10+ Meals To Make When You Lose Power

There’s a chance that you picked up bottled water, milk, and bread during your storm prep. But now, you’re wondering what you can do with bread during a storm. That post is filled with ideas.

Spicy Tuna Cucumber Bites

We grow a ton of cucumbers during the summer, and I’m always looking for fun ways to use them — especially without turning on the oven because I don’t want to heat up the house.

One of those ways is making spicy tuna cucumber bites for lunch.

If you’re making them during a power outage, you want to use mayonnaise packets rather than a jar of mayo so you don’t have to open the fridge.

Mexican Street Corn Chicken Salad

I love chicken salad. I make it a few times a month for us to have for dinner. You can make it without a fridge, you just have to be creative.

Instead of using leftover chicken, like this recipe calls for, use canned chicken. And instead of mayo from the fridge, use mayonnaise packets (which you should really stock up on before a storm).

Serve this with some crackers and you have a great dinner.

Salad Wrap

This salad wrap uses a bunch of fresh vegetables. Ours has celery, carrots, onions, and lettuce, mostly.

It’s a really easy way to grab all of the veggies in your fridge that you’re worried about losing because there’s no power and eating them really quickly.

If you need a condiment, use a shelf-stable mayo or honey mustard packet.

Vegan Chickpea “Tuna” Salad Sandwich

Tuna salad is a good no power meal, but since we don’t have a tuna salad recipe on Drugstore Divas, we’re pointing you to our vegan chickpea tuna salad instead.

We mash the chickpeas by hand, then mix them with a vegan mayo. If you’re not worried about it being vegan, you can use mayonnaise packets.

And if you’re really not worried about it being vegan, use canned tuna fish (which is shelf stable) to make tuna wraps or sandwiches.

Carolina Caviar

We went to an event where someone made Carolina caviar and Pete loved it. So of course, I had to get the recipe and make my twist on it.

Carolina caviar, which is basically a bean salad, is actually a really good meal because it has a ton of beans, which are really filling. It has a couple fresh items (like onions and bell peppers), that you don’t need to keep in the fridge, and some canned items (like canned corn) that are probably already in your pantry.

Plus, the dressing for this is olive oil and apple cider vinegar, items that don’t need to be refrigerated.

Garden Tomato Salad

I love this garden tomato salad. I make it all the time when we have extra tomatoes. We’ve brought it as a snack to the beach and people inhale it.

You can use store bought tomatoes for it. And, in that case, nothing needs to go in the fridge.

If you wanted to make this a more hearty meal, you could serve it with bread or crackers.

Homemade Chunky Guacamole

Guacamole may feel more like a side dish than a meal because it’s usually served as an appetizer, but we will actually have it as a light lunch on the weekend. So, if you’re looking for something really tasty for lunch during a storm, and you can’t make your traditional lunch ideas, this homemade chunky guacamole will come to the rescue.

Serve it with a bag of tortilla chips, on some bread, or with a bagel and you have a really filling oven-free lunch idea.

Peach Salsa

Just like guacamole, this peach salsa is a great easy lunch idea. It’s a good way to use up any fresh fruit and herbs that you need to use because you can’t refrigerate them.

You may not have peaches right now, since they’re not a winter fruit. But, we also have a mango salsa, which uses mangos, pears, and a few other ingredients to make a salsa that’s similar to fruit salad.

So, you could eat it as is or you could eat it with tortilla chips like you would a traditional salsa.

No Bake Chocolate Chip Walnut Energy Balls

These no bake chocolate chip walnut energy balls would make really good snacks or a breakfast if you lose power.

When we make them (from all shelf-stable ingredients) we usually form them into balls and put them in the freezer to help them hold their shape.

But, if you’re not opening the freezer, just form them and let them do their thing. If they’re not perfectly round, who cares. They still taste delicious.

Fluffernutter Sandwich

If all else fails, a Fluffernutter Sandwich comes to the rescue. We don’t have a recipe for it because really, you just measure the peanut butter and Marshmallow Fluff with your heart, put it on bread, and enjoy the sandwich.

Fluff is magic and never needs to be refrigerated and constantly magically expands to fill the container, so you can buy one jar for this hurricane and it will last you every hurricane for all eternity (I mean, not really, but it sure feels that way).

Tips For Cooking When You Lose Power:

As I’ve mentioned, these recipes above can be made during a storm because they don’t require any cooking.

You may, though, be wondering how to cook during a hurricane or winter storm, especially if you lose power and you need to cook all your perishables before they go bad.

If you need to, you can use a charcoal or propane grill to cook. We have a ton of grilling recipes for some inspiration.

If you have a propane stove for camping, that works too. My dad deep fries turkey every year for Thanksgiving, so we have a propane burner we can use in a pinch.

And, if you have a gas stove, you can light the stovetop with matches and use that to cook (although, safety first, so be careful with that).

Non-Perishable Items To Stock Up On In Case Of An Emergency: 

We have a long list of non-perishable items to buy for storm prep that you’re gonna wanna look through before the storm comes.

But, just a couple quick staples:

• Canned protein: Any sort of canned meat (chicken, tuna, salmon, etc.) is great as long as you have a manual can opener. If you have a powered one, it won’t work. In that case, you’ll want to get the protein packets, like the packed tuna, instead.
• Shelf-stable condiments: We mention it a lot, but shelf-stable mayo packets (like the ones you get at fast food restaurants) are key for cooking when you don’t have power. Dipping sauces and dressings are good to have too.
• Granola bars: You can make homemade granola bars from shelf-stable ingredients (like honey, oats, bananas, nuts, etc.), but those usually include baking. So, buying a box of store-bought granola bars that you can have in a pinch is key.
• Peanut butter: If all else fails and nothing sounds good, peanut butter on a spoon is a good snack.

How To Keep Food Fresh Without Power:

I’m gonna refer you to FoodSafety.gov for food safety guidelines. But, a couple quick tips: If you do lose power, try not to open your fridge. If you need to, do it as quickly as possible.

Also, keep any perishable items in shady areas.

And, if you have time to prep, freeze any water bottles you have. Put them in your fridge, near your food, and they’ll help to keep it cool. You can also fill your largest cooler with ice and, if your power goes out, you can use that to save your food.