https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Fri, 17 Apr 2026 06:51:42 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/3#post-2111541 Fri, 03 Apr 2020 19:40:05 +0000 Dreika 2111541@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Ladies, you’re unbelievably amazing! All the advice and suggestions here are so helpful!<br /> Thank you, Lisa, for starting this tread. I like to plan but I’m not good with meal planning and effective shopping. So all comments shared here are giving me really good ideas how to deal with current situation.<br /> Angie, you’re just the Queen - for me to cook so fresh and interesting dishes would require excessive recipes researching, planning, huge amount of time and ultimately someone to constantly supply the needed ingredients, and you’re achieving it so effortlessly while dressed in the most perfect outfit. I’m speechless! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/3#post-2111431 Fri, 03 Apr 2020 14:41:38 +0000 Carla 2111431@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Did the grocery shopping this morning (last shop was March 24) and I got EVERYTHING on my list. &nbsp;Meals planned for 14 days, but may be able to do more because scored a big ham that will generate a lot of leftovers!&nbsp; </p> <p>Weird experience, though. &nbsp;Only ONE shopper per household, so DH stayed home. &nbsp;Arrows on the floor, so you had to go in one direction and through aisles you might not normally shop. &nbsp;Very quiet. &nbsp;Everyone well behaved. &nbsp;Shelves well stocked, except no paper products. &nbsp;Limits in things like eggs, pasta, canned tomatoes, chicken, ground beef - but whole beef and pork tenderloins that can be cut to roasts or steaks at home. &nbsp;NO inflated prices! &nbsp;Would not accept reusable bag, even if I packed them myself. &nbsp;Instead, reloaded the cart, and I packed my bags when I got to my car. &nbsp;I did not want a million plastic bags! &nbsp;</p> <p>I did see store shoppers assembling orders for pick-up and delivery. &nbsp;</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/3#post-2111404 Fri, 03 Apr 2020 12:52:03 +0000 lisaflex 2111404@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>budgetbytes is great! love her stuff.&nbsp;</p> <p>when running low on things, check out supercook. you put in items you have and tons of recipes pop up.....just fyi.</p> <p>yes, when ordering groceries online, i have learned, some things will be out with no substitution or if your lucky there will be a substitution. so, if using i got texts if something out and i could accept or decline subsitution.&nbsp;</p> <p>stay safe and healthy. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/3#post-2111400 Fri, 03 Apr 2020 12:19:27 +0000 nemosmom 2111400@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p><div><a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp/2020/04/01/go-grocery-shopping-every-two-weeks-you-can-and-without-hoarding">This</a> is a great article!</div><div></div><a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp/2020/04/01/go-grocery-shopping-every-two-weeks-you-can-and-without-hoarding"></a><div><a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp/2020/04/01/go-grocery-shopping-every-two-weeks-you-can-and-without-hoarding/?utm_source=pocket-newtab"></a><br /></div> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/3#post-2111392 Fri, 03 Apr 2020 11:10:18 +0000 kkards 2111392@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Chicken breasts, frozen veggies &amp; rice. &nbsp;Pasta and meat sauce. &nbsp;Oranges Rinse, repeat.&nbsp;<div>Salads Monday &amp; Wednesday. Because Sunday is my grocery shop day and that’s about as long as I can get the lettuce o stay fresh&nbsp;</p> <p></div><div>I’m an other one who was used to popping into the grocery store every couple of days. Especially because I cook for 1, I’m finding this very challenging</div> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/3#post-2111354 Fri, 03 Apr 2020 03:42:32 +0000 Diana 2111354@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Since I saw that a couple of people mentioned not being able to find ground meat, I’m going to drop this link about how to grind it yourself with a food processor here. I’ve done it with chicken and pork and they both worked really well (I almost never cook beef so I haven’t tried to grind beef but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work). Plus whole pieces of meat keep longer than ground so that helps too if you’re not shopping as often.