Food ideas for care package

[spitforspat]

The company I work for has stores in Houston and is sending food and supplies to employees affected by Harvey. They're requesting homemade food and fresh produce. We don't know if they have power to heat the food.

What is something I could make that could be eaten cold, if needed? Another coworker is sending fruits, veggies and salad. I was thinking of maybe grilling chicken and sending tortillas. Nuts? Hummus? Help me!

[namasteak]

I would do shelf stable stuff. If they don't have power to heat how will it stay cold?

[spitforspat]

I'm not too worried about keeping things cold. We're an outdoor retailer and are sending enough yeti coolers with ice to offer to any employee who needs one.

[lilac05]

That's tough if you don't know if they have a way to keep it cold.

Homemade granola bars and cookies...protein packed if you can. Yes, they can get both packaged but knowing that someone made it just for you is nice.

[spitforspat]

Homemade granola bars is a great idea!! Thank you.

[pinkballoons]

Cheese sticks. Crackers. Summer sausage.

ETA: i just realized NONE of that is fresh produce or homemade. Salsa for the tortillas?
And I can't find my recipe for breakfast cookies either. So I'm really of no help.

ETA: here's the recipe. www.crazyforcrust.com/2014/01/peanut-butter-breakfast-cookies/

[followyourarrow]

Since they'll be able to keep things cold, what about pasta salad, quinoa salad, those little oat protein balls, even just fresh apples and citrus.

[isabel]

Some sort of plant protein salad, like a quinoa or bean salad. I've made a southwest quinoa salad with black beans and tons of fresh veggies (tomato, onion, peppers, avocado, corn) and a cumin-lime vinaigrette. Also, white beans and tuna with parsley and lemon juice.

[spitforspat]

These are genius ideas- thank you!!

[salsaverde]

sandwiches, burritos/wraps, texas caviar, skewers with chicken/veggies

[circa1978]

I know apples and other fruit aren't homemade (that's a little bit of a weird requirement IMO) but I've been through several hurricanes, including being on the ground as a reporter for Hurricane Katrina, and apples are basically the perfect hurricane food. They don't bruise easily, they are filling and they can be eaten with shelf stable peanut butter for an extra protein boost. Fresh fruit can be really hard to come by. Even if you make a pasta salad or something (no mayo) I would send fruit. 

[isabel]

You could also do individual servings of overnight oats. Or even leave them unassembled. I'm thinking send a personal size container with the oats and other dry goods in it (seeds, coconut flakes, raisins, etc.), an individual cup of greek yogurt, a box of shelf stable milk (Horizon), and other mix ins, like fresh fruit (would need to be berries or pre-cut), vanilla extract, cinnamon, etc. They would just need a plastic spoon and could mix everything into the oat container.

[alleinesein]

Ham and cheese croissants. Grab a few cans of pillsbury croissants and roll them up with a few slices of ham and cheese and bake per directions. They aren't fancy but they are easy to make and can be left at room temp for 1-2 days.

[isabel]

Oh, and I highly recommend shelf stable milk in general for those who have children. I know my DS would be asking for milk and it would really suck to not be able to provide that for him. Horizon makes these and they are in the baking aisle.

[orangello]

Definitely apples and citrus. Pasta salads, muffins, muffin tin fritattas, and premade cold sandwiches are all things I would go for. Maybe some backup soup just in case they can heat things? It's damp there, and soup may be just the comfort people need.

[spitforspat]

Thanks for all the great ideas!

[cereal K]

If you need a granola bar recipe, I just made these these weekend and they turned out great! I cut them up and put them in snack-sized zipper bags.

www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/articles/mix-and-match-granola-bars

I used oats, mixed nuts, mini chocolate chips, and M&Ms.

[LanaLang]

Oooh, the energy bites recipe on momables is awesome and would be great in this situation.

[OG Jo]

Peanut butter is my complete go-to in food dire situations. I'm hypoglycemic and PB has saved me more than once. I know it's not homemade, but it would go well in the preportioned snack cups with the fresh fruit.