What Foods To Stock in Case of Emergency

It seems I am writing a lot about food lately, but please bear with me. I came across this story today and thought it would be worthwhile to pass it along. I hope my readers find the information useful.


Best Foods to Stockpile for an Emergency

Natural disasters—such as a flood, hurricane, or blizzard—often come without warning. Stocking up on the right non-perishable food items will help you weather the storm with less stress.
by Vanessa DiMaggio

Aya Brackett

Fueling your body during an emergency is very different from your everyday diet. Because you’ll probably expend more energy than you normally would, you should eat high-energy, high-protein foods. And because you have a limited supply, the higher-quality foods you eat—and the less of them—the better. “In a disaster or an emergency you want those calories,” says Barry Swanson, a food scientist at Washington State University. “You want some nutrients and some fiber—something to keep your diet normal.”

But that doesn’t mean you have to eat like a pauper. “In an emergency, generally you tend to think of meeting more basic needs than preferences and flavors,” says Elizabeth Andress, professor and food safety specialist at the University of Georgia. “But if you plan right, you can have a great variety of foods and nutrients.” Here, Andress and Swanson weigh in on what items you should include.

What to Always Keep in Your Pantry

These items have lengthy expiration dates, so you can stash them away for long periods of time. Make a list of everything in your stockpile and check expiration dates every 6 to 12 months to keep things fresh. And don’t forget to have a can opener on hand at all times—all that food won’t be of any use if you can’t open it.

• Peanut butter
A great source of energy, peanut butter is chock-full of healthful fats and protein. Unless the jar indicates otherwise, you don’t have to refrigerate after opening.

• Whole-wheat crackers
Crackers are a good replacement for bread and make a fine substitute in sandwiches. Due to their higher fat content, whole-wheat or whole-grain crackers have a shorter shelf life than their plain counterparts (check the box for expiration dates), but the extra fiber pays off when you’re particularly hungry. Consider vacuum-packing your crackers to prolong their freshness.

• Nuts and trail mixes
Stock up on these high-energy foods—they’re convenient for snacking and healthful. Look for vacuum-packed containers, which prevent the nuts from oxidizing and losing their freshness.

• Cereal
Choose multigrain cereals that are individually packaged so they don’t become stale after opening.

• Granola bars and power bars
Healthy and filling, these portable snacks usually stay fresh for at least six months. Plus, they’re an excellent source of carbohydrates. “You can get more energy from carbohydrates without [eating] tons of food,” Andress says.

• Dried fruits, such as apricots and raisins
In the absence of fresh fruit, these healthy snacks offer potassium and dietary fiber. “Dried fruits provide you with a significant amount of nutrients and calories,” Swanson says.

• Canned tuna, salmon, chicken, or turkey
Generally lasting at least two years in the pantry, canned meats provide essential protein. Vacuum-packed pouches have a shorter shelf life but will last at least six months, says Diane Van, manager of the USDA meat and poultry hotline.

• Canned vegetables, such as green beans, carrots, and peas
When the real deal isn’t an option, canned varieties can provide you with essential nutrients.

• Canned soups and chili
Soups and chili can be eaten straight out of the can and provide a variety of nutrients. Look for low-sodium options.

• Bottled water
Try to stock at least a three-day supply--you need at least one gallon per person per day. “A normally active person should drink at least a half gallon of water each day,” Andress says. “The other half gallon is for adding to food and washing.”

• Sports drinks, such as Gatorade or Powerade
The electrolytes and carbohydrates in these drinks will help you rehydrate and replenish fluid when water is scarce.

• Powdered milk
Almost all dairy products require refrigeration, so stock this substitute for an excellent source of calcium and vitamin D when fresh milk isn’t an option.

• Sugar, salt, and pepper
If you have access to a propane or charcoal stove, you may be doing some cooking. A basic supply of seasonings and sweeteners will improve the flavor of your food, both fresh and packaged.

• Multivitamins
Supplements will help replace the nutrients you would have consumed on a normal diet.


What to Buy Right Before an Emergency

If you’ve been given ample warning that a storm is coming, there’s still time to run to the market and pick up fresh produce and other items that have shorter shelf lives. Most of these foods will last at least a week after they’ve been purchased and will give you a fresh alternative to all that packaged food. Make sure to swing by your local farmers’ market if it’s open; because the produce there is fresher than what you’ll find at your typical supermarket, you’ll add a few days to the lifespan of your fruits and vegetables.

• Apples
Apples last up to three months when stored in a cool, dry area away from more perishable fruits (like bananas), which could cause them to ripen more quickly.

• Citrus fruits, such as oranges and grapefruits
Because of their high acid content and sturdy skins, citrus fruits can last for up to two weeks without refrigeration, particularly if you buy them when they’re not fully ripe. Oranges and grapefruits contain lots of vitamin C and will keep you hydrated.

