Tackling a food storage plan can be daunting at times, it can be even more so when there are medically necessary dietary restrictions to deal with. I
personally like to go into each winter with enough to see us through to spring at minimum, just in case. It has paid off a hundredfold already. It has
kept us from leaving the house in terrible weather, kept us fed during a winter of serious family trauma, and ensured that no matter who comes over we
always have plenty to share. Those are only a few among the more obvious reasons to build a good food storage plan. This year I am starting from near
scratch. I even had to give away all of my smoked salmon from last summer because I used a soy sauce based brine.
A typical food storage plan revolves around grains. Flour is a staple of our lives. It is indispensable and inexpensive. Wheat, barley and rye have
fed the masses for a good portion of our history and they are everywhere in our lives. Unfortunately for some, simply touching a speck of any of those
three substances to our lips can mean horrible consequences. When you find yourself in any kind of emergency situation, the last thing you need is a
severely dehydrated debilitated family member to have to worry about.
The first main step to take after a diagnosis is to rid your cooking environment of the contaminant completely. Any cross contamination at all can
result in a very bad week. This is also a daunting task. It takes time to build up a decent food storage, and the act of purging so much time and
money from your home in one fell swoop is stressful. Luckily there are plenty of people who welcome free food.
Certain naturally gluten free foods are normal food storage items anyway, and obviously the least expensive route to take. Beans and rice are probably
the top two that people have in their homes already, and you can do a hundred different things with them given the availability of other ingredients.
Fresh foods such as fruits, vegetables and meats are all naturally gluten free, but aren't always available to us inexpensively. Be careful with
canned and frozen goods, you always have to read the label closely. I have given away a lot of food simply because I was in a hurry and didn't read
every single word on cans of beans and small bags of arborio rice. I have also made my self sick because I became comfortable with a single freezer
case in the entire grocery store. Items get moved a foot from where they usually sit or placed back on the wrong shelf and I grab an item that I just
know is gluten free, and it turns out that its not. Then of course there is the newfound inability to cook again. There are many hurdles in simply
relearning the basic act of feeding ourselves and our families, relearning the art of food storage is one of them. I have listed some options that we
have found below.
List of celiac safe storage items
Rice
Beans
Dehydrated potatoes
Egg, milk and butter powders ( read the label, but they should be safe)
Other dehydrated vegetables and fruits (I do this myself anyway so I know for a fact there are no cross contamination issues, beware of commercially
dried products)
Canned and frozen fruits and vegetables (check labels closely, home canned is safe)
SPAM is safe ( if you can call it that lol)
Canned fish ( again always check, and be careful of others' home canned products, always check ingredients)
Coconut oil
Coconut flour
Gluten free bullion cubes
Straight Herbs and spices ( no packet mixes and white pepper is off limits because flour is often added)
Salt
Vinegars
This is not intended to be an all inclusive list, but a starting point. Below is a link to a website that has a super simple six ingredient biscuit
recipe utilizing the coconut flour and oil. This is the recipe that prompted me to choose coconut flour as my storage flour, besides the fact that it
has a long shelf life. The biscuits have an entirely different texture to them, but they aren't bad and super nutrient and even protein dense for a
little biscuit. They also have a longer shelf life than most gluten free baked goods. I am able to make up a weeks worth if I choose, I don't have to
bake daily.
Coconut biscuits
Here is a link to the Mormon food calculator, it has always helped me figure out how much of certain things I would like to have on hand. Keep in mind
that it is very grain heavy, but know there are other options to replace those grains with.
Food storage calculator
Here's a wealth of food storage information. I'm not Mormon and don't agree with much from them, but they have perfected the art of long term food
storage.
preparedldsfamily.blogspot.com...
It is also important to have plenty of vitamins around. Most celiacs have deficiency issues because of absorption problems. Some good quality
supplements can make a difference between someone who is a normal healthy person and someone who doesn't have the energy or stamina to make it through
a normal day. These are good for anybody finding themselves in a situation where less than desirable nutrition is all that's available anyway. I also
stumbled across the fact that activated charcoal will absorb the toxin that is gluten to a celiac. I can avoid the 24 hour period of vomiting if I
know I have been glutened and take some charcoal in time. There are still severe consequences from the gluten, and the charcoal doesn't help with the
deficiency problems, so it's not a license to cheat. It's worth taking it on occasion to prevent being bed ridden for 24 hours though. It's also a
good thing to have in a first aid kit anyway since it will help absorb ingested toxins.
Every food storage plan is started for individual reasons and needs to be personalized to fit our family's needs. There are many other medically
necessary diets out there and things can be personalized and changed just enough to accommodate everyone safely. Keeping healthy in any situation is
always the best for anyone involved. Hopefully this has been of some help to someone. Thanks for reading, and don't hesitate to ask any questions. I'm
new to this myself, but I'm willing to use my experiences to help anyone else going through it. I'm my own guinea pig. Please don't take any of this
as medical advice, simply personal experience, always talk to your doc!
edit on 26-8-2014 by woodsmom because: Fixed a redundancy
edit on 26-8-2014 by woodsmom because: Typo