</p> <p><a href="https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-grind-your-own-meat-in-the-food-processor-134272" rel="nofollow">https://www.thekitchn.com/how-.....sor-134272</a> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/3#post-2111345 Fri, 03 Apr 2020 03:15:49 +0000 Suz 2111345@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Great thread, <b>Lisa</b>, and some wonderful suggestions! I'm going to check out some of the links for sure.&nbsp;</p> <p><b>Lisa</b>, you're so right that specific situations differ and so our responses have to be flexible. And often it seems we need to change on a dime. (If we have a dime. )</p> <p>My parents were depression raised so I learned to plan and save with the best of them, but I evolved in time into a "Euro" style shopper, making many trips each week. Mr. Suz is our main shopper, and he's even <i>more</i> that way, and even when he has a meal plan in mind, he's also more distractible and forgetful. So this is a big adjustment for us both. Add to that we have a new person in the household and an additional mouth to feed, and it's confusing! I can't say we've mastered things, but we are down to one shop a week or every ten days. (Regular fridge and freezer -- no extra freezer). I honestly don't think we will get it to less than that. We're trying to go early in the mornings because our last afternoon shop was pandemonium and <b>so</b> not worth it! Like you, we're finding delivery isn't really an option.&nbsp;</p> <p>Others have said this already, but I'll repeat -- leftovers for lunch!&nbsp;</p> <p>I also make at least one big soup per week. Often we'll eat soup with salad and/or cheese for dinner one night, and then leftover soup for lunch (or breakfast!) as long as it lasts. As the weather heats up, soup may become less appealing, but for now, it's working for us all.&nbsp;</p> <p>We keep a well-stocked pantry of staples that don't go off -- root and winter veggies, rice and bulgar, oatmeal, nuts, legumes and beans, pasta, plus tinned tomatoes, chickpeas, artichoke hearts, coconut milk, etc. And frozen edaname, peas, beans, sausages, shrimp. You can always throw some kind of meal together if you have that stuff, plus some herbs and spices. </p> <p>I loved my CSA in Kingston and have joined one here but pick-ups won't start until June. And even if I grow some veggies, those won't really materialize until the summer. &nbsp;So I try to do what others have said -- prep my leafy and perishable greens and other veggies carefully when they come into the house, eat those ones first, cook them and eat them fast if they start looking wilted, and save the more durable ones for the meals later in the week.&nbsp;</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/3#post-2111336 Fri, 03 Apr 2020 02:35:38 +0000 elpgal 2111336@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Check out Tamar Adler’s insta feed too. She’s doing something called ‘cook my garbage’ and the things she cooks are ingenious and very weird. She reminds me of my MIL. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/3#post-2111305 Fri, 03 Apr 2020 00:43:04 +0000 Kathie 2111305@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thanks! I even grabbed some chopped tomatoes for the pantry, so I’m set. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/3#post-2111274 Thu, 02 Apr 2020 23:09:18 +0000 Sal 2111274@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Here you go, it is easy and yummy!!</p> <p><b>Mexican Spiced Tomato Soup</b></p> <p>This is recipe is vegetarian, inexpensive, and made from<br /> store cupboard items.</p> <p><b>Mexican Seasoning</b></p> <p>1 heaped Tablespoon ground cumin</p> <p>2 teaspoons of sugar</p> <p>1 teaspoon dried oregano</p> <p>1 teaspoon salt</p> <p>1 Tablespoon of chilli</p> <p>Mix in a jar. This<br /> makes more than is needed for the recipe, I use the rest to flavour beef mince<br /> for chilli con carne or tacos, or sprinkle on potato wedges, or save for a<br /> second batch of soup.</p> <p><b>Soup</b></p> <p>2 tablespoons olive oil</p> <p>2 onions chopped</p> <p>3 cloves of garlic</p> <p>3 teaspoons Mexican seasoning</p> <p>2 cans chopped tomatoes</p> <p>1 ½ cups red lentils</p> <p>6 cups beef stock ( or chicken stock or even water)</p> <p>1/3 cup tomato paste</p> <p>2 tablespoons brown sugar</p> <p>In large pot heat the oil, add the onions and garlic and<br /> cook until lightly golden. Mix in 3<br /> teaspoons of the Mexican seasoning, then add the tomatoes, stock, tomato paste,<br /> lentils and sugar. Bring to the boil and<br /> stir, then reduce the temperature and simmer for 45 minutes.