• Avocadoes
If you buy an unripe, firm avocado, it will last outside the refrigerator for at least a week.

• Tomatoes
If you buy them unripe, tomatoes will last several days at room temperature.

• Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and yams
If you have access to a working stove, these root vegetables are good keepers and make tasty side dishes. Stored in a cool, dark area, potatoes will last about a month.

• Cucumbers and summer squash
These vegetables will last a few days outside of refrigeration and can be eaten raw.

• Winter squash
While most are inedible uncooked, winter squashes, such as acorn squash, will keep for a few months. If you’ll be able to cook during the emergency, stockpile a bunch.

• Hard, packaged sausages, such as sopressata and pepperoni
You can’t eat canned tuna and chicken forever. Try stocking up on a few packages of dry-cured salamis like sopressata, a southern Italian specialty available at most grocery stores. Unopened, they will keep for up to six weeks in the pantry, Van says.

More Food Advice for an Emergency

• If the electricity goes out, how do you know what is and isn’t safe to eat from the refrigerator? If your food has spent more than four hours over 40 degrees Fahrenheit, don’t eat it. As long as frozen foods have ice crystals or are cool to the touch, they’re still safe. “Once it gets to be room temperature then bacteria forms pretty quickly, and you want to be very careful about what you’re eating,” Swanson says. Keep the doors closed on your refrigerator and freezer to slow down the thawing process.

• If you don’t have electricity, you may still be able to cook or heat your food. If you have outdoor access, a charcoal grill or propane stove is a viable option (these can’t be used indoors because of improper ventilation). If you’re stuck indoors, keep a can of Sterno handy: Essentially heat in a can, it requires no electricity and can warm up small amounts of food in cookware.

• If your family has special needs—for example, you take medication regularly or you have a small child—remember to stock up on those essential items, too. Keep an extra stash of baby formula and jars of baby food or a backup supply of your medications.

• If you live in an area at high risk for flooding, consider buying all your pantry items in cans, as they are less likely to be contaminated by flood waters than jars. “It’s recommended that people don’t eat home-canned foods or jarred foods that have been exposed to flood waters because those seals are not quite as intact,” Andress says.

More Scary Stuff About Food

The Truth About Your Food

By David Zinczenko
Jun 11, 2010

Buzz

Eat This, Not That

by David Zinczenko

Recent Posts

Simpler is always better.

Think about it: Would you rather have your job made simpler, or more complicated? How about your relationship? Your finances? Those instructions to assembling your new IKEA bookshelf?

Simpler, right?

Okay, how about your diet? Wouldn't you prefer to make your diet simpler as well? Especially if you knew that simpler was also healthier? Then why do so many of us insist on choosing the most complicated foods we can find, when the simplest foods are always better?

Case in point: Let's say you had a choice between two seemingly similar products. Both had about the same number of calories, and had similar tastes. Based on these ingredient lists, which would you choose?

Beverage #1: Water; high fructose corn syrup; concentrated juices of orange, tangerine, apple, lime and/or grapefruit; citric acid; ascorbic acid; beta-carotene; thiamin hydrochloride; natural flavors; modified food starch; canola oil; cellulose gum; xanthan gum; sodium hexametaphosphate; sodium benzoate; yellow dyes #5 and 6.

Beverage #2: Fresh-squeezed orange juice.

If you picked beverage #2, you'd be getting three times the vitamin C and about one-eighth the sodium, as well as a nice hit of calcium. But if you picked #1, then you'd be getting a nutritional cocktail made up primarily of water and high fructose corn syrup, with a variety of scary surprises. (Canola oil?!)

Yet many of us pick #1 on a regular basis—those are the ingredients for Sunny Delight original, by the way—because we seem dead-set on complicating our diets. And complicated is always bad. Simpler is always better. (Speaking of nutritionally empty drinks, watch out for these gut-busters with ingredients most of us could never, ever pronounce—this shocking list of the 20 Worst Drinks in America. Take them in even as a weekly treat and you could be adding an extra pound or two of belly fat a month.)

Check out the four popular processed foods below. Each violates the Eat This, Not That! cardinal rule—which is to say, they're just too complicated. Wait till you discover some of the junk we found hiding in each.

