Food ideas in case power goes our during the hurricane??

[mom26]

We are stocked with water, fridge and freezer are stocked too but this does us no good if the power goes out. What staples would you have on hand to keep the family nourished in such an event? There are 8 of us...all but 2 are big eaters...any ideas? We have a propane grill but anything I'd cook would be in the fridge except for maybe soup or canned beans etc...

Would love to hear what others are doing!!

Thanks!

[Mom in High Heels]

I'm not in the US now, but I've been through many hurricanes. One thing we always made sure to have on hand was tuna. If you eat it, cans of corned beef hash, spam or potted meat.

Fruits and veggies and even eggs don't need to be in the fridge. Snacks such as dried fruit, fruit/nut/oat bars (quaker, etc), instant oat meal (boil water on the grill), crackers, pretzels, etc.

[Carrie12345]

I've been making enough ice to turn my chest freezer and coolers into refrigerators for a couple of days.

After that, we have bread, peanut butter, tuna fish, canned fruits and vegetables, canned soups, pasta and jarred sauces, boxed cereal, oatmeal, some protein bars, dried beef... and I'm not sure what else without going upstairs. Oh, water, of course!

 

I don't consider my pantry to be stocked well for any major, long-term "event" right now, but it's enough to let us pretend we're on a camping vacation for a week or so.

[Pretty in Pink]

I picked up extra:

 

dry cereal

shelf-stable milk

Nesquick (to make the milk palatable)

baked beans

tuna salad/cracker kits

bread

peanut butter/jelly

granola bars

canned chicken breast

fruit

[Bassoonaroo]

I hope that the power stays on for you but realize it's a huge possibility that it goes out.

 

I grew up in Florida and went through the drill regularly. We got hit hard with Eloise (1975, I think) and lost our power for three days, and I even remember Camille (1968 or 9) vaguely.

 

The good thing is that utility companies are better now and can restore power and fresh water quicker than they could 30 or 40 years ago.

 

Your first priority is water. You can fill up all your juice pitchers and rinsed-out milk jugs with water (not how you'd want to store water for a long time, but for a few days it works fine). Or you can buy water in gallon jugs or individual bottles. Buy a lot and drink it over the next few months.

 

Do you have all the medicine, diapers, and pet supplies you need?

 

Bleach out the bathtub(s) and fill it with water now. You can use it to flush toilets when it gets gross there. And if they announce that water will be off for a while, since you bleached the tub(s) you can drink the water.

 

You are right to look for foods that don't need refrigeration. However, it would be good to have a big cooler with blue ice or ice (start making it and bagging it now -- you can always drink it as it melts).

 

Before the power goes out, eat those leftovers in the frig!

 

Have paper plates, paper/foam cups, and disposable flatware in case the water supply is bad for a few days. You can reuse the cups throughout the day. As the storm clears, you can use your real stuff in anticipation of being able to wash them again.

 

Good foods include: tuna, beans, canned veggies, little individual raviolis and spaghetti-Os (I don't like that but lots of kids do), canned soup, crackers, PBH (peanut butter and honey -- or use up that jar of jelly in the frig) sandwiches (keep the jelly in the cooler -- if it isn't kept cold enough throw it away after a few days), apples, bananas, nuts, canned fruit, poptarts, granola bars, dry cereal (we like Life and miniwheats dry), jerky, dried fruit, hearty bread, string cheese (it can be in the cooler -- eat it the first few days), carrots (again, in cooler), Nutella on tortillas. I don't like canned meat like Spam or Vienna sausages but if your family eats them, that's something else you can add. I guess I'd rather have a protein bar instead of those. I do like sardines on crackers though. Heat some water and have instant oatmeal or instant Cream of Wheat (or you can cook the non-instant kind). You could even prepare pasta (jarred sauce, dry pasta) on your propane stove, but why bother.

 

There are always emergency foods and camping foods but they are pricey. I am guessing you have most of what you need on your shelves already!

 

Have lots of light sources and make sure you have batteries for your little radio (lots of clock-radios have radios and battery backups). It's a great time for dominoes and cards. I have FOND memories of heating canned soup in a chafing dish over sterno (canned heat) listening to the radio which played lots of mystery stories while our power was out due to Eloise. It was a good family time in a family that rarely had good family time!

 

Tape your windows. That way, if they shatter, the glass should stay on the tape and not fly all over your house. Boarding windows is better if you happen to have plywood. Also, be sure to go over what to do in a tornado, as that's a real possibility. Put some food and water in your tornado safe spot, and a battery radio too.

