When disaster strikes, one of your top concerns once your initial security is ensured will be to get a meal together for your family. But what kind of food should you be storing, and how essential is being able to cook it anyway?
You might be tempted to stock up on jerky, nuts, and other long-lasting good that can be eaten right off the shelf, and skip bothering with cooking food. After all, what if you need to bug out or the grid goes down?
Well, there are a few important reasons why you should definitely still plan to be able to cook food during an emergency. In fact, it could be life-saving. Just consider these factors before dismissing preparing to cook all together:
1. Cost
Yes, investing in an off-grid cooking system will take energy which most likely means some kind of monetary investment, but survival food that needs to be cooked is significantly cheaper and lasts much longer than pre-made food that requires no cooking at all.
2. Water purification
In any kind of disaster that might affect the water supply, officials usually urge local residents to boil their water, so this is always something you should prepare yourself to be able to do. Boiling water is more effective for killing bacteria and microbes than almost any other type of filtration system, and while iodine does work, boiling water is simpler and easier, especially for a large family.
3. Sanitation
Cooking food can almost always ensure it’s safety, while some foods that can be eaten without cooking might develop salmonella or other bacteria without being noticeable to the naked eye. When you cook foods like beans or rice, they are fully boiled and it’s nearly impossible to get food poisoning of any kind.
4. Comfort and health
There really is nothing like a warm meal, and, especially if you’re in a disaster when it is cold, it could boost not only your spirits but your immune system to be able to eat a hot meal.
Even in the event of a power outage, if you have an electric range or a gas range that requires electricity top operate, you’ll want to prepare yourself to be able to cook off-grid. Here’s an article we wrote about ways to cook off-grid, and we’ll try to detail some more in an upcoming post.
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