I'm in full-on prep-for-power-outage mode! This morning I baked a loaf of bread so we'd have fresh bread on hand, and I'm about to bake some chocolate chip cookies, since those always make me happy! I also cooked up some hard-boiled eggs--I like them best room temperature rather than cold (although I probably should check how long it's safe to keep them unrefrigerated...). I find when I'm eating a lot of no-cook snacky foods I don't get enough protein, so the eggs are for that. And I made some pesto this morning--that seems like something that should keep fine at room temp for a bit. We have a small camping stove with a gas canister (since our range is electric) so we can cook pasta--but the pesto is also good with just bread or crackers (ooh, or with the HB eggs too..)

I just made a huge pot of tomato basil soup that is good served hot or room temp and does not require refrigeration. I also hard boiled all our eggs and am planning on frying all our bacon.

I'm making a huge and hearty pot of the stew that got my fiance and I through the huge December blizzard. Should last us a few days!

Thanks for posting my question. We also had the idea to buy smore supplies we can cook over the sterno. That should be fun

Homemade (or storebought!) granola is always good to snack on!

i'm making pepperoni rolls! doubles as comfort and tailgating food. :)

You can't go wrong with a fruit or vegetable salad. Keep a bottle of your favorite non-refrigerated until opened dressing on hand. Or.. mix a can of dolphin-safe white tuna, a few teaspoons of mayo, some onion and finely chopped celery, dash of pepper and serve in hollowed out tomatoes. The hard-boiled eggs suggestion above was a good one, You can chop one up and add to your tuna! Oh, and of course low salt tortilla chips with your favorite salsa or hot sauce makes a great snack. :-)

Great question! As one of the most over prepared people (according to my husband) I usually make stew with meet and vegetables and soups for the blizzards, and bake some cookies and make sure I have plenty of supplies for hot chocolate. A hurricane is different in that there is the prospect of no power, possibly for days. We are on well water and despite having a generator I do have to be cautious about water use. So, today I have washed and bagged all the fruit and vegetables (however, this definitely conflicts with my environmental leanings) and put them ready in the fridge. I have put 2 stainless steel water bottles in the freezer to make big ice cubes to drink from and keep the freezer cool. I have started a pot of vegetable soup (in the slow cooker to keep the kitchen cooler) and will roast a chicken (plain and seasoned only) and a several drum sticks (with bbq sauce) which should give us a couple of days food. I have corn, eggplant and zucchini that I can cook on the grill once the storm has passed and I have cookies, cheese and biscuits. And wine.
And I also have several cans of things that can be used if the storm effects last weeks, or to share with neighbors if they don't have enough.
I will also get some fresh water and store it a Home Depot big water container.
Hard boiled eggs are a great suggestion - thanks! I will go and make some now.

I'm baking cookies, and I also made a tomatillo grape gazpacho that should be fine for a bit at room temp.

I'm in the same boat--I have no idea what to expect! We do have a gas stove, which makes things easier. I just finished a big pot of creamy chicken and wild rice soup, and some pumpkin muffins with walnuts are in the oven. We're also planning some basic things--our favorite cereals, which can be munched dry, PBJ, tuna...

We used to live on an island where a winter storm would put the power out for days. In between firing up the generator, we had a big cooler (the camping/summer picnic kind) loaded with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, rice krispie squares, crackers and cheese, nuts and pastries/baked goods. Add some cooler packs (we used to alternate them outside to keep a supply of cool ones) and you can keep the fridge/freezer sealed while munching away. We used our woodstove for coffee, soup and mac n cheese, but I think that's a different situation. Best of luck!

I STRONGLY recommend against trying to cook s'mores over a sterno...heating stuff up in a pot above a sterno is fine, but anything cooked directly in the flame will have a TERRIBLE chemical taste to it, and it can't be good for you, either. Just a word to the wise.

Babygrace - We bought a marshmellow melting kit that uses sterno. We didn't create the idea of using sterno for this. See http://www.sterno.com/pro/PDFs/Sterno%20S'mores%20Indoors.pdf for something from the company and http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/tips-techniques/party-idea-steno-smores-buffet--148379 from this site. Though a lot of comments question the taste. So, you may have a point...

I did this before Hurricane Ike hit Houston, and it was my best idea. Made a big pot of coffee and stored in the freezer. You can get it out in the morning and have cold coffee. Your power might be out for days, and you will be glad to have coffee.

these are all wonderful ideas, but I can't get through a hurricane without strawberry pop tarts.. not nutritious, and they have WAY too many ingredients, and I NEVER eat them otherwise, but they're in my storm kit.

Yeah, I'm in Massachusetts and we've got peanut butter and crackers, does that count? We're just hoping to make it through the night!

I already had lots of canned chickpeas - which I whip up quickly with olive oil, lemon juice, parmesan, and salt - and canned peaches for sweetness. Got some peanut butter and bread, and some Kind bars. I hard-boiled some eggs. The rest of what I got is snacky stuff - chips, etc. And beer!

I kind of approached hurricane eating like airplane eating - it's not forever, so a bit of making-do is fine by me.

