One of the most important things to do before a hurricane, after you secure your home and store water, is making sure you have enough food. A power outage or other obstacles may prevent access to a food source during this time.
What Should Be On Your Hurricane Preparedness Grocery List?
Simple and easy foods that don’t require refrigeration or serious cooking techniques are best. You also want to plan to eat foods you would enjoy to ensure you’re eating enough. Check out these hurricane snacks and hurricane food ideas to make sure you’re prepared!
Snacks
When preparing for a hurricane don’t forget snacks that do not need preparation, such as chips, nuts and granola! Be sure to stock up on your favorite snacks to make the hurricane experience less stressful. Snacks are a great addition to hurricane meals, as they help to hold you over until your next meal. Keep snack bars, bags of chips and other goodies (perhaps some candy) in a resealable plastic bag. Hurricanes bring water and keeping things dry is super important!
Canned & Jar Goods
Although snacks are great, you will certainly get bored of just snacking, so it’s important to make sure you have an ample amount of canned goods. Most canned goods do not require refrigeration or a microwave, things such as beans, vegetables and peanut butter. It’s important to plan ahead with items that you can easily open and enjoy. It turns out there are many meals that can be bought in a can that you wouldn’t think of such as pasta, and meats too!
When in fear of a hurricane, canned goods are the way to go! The most important rule of all—don’t forget your can opener! A great tip is to keep any essential kitchen tools in a small plastic box or container. Make sure to add some disposable cutlery as well.
Minimal Prep
There are some foods that require minimal preparation; these are great to stock up on during a hurricane. Such foods include rice, pasta, pasta sauce and oats. With minimal preparation, you can enjoy a meal even when power and home resources are limited. This helps to add variety to your palette during this time. Many of these items will require heating items up; if you have a gas stove you can light the pilot with a match but be sure to turn off the gas when you’re done.
No stove? Maybe there is an outdoor area where you can BBQ? Have some pots and pans ready to heat some items up on stove or fire.
Freezer Items
If your power goes out food in the freezer can stay good for up to 48 hours. You can stock your freezer with vegetables and fruits that you can eat once they are thawed out. This is a great way to ensure you’re staying healthy and energized if a power outage occurs during a hurricane. Worried about your freezer items staying frozen longer? If you expect a large storm you can prep by freezing large containers of water ahead of time so you will have blocks of ice for the freezer or coolers in case you do lose power.
The Non Edible Essentials
In order to ensure its possible to eat and stay healthy during a lockdown caused by a hurricane, you want to be sure to keep napkins, paper plates, plastic utensils and plastic cups stocked up and stored in preparation for the storm. It is smart to have these items readily available so you are able to access and eat your meals that you planned so diligently for. Let’s not forget bowls and plastic wrap, or tin foil to make sure you can save any leftover foods, as keeping food available is essential during this time. Make sure you also have that can opener and that cooler handy too!
Preparedness is they key in any emergency. Want to learn how you else you can prepare for a hurricane if you live in an apartment?