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What 'meals' are you putting in your 3-day emergency kit?

157 replies

CheeryOnion · 27/10/2026 09:20

Please be gentle, my mental health is delicate and I'm trying not to panic about preparing a suitable emergency kit for my family of 4.

I just wondered what meals you are putting in your kits please? It's me, my partner and our 2 DC (8).

I'd like to write a 3 day 'meal plan' which I can laminate and pop in my box so I'm fully prepared (for MH reasons I think this will make me feel a lot calmer)

Breakfast lunch and dinner with snacks.

Drinks
Water
Hot chocolate (we're not tea/coffee drinkers)
Long life milk.
Squash

Breakfast
Weetabix
Porridge oats
Tinned fruit
Long life milk

Lunch
Dry spaghetti & Tinned Bolognese
Baked beans & ?
?

Dinner
Rice & Tinned curry
?
?

I'm so sorry if this is a silly question I'd just really appreciate some help so I can do a shop, prepare it and 'forget' about it! I'm finding it very stressful.

Thank you :)

OP posts:
KindlySurfiingPlatypus · 28/10/2026 19:01

The thing I've been wondering about though is that if we do this "normal food but cooked on our camping stove" plan is that if water is out we can't wash up. Do we let 3 days of pans and plates build up and do the washing up when the emergency is passed? Or is the wisdom in the "food that doesn't need cooking" plan part of this as less to wash up?

Lucytheloose · 28/10/2026 19:18

If it's only going to be for three days, I would take it as a welcome opportunity to drop a bit of weight.

mrspk · 28/10/2026 19:23

I'm kicking myself for not buying a camping stove a few weeks ago when they were readily available for about £20 with 4 gas canisters.

Jk987 · 28/10/2026 19:30

I don’t understand. Without buying anything we could easily eat for 3 days using the stuff from the cupboard, fridge and freezer. Who hasn’t got oven chips, pasta, beans etc?

Applestroodle · 28/10/2026 19:34

Jk987 · 28/10/2026 19:30

I don’t understand. Without buying anything we could easily eat for 3 days using the stuff from the cupboard, fridge and freezer. Who hasn’t got oven chips, pasta, beans etc?

Where’s the drama in that?

LittleGungHo · 28/10/2026 19:41

Tinned hot dogs.
chicken in white sauce, packet rice and sweetcorn.
Soup.

Dogeatdogeatdog · 28/10/2026 19:59

I honestly struggle to get my head round this and I consider myself fairly well informed about things.

I shop weekly and will definitely get some bottled water etc. In the winter I keep an eye on weather forecasts and always have stuff in the freezer in case I'm snowed in. I have a gas hob that can be lit with a match (I keep several boxes in).

Things like power cuts are generally localised and and so I think I'll ensure the car always has at least half a tank of fuel. That way I can drive to my DD's or DP's for a good feed. Also, I can charge up the phone in the car.

If we end up in a situation where there is a national loss of power/internet or a mass poisoning of water we're going to need civil contingencies to kick in and I'll have to live on dry cereal, biscuits and fridge remnants until help arrives!

MrsPernicious · 28/10/2026 20:10

Dogeatdogeatdog · 28/10/2026 19:59

I honestly struggle to get my head round this and I consider myself fairly well informed about things.

I shop weekly and will definitely get some bottled water etc. In the winter I keep an eye on weather forecasts and always have stuff in the freezer in case I'm snowed in. I have a gas hob that can be lit with a match (I keep several boxes in).

Things like power cuts are generally localised and and so I think I'll ensure the car always has at least half a tank of fuel. That way I can drive to my DD's or DP's for a good feed. Also, I can charge up the phone in the car.

If we end up in a situation where there is a national loss of power/internet or a mass poisoning of water we're going to need civil contingencies to kick in and I'll have to live on dry cereal, biscuits and fridge remnants until help arrives!

I get where you are coming from. It used to just be - winter and bad weather is here - don't be a bozo, have a bit of a buffer in the larder.

M&S got hit big by a cyber attack earlier this year, it took them about 2 months to fully recover function. What if Tesco and Asda got wiped out in the same week?

Just make that slight adjustment to make yourself more robust. It does not need to be a massive effort on your behalf. £10 - £30 on a few basics that you are going to eat in any case.

Dogeatdogeatdog · 28/10/2026 20:17

MrsPernicious · 28/10/2026 20:10

I get where you are coming from. It used to just be - winter and bad weather is here - don't be a bozo, have a bit of a buffer in the larder.

