A guide has been released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) so you can get your home and family ready for COVID-19. Some of the tips include having a plan of action for your home. Although the CDC doesn’t want you to panic, being prepared is another story.
Many people are now stocking their kitchens with essentials because of the possibility that the coronavirus will spread. If local quarantines become a reality, you may not get to public transportation or stores. You might not also have enough supplies at home if illness strikes your family. If you do have what you need at home, it will be less stressful for your family.
Fortunately, you don’t have to stock up on hundreds of rolls of toilet paper or months worth of beans and rice. What is important is to have enough groceries and household staples to care for your family for at least two weeks. If a local outbreak takes place, you would not have to go out in public.
The first thing to do in such a situation is to remember not to panic. Don’t go to the grocery store and stock up on dry goods. A professor of environmental and health sciences at the University of Washington’s School of Public Health, Yona Sipos, recommends that you create a meal plan.
“Go [to the store] with a plan,” Sipos told Epicurious. “Have a list of recipes. Probably pretty simple recipes.”
It is possible to prepare for such an emergency by stocking your shelves with shelf-stable boxes and cans of food. Just because you are choosing groceries that don’t go bad quickly doesn’t mean you will have to eat bland meals. Some top chefs were asked by the Washington Post to provide tips for planning, shopping, and cooking.
Padma Lakshmi feels that batch cooking is best.
“Pick a Saturday or Sunday and involve the whole family in making huge batches of different dishes,” the “Top Chef” host told the Washington Post, “turkey chili or green chili with white beans, things that are stew-y and freeze well. Then pack them in quart containers so you can take out just what you need.”
Edward Lee is a chef, author, and restaurant owner. He feels that you should use what you have and get creative. An example is a simple dish he enjoys that combines instant Ramen, frozen green beans, a slice of American cheese, and a dash of curry powder.
“The cheese adds a little creaminess and tang,” Lee told the Washington Post.
Your freezer space is also important to consider. Along with making delicious items out of the pantry, the chef-owner of Compère Lapin and Bywater American Bistro, New Orleans, Nina Compton, suggests having some frozen pizzas in the freezer.
When you really stop to think about it, what could be better to help get you through a crisis than pasta, casseroles, pizza, and cheese?