Saturday, March 5, 2011

Food Storage Book Review and Giveaway: "Food Storage Made Easy Binder"


 Food Storage Made Easy Binder e-book 
by Jodi and Julie at foodstoragemadeeasy.net


Book Contents: 

The book is broken down into Steps. Each step is a list of tasks that is doable.  Each section starts with a one page check list of things to get done.  The section that follows the check list is everything you need to know about that topic.  I really liked how the book is organized (once I figured it out) 


The sections in the book are: 
BabyStep Checklists- A complete set of all 26 checklists to build your food storage
Emergency Prep Section- Information and spreadsheets to create a comprehensive emergency plan
Step 1: Shelves- Information on shelves, storage solutions, and building your own consolidator racks
Step 2: Water- Information on how much water to store, and how to store it safely
Step 3: 3 Month Food Supply- Information and sheets to plan and build your 3 month food supply
Step 4: Long Term Education- Information and sheets to plan and build your long term food storage
Step 5: Grains- Information on grains, wheat, and grain mills
Step 6: Legumes- Information on legumes, benefits of beans, sprouting, and the do’s/ don’ts of beans
Step 7: Baking Ingredients- Information on baking ingredients and using powdered milk
Step 8: Fruits and Vegetables- Information on various storing methods for fruits and vegetables
Step 9: Comfort Foods- Information on comfort foods that are shelf stable
Step 10: Non-Food Items- Information on non-food items you should include in your food storage
Beyond the BabySteps- A section for you to keep track of information outside of the basic steps
Recipe Appendix- All the recipes suggested to try in the BabyStep Checklists

Personal Notes- A section for you to keep track of notes, goals, and accomplishments

Our Experience   

Okay so sometimes I am such a dork.  I received the e-book and printed it out only to discover that I no longer had a functioning 3 hole punch.  I swear I used to have one but apparently not.  So I ended up putting all of the pages in sheet protectors.  While I was doing it I got the pages mixed up (with the help of my kids)  so it took me a while to actually get the book put together. Once I did I was impressed.  I like that the format is a one page check list followed by a section of task specific information.    Each checklist includes a list of items to purchase and a to do list.  I love that it makes me feel so productive when I can cross off each item on the list. 

What I like:
  • I love the check lists.  So helpful.
  • I love the section on storage ideas for small spaces.  My last home was tiny and it was quite difficult to figure out where to put our food storage.  The ideas are practical and varied.  A very nice section.
  •  I like that the book suggests appliances that you might want to purchase, such as a wheat grinder or a pressure cooker.  It tells you what you need to know to decide if you want one, and then helps you save money to purchase one.  
  •  I like that the forms that are available in an electronic format (from the website) that is easy to use, so I can fill them out on my computer.  I hate when I have to recreate a form. 
  •   I really like that they include the nonfood category.  There are a lot of things that are important to store that are not food.  I personally love having extra toiletries on hand in case of emergency or just so when the all the shampoo is gone you have another bottle.
  •  One of my favorite categories they included in the book is comfort foods.  In my experience when a disaster strikes it is very important to have foods that help relieve stress.  I thought this sections was well done and thought provoking.

What I don’t like:
  • I wish the book had page number.  It would have been much easier when I got it out of order to figure it out. 
  • I wish the book was all in black type.  Some of the Section heading are in pink. Which I must admit is very cute. But I am cheep and so I only print in black and white. It makes those words kind of hard to read.

My Rating:

This book is a 4 stars out of 4 for anyone who is serious about building their food storage.  It is a great addition to my library. 



Giveaway:

Jody and Julie, have graciously provided one copy of  their Food Storage Made Easy Binder e-book to be given away.  If you would like to win please leave a comment below stating why you want a copy.  (remember you need to be a follower of the blog to win).  For an extra entry you can blog, post on facebook or tweet about this giveaway.  Be sure to leave me an additional comment telling me what you did.   This giveaway ends March 13th at 3:30 p.m. Good Luck!


If you don’t want to wait for the drawing and would like to purchase the book click on the link below.