Hurricane?

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Hurricane?

Postby Chumly » Wed Sep 13, 2017 12:30 pm

Hi Jeff,

How are you doing? Did the hurricane hit you hard?

Michael
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Re: Hurricane?

Postby JeffN » Wed Sep 13, 2017 12:42 pm

Thanks

We are doing fine. Things are starting to return to normal. No damage but no power yet.

Should be back by Friday.

It was a wild ride :)

At first, we were set to evacuate (from central east coast) to the far west point of FL as the initial tracking had it going up the east coast and could hit us. Then the hurricane tracking shifted and it moved towards the west coast, so we stayed. Then, at the last minute, after hitting Naples, it shifted east (central FL) and we got hurricane and tropical storm winds and rain for about 10 hours. We were lucky, as was all my family and Linda's who are in S FL. Some parts of FL (the keys, the Tampa/Marco Island area and the NE area) got hit very hard.

I was actually going to post our experience and how easy it was to survive this without our food pantry as virtually everything we had was shelf stable and easy to prepare.

I will save that for once we are completely on the other side of this.

Again, thanks
Jeff
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Re: Hurricane?

Postby VeggieSue » Thu Sep 14, 2017 5:02 am

JeffN wrote:We are doing fine. Tings are starting to return to normal. No damage but no power yet.


Good to hear.

I was actually going to post our experience and how easy it was to survive this without our food pantry as virtually everything we had was shelf stable and easy to prepare.

I will save that for once we are completely on the other side of this.


I look forward to reading your story.

A few years ago we went through 8 powerless days after Hurricane Sandy, and thanks to a well-stocked pantry of canned and dry beans, grains, and dried and canned veggies, potatoes, and a few McDougall Right Foods soups we did just fine. Lucky for us, our stove is gas powered and was unaffected by the storm, because there was no way we could have a propane camp stove in our apartment. But even if stoveless, we could have managed.
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Re: Hurricane?

Postby spinner » Thu Sep 14, 2017 6:11 am

So glad to hear that you and Linda and your families are safe. I hope the power is restored for your area very soon. We were thinking of you every time the news showed photos of southeast Florida. Best wishes to you all!
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Re: Hurricane?

Postby JeffN » Tue Sep 19, 2017 7:17 pm

VeggieSue wrote:A few years ago we went through 8 powerless days after Hurricane Sandy, and thanks to a well-stocked pantry of canned and dry beans, grains, and dried and canned veggies, potatoes, and a few McDougall Right Foods soups we did just fine. Lucky for us, our stove is gas powered and was unaffected by the storm, because there was no way we could have a propane camp stove in our apartment. But even if stoveless, we could have managed.


My story is fairly similar but, while not allowed where I live, I did use my propane camp stove (see link in post below). I could have always used it outside but either way, as you also said, we could have made it without the camping stove.

More soon..

In Health
Jeff
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Re: Hurricane?

Postby JeffN » Mon Sep 25, 2017 9:21 am

Back in 2008, I posted on the issue of foods that are good for a few days of hiking and backpacking.

https://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/view ... 07&#p42729

Many of those comments apply here.

Since 1998, I have lived in a active hurricane area and have been through quite a few hurricanes. One of the things I noticed immediately was that my regular foods were also survival foods and were easy to use during any emergency. Most of them I could eat without any need for a heating element and I could easily expand my options by utilizing my camping stove.

I also noticed that when I went into the supermarkets during the last day before the hurricanes would hit, the only foods left were often some of the healthiest. No one wanted the foods I would buy. :) I guess if there is a chance you are going to die, you might as well go out drinking beer and eating chips, snacks and junk food.

As a result, I wrote an article with Pritikin about it. Here is their updated version, edited by Pritikin, and of course, editing me out. You will notice some of my quotes in it :)

https://www.pritikin.com/your-health/he ... althy.html

In regard to Hurricane Irma, we stayed and lost power for about 3-4 days. Outside of the heat, it was fairly easy. Our emergency supplies include not only lots of water (we have about 15-20 gallons on hand all the time and go up to about 30 during hurricane season), batteries (cases of D, AA, AAA), flashlights, battery operated laterns, fans and emergency radios [that hand crank and are solar powered also], back up iPhone and computer chargers, basic medical supplies.

In regard to water, we always keep 5 3-gallon jugs of purified water on hand and then will add in bottles of purified water doing the season.

In regard to food, we always have a freezer and refrigerator stocked full. If you know an emergency is coming, you can lower the temp of the freezer and fridge days before and pack them both full of food (&/or ice) and they will hold their temperature longer. By doing so, we got about 2x the length of time recommended. To be sure, we double check the temperature in each with a thermometer. In addition, we have a pantry full of salt free canned beans, canned veggies (peas, corn, green beans), canned sweet potato, etc., Dried fruit and nuts, while calorie dense, will last a long time and can come in handy during extended emergencies.

