Frankenstorm Food Shopping Essentials

The last time I went food shopping for a hurricane, I ended up with six blocks of cheese, cheese doodles, a salami, a case of wine and pretty much one of everything from the cracker aisle. This spread was more suited for a party than a natural disaster, but at least we had flashlights and candles, right?

Luckily, Hurricane Irene turned out to just be a really good excuse to eat an exorbitant amount of cheese and watch enough SVU marathons to be qualified as an NYPD detective. But apparently, Frankenstorm will be an entirely different story. According to the interwebs, people are fighting over boxes of elbow pasta in supermarket aisles and there's one loaf of bread left in the state of New Jersey.

So, yesterday, we went food shopping to stock up on some essentials. (There are still a few similarities to last year in the cheese department.) If you have yet to brave your local grocery store, this list may come in handy should Sandy join for dinner...

• A block (or four) of hard cheese
• Crackers and/or chips - I'm obsessed with Trader Joe's Multigrain Pita Bite Crackers.
• Apples, bananas, oranges, dried fruit (any produce that can handle not being refrigerated) 
• Trail Mix 
• Peanut Butter
• Jelly
• Bread
• Cookies (I'm baking a massive batch of these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip favorites). 
• Granola bars and/or protein bars 
• Candles, lighters, flashlights 
• Bottled Water
• Wine (I can't partake this year because I'm preggers, but please have a glass or bottle for me.)

This list is lacking very important safety items. So, check out credible news websites for guidance on stocking up on the right stuff. Stay safe!

What are your hurricane food faves?

The Cookie Incident

Sometimes a gal that's nine months pregnant just needs to eat a cookie as big as her face. To satisfy my sweet-tooth, I waddled myself over to Potbelly for my late afternoon "feeding". As I was carefully selecting the perfect oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, I heard a voice behind me....

"You should try the mini chocolate cherry cookies."

I politely smiled at this man in line as he peered over my shoulder and pointed to a bag of two much smaller cookies. For a hot second, I toyed with the idea of downsizing my snack. I guess I didn't really need the big cookie... did I? I commend Potbelly for offering smaller portion sizes. But today, I didn't feel like making a good decision.

As if he knew my inner dilemma, he nodded towards my oatmeal monstrosity and said, "Get the smaller ones."

GET THE SMALLER ONES? And that my friends, is when Hungry Pregnant Woman Rage (HPWR) kicked in. Talk to me when you have to schlep around something the size of a watermelon 24/7. I'll eat a cookie the size of a Buick if I want to, asshat. I'm aware that I look like an elephant seal in leggings and an ill-fitting cardigan. By 4pm everyday, I truly feel like the one on the left:

Luckily, I kept my composure, bought my snack, and went on my way. But if that dude ever has a pregnant wife, he'll be sleeping in the garage in no time.