Storm Food Tip: Just 5 essential ingredients for a week without power

We know When a storm approaches you have a lot to think about with preparation. To keep it ultra-simple for food in an emergency, we want to pass on a tip for eating for a week without power with foods that will give you enough energy to be well and react to any unexpected circumstances. This is also very inexpensive and easy to find food.

Ultra simple bare essentials food shopping list for keeping your energy during a week without power:

7 gallons of water per person x ___ people = ______

21 cans of no-salt plain beans (black, pinto, white, etc) per person x ___ people = ______

2 containers (6 cups) old fashioned rolled oats x ___ people = ______ (optional)

1 large bag raw dry walnuts x ____ people = _______ (optional)

1 manual can opener

Example:

Family of 2: 14 gallons water, 42 cans beans, 4 containers rolled oats, 1 bag walnuts

Family of 4: 28 gallons water, 84 cans beans, 8 containers rolled oats, 4 bags walnuts

Why this works:

There are just two key food ingredients you and your family need to be nourished and have plenty of energy even if you cant cook and don’t have power: Water and beans.

The rolled oats and walnuts are a bonus and with these 4 ingredients you can really have a very nutritious 2000 calorie a day food for a week without refrigeration, without special storage, without cooking and easily transportable.

These can easily be taken with you in a car and eaten anywhere without any preparation, while parked on the highway, in the house or anywhere really. All you need is a can opener. In fact to be extra prepared, keep one set of these in your house and another set in the car trunk. So you can feel safe you can drive off at any moment and be safe for a week anywhere even if stranded.

Don’t forget the manual can opener! If you have an electric one at home, get a manual one and if you are keeping this emergency getaway set in the car, keep one in the car trunk along with everything else so you don’t have to scramble to find it if you need to leave.

Ingredient #1 Water: 7 gallons per person.

Water, of course is the most essential, without water we can’t survive more than a few days. In fact, if it came to it, many people have fasted for days or weeks without food, but we can’t survive very long without water. According to FEMA, you should store at least one gallon per person, per day. So for 1 week that is 7 gallons per person. Make sure you find this ahead of time and store it with you. Also it would be good to have a duplicate set of water in the car trunk so you are ready to leave in an emergency without thinking about it or lunging it around.

Note for diabetes: No soda, no juice, no other liquid comes close to water as the best liquid to drink. Especially in emergencies, no sugary foods is essential so you have balanced energy and you wont have to deal with spikes in blood sugar. Water, water, water! The best drink anytime!

Ingredient #2 Plain No-Salt Added Beans: 3 cans per person per day.

When water is limited you don’t want to eat salty foods, since they will make you more thirsty. Beans have protein and fiber and carbohydrate all combined in one package, they will give you all you need to thrive in an emergency. Black beans would be the preferred option, but any bean is ok, pinto beans, kidney beans, white beans, garbanzo beans, you choose your favorite! Or mix and match for a variety of taste.

Ok so plain beans don’t taste the best, but you probably have spices laying around that you can add. Remember no salt, just add any other spices and you are good. And well, if you have to eat them plain, the question is do you want energy and nutrition or taste in an emergency? What you need is good nutrition and energy and that is the key, so plan for a great tasty meal when the storm passes and make sure to eat food that will nourish you during an emergency. Bread, crackers, chips, and other processed and packaged food will give you calories but may not give you enough nutrition.

Note for diabetes: Beans are also great for blood sugar control because they are not very high on glycemic load and contain fiber which slows the rise of blood sugar. They do contain carbohydrate but because of the fiber when in measured amounts they are ok. Typically only one serving which is ½ cup is recommended, so one can of beans per meal (1.5 cups) is not for usual eating, but in an emergency you may need the energy. However, you know your body best and always check your blood sugar and take your medications as usual.

Ingredient #3 Plain Old-Fashioned Dry Rolled Oats: 2 cups per person per day.

This one is actually a bonus, you could manage well with just the beans. But adding in the dry rolled oats allows you to have a breakfast similar to what you may have had before, just add oats and a little bit of cold water, no need to cook them! And if you add the water and let them sit for half an hour or an hour, they will be soft and similar to a porridge. But you can eat them dry and without cooking because dry, old fashioned rolled oats are actually already steamed at the factory. So you can safely eat them without cooking. This is not the case for steel-cut oats, oat groats, or other types of oats. But plain old-fashioned dry rolled oats are great right out of the container! In fact, in Europe, the cereal mix, muesli is a common daily cold breakfast cereal that consists of rolled oats and dried fruit and nuts and seeds in various combinations. So with 1 cup of oats and water and a handful of walnuts you have an amazing breakfast that will carry you through the morning with a lot of energy!

And add the oats into the beans for more energy. So for example, one can of the beans, and half a cup of the dry rolled oats is a very nutritious 600 calorie meal. Add a few walnuts to get a ~700 calorie great energy meal and some great crunchy taste! You can even have this for breakfast!

Note for diabetes: Oats by themselves are too high in glycemic load, but you can mix the oats and the beans and walnuts in a single meal for more balanced energy. As noted before, in an emergency you may need the energy. However, you know your body best and always check your blood sugar and take your medications as usual.

Ingredient #4 Raw dry walnuts: two handfuls per person per day (~28 halves)

This one is actually another bonus, as we mentioned you could manage well with just the beans. But the walnuts give you crunchiness, some healthy fats and lasting energy combined with the other food. Remember this is for emergencies, not for daily use in normal cases, two handfuls per day or 28 halves of walnuts per day in normal use is too much fat! The normal suggestion is 1/4 cup per day. But for emergencies, well, like we said more important to be full of nutrition and energy that too weak!

Spread the walnuts up into some with each meal. Add 4 or 5 walnuts to the breakfast oats, add some to the beans and you get crunchy taste and great healthy fats!

Ingredient #5 Manual can opener

In this age of technology sometimes we forget the manual equipment. Don’t forget the manual can opener! If you have an electric one at home, get a manual one and if you are keeping this emergency getaway set in the car, keep one in the car trunk along with everything else so you don’t have to scramble to find it if you need to leave.

We hope this helps you easily plan for the worst without stressing about not having enough food or nutrition.