 

It is sort of obvious but walk around your property and make sure everything that could fly away is taken down and stored. I remember being in a hurricane and watching a few of those big umbrellas (the kind you put in the hole in the middle of your patio table) fly by. Chairs, umbrellas, toys, tools, kiddy pools all need to come inside or be secured. Sometimes people are so worried about food and water they forget to remove the missiles from their yards!

 

Hope all goes well and that you sustain no damage.

Edited August 26, 2011 by Bassoonaroo

[dsmama]

Read this idea (maybe here on another thread) -- take water bottles, empty a little, then freeze. Remove to use as ice for coolers.

 

For us, we're going to do grill and canned food (tuna, chili, beans). I'm going to move some perishables to our smaller fridge (wine fridge, LOL) so that if we lose power and need to open a fridge, it will be the small one to keep the bigger one cool as long as possible. I'll make some dips for chips/veggies to use up leftover cream cheese and sour cream.

 

We also have shelf-stable items like dry milk, beef sticks, etc. We'll have four adults and three kids in the house to ride out the storm.

 

Take care!

[chickenpatty]

We've got canned soups, ramen (which I can cook on our camping stove), canned tuna, canned beans, soft tortillas, peanut butter, crackers, cereal, poptarts, and DON'T FORGET PAPER PLATES! lol, I almost forgot those & grabbed some this morning at the store. And hand sanitizer b/c you can't wash your hands as much as you'd like to.

 

I'm preparing as if we were camping for a few days.

[Amber in SJ]

here in earthquake country we are encouraged to have 72 hours worth of supplies that don't need any power. If our power were to go out we would rely on our camp stove and/ or the outdoor grill that has a side burner. Some of our go to meals to be cooked are:

 

Canned turkey chili (trader joes) over instant rice white or brown or with crackers

 

Canned soups that don't need added water.

 

Canned refried beans and rice or black beans and rice burritos; use salsa for some of the rice cooking water, wrap in tortillas or serve with tortilla chips

 

Jarred pasta sauce & pasta, if water is a concern, use a thin pasta like angel hair and cook in a skillet right in the sauce that has some water added.

 

For no cook/ no refrigeration meals meals the choices get a little more difficult, but we have on hand:

 

The canned/ packaged tuna or chicken salad kits with crackers. This can also be done with regular canned tuna/ chicken as long as you buy the smallest container of mayo you can find and assume that you will throw away if you can't refrigerate it.

 

PB & J on bread or crackers (this would be the biggie. I think my family could live on peanut butter for days)

 

dry cereal & shelf stable milk

 

granola bars and jarred fruit

 

Nutella on anything

 

Obviously this is not a healthy diet to follow for any amount of time, but in an emergency you do what you have to do. I would also say if you think your power is going to be out for any length of time have your kids figure out some comfort items and put them all together in a tote/ backpack to know where they are. There is noting fun about stumbling around in the dark trying to find someone's lovey. We put in some card games, our current read aloud, several little sketch books, colored pencils & a sharpener and some candy. This is about keeping everyone happy!

 

HTH

 

Amber in SJ

[blondeviolin]

Know where a local dry ice supplier is. That will keep perishables better than plain ice. Having been through Hugo when I was small, I remember being without power for 3 weeks! We also did Katrina, but they were a lot quicker with power then. A few years ago we had an ice storm that left us without power for 10 days. Make sure you have an alternate way to charge your cell phone if that'll you've got. We were really grateful we had a car charger as it did allow us to stay connected and contact family.

[hsmom]

Do you have a deep freezer? If so freeze you meats really good. So they will last for a while. That way you can have some good meals with meat for the first few days.

 

 

Also with using your grill a lot remember to make sure you have extra propane or charcoal.

[mom26]

Do you have a deep freezer? If so freeze you meats really good. So they will last for a while. That way you can have some good meals with meat for the first few days.

 

 

Also with using your grill a lot remember to make sure you have extra propane or charcoal.

 

I just grilled up 20# of chicken and browned 20# of ground beef (before I knew the storm was coming--just to make life easier during school)but if the power goes out, I won't want to open the freezer...so canned goods it is:tongue_smilie:

[pie]

can I ask a couple of questions? what do you do with/ how do you use dried beef and canned chicken? also, I don't think I've ever seen shelf-stable milk..can you get it at walmart or regular grocery stores, or is it a specialty camping or survival store type thing?

thanks!:001_smile:

[Amber in SJ]

This is what shelf stable milk looks like here in CA, just like juice boxes!

