72 Hour Kits - Deciding what foods to put in

In our second post in the 72 Hour Kit series, now that we have an idea of who you are going to put your kits together for, we can get started making a food list.

To me, the most important thing to keep in mind is to only include foods that are well liked and able to be consumed by the person who the kit belongs to. It will not do any good if your child normally does not eat peas and there are three cans of them in his kit, or if your husband cannot tolerate a packet of tuna because of a fish allergy. Make sure the foods are not too sweet, salty or spicy, especially for children.

There are going to be nine meals total:
* 3 breakfasts
* 3 lunches
* 3 dinners

You may also want to include:
* 1 - 3 snacks per day

For drinks, there will need to be a water supply on hand (which I will talk about more another time.) It is recommended to keep at least 1 gallon of water per person per day. Additionally, I like to include extra drinks in 72 Hour Kits. Individual milk or juice packs can be drank with a meal. Tea bags or vitamin packets can be added to water bottles.

Convenience is important as well. Foods that involve little to no preparation are good. Make sure the package the food is in is able to be opened easily, pop top cans work well or be sure to have a can opener.

Comfort foods or some special treats are a good idea to put in your kits as well. If things are chaotic, a little treat is a small piece of comfort, for any age.

Following are some ideas to include in your kit:

Breakfast:
granola bar
power bar
cereal bar
breakfast bar
fruit cup
instant oatmeal (I will explain how to prepare this later)
cereal cup (to add juice to instead of milk)

Lunch:
chicken packets
tuna (packets or cans)
salmon packets
sardines or oysters
beanie weenies
vienna sausages
deviled ham
chili
ravioli, lasagna, spaghetti-o's
soup cups
cracker packets
peanut butter and cracker packets
cheese and cracker packets

Dinner:
stew
hearty soup
chili
ravioli
vegetables (corn, green beans, peas, carrots)

Snacks:
power bars
beef jerky
raisins
nuts
pudding
fruit packs
fruit roll-ups
cookies
crackers
candy

MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat) are also sold. They consist of an entire meal in an aluminum packet that is able to be eaten cold or heated. Originally, they were designed for the military, though they are now available for the public.