prepping for being snowed in

[preppingsu]

Look What We Found food pouches. Just enough for am adult portion. Easily opened and heated. Serve with some boil in the bag rice or tinned potatoes.

http://www.lookwhatwefound.co.uk/

Not cheap but best to shop round and stock up when they are on offer.

http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shop/gb/gro ... balls-270g

[Decaff]

Hello and welcome you can get a hands free battery operated tin opener from Argos for around £12 which is on sale saving £3 at the moment. I would stock up on basics and freeze them, milk, cheese and bread at the very least, then you can use what you need when you need to, powdered milk would also be a good idea, packs of dried soup mixes, cuppa soups etc for warming drinks with a bit more oomph.

Edit: instead of matches, look out for the long handled gas ring lighters which are much safer and easier than matches. You can get these in pound shops or supermarkets quite cheaply.

[Yorkshire Andy]

One issue with the gas stove lighters is most have child locks which can be hard to manually deactivate if you have dixterity issues. . . my 80 odd year old grandma managed with the bistro stove


http://m.gooutdoors.co.uk/hi-gear-porta ... ve-p142491


http://m.gooutdoors.co.uk/cartridge-220 ... ak-p152342




I've a selection of this range
http://www.princes.co.uk/our-products/m ... -con-carne

All have ring pulls

I've also got Morrison's own brand too such as sausage caseroll but I'm unsure if they are ring pull cans

Way I plan it is with some rice boil rice up then put rice in a pan with lid to one side wrapped in a tea towel to let continue to cook in its own heat up warm up canned meal and serve

Same with pasta or canned veg.

Those look what we found meal pouches are nice but portion sizes are a bit small for a growing lad like me



As for lighting for starters I would elect for a head torch. Now given you struggle with matches beware most have small or hard to press buttons....

I have the petzl pixa 3 which has 3 brightness settings this is the cheaper base model which has a rotary on off knob which you might find easier to manipulate (I can do it in work gloves)


http://www.outdoorgb.com/p/Petzl_Pixa_1 ... AnXR8P8HAQ

[katilea]

Thanks very much. I've been looking up these links.

A battery can opener is a good idea. I thought I had once seen a solar powered battery charger. I think the one I saw was for phones to recharge them for hikers etc but can't remember where I saw them. I was thinking more of AA batteries that are in things such as torches.

The pouches (food) would be enough for me. Now I've seen them on ebay I know what to look for.

The mini cooker was what I was unsure about cos of the gas canisters etc.

[Yorkshire Andy]

That one I linked to above is one of the safer ones on the market....

If you don't get the gas cartridge on right it won't click into place...

The cartridge seals on release (like a can of furniture polish unclip it and it seals much like when you take your finger off an aerosol)

Its also very stable due to its wide base and low height...


Not saying they are 100% safe but with care like any appliance that makes a naked flame they are as safe as they can be

Really not a fan of solar battery chargers unless you are prepared to spend a fair bit of money the cheap ones are naff I got one from lidl and with a smart phone I don't get one full charge and it took a week to fully recharge in the middle of summer

[preparedsurrey]

Hi have you informed the utility companies that you are vulnerable the event of a disruption to supplies, they should have policies in place to help you. I only know about this as the electricity company added my sister when she was on her own with a young child and she only had one open fire to heat the house when the power went off.

[katilea]

One issue with the gas stove lighters is most have child locks which can be hard to manually deactivate if you have dixterity issues. . . my 80 odd year old grandma managed with the bistro stove


http://m.gooutdoors.co.uk/hi-gear-porta ... ve-p142491


http://m.gooutdoors.co.uk/cartridge-220 ... ak-p152342




I've a selection of this range
http://www.princes.co.uk/our-products/m ... -con-carne

All have ring pulls

I've also got Morrison's own brand too such as sausage caseroll but I'm unsure if they are ring pull cans

Way I plan it is with some rice boil rice up then put rice in a pan with lid to one side wrapped in a tea towel to let continue to cook in its own heat up warm up canned meal and serve

Same with pasta or canned veg.

Those look what we found meal pouches are nice but portion sizes are a bit small for a growing lad like me



As for lighting for starters I would elect for a head torch. Now given you struggle with matches beware most have small or hard to press buttons....

I have the petzl pixa 3 which has 3 brightness settings this is the cheaper base model which has a rotary on off knob which you might find easier to manipulate (I can do it in work gloves)


http://www.outdoorgb.com/p/Petzl_Pixa_1 ... AnXR8P8HAQ

That's a good idea about tea towel! I hadn't thought of that to keep one thing warm while another cooked. I was thinking I'd just try and find some kind of stew and have bread with it. (or chilli with a wrap as I like those soft wraps too) I do keep bread in freezer so if was power cut I'd need to eat some of it...though both fridge freezer and small chest freezer have about 12hr failsafe. I'd hope I'd be back on the national grid by then!!!

Problem I also have is my minicom phone for deaf only works plugged into mains so in order to phone anyone to tell them (like utility companies) that my electric had gone off I need to use the minicom phone or email to contact them, both of course which would be out of action with no electric!

[Hamradioop]

Hi Katilea, How much dexterity do you have?, My wife has MS and her dexterity is shot and she would have trouble operating a Bistro type stove, However she can operate a gas Candle Lighter. The motion require to operate are quite different. The good news is the Bistro can be light with a gas candle lighter.

[Yorkshire Andy]

For flame free cooking see here
http://m.gooutdoors.co.uk/trekmates-fla ... ox-p195259

But the heat pads are not cheap!

http://m.gooutdoors.co.uk/trekmates-fla ... 0g-p195241


If you do go for meal pouches there are the american style hot pouches..

You stuff your meal in the heat bag add a bit of water wrap in a old towel ideally and wait

http://evaq8.co.uk/FLAMELESS-RATION-HEA ... -Meal.html

[katilea]

The flame free box looks interesting but I'd definitely need to boil water to tea, cup-a soups, for hot water bottles, my dogs meals etc so that wouldn't solve the problem.

I watched on YouTube a cartridge been put in one of those small bistro cookers and reckon I could manage that. As no gas can leak out if it takes a few attempts to get it in, it seems safe enough.

I'm finding it quite frustrating that I can't answer immediately under the post I want to and my reply is not coming up until later as every post has to be be approved.. is this just for new members and will end soon? otherwise I can't see me staying as the interruption to flow of conversation is very annoying!

Thanks to everyone who answered it would take too long to quote and reply to everyone especially as posts aren't going up immediately in response, but everyone has been most helpful!

Can I just ask how long do the cans last? in regard to cooking time?.. I saw one cooker came with 8 cans on Amazon but the one in the link they have to be bought seperately and come in a 4 pack. I've no idea whether 4 would be enough to last a day, a couple of days?

Thanks

Kati