Disaster Dining Options

Part of preparedness is to ensure our to-go bags and disaster supplies are properly stocked in case the electricity goes out for long periods of time. Think of what your household members like to eat, how to prepare it, and have those ingredients on hand or in your emergency kit. In an emergency, it’s best to always eat all your perishables from your fridge and freezer before eating the non-perishable stocks to prevent spoilage. If you have time to prepare for a power outage, set your fridge and freezer at the coldest settings and keep the doors closed as long as possible.

Some suggestions for stocking your emergency to go kit or disaster pantry with food:

Water – Make sure you have enough water in your emergency kit for your family for 72 hours. The Canadian Red Cross recommends two litres for drinking and two litres for washing for each person per day. Don’t forget your pets! Bottled water should be replaced once-a-year.

Easy to prepare: Instant oatmeal, pre-packaged and pre-cooked pasta and rice can be heated in you have a camp stove or BBQ. Granola bars, peanut butter are good options. Can’t go wrong with canned – Canned chili, fish, meat, fruit, and veggies are great staples to have on-hand, and last for long periods of time. Make sure to add a can opener to your kit!Comfort food is a must – Add a favourite food item to your kit for example, chips, chocolate, nuts, etc.

No Heat

Breakfast Options
Overnight Oats	Rolled oats Shelf-stable milk, powdered milk, or water Cinnamon, raisins, if available Leave overnight Note: Put rolled oats, cinnamon, raisins, chia seeds, hemp seeds, nuts, etc. in a bag and in your kit. Add milk or water when needed.
Instant Oatmeal	Package of instant oatmeal Cold water Mix oatmeal in water, stir until dissolved (may be longer than if the water is cold)
Cereal, granola and milk	Cereal and shelf-stable milk
Instant Cold Coffee	Package of instant coffee Cold water Mix coffee in water, stir until dissolved (may be longer than if the water was hot) Sugar if desired
Lunch or Dinner
Lazy Rice Bowls	Pre-packaged pre-cooked rice Can of tuna (or preferred canned meat) Can of mixed vegetables Salad dressing
Hummus and Crackers	Can of chickpeas, roughly mash with a fork Spices if desired and available Juice from the chickpeas to make smoother, or lemon juice Crackers Desired spices if available: garlic, cumin, or paprika
Charcuterie Board	Shelf-stable sausage or canned meat Crackers Cheese whiz Hummus
Vegetable Tacos	Can of kidney, mixed or preferred beans Can of sweet corn Cheese whiz Jar of salsa Tortilla chips or taco shells
Tacos	Canned chicken or canned corned beef Can of kidney, mixed or refried beans Can of sweet corn Cheese whiz Jar of salsa Tortilla chips or taco shells
Crab Salad Tacos	Canned sweet corn Canned crab Salsa Tacos or tortilla shells
Spicy Tuna with Chickpeas	Can of spicy tuna (or tuna and add spices) Can of chickpeas, mashed with a fork Mix together and add salad dressing or juice from the cans.
Hemp Bean Salad	Can of beans (e.g. butter, cannellini, black turtle, kidney, mixed, etc.) Hemp seeds Parsley flakes Ground cumin Chili powder Garlic powder Olive oil and lemon juice or Italian salad dressing Note: Pre-package dry ingredients in a bag and add wet ingredients when ready to make.
Bean Salad	Can of mixed beans or preferred beans Can of sweet corn Can of mixed vegetables Italian or preferred salad dressing
Crab Meat Salad	Mandarin oranges Peaches Lemon juice, if available Crab meat Salt and pepper as desired
Peanut Butter & Jam Roll-Ups	Peanut butter Jam Wraps Put PB&J on wrap, roll up.

Desserts
Roasted marshmallows	Marshmallows Roast over the lit candle from your kit
Peanut butter balls	Rice krispies or cereal Shredded coconut, if available Cocoa powder, if available Peanut butter Honey if available or put a small to-go package received left from a restaurant meal Put the dry ingredients in a bag and add the peanut butter when ready to make the balls
S’mores	Crackers Chocolate Marshmallows Roast marshmallows over a lit candle from your kit, then assemble.
Canned Fruit	Canned fruit (e.g. peaches, pineapple, mixed fruit, etc.)

Camp Stove or BBQ

Breakfast
Eggs, Toast, and Sausage	Freeze dried eggs Bread Sausage Put freeze-dried eggs in water, stir or shake until mixed. Add egg mixture to fry pan, heat sausage and make toast with bread on BBQ.
Fried Spam, Mashed Potatoes and Vegetables	Can of Spam, sliced Box of Mashed Potatoes Can of mixed vegetables or vegetables of choice Fry the spam and heat the water to make the mashed potatoes
Lunch or Dinner
Vegetable Fried Rice	Can of mixed vegetables Pre-packaged rice Spices, if desired Mix and cook in a pan.
Italian pasta	Dry or pre-cooked pasta Pasta sauce with or without meat Heat water and cook pasta. Drain pasta, add pasta sauce and heat in a pot. Serve with cheese whiz for the kids if desired.
Pizza	Pre-packaged pizza can easily be cooked on the BBQ
Potato, onion, meat, and vegetable	Slice potatoes and onions, fry in a pan on BBQAdd meat and vegetable to heat Serve once heated
Stir-fry	Chorizo or shelf-stable sausage, diced Package of minestrone soup mix or desired saucePre-Packaged, pre-cooked rice Can of corn or vegetable of choice Bouillon cube Fry meat in the pan. Add soup mix, rice, bouillon cube, and water until soup is mixed and cooked. If rice is pre-cooked add with corn at the end and serve when heated.
Desserts
Cookies, cakes, or brownies	Package of cookies, brownies or cake Add water (can omit the egg as called for on the package)Mix in a bowl, add to a frying pan and place on BBQ on low. Cover with a lid and cook on low approx. 20 minutes or until cooked.