Meal Planning Is Extremely Important Without Refrigeration

You may have stockpiles of beans, white rice and other grains, dried pasta, dehydrated foods, and some MRE’s, which are all foods that have an extended shelf life in their current form but what about after you have cooked a portion. The leftovers will require refrigeration, and if you do not have refrigeration what then.

If it is just you eating, then there may not be a problem. It is easy to portion out food for one person, food that can all be eaten in one meal, but what about for a family or group. Will the food you cook be eaten in one meal, or will you have to worry about leftovers spoiling. You cannot afford to waste any food, so planning is crucial. Knowing how to portion out foods is something that you should learn sooner rather than later. Knowing portion sizes is important when it comes to meal planning.

You cannot just “wing it” when it comes to cooking during a crisis, in particular when you do not have any way of refrigerating or otherwise preserving leftovers for the next meal.

Read the directions carefully when it comes to preparing dehydrated foods. Portion control is the key. Some dehydrated foods come in larger cans and you may have to divide the contents into smaller containers for traveling or bugging out, so make sure you know how much is in each container and have a way of measuring the food out. A set of measuring cups or spoons will be invaluable in the kitchen.

Do not open up more canned food than you would need. Start small and if people are still hungry open up more, but start small, because once the can is opened it needs to be eaten or preserved somehow. This, of course, applies to foods you have canned yourself, as well. Once the canned chicken or pork is opened, it needs to be eaten before it can spoil.

There are certain leftovers you can feed your dogs and some of you may have planned on doing just this with the leftovers, but do you know there are certain foods that Fido cannot eat.

For more on what foods they can and cannot eat visit

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/people-foods-avoid-feeding-your-pets

Chocolate, coffee, onions, garlic, grapes, and raisins are just a few of the foods that can be toxic to your pet along with avocados and the seeds of some of your favorite fruit. Take the time to visit the website so you know what is safe to feed your pets before deciding to share your leftovers so they do not go to waste.

MRE’s are portioned so that they can be eaten as a meal, so there is not such a worry unless feeding children. Divide one MRE between two children for a meal to see if it is sufficient and know the calorie count. The typical MRE has roughly 1,250 calories, which is about one-third of the daily requirement for a military member, which would be approximately a third more than the average civilian adult would likely need daily. With that being said, however, your physical activity may very well rise during a crisis so you may have to increase your calorie intake daily to meet the physical demands.

The recommendations refer to an adult person with moderate activity. For women, it should be around 2000 and for men 2500-2800 calories (kcal) each day.

Toddlers need roughly 1300 calories each day. For children aged 7 to 10, the estimated average requirement of energy is 1970 kilocalories a day for boys and 1740 kcal for girls.

Food is critically important during a crisis and not just from a physical standpoint but from a psychological one as well. Looking forward to a hot meal is what keeps people motivated sometimes, and the sense of normalcy is very important for adults and children alike.

Variety, nutritional value, and amounts must be planned carefully. Add 10 to 15 percent more than what you need to account for spoilage, waste and for sharing with others.