I got some bottled water, filled some pitchers to store in the fridge from the tap, and filled the tub for non-drinking water. I'm not really going crazy with anything but I figured that was all easy enough to do.

Out of storm watch boredom, I actually just baked (something I never do in the summer), making muffins and a gratin.

Off to put my cold brewed coffee in the freezer -- good tip!

http://bottomofthecrisper.blogspot.com/2011/08/hurricane-preparations-poptart.html

I whipped up a pizza using pastry dough I had in the freezer and the last of the garden tomatoes...only problem is I've already eaten most of it and storm hasn't even arrived yet!

Cereal and milk requires no heating!

In case you're thinking "wait, milk is refrigerated!" it doesn't have to be. Thanks to ultra pasteurization these days, you can keep unopened cartons of milk on your shelf. If you buy a twelve pack of the small cartons that are sold to go in kid lunches, you can just open a new carton for each meal, so no worries about anything going bad.

The only hard part is finding regular flavor milk instead of the more popular strawberry or chocolate.

I'd also recommend taking things you KNOW you'll be pulling out of the fridge and putting them in a cooler with ice instead. That way you can still use the essentials, but keep the cold air shut in the fridge so you don't have to replace everything if the power comes back on in a reasonable amount of time.

@Kaete, sometimes they'll have small cartons of regular milk in the baby/toddler section of stores, instead of with all the other drinks.

I'm in NJ and anticipating electricity loss and maybe water issues. I've grouped whatever is left in my fridge into "zones" so I can reach in and grab a bunch of stuff without keeping the door open for very long. I have a lot of non-perishables but also a few vegetables and cheeses that I can put to use once they're out of the fridge.

Water is very important, too!!!! Don't forget about that - seriously! I have all 7 or 8 metal water bottles I own nearly full of water and in the freezer by now. Also: water in every pitcher, large pot, or other vessel with a lid. Full bathtub and bucket, as well. The worst that could happen is that you'd have to dump the water. Otherwise, it could all come in handy if the water isn't potable for a few days. Stay hydrated!!!!!

butane stoves are great. for wilma we used it for three weeks to cook. fortunately, we had a generator for the fridge.

oh and be safe.

I have a friend who is a restaurant health inspector. She advised me that hard-boiled eggs are an ideal room-temperature-safe snack.

*HOWEVER*: they will only keep at room temperature indefinitely if you allow them to air-cool naturally on the countertop. No shocking, no peeling, etc. Apparently, the pores in the shell will close up, effectively vacuum-sealing your egg inside and preserving it for days at a time.

Treat longterm power outages exactly as you would a long wilderness camping trip. Have foods on hand that meet at least one of these criteria:

They are nutritionally dense.
They require minimal preparation.
They require little to no refrigeration.
They have a long shelf-life.

(Extra: Flexible food options. Some things lend themselves better to mixing and matching than others).

1. **WATER. LOTS OF POTABLE WATER.** You can last for weeks without food, but mere days without water. Get a few of those giant water-cooler jugs.

2. Something that meets all four criteria: GORP/trailmix/granola. When camping, we always throw together a bag of peanuts, chocolate chips and raisins or a bag of pecans and dried apricots. Jerky falls into this category, too.

3. Never underestimate the power of instant oatmeal, ramen noodles and instant coffee (if you have the resources to boil water).

4. A couple of packs of *vacuum packed* coldcuts and single-serve hard cheeses. As long as they remail unopened, they'll keep for around a week without refrigeration. Slap them on some pita with some mustard. (Once you open each individual pack, you must eat all of its contents). I've taken both that and large bricks of Philly Cream Cheese (this just needs to be plastic-wrapped) on week-long canoe trips in the summer and they've been good right up til the end with no refrigeration.

5. Apples, bananas and oranges, carrots and celerey will last you sometime. Hummus, too.

6. Good old PB & J and crackers.

I lived in Florida for years, and we prioritized stocking up on water. Next, we chose foods that didn't need refrigeration. Instant soups, peanut butter, granola bars, instant cocoa. Now, this food was neither particularly healthy nor particularly tasty. However, in our part of Florida a storm would mean no power or running water for a minimum of two weeks. Everything in the refrigerator rots, the grocery stores get cleaned out, the interior of one's house is at least 100 degrees. Our only viable option would be to leave and say with relatives or someone else who had power.

I hope the East Coast won't face the long-term power outages and water shortages we were used to, but I agree that the focus should be on getting calories in for a week or more. Hiking/camping food is right. However, while appliances are still working, it is smart to use up some of your fresh food if possible.

#whitneyhtown - genius on the coffee plan!

just fyi: you don't actually have to boil ramen (and probably oatmeal). you can put it in water & over a few hours it will absorb the water & 'cook' itself. i have a friend who hiked the appalachian trail & he'd mix his ramen in the morning before he set out from camp & have it for lunch. do the same after lunch & his dinner was ready when he arrived at whatever point he picked to end up the day's hike.

After Hurricane Charlie, when power came up on the main streets in town, there was a 2 block line of cars waiting to get into Starbucks. There has to be a battery power coffee maker out there somewhere.

For non electric coffee makers go to www.lehmans.com and search for coffee makers. They specialize in non electric items for outdoorsman, amish and wilderness living.