What to Cook and Buy During an Emergency {Food Storage Tips + Over 40 Recipes}
I debated about whether to type up a post like this or not…but since pretty much every conversation and text message and email I’ve had in the last week has been related to the emergency right now, it feels a bit like the elephant in the room NOT to address it.
Brian and I are talking about all of the issues with our kids, seeking information from viable sources (social media posts from random people and even celebrities are not one of them, FYI :), and trying our best to manage all of the changes and information with rational, calm minds and take actions personally to help flatten the curve of this virus.
While alternately sometimes completely freaking out (ok, that’s just me).
Watching everything from schools to churches to sports teams shut down across the country is a bit discombobulating, to say the least.
We live in Idaho and there is only one very recently confirmed case, so our schools are still up and running. Other than some of our sporting events getting canceled (wrestling would be a natural breeding ground for any type of virus) and church indefinitely going home-based, things *mostly* feel normal except for long lines at the stores and shelves cleared of tp, paper towels, disinfecting wipes, etc.
I know many places across our nation and definitely throughout the world have it much, much worse. I’ve been thinking a lot about the particularly vulnerable children and adults in this emergency (those kiddos that rely on schools for two of their daily meals, working parents and single parents dealing with the adjustments of schools shutting down and/or loss of work themselves, just to name a few things).
It’s a difficult time, there is no doubt about that.
But today I wanted to address a question I’ve been getting over and over this week from readers about food storage, what foods to stock up on, and what recipes to cook.
I don’t have ALL the answers, but here are a few thoughts that can be a great starting place for a discussion about this.
Please chime in on the comment thread with your feedback and thoughts! We can all learn from each other.
Tip #1: Only Stock Up on Food You’ll Actually Eat
If you have never cooked with lentils before, don’t buy them in bulk. Even if creamed corn is on a case lot sale, I wouldn’t recommend buying it if it’ll make your kids gag. Don’t buy a 5-gallon bucket of wheat berries if you don’t have a way to grind it into flour.
Just because “people” say you need such and such in your “food storage” doesn’t mean that’s true for you personally. Food storage will look different for each and every family.
Identify the ingredients that you use often and are familiar with, and stock up on those.
Extra tip: if you have the time and/or budget, think outside the box a little and make sure you stock up on a few treats, too. It’s not a bad thing to consider chocolate chips a pantry essential! And little sweet extras in the pantry can help get through tough times.
Tip #2: Don’t Go Overboard
With everyone in a panic, it might be tempting to buy 1,245 boxes of mac and cheese. But…I don’t know…maybe consider not going to quite that extreme?
Try to be sensible about the quantities of food you are buying right now. What are the expiration dates? Is it humanly possible to eat all of it before it even expires? Do you have places to store it?
If you have accidentally participated in a bit of, ahem, overstocking, consider donating any excess, unexpired food to your local food pantry or shelter.
Tip #3: Start with two weeks and work up from there
If you don’t have much of a food supply at home, it might feel overwhelming to think of getting what you need. It might be helpful to simply start with a two week supply of food.
Write a list of the foods (even detailing an actual “menu” can help with this) that you and your family would need for two weeks and try to source at least that much.
I know right now this might be a bit tricky as some stores are running out of things like milk and eggs, but consider looking for replacement-type items or foods that are more shelf-stable. Powdered milk. Dried or freeze-dried fruits and vegetables. Canned fruits and vegetables.
Also check around with neighbors and friends in your area to find out if any local farmers have some of those precious commodities: milk, eggs, cheese.
Extra tip: over the next couple of weeks as we all practice more social distancing and *maybe* have a bit more downtime, consider putting together a longer term food storage plan that you can put in place once this particular emergency is more contained. I’m a HUGE food storage nerd.
Twice a year, I inventory our food storage to make sure we have the essentials to get us through, so if anyone is interested in more info about this, I’d be happy to put together a more detailed post about food storage in general (and share my nerdy spreadsheets dedicated to the cause).
Tip #4: Gather your favorite pantry staple recipes all in one place
Having a few solid pantry-friendly recipes that you can rotate through (yes, even fun baking recipes!) can help you actually look forward to eating through your food storage.
Print them out, staple them together, put them in a binder, bookmark them on your phone, add them to a Pinterest board – just keep them in one place so you can access them easily!
I’ve gathered a few of my favorite pantry staple recipes and included them below and also at this link.
*the key to pantry friendly recipes is to get comfortable making substitutions! Leave out the meat, sub in canned milk for milk or cream, sub in canned green chiles for fresh peppers, etc.