M&S got hit big by a cyber attack earlier this year, it took them about 2 months to fully recover function. What if Tesco and Asda got wiped out in the same week?

Just make that slight adjustment to make yourself more robust. It does not need to be a massive effort on your behalf. £10 - £30 on a few basics that you are going to eat in any case.

@MrsPernicious that's actually a really good example to help us visualise the sort of situations that might arise. I think that's what is lacking the current government comms, it seems to be framed in a sort of 'stock up for the apocalypse that will only last 3 days' way.

Besidemyselfwithworry · 28/10/2026 20:23

bellinisurge · 27/10/2026 10:12

@Tiptopflipflopyou are absolutely right that “stockpile what you eat” doesn’t really work. Better to think of it as “have a stash what you would eat at a push”. If you don’t like baked beans, don’t bother with them.

This exactly then it leaves more things for other people to be able to buy aswell

Sunflowermoonbeam · 28/10/2026 20:42

We have a gas bbq and a pizza stone so I've put in lots of flour and pizza dough mixes and interesting toppings....olives, capers, achovies etc

MrsPernicious · 28/10/2026 20:48

Dogeatdogeatdog · 28/10/2026 20:17

@MrsPernicious that's actually a really good example to help us visualise the sort of situations that might arise. I think that's what is lacking the current government comms, it seems to be framed in a sort of 'stock up for the apocalypse that will only last 3 days' way.

The problem is - there are 101 little things that could go wrong. And most of us would cope with most of them.

However, this year the weather may be a bit worse; cyber attacks may be a bit more frequent. Two or more things may feck up at the same time.

Us humans are actually quite resilient and could take a few steps to ease any problems. But Anna in a tower block has different issues to Bella in a small village. We all need to have a wee sit down and work out our own flexible plans.

BoogieWonder · 28/10/2026 21:02

Cantgetausername87 · 27/10/2026 14:02

A power cut almost always means no water in the UK. Not many back ups for the pumps needed to push water through the network. Whilst you still may have gas for cooking many people don't. So power cut= water cut.

We have regular power cuts here and it's never meant no water?

bababamama · 28/10/2026 21:10

As I have a gas hob I’ll just cook the food I have, no need for kits, prepping or drama. I always have pasta, pesto, chopped tomatoes, anchovies, chickpeas, rice etc.

bababamama · 28/10/2026 21:11

@Cantgetausername87

ive never had a water outage or boil order since 1976!

MrsPernicious · 28/10/2026 21:11

BoogieWonder · 28/10/2026 21:02

We have regular power cuts here and it's never meant no water?

Depends where you live.

My water supply is gravity fed, covers half the town. There is also the option of manual pumping to cover the other half of town. If the rugby club is compliant.

Other towns are reliant on electrical pumps.

You need to research your area.

Brickiscool · 28/10/2026 21:22

Your fridge and freezer aren't going to go off instantly with no electricity. You can eat everything inside them.

Sunseekers · 28/10/2026 21:35

We live rurally so everyone I know has a chest freezer, big larder cupboards, gas hob or stove, wood burner... and it's just normal to be stocked up, food wise and to be prepared for power cuts.

The water issue is interesting, and will depend on your local supply - most will have generators to keep pumps running, but how long for will vary massively.

Access to fresh fruit & veg in the winter might be an problem although we have plenty potatoes still in the ground and I seem to have amassed a lot of bananas in the freezer. So I'll probably freeze more fruit and veg.

We've had several 3+ day power cuts over the last few winters and had no issues other than grumpy teenagers!

malefields · 28/10/2026 22:10

DP is a bit more fussy so it’s tricky but for me a variation of these meals works just fine:

chickpeas + tuna + red onion + dressing
black eyed peas + tuna + red onion + dressing
chickpeas + carrots + red onion + chorizo + dressing
crisps + pickles + fuet + prosciutto
etc and so on

I didn’t know about the rice packets but will be getting some. We also got some cereal bars and chocolate as little treats.

Realistically for 3 days we’d just use up what we have in the fridge and cupboards, so The Box is more like a last resort, really.

Legoandloldolls · 28/10/2026 22:22

What do you normally eat? And out of that what could you possibly face eating cold? I have lots of things it's need to cook in water in case of say snow but can still use my gas cooker and have water.