What's Really In …
NACHO CHEESE DORITOS (11 chips)
150 calories
8 g fat (1.5 g saturated)
180 mg sodium

The concept is, well, sort of brilliant: Nachos and cheese without the hassle of a microwave. Or even a plate, for that matter. You just tear open the bag and start snarfing. And as a parting gift, Dorito's leave your fingers sticky with something that looks like radioactive bee pollen. Now here's the question: Do you have any clue what's in that stuff? Here you go:

To create each Dorito, the Frito-Lay food scientists draw from a well of 39 different ingredients. How many does it take to make a regular tortilla chip? About three. That means some 36 ingredients wind up in that weird cheese fuzz. Of those 36, only two are ingredients you'd use to make nachos at home: Romano and cheddar cheeses. Alongside those are a cache of empty carbohydrate fillers like dextrin, maltodextrin, dextrose, flour, and corn syrup solids. Then come a rotating cast of oils. Depending on what bag you get, you might find any combination of corn oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, and sunflower oil. Some of those will be partially hydrogenated, meaning they give the chip a longer shelf life and spike your heart with a little shot of trans fat. (The reason you won't see this on the nutrition label is that FDA guidelines allow food manufacturers to "round down" to zero.)

And then, after the fats and nutritionally empty starches, there's a seasoning blend, which includes things like sugar, "artificial flavoring," and a rather worrisome compound called monosodium glutamate. Monosodium glutamate, or MSG, is the flavor enhancer largely responsible for the chip's addicting quality. The drawback is that it interferes with the production of an appetite-regulating hormone called leptin. A study of middle-aged Chinese people found a strong correlation between MSG consumption and body fat. What's more, the FDA receives new complaints every year from people who react violently to MSG, suffering symptoms like nausea, headaches, burning sensation, numbness, chest pains, dizziness, and so on. Talk about radioactive bee pollen.


What's Really In …
SUBWAY 9-GRAIN WHEAT (6")
210 calories
2 g fat (0.5 g saturated)
410 mg sodium

Okay, so you're probably not in the habit of ordering a la carte bread loaves at Subway, but there’s a good chance you've eaten at least a few sandwiches built on this bread. The good news is that Subway actually delivers on the nine-grain promise. The bad news: Eight of those nine grains appear in miniscule amounts. If you look at a Subway ingredient statement, you'll find every grain except wheat listed at the bottom of the list, just beneath the qualifier "contains 2% or less." In fact, the primary ingredient in this bread is plain old white flour, and high-fructose corn syrup plays a more prominent role than any single whole grain. Essentially this is a white-wheat hybrid with trace amounts of other whole grains like oats, barley, and rye.

So outside of the nine grains, how many ingredients does Subway use to keep this bread together? Sixteen, including such far-from-simple ingredients as DATEM, sodium steroyl lactylate, calcium sulfate, and azodiacarbonamide. But here's one that's a little unnerving: ammonium sulfate. This compound is loaded with nitrogen, which is why it's most common use is as fertilizer. You might have used it to nourish your plants at home. And Subway does the same thing; the ammonium sulfate nourishes the yeast and helps the bread turn brown. What, did you think that dark hue was the result of whole grains? Hardly. It's a combination of the ammonium sulfate and the caramel coloring. Seems like Jarod might frown on that sort of subterfuge.

Of course, in terms of calories, Subway's still one of your best allies in the sandwich game. But here's an even better idea: Whip up one of these 25 best sandwiches in America at home in minutes. You'll save calories, money, and precious time.

What's Really In …
ORIGINAL SKITTLES (1 pack)
250 calories
2.5 g fat (2.5 g saturated)
47 g sugars

They're sweet, chewy, and brightly colored. Now, what are they? Well, the basic formula for each chewy neon orb is a gross mashup of sugar, corn syrup, and hydrogenated palm kernal oil. That explains why every gram of fat is saturated and each package has more sugar than two twin-wrapped packages of Peanut Butter Twix.

So those three ingredients plus a few extra fillers are basically all it takes to get the general consistency and flavor, but to achieve that color spectrum, Skittles brings in a whole new list of additives. When a Skittles ad tells you to "taste the rainbow," what it's really telling you to do is taste the laboratory-constructed amalgam of nine artificial colors, many of which have been linked to behavioral and attention-deficit problems in children. A few years ago the British journal Lancet published a study linking the artificial additives to hyperactivity and behavioral problems in children, which prompted the Center for Science in the Public Interest to petition the FDA for mandatory labels on artificially colored products. The FDA's response: We need more tests.

In the meantime, there's a very large-scale test going on all across the country, and every Skittles eater is an unwilling participant. And that doesn't even factor in the blood-sugar roller coaster you go on when you ingest a Skittles' bag worth of sugar.

Of course, Skittles look like broccoli, nutritionally speaking, compared to the foods on our new must-know roundup of the 20 Worst Foods in America. Read how there could be more than a day's worth of calories, sugar, and heart-harming trans fats—in a single fast-food or chain-restaurant meal! (More importantly, learn what you should eat instead.)

