about it either!
So I decided to make this at home for my family, of course, every person in our family of 6 wanted different toppings, but no big deal I put everything out buffet style, and it was a blast customizing our bowls! Over a year later, I still make it at least once a week, and I take it to work a few days a week. I have also discovered I can change the toppings of the bowl to give it a different flare. For example, using the rice and bean base and replacing the garnishments for bean sprout, tofu, Sriracha, or some sweet and sour for those who don't like heat, I have a whole different bowl!
This recipe is for four people:
To make 2 cups of rice the box directions call for 2 cups of water, I take this water and put it in a food processor with one bunch of cilantro and pulse it a few times.
Then I boil this water as directed for the rice, the rice absorbs the water, and it is now Cilantro Infused Rice!
Now for the beans... take your pick.
Black Bean Flakes or Pinto Bean Flakes from Garden Valley. There are so many options you'll have a hard time choosing just one!
Mix things up - try the Black Bean Flakes using Perry's Mojito Lime Dip recipe, adding a bit of taco seasoning, sriracha or your favorite spices. For those on a no-salt diet try Mrs. Dash, they have a variety of flavor profiles.
Now the easy part! The toppings. Take whatever toppings you desire and layer them on top.
My favorite burrito bowl toppings:
Grilled corn, I always hide an extra ear of corn whenever I BBQ some during the summer, the next day I make a burrito bowl with that hidden corn! One ear of corn, grilled ****because I love that sweet grilled flavor the corn gets and the beautiful grill marks**** and sliced off the cob is enough corn for four bowls, at least!
Shredded cheese, romaine lettuce, avocado slices, salsa, and sour cream. If you have ever made my Cilantro Lime dressing w/ avocado, I love to leave the avocado and sour cream off and use this as my "dressing" instead. Zaine, my oldest son, simply pours it on top of all the other toppings!
After I made this for the family for the first time, I realized how "EVERYONE" friendly this meal is. First of all, when I make this for a large crowd I will make 1lb of ground beef and add taco seasoning for taco meat, they use this for meat in their bowl. So it is gluten-free, it can be vegetarian, and vegan (minus the sour cream and cheese this would be the perfect time to use my (Cilantro Lime Avocado Dressing), it can also be meat friendly. It is budget friendly, see the price break down HERE, and each person gets their burrito bowl any way they like!
Super simple, right?
Sometimes the biggest obstacle to trying something new is that it's NEW! Why? There are many reasons for this, including the fear of trying something new or the habit of just doing what you've always done.
I want you to try something new, try using bean or pea flakes to make your next batch of soup!
Three reasons to try it:
Traditionally when you make soup using beans or peas you sort, soak, and simmer. The process of sorting the beans/peas, then soaking them overnight and then letting them simmer on the stove for hours can be very time consuming and who has extra time? If you don't have time to cook you might use a soup mix, have you looked at what's in your mix? I checked out some of the most popular brands and... YUK. I used to buy a soup mix and then add some fresh veggies or meat to make it a meal. So just, try using the bean/pea flakes it's the best of both, nutritious and quick.
The total time for this soup is about 15 minutes!
The reason the flakes work so well is that they are dehydrated, this means that when you add them to the pot they instantly soak up and blend the flavors.
Don't make sacrifices, try using flakes with one of your favorite recipes or pick one from our recipes. You don't have to choose between flavor, nutrition and time anymore.
The short answer is NO! You always hear how great hummus is for you and it is, mostly. Don’t be fooled by marketing tricks, look at the ingredients. Traditional hummus is chickpeas, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, sea salt, and tahini. These ingredients have health benefits and are a great addition to any diet.
The verdict is no; not all hummus is equal. Hummus, like cheese, can be the real deal or not. If it comes in a can, is it cheese? Similarly, the question is: if it's store-bought, is it hummus?
Resources:
As I step into a new position at Garden Valley Corporation and start doing some research and development, I realize how much research is actually involved. I find myself scouring the internet for recipes and ideas on how to use products I am very familiar with. I keep finding recipes for Chickpeas AKA Garbanzo Beans from a can, but I use flakes from Garden Valley Corporation, can I use Garbanzo Flakes instead and the recipe turn out the same? Well, I guess it's time for some experimenting! I’m comparing the Garbanzo Bean Flakes from Garden Valley Foods to what is available (and suggested in many recipes) canned garbanzo beans.
