When we are faced with dramatic emergency situations, convenience can help keep us calm and eliminate some of the added stress that’s inevitable during a crisis.  That’s why convenience is one of the basic rules to creating a solid emergency food pantry.

 Many busy moms know that boxed dinners can be a time saver when you are in a pinch. Having some pre-packaged items or just-add-water meals during emergency scenarios will help you begin acclimating yourself to cooking in a grid-down scenario as well as can help provide some comfort at the same time.  Keep in mind, however, that those pre-packaged meals are most often not as nutritious as other meals, but you will need to weigh your options in times of crisis. Sometimes, beating the stress is simply more important. Another thing to watch for is making sure you are keeping dietary restrictions in mind.  For example, if you or a member of your family have celiac disease, you would want to avoid anything not specifically labeled “gluten-free.”

But if you just want some quick “just add water meals” to store in case the grid goes down, or worse, these are all excellent options. Plus, you could easily buy these in bulk either at the grocery store or on Amazon!

1. Hamburger helper – This can be turned into a soup, especially if you have some beef bouillon on hand! It isn’t half bad either! Just add a lot of water, and some additional beef bouillon to flavor the water, and viola! Hamburger helper soup!
2. Ramen noodles – These are probably the quickest out of all on this list! If you just simply follow the directions and cook them as suggested, you will have a meal in less than ten minutes, in most cases.
3. Pancake mix – Kids love pancakes! These are great, quick, and easy especially for a “griddle” breakfast over a fire or wood-burning stove! It will be almost like camping!
4. Rice-a-Roni – These boxes are cheap and easy to buy in bulk.
5. Pasta Meals – These are simple, easy to make, and also well loved.  Try getting a few and test them out if you can!
6. Dried Soup Mixes – these are excellent! I personally buy a minestrone mix that the kids love and if you want more sustenance, you can add meat or the aforementioned potato flakes!

Don’t forget about these convenience prepper items! Jello or pudding is a great comfort food to have on hand for the kiddos, and instant potato flakes are a great way to thicken soups and casseroles. Here’s a DIY recipe and 5 ways to use potato flakes in your meals.  Make sure you stockpile things that you’ll enjoy or the stress of having to dip into your prepper pantry may be a little too much to handle.

You are going to want to stockpile a few things that are fast, tasty, and easy.  As I mentioned earlier, we know these are to the best options as far as nutrition and health go, however, if you want something easy and fast that can help eliminate the stress of having to go through a crisis, these are great comfort foods and easy go-to’s for those emergencies.