Moving to the southeastern coast of Florida was our dream! Enjoying the sun and sand and lots of fresh fruits and veggies it’s truly a paradise, right? Little did I know the potential danger which lurked over the next few years.
Hurricane Dorian!
We were here 5 short months when Hurricane Irma hit the Gulf coast of Florida. In fact ground zero for Irma was a mere 4 miles from our home! Irma traveled directly over our subdivision and straight up the gulf coast of Florida wreaking havoc along the way.
We chose to evacuate..
taking our two cats and our trusty travel van we moved 3 hours north. Surely we would be safe right? You see the hurricane forecast for Irma showed the hurricane would move up the East coast! As we all know, Irma changed her plans and moved to the Gulf coast!
The drive was traumatic, fear of gas shortages, unbelievable traffic, accidents and the fact that we were able to travel 120 miles in 10 hours. Irma decided to follow us north. Our "safe place" was hit as well! After staying in place for 4 days we returned home and vowed we wouldn’t evacuate “the next time”. It was just too traumatic!
So here we are ....and Dorian is on the way!
The Birds are prepping their nest! The moment I saw Dorian’s path covered the state of Florida I began to prepare! I thought it might be helpful to take a moment to share our preparations with you. Natural disasters come in many forms and food and supplies are essential! Whether you’re sheltering in place or hitting the road due to a snow storm, tornado or hurricane it’s so important to be prepared! Being prepared helps eleviate some of the stress and anxiety.
Food for thought!
- Eating healthy foods and drinking plenty of water is essential.
- Having fresh counter safe Fruit and Vegetables on hand will help counter the stress
- Portable and nutritious snacks are perfect for the family on the road and at home.
- Breakfast is always important! Portable foods are best, especially on the road.
Buying counter-safe fruits and veggies!
Knowing we might be without power for a week or so, I bought fruits and veggies which will be fine without refrigeration! Watermelon, Pineapple, Apples, Bananas, Lemons, Tomatoes and Avocados just to name a few!
Have ripe fruit on hand? Dehydrate or Juice!
With hurricane Irma we were without power for 5 days. Preparing ripe fruit and veggies before the storm hits works well.
Make fresh juice! It can be easily stored in the still cool fridge or cooler for a day or two!
It’s a great way to incorporate fresh fruits and vegetables into your diet during a time like this!
Dehydrate your fruit!
Dried fruit can be used in so many ways. Use it in Trail mix, granola or just eaten alone. It's great! Dehydrating can be done in the oven or by using an electric dehydrator. Make sure you select ripe fruit, slicing ¼” thick and dehydrating overnight at 135 degrees until firm should do the job. Using the oven? Place fruit on a parchment lined tray, set your oven at its lowest temperature and monitor closely. Usually 4-6 hours should do the job.
Voila! Dried fruit!
Bananas, Mangoes, Pineapple and Pears!
Banana Chips, a great grab and go snack for kids (* both big and small!*)
Tropical Trail Mix! A perfect snack, packed with protein, vitamins and fiber!
I used all of my favorite raw nuts! Pecans, Walnuts, Almonds and cashews paired with our dried fruit and unsweetened coconut! Oh, and don’t forget those Goji berries and Cacao Nibs, lol We all know chocolate is an amazing stress reducer.
Airtight containers are crucial!
We’ll need to keep everything as dry as possible! I prefer using glass but plastic works as well. Saving glass jars comes in handy during these times.
Breakfast will be important! Yogurt!
I took the time to make Coconut Yogurt! So simple to make! I posted about it a while back, feel free to check it out
Stress can wreak havoc to your stomach and intestinal system. Yogurt is a wonderful source of probiotics!
Tropical Granola!
Stored in an airtight container it will last for weeks!
- Walnuts, Almonds, Pecans, Cashews, Macadamia Nuts (1 cup each)
- Unsweetened Coconut (1/2 cup)
- Dried Pineapple and Mangoes (1 ½ cup)
- Maple Syrup (1/3 cup)
- Coconut Oil (1/3 cup)
- Vanilla (2 tsp)
- Cinnamon (1 ½ tsp)
- Sea Salt (1/4 tsp)
Dried ingredients are mixed
and divided in half.
Coarsely chop…
half of the dry ingredients and then combine with the balance of your dry ingredients.
Wet ingredients…
are blended together and stirred into the dry. Spread on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 225 degrees for 1 ½ hours. Stir after 45 minutes and remove from the oven when golden brown. Let cool, covered for at least a couple of hours! Grab that airtight container and store it away!
It’s a good start my friends! Dorian’s path is uncertain, but we’ll be ready!
Be prepared my friends!
Supplies are critical as well! Tomorrow I’ll share what this looks like in the Bird nest. Today it appears Dorian may cover a large portion of the Atlantic coast. Be safe!
And as always, blessings to you all!
May God protect you from all danger, I've fallen in love with what you've achieved, I think I'll steal this recipe to make some delicious energy bars!
Thank you @fmbs25, your words are so kind and much appreciated. We were definitely blessed as this hurricane changed her direction. Others weren't so fortunate and need many prayers. I hope you'll try this, I would love to see your energy bar recipe ;)
My upvote delivered 12:12 to you. Now that must be one of the best signs that you will be ok @birdsinparadise. Even without Dorian so close by, it would always be good to be this well prepared for literally anything. I could easily live on your Tropical Granola for weeks if no fresh fruit and vegies were available.
