Just over two years ago, we moved to SoCal from the Midwest. For the first time in our marriage (over six years now) my wife took the idea of prep seriously. The kids were supposed to pack a small earthquake kit to leave at school, etc.

In the process, I discovered some strong differences of opinion in what “prepared” means to my wife and stepdaughter.

The real differences came with food. We’re a little complicated...three out of the four of us are vegetarian, and one eats poultry, but has Celiac and needs gluten free food.

I was suggesting a combination of MRE’s, camping food, and those ration bars (forget the name...I know those aren’t gluten free).

My wife is somewhat particular about what she will and will not eat, and my stepdaughter is downright picky.

Their idea is just to pack a bunch of granola bars in a BOB, and “we’ll be fine!”

I’m thinking about the psychological benefit of a hot meal in a stressful situation, but they think for days on end granola bars are going to do it for them.

We live in Florida now, and the possibility of days or weeks without power and water is very real after a hurricane. We’re also ironing out shelter in place plans...lots to do there too.

I guess what it comes down to is let them think their granola bars are going to work for them, and go ahead with my plans for providing some hot meals in the mix as well,

They may stick with their granola bars, but I’ll feel better knowing there are options for them.

In a less than optimum situation, it is always nice to have options, and you are providing that for your family. The ability to heat food and water is not always just a matter of morale, but can become a component of emergency care and first aid.

That said, I think your ladies will do well with bars. I just finished some field work where lunch was three or four random bars stuffed in a pocket and munched during the day. I have done the same on bike tours - you get about twenty miles on a Clif Bar before you need to chow down again. It is a good idea to have a substantial breakfast and dinner which are also good for social interaction, planning and assessment.

Like you said, Ors, I’m a big fan of prepping with food items that will have a positive impact on morale as well as nutrition. Granola bars, Millennium bars or similar might be great for a short period of time, but start to become problematic quickly, especially with picky eaters.

My mix includes some Millennium bars, some Wise freeze-dried meal packets, a few buckets of freeze-dried staples, some MREs (civilian but made by a company that sells to our armed forces) and First Strike Rations (put together at small scale commercially by a guy mirroring the military version). This is backed up by canned goods and staples that we rotate through regular use.

Notably, my family are all omnivorous and don’t have significant food allergies.

I would suggest a trip to the REI website to look at REI's freeze dried food. Left hand column has a filter for vegetarian, vegan, gluten free... Once you have a good feel for that food realm, buy some and see if it would work over weeks. I have some, but I’m not a vegetarian and I don’t have Celiac Disease, so I go with chicken, beef and wheat, along with the Pad Thai, rice and granola.

Get them to try some of these other options before the emergency and see what they like, or are at least willing to eat.

I have not noticed that about REI’s website. I usually just browse when I’m in there. Great suggestion!

We got a few by a company that met our dietary needs and seemed to be free from a lot of preservatives, which we prefer...and they were AWFUL!

Another great suggestion!