 

http://www.amazon.com/Horizon-Organic-8-Ounce-Aseptic-Cartons/dp/B001HTR4WA/ref=pd_sim_gro_3

 

I like this size because it can be finished in one go. It can also look like this

 

http://www.amazon.com/Borden-Shelf-Stable-White-32oz/dp/B002N4AUH4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1314367050&sr=8-5

 

But once opened this needs to be refrigerated.

 

These can be found in the regular grocery store in the same aisle with juice boxes or at Costco in large cases.

 

My kids love it when I find these

 

http://www.amazon.com/Horizon-Organic-Chocolate-8-Ounce-Aseptic/dp/B001HTN3XE/ref=pd_sim_gro_5

 

Amber in SJ

[Amber in SJ]

Oh and I have used canned chicken the same way I use leftover shredded chicken.

 

Mixed with a little taco seasoning for tacos

 

Mixed with a little BBQ sauce for sammies

 

Mixed with a little mayo for chicken salad. If you miss the celery crunch in your chicken salad try some slivered almonds and dried cranberries or water chestnuts and chow mein noodles. I know someone who adds canned pineapple tidbits.

 

Amber in SJ

[Nestof3]

oatmeal

cereal

boxed almond milk

powdered milk

bread

peanut butter and jelly

graham crackers

crackers

cereal bars

muffins

canned soup

canned baked beans

(2) soup packets that you add water to

pasta

tomato sauce

canned fruit

bag mixed fruit

baby carrots

 

I bought Ramen noodles for the first time. Our eldest son eats them, so I could always give the leftovers to him. I also bought canned chicken to add to it along with canned mixed vegetables.

 

We have coolers and ice which is in my mom's generator-powered freezer, so we also have hot dogs, hamburgers, and we'll be able to keep dairy and condiments cool.

 

I'm cleaning my refrigerator today and taking my extra freezer items to my mom's (she lives down the street). That way, when the power goes out, it will be an easier transfer to the coolers, and I won't have to think about what to save.

[Nestof3]

can I ask a couple of questions? what do you do with/ how do you use dried beef and canned chicken? also, I don't think I've ever seen shelf-stable milk..can you get it at walmart or regular grocery stores, or is it a specialty camping or survival store type thing?

thanks!:001_smile:

 

The milk may be sold out by now (it was in my stores), but they still had almond and rice beverage in cartons. The milk comes in the same sort of rectangular cartons as these, but they are usually in the baking aisle near the powdered milk.

[momofkhm]

If you have a camp stove, than anything you can make on the regular stove top you can still make - spaghetti and sauce, mac and cheese, hot dogs, stir fry and rice.

[pie]

thanks for the info! I'm going to have to look for that milk. Sounds like a great idea. We are still in 100+ degree temps/drought (Tx), but want to start preps before I need them. We moved to rural southeast Tx and have had some power outages due to hurricane Ike, as well as just country living (no apparent reason, but power goes off occasionally arrgg!). I had already purchased 2 large cans of chicken, and now I know what to do with it. thank you!

[mamajudy]

If you have a camp stove, than anything you can make on the regular stove top you can still make - spaghetti and sauce, mac and cheese, hot dogs, stir fry and rice.

:iagree:Absolutely! I was going to suggest instant rice, but someone else already mentioned it. Another suggestion: get as much laundry done ahead of time as you can. At least your family will have clean clothes!:001_smile: I live in South Florida, and we go through the "routine" alot. I always make cinnamon rolls when there's a hurricane coming. My kids call them hurricane rolls, and they always look forward to them. They actually have fond memories of the storms we've gone through.:001_huh:

[Ali in OR]

:iagree:Absolutely! I was going to suggest instant rice, but someone else already mentioned it. Another suggestion: get as much laundry done ahead of time as you can. At least your family will have clean clothes!:001_smile: I live in South Florida, and we go through the "routine" alot. I always make cinnamon rolls when there's a hurricane coming. My kids call them hurricane rolls, and they always look forward to them. They actually have fond memories of the storms we've gone through.:001_huh:

 

That sounds like how I think! I was just thinking I would be baking up a storm (so to speak) while I can, making cookies, muffins, and whatever other comfort foods we might want when the power's out. And yes, get laundry and vacuuming and any other "power" chores all caught up.