If power is out and for some reason no gas. We have left over chicken pasta cooked and frozen. Cheap pasta, pre made cheap tomatoes pasta bake. Tinned tomatoes and pre cooked frozen chicken. Cook the pasta. Defrost the chicken. Mix both with the sauce and tinned tomatoes. Cheese in top. Bake. Make a massive vat and freeze the left overs. It good cold.

So is bbc chicken biryani. Cook a vat of it. Freeze leftovers.

Cereal and oat milk is a good idea. Hot berry cordial. Don't overthink it and dont buy anything you wouldn't normally eat. We mostly have pasta and chopped tomatoes as thats going to be used up in date anyway.

Bread sticks last a long time too. Tuna and mayo is a good idea if you eat them. Add a tin or two of sweetcorn.

underthehawthorntree · 28/10/2026 22:31

I don't understand what scenario you're planning for here since a lot of your list requires electricity and/or water. The most likely scenario relates to loss of utilities so you're not going to be able to cook spaghetti in those circumstances. And if you've got water and electric wouldn't you just cook something you've got from your cupboard or fridge?!

I'm starting to stockpile a few tinned meals which at a push you could eat without any heating or water. So I've got tinned ravioli and tinned macaroni and tinned beef and baked beans. They would all be fairly horrible cold but edible.

Pushmepullu · 28/10/2026 22:41

WaffleMacGubbins · 27/10/2026 09:46

First thing is I would say your thinking is a bit rigid. In a brief emergency situation eating 3 square, nutritious meals a day isn't a priority. The thing you want to make sure of is that you're not uncomfortably hungry or thirsty. You don't need to plan for meals.

If you look in your kitchen cupboard, do you currently have 3 days worth of food in there? What shelf stable food do you normally eat? Buy an extra one or two of each item and keep it in your cupboard if you've room, or a box somewhere else is you haven't the cupboard space. Buy stuff you like, and from that point on, always keep the surplus of food constant as you eat it.

If you buy stuff you don't normally eat and have it in a separate kit, you won't end up eating it, it'll go out of date and you'll throw it away.

For us we have:

Drinks
Bottled water, uht milk, fresh milk in the fridge and I freezer, alcohol free beer

Carbs/fats/sugars
Cereal, porridge, nuts, jam, honey, bread in the freezer, cereal bars, biscuits, crackers, chocolate, crisps, butter, oil, sugar, flour, christmas cake

Protein
Tinned tuna, tinned salmon, tinned mackerel, corned beef, cheddar in the fridge, eggs

Fruit/veg
dried fruit, tinned sweetcorn, mushy peas, tinned pineapple, baked beans, mixed beans, tinned green lentils, tinned chickpeas, frozen peas, frozen mixed veg, frozen sweetcorn, frozen berries, fruit and veg in the fridge

Non of that needs cooking. We wouldn't be hungry, but we wouldn't be eating normal meals. It would be fine for a few days to a few weeks.

The only thing on that list that I don't normally keep in the house is bottled water and uht milk.

I agree. If the worst happens then we will eat whatever is around that doesn’t need cooking. The only tinned food I buy is tomatoes and tuna. I can’t bring myself to buy all the other things that are being suggested as I know they won’t be eaten in the event that the worst doesn’t happen. I’ve bought long life milk and some water though.

Pushmepullu · 28/10/2026 22:49

SoftandQuiet · 27/10/2026 13:14

Hope this link works for a very cheap, no cook/ no fridge meal plan for a week. thriftylesley.com/no-power-meal-plan/

Yes, but it’s disgusting. Who eats peanut butter and coleslaw sandwiches!🤑

morbiddest · Yesterday 06:00

Not in the UK so not prepping anything, but confused why people are only preparing stuff that doesn't need to be heated? Can't you just grab a camping stove? If an emergency is serious enough to be stockpiled for then it's probably serious enough to grab a camping stove for? Then you can just eat anything - grab some pasta sachets/pasta/rice/tins of veg and meat. Plenty of water. Gives you so many extra possibilities, as well as extra security if it does go on longer.

sashh · Yesterday 09:50

morbiddest · Yesterday 06:00

Not in the UK so not prepping anything, but confused why people are only preparing stuff that doesn't need to be heated? Can't you just grab a camping stove? If an emergency is serious enough to be stockpiled for then it's probably serious enough to grab a camping stove for? Then you can just eat anything - grab some pasta sachets/pasta/rice/tins of veg and meat. Plenty of water. Gives you so many extra possibilities, as well as extra security if it does go on longer.

Camping stoves should not be used inside.

I think people are prepping a mixture of things that need heating and things that can be eaten cold.