Author Topic: Ideas needed for power outage/ Food  (Read 4000 times)

NewChap

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Ideas needed for power outage/ Food
« on: November 01, 2018, 10:17:54 AM »
We sold our house and have moved to a rental. We live in the NE and it's not unusual to be without power for 1-2 days during major snowstorms. This will be our first winter in a rental with an electric stove, previous house had gas stove so we could still cook and have hot meals. I've thought about using a camp stove in the garage with the door raised one panel. Just thought I'd post to see if anyone had come up with options besides eating PB&J for breakfast lunch and dinner :) Thanks!

I'm a red panda

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Re: Ideas needed for power outage/ Food
« Reply #1 on: November 01, 2018, 10:38:25 AM »
1-2 day power outage? No problem, you don't need to resort to 3 meals a day of PB&J.  It's more than 2 days that it starts getting a bit harder, as most of the things we eat tend to be more "snacks make a meal".

We like canned tuna on crackers.
Salads don't require cooking- vegetable salads w/ lettuce, or fruit salads.
Summer sausage with cheese on crackers
Chips and salsa, (or jarred queso)

We also keep fruit cups, pop-tarts, nuts, raisins on hand in the winter.
You can eat cereal with milk. (When the power goes out, throw a cooler of food on the back porch or in the garage unless you live somewhere animals are a big concern.  For us, the nice thing about power outages during snowstorms is we don't have to worry about refrigeration...  with this method you could use precooked chicken breast to make a chicken wrap, or a really nice sandwich)


SunnyDays

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Re: Ideas needed for power outage/ Food
« Reply #2 on: November 01, 2018, 11:15:35 AM »
I have a barbeque that hooks up to the house gas line, and before that I had a small hibachi and a bag of charcoal.  A camp stove would work too.  Or a fondue pot with fuel for warming soups so you don't have to sit in the garage.

GuitarStv

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Re: Ideas needed for power outage/ Food
« Reply #3 on: November 01, 2018, 11:25:50 AM »
I've heated up soup and cooked meals on our (propane) BBQ in the backyard in the dead of winter when the power was out for a couple days.  Food is no biggie at all.  Honestly, my concern is usually that the house temperature doesn't drop so low that the pipes burst.  Remember that without the blower operating, your gas furnace won't kick in.  It can be handy to have a couple dozen safety candles for this reason (they heat up a room surprisingly well), or a kerosene lamp.  Also, open all the south facing blinds when the sun comes out.

soccerluvof4

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Re: Ideas needed for power outage/ Food
« Reply #4 on: November 01, 2018, 02:00:04 PM »
Portable Generator. Little honda one.

Tempname23

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Re: Ideas needed for power outage/ Food
« Reply #5 on: November 01, 2018, 05:25:14 PM »
I should have a lot of ideas being in Panama City Fl. we just went 5 days without faucet water and 8 days without electricity, and we were the lucky ones!
  I agree on a small generator, you can size it to run the fridge and a microwave or a two burner stove. If you have a freezer and need to save the food, make sure it has the power needed.
  I don't know your need for heat, that could be a big one, you don't want pipes to freeze, again a bigger generator. You need fuel for the generator, the first few days fuel was not available.
People waited 3 and 4 hours in line for gas when it came in.
  For water we had a bathtub filled with water, although we were late filling it and it was a bit dirty. We sat in our second tub with a 3 gallon bucket of water and used that to wash and rinse with, the second day my wife said, we need to put the pails in the sun all day before we bath, yes, the first bath was what I might call very exhilarating! :-)
 About the 3rd day, ice and water bottles were starting to be distributed, very much appreciated.
 On the fourth day we had MRE's and groups were making food for people.
 A propane stove would be reasonable for cooking.
 I still don't have cable internet, and they don't have any estimate, could be a month or more.
I bought an AT&T phone and I'm tethering my laptop to it. My Verizon phone has very poor service, and none for the first 4 or 5 days.
« Last Edit: November 04, 2018, 06:53:15 AM by Tempname23 »

kimmarg

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Re: Ideas needed for power outage/ Food
« Reply #6 on: November 01, 2018, 06:50:01 PM »
We sold our house and have moved to a rental. We live in the NE and it's not unusual to be without power for 1-2 days during major snowstorms. This will be our first winter in a rental with an electric stove, previous house had gas stove so we could still cook and have hot meals. I've thought about using a camp stove in the garage with the door raised one panel. Just thought I'd post to see if anyone had come up with options besides eating PB&J for breakfast lunch and dinner :) Thanks!

what's your heating situation? I finaly folded and got a generator because the furnace doesn't work in power outages. PBJ 24/7 is one thing but frozen pipes is quite another...

