Recipes After Disaster: Eating without Electricity (Day 1)

This is the first in a series of blogs on recipes that you can easily prepare in a disaster or emergency without power. Scroll down to the bottom of this blog for links to all of the blogs in this series. 

If you’re like me, you have dozens of gallons of water and food stored in a number of places. You could probably last more than a week without power, but you might not have thought through what that would be like. Is your stash of emergency food balanced in terms of nutrition, energy needs, and palatability? What factors should you consider to minimize any loss of your precious supplies? How might you supplement and extend your shelf-stable goods, once you’ve used up the fresh food from your fridge? Find out, as we discuss these day-to-day considerations in this blog series, Eating without Electricity.  We start with Day 1, the power has gone out, and it may be out for days. What supplies do you use up first? 

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Day 1 - Fridge - Eat Perishable Items First
​Reducing waste is generally a good idea, but it is critical when resources are limited, as in a disaster. If you can’t get groceries as normal, then you’ll need to make the most out of what you have before it spoils. In general, this means using up perishable, refrigerated food first - some of it is only safe for 4 hours according to foodsafety.gov. These foods include meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and leftovers. Then you can start working on freezer food, which can last from 24 to 48 hours. We’ll discuss freezer food in next month's blog, Day 2. 

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SAFETY ​TIPS: After a power outage never taste food to determine its safety. Consider keeping a thermometer in the fridge (and your freezer) that you can consult in case of a power outage. The safe storage temperature for most foods is under 40 F.) Discard refrigerated perishable food such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and leftovers after 4 hours without power. If in doubt, throw it out! You don't want to be sick in an emergency! It goes without saying, keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible!​

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Click to open this list; print and store near your fridge for reference.

Consider keeping a thermometer in the fridge (and your freezer) that you can consult in case of a power outage. The safe storage temperature for most foods is under 40 F.

Save foods with longer shelf-lifes for later
Some commonly refrigerated items can last for days or more without refrigeration, including fruit, bread, hard cheeses, butter, peanut butter, jams, nuts, some veggies, pickles, and so on. Save these until after you've eaten as many of your perishables as possible before the 4-hour deadline. In a cold snap, such as during the storm this January, the weather might allow you to use the outdoors as your fridge (or freezer!). If your heat goes out, your whole kitchen may become a refrigerator! 

Consume enough calories & nutrients
In addition to limiting waste, you’ll want to ideally consume your minimum daily value (DV) of macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats, and proteins) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). Most people don’t track these numbers on a daily basis (myself included), but if I have the time (and sometimes we have more time during a power outage), a few minutes of roughly checking my nutrition intake for the day will probably pay off in my body’s improved energy and health. If you can meet your DV needs entirely from your fridge on Day 1, that’s nice. But if your fridge has a lack of carbs, get a few of those from some bread, chips, or something you keep in the cupboard. 

Some commonly refrigerated items can last for days without refrigeration, including fruit, bread, hard cheeses, butter, peanut butter, jams, nuts, some veggies, pickles, and so on.

A cooler can be handy when electricity goes out in the winter

"If in doubt, throw it out!
​Don't get sick! I hate wasting food, but taking additional risks (food poisoning) in a disaster zone is a BAD idea!" ​

Share a meal with neighbors
Consider combining resources with your neighbors. It’s likely that somebody has more than they can eat of something highly perishable (like refrigerated or frozen meat). Maybe somebody knows how to cure and dry that meat with salt to prolong its storage, but if not, the best plan may be for the neighborhood to come together and feast on the perishable abundance. Hopefully, somebody on your block has a way of cooking it -- on a BBQ or camp stove. (We hope that's you!)

Cook Stoves & Fuels
Although our first recipe requires no cooking, consider including a camp stove or BBQ and fuel in your shelter-in-place emergency pantry. A hot meal or cup of tea can make a huge difference to your wellbeing!

Share a meal with neighbors to use up perishable foods quickly

Include a camp stove or BBQ and fuel in your shelter-in-place emergency pantry. A hot meal or cup of tea can make a huge difference to your wellbeing!

Day 1: Recipe/Prep-cipe: Emergency Salad
When the electricity goes out, use up your perishables into a fresh salad. 

Salad Ingredients:

• Chop up some protein, such as 8 pre-cooked eggs, ½ pound pre-cooked chicken, deli meat, or an open a can of beans or tuna. 
• Chop up almost any veggies (lettuce, carrots, celery, pepper, tomato, parsley, dill, onion, etc.)
• Mix above ingredients.

Dressing:

• Mix these ingredients together, then mix with the above.
• ½ cup mayonnaise, or olive oil & vinegar (1-2 Tbsp each)
• Dried herbs: oregano, thyme, garlic powder (1 tsp each)
• Salt & pepper to taste*

*Don’t you hate when recipes say "to taste"? I mean, why am I reading your recipe if you’re going to tell me that my guess is as good as yours? Good thing this is a prep-cipe, or I’d be a hypocrite.)

Blog Series Links

Check out all of the blogs in the Recipes after a Disaster series: 

• Day 1 - Menu strategy: Eat Fresh Foods First
• Day 2 - Food Use & Storage Strategies
• Day 3 - Meals from Canned Foods
• Day 4 - Foraging Basics
• Day 5 - Pantry Soup Warmed by Tea Candles

Author

Lincoln Thomas, Newsletter Editor, Neighbors Ready!