What to Eat in a Snowstorm, Hurricane, or Other Natural Disaster

Matt and I are without electricity, and probably will be until Saturday evening. We lost it last night around 9pm, banding together with a couple of our neighbors (bonding time!) to discuss the snowstorm that somehow ended up taking out our power. How 6" of snow managed to do that when two back-to-back blizzards with several record-breaking feet of snow and not a single electricity flicker, we'll never know.

Right now, we're at Matt's office at NASA, staying nice and warm and enjoying the internet connection while biding our time until we have to return to our frigid house for the night. (When we left, our house was 60 degrees and dropping. Ugh.) Since we're recoiling at the possibility of going out for every meal through Saturday evening, we decided to get some provisions that can be prepared without any electricity and without opening the fridge or freezer. You'd think we'd be prepared for this considering Florida is known for hurricanes, but nope, we have nothing.

Let's face it. In natural disasters like this, eating good food is a great way to keep spirits up. And when you're in a situation like this, where temperatures can easily dip below freezing overnight, it's also vital to keep your energy levels up.

So below is the list of provisions we'll be getting -- and thereby, some suggestions for you when the power goes out! If you own a grill, you're in even better luck, as that's a great way to heat up some grub. (Since we don't have a grill, I won't be offering suggestions for that, but I imagine you can cook just about anything.) Also remember that anything here can be kept outside, provided the reason your power is out is due to snow and ice, to preserve some freshness.
whole wheat breadpeanut butterjelly/jam (grape for Matt, strawberry for me)chips (tortilla, Lay's, whatever)salsabottled water*, at least one gallon per person per dayanything canned that doesn't sound half-bad when eaten without heatinganything shelf-stable that won't sound half-bad after eating for a whole daychocolate or cookies, om nom nom (what? We need comfort food, too!)maybe some beer or wine to keep on the patio (and no, we're not kidding!)*While our water still works, thankfully, the lack of heat in our home and those surrounding us could easily cause the water pipes to burst. Best to keep a supply handy, just in case!

Another tip that we learned as Floridians: Fill a bathtub with water. This is actually related to the tip above, because if the water goes out, that means your sinks, toilets, and septic tanks will, too. The extra water can be used to fill the toilet tank and brush your teeth (erm, used separately, of course).

ABCDs of keeping food safe in an emergency
(This list is adapted from Apocalypse Chow: How to Eat Well When the Power Goes Out. Tongue-in-cheek name, very handy manual.)
Always keep meat, poultry, fish, and eggs refrigerated at or below 40 degrees, and frozen food at or below 0 degrees. Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to retain the temperature. A full freezer will hold for about 48 hours, and 24 hours when half-full. If you can, use dry or block ice or some of those frozen gel packs to keep your refrigerator as cold as possible during a power outage.

Be prepared for an emergency by having items on hand that don't require refrigeration and can be eaten cold, or cooked on an outdoor grill. Our list above is a very small sample of what shelf-stable foods are available. If you have children who are formula-fed, make sure you have ready-to-use formula on hand. And of course, if you have pets, keep a good supply of pet food. Keep a handheld can opener for emergencies.

Consider what you can do ahead of time to store your food safely in an emergency. For floods, keep food on shelves that will be safely out of the way of contaminated water. For power outages, coolers are a great way to keep food cold if it's going to be out for more than four hours.

Digital, dial, or instant-read food thermometers will help you know if the food is at safe temperatures. Keep appliance thermometers in the refrigerator and freezers at all times, keeping note of the appropriate temperatures above. If you're not sure a particular food is cold enough, take its temperature with a food thermometer.Some additional tips from Linda Harris, a Cooperative Extension food microbiologist at UC Davis:
"When you do open the freezer, any food that still has ice crystals or feels refrigerator-cold can safely be re-frozen.""Any thawed foods that have risen to room temperature should be discarded.""If a refrigerator door is kept closed, food inside will remain cool for four to six hours.""Meats, milk, cream, yogurt, salads and pastas are among the foods that should be discarded if they warm to room temperature.""However, margarine, butter, fresh fruits and vegetables, and commercial mayonnaise, ketchup and salad dressing can be kept unrefrigerated.""The bottom line is that you should discard anything with a strange color or odor.""And when in doubt, throw it out." For those of you in Baltimore and the surrounding areas who are without power, please try to stay warm. It's chilly out there... and likely inside, too! And of course, since you probably won't hear from us for a few days, well... now you know why. See y'all when the power's back. ;)