Papa bear

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Re: Ideas needed for power outage/ Food
« Reply #7 on: November 01, 2018, 07:37:30 PM »
Portable Generator. Little honda one.
Or get the harbor freight knock off 2000watt inverter generator.  1/2 price of the Honda.  Rumor has it they took the honda, tore it apart/reverse engineered it, and built close to a clone.


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AccidentialMustache

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Re: Ideas needed for power outage/ Food
« Reply #8 on: November 01, 2018, 10:09:54 PM »
If I'm renting I wouldn't be buying a generator for it unless it was to my advantage. Frozen pipes due to a power outage? Not my responsibility, not my problem. Call your landlord tell them power is out and its getting cold and you're worried the pipes may freeze.

Got a fireplace? Get a little wood burning stove and use that. https://www.solostove.com/solo-stove-lite as an example. Not that I've sat and cooked smores over ours in the fireplace while WFH in the dead of winter. Of course not! That would be tasty! I mean silly!

Heck of a lot cheaper than a generator, plus its fun to make smores inside in the dead of winter that taste right (wood fire -- microwave, etc just isn't the same).

Papa bear

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Re: Ideas needed for power outage/ Food
« Reply #9 on: November 02, 2018, 05:38:52 AM »
If I'm renting I wouldn't be buying a generator for it unless it was to my advantage. Frozen pipes due to a power outage? Not my responsibility, not my problem. Call your landlord tell them power is out and its getting cold and you're worried the pipes may freeze.

Got a fireplace? Get a little wood burning stove and use that. https://www.solostove.com/solo-stove-lite as an example. Not that I've sat and cooked smores over ours in the fireplace while WFH in the dead of winter. Of course not! That would be tasty! I mean silly!

Heck of a lot cheaper than a generator, plus its fun to make smores inside in the dead of winter that taste right (wood fire -- microwave, etc just isn't the same).
Remind me never to rent to you...



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CrustyBadger

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Re: Ideas needed for power outage/ Food
« Reply #10 on: November 02, 2018, 06:11:10 AM »
There's a great little canned fuel I used to store, called "Heat Cell".   It lasts a lot longer than sterno (doesn't evaporate in storage) and heats faster.  IT is supposed to be safe to use indoors.  I've used it on my enclosed back porch.   It would allow you at least to heat up some water for coffee or hot cocoa or to warm up some canned soup.   The fuel canisters are pretty expensive to use for things like cooking rice or pasta, but the water will eventually boil so it could be done.  It's a good option for apartment dwellers who aren't legally allowed to store things like propane gas canisters.

http://www.heatcell.com/index.html

misshathaway

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Re: Ideas needed for power outage/ Food
« Reply #11 on: November 02, 2018, 08:18:48 AM »
We sold our house and have moved to a rental. We live in the NE and it's not unusual to be without power for 1-2 days during major snowstorms. This will be our first winter in a rental with an electric stove, previous house had gas stove so we could still cook and have hot meals. I've thought about using a camp stove in the garage with the door raised one panel. Just thought I'd post to see if anyone had come up with options besides eating PB&J for breakfast lunch and dinner :) Thanks!

I live in the same region and am doing the same prep this year. For coffee I got an Esbit CS585HA 3-Piece Lightweight Camping Cook Set for Use with Solid Fuel Tablets and just tried it out this morning. About $30 on Amazon with 12 fuel tabs. The fuel tab said it would last for 15 min but actually burned for 30. No wind on my kitchen stovetop, maybe that accounts for it. It can boil 16oz of water with much time to spare.

Prairie Stash

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Re: Ideas needed for power outage/ Food
« Reply #12 on: November 03, 2018, 12:11:50 PM »
If I'm renting I wouldn't be buying a generator for it unless it was to my advantage. Frozen pipes due to a power outage? Not my responsibility, not my problem. Call your landlord tell them power is out and its getting cold and you're worried the pipes may freeze.

You can also just ask the landlord to supply a heat source for the pipes.

If the landlord doesn't even worry about frozen pipes, why are you worried? Call them and ask, any decent landlord wouldn't be offended.

I understand a lot of slum lords don't want to keep on top of problems, but I hope you have a good landlord that doesn't mind a phone call if you suspect a problem with the propoerty might occur.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Ideas needed for power outage/ Food
« Reply #13 on: November 05, 2018, 06:16:07 AM »
Buy yourself some dehydrated emergency foods. Here is one source: https://www.readyproject.com/products/ark-390-food-storage This same thing at Costco is $114.99. Costco has lots of other choices too.

Put together an emergency kit including first aid kit, can opener, flashlight(s), batteries, bottled water.