We also keep air dried foods around. I experimented with them a few years ago and posted about it here.

https://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/view ... 22&t=44693

https://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/view ... 22&t=52735

And while they are great, we do not use them on a regular basis but they are great to keep on hand for an emergency. Most of them can be rehydrated with either cold or hot water.

The ones we keep on hand are dried sweet potato, potato, butternut squash, split peas, lentils, peas, carrots, green beans, collards, etc. We used to have more of the beans but it much easier to work with the lentils and split peas and they rehydrate much easier. Most all of the above rehydrate in 10-15 minutes with heat and about 1-2 hours without.

We ate simply at each meal and made a pot of a thick soup with a pulse (either lentils or split peas), a starchy veggie (usually sweet potato or butternut squash ) and then added in a few veggies. Ready in about 15 minutes. If there was leftover, we put in a large wide-mouth thermos, which can keep food hot (and safe) for up to 6 hours (just in time for our next meal). We used all the food in the fridge first, then the freezer, then went to the dehydrated.

Fortunately, within about 3-4 days, most of the neighborhood (including groceries and gas) was up and running. However we could have easily lasted weeks, if not months.

Last year during Hurricane Matthew, we evacuated and brought our above foods with us in the car including some frozen in a cooler. We always look for a room with a fridge, microwave and/or stove. (While I think it is not allowed by the hotels, I know some people even bring their small camping stoves with them).

Hurricane season is from June 1st to November 30th each year, with most of the action happening in September and October. Each June we go through our supplies and make sure we have everything and that everything is in working order.

For us, keeping our lives and diet simple, makes these situations easier. However, anyone could do this, even someone on a very restricted elimination diet could do it. And for those who want more variety, the variety of dried foods available is enormous. They don't take up much space and they last a very long time.

UPDATE: Here is a thread on how I applied all the above (and included exercise) during the COVID Lockdowns

https://www.drmcdougallforums.com/viewt ... 22&t=60687

In Health
Jeff
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Re: Hurricane?

Postby JeffN » Wed Sep 27, 2017 9:27 am

Here are links to the propane camping grill and the Thermos I use


Thermos Vacuum Insulated Food/Beverage Bottle
https://www.amazon.com/Thermos-Vacuum-I ... B00JDZFOXQ

Image

The above has been discontinued and replace by this one..
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CFHQ1Y7/re ... UTF8&psc=1

Coleman single burner propane portable camping stove.
https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-9940-A55 ... B000051TSC

I still have mine but I think the Coleman stove has been discontinued. Any portable camping stove would work great.

Image
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Re: Hurricane?

Postby Mike Crosby » Wed Sep 27, 2017 10:30 am

Jeff, thank you. That is some great information on preparedness.

Sad and funny--the most healthy foods are the one's that are not bought.
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Re: Hurricane?

Postby dlee » Wed Sep 27, 2017 1:49 pm

Great story Jeff, thanks for the update. Good tip turning the fridge down a bit, to keep things colder before hand.
I'd go camping with you guys anytime!! Ha Dlee :-D
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Re: Hurricane?

Postby Wild4Stars » Wed Sep 27, 2017 4:55 pm

I live in Central Florida, south of Orlando. I noticed the same thing at Publix. "Our" food was plentiful. Junk was GONE. The exception was beans. When the highly processed beans were gone people bought "our" beans. I was amazed at the Spaghetti-O's and Beef-A-Roni aisles - GONE! We have a backup, whole-house generator so power wasn't an issue, but it is still good to have plenty of food since the stores were closed. And even when they opened, there was limited food available.
"If your lifestyle doesn't control your body, your body will eventually control your lifestyle." Ern Baxter
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Re: Hurricane?

Postby JeffN » Sun Sep 01, 2019 7:57 pm

It’s that time again!
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Re: Hurricane?

Postby openmind » Sun Sep 01, 2019 8:19 pm

JeffN wrote:It’s that time again!


Stay safe!
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Re: Hurricane?

Postby MikeyG » Mon Sep 02, 2019 7:46 pm

Thanks for taking care of yourself, Jeff, and for setting a good example for the rest of us.

I hope that this hurricane season is as insignificant as possible for you and the loved ones.

Thanks, as always, for all that you do.

I hope that you and the rest of the community are having an excellent day :)
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Re: Hurricane?

Postby JeffN » Sat Oct 01, 2022 6:36 am

We were just hit by Ian and lost power for just over 48 hours.

I still have all the same equipment and emergency food and was able to easily get through it.

Hope anyone else who was effected by this storm is doing well.

In health
Jeff
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Re: Hurricane?

Postby Mark Cooper » Sat Oct 01, 2022 2:23 pm

JeffN wrote:We were just hit by Ian and lost power for just over 48 hours.

I still have all the same equipment and emergency food and was able to easily get through it.

Hope anyone else who was effected by this storm is doing well.

In health
Jeff

Glad to know you made it through OK! Best wishes to all who are or were affected.
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