Kitchen Prep

We all know making good meals for our family without power can be a pain. Seven's Belkys Nerey is here with some kitchen prep ideas that will make cooking after a storm much easier.

WSVN -- Living without electricity after a storm is a challenge of its own. Especially, when it comes to cooking. But, preparing ahead of time will make your hurricane meals easy and delicious.

Oliver Saucy of Cafe Maxx: "Think a couple meals down the road. What can you have for breakfast. Especially if you've got a family with children or special needs with some elderly folks, you want to make sure and have all that stuff ready."

Chef Oliver Saucy has been cooking at Cafe Maxx in Pompano Beach for the last 27 years, but he also has a family of his own to feed. He says when a storm is approaching, the first thing he does is secure the freezer.

Oliver Saucy: "Freeze the water. It keeps everything cold in your refrigerator, and what you want to do is take some of it out because it expands as it cools."

He also makes sure all of his food is inside containers or bags.

Oliver Saucy: "If hamburger meat thaws and the juice of the blood gets in the system of your refrigerator it's horrible. It just makes a big mess. It smells."

Chef Oliver also keeps a culinary survival box so he has everything he needs to cook without power in one spot and ready to use.

Oliver Saucy: "The center piece to this is one of these butane burners. It comes in a suitcase like this and you can actually cook inside with this."

Other key items to pack up: Pots, extra butane gas, knives, non-perishable foods, seasonings and for coffee lovers, a coffee maker like this one, it's called a Melitta.

Oliver Saucy: "You just pour it right inside there and it drips down. It's the old fashion way."

When it comes to preparing actual dishes Chef Oliver says get creative with what you have. One easy dish is egg salad. Simply hard boil eggs before the storm hits and they're fresh after the storm.

Oliver Saucy: "We're going to make our hurricane taste better, we're going to add a little bit of truffle oil."

Another tasty dish you can whip up before the wind blows, chicken and potato salad.

Oliver Saucy: "You just cook it and chill it and have it ready to go. Just things that you know you can store cold and kind of eat over the next couple of days."

Belkys Nerey: "Chef Oliver says prepare your menus for after the storm now that way you can shop early for all the staples you need."