Follow
Shalom Y’all,
Living on a fixed income and the prices of food and gas rising so drastically, we are VERY thankful for the grains, beans and dry goods that we have stored.
This coming month, we have extra household expenses not covered in the budget so the food budget will go to pay those needs. That means, NO food budget. LOL! Now, I know many of y’all are there too and can relate! Unfortunately, it’s happening to families all over the country and many are in similar situations and even worse. My friend in South Carolina has been living in her home without electricity for 2 weeks and won’t be able to get it hooked back up for another few weeks.
For those of us facing this situation, I thought we could encourage one another by our creative ways to feed our families healthful real foods based on what we have on hand.
Some of y’all have garden produce still, or can barter for local produce and that is a PLUS! Our garden is done, but we may be able to barter some bread for local eggs and produce this weekend at the Tailgate Market! Praise the L-rd!
If you don’t have a Tailgate market, try checking with your neighbors and see if you can barter anything you have/make for something they have that you may need! Perhaps your home-canned foods may barter well for fresh eggs, meat or produce!
Here’s some of our strategies, PLEASE share your own so we all may be
encouraged and have ideas on handling this.
BEFORE YOU START
#1, PRAY! This cannot be overlooked and must be a first step, preceding all else. Seek G-d to see how you are to proceed. G-d is in control and He knows our needs. We pray for His will and we know that ALL good things come from Him.
James 1:17 KJV
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down
from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither
shadow of turning.
#2. Talk with your hubby and share what you’d like to do before forging ahead! He makes the call and perhaps your hubby has a different plan.
If G-d and your hubby give you the go-ahead, here are some of my suggestions, and I pray y’all will chime in with YOURS!
#3. You and your hubby sit down with the family and share Scriptures about being thankful for what we have even if it’s modest, being content with what G-d provides and let them know that G-d is in control. We do not fear but we look to Him for our sustenance. That said, we are tightening our belts and some of our meals may look a
little different than before. We, as a family need to be thankful and not complain about any lack, but praise G-d for what we do have.
In our home we have made it clear that what we serve is what we have and even though not everyone likes the same things, this is what we have to eat and we WILL be thankful, not complaining.
GETTING STARTED
(We are planning this for one month at a time, but it helps to look at the big picture for the long-term as we believe this will be the norm for us unless G-d intervenes.)
#1. Assess what you have on hand.
Check the cupboards, the stockpile, the freezer and any storage you may have. Write down each item under categories; for example under Grains, list what kind and how much and what type (whole, cracked, milled etc.) and where it is stored so you can get to it easily. Include your refrigerator and root cellar or where you have canned foods.
#2. Plan Meals.
Look for meal plans for ONE MONTH that utilize JUST those foods you have on hand. In other words, create meal plans around what you have on hand. If you are like most of us, there will be holes that you will need to fill in, perhaps with fresh food or perhaps with cheese or meat, or certain ingredients. Make those into a list. Share your ideas here for meal plans around basic stored items! If you don’t plan, you set yourself up to burn out or find yourself with nothing to fix.
#3. Pray!
Pray over the list of additional foods needed and see how the L-rd provides! He may use someone to barter or bless you with these items, or you may find them on sale, or He may bless you with extra money to purchase them. OR, He may instruct you to do without them and just eat those rice and beans WITHOUT chips or cheese unless you make them yourself. This is where each family must seek the L-rd for His direction. He may work
differently with each family.
#4. Stick To It.
… unless G-d directs you otherwise. I am full of good intentions <g>, but sticking to it is
tough when some days, I don’t WANT any more rice and beans! However, we have what we have and I need to be thankful for it!
#5. Be as creative as possible.
If you have a lot of some ingredients and not so much of others, you’ll be eating that one type of food over and over during the month. Try to find NEW ways to serve it so the
same rice and beans are not the same old rice and beans, but even though it is a rice and bean dish, we try to vary how it’s served to make it more interesting. That’s where idea-sharing will be so helpful!
#6. Let the children get involved.
In menu-planning, inventory, pantry-diving, cooking etc. This can be a FUN experience. For example, make this a school project and tell the children to know what it was like to live on the Prairie 100 years ago, we are going to go to town (our storage) and buy enough dry goods for one month (many families bought 6-12 months at a time, but we’ll
focus on one month to begin with.) Bring some history lessons into this and study how families in earlier times lived. Let them create the menu and help cook the recipes. A very good resource is The Prairie Primer and the cookbook (making substitutions for real foods).
#7. Don’t take offense if you get resistance or your children grumble.
Learning new things sometimes meets resistance. You and your hubby address any attitudes and help them with spiritual instruction in the Word and praise G-d for meeting the physical while changing the spiritual!
#8. Stay positive, excited and dependent upon G-d.
Your family will take the cue from you. If you are excited, positive and completely trusting in G-d to get you through, your family will see truth faith in action. It will be life-long lessons they need to see, in real-life struggles. Every day in your time with G-d, ask Him to keep you positive and excited and to give you wisdom and fill you with grace as you walk in His ways.
#9. Don’t fear, but trust!!
This is SO important. We, as humans, can get caught up in the economy woes and really do these things based on fear, not trust and that’s NOT where G-d wants us. We must lay down our fear, anxiety and worry and trust in the Almighty G-d who cares about each one of us and our needs. This must be an act of faith, not fear! Perhaps He is teaching you to trust Him more and more each day. This is an excellent way.
Psalm 16:1 KJV
Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.
The Haycraft Home
We have prayed, met and decided this is the way for us to go.
First Step:
This week we are taking an updated inventory of what we have on hand, stored in buckets, containers and in the freezer. We will only have these things and most likely not supplement with things from the store if at all possible (or baring a financial miracle from G-d which we are open to of course!) LOL! However HE wants to do it, is fine with us, we just need to be willing to take what He provides and be thankful, no grumbling, whining or complaining! (OUCH!)
For those in this situation, PLEASE share your thoughts, comments, suggestions, recipes, and resources!
About Vickilynn Parnes
