Eating and no power

[need2cruise]

Just trying to prepare myself for what may happen, but most likely won't! What do you eat when you have days without power? Do you have a propane camp stove, heat over the kerosene heater/fireplace?

 

[SaraJayne]

We have a gas grill that we've used. Believe it or not, frozen pizza is pretty good on a grill!

One thing I'd think about is if you currently have frozen meat you're planning on using, defrost it now (either half or all the way) and stick it in the fridge. If the power is out, you won't have the microwave to defrost meat.

I know it seems obvious, but I'm the person that even when I "know" the power is out, I still flip the lightswitch, just out of habit.

 

[need2cruise]

I'm still in denial that it will even happen! We are expected to get all the ice, over 1 inch and possibly some snow on top of the ice Wed. They are warning everyone that this can result in long term power loss. All winter though, every big storm that was predicted, just fizzled out. Then, when they did not give any prediction I would wake up to find it really bad outside and the road conditions dangerous! I think all the crying "wolf" has me leary on what to believe.

I wasn't sure if everyone just stocked up on foods they would not have to cook or if there was a quick way to cook various types of foods! I will miss my oven if this happens!

 

[Christine]

Well, there's the grill.

Other than that, I would get some large coolers and when your power has been off long enough move things like milk and lunch meat/mayo etc. to the coolers. I would probably eat mostly sandwiches and cereal until power is restored.

I am lucky that I have gas cooktop and can light it with a match/lighter.

Then, you can always go out hopefully!

 

[Sorsha]

Well, it depends on how MANY days without power - we have never had to deal with more than just a couple in a row here in MT. Also, many people here have woodstoves so they just cook on them.

We just cook on the BBQ grill though; there isn't much we can't cook on the BBQ grill, and we grill all winter long, so the propane grill bottles are always kept filled up.

If the power goes out, and its seems like it is going to be out for an extended period of time, we start moving things that might spoil into animal-proof containers outside on the back deck. This time of year, it is MORE than cold enough to keep the perishables cold outside. Then we cook on the BBQ.

Honestly, keeping WARM is more of an issue than how to cook. We do NOT have a woodstove, so if the power is out for too very long we would get very cold very fast. Just the air temperature this morning is -8°. Add in the wind chill, and its about -25°.

 

[IdesOmarch]

Always best to be prepared, we live on a main street with a main electric substation right near our house, so typically when power goes down, its no more than 2 hours tops. Our very first winter storm hit about a month ago and within hours power went out, for almost 12 hours!

Yes I would use your gas powered or coal outdoor grill best and easiest way IMO.

 

[need2cruise]

We are fine heat wise. We have a gas fireplace that is fine when power goes out as well as several kerosene heaters and stored kerosene that we can use if need be. We sold all of our camping gear and no longer have our camp stove, but thought about going out to purchase one just in case.

Last time we were without power, we ate whatever I cooked on that camp stove! This time I was not sure how to do it! We have the usual things like sandwiches, soups, cereal, etc that we can eat. But that would get old fast but I guess if that is our only option for a few days, it would be doable.

Also, last time we were without power, it was for over a week! No out to eat places were open since noone had power. I was glad we had our camp stove but now I am at a loss!

 

[need2cruise]

We no longer have our grill. It was old and wore out so once we used the last of the gas in September we trashed it and buying a new one come spring. Maybe we should do that now instead of waiting until April. It has been bad not having that because we used to grill out all winter too (even our Christmas dinner is cooked on the grill). Talk about weather getting bad when you are least prepared!

I just hate to go out and buy stuff if the weather changes and we only get rain!

 

[ksjayhawks]

First, we clean out the fridge of deli meats, cheeses, fruits, leftovers that can be eaten cold, etc. Eat cereal to use up the milk; also have canned fruit on hand. Then we cook on the gas grill or the propane camp stove if it lasts that long. Worse for us would be staying warm enough w/o the power--we have a fireplace so could use and then block off the great room and kitchen area with blankets as best as we could to keep the little heat there would be in those rooms instead of going up.

When I was growing up, we had a gas stove, so if power went off, my dad would hang heavy blankets over the door to the kitchen and light the stove. He would open the door to the cellar a crack for ventilation. We could still cook and eat, but having to leave that warm room go to the cold bathroom was a chilling experience to say the least! Also slept under piles of blankets at night with a hot water bottle at my feet. If it went on for more than two days and we could get on the roads, we went to my grandma's as she had steam heat (and a gas stove) and it was always toasty warm there!

 

[FireDancer]

I have my grill stored in the garage for the winter so if the power is out I'd use that. I would bury anything I want to keep frozen in the snow, God knows I have enough of it.

 

[SaraJayne]

And not just you, OP, but for everyone...don't forget a good old fashioned can opener. You can get them really cheaply and you'll need it once the power goes out (if you mainly use an electric can opener).

 

[Kathi OD]

Back in the 90's we were without power for 4 or 5 days. We emptied the contents of our refrigerator into some coolers, and packed them with snow instead of ice.

