Paleo During Power Outages

The weathermen are scaring Oklahomans. Word is a horrible winter storm will hit Wednesday night bringing an inch of ice and multiple inches of snow. This also means we are at a very high risk for power outages across the area due to thick ice accumulation. Tulsa had a horrible ice storm a couple years ago that left most of the city without power. We went without for three days. I had to throw out all of our food. The power outages were totally unexpected.

This time we have some warning. I hope the forecast is wrong and it will just be cold. I'm heading to the store today just in case. However, I started thinking about how I can stay on paleo if in fact I am stuck in my house with no power. I can't heat up meat, cook my veggies, etc. What to do?

Here are some items I am going to make sure to have on hand. I may have to make a few sacrifices, but I can still stay as clean as possible given the situation:

• Enough pre cooked meats that are cooked well enough to eat cold (cooking tonight!)
  
• Canned tuna
  
• Beef Jerky (may have more salt and other stuff than I like, but an easy source of protein that will does not need to stay cold)
  
• Larabars
• Fruit (apples and oranges)
  
• Veggies like carrots and celery that do not need to be cooked
• Almond butter
• Nuts
• Bottled water
• Hard boil eggs (making a batch tonight)
  

Knowing it will be super cold, I will store all my items that need to stay cold in an ice chest and keep in the garage where I know it will stay below 40 degrees. Foods that are perishable (meats, cheeses, eggs) that stay above 40 degrees longer than two hours should be discarded and not eaten. Be smart and don't make yourself sick! When in doubt, throw it out.

Here is a good site with information on how long certain foods are good in the fridge and freezer if the power goes out. It never hurt to be prepared. I hope everyone stays warm and enjoys lots of wonderful power so you can keep eating the way nature intended. :)