Prepare Right Now For Winter

 Green Beans Are My Best Crop!

I have seen many people searching Google for storing foods or stocking up food for the winter. So regardless of whether you are into homesteading or not, we all need to eat! How to do that with the economy in such pits? Is there a way you know of putting your food up for the winter months at least?

Yellow Summer Squash

Right now it the perfect time! Are you intimidated by planting a garden? Do you think it is too late? It is not too late. I plant in the spring and replant when the plants stop producing. Right through to the fall, I am replanting. The more food I can get out of my garden the more money I save in our food budget. Then I have extra money to spend on meat and the products we cannot produce ourselves.

 Zucchini Is Another Good Producer!

I like to make up my own mixes for items like cream soups, puddings, hot cocoa mix, baking mix, etc. They are cheaper that way and you can put the ingredients in them that you want. I like to make my mixes sugar free and low carbs. But you can make your own mixes to suit yourself.

 Potatoes!

I learned from the tightwad tips on Homesteading Today to plant my potato eyes from my store bought potatoes. They don't come up every time, but all the potatoes I have growing this year are from those.

 Cherry Tomatoes!

The past two years I have not had one tomato besides the cherry tomatoes due to the late blight. So I have no tomatoes to can. I have to buy them from a produce market in our area. You can also buy the larger cans of tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste and can them into the sizes you need. Quarts or pints.

 Hubbard Squash, Thought It was Supposed To Be Green!

Try to come up with a plan. A plan will help you figure out what foods you eat and really like. Then you can plant them more and more each year. Maybe you will be able to plant foods that you can't afford right now. Like asparagus. That is my plan for next year. Asparagus and blueberries. Learn to can, dehydrate and freeze if you have that option and want to do it. But don't do all your food in the freezer. In case of a power outage, you would need some quick foods like the canned ones. If there was an emergency, you would not have the time or energy to can foods that are stored in your freezer. I hear so many people say that is what they would do. Not a smart option in the middle of a power outage! What is your plan?

Copyright © 2011 Kathleen G. Lupole
All Photographs Copyright © 2011 Kathleen G. Lupole

Stocking Up Our Food Supply At MaineSource

 Nice clean store and parking lot!

A big part of saving money for me is growing my own food in our garden. But I can't grow everything, obviously. So the grocery stores are a must for me also. The prices have skyrocketed so much this year that I have to stick to a plan to get through each week. I shop at the discount grocery stores, even though I wish I didn't have to.

 Produce is available in bulk!

For the past couple of years though, I have been shopping at a local restaurant supply store, MaineSource Food and Party Warehouse. It is about 30 miles or so from my home and well worth the drive. If you live in the Binghamton, NY area, you most likely know where it is. In case you don't, it is located at 1018 Upper Front Street, Binghamton, NY 13905-1204. Their telephone number is: (607) 723-8200.

Good buys in the produce department!

Do I save money by shopping there? Yes! I do. Not only that but I am able to get top quality meat, produce and other food and products for a very good price. MaineSource does not have any membership fees so anyone can shop there. Especially with the gas prices, it saves me money by stocking up and not having to drive to the store ten times a week to get something for supper.

 One of the meat aisles!

If you are trying to stock up by buying in bulk then this is the place to shop. They sell large packages of meat, such as ground or roasts of Angus beef. The ten pound bags of chicken breasts are what we usually buy too. You can also get bags of the chicken breast tenderloins, wings, drumsticks or thighs. Their prices are lower or comparable to the discount grocery stores, but the meat is higher quality.

 Rolls of Angus Beef!

The ground Angus beef does not have that greasy feel to it when you handle it raw. The burgers you make from it are incredible! Ask my husband! One large roll is about ten pounds. Two rolls gave us 10 quarts of ground meat plus about a dozen man sized burgers. If you have a freezer, you can put up a good amount of burgers for the future. As you know if you are a regular reader here, I can all my meat.

 So much available here!

Everything is available in large quantities so you can really stock up there. I am not growing tomatoes this year due to the late blight mine had last year. So I bought some of the large cans of tomato sauce which are 6 lbs 10 oz. each. Then I plan on canning them into pint jars. I did that last year and it was great. You can do that with any of the larger cans of tomato products or vegetables. I do it all the time now.

 The dairy case!

Dairy products is one thing I cannot store as I do not have a freezer. But for anyone buying for their freezer they have larger amounts of cheese, butter, ice cream and even frozen vegetables and food. Processed frozen foods are available also. I don't use those types of food so I can't really tell much about them. They have recently added a deli counter and have rotisserie chickens available there too. Everything is so clean and neat there.

 Their bag says it all!

I must tell you how the manager came right to me when I started taking pictures in the store! I think he thought I was taking pictures for some other reason. I assured him that I was a blogger and was going to write a very favorable post about their store. I hope this meets his approval, though I doubt he will be reading it. Didn't seem like a blog reader to me!

