30 Easy Preparedness Ideas — Day 9

Plan 3 No-Cook Emergency Meals

Welcome to Day 9 of 30 Easy Preparedness Ideas for National Preparedness Month!

Today's challenge starts with one simple question:

What would you feed your family tonight if the power went out?

No stove.

No microwave.

Maybe no refrigerator.

And you don't know exactly when the power is coming back on.

Don't worry! Today's challenge isn't to buy a bunch of special emergency food.

We're going to shop our own pantry and find THREE meals we could serve without cooking.

Mimi's Challenge: Find 3 Meals

Head to your pantry and start looking at what you already have.

Instead of looking at individual cans and boxes, start putting foods together into MEALS.

For example:

Meal #1 — Chicken & Crackers

• Canned chicken
• Crackers
• Fruit cup or canned fruit
• Ready-to-eat canned vegetables

Meal #2 — Peanut Butter Snack Plate

• Peanut butter
• Crackers
• Applesauce or fruit cup
• Dried or freeze-dried fruit

Meal #3 — Tuna Lunch

• Tuna pouch or canned tuna
• Crackers
• Ready-to-eat vegetables
• Canned fruit
• A cookie or favorite treat

Nothing fancy.

But that's the point!

Emergency meals don't have to be complicated.

Mimi's Tip: Store MEALS, Not Just Food

Remember on Day 2 when we checked expiration dates and rotated our pantry?

I asked you to start looking for emergency meals while you were there.

Today we're taking that idea one step further.

You may have 20 cans of food in your pantry—but can you turn those cans into meals your family will actually eat?

Think:

Protein + Fruit/Vegetable + Something Filling + A Little Comfort

It doesn't have to be nutritionally perfect for one temporary meal. We're simply trying to create practical combinations that work for our household.

Today's Meals Have One Rule: NO COOKING!

For today's challenge, pretend you can't heat anything.

That means:

• No stove
• No oven
• No microwave
• No electric kettle

Choose foods that are safe and palatable to eat as packaged, following the product's directions.

Why?

Because emergencies don't always happen when it's convenient.

A power outage, evacuation or other disruption could leave you without your normal cooking equipment.

Having even three meals you know you can serve without cooking takes one more problem off your plate.

Don't Forget the Manual Can Opener!

You knew Mimi was going to mention this one. ?

If your emergency meal depends on canned food...

CAN YOU OPEN THE CAN?

Make sure you have a manual can opener.

Better yet, keep one with your emergency food supplies.

A pantry full of canned food isn't nearly as helpful when your only can opener requires electricity!

Mimi's Tip: When you're choosing emergency foods, pull-tab cans and pouches can be especially convenient—but I would still keep a manual can opener nearby.

Think About Water

Today's meals shouldn't require water for preparation, but you'll still need water to drink.

Remember Day 3? 

We started our emergency water supply with one gallon per person.

This is exactly why we're building our preparedness a little at a time.

Food and water work together.

And some foods—especially salty crackers, jerky and similar snacks—can make you thirstier.

Keep that in mind when planning your emergency menu.

Ask the Kids to Build a Meal

Here's another easy way to get the kids involved.

Give them the challenge:

“Go into the pantry and make an emergency dinner that doesn't need to be cooked.”

You may get some interesting combinations! ?

But it gets them thinking.

Would they eat it?

Does it have something filling?

Is there a fruit or vegetable?

Can they open everything without electricity?

And yes...

They can choose a little dessert too.

An emergency is stressful enough. Familiar foods and a favorite treat can bring a little comfort and normalcy.

Write Your Three Meals Down

Once you've found three meals, write them down.

Put the list inside your pantry door, emergency binder or wherever you keep your preparedness information.

For example:

NO-COOK EMERGENCY MEALS

Meal 1: Canned chicken + crackers + peaches
Meal 2: Peanut butter + crackers + applesauce + dried fruit
Meal 3: Tuna + crackers + green beans + pears

Now, when something happens, you don't have to stand in front of the pantry thinking:

“Okay...what am I supposed to make?”

You've already made the decision.

What Are You Missing?

This exercise may also reveal gaps.

Maybe you have peanut butter—but no crackers.

Tuna—but nothing to go with it.

Plenty of canned food—but no manual can opener.

That's GOOD information!

You don't have to run out and buy everything today.

Write the missing item on your normal grocery list.

Next time you're shopping, pick up one or two things.

Little by little.

Remember to Rotate!

Your no-cook emergency foods should be foods you normally eat whenever possible.

That makes rotation easy.

Use the older crackers.

Eat the canned chicken.

Put the fruit cups in lunches.

Then replace them with fresh ones.

We're not trying to create a forgotten pantry full of “emergency food.”

We're building a working pantry that can also take care of us during an emergency.

TODAY'S EASY PREPAREDNESS CHALLENGE

Go into your pantry and create:

☐ No-Cook Meal #1
☐ No-Cook Meal #2
☐ No-Cook Meal #3

Then:

☐ Make sure your family will actually eat them
☐ Check that everything can be eaten without cooking
☐ Find your manual can opener
☐ Write down your three meals
☐ Add missing ingredients to your grocery list
☐ Check that you have drinking water available

DAY 9 — DONE!

You didn't need to buy an expensive emergency meal kit today.

You simply looked at the food you already own a little differently.

Instead of seeing:

A can. A box. A pouch.

You started seeing:

BREAKFAST. LUNCH. DINNER.

That's preparedness.

Tomorrow we'll tackle another little job.

One little thing at a time.

See you tomorrow for Day 10!

— Mimi 

Eat what you store. Store what you eat.

PackFreshUSA | 30 Easy Preparedness Ideas