We're campers, so had a Coleman stove that uses fuel, not propane, that we used for cooking. Coleman lanterns were used for light at night. We also had a wood burning stove in the living room that we used to keep the kitchen & living room nice and toasty. Everyone slept in the living room, with DH and I on the sleeper sofa and the kids on the floor. We played cards and board games, read, & listened to the radio (battery-operated). When it came time to wash, we just heated water on the stove and did our best.

Ask my kids and they will tell you it was one of the best memories they have of growing up.

If you're not a camper, I'd suggest battery-operated lamps and at least one battery-operated radio. Coolers are also a good idea, but it will be cold outside, so you really don't need to worry about coolers, unless you have critters. If you have a gas grill, just use that for cooking. You can get a griddle for it or just use a cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil to cook grilled cheese sandwiches, pizza slices, and even eggs!

 

[mjkacmom]

We lose power a few times a year (or at the very least/ phone, internet, and cable). In the summer, the issue is lack of a/c, and having the food go bad (the trick is to NEVER open the fridge and freezer, and stuff can last a couple of days). Food isn't a problem in the winter, because our grill is hooked up to our gasline, and it can be used as a stove or an oven. Food can also be stored outside. The real issue is lack of heat, but knock on wood, I don't think we've lost power in the winter for more than 24 hours. Strong winds and rain tend to weaken the ground, and we have lots of very old oak trees, in a densly populated area, and they knock down wires left and right during storms.

 

[IdesOmarch]

I was just pricing grills at Wal-Mart yesterday and you would be surprised that you can get an awesome new large grill for like 150, and there are plenty of others even cheaper, coal grill you could get for like $25 or so if you just wanted to burn coal. YOu may want to rush out and stock up, can't hurt to have a grill anyway for summer cookouts and stuff.

 

[need2cruise]

Hopefully it is cold enough we won't have to worry about anything going bad! We do not have enough coolers to store everything because we keep a pretty stocked freezer. We do have snow and can bury it in the snow...no creatures around that I am aware of other than squirrels!

I love hearing the stories of what everyone did when the lost power! It makes it sound like it can be a fun time if you roll with it and allow it to be!

It is just hard to believe that it will even happen at this point even though weather forecasters are saying it. Anyone else in IN have that same feeling that it will end up missing us as usual?

 

[need2cruise]

I was just pricing grills at Wal-Mart yesterday and you would be surprised that you can get an awesome new large grill for like 150, and there are plenty of others even cheaper, coal grill you could get for like $25 or so if you just wanted to burn coal. YOu may want to rush out and stock up, can't hurt to have a grill anyway for summer cookouts and stuff.

Good idea! Dh was wanting to wait to look at all the "new, upgraded" models. At this point I'm thinking that I am the one who uses it, I'll get what ever is out there that is gas that I like and just buy it. I miss my grilled veggies!

 

[HeatherC]

We use our Coleman camping stove. I also stock up on broth, canned goods and veggies. That way i can always make a quick soup or stew.

I also bought a $40 battery charger/ inverter thing from Walmart a few years ago. It has enough watts to run my crockpot and works great in an emergency to charge phones, ipods, etc..

As long as I can boil water, I am all set. Can make coffee, pasta, hot chocolate, soup, stew, oatmeal, etc..

Those Coleman stoves are really awesome.

Hoping you all stay safe and warm!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

We get all our storm outages when it's muggy, hot and nasty, so I can't help you there.

However some commomalities:

If you can find one, get a hand cranked radio/flashlight. If you can find one, get one with a cigarette lighter attachment so you can plug your cell phone charges into it as well.

Also, playing cards are good. Card games are easy, don't take a lot of light or room and you can see the cards even in most gloom. In addition there are games for all ages and group sizes.

Have every piece of laundry possible done and wash everything, even things that don't need washing (like sheets and comforters) Scrub the house down top to bottom if you have time. It's amazing how dirty things get without electricity and having everything clean beforehand makes things easier during the outage.

Oh! If you get a gas grill, make sure to get one with a burner. I do love my gas grill burner during a power outage. Just like having a stove!

My prayers are with you.

 

[need2cruise]

We use our Coleman camping stove. I also stock up on broth, canned goods and veggies. That way i can always make a quick soup or stew.

I also bought a $40 battery charger/ inverter thing from Walmart a few years ago. It has enough watts to run my crockpot and works great in an emergency to charge phones, ipods, etc..

As long as I can boil water, I am all set. Can make coffee, pasta, hot chocolate, soup, stew, oatmeal, etc..

Those Coleman stoves are really awesome.

Hoping you all stay safe and warm!

I may look for one of those inverter things, it would be nice to be able to run the crockpot or even the coffee pot after I found out what dh is currently doing. Dh is currently make a few pots of coffee ( ) so that he can just pour into the hot water kettle and put on the heater to warm up.

I think I am going to make a huge pot of chili that we can reheat if need be.
For now,I am going to go and get a gas grill and hope the propane place is open today!

 

[NotUrsula]

If you use a camp stove, remember that they are NOT designed to be used indoors. They give off a large amount of carbon monoxide.