Be Prepared: Food Preparation

So you’ve lost power, but have plenty of food on hand.  Now what?

If you’re leaving your house, you should already have a handy-dandy list of what to pack in the event you need to leave (see Part I), so pack up your food, utensils, formula, bottles, and all the other life necessities and hit the road.

If you’re staying put, you need to figure out how to cook all that food!

At this point, you may not need to read any more of this post.  If you have a gas kitchen, consider yourself lucky! (And…I hate you.  Sorta.  OK, not really.  But I AM jealous!)  With a gas kitchen, even in a power outage you can cook and bake with style and ease…even if you ARE wearing a parka while you do it!

For the rest of us unfortunate souls who live with all-electric kitchens, well, it’s time to get creative!

If you have a food allergic kiddo and an all-electric kitchen, I’d strongly urge you to look into buying a generator.  We didn’t have one for the first power outage we lived through, and trying to cook outside in ice and snow on a BBQ grill is pure misery!

However, it is a viable option.  If you don’t have the funds for a generator, and don’t currently have a BBQ grill, you might look into getting one.  I’ve seen them at big box stores for as low as $35 before, and if you have no other method of cooking food, it will work.  (And just so you know, BBQ-ing ALWAYS is considered ‘the man’s’ job.  <wink>)

There are some excellent alternative options for cooking out there that I haven’t had a chance to try but am looking forward to attempting: solar ovens and portable butane cook stoves.  

Solar ovens are brilliant!  You can bake a full lasagna in the middle of a snow bank in just a few hours!  I don’t have one – yet – but it is totally on my ‘wishlist’ of things to get.

The butane cook stove, aka Korean cookstove, is very simple: it looks just like a single gas burner that runs on a can of butane (kinda like a camp stove, but safer to use indoors).  It’s fairly compact and storable, and with just a few cans of butane you can easily cook up food for your family without electricity.

Of course, you could always go REALLY old school and cook in an actual fire…

Or over a fire (think cauldron!)…

But those may not be the best choices with kids around!

Of course, whichever method you choose for emergency backup during a winter power outage – MAKE SURE YOU BUY THE FUEL FOR IT BEFORE THE STORM COMES!  (Ask me how I know this!)

If you get a generator, buy at least 2 large gas cans and fill them at the start of winter.  You can buy preservatives to help the fuel stay viable for longer, but honestly, you can just rotate the fuel out every so often and you’ll be fine.  (Also, if you buy a generator?  Pick up a $20 electric skillet at a big box store.  They’ll use less power than your stove and you can cook almost anything on them.)

If you go with the BBQ, buy up some extra charcoal, lighter fluid and matches.  Solar oven?  Well, you actually don’t need anything but a sunny day!  Korean cookstove?  Buy a few cans of butane to have on hand.  (Check to see how long each can is supposed to last, and decide how much fuel you think you’ll need.)

The reason I’m going into such detail about methods of cooking is that for many food allergic kiddos, slapping together a sandwich just isn’t going to cut it.  MOST of what my kids eat has to be cooked or made from scratch, and I’m guessing the same is true for most other FAM’s out there.

All of this is moot if you don’t have any foods to cook on your BBQ/cook stove/electric skillet.  So, as I detailed in Part II, stock up at least 2-3 weeks worth of extra food, just in case.  But if there are any foods or meals that you can provide for your food allergic kiddo that do NOT require cooking, focus on stocking up on those ingredients first!

If your child has any medications that require refrigeration, be sure to check the acceptable temperature range on those.  This is another moment when having a generator could come in handy.

Stay tuned for Part IV of Preparing for Winter (With Food Allergies): First Aid Kit!
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See the whole series:
Part I – Be Prepared: Power Outage
Part II – Be Prepared: Food Provisions
Part IV – Be Prepared: The First Aid Kit
Part V – Be Prepared: The Car Kit

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Do you have any suggestions for cooking when your kitchen is in-op?

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This post has been shared with Allergy Free Wednesdays and Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways.