Food Storage Friday: Chocolate-Apricot Nut Bars

I've had a rough week with my electronics.  My LCD screen on my DSLR camera went white and I haven't been able to fix it. Meaning I have no control over the camera settings.  I was just learning how to take some good pictures and the camera goes kapoot!  THEN today, my laptop kicked the bucket. Won't even turn on or anything. Besides the obvious frustration with losing two of my most useful blogging side-kicks, my pictures for these bars were on my now-dead laptop. Argh.

After pulling out my hair and kicking and screaming, I took a terrible shot from my phone of these delicious bars, and here's the recipe so you can give them a try.

Chocolate-Apricot Nut Bars
Whole Living Magazine

1 1/2 cups dried apricots
1/2 cup raw almonds, toasted
2 Tbsp unsweetened, shredded coconut, toasted
coarse salt
1/2 oz dark chocolate, melted

Combine apricots, almonds and 1/2 the coconut with a pinch of salt in a food processor. Pulse until finely ground. Line a bread pan with parchment paper and press the mixture into the pan forming a flat loaf. Sprinkle remaining coconut and drizzle with chocolate. Chill in fridge for 15 minutes, cut into bars and store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

My notes:  Don't use a blender. I gave it a whirl (hehe) but it couldn't hack it, so I had to transfer over to the food processor and then had to wash both the blender and the food processor, boo. 

I didn't toast the coconut. I didn't use coarse salt. I used toasted almonds, not raw ones that I then toasted.

They are super yummy!

Food Storage Tuesday - Rotation week!

Every Tuesday, we post specific items you should gather in order to supplement your emergency car kit, your three-month supply, and your longer term storage.  If you are new to our blog, don't worry!  You won't be left behind.  Just start up where we are and follow along.  You will eventually have everything completed.  Once the car kit is complete, we'll be putting together 72-hour kits again (week by week).  Once those are done, we'll gather the car kits again.  So don't worry, just jump on in and join us where we are today! 

Ok.... I know that we just started on our emergency car kits last week, but we're actually taking a break from that this week.  Why?  Well, it's General Conference weekend coming up this week.  If you are Mormon, you know exactly what this is: basically, we have a chance to listen to our prophet and apostles speak to us as a Church.  This happens every six months: early April, and early October.  Since 6 months is a good time between rotations, here on our blog we use this conference as a reminder to rotate our 72-hour kits and our emergency car kits.  

Rotate what?  Basically, you want to check any food in your kits to be sure it has not expired.  Rotate your water bottles out.  Check your batteries and whatever else needs to "work".  Finally, rotate your clothes for the new season (according to your climate).  Check clothing sizes, diaper/wipes, etc.  Make sure everything is replaced that you may have used during the last 6 months.

When we have done this reminder in the past, we've gotten some great ideas for how families do this.  Some make it a big family project that they do between conference sessions, or in the morning before conference starts.  I have heard of other families who actually eat through all (or most) of their 72-hour kit food during this weekend, then replace all of it for their kits.  This would be a great way to be sure you are 1) packing enough food for your family, and 2) packing food that your family enjoys eating!  I think this is a great idea!

Since this is quite a job (especially if you have a big family/multiple cars), this is all I'm doing this week as far as food storage.  Of course, we're still working on our garden and I'll give you an update later this week on how that's going.

In March, we've been gathering beans for our longer-term storage.  Next month, we're moving on to rice!

Motivational Monday

“The key to spending less than we earn is simple—it is called discipline. Whether early in life or late, we must all eventually learn to discipline ourselves, our appetites, and our economic desires. How blessed is he who learns to spend less than he earns and puts something away for a rainy day”

President N. Eldon Tanner
(see Conference Report, Oct. 1979, 119; or Ensign, Nov. 1979, 81).