Living Providentially: It's Not JUST Emergency Preparedness!

My parents moved to Utah recently.  They still live almost 50 miles away from me, but it beats three hours, right?  Since dad works for the church, the church paid movers to come pack and move everything - which sounds like the loveliest thing in the world. Well their maximum was 6-8 tons in weight (or something like that...I can't quite remember).  My parents are not pack rats or hoarders by ANY means.  Inf fact, they are constantly cleaning and purging things from their life (both temporally and spiritually) like it is their job.  They live simply.  BUT, besides being a seminary teacher, my father is a great handy man who has always done everything himself....and he is an avid mountain biker who loves to share that passion with others.  So, needless to say,  there are quite a few valuable, albeit heavy, tools and mountain bikes.  Like 12 mountain bikes...maybe more.  And then my mother.....an avid reader an collector of knowledge and all things education.  Almost every classic she has ever read, she has in beautiful, leather bound, Easton Press, gold embossed gorgeous books.  Heavy books.  LOTS of books.  57 large boxes of books to be exact.  Who has 57 boxes of books - books you have read and plan to read again and again?  This woman does.  And everyone loves it.

So, to put it simply, they had more than their allotted weight limit.  So guess what?! Their favorite oldest daughter (moi) was the lucky recipient of a beautiful hutch/vanity, another smaller hutch, a couple of large dressers, a piano (that holds many memories for me), a coffee table, end table with lamp, piano lamp, and a lot of food storage (because food storage is heavy too!). So we put everything in its place and my home feels like a home, and it is a beautiful thing.  But what to do with all of this food storage - on top of my own food storage? And what in the world is "Teff"???!

I open one of these large barrels, and find it is full of these dark brown teeny-tiny seeds (or what looked like seeds).  Thank goodness it was labeled "Teff", or I would never have known.  According to this website this is what Teff is:

"Teff is a fine grain—about the size of a poppy seed—that comes in a variety of colors, from white and red to dark brown. Teff grows predominantly in Ethiopia and Eritrea, and thrives even in difficult climates. As such, it comprises the staple grain of their cuisines. The grain has a very mild, nutty flavor, and it packs a serious nutritional punch. Teff has an excellent balance of amino acids, and it is also high in protein, calcium, and iron. Ground into flour, teff is used to make the traditional bread, injera: a flat, pancake-like, fermented bread that complements the exotic spices found in the regional food. It can also be ground into flour to make an excellent gluten-free flour alternative, and can be used to make pie crusts, cookies, breads, and an assortment of other baked goods. Teff can also be eaten whole and steamed, boiled, or baked as a side dish or a main course.

Teff’s history traces back thousands of years,to ancient civilizations of Abyssinia, as a reliable support to our early ancestors’ survival. Attracted to its delicious taste, gluten-free composition, and versatility, more consumers are committing to teff. Along with other alternative grains like quinoa and millet, this grain has become well-known in the health foods community because of its great nutritional value.

Teff leads all the grains – by a wide margin – in its calcium content, with a cup of cooked teff offering 123mg, about the same amount of calcium as in a half-cup of cooked spinach. It’s also an excellent source of vitamin C—a nutrient not commonly found in grains—and also a good source of iron. Teff is high in resistant starch, a newly-discovered type of dietary fiber that can benefit blood sugar management, weight control, and colon health. It’s estimated that 20-40% of the carbohydrates in teff are resistant starches. A gluten-free grain with a mild flavor, teff is a healthy and versatile ingredient for many gluten-free products."

Right away I began to find ways to use Teff.  Our favorite is making a porridge, or hot cereal, out of it.  Once cooked into a hot cereal, it looks like chocolate malt-o-meal (Isaac introduced me to chocolate Malt-o-Meal when we were first married - before that, I didn't even know it existed). We love it with a little honey, cinnamon, chopped pecans, and Medjool dates or dried cranberries.  And (though we haven't tried it yet), you could try making it into a healthy chocolate Malt-o-meal by adding a little honey, salt, and straight cocoa powder (which by itself, unsweetened is rich in anti-oxidants and quite healthy) - and we always add a big scoop of crunchy Adams peanut butter (no sugar added, of course) to give a healthy dose of crunchy, protein.  Chocolate peanut butter breakfast, sans sugar?!!  Yes please!   I also like to chop up a bunch of fresh fruit like strawberries or peaches, or a handful of blueberries, with a dollop of yogurt and sprinkle of nuts or seeds (like chia), and then sprinkle a bit of teff  on top.  It adds a delightful little crunch to everything.

It got me thinking about food storage.  No matter what you have, you should be constantly using it, and then replenishing it.  Keep a variety of grains like wheat, oats, millet, Teff!, quinoa, rice, barley, etc... and legumes like black beans, kidney, garbanzo, pinto, etc on hand in big barrels and cycle through them for each meal, and once it becomes depleted, make sure to replenish it.  That way, you always have a fresh food storage - and you KNOW how to use it!  Learn how to use these grains, and how to cook beans.  You won't regret it!  The internet is an incredible source to look to for information about everything.  

In the Noah Webster 1828 Dictionary (which is my very favorite dictionary of all time), you will find the definition of the word "Provident".  Provident means "Foreseeing wants and making provision to supply them; forecasting; cautious; prudent in preparing for future exigences; as a provident man; a provident animal."  Living providentially is more than having a "back-up" or just having a bit of emergency preparedness food storage.  It's about using it in your day to day lives, replenishing, and being confident in your ability to use it - so that not only are you "prepared" by having things, but you are prepared because you know how to USE those things and you are very comfortable with it.  

Live long and prosper....providentially, of course!  :-)