Tornado season is approaching. Bug out bags are being checked and updated.
For many years I have not worried too much about my ability to bug out because I have had Dave around to help me do it. Then I went south for the winter without him, returning north during tornado season. But I had my van and that increased my bug out capabilities enormously.
But this year? I may be in trouble.
You see my van is going south during tornado season and I may not be going with it. Dave may be going to drive it to Texas to get my shower fixed while I stay in Minnesota. So I need to be able to bug out on my own in just our car.
So I’m thinking about what I would do if the worst case scenario arrived–meaning our apartment building took a direct hit. Power would be out. I might not have safe shelter. I might not be able to cook. I might have to live in my car for a few days but with trees down I might not be able to drive it anywhere. What would that look like?
So, among other things, I’ve been thinking about my requirements for food. Easy to eat. Doesn’t require cooking nor refrigeration. Preferably stuff I would be willing to eat in a non-emergency situation. Here’s what I’m thinking.
Meat: Jack Link’s Original Beef Steak Tender Bites.
I do not ordinarily like jerky-type meats but these are bite-sized pieces of real steak and I like them. Since I am usually eating these for a snack I only eat five pieces at a time but I’m sure in an emergency situation I could eat a meal’s worth of these. Each package contains about 270 calories. And with 15-18 chewy pieces per package I think I would feel like I actually ate something. You can get these at big box stores like Target and Walmart but the teriyaki flavor is more commonly available. If you want the original flavor your best bet may be Amazon.
Fruits/Vegetables: Puffed mixtures from the baby food section of the grocery store.
These are sort of the size and texture of Cheerios but are fruit and vegetable mixes. You get lots of pieces so, again, you feel like you actually ate something. For instance the Plum Organics brand shown is a spinach/apple mix in a 1 1/2 oz container that contains 150 calories if you eat the entire container at one sitting. There are several brands and flavors of these available and I have bought them at both Target and Walmart.
So now we have 420 calories of easy to eat food for any meal that doesn’t require any preparation or cleanup. If you only ate one container each of these two items for three meals you would have 1260 calories per day. That is enough to keep any of us going until we figure out what else we need to do to survive.
But, for me at least, there is one more category of food I need.
Stress foods: We all need foods that comfort us in times of stress and I can think of few things more stressful that the need to bug out. For me that means salty, crunchy food. Like Pringles.
Pringles are far from being a healthful food. They are more that 50% fat. But we need fat to keep our bodies healthy and this is the tastiest, portable form of fat I know. Eating fat helps my body use the nutrients I get from taking a daily vitamin (which is already in my bug out bag with three days worth of my daily medicines and copies of my prescriptions). And that, in turn, helps reduce stress.
Plus, we are only talking three days, right? By then I will know what my next plan is.
Now to pack some toilet paper.
TTYL,
Linda
I didn’t realize that Minnesota was a target for tornadoes. I just stock those shelves with everything I liked and not worry about the tornadoes. We used to get lots of tornado warnings when we lived in Texas. We lived there for years and never lost power. I’m sure you’ll be fine! However, it sure is fun to stock those shelves with fun foods to eat!
I didn’t realize you had tornados in Minnesota either. Does your apt complex have a shelter? I like Lays Stax better than Pringles. I also like the fiber one protein bars…carmel nut. I get my chocolate fix wth them. 130 calories.
I agree with the 3 days. That was the instructions when I lived in earthquake country, California. I had poptarts and those individual fruit cups and little cans of beanie weenies and little cans of beefmacaroni.
And do not forget to have some money in small bills( the ATMs will not be working). Lots of ones(cash registers will not be working either. Plus a nice supply of change.
Okay, now I have to sit down and figure this one out for us. Chip has some great ideas. The poptarts would be good for my sweet tooth and then I would also need the salty stuff too. Very interesting.
wet wipes arehigh on my list.
TP would be on the top of my list for sure. Sounds like you got most of the food groups covered. I never heard of Puffs…interesting choice.
Chip’s ideas are good ones IF you have silverware and a can opener and a leak proof trash bag and you get to keep your car. Our car is parked in our underground garage so I might not be able to get it out of there. Thus I need to be able to carry everything I need. So the foods I listed are light weight to save as much carrying capacity as I can for water. Keep in mind that I only talked about the food. There’s still the hygiene stuff and the insurance papers and the clothing and the first aid supplies, etc. So you want to keep everything as light weight and compact as you can. And it all has to fit in one backpack so you can just grab it and go if the occasion arises. Fortunately, my suitcase converts to a backpack so I can bring as much as I can lift. But I still won’t be able to bring as much water as is recommended. Hopefully, if the occasion ever arises I can shelter in a place that has water. So far, we’ve only experienced long power outages so we could stay home where we have candles that can burn for hours to replace our electric lights but that does nothing for our electric stove. That’s where the types of food Chip recommends get eaten.
THANK YOU!!!
for the great reminder. and ideas.
tis the season here again and I have no bug out bag.
will now! xo
Linda – a lot of the things that Chip listed have those pop type lids where you don’t need a can opener. And like Jim always says – fingers were created long before silverware. The trashbag though is a good one because you could also use one of them as a poncho. and they are lightweight. But the fruit cups and wieners and things do get heavier.
When I put together my earthquake bag I used a small backpack. maybe 12-14″ wide. maybe 18″- 24″ tall. maybe 10″ deep. Very easy to carry on one shoulder or on my back. I needed to feel comfortable that the bag would not slow me down if I had to walk any distance.
Along with the food I talked about I asked myself. “what do I NEED to survive for 72 hours on my own”.
Copies of drivers license, medical card, emergency phone numbers, allergies and medications. At that time I was not on any daily meds so I put some pills in small baggies. like
Aspirin
Tylenol
Tums
anti-diarrhea pills
Benadryl
Also,
a small tube of antibiotic ointment
a couple different size bandaids
a small ACE and a Large ACE bandage
a small baggie with some safety pins
roll of toilet paper
small can opener
flashlight with extra set of batteries
very small battery operated radio—found one only about 3″x2″x1/2″ in size. and extra batteries.
several empty large and small baggies
2 of those small folded silver emergency blankets
2 regular kitchen trash bags
and
a small plastic container of bleach——–to purify water if needed.
That was it !
just keep thinking of what you need to survive! not what would be nice to have.
Bug Out Bags… LOL
Now that’s a topic you don’t hear talked about all that often and for us, as for you, it’s really important.
We don’t get tornados but the fear of Tsunami and Earthquake are palpable here — moreso every time there’s a trembler in the news as has been the case in recent weeks.
I question whether in case of an actual earthquake it would be possible to even MOVE from where we are. So many roads built on not much more than sand right here. And bridges over water. And now we are too long to attempt turning around in the roadway. We are at the high point where campers from the local campgrounds would come to escape — so fresh water might not last long here. Though we could power up our genset to run the pump motor if the well were to survive.
We have been working on our own bug out bag, but haven’t finished our pondering on that one yet…. getting closer but yikes!
Cheers,
Peter
A retired photographer looks at life from behind an RV steering wheel.
Life Unscripted