Please let me know in the comments any thoughts you have about food storage, cooking right now, and other tips helping you through the chaos of our current situation. Hang in there, friends!
I would add my vote to reading your thoughts/ideas/experience with food storage. I always enjoy benefiting from your preparedness and experience.
Thanks Mel for sharing so much to bless others, we appreciate you.
As my husband and I were considering things we wanted to accomplish in 2020, we both felt the urge to do a little “prepping”. Now here we are in the midst of a pandemic. We are wishing we had followed that leading a little more urgently! I’ve been doing some research whereas my husband is more prone to just buy things a little willy nilly ( There are currently 5 gallon buckets of rice and beans in my living room. True story.) Since I am the one who primarily plans and cooks meals, I want what we store to make sense, be nutritionally sound, and actually be food they will eat! Please send help! We are good for now but we would like for this to be a long term plan for our family’s future. We would be grateful for any suggestions, guidance, advice….whatever you got!!
You have been helping me feed my family for a long time now! I remember when you little girl was born!! My family knows that if it came from Mel, it’s going to be good!
Love and health to your family from mine here in Oregon (where things are getting a little tense)
Great Tips! I have lots of food storage, so I knew we’d be OK. However, I’m not great at keeping an updated inventory, or a plan to rotate it. Since Youth Conference, and the 90th birthday party we were to attend tomorrow were canceled, I suppose I should take some time to get a good inventory list, and see what I can make with what I have. Oh, and I have lots of baking supplies, so I’m sure we’ll be making lots of cookies.
Yes please post your more detailed list! I’d love it, and how you approach food storage in general. It is very overwhelming trying to get it all organized.
Will do, Tessie! Can’t guarantee when but with the assumed downtime the next couple weeks, I’ll see what I can get put together!
Thanks for posting this and I would love for you to share your nerdy food storage spread sheets!
I promise to post about them!
I would love your food storage knowledge and tips!
nikasue@gmail.com
I’ll get a post together!
Yes to a more detailed post!
Will do!
Thank you so much!! This made me feel so much better. Made a list of meals i can make already.
Happy to hear that, Laura!
Thank you so much for posting this. I would love more advice.
on food storage, I am at loss as to where to start and how to rotate it.
Hi! I’d love a copy of all your nerdy food storage spreadsheets! Haha! My email is aileenbluhm@yahoo.com Thank you!
I’ll update them and get a post put together!
I would love a more detailed post about food staircase and see all your spreadsheets!
I’ll get one put together!
Thank you so much Mel! This list of recipes is wonderful and a huge help. Also, thank you for being willing to talk about, in kind and honest terms, a serious issue affecting so many people. Just reading the other comments encouraging people to help one another has brightened my night.
I agree, Kristen! The comments are always my favorite part. The best people always show up in these comment threads.
Thanks so much for taking the time to put all of this amazing information on here for us.
I laugh because the only food storage I’m really good at is baking supplies! I’m always packing chocolate chips, flour (s), sugars, and butter. Pretty much the building blocks of life! Haha I could Seriously use some detailed spread sheets on how to have food storage that isn’t Just for baking
Haha, I’m good at the baking supplies, too Bri! I’ll get another more comprehensive food storage post put together soon, too!
Love this! I was scouting your site earlier this week looking for recipes I know we like that would work well with pantry staples. There are a few here I didn’t find. I did put the super bean burritos on my list. We love those ones! And I would for sure love to learn how you do food storage.
Thanks, Jessica! With the supposed downtime coming my way (??) I’ll definitely get a post together!
Thank you, rock star Mel! I came to your site today for the quinoa cookie recipe (we call them Horse Cookies because of their origin story) and found a big (virtual) hug and a whole lot of help! Here in the Bay Area we are on what feels like a long and unknowable journey, so I am happy to feel connected to others, and happy to have such tried and true, practical support from you and your readers.
Sending good wishes to everyone- let’s flatten the curve and take care of one another. <3
“long and unknowable” is a good description! Best of luck, Tina! I agree about flattening the curve and taking care of one another. Wise, wise words.
Most of your proteins have beans, which my husband is allergic too.
I’m sorry about that! You can usually sub lentils if he’s ok with those.
Lots of love from California! Thanks for checking in on all of us and giving some practical and calming action items for us to do. Thanks for the recipes and care! Stay healthy!