What's Really In …
TACO BELL MEXICAN PIZZA
540 calories
30 g fat (8 g saturated)
1,020 mg sodium

It's Italian, it's Mexican, it's . . . well, it's got a whopping 64 different ingredients, so it's hard to tell just what exactly it is. On the face of it, this meal doesn't look too bad. There are two pizza shells, ground beef, beans, pizza sauce, tomatoes, and three cheeses. Nothing alarming, right? Even the nutritional vital signs, while high, compare favorably to most fast-food pizzas. It only gets scary when you zoom in on what it takes to stitch those pieces together. That's when you see all of those 64 smaller ingredients, including an astounding 24 in the ground beef alone. Yikes.

Now, some of those ingredients amount to little more than Mexican seasonings and spices, but there are also loads of complex compounds such as autolyzed yeast extract, maltodextrin, xanthan gum, calcium propionate, fumaric acid, and silicon dioxide. Any of those sound familiar? That last one might—if you've spent any time at the beach. But chances are you normally refer to it by its common name: sand.

That's right, sand is made from fragmented granules of rock and mineral, and the most common of them is silicon dioxide, or silica. This is also the stuff that helps strengthen concrete and—when heated to extreme temperatures—that hardens to create glass bottles and windowpanes.

So why exactly does Taco Bell put sand in the Mexican Pizza? To make it taste like spring break in Cancun? Not quite. As it turns out, Taco Bell adds silica to the beef to prevent it from clumping together during shipping and processing. The restaurant uses the same anti-caking strategy with the chicken, shrimp, and rice.

Is it unusual to add silica to food? Yes. Is it dangerous? Probably not. The mineral actually occurs naturally in all sorts of foods like vegetables and milk.

Even so, you can save hundreds of calories if you just make your pizza at home, with this simple recipe from our latest book, Cook This, Not That! Kitchen Survival Guide.

In fact, learn how to cook restaurant meals at home--and save up to 3 pounds a week!--with these 15 simple and delicious meals that can help you lose weight . . . fast! Discover favorite foods that can whittle your middle in just minutes a day.

And get daily food and nutrition secrets with your FREE weekly Cook This, Not That! and Eat This, Not That! newsletters. It'll be like having your own personal weight-loss coach and nutritionist!

Slow News Day for Money Department on MSN

I just saw an article entitled: 5 Billionaires Living Below Their Means. I mean, really?!? However do they do that?

I Had A Dream .....

Free Food

Ok, if you want to eat REALLY cheap... check out this link.

http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/wild-foods-eating-insects/26x0d1uj

Health Watch

You may have seen this story already. I just read it myself because I was astounded that any meal could contain over 4,000 calories! 4,000!!! That's more than two days worth of calories for the average woman - all packed into just one meal! EVer wonder what you are actually taking in? I do. I've seen my waistline increase regarless (it seems) of what I think I am doing to prevent it.

It's too bad that restaurants don't make us pay for food by the calorie! We might be a healthier country overall if that happened!

KFC's Double Down is healthy! (uh, compared to these meals ... )

user

• by The_Stir, on Thu Apr 29, 2010 7:02pm PDT

Flickr photo by Prince Roy

Now I know why I never take my family out to eat. It's only partly because it costs a fortune and because my kids will sit for all of seven minutes before the game of hide-and-seek under other patrons' tables starts up -- but it's because of those awful CALORIES.

Enter KFC's Double Down, 540 calories of salty bacon and cheese goodness sandwiched between fried chicken. You've heard a lot of talk about this. The guys in my office are in love with this sandwich and regularly make a lunchtime pilgrimage.

I've privately cringed at the thought of such a high-fat lunch, but recently the The Week featured a list of seven popular chain-restaurant meals that make KFC's now infamous Double Down sandwich look like something they'd serve at a weight-loss spa.

I honestly didn't think it possible to cram upward of 4,000 calories and 4,000 mg of salt (twice the recommended daily intake) into a singular midday meal, but here's just a few to prove me wrong.

Beef Back Ribs from Claim Jumper = 4,301 calories and 7,623 mg of salt

Fresh Mex Sampler from Chevys = 2,560 calories and 4,130 mg of salt

Jalapeno Smokehouse Burger from Chili's = 2,130 calories and 6,460 mg of salt

I'm surprised no one mentioned that onion from Outback Steakhouse. I don't even want to know ... find more of America's Worst Meals at The Week.

Truthfully, I wasn't shocked about the ribs and burgers being bad for you. But, upon further investigation, I was quite stunned to find that some of the so-called healthy foods I eat for lunch on a regular basis could give the Double-Down a run for its money. Maybe I'll reconsider joining the gang for the next lunch trip ...