Take care and I really hope you and your family and all around you will be well protected. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
So glad you enjoyed this @allyinspirit! It felt so good preparing healthy foods in light of potential danger. Fortunately for us, the hurrican took a different path. Now we'll breath a sigh of relief and enjoy our healthy food! Thanks for the kind words, they mean a lot!
Nice planning ahead. Hopefully it all goes well. Stay safe
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So glad you both are so well prepared, but I do worry about you! I know Irma was so traumatic 💙 hoping that the hurricanes lay off Florida for the next few years! Xoxox
Me too! We did feel a lot better preparing in place for this hurrican. (granted it didn't arrive, lol) Don't worry my sweet daughter, we'll be fine! oxoxoxoxox
The trail mix is a BIG winner in natural disasters. GREAT plan ad nice to see you are prepped and ready. Wishing you safe passage through the storm - see you on the other side!
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Thanks my friend, I know you probably have this type of mix on hand all of the time! It really felt good to prep healthy foods....quite a stress reliever. When you're just waiting for a storm you feel a bit helpless, this definitely helped. Your kind words are so appreciated :) We'll take a deep breath now that we dodged this bullet. Big prayers to those around the world dealing with these kind of natural disasters!
Glad you are safe and bullet was dodged. We have also been on severe tropical storm warning for last 36 hours but I hsve woken to a clear, humid and sticky Friday... such high air pressure that I have a headache (Im sure you can relate) but we, too, have dodged a bullet. Breathe. Prayers for those in the Bahamas & elsewhere who were not so lucky
I love this post! Despite having the concern for you in a hurricane threat, I no fear you will be forced to eat junkfood. Phew! Omg I cant WAIT til mango season!!!
I wrote a post for FVM but it got lost with the HF! Next week!
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I know, preparing this food helped relieve a lot of the stress! I actually felt "prepared" No, no, no junk food, lol I'll be watching for your mango treats, I'm sure they'll be ammmmmmmmmaaaazing! Thanks for your kind words @rivereflows
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Brilliant! You must feel great knowing you're prepared!! These are awesome tips and its inspiring that you're so enthusiastic despite threat... Excellent.
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Yes, I have to say it felt good to prepare. Knowing we would have healthy food to munch on was a big stress relief! Thank you @painting.peonies, your kind words are so welcomed!
Wow you are prepared indeed! And everything super healthy and super delicious, that must be really scary driving in with the threat of a hurricane following you and in traffic as well! Stay safe my friend!
Thank you my sweet friend. You know how preparing food will help relieve stress! This worked in this situatioon :) We're we fortuante this time, Dorian changed her path. Thank you for such sweet comments.
Thank you for this wonderful article.
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This is so kind of you @zord189. I just wanted to share information which I found helpful when preparing for these types of events. We were blessed, Dorian changed directions. Others were not so lucky. Sending prayers!
Ur welcome! :)
Please know that our prayers are with you guys and we also have some friends of Papillon's in that area.
Glad to see that you know how to take care.
All strength to you guys!
Thank you my friend! Many are in Dorians path, even right now. Many prayers are needed! I appreciate your kindness, thank you :)
A pleasure to stand by you guys in spirit my friend.
And of course thankful for everyone that escapes the storms fury.
Blessings!
Being prepared is half the stress taken out of this type of event already @birdsinparadise.
Your tips are excellent, in ideas and detailed preparation, hope Dorian misses you however prepared you are, food never goes to waste.
I agree, preparing took quite a bit of stress away, Thank you @joanstewart, we are so fortunate as Dorian took a different path. I pray for those affected, there are so many and she is not yet finished!
So important to preserve long-term food storage for emergency situations. Good planning and good advice.
Yes, yes!! Waterproof containers and dehydrated foods are the easy way to prepare :) Thank you @ironshield. We were very fortunate this time, Dorian changed her path!
Hope you guys are safe. ❤️
Thank you @felt.buzz! We are safe! This hurricane took a different path however hurricane season is not over!
What a great post and great ideas to have things prepared if needed, LEets hope you dont get hit to bad all of what you prepared will be good even if its not to bad and wont go to waste
Stay safe
Thank you @tattoodjay, your comments are always so kind. I truly appreciate it. We were fortunate, as you know Dorian chaged direction. Others not so much, sending prayers up the east cost now!
Yes I saw that and am sending prayers the way of those being affected
I am blown away. I hadn't thought of these types of things for "survival" mode. Of course, how many of us really do? I love the granola idea and I can see how it could be made a little more keto-friendly. I do hope all will be safe for you and your household. My thoughts will be with you!
Ren
Thank you!!! I guess there are so many different weather events we all prepare even though we don't realize it. Having healthy food as opposed to processed foods on hand was such a better idea. I knew we would feel better if we ate better. I'm sure you could make this keto friendly, Nuts are always a great base for granola :)
That is the truth. We ate poorly the other day and felt awful! I never thought you could decide to meet a natural disaster on our grounds... haha.
Ren
We dry apples in the same thing, but we never tried to dry bananas.
Bananas are good, I hope you'll try them sometime. I found drying them in the oven makes them a bit crunchier ;) Thanks @amalinavia!
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It's always good to be prepared and forget some comfort food 🍭 for a cold dark night 😳
I am so sorry that you had to go trough such a dramatic event and I missed this post my Dear! The main thing is that you are all well now and you did such a great job with the food prep for the road. Thanks for shraing it with us, we all can learn from your valuable advise 🥑😍🥭
I have acquaintances also in that area and I can feel their anguish, God protect them and free from any tragedy.
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