14 Days of Calm

14 days of calm

• What: An event happens. Could have been a tornado or a flood. This time it was a pandemic. When we have an event like this in our lives, we all experience it personally and socially. We have individual reactions and perspectives and we have group understandings. In this time our group may be more virtual than usual, and we have lots of time to reflect on that experience and take a close look at what happened. Now is a good time to ask the question: So what does this all mean and what got us to where we are in our situations and how prepared we were?

• So What: This event had a series of direct and indirect impacts on most of our daily lives. Certain items were harder to find. Social distance parameters were adopted to slow the spread of the virus. A great number of people were told to stay home, and others were isolated for 14 days because they caught or were exposed to the virus. Questions you should be asking yourselves: Am I comfortable with my level of preparation? Do I have the essentials, enough to get by for a few days? Do I have more than the basic and enough to feel like I’m not needing to rush out and scavenge the store shelves? Do I have more than enough, which puts me in a position to share with others if need be. What about the quality of what I have? Am I eating basic meals and feeling that I must change my habits to make it through this time? Do I have the kind of resources that make my life about the same quality as it was before the crisis? How calm do I feel?

• Now What: Let’s just deal with the subject of food for the purpose of this blog. Fourteen days at home with no going out and limited access to foodstuffs can create undue stress even if you have people to help bring you groceries or restaurants to deliver. You need to be able to take care of yourself and your family’s needs and then when you want or absolutely require assistance reach out for it. Some of you reading this are already stocked and probably thinking that this is very basic. The thing is that everyone is self-reliant in different ways. When you read through the list of basic food items below the first thing you are going is add or substitute are your preferred food items. That’s a great place to start when you adopt any rough plan of action.

Stocking up for 14 Days

• 28 cans of vegetables: Yes of course you would probably rather have fresh, then frozen and then canned but we are building a corner of your self-reliant household to be ready for any emergency - not just this virus - and as such a storage method that addresses potential power outages is a good thing. Separately, whatever is left over after this event we would like to turn into the baseline for our 14-day stock which you can slowly restock to a level you are comfortable with without wasting food. Also, if you don’t use it in the future you can always donate it to a food pantry before it expires.

• 4 cans/jars of tomato sauce: Tomato sauce is essential for making a complimentary, or combined, protein with pasta and rice.

• 14 cans of fruit: This is a high energy morale boosting part of your pantry. They are great to use while on the mend from an illness and on a regular basis to add variety or make a baked cobbler. Dried fruit is a great substitute with two exceptions: dried fruit is more expensive and you will need to rotate it. Raisins of course are a great dried fruit to add to your storage.

• 3 pounds of rice & 3 pounds beans: That is 3 ounces dry food each per day for each person. This is your other complimentary/combination protein. Grain and legumes (beans) cooked together combine to help your body use the proteins. Think of a big bowl of red beans and rice as a meal. Pick lentils, pinto, navy, or whatever you like. However, if you just don’t like black beans you are not going to like them any more during an emergency so store what you will eat. Canned baked beans are a great treat so if you like them add a few cans to your pantry. Rice packets/boxes with spices are great tasting and easy to prepare. Precooked rice in packages is good also but has a shorter shelf life.

• 6 pounds of pasta: 3 ounces dry each day for each person. Choose the types you like to eat. Veggie and high protein pastas are available as well as gluten free.

• 1 canister of quick oats (2lbs & 10 ounces): Quick oats take less energy to prepare and will work better in a situation where power is an issue. If you prefer instant oatmeal you can substitute or add a few boxes.

• 4-8 cans of chicken or turkey: If you are used to eating meat you will need to stock some protein. Stock SPAM if you like it but don’t put it in your stock if you won’t eat it cold.

• 4-8 cans of tuna, or other fish: This may be an item that you use with a sauce or mayonnaise. If so, then add a jar or two of that sauce to your stock. Remember that it helps your overall morale/attitude to enjoy the meals you are eating during an emergency, so it is ok to add the sauces and condiments to your pantry as you find them.

• 1 pound of peanut butter or nut butter.

• 24-32 ounces of oil: Your choice. I like to keep several smaller, sealed bottles because if I lose one to spoilage or leakage for whatever reason I haven't lost all of my oil.

• 1 pound of butter/butter alternative: Keep it in the freezer and rotate like your oil.

• 2-3 pounds of coffee: Or one large can of coffee if you drink coffee. You should rotate this like your oil to keep it fresh especially if you are storing bags as they will not last as long as a can.

• 12 quarts of dried or boxed (long shelf life) milk: If you use milk daily, if not just keep a small amount for baking/cooking.

• Tea: Whatever you normally consume you should have in storage.

• Salt, pepper, bullion: These are the basics you will need to simply make any meal more palatable. If you are reading this saying “gotta have hot sauce!” then you absolutely want to add hot sauce to the list of stored items.

• Spices: Any other spices that you normally eat (for example cinnamon on your oatmeal) you can just make sure that you have half of a jar on your shelf at any time.

• Drink mixes: Something to flavor water and keep you hydrated. A container of regular Gatorade (or something similar) is a great thing to have on hand for rehydrating when you are sick or making water taste better if you need to boil it after a natural disaster.

• Dry soup mixes: These can be pricey but really nice to have on hand.

• Flour, baking soda, baking powder: For those baker’s out there you will want to add these items to your stock. You will need to rotate the flour as you rotate your oil as it will not have the shelf life of canned foods.

• Baking mixes: This is not an essential, however, having some brownies or whatever you like makes it really simple to have a treat or celebrate a special occasion. You will need to rotate these on a regular basis.