Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Hurricane Prep, Gluten-Free Style

With Hurricane Earl closing in on the East Coast and evacuations underway in parts of the Outer Banks, here in Cary it's time to mad rush the grocery stores. All forecasts predict we'll be far from Earl's wrath, but we're properly trained in better-safe-than-sorry and won't be caught off guard without the essentials: water, flashlight, batteries, blanket, radio, bread??? Hmmmm. How different should our emergency kit look now that we have a daughter with Celiac disease?

My husband and I have talked about this at length since V was diagnosed this past January, although we've never come to any real conclusion. If we had to evacuate, not necessarily due to a hurricane, but for whatever reason, the chances that we would find gluten-free food "along the way" would be next to nil. So what portable GF foods should we pack and how much do we need in the emergency kit?

I always keep a spare case of Kind Bars in the house. Resembling granola bars at first glance, they come in a variety of fruit and nut combos with or without yogurt; they're high in protein, low on the glycemic index, and of course gluten-free (not to mention tasty). But are twelve energy bars enough food to get a child with Celiac through a real evacuation? Have your thoughts about emergency preparedness changed since Celiac entered your life? What's in your gluten-free emergency kit?

Stay safe and dry...

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