Copyright © 2011 Kathleen G. Lupole
All Photographs Copyright © 2011 Kathleen G. Lupole
Updated 2018



This post was NOT an advertisement for MaineSource Restaurant and Party Warehouse. They did not ask me to write this post or paid me in any way. They did not give me free food or anything else. I wish! I am just a VERY happy customer.  ~ kat 

Winter At Peaceful Forest Homestead

Snow On Our Homestead

Snow makes much work, but is a thing of beauty too. I love the way it settles on the branches of the trees. Trees make up so much of my surrounding view, that I have developed such a deep love for each and every one. I know when my husband has had to take one down that is really close to our home and yard, I feel a little sad. Though all the trees he takes down are usually "standing dead," as he calls them.

Ludlow Creek Near Our Home.

The thing is that if you are well prepared for winter, like the squirrels, then winter is not a big deal. Having your pantry and root cellar stocked with food and supplies, Having a wood shed full of wood and kindling, ready to go. Having prepared in the spring, summer and fall, goes a long way to making the winter not so difficult to get through. 

Hay keeps our horses warm in winter.

I like to shop in thrift stores. And I fill our winter clothes closet with warm clothes for cold weather. Flannel pajamas are really good and you can wear them under your clothes for extra warmth. I pick up hats, gloves, boots, socks, mittens, scarves and coats. Long johns are something I find a lot of at thrift stores. Sometimes even in the package they came in! I figure they were a gift to someone who did not wear them. Socks, especially hunting socks, is an item that is usually plentiful at thrift stores and garage sales. I especially like to find a church rummage sale. They offer a lot of warm winter clothing for very low prices. Don't forget sweat shirts and pants. I love them! My husband doesn't care for them.  He wears flannel shirts and I find them just about everywhere too.

I pick up all the blankets and afghans I can find at the thrift stores too. We have many comforters that I found for free. The two thrift stores in our area are basically free. You can leave a donation if you so choose. I always give something. Another good thing are those long, thick robes made of blanket material. Sometimes I use them as an extra blanket. They are very warm and I have about 5.

Our Wood Cook Stove.

After finishing up our outside chores we can come inside and relax. With a fire in the stoves to warm us up, then I can cook some food. In this way, being prepared, keeping warm and fed makes the winter not seem quite so bad. For us, at least, we don't have to drive anywhere most of the time. If we need feed or hay for the horses, that's another story. Have to keep those girls fed and happy! I try to keep stocked up with pet food, as well, as household supplies. Especially in winter! I do as much stocking up as possible every time I go to a store or order online. Even when you are stocked up, you keep replenishing what you use. It is an on going job. 

Stay cozy and warm if you live in a cold, snowy part of the country or world today! 

Copyright © 2011  Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2011  Kathleen G. Lupole

Listing Ingredients For Stocking Up Pantry Plan

Low Carb Zucchini Lasagna

Since I started eating low carb foods, I have deleted white flour and any product that is made with it. I now use almond meal/flour, flax seed meal, coconut flour, pork rinds, hazelnut meal/flour in place of flour or bread products. If you are making fried chicken or oven fried chicken, you just bread it with any of those. We love a mixture of the flax seed meal and almond meal coating the chicken. My husband loves when I include a little of the coconut flour too.

I also forgo sugar and most artificial sugar substitutes. I like stevia. It has no aftertaste, at least to me. I have heard other people complain that it does, but my husband and I both like it very much. I buy the Sweet Leaf brand in the little packets and also have it in liquid form for cooking. It is hard to mix into cold drinks at first, so I mix it into a little warm liquid if I am using the powdered form. I will use Splenda, but usually only as an ingredient in the DaVinci's sugar free syrups. Those are something that make my low carbing a pleasure!

I do not use margarine as I believe that is something that is REALLY bad for you. I used to love it, but have not used it at all since 2008, except when my husband bought it at the store instead of butter. I mainly use butter, olive oil and coconut oil. Occasionally, I use peanut and sesame oils for flavor.

For beverages, I am a coffee and tea drinker mainly. We drink a lot of water around here. And I also buy seltzer in a couple different flavors. Natural flavor only, lime being my favorite and plain for my special low carb egg creams I make.

Blackberries are a low carb fruit!

Meat, salad, low carb vegetables, eggs, cheese, berries and cream are the main foods I use. So now that I have figured that out, I can now work on building the ingredient list of foods to stock. My main dish list was here in the post, Planning Your Meals Around Special Diets. Today, I am posting on the main dishes only. 

