One major lesson that Hurricane Elsa has taught us is that you never know how long essential services such as water and electricity may be down. Some Barbadians have reported as much as 72 hours without electricity, which spelt bad news for household perishables such as meat and produce.
Barbados TODAY spoke with registered nutritionist Shanice Murray of Just Nutrition, who gave some guidance as to how Barbadians should approach hurricane shopping going forward. The nutritionist noted that persons should not only think of possible electricity outages when doing their shopping, but also think of water outages that would affect the preparation of animal protein, fruits, and vegetables.
“At this particular time, the focus is on maintaining health, yes, but you also have to think about the practicality of the situation,” she advised.
Canned Meats
These are the go-to items when hurricane shopping. However, Murray advised shoppers to look for low-sodium alternatives where possible. Items such as sausages, luncheon meat, ham, etc are readily available on supermarket shelves and make for a convenient meal in a pinch during a disaster such as a hurricane.
Fruit
“Some can be purchased in their natural juices and others in syrup. You should gravitate towards the ones in natural juices, especially if you are concerned about the amount of sugar that you are going to be consuming,” Murray said.
Canned Peas & Beans
In the absence of utilities, canned peas and beans are the way to go for those looking to get in their protein from other sources. Murray noted that where rinsing is not possible due to no water supply, persons can opt to strain the liquid of the container instead. Canned beans include chickpeas, lentils, black eye, pigeon peas, kidney beans, etc. Other beans such as baked beans contain tons of fibre and need no straining.
Tuna
Tuna is one of the more popular hurricane staples. The registered nutritionist told Barbados TODAY that shoppers should purchase the ones with the ring top to make for easy opening.
Other Staples
Murray recommends stocking up on oats, as they can be eaten dry and raw. “You can combine it with peanut butter to make an easy snack,” she said. Ready to eat noodles with the addition of mixed vegetables include nutritional value. You may not always be in a position to add vegetables, but where you can, try to increase the nutritive value of foods that you may not normally consider “healthy”. So, things like instant rice, instant noodles, instant oats that you can just add hot water to . . . all of these are things you should be stocking up on outside of canned goods,” Murray stated.
Snacking Options
Murray cautioned against overly sweet or overly salty items, as these increase thirst and can deplete already limited water supply. She listed snacks such as ready-popped popcorn, plantain chips, cassava and dasheen chips as the more health-conscious options. For those who prefer traditional snacking, her advice is to opt for low-sodium versions of their favourite snacks and to choose dark chocolate over the dairy variety. She also recommended pretzels, nuts, and applesauce as items to stock up on.
Bonus Items
Do not forget your tools and utensils! “Not only is having food important but also having the tools and the utensils to use that food,” Murray cautioned. “Things like spoons, plates, forks, and paper towels and napkins. Matches and all of these things are things that we sometimes take for granted.” Other items to add to your list when food shopping for disaster essentials include food warmers and Sternos to make a makeshift stove as well as gaslighters.
