Recently someone said, "We have food storage, but I don't know what to do with it. I'd rather eat vegetables from the freezer than a can..."We won't debate the nutritional value of frozen vegetables vs. canned here, but we will address using the food stored in your home. I grew up with cans of Sam Andy under my bed. Dehydrated ham, flour, potatoes, my parents stored it all. When I spent some time in their home in 2008, those same cans were in a whole new closet and my mom was so proud of her food storage. After 39 years, she should be proud! She and Dad can survive a whole lot longer on those cans than they could when 8 kids were at home with them...if only it were edible.
"Food Storage" is a much beloved term and I doubt I'll ever stop using it. Here's the newsflash...The Church has stopped using it. Family Home Storage is the new term and it includes everything that our families will need to survive. It also means that we use what we buy. As my mom can attest, if you don't use it, you will lose it. She and I threw out many cans that day in 2008. Rancid flour was just the beginning.
"Rotate your food storage" was the admonition when I was growing up atop those cans of food. I was 28 years old when someone finally explained what that meant. It means using our food and here's how to do it:
- When a new box of crackers is brought into your home, first it receives a date. Write the date you bought the food on the container.
- Place that box BEHIND the box of crackers that is already on your shelf.
- Subsequent boxes of crackers get the same treatment - the date of purchase and a place behind the existing boxes.
- Eat the older food (check the date you wrote) first.
Congratulations - you have just rotated your storage! 
This will also help you track how long it takes you to need more "crackers." Last night I opened a jar of pasta sauce dated 3/09. It was the last of my older jars and I figured out that 12 jars lasts us almost one year. Here's a tip: have a dedicated "home storage pen." In our home every marks-a-lot pen is referred to as a food storage pen. The point here is that everything in your home is home storage. There should be no difference between what's in your kitchen and what's under the bed. We should be using it all, and replacing it when supplies are down.
Many people live by the motto "store what you eat and eat what you store." Good advice! The prophets have long counselled us to store foods that will maintain their nutritional value during long-term storage. This means many of us have "buckets 'o wheat" somewhere in our home and are scared to death to open one. What would we do with all that wheat? Here's a start - make some pancakes. It doesn't take a massive investment in a wheat grinder, it only takes a blender and they are tasty! This recipe is so flavorful we eat them without any syrup or sauces. They are nutty, yummy and wholesome and you'll feel so liberated when you open up one of those buckets! Go ahead, get brave and use that storage.
Whole Wheat Blender Pancakes
1 C whole wheat berries (that's what is in your buckets)
1 C milk
2 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp salt
2 T oil
2 T honey
Place all the ingredients in blender and run on highest setting for about 5 minutes. Make your pancakes on a griddle sprayed with Pam. They are not as fluffy as white flour pancakes, but they are delicious. (An 8-cup blender is needed to double the recipe safely.)
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