The Aftermath of Irma – Part Two – FOOD
Another realization post hurricane was that I could have been more creative with my food planning. I had apocalypse food. Like a jar of peaches. Stew-like soup that COULD be eaten cold if necessary. Pretzels. Peanut butter and bread. Instant mashed potatoes. Tuna. Pasta. We would have survived, but I didn’t really have MEALS. Since we never lost power it was a little deceptive because we felt like things should be normal.
Hubster: “So what’s for dinner?”
Me: ” A jar of peaches??”
I didn’t bother stocking up on meats because if we lost power (ie the refrigerator) I would have had a limited time to grill everything (even if it was stored in a cooler). I’m also not a camper. So that kind of eating / meal prep is no where on my radar. My husband was in the jungle in Vietnam (army, front lines, sleeping in the rain, strapping laces up his legs to keep the leaches off of him, war experience). So he thinks we need a sh*t load of dehydrated meal packs… not a bad idea but I don’t really want to live on them for weeks if I don’t have to. Once power was restored in some areas, but not others, there were two lines on the streets: 1) Gas; 2) McDonalds. I kid you not. Again, if faced with death I would eat it, but it’s not at the top of my preferred dining list (#FirstWorldProblems). So I turned to Google for future hurricane food planning. Here’s a few interesting ideas I came across:
- Hard boiled eggs. I actually did think of this, but hadn’t purchased extra eggs. Next time I will. Once boiled, with shells on, hard boiled eggs can stay at room temperature.
- Bacon. Pre-cook it and it can also stay at room temperature.
- Hard, cured meats and room temperature friendly cheeses (I found a whole blog on backpacking with cheese…).
- Container of lemon juice – for a little added flavor
- Roasted garlic – for added flavor (to rice, vinaigrette, those instant mashed potatoes!)
- Jarred chutneys and jams with crackers (I love me some chutney!)
- Jars of pickled vegetables: can be eaten on their own or added to rice or pasta.
- Instant coffee and dried creamer. Sometimes you need coffee. Even bad coffee.
- Fresh fruit. You will crave freshness, so have them on hand. Apples, oranges, banana.
- Tortillas and jarred salsa.
- Granola and granola bars.
- Cereal (ie dried bits of cardboard – I really dislike cereal but would eat it if faced with starvation).
- Beans (also blech – it’s a texture thing – but if I was staring death in the face, I’d eat beans).
- Drinks. I had plenty of water, which is the most important, but we could have used some Gatorade or other beverages with a little flavor for a treat.
What did I miss on my list? Share your hurricane meal tricks!
