The top foods you should keep in case of an emergency

Real Simple Magazine via Yahoo ^ | 7/16/10 | Vanessa DiMaggio

[Kartographer]

Natural disasters--such as a flood, hurricane, or blizzard--often come without warning. Stocking non-perishable food items ahead of time (and choosing wisely what you include) will help you weather the storm with less stress.

By: Vanessa DiMaggio

Fueling your body during an emergency is very different from your everyday diet. Because you’ll probably expend more energy than you normally would, you should eat high-energy, high-protein foods. And because you have a limited supply, the higher-quality foods you eat--and the less of them--the better. “In a disaster or an emergency you want those calories,” says Barry Swanson, a food scientist at Washington State University . “You want some nutrients and some fiber—something to keep your diet normal.”

[trisham]

Thank you very much for taking the time to tell me about all of this!

[Palladin]

After reading this thread, I need a snack!

I know I have potato chips,and I may still have a container of HelluvaGood bacon-horseradish dip in the fridge!

‘Bye...see ya later...

[PA Engineer]

Amazing how easily that gets lost in the flurry of people selling freeze-dried emergency rations.

I will disagree with you a bit here. We have been prepping for over 12 years. Once we had our basics we began purchasing the more expensive freeze dried. We have tested it and find it to be pretty good. Our basement is dry and stays at about 55 degrees (we bought an Extech infrared thermometer to test the walls and floors for food placement. One fantastic tool to have and pretty cheap). This means our latter preps will easily store for 25 years plus. For those prepping longterm and/or may have some not so prudent family members will need to consider this.

It will keep your freezer cold longer in a power outage, you can use it in a good cooler for a couple of days, and the cost is infinitessimal.

I would like to add that filling the freezer annular space with ice will save you electricity as an added benefit.

[alarm rider]

Seems a bit simple to me really, but then I guess that if you are just getting in to prepping, then it’s a bit of an eye opener.

I am still wondering about cooking oils. Does anyone know the best oil that will keep for long periods of time? If so, let me know.

Additionally, even for you non-drinkers, a bottle or two of booze is good for trades or medicinal purposes.

[MaxMax]

Rice is the best. I was surprised when I started stocking, at how many calories
rice actually has according to weight ratio. The perfect boring survival food.

[MaxMax]

Someone has to stand on the bridge and wait for FEMA to come and save them!

[FourPeas]

Cool. Thanks.

[Ellendra]

- Ensure or Slim-fast or something of that sort, which is a meal replacement in a can, easy to chug down if you're ill, injured or just too busy to prepare a meal;

I'd suggest Boost or one of those protein shakes marketed for body-builders. AVOID Slim-fast, it contains sugar substitutes that can cause diarrhea in many people, and severe bloody diarrhea in some. (Don't ask me how I know that)

Besides, Slim-fast is a dieting drink, and in an emergency you'll want more calories, not less.

[gundog]

And bleach. If boiling water isn’t cost effective, chlorinating it yourself will be.

[gundog]

Where did you find that? I’ve been looking;>)

Too expensive for me...I boil my own.

[libertarian27]

After you boil the water all down, how do you store it?
Vacuum Pack? lol

[gopheraj]

Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters.. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well. Dioxin chemicals cause cancer, especially breast cancer. Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don’t freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. Recently, Dr Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers. This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else. Paper isn’t bad but you don’t know what is in the paper. It’s just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.
Please share this with your whole email list.........................

Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead.

[GOPJ]

I’m totally stocked up on dehydrated water.

LOL