BlueBrooke wrote:
On Fri, 26 Oct 2012 20:56:30 -0600, "Jean wrote:

Here in the Northeast we may get a really ugly storm. I am
wondering what LC things would be good to have on hand in case of
a power outage. I don't want to be driven to eat more carbs just
because the power is out, but I am having a hard time coming up
with things to eat--and what to put in my coffee. (Previously, I
could use the little packs of milk--even chocolate milk. I gazed
at the little packs of nondairy milks at WF but the few they had
did not seem to be LC.)

I am having a hard time coming up with things. All I have thought
of is some cheeses. (Laughing Cow, which I normally don't
particularly like, has an odd label that says "refrigerate after
purchase"! Can string cheese stay out for a while?) I see some
hard sausages but try not to eat much of that sort of thing.
There are nuts and canned fish--not that I want to live on either
for many meals.

I guess I should get ice (if there is any left), and then I could
keep "milk" and a few other things in a cooler. I am sure I am
just blanking on numerous good choices, and would greatly
appreciate any suggestions that can be made in the next day or
two, so I can stock up.

Thanks!

Jean B.

This usually comes up this time of year. You can look at the archives
and see previous suggestions -- there aren't many alternatives. IIRC,
when I asked about this a couple of years ago, the thread degenerated
into a "why don't you just eat what's available" discussion, and I
remember some mention of the fact that trying to prepare for such an
eventuality borders on paranoia. Might not have been here -- can't
remember for sure which group that was in. In short -- not many
suggestions, but lots of, "why would you worry about that" stuff. I
guess none of those people have ever been stuck at home for three
weeks because of an ice storm.

That said -- your stuff doesn't need to be "out" -- it won't
instantly hit room temperature in the fridge as soon as the power goes
out. During a three-day power outage a few summers ago, we did, of
course, lose everything in the freezer, but the refrigerated stuff was
fine. In the winter, we had no problem at all. When refrigerator
space is at a premium during the holidays, we keep the excess outside
-- though we did learn that the racoons were determined enough to get
into the coolers. :-D
T
Thank you for your reply--and the warning. I was thinking that
the refrigerator had a better chance of staying cold if the door
wasn't opened. Unfortunately, the "outdoor refrigerator" will not
be an option, with temperatures in the 60s.

For future reference, the best thought I have had is some of those
Indian shelf-stable foods. Saag paneer is perhaps the best,
carb-wise, but my innards are not too pleased if I eat a lot of
it. Some of the other offerings, especially the other
paneer-based ones are also fairly good as far as carbs go.

This may be a good time to bake something LC or to put together
some homemade protein bars.

Thanks again!

Jean B.