This month we’re gathering tomatoes and pasta in our food storage. Because of the early case lot sales this week in Utah, I am giving you the March list a few days early to help you shop. I’ve tried to incorporate the “best case lot deals” into this list to help you save the most money. Instead of buying one week at a time, you may want to gather a few items by the case over the next two weeks during the sales.
The April shopping list will give you different best deal items to stock up on at Macey’s, Dick’s and Smith’s case lot sales. If you live out of state, this monthly list will still work for you, as this is the only month I focus on these particular items.
To compare the case lot prices with prices found at local Walmart SuperCenter, Sam’s Club, Costco, LDS Home Storage Centers, and several food storage companies, see my Spring 2012 Utah Case Lot Sale Price Comparison list.
This month you will be gathering tomato sauce, tomato paste, canned tomatoes, and SpaghettiOs and raviolis if you use them. You can also pick up some bottled salsa. All have the same shelf life. Because of the acid content of the tomatoes, canned tomato products have a shorter shelf-life of 12 – 18 months compared to other canned food products. It’s important to buy these items regularly throughout the year, and restock them. If you store them longer than recommended, the texture, color and flavor may change. Watery SpaghettiOs don’t taste good. To look up the shelf life of many foods, go to StillTasty.com.
Pasta products, on the other hand, store much longer. A bag of spaghetti can store for up to two years in a cool, dry location. But remember to keep it safe from little critters. Spaghetti and macaroni you can yourself at the LDS Home Storage centers have a 30 year shelf life. I stock up on both bagged pasta, and canned long-term dry pasta.
We are also adding some ramen noodles to our food storage. These products store well in a cool, dry place. If stored properly, the instant lunch in styrofoam cups have a 1 year shelf-life, and the packaged ramen noodles have an 18 month shelf life. They are easy to use in a disaster too. On packages, the “best buy” date is shown like this: 102013 which means “best buy” October 20, 2013. Go to this link to learn more.
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Maruchan Logo Trivia: Maruchan is a Japanese word with two parts, Maru and chan. Maru literally means round, as in the shape of a ball or a happy child’s face. Round has a connotation of friendliness. “Chan” is used to show endearment and affection for a child. See that cute, round face above?
March is Red Cross month in the U.S. so make an appointment to donate blood and help save a life. We will also be gathering some first aid supplies for our 72-hour and auto emergency kits. And later this month we will be restocking our food supplies in our kits. If you’ve already done this, great! I like to focus on updating near General Conference time.
Feel free to play around with the suggested amounts on this list, and for more ideas on how to use it, go to this post.
16.9 oz. Bottled Water, Western Family $2.50 for 24 ct. case (Bowman’s, Winegars, etc.)
Bowman’s and Kent’s start Feb. 29.)