I lived through September 11th.
I sat in my house while Hurricane Ike wreaked havoc, and survived over a week without electricity after the storm waned.
I got married in the aftermath of a major ice storm that knocked us out of power for over two weeks.
I live in the country and lose power and water regularly.
I’ve learned the value of being self-sufficient. You don’t have to be a doomsday-er to see the potential for a breakdown in the systems on which we rely.
Consequently, I try to Be Prepared. (That whole Girl Scout training kicks in at some strange times, doesn’t it?)
I keep bottled water, just in case. I keep flashlights in standard locations, just in case. I have other preparations that have become normal, just in case.
One of those is to keep a decent supply of food in my house. You never know when the stores will be sold out, or when you’ll be unable to leave your house for a few weeks!
The bread aisle the day before Ike hit Houston Sept. 2008. Even the gross bread was gone!
So this whole allergy/intolerance thing is really rocking my world! I had to throw out ALL the food preparations I had done, because the food was no longer something we could eat.
And so far, almost everything we CAN eat has a short shelf life and I have yet to figure out how to prolong it with different preservation methods, and then use it edibly later on.
I have no idea how to Be Prepared this winter. It scares me a bit; in only 4 years of living here, we’ve been ice stormed or snowed in for weeks at a time on two different occasions.
I know many other food allergy Mama’s out there are just as nervous about how uncertain their families food supplies are…especially those that rely on expensive, hard to get formulas for their babies! So I’m sharing my plan in hopes that it will help encourage these other Mama’s in their efforts to feed their families.
Right now we are eating a TON of beef, potatos, carrots, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, melons, Larabars, quinoa, tomatos, and we’re starting to add things back into Mr. Charm and the Geek’s diet as we see positive results. I’m still waiting to have Mr. Charm tested for fructose malabsorption, and if he tests positive some of the foods we have for him will have to go, but this is a good starting point.
Step 1: Try to get my hands on as many cantaloupes as I can right now and dry them for winter snacking. Maybe dry some other foods as well; carrots can be dried and then pulverized into a powder that can be added to foods for extra nutrition.
Step 2: Learn about how to grow as many of these foods as possible! The summer growing season is over, but there is a winter growing season, and I can at least be prepared to start planting as soon as spring hits!
Step 3: Learn how to store some of these foods long-term. Maybe try to get some sort of root cellar type thing going so I can stock up when I find good deals.
Step 4: Look for sales! Our food co-op has owner’s weekends; I need to remember when they are and buy extras then.
Step 5: PRAY. Have faith that I can always have at least two weeks worth of food in my cupboards, and that any disaster we face won’t last longer than that!
Step 6: Make sure we always have gas available for our generator this winter.
Step 7: Double check my first aid kits. If we’re snowed in or icebound this winter, I don’t want to have to risk our lives for a minor ailment because we were out of their compounded medicines.
Step 8: Make sure I have an emergency kit in my car. If I’m out and about and we wreck on the side of one of these little country roads with no cell-phone coverage, I don’t want my kiddos to freeze while we wait for help.
So, this is what I would recommend to any other food allergy Mama’s out there:
- Take a look at what you CAN eat, and decide how best to keep as much of that around as possible.
- Look for sales and stock up.
- Plan ahead for the emergencies you know are a possibility for your area.
- Learn the skills necessary to maintain your food supply.
- Don’t forget your first aid kit! So many medicines are unsafe for food allergy kiddos – make sure you have enough safe meds to get you through a small crisis!
- Don’t forget to check your car supplies. Emergency blankets, water, snack bars that are safe, and whatever else you can think of that might keep you warm and safe while help comes.
- Have faith and confidence that you will get through anything that comes your way intact and healthy.
I plan to turn this into a series, and I’ll keep you posted about each step I take to Be Prepared for Winter (With Food Allergies).
What preparations do YOU make for inclement weather and the random unexpected?