Falafel. Deep fried and alone -- without the yogurt sauce that makes them so tasty -- these can run 230 calories per ball or patty, and I always eat at least two or three. In a pita, no less.

Rice and bean burrito. The beans are a great source of protein and fiber, but add the high-calorie rice, wrap, and sour cream that makes them so gooey and yummy and you've got a major fat blast -- upward of 600 calories or more.

Pizza. Even when I use the power towel trick and go with a more authentic, pizza parlor slice with a thin whole-wheat crust and minimal cheese, I'm looking roundabouts at 250 calories a slice. And it's impossible to only eat one. I mean, that crust is so thin ...

Salad. All the good stuff is ruined by the bad stuff we pour on top of it. Whether made with oil such as balsamic vinagrette or cream-based like French or blue cheese, salad dressings are mostly all fat and range from 40 to 90 calories a spoonful. Again, stop at just one? Not me!

Money Saving Tips From Readers and Other Sources

And A Few More ideas from readers and other sources:
(Also check out the comments in the previous post.)

Here is a good website with more tips to save money. http://www.money-while-you-sleep.biz/50-ways-to-save-money.html

Don’t throw away “dead” batteries. Remove them from your radio and use them in quartz clocks. These clocks take such a small amount of power that batteries too weak to run anything else may have enough power to run a clock for a while.

Wash and reuse plastic bags.

Hang your laundry on the line to dry. Save on dryer sheets and electricity, and I guarantee you will love the fresh scent of Mother Nature!

Get rid of cable. Who needs 100 channels of crap?

During the winter, leave the oven open after you cook to heat the house.

Buy gender neutral baby clothing so you can use them again with the next baby.

Make your kids Halloween costumes. It’s cheaper and more fun. Those will be the costumes they remember most.

Start an errand Service. Offer to pick up groceries or dry cleaning for others.

Waiting service. People these days don’t have time to wait on the plumber of cable guy. Charge by the hour to do the waiting for other people.

Buy back packs that your kids can use for years. While they might think the Sponge Bob Square pants one is cool in 2nd grade, they probably won’t think it’s cool in 4th.

Use kitchen towels and cloth napkins instead of paper products. Stop using plastic straws, you know how to drink out of a cup?! Avoid buying/taking plastic utensils. If you must, bring home, wash, and reuse. Most can be washed in dishwasher.

Before you purchase anything online, go to Google and search for the name of the store + coupon and see if anything comes up. You will be pleasantly surprised how many coupon codes are available online.

Turn off the TV! Did you know that leaving the television on is the number one electricity waster in the world? When everyone is finished watching television, especially before going to sleep, turn it off.

Instead of buying things new, get them used or for free on Craigslist.com or Freecycle.org

At the grocery store look down. Items below eye level are often cheaper.

Holy Cow! I can't believe it has been so long since I've added to my blog! Things have been incredibly busy, as I'm sure they have been for most of you. It's a full time job just trying to survive these tough economic times!

UPDATE: Bear was found! He went to PAWS Animal Shelter and they found him a great new home within two weeks! Though I have no way to contact his new owners, they were kind enough to call me and let me know he had a forever home with home with them. I couldn't be happier for the little guy!

HELP! Since things have been so difficult financially for so many people, I am asking you all to please write in with ideas on how to save money. We could all benefit from things you may be doing to save money or make extra cash.

My money saving info for today is: Aluminum has gone up in price, so save those cans (most cat food cans are also made of aluminum, BTW) and cash them in! A penny saved is a penny earned! Click on "comments" below this article to add yours or view ideas from others.

Video Of Bear

Hello! Please help us find Bear. Read the story below and please pass it on in any way you can as soon as possible. Time is of the essence! Every minute counts! Thank you!

This Christmas, we tried to do something nice. There was this dog who was living outside in rural Missouri. Several people got together to bring the dog back here to Chicago to a new and loving home, just in time for Christmas. The process of finding him a home took a few months, and coordinating the three legs of the trip took some effort, but finally, FINALLY, last week we did it! Bear, a two year old beagle mix found a lifelong loving home in Oak Park. Great story, right?

Well, having lived outside for all of his young life, Bear did not have any training and on Thursday, he pulled too hard on his leash and got loose. Terrified, he ran with the lease dragging behind him, and ran, and ran. His new owners searched for him for hours, and called local shelters, the police, everyone they could think of. He still has not been found. The two little girls who thought they had a new friend for Christmas are heartbroken. It will not be Christmas for them without Bear.

Please help us to find Bear! The whole purpose of bringing him here was to give him a good loving home where he would be warm and fed and loved. He is probably out there somewhere scared to death of the big city and doesn't know his way home. Won't you please pass this to everyone you know on Facebook, Twitter, Email, any way possible and help Bear find his way home for Christmas? He is a beautiful young dog with a loving spirit.