Here is a camping stove: https://www.legacyfoodstorage.com/products/bobcat-emergency-stove-and-16-48-or-96-hour-survival-fuel-source?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=bingcse&utm_term=4579878247052117&utm_content=Product%20Ads

Load up on canned foods that just need warming up or you can eat out of the can. Soups, canned tuna, canned salmon, canned chicken, canned beef, sardines, canned vegetables, canned tomatoes. Peanutbutter, other nut butters, nuts, dehydrated fruits. Prunes, raisins, cranberries.

Like someone else said, get a well insulated cooler and load it up with ice. You can put milk, meat, eggs, egg beaters, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese in it and much, much more! Getting ice will be the biggest challenge though. Maybe buy ice before the storm and put it in the cooler then. Cooler that does not need ice or electricity: https://coolmaterial.com/gear/outdoors/fenik-yuma-cooler/

Goldielocks

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Re: Ideas needed for power outage/ Food
« Reply #14 on: November 07, 2018, 11:32:20 AM »
I made this for my backpacking trip (Chili with Macaroni).   I had left overs and now use it as my winter dinner when the power is out.   It uses very little fuel to rehydrate / heat up, and I definitely want a hot meal in the cold house.   e.g., I can use a mini alcohol stove to boil the water, if I want to.


https://www.backpackingchef.com/how-to-make-chili.html


I dehydrate macaroni to go with it, and pop it into my freezer for long term storage, or it will be fine for 6 months in a cool pantry.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Ideas needed for power outage/ Food
« Reply #15 on: November 07, 2018, 12:43:11 PM »
You can buy boxed shelf stable milk or shelf stable boxed almond milk, boxes of cereal, packets of instant oatmeal, jerky, spam, canned corned beef, precooked bacon, Carnation instant breakfast, ensure, canned protein drinks, canned beans, canned just about anything!

HipGnosis

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Re: Ideas needed for power outage/ Food
« Reply #16 on: November 07, 2018, 06:48:48 PM »
My default answer use to be; pop tarts.   Shelf life of 12 mos.  Can be heated (warmed) over a camp stove or any flame.  A variety of flavors.  Add PB for a more substantial 'meal'.

Tuna and crackers, pickles, lots of veg's can be eaten raw, but in winter you want something warm.  The camp stove will work.
Soup and canned meats; chili, stew, chicken & dumplings, beef-a-roni...  make sure you have a manual can opener.
Buy aluminum loaf pans to use w/ the camp stove.

I'd also use oil lamps (I have quite a variety) for both light and heat.   I like that they are adjustable and you can see how much oil is there (in most of them).  You want at least two - so you can use one while refilling the other.
And so one can be taken to the bathroom...

But, in NE winter; you don't need refrigeration - put some jugs of water outside to freeze and put them in your fridge, it is a big 'cooler'.  That means you don't have to buy foods that don't need refrigeration.
Hot dogs heat up nicely over a camp stove, esp if you have a couple sticks.

moof

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Re: Ideas needed for power outage/ Food
« Reply #17 on: November 07, 2018, 08:04:53 PM »
Butane cooktop works, about 20 bucks off amazon.
Propane camp stove works.
Isobutane backpacking stoves work.
Maintain adequate ventilation or cook outside.
MRE’s with chemical heaters are edible’ish.
PB&J’s, pop tarts, granola bars, cereal with Nido milk powder.
Room temp canned food is more edible than you think.
Jerky and trail mix is shelf stable for months.

AnnaGrowsAMustache

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Re: Ideas needed for power outage/ Food
« Reply #18 on: November 10, 2018, 01:40:45 PM »
A little gas BBQ will solve all of those issues. Personally I would have a freezer full of pre-prep meals and eat from there, heated on the BBQ. You get two benefits - decent meals, and the more you have in your freezer the more time it will take to significantly thaw the food in a power outage.

FindingFI

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Re: Ideas needed for power outage/ Food
« Reply #19 on: November 11, 2018, 08:11:19 AM »
A regular grill, small tabletop grill or camping stove will go a long way.  We use our grill year round anyway, so we make the same types of meals when the power goes out as we would any other day.  We don't do any special storm food prepping (stocking up on shelf stable stuff, etc.)  Still got the ability to boil, saute, grill and roast.

We do however meal plan by triage once the power does go out and it may be a bit before it comes back, eating whatever is likely to go bad the quickest first.  Fridge stuff gets eaten first, then anything that is starting to thaw in the freezer. We try to avoid the cabinets since that stuff will be fine.  Worst case, everything gets piled in coolers and goes outside where its cold enough to keep for a while. 

nazar

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Re: Ideas needed for power outage/ Food
« Reply #20 on: November 11, 2018, 09:28:09 AM »
For camping I like to use shelf stable precooked rice and precooked chicken for an arroz con pollo with reduced cooking time, just add seasoning.  Both can be found at Costco or at regular grocery stores.  Not as good as cooked from scratch, but still 1000 times better than Mountain House freeze dried, which is another option.