Look for recipes that use other sources of protein. I would suggest canned meats and fish such as chicken, tuna, salmon, sardines or even ham, oysters or whatever. I’m fond of the Costco chicken and their small cans of salmon and keep them on hand. I also keep canned milk and broth. With pasta or rice these make for simple easy meals from the pantry. Most of us have some things we eat that can be made from pantry ingredients.
Good luck, dietary restrictions can be limiting, but with time and practice you can work around them. I have some of my own and you have my sympathy.
I would love to see your long term food storage spread sheet. That would be wonderful!
I’ll get a post together and update my spreadsheets!
Yea, it was weird that there were plenty of chocolate chips. No flour, rice, dry beans, cheap pasta, or spaghetti sauce, tp, bleach or wipes, but plenty of chocolate chips. I personally went home with 6 small bags. What are people thinking? Lol.
Add me to the yay vote for food storage.
Haha, if I had a dollar for every time I’ve thought ‘what are people thinking?’ this last week…I’d be a very rich woman.
I would love, love, love, to hear more about your food storage tips, tricks, and ideas, please! And thank you for this!
Thankfully we have some long term food storage, but I’ve been a little nervous about this because I just found out I am pregnant with our first baby after years of trying. I feel so much more vulnerable while being pregnant we have been traveling to visit family so I am scared to come home to an empty fridge from everything I keep hearing about empty grocery stores.
Much love to you, Kim! And congratulations on your pregnancy.
Will do! Look for it soon-ish. 🙂
Great post! I would love to see what you do for food storage. I have great intentions, but the follow through is maybe lacking a bit Storage space issues.
I’ll get a post together and talk about some storage solutions!
I would love your food storage plan. I have lots of random stuff that I use but no system
I’ll try to get something put together soon!
Muffins! Thank you for the fresh ideas.
I would also love to have a good idea to track food storage.
I’ll hopefully get something posted soon!
I would be so interested in a food storage post with all of your thoughts! Also, this post is so awesome! Love thinking about how normal things can be by just making good food with pantry staples. ❤️ You rock my world.
Thanks, Jennifer!
Please, please, please share your food storage spread sheets. I have a good food storage going but I am always look for ideas of things to add and way to keep my rotations efficient
Will do!
Thank you so much for taking the time to share all this info! Your blog is my favorite and I really appreciate the help as I’ve been trying to bulk up our food storage and then actually use it before it goes bad. And dessert ingredients- why have I not stocked up on chocolate chips?! Thanks again Mel!!!
GO GET YOURSELF SOME CHOCOLATE CHIPS! 🙂
Hi Mel! I would love some of your tips and spreadsheets on food storage. I have been working on food storage for several years but its all very informal and I definitely don’t know what I’m doing! Thank you for this post, I was wondering what to cook with all of my pantry food!
I’ll get a post together, Katherine!
I did buy chocolate chips as part of my prep in case we got quarantined! Since we are well and now all at home, I’m excited to try some recipes I don’t normally make. We are going to bake and take to neighbors (to share and check up on them), my daughter is offering free babysitting, and I’m working with my son who is home from a closed college to use some of his Eagle Scout skills to provide activities for our neighborhood boys out of school. There are so many things we can do to help others, I’m glad you chose to use this blog. Thank you!
❤️ loved your comment. During Hurricane Harvey it was beautiful to see how the community reached out to one another. We can all do good within our own realm of influence.
You guys are amazing, Tammy! Thanks for inspiring me!
I’m reading the comments section in Winter of 2023. I hope this reply gets to you Tammy: You. Rock. I would have so appreciated to have a neighbor like you (or older kids! haha) at the time this post was written.
Your Quick and Easy Quinoa Enchilada Skillet Meal is another that uses mostly pantry staples and it can be made meatless.
Oh yes, you are right!
Will you add it to the collection, Mel? That way we won’t have to search for it beyond this post, which is fabulous, by the way. Thank you so much.
Mel, I love you to pieces Thank you for this!
Thank you so much, Jamie!
Thank you for sharing this! Yes, please share more tips. It’s been a goal for us the last couple years, but an out of state move, a new baby, and the foods we eat regularly having changed pretty drastically, have made it difficult to make a lot of progress. And I haven’t found an organizational system that works. Very much looking forward to your wealth of knowledge. We rely super heavily upon you for almost all of our meals. You are the best!
I loved this. I’m a food storage nerd too. I used to have spreadsheets, notebooks, inventories, you name it. Then my kids grew up and started leaving (one married, two on missions, and only two left at home) and I was kind of at a loss on how much I needed and what we eat now. However, I’m so grateful that we still have a pretty well stocked storage room and are able to share with our married son. I was super happy when he called me today to say that their small deep freeze was full and they had everything they needed to get through this interesting time. I’m going to send these recipes to our sons on missions so they have ideas on what to eat. Thanks for your calming voice in the midst of all the chaos. I’d love to see a post about how you do your food storage.
What a comfort, Kim! And much love and prayers for your sons on missions right now. I’ll definitely get my thoughts together on a comprehensive food storage post. I love talking about it!
I think I’ll try to do a series on food storage and spread it out over a couple of posts so it’s not too overwhelming. I’m glad so many people might be interested in it!
I would live a more detailed post about food storage in general and spreadsheets!
I’ll get started on that!
Thanks for Putting this to together!! I am excited to add try some of these and add them our rotation. I am big on only stocking up on food you will eat! I hate the idea of buying food that last 30 years but we will most likely never use.
I didn’t see your taco salad dippers on this list. It’s a great pantry staple meal we are having it tonight!
That’s a great one I forgot about! Thanks for reminding me!
Yes, I’d love all your “nerdy” food storage tips and info. Thanks Mel!
I’ll get it put together!
I would love to see your spreadsheets!! I just got back from the store and I wish I had seen this post first.
I’ll update it and put it in a post!
This is SO good! And YES please post food storage ideas!
Thanks, Kaitlyn! Will do.
As usual you’re awesome Mel! Well said! yes please share your food storage methods!
I will!
I would love to see more information on food storage.
I’m glad so many are interested in it! I’ll get some posts put together.
Please please share your spreadsheets!! I’ve been trying to deal with the extra stress of no school for 2 weeks (as of now) and I’m turning to my inner mama bear to cope
Oh man, good luck to you! You’ve got this!
Thank you Mel for this post! It has been so helpful. you are always such a great resource! I live in Louisiana and they just shut down schools for a month. It’s such an uncertain time and I just keep on buying groceries in fear of not having enough.
I think we are all feeling so many similar feelings. In some ways I hate that…but in other ways, it actually gives me a strange sense of solidarity. Millions of us struggling with the same stresses and anxieties even though we don’t know each other.
Hi, Mel. I just want to thank you for the inspiration through the years. Now when the hard stuff hits home, it does not feel so hard. Having the ammunition of food plans & food stored help it so families can easily come together & regroup. Again, thx for being such steadfast beacon of light~
Thank you so, so much, Lauren!
Thanks SO much for taking the time to put this together! I’m heading out to do a shop tonight, not so much for coronavirus preparedness, but because my kids are officially on spring break so we will be home mostly anyways. Who wants to go grocery shopping with 4 kids??? Not this momma! Thanks for sharing your wisdom and recipes!! I’ve been a faithful follower for many years now and just love your recipes!!
I have been stocking up slowly for about three weeks and I have freezer burritos on my docket for tomorrow because we are dangerously low. My husband just asked for Swig cookies. Can you guess what website we largely used to plan out all this food storage? Ha!
Haha. Love ya, Rachel. 🙂
Thank you, Tamara! Good luck with the next couple of weeks!
Yes! Please share your food storage info! And, thank you for this post. It is very helpful.
Thanks, Elizabeth!
Thank you for all your work!!!! I’d love to know all your nerdy info about good storage.
I’ll definitely get a post together!
These are such great recipes to use! We have a lot of these items in our food storage so these recipes will definitely be on repeat in our home!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Thanks, Paige!
I would love more tips and tricks on food storage!!
Will do!
Love this soooo much!! Food storage tips please
Yes, yes!
Please share your food storage techniques!! And thank you for this post! 🙂
I will, I promise!
As a fellow spreadsheet junkie, I want to see your spreadsheets! Good storage is always a balance for us. I try to store things we use, plus a few substitutes for fresh things (mostly powdered milk, but I think I need to find an egg sub) and a few preserved fruits and veggies.
Sounds like you are on the right track, Liz!
Hi Liz, I actually just looked up the other day what would be some egg substitutions for curiosity sake. There are quite a few options when it’s used in recipes: ground flaxseed + water, or applesauce, mashed banana, etc
Please yes post your food storage wisdom!!
I’ll get some thoughts/posts together!
Yes please on sharing the food storage spreadsheets!
Thank you for this awesome post!
Thanks, Amanda. Will do!
I love this list!! What a great resource, thank you!!
Thanks, Lisa!