GI Symbol News with Dr Alan Barclay

[ALAN]

Dr Alan Barclay

Snacking to keep your energy up and your BGLs down in an emergency

People in Queensland and Victoria here in Australia have been faced with real emergencies this summer. It has been fantastic to see an organisation like Baked Relief cooking their hearts out to help victims and rescuers alike keep going. When faced with an emergency that isolates us, we need nutrient-dense snacks to keep us going and also to provide us with the sustained energy we need for the extra physical activity these situations often require –you may have to clamber onto the roof to be winched to safety by helicopter. Snacks can be just as important as meals in situations like this. You need foods that will keep safely at room temperature for prolonged periods (so you can store them away) and you can eat with minimum preparation (clean, safe water may be scarce, and you may have no gas or electricity).

Our top 10 snacks: The following list (in alpha order) includes foods from our emergency pantry as well as what you may have on hand to help you get through the long days of isolation (and clamber onto the roof if you have to):

Canned fruits (in fruit juice) like apple, apricots, peaches or pears
Chocolate
Dried fruit like apples, apricot, dates, peaches, pear, or prunes, and 100% dried fruit bars like Sunripe® School Straps
Fresh fruit like apples, grapefruit, mandarin, orange or pears
Fruit and nut mix
Mixed nuts
Plain UHT (Long-life) milk Like Dairy Farmers Light White or mixed with Milo®
Quality breakfast cereals that can be eaten dry like a natural style muesli (e.g., Morning Sun®)
Ryvita® Sunflower Seeds & Oats or Pumpkin Seeds & Oats
Uncle Toby’s® Chewy Muesli Bars or Crunchy Muesli Bars

Nestle Milo®