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Natural Disaster Diet Disaster

tree damage

This is as much roughage as I saw all week.

Hi, my name is Erin, and I’m a Sandy survivor. I kid, but Superstorm Sandy was no joke. I wrote about it over on Mamas yesterday and today, sharing my Sandy experience and lessons learned. Another lesson I learned? It’s hard to eat healthy during natural disasters.

Whereas usually I eat healthy sandwiches and big salads and the occasional splurge, my healthy lifestyle went out the window when the storm hit. Preparing for the hurricane meant buying nonperishable foods that could be easily heated on our gas stove if our power went out. And the power did go out, so for four days, we didn’t have access to any food items that had to be refrigerated. Canned goods and peanut butter get really old really quickly, so when our downtown Chinese restaurant opened for business, my husband and I were there like sweet and sour on rice looking for a hot non-canned meal. And looking for a measure of comfort in an unsettling time, I went for foods and drinks I rarely go for—chewy chocolate chip cookies, hot chocolate in large quantities and wine (also in large quantities).

When the power did come back on and we were able to get to a grocery store, I was excited to get a massive bag of mixed greens, cheese and dressing for salads. I was ready to have milk on hand again and to be able to eat eggs for breakfast. The one upside? I did drink way more bottled water than usual.

Does your healthy eating go down the tubes when disaster and power outages strike? Any tips on eating healthy nonperishables? —Erin

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