A dog expert that I know, recommends offering him a McDonalds burger (no onions as they are toxic for dogs). He was still wearing a red harness and if you try to catch him you would have to be careful that he doesn't pull backwards or he will be able to pull out of the harness. He could be hiding under a house, in someone's garage or shed. He may be too scared to come to you, so please call me right away if you see him. Thank you so much for caring!

Thank you.
Dancy Bateman
847-710-3987

Random Acts of Kindness

During these difficult economic times, it can be hard to take our focus off of our own problems. However, there is so much we can each do to bring happiness to others, which in turn can bring happiness to ourselves. Please check out this link to Random Acts of Kindness that we can ALL do.

And remember, when someone does something nice for you - pay it forward! You will be amazed at how a small act of kindness can make a big difference!

http://www.actsofkindness.org/images/downloads/original/RAK_group_and_individual_ideas.pdf

You may have to cut and paste this to your browser.
Thanks for reading my blog, and have a GREAT day!!!

Folk Remedies

Great new folk remedies by my friend the Snow Leopard! If the link below does not work, please cut and paste to your browser.

http://the-snow-leopard.blogspot.com/2009/10/random-acts-of-folk-remedies-or-mother.html?showComment=1254779555721#c2379774620612096189

What other folk remedies might benefit others? Would love to post them here!

Mother Nature Knows Best

Check out this link to see how some schools are putting a new plan into action - breakfast and lunch plans, that is!

http://www.therealfoodchannel.com/page/31.html

Please cut and paste to your browser.

Johnny Crawford

Last night while watching Svengooli's feature film The Village of the Giants, I recognized one of my old TV favorites, Johnny Crawford, from The Rifleman. Out of curiosity, I searched the web for information on what became of him. Here is what I found:


You wouldn't think a former rodeo cowboy would end up leading a dance band that specializes in music from the '20s and '30s, but readers may recognize the name Johnny Crawford for another reason: For five years, Crawford played Mark McCain, Chuck Connors' son on one of the most memorable Westerns from the early years of network TV, "The Rifleman."

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Crawford, now 63, has amassed a lengthy resume over the years. In addition to his current job leading the Johnny Crawford Dance Orchestra, he's an Army veteran, stage and film actor, former teenage heartthrob and one of the Mouseketeers from the first season of "The Mickey Mouse Club" in 1955.

Those who remember Crawford on that show (Disney dropped his option when they pared the kiddie crop from 24 to 12 after 1955) or his Emmy-nominated role in "The Rifleman" may wonder how Crawford managed to survive the pressures of being a child star and, in his teenage years, a pop star ("Daydreams," "Patti Ann," "Cindy's Birthday"). But talk to him now and you'll quickly understand why: It has to do with the combination of a centered upbringing and having so many other interests he probably never had time to crash and burn.

"I always say that life is not easy for anybody," he says by phone from his Los Angeles office. "People hear about the young actors who have a rough life, but there are plenty of other kids who aren't actors who have a rough time, too, and I don't know if the ratio is any different."

In the late '80s, a two-year stint as a vocalist for Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks convinced Crawford that he could make a living performing the music from the '20s and '30s that he obsessively loves. He formed his dance orchestra in 1990 and is reissuing the band's 2008 CD, "Sweepin' the Clouds Away" this month. It's already available online and will be in record stores by June 16, his publicist swears, although Crawford the perfectionist is still tinkering with it.

Musical family

Crawford came by his musical interest through family ties. His paternal grandfather had been a jockey in Chicago, but a fall from a horse redirected his career toward music. He became first a song plugger and later an important music publisher. Although he died before Crawford was born, his grandfather left a trove of sheet music and original recordings that his grandson fell in love with.

"My parents bought a record player for my brother (former actor Bobby Crawford) and me, for our room, and I grew up playing these dance band records - Eileen Stanley recordings, Paul Whiteman. I just loved 'em."

Inevitably, as he became a teenager, he "got sidetracked by Johnny Ray and Frankie Laine, but then I would every once in a while put on one of those old dance band records. And early on I remember thinking, this is really wonderful and it doesn't sound like any of this other stuff I was hearing."

His mother's side of the family was also musical, he adds. His maternal grandfather was a violinist who became concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic in 1918 and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the late '20s, and his mother was a classically trained pianist who continued to play at home even after she developed her acting career.

When Crawford was just 5, a producer wanted to cast him in a stage play.