Personally, I love garbs! High in fiber and protein, two things I am continually looking to increase in my whole family's diet. Mild in flavor, and light in color. I loooove hummus! If you don’t think you like hummus, try it again. Hummus has a vast variety of flavors plain, traditional, spicy and even sweet hummus, a recent discovery (recipe to follow!). No matter what the flavor, the hummus almost always has the same base, garbanzo beans aka chickpeas. Luckily for me, my love of hummus started just before I started working for Garden Valley Corporation, the parent company of Garden Valley Foods. So unlike many other people I had the extremely easy, no work involved hummus prep. I just use Garbanzo Bean Flakes, and it's easy breezy. Today I went through what the rest of the world goes through to make hummus. It was quite the experience! I have made PLENTY of recipes with our Garbanzo Bean Flakes, so today I’m starting with the canned garbs. I have never used them before, I have no clue what to expect.
1. First I have to open the dreaded can, I hate opening cans. It's not even the health concerns that get to me; it's just like nails on a chalkboard. When I was 9, I was clumsy opening a can, way too excited to finally be making something without my mother hovering, and of course, nothing could go wrong, right? I was just making a tuna sandwich. Wrong, somehow that horrid, awful, terrible lid sliced a HUGE gash in my finger. Ever since then cans make me wince.
Now that the can is open, I officially decided I need to handle this like a scientific experiment. Unbiased, using my senses, making an informed comparison between two products, I decided to go with smell, texture, and taste for my scientific research.
Smell: Dog food, is that a scientific answer? That is precisely the smell of canned garbs, canned dog food. Now I am questioning how this recipe will turn out. Since I am making two batches of cookie dough pie, I’m going to take them to a potluck tomorrow. Hopefully, both batches turn out well.
Since I only have experience with flakes from GVF I Google directions on processing canned garbs to hummus.
2. The next step is to drain, rinse and dry. After rinsing them, it is safe to say the stink of dog food is gone! They do not smell like anything, maybe a little “earthy” but not like dirt.
3. The next step is to let them dry a little before I pulse them in a food processor, this will make them a very similar texture to re-hydrated flakes. WAIT, STOP, HOLD ON!!! I skipped a step. I have to peel them?!?!?
They don’t look like they need peeled, maybe I got them already skinned?
I picked up a bean and pinch the outside a little; sure enough, a translucent, thick shell comes off the bean. Ok, I’m going to time the peeling process. There are not many beans in here so it should be pretty quick. Plus Marshal has the kids on the back patio planting seeds, so the garbs have my undivided attention!
…. 22 minutes later! I am finally done peeling the garbs. They are drying on paper towels while I’m cleaning up the mess. The shells stick to my fingers and don’t want to come off.
4. Next step, pulse them in the food processor. They grind up really easy; just a few pulses get them broken up. I smell them one last time just to make sure they have not gotten a scent from being ground up. Nope no scent, so it must have been the brine water? Gross. (Oh, sorry I forgot this was supposed to be scientific.)
Texture: They have the consistency of moist sand and a grainy texture.
Now let’s move on the Garbanzo Bean Flakes from GVF:
Smell: Slightly earthy. Like rice almost, no real scent but almost.
Texture: After a few pulses in the food processor it is flour, smooth.
Canned beans took me 10 times the amount of time to prep as the Garbanzo Bean Flakes! I’ll let the nutritional facts and the ingredients speak for themselves:
Yup that right, our flakes are only garbanzo bean flakes. We do not have the other mystery ingredients that the canned product has. (Maybe that’s what that smell was?)
Now I continued on with my recipes. I keep the two different types of garbs separate and labeled them so I would not get them mixed up for the end comparison.
The end result, no one could tell the difference! Not even me! I looked, smelled, and tasted. They are exactly the same except, the canned garbs took longer to prepare and they had additives. The flakes have no additives and were easier to prepare.
Garbanzo Bean Flakes win this round!
The short answer is NO! You always hear how great hummus is for you and it is, mostly. Don’t be fooled by marketing tricks, look at the ingredients. Traditional hummus is chickpeas, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, sea salt, and tahini. These ingredients have health benefits and are a great addition to any diet. 