A little preparation makes it easier to ride out the storm

Hurricanes can be scary.

Knowing what to eat and how to prepare it ensures no one goes hungry.

One of the easiest things to have on hand is canned and dried goods.

“We usually recommend that there be enough food for three or four days,” said Jorge Barrientos, spokesman for the South Texas Chapter of the Red Cross. “That’s about the time it takes to get back to normality.”

People should also have on hands 12 gallons per person, or three gallons of water a day on hand, Barrientos said.

“If you’ve got infants you should have a good stock of formula and make sure you have enough water,” he said.

Although most people have canned goods in their pantry, they often aren’t canned goods that people would want to eat for days on end. (How many cans of garbanzo beans do you want to eat?)

“Buy foods that you know your family enjoys,” said Diana Ennen, author of the Home Office Recovery Guide: Disaster Preparedness for Your Home Business, and a survivor of Hurricane Wilma, where her family coped with no electricity for a month.

Before purchasing large amounts of a certain kind of soup, try it and make sure the family likes it, Ennen said. Also strive for variety. If you’re going to eat soup for breakfast, lunch and dinner for days, buy a couple different kinds to avoid boredom.

With preparation, the family can eat normally for the first couple days, if people prepare meals and freeze them.

“When we know a hurricane is coming I will prepare food in the crock pot,” Ennen said. “I make it into a meal, to eat right after the hurricane.”

“One of the tips we also advise, prior to the storm, is to turn the refrigerator up to its highest level, so that everything will be colder than usual,” Barrientos said. “That way when the power goes off items can last longer than usual. Food in the refrigerator should be the first items that you consume prior to digging into canned goods.”

Barrientos cautions that food in the refrigerator, without electricity quickly goes bad, so food should be checked before it’s consumed.

Along with canned goods, Ennen recommends stocking up on peanut butter and jelly. She also encourages people to buy a fondue pot that uses a sterno.

If you have a charcoal grill you can cook any meat you have in the refrigerator in the first day or two, Ennen said. She recommends stocking up on charcoal and lighter fluid. With the grill people can make s’mores, or grilled cheese sandwiches.

“Try to be creative,” Ennen said.

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Paige Lauren Deiner covers features and entertainment for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4425. For this and other local stories, visit www.themonitor.com.