This week I'm working on 2 major projects. I started refinishing the cabinets in the back bathroom--the goal is to do the kitchen cabinets, but the back bathroom is the perfect place to practice, so that's where I started. I will tackle the kitchen on Thursday while my husband and 2 of the kids are out of town and then post about it.
The second project is getting the food together for our 72 hour emergency kits. Now it's recommended to have 96 or even 120 hour kits as the various disasters in the US have shown that 72 hours isn't usually enough, but I figure 72 is a starting place. I've made a few kits over the years, but usually as a church activity--and it's been many years since we've have one of those. I guess it's time to take care of it on my own...which I kind of prefer anyway as we get to choose the foods we want instead of just having what was offered at church.
There are several decisons that need to be made when trying to come up with a menu. I'm battling the "having enough to eat without having it be too heavy" problem. If we just go to a shelter for an emergency, I guess it doesn't matter. But, if we ever had to hike out of anywhere, then weight really matters--carrying enough water would be a big challenge. How much do we balance just not being hungry with really eating nutriously? Do we use foods that have to be heated or go with all "cold" foods? And what about keeping the cost down? If I try too hard to keep the cost down, the task becomes overwhelming to me and it wouldn't get done.
I've decided to not worry too much about weight, try to eat as nutriously as we can, not worry too much about the cost, and only have to "cook" once a day--on 2 of the days that only means heating water. Two of the breakfasts will consist of instant oatmeal and hot chocolate. One dinner will be to heat up soup/stew/pasta or the like.
I noticed that trail mix type foods seem to be an easy and convenient. Nuts, of course, are packed with protein and calories, so are good in an emergency. But will we get sick of it after 3 days?
My plan is to rotate the foods every July--have a mock emergency and live off our 72 hour kits. That way we can see if it works OK and maybe see what changes we need to make in the menu.
Many foods now come in convenient little packages...too expensive for regular use, but worth it when it comes to emergency prep. You can get "Jiff to go" which is a little cup with peanut butter in it. Perfect.
One food that I discovered yesterday at Walmart and had to buy one for us to try is called a "Candwich." Yes, it's a sandwich in a can with a shelf life of about 1 year. Perfect for what I'm doing. We ate a honey bbq chicken one today and taste-wise it was a thumbs up all around. I wonder about preservatives in it that allow for the bread in the sandwich to last a year--but as with the high cost problem of convenience foods, I'm letting this one slide as it is only one sandwich a year we'd be eating.
I went for 1 pudding cup a day for the calium--but note that the lemon flavored pudding does not have any calcium in it. Weird, huh? The chocolate, vanilla, butterscotch, and tapioca all have as much calcium as an 8 oz glass of milk, but the lemon has 0%. It pays to read labels. Yahoo chocolate drink might have lots of calcium, but I decided to go the pudding route because I think it's lighter in weight.
So, I've bought most of the items, but not all yet. This is what it's looking like (though I haven't figured out substitutes of the meat for my vegetarian yet) with calories and cost per item:
Day 1 (1300 to 1350 cal--$3.46 plus cost of the bar)
2 oatmeal packets (320 cal-$.34)
cup of fruit (pears or peaches) (70 cal--$.45)
hot chocolate (90 cal--$.13)
Bumble Bee chicken salad and crackers (140 cal--$1.28)
granola bar (100 cal--$.17)
fruit smiles (100 cal--$.14)
fruitables fruit drink (40 cal--$.37)
lara or cliff bar (about 200-250 cal--haven't bought yet)
3 mini fruit roll ups (120 cal)--$.33)
pudding cup (120 cal--$.25)
Day 2 (1,258 cal + crackers, cheese, soup, fruit--cost?)
Breakfast on the Go (special trail mix packet) (180 cal--$.54)
cup of applesauce (100 cal--$.25)
pudding cup (120 cal--$.25)
crackers and laughing cow cheese (I hear it doesn't need refrigeration) (haven't bought yet)
granola bar (100 cal--$.17)
fruit smiles (100 cal--$.14)
cookie package (170 cal--receipt messed up don't know cost)
soup/stew/pasta can (haven't bought yet)
crackers (238 cal--receipt messed up don't know cost)
peanut butter (250 cal--$.34)
dried fruit (haven't bought yet)
Day 3 (1,580 cal--$4.72)
2 oatmeal packets (320 cal-$.34)
fruit cup (mandarin oranges) (70 cal--$.53)
hot chocolate (90 cal--$.13)
Candwich (270 cal--$1.29)
trail mix bar (140 cal--$.42)
fruit smiles (100 cal--$.14)
tuna (70 cal--$.75 w/ coupon)
trail mix (300 cal--$.62)
applesauce (100 cal--$.25)
pudding cup (120 cal--$.25)
and hard candy and gum for all 3 days
current weight of food: 3.8 lbs
current cost: $9.56 and I still need a cliff bar, crackers and laughing cow cheese, a can of soup/stew/pasta, and dried fruit (and the price of the cookies and crackers already bought)
I also am looking at rearranging the meals as some of them seem to be really weird combinations.
I have backpacks that I've bought 2nd hand to use to hold this.
Maybe next week I'll start assembling the non-food items like the buddy burner for heating up the meals.
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