"My mother, who was still doing theater work around L.A. at the time, was not comfortable with the idea of us getting into acting," Crawford says. "She was afraid it would lead to disappointment. So they put it to me. I felt kind of guilty that I should want to do it, but I said, 'Yeah, I'd like to do that.' "

One of first Mousketeers

After a number of small parts in film, theater and TV, he was tapped as one of the original Mouseketeers when Disney unleashed the daily "Mickey Mouse Club," in glorious black and white, and changed the whole notion of children's TV in the United States. For millions of Baby Boomer kids, even more than "Howdy Doody," "Hopalong Cassidy" or "Kukla, Fran and Ollie," "Mickey Mouse" became destination TV.

Although disappointed to lose the Mouseketeer gig, Crawford kept working between 1956 and the start of "The Rifleman" in 1958. Like lots of kids in the '50s, Crawford was nuts about Westerns, but he kept getting overlooked for those parts because he didn't look like the blond, muscular idea of an American kid. Finally, a role in what he calls "a grade-B movie that was really a grade-C movie," "The Courage of Black Beauty," enabled him to learn to ride horses, and that made him more attractive when the next big Western part came along.

"The Rifleman" was originally an episode of "The Zane Grey Theater," a TV series produced by former film crooner Dick Powell. As excited as he was to be doing a Western, Crawford was just as thrilled to be working for Powell because he was already a fan of music and film musicals from the '20s and '30s. Powell at first thought the 12-year-old "was putting him on," Crawford says, "when I asked him about 'Hollywood Hotel.' "

After "The Rifleman" ended, Crawford kept working, snagging roles in TV and film. He has more than 60 TV credits to his name, appeared in films such as "El Dorado" and "The Naked Ape," spent two years in the Army before his discharge in 1967 and then turned to stage work until he formed the orchestra.

Although Crawford keeps contact information for some 500 musicians he can call on to work with the orchestra, it's not always as easy as just picking up the phone.

"Trying to play the music in an authentic style that is no longer used is a real challenge, and I find I have better luck with younger musicians," he concedes. "They don't have as much attitude."

Authenticity is important to Crawford's music, which is why many of the familiar songs on his album, such as "Isn't It Romantic" and "You Were Meant for Me," may not sound like the versions we heard at our cousin's wedding or even on original recordings and old films. One reason has to do with the limitations of early recording equipment. But the real difference has to do with the orchestrations, Crawford explains. Today, "wedding bands" will offer predictable arrangements of classic songs in a single key. But the original orchestrations were far more complicated, with key and tempo changes that might vary from orchestra to orchestra.

More to the point, the orchestrations were meant for unamplified performances in concert halls and hotel ballrooms that were specifically designed for orchestral performances.

"My CD is really about the orchestrations," Crawford says. "This music is so rich, and what's exciting is that, because of the Internet and iTunes, young people can discover it for the first time."

Today, Johnny Crawford lives in Los Angeles and is separated from his wife, Charlotte, the high school sweetheart he reconnected with in 1990 and married five years later.

These days, rodeos and "The Rifleman" may be behind him, but you don't get the idea he's wallowing in the past.

Except, of course, for the music he's loved since he was just a little kid, playing his grandfather's old 78s on his bedroom record player.

"Sweepin' the Clouds Away" is available at www.cdbaby. com.

Hear a young Johnny Crawford sing Cindy's Birthday

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=36155903

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/07/PK4E17UQVU.DTL#ixzz0RgrjQcT6

Free Clothing!

What a great idea my friend had! Host a clothing exchange in your home or church.

Here's how it works: Everyone brings clothes in good condition that they or members of their family no longer wear. Whomever brings items to exchange gets to look through the clothing, try things on, choose whatever clothing they would like to take home, and enjoy each others company. If there are any clothes left at the end of the evening, it can be donated to the charity of your choice. This is a great way to get rid of clothes you no longer wear and get new ones without spending any money! With Fall emerging, this is an especially good time to trade seasonal clothing.

For a little twist, you can have everyone bring a nonperishable food donation for your local food pantry. Many food pantries are struggling and with the colder months just ahead, it is only going to get worse. You can do this with food, toiletries, or anything that someone else can use.

To put a different spin on the exchange, make it a theme centered around children. Bring their outgrown clothes or toys. You can even work out play dates or offer to exchange babysitting services.

What other kinds of ideas can you come up with? We would love to hear from you!

In loving memory of Roscoe
1994 - 2009

Back from the North Woods

I can't believe it has been so long since my last post! It has been too long indeed!

We vacationed to the North Woods in July, and had another unique experience. Every year is just a little bit different. The lake has a spirit of its own and we have seen several of its faces. This year it showed us yet another. Whitecaps dominated the surface and we were unable to take the boat out until Friday of the first week.The weather was cold, blustery, and rainy with temperatures reaching the low 40's at night and barely touching the 50's and 60's during the day.