Cheddar Cheese is always available for low carbers

My Main Dish List:

1. Chicken Thighs with Hot Wing Sauce
2. Steak (or low carb stir fries)
3. Pork Country Ribs
4. Roast Turkey Breast
5. Beanless Chili
6. Tuna Salad 
7. Oven Fried Chicken (almond flour/golden flax seed coated)
8. Pork Chops or Roast
9. Beef Stew (do not eat high carb vegs) (thicken with low carb alternatives)
10. Turkey Salad
11. Baked or Grilled Fish Fillets
12. Ground Beef Dishes (low carb meatballs, meatloaf, hamburgers, casseroles)
13. Chicken or Turkey Stew
14. Zucchini Lasagna (no pasta noodles)

Look at your recipes for each dish and list the ingredients you need. It is that simple. Those are the foods you need to stock. I figure 14 meals mean I can serve these twice a month. Maybe one or two will be once a month and two or three others will be three times or more a month. Make it suit you and your family.

My Ingredient List: (example)

chicken thighs

garlic powder

tarragon

hot sauce

celery seed

white vinegar

butter

blue cheese dressing

If you are freezing your meats and various foods than that is basically all you have to do. Get the food divided up into your meals and clearly mark on them what they are and the date. You may want to add what they are for...........if you are anything like me, sometimes I forget what I bought something for and will use it for something else. You and keep a list or a calendar of what you will be serving each day and that does make it easier.

Canned ground beef and chicken

Now I can my foods usually. So my meats I bring home and prepare them to be canned. If I want the chili for maybe four meals through out the month, I will make a couple of big pots of it and can that in quart jars. I probably would need 2-3 quarts for each meal, so I need to make at least 12 quarts for the month. If we don't use it all up, good. But I will make more the next month to keep adding to my pantry shelves.

Salad from my garden!

Since we will be eating mainly low carbs, all my meals usually will have a salad as a side dish. Meat and salad. Salad ingredients I will have to buy it fresh in the store during the winter, until I get my sun room completed, a green house built or a cold frame set up. All summer we eat it from our garden.

• So make a list of all your main dishes.
• Study your recipes and list your ingredients.
• From that, make a list to take to the store.
• Need not be done all in one day or one week-end.
• Keep it ongoing. So you eat some meals and you make more.
• It is not set in stone. You can change your recipes or menus anytime.
• Make your meals tasty and inviting!

I like doing this. I like seeing my husband looking forward to meals instead of  wishing he was eating at Burger King! He is one of those men who does not like to go out for meals mainly because he knows I can always make it better. It is a good feeling to know you are feeding your family members good food that they really like, and it is better for them.

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

Building Up My Supplies

In case anything ever does happen in our world, country, state, county, area........such as weather related storms or other emergencies..........everyone must be prepared and know what to do. You must not over react in any case. First of all take stock of what you have in place and what you know how to do.
Our homestead currently has in place:

1. Our own alternative energy system.
2. A hand dug well with a pitcher pump.
3. Heat and cook with wood that is on our land.
4. Grow most of own vegetables and keep expanding on that.
5. An old fashion root cellar.
6. Have horses and also have a doctor's buggy if needed.
7. I can and dehydrate a lot of food, including meat.
8. Have around 14 kerosene/lamps and know how to use and maintain them.
9. Husband can repair our vehicle or our house or just about anything.
10.I grew up in a hunting and fishing family and am a good shot and a good fisherman. I do not like to kill animals but if I HAD to it would be easier for me to hunt than to raise them.
11.I already forage for wild plants for food and medicinal use and know how to use them.
12.We have a treadle sewing machine and know how to use it.

Yet, there are many areas I feel we need to work on. Our house is in the middle of a major remodel and we do it little by little as we can. One thing I have thoughts about doing is building an underground camp in a cave not far from here, but out in the thick forest, and putting in provisions just in case. I have always stored water even though we have plenty.

Living simply has made it so that we never have outages of any kind. Our power has never gone out and neither has our water.

Stockpiling supplies and food - little by little - 20 items a month
Start an emergency fund in the savings account -$40. a month = $10. a week


What I have been doing to afford the stockpiling is to buy two each of 10 different items on my shopping list. They go into my stockpile. Many times a coupon I have will be for two items anyway. I also can milk and meat as well as vegetables and fruit. I shop for sales and use coupons but I do not use many convenience foods outside of some certain salad dressing or condiments.

I use those plastic containers with covers for storing foods as I live in a rural area and mice come in here pretty regular. Instead of getting stressed out over them, I keep almost everything covered in plastic containers (the big ones) and on the top of that I put cardboard so I won't get upset about their calling cards dropping into the container when I open it.

I also store water in plastic soda bottles though we have stopped drinking it now and don't have any new ones. I always drank Gingerale so had the green bottles which I like best. They keep longer.

I plan on buying another new pitcher pump to put away in case our present one broke.  Need to get more leathers for the pump as well, as we do replace them from time to time. Our pitcher pump is our only source of water at the moment.

I will write more on this as I do more and research more on this. Planning is good but doing is the important part. So be sure to buy something every time you shop for your stock pile of supplies! At least one item every time you walk into the store.

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole