13 Emergency Food For Seniors
Introduction
One of the most often overlooked priorities is food. As a senior, this is important for a number of reasons. Not only can you have nutritional, but emotional and psychological needs met through food. The idea of being hungry all day long or if you live alone can be difficult to deal with for many seniors. There are numerous options that someone may not be able to cook for themselves on their own if they have gotten too old or their health has gotten too poor. Despite the many options, there is still a lack of food in the nation and getting age groups and the elderly to understand the importance of food in their diet is critical.
There are numerous programs that supply seniors with food. The problems begin when someone cannot afford these options but still has medical needs that need attention such as medication or surgeries. For many, this is when they turn to friends and family members for help. Although this is not such a bad idea, it could be time consuming and potentially problematic if you do not know how to cook for yourself or your loved one has low immune system strength which means eating certain foods may make them ill.
13 Emergency Food For Seniors
1. Make Your Own Food
When you are able to cook for yourself, you will be more prepared to survive in case of an emergency. You can also make different types of foods that contain various vitamins and nutrients. Instead of relying on canned soup, making bean soup with dry beans would be more healthy so they can prepare their own food.
2. Buy Produce When It is In Season
One way that you can get fresh seasonal produce is by growing your own vegetables . This would also save time since you would not need to run out and buy vegetables during certain seasons.
3. Make Jerky From Dried Meat
You can make your own jerky where you can dry meat and use it as a carbohydrate source. You will not need to buy the dried meat, and it would cost less than canned meat.
4. Canned Vegetable Cooked Chicken Noodle Soup
Canned chicken noodle soup is a great alternative to canned soup for when you cannot cook for yourself due to health issues or if you simply don’t want to cook.
5. Homemade Salad Dressing
During emergencies, there would be times that you do not have the time to make salad dressings from scratch or that you do not have enough ingredients or oils needed in the dressing.
6. Canned Chicken or Tuna with Crackers
Having canned soup would be ideal for when you need something quick and light, but if you cannot boil water, you can eat canned food but make sure it is drained before consuming.
7. Canned Fruit in Water
If the power went out for a couple days, your fridge will not stay at the correct temperature to keep fruits fresh. If you have already eaten all of your fresh fruit that is not refrigerated then have some canned fruit to eat instead. Eating only canned fruit may be boring so tops it off with strawberries or peaches to add some flavor.
8. Rice And Beans
One great food item to have is this food combination since it lasts for a long time and does not require refrigeration. This combination of rice and beans can be paired with corn bread or crackers to get the necessary nutrients needed in your diet.
9. Canned Meat
If you are unable to get fresh meats, then canned meats are the next best thing because they do not need refrigeration and will last about two years. However, these types of meat may contain pesticide residue so keep that in mind if you plan on eating this for an extended period of time .
10. Dried Fruit
Dried fruit is also another great carbohydrate to have since it does not need to be refrigerated. Dried raisins are good to have especially when eating crackers because they bring out flavor in the crackers.
11. Store Water
It is crucial that you have water available to you in case your water supply is cut off. You should store about one gallon of drinking water for each person for three days.
12. Soup
This food combination is useful if you cannot cook for yourself or eat canned foods. You can use it as a meal or with crackers as a snack. A good thing about it is that the soup does not need to be cooked, so all you need to do is add water and you are ready to go.
13. Biscuits
Another simple food combination is biscuits and gravy . All you need to do is store boxes of biscuits and cans of gravy. A good tip for eating this dish is to eat it with some fresh fruit to avoid eating the same flavor every day.
Conclusion
These are just some of the foods that can be prepared or made quickly in case of an emergency situation. A good tip that you should always keep in mind is to buy easy foods to prepare so that you can consume it quickly if needed. You will also notice how expensive these types of food are, which is what makes them hard for some people to purchase even during normal times. However, a good way to save money is to buy these types of food or cooking supplies in bulk.
As a senior, it’s important to be prepared for any situation, especially an emergency. In case you can’t cook for yourself or you run out of food, here are some options that won’t cost too much and will keep you from starving. Make Your Own Food It can be difficult to live alone as a senior and if your health is not the best you may have trouble cooking regular meals. If this is the case then you should consider making your own food and storing it so that if something happens and you can’t cook then you have healthy options available.