The second week was much better weather wise with partly sunny to sunny skies and daytime temps in the upper 60's. Nights were still cold as the temps dove back down to the 40's, but it was great for sleeping! Finally, we were able to get out on the water and we caught over a dozen beautiful small mouth bass to bring home to savor throughout the balance of the summer, and perhaps even into the fall.

Bass fishing is by far my most favorite! The thrill of that strike and the experience of bringing in even the smaller bass is something I will enjoy for a long, long time! I love catching the larger ones but, even the little guys can put up a good fight!

Both my honey and I love it up there! We do a lot of fishing - mostly along the shoreline - but we are happy just to be there and take in all that nature has to offer. We love to stop and smell the pines, go for a hike, or even take a dip in the cold waters during the heat of the day. But we REALLY enjoy spotting wildlife!

The lake is teaming with loons, and various species of duck. The loons will sometimes hang around us as we sit anchored in our favorite channel. What a wonderful call they have! A pair of loons even staked out our little bay one night to mate by the light of the full moon! Have you ever heard loons mate? Interesting, to say the least!

Deer were plentiful as usual. But the 3 or 4 pairs of eagles that we normally see were somewhat scarce this year and I suspect it had something to do with the weather, as other species that are typically seen in abundance were suspiciously not present this year. We did not see any beaver, muskrat, or foxes as we usually do.

We have been going up to the same lake for about 5 years now. The first two years, we were gifted with the sight of a white wolf not far from our lake! How exciting! We look for the wolf every year but have not seen it since. And never have we seen a wild moose.

Our camp has been visited by a bear or two for the last three years in a row, but we have never seen them personally. However, as we were leaving the cabin for the last time this season, a black bear slowly lumbered across the two lane rural road about 200 yards in front of our car. I was blown away!

Our trip had been cut short by the death of our beloved dog, Roscoe, who was approximately 15 years old. As we left the cabin, I carried with me a terribly empty feeling, and secretly hoped to see a black wolf in the wild before we left. Why a black wolf, you may ask? Because Roscoe, being a shepard/lab mix, had a very wolf-like appearance, and I had hoped for some sign from him that he knew how much he had meant to us, and how broken hearted we were to have lost him and not been there with him when he died. I had decided that a black wolf would be a good sign.

That was when the bear came along. At first glance, my heart skipped a beat thinking it might be the wolf I was waiting for. It took only a second to see that it was not, but it was a gift just the same, and I accepted the gift with reverence. I feel blessed anytime I see a wild animal.

During our trip home, we contemplated going back in the fall as we often do, but I realized it would be too difficult to get away. Autumn is such a magical time and I will make time this year to enjoy it wherever I may be. I hope you will, too.

Do you have any photos of wildlife that you would like to share? If so, please send it to me at the following email address: Mrider_21@yahoo.com and I will post it here on my blog.

Great Website!

A good friend of mine sent me this link to the Hillbilly Housewife website. It is a very interesting source of information on being frugal. I had a chance to look it over and must say that there are some very interesting tips and ideas. The recipes also sound delicious! Check it out at:

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/homemadeconveniencefoods.htm

I Did It!

I can't believe it, Folks, but I actually canceled my account on Facebook! Why? You may ask. It's a terrific tool for networking, for finding long lost friends, and for keeping in touch. So what was the problem? I was addicted, for one. I felt compelled to check it often throughout the day, when my time would have been better spent doing things that I really should have been doing. However, when I began to feel the urge to check the site while waiting in traffic, I knew it was time to let go. Yes, I admit it. I was a Facebook junkie!

So, now that I have pulled the plug, it will be interesting to see how well I fill my time, and how well I keep in touch with those I care about - which include all of my Facebook Friends. Let's hope that I can restructure and re-prioritize so that I may slow my pace just a bit and get on with the business of living instead of frantically trying to keep up with the daily doings on FB. Oh boy! I can feel the jitters already! :-) I'm hoping my FB friends will not forget me and will tune into my blog regularly.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Check out My Favorite Links!

Please take a moment to check out my favorite links at the bottom of this page.

My friend Sue is an expert camper and has started an incredible new site called How In Tents! She also has a blog called The Snow Leopard. I'm sure you will enjoy her short stories and anecdotes.

If you have a favorite site that you think readers may be interested in, please include it in the comments of this posting.

Thanks!

To Continue.....

As some of you may know, I stopped contributing to my blog due to a disagreement with Adsense. So there will be no more ads on this blog for the time being.

I have been asked by a number of you to continue my blog, and so for now, I think I will do that. It is fun, and I hope that you all get something out of it as well. Please feel free to continue commenting and making suggestions. My goal is to post items that not only interest my readers, but also involve them and perhaps in some way, will be of help. Let's see what we can do with this!

And a big THANK YOU to my loyal followers whoever you are!