Where should you start?
Make a menu for 2 weeks or a month. Make sure the menu is a balanced menu. Include healthy vegetables, a serving of meat, fruit, milk or dairy product and a bread. Then, write down everything it takes to create that menu. If your menu is for 2 weeks, multiply the ingredients times 26 (as there are 52 weeks in a year). Include the minute things such as salt or sugar, flour, etc. After all, remember, you’re not going to the grocery store down the street. The groceries are in your food storage pantry. As an example, say every Saturday, you’re going to have chili and crackers. For a family of 2, you are moderate to light eaters, you need 1-2 cans of chili beans or 2 cups of cooked (dry) pinto beans and a 8 ounces of hamburger. For the chili you are going to add 1 tablespoon of chili powder, 1 teaspoon of salt, garlic and onion powder. Crackers, that’s approximately 5 crackers per serving in our household. Just the essentials, for 1 year, you need 52-104 cans of chili beans or about 45 pounds of pinto beans and 26 pounds of hamburger for 2 people. (Tip: When calculating, 2 cups of legumes weigh approximately 1 pound) Included are the spices. I don’t calculate per teaspoon, but since we like our foods with a bit of flavor, we lay up at the very least 15 jars each of the favorite spices we use to last 1 year. That’s more than enough for the 2 of us. Do you see where I’m going with this? Try to think of meals that can be made with the staples that you can store. Seasonal items, lettuce, fresh cantaloupe, those things you can grow in your home garden are going to be considered treats and add to the food bounty at that particular time of the year.

Take into consideration meal planning that is not only functional, but nutritious. I couldn't upload the USDA Food Pyramid picture, but this is what it states:

Oils, fats, Sweets are at the top of the pyramid. Use these sparingly.
Milk, Yogurt and Cheese group > 2-3 servings per day
Meat, Poultry, Eggs, Fish and Nuts> 2-3 servings per day
Vegetable Group> 3-5 servings per day
Fruit Group> 2-4 servings per day
Breads, Pasta, Rice,Cereal > 6-11 servings per day


Based on the USDA’s recommendations, the following is considered the equivalent of 1 serving.


Milk, yogurt, cheese
1 Cup milk or yogurt, 1-1/2 ounces natural cheese, 2 ounces processed cheese

Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, Nuts
2-3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry, fish, ½ cup of cooked dry beans, 1 egg or 2 Tablespoons peanut butter count as 1 ounce of lean, cooked meat

Vegetables
1 cup of raw leafy vegetables ½ cup of other vegetables, cooked or chopped, raw, ¾ cup of vegetable juice

Fruit
1 medium apple, banana, orange ½ cup of chopped, cooked or canned fruit, ¾ cup of fruit juice

Bread, Rice, Cereal, Pasta
1 slice of bread, 1 ounce of ready-to-eat cereal, ½ cup of cooked rice, cereal or pasta