August 08, 2009
With all the changes in the H1N1 pandemic it is time to think about the foods we have in our General Store to provide relief to those who are ill. We have talked about this and planned for months now. We were discussing a pandemic at this time last year and many or your friends and family thought we were crazy. Hmmm… In case you missed it, I had a reader comment on the school district in her area, Louisiana. She said last week 13 children were sent home from one classroom of 22 kids. Some had fevers as high as 104 degrees. Saturday I spoke to a group and afterward a woman came up and told me she is a teacher and Friday 8 kids from one classroom were sent home ill.
This week we are adding applesauce to our store. If you already have applesauce sufficient for your three month needs then move on to another fruit but if you don’t have at least three jars per family member then please add applesauce. It is great for those recovering from the flu. It is easier to digest than most other fruits and will help with intestinal illness. Please refer to your list of items to feed those with the flu for other foods you will want on hand.
This week add 5 (14 oz.) jars of applesauce or other fruit per family member.
Following is our current question in our yahoo group. Please take a minute to give us your view.
With evidence that the H1N1 has now mutated, what are you doing to prepare?
Also, will you keep your kids home from school even if your school does not
close?
Yahoo group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TotallyReady/
Yahoo group sign up:
http://groups.yahoo.com/invite/TotallyReady?email=cjnicolaysen@gmail.com&iref=pezjZw2zRwSGcMDB_gFIyucl-Oc
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Honestly fruit is the one area I have neglected in my 3 month supply. I mean I have some of those dried apples in my long term storage (isn’t that a great excuse) and a few cans of fruit, but mostly its just a random extra can or two. Its time to add applesauce (and other fruit) to my grocery list!
I have a bunch of applesauce stored, but am wondering if there is a second fruit that would be easy to digest? I have thought of storing bananas because of the BRAT diet, but can only think of jars of baby food. Is there another way to store bananas?
Dehydrated… I have been buying bags of them in the canned fruit section of Walmart… next to the raisens… I will reconstitute them as needed.
I have never tried reconstituting bananas. Does it really work? I guess I’ll have to try for myself
I havn’t tried either but figure even if it is extra mushy it would work… otherwise, short of a bananna tree in the desert I don;t know how to store them????
I wonder if they would have to be reconstituted to work in a BRAT diet sort of way?
Rebecca, I noticed that pears were on sale this week (at least in my area), if they’re on sale in your area, you might try making some pear sauce and either canning or freezing it.
My family doesn’t care a whole lot for apple sauce (though they will eat it) but they love pear sauce. I’ve already put up mine for this year, but if I do get some more, I’m thinking I might make this recipe and can it.
http://foodperson.com/2009/08/22/pear-windfall-makes-fine-pear-sauce/
I’d have to triple it to make it worthwhile to can but I like that it has ginger in it which is also known to soothe upset tummies.
Thanks for the tip. I will have to look for them. I do sometimes freeze bananas for smoothies, but I think that and banana bread are about all that they are good for after being frozen.
Great idea. Ginger is great for an upset stomach and for flu recovery. Tha is why we store ginger ale, just make sure it has real ginger, Canada Dry has real ginger.
Yep, we store Canada Dry ginger ale too because it has real ginger in it. And we really prefer the taste of Canada Dry compared to other brands.
Here’s a little trick: sometimes when the kids were little… the fizz would be too much for an upset stomach, so I’d either let it go flat or stir in a little bit of sugar to take the fizz out.
Good tips about the Ginger ale. All of this is very timely as my 6 year old was throwing up last night…I guess this is my practice run for H1N1.
Learned from another blog how to make reconstituted applesauce from dehydrated apples. It is so yummy. I love it. I think it tastes better after it sits in the refrigerator for a few hours. This recipe is adapted from Everydayfoodstorage.com. You could add 3 T red hot candies in place of the cinnamon and sugar if you wanted.
* 2 cups dehydrated apples
* 2 cups boiling water
* 3/4 cup craisins (optional)
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
* 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
1. Place the dehydrated apple slices and craisins in a blender. Top the fruit with the boiling water. Add in the cinnamon and sugar. Allow to soak for about 5 minutes. Process in your blender to desired consistency.
2. Refrigerate.