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All About Hurricane Prep
Let’s face it, hurricane prep is not exactly anyone’s favorite task. We’ve been through some hurricanes before, so we get it. Peter is a Florida native, and Isabelle moved down in time for Matthew and Irma (that last one was pretty bad). So, we know what it’s like to have to worry about flooding, power outages, water outages, and stocking up on supplies pre-hurricane when the stores are running out of supplies. As soon as Dorian really became big in the news yesterday, we headed to Publix to find that they were already running low on canned foods and bottled water.
If it weren’t already a challenge to stock up on supplies, when you have celiac/coeliac disease or food allergies then hurricane prep can be even more daunting. Not only do you have to worry about beating the crowds to get your hands on non-perishable foods, but you also have to worry about what foods are left. Are they gluten-free? Are they allergy-friendly? Do they have 3 days worth?
With all that in mind, we’re going to share our top 3 hurricane prep tips for celiacs with you — just in time for Hurricane Dorian this weekend.
Tip #1: Foods to Stock Up On
When you’re stocking up on foods during hurricane prep, the first thing you need to do is get to a store ASAP. You might already have some non-perishable items, but there’s a chance that you’ll be out of power longer than you’d expect (I’m looking at you, Irma).
While the usuals like water and canned foods will probably work, we’ve also run into the struggle of finding gluten-free foods to keep us going. We obviously can’t do canned pasta (like Spaghetti O’s), but fruits, certain cheeses and deli meats, nuts, chips, snack bars, and so on, are usually what we go for. This is the easiest part of hurricane prep, so long as you can get these kinds of foods before the stores run out.
We also make sure to have things like bread, jam, and peanut butter. We make our own bread, so we just make sure to have some ready to go before the storm hits. Anything that might go bad or need to be made beforehand (like cookie dough from the fridge) is also a good call.
Tip #2: Cooking During and After the Hurricane
If you have a grill, then you have more cooking options if you lose power during the hurricane. Unfortunately, we’ve found that it’s hard to get propane in the days leading up to the hurricane (like right now), but if you have enough propane (or charcoal, depending on the grill) to get by, then this is a great option.
The one thing that we realized last time a hurricane hit was that grilling was great because it let us eat food other than just snacks, but whatever we cooked we had to eat right away. We bought a big steak to split between the two of us, and as great as it was, we had to finish it because we couldn’t refrigerate the leftovers.
Tip #3: Eating Out Post-Hurricane
The biggest struggle that we had during Irma was that we had very, very limited options for eating out. Most restaurants had fixed menus and limited supplies post-hurricane, so we had a hard time finding anywhere that Isabelle could eat.
Restaurants are great when you need to cool down and want some real food, but we drove to probably 3 or 4 restaurants before we could find somewhere that we could eat. Even when we did find something, Isabelle’s options were limited to a protein with no sides. If you have fewer food allergies or sensitivities than she does then you might be okay, but you might want to aim for an area with a lot of restaurants so that you have more options.
The Most Important Part of Hurricane Prep
No matter your food allergies, the best advice that we can give is to start planning and gathering supplies as soon as you can. At the same time, try not to panic. Hurricanes can be stressful, but if you start planning as soon as you can, use some of what you already have at home, and scope out your options for after the storm, then it’ll be much more manageable.
Stay safe out there, everyone!