</p> <p>Serve with sour cream or natural yoghurt, and fresh<br /> coriander if you want to impress your guests J</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/3#post-2111247 Thu, 02 Apr 2020 21:27:28 +0000 Kathie 2111247@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p><b>Sal</b>- I'd love your red lentil soup recipe! I'm grabbing extra beans/lentils every week, and this past week it was red lentils, so I'm set for that part! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/3#post-2111241 Thu, 02 Apr 2020 20:45:15 +0000 Sal 2111241@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>My recipes that I often make when we are running low on supplies are</p> <p>- fried rice (egg, any vege, maybe bacon or shrimp)<br />- spaghetti puttanesca (tomato chilli olive anchovy sauce)<br />- fritatta (roast vege, spinach, potato)<br />- Mexican red lentil soup (can supply recipe)</p> <p> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/3#post-2111229 Thu, 02 Apr 2020 20:27:13 +0000 CarolS 2111229@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Wow, Lisa, this is an amazing and helpful thread. I just came back from a major shop that I hope will carry us through for a couple of weeks -- maybe with a small supplementary trip for a few things we want from elsewhere. The good news is that our needs are only wants, if that makes sense. (Even found TP at Superstore this morning! -- cost a fortune, and we're not desperate yet, but buying it seemed like good insurance in a world where you never know when you'll find it again!) </p> <p>I'm definitely in the camp with those who don't necessarily plan down to the meal, but I do try to make sure I have a good mix of staples plus more and less decadent snack and treat offerings. I'm working full time, so, even though I am home, I am not exactly finding a lot of extra time to cook. But I'm working at it.</p> <p>Thanks for starting this great conversation! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/3#post-2111221 Thu, 02 Apr 2020 20:05:39 +0000 Helena 2111221@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Lisa, I didn't read all the replies so I hope I'm not just repeating, but I have the same problems with ordering - the window is so long, that I can't do online groceries at all.</p> <p>I do a weekly plan with lunch and dinner for seven days. We'll often UberEats one meal from a local restaurant, so that usually leaves me with a buffer meal. As for snacks (we love snacks!) I just buy a bunch and if they run out before grocery day, tough luck! I am also quite strict about using as many leftovers as possible - not a covid thing, more a guilt thing But my family has come around and I've gotten pretty handy at soups and things, which gives us at least an extra meal.</p> <p>I also find this really helpful - if you have these items on hand, you'll always have a&nbsp;quick, simple and healthy vegetarian meal at the ready:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.dawnjacksonblatner.com/2019/10/the-ultimate-15-item-grocery-list/"><a href="https://www.dawnjacksonblatner" rel="nofollow">https://www.dawnjacksonblatner</a>.</a><a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.dawnjacksonblatner.com/2019/10/the-ultimate-15-item-grocery-list/">com/2019/10/the-ultimate-15-item-grocery-list/</a> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/3#post-2111190 Thu, 02 Apr 2020 19:21:29 +0000 Laura (rhubarbgirl) 2111190@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Rachy, I was just about to say that about the eggs - if you live somewhere where they wash them during packaging, like the US, it's not safe to keep them at room temperature. If you live somewhere where they don't, or you have your own chickens or get them from a small farm that doesn't wash them, it's totally fine.</p> <p>I have really appreciated this thread, and I feel ya, Lisap, on the panic - it's hard to stay calm and shop rationally when some things are picked over and every moment you're at the store you're being exposed to more people and possible pathogens. I am living with my 70-something parents at the moment, and while I'm glad I can do the shopping and let them stay home, then I'm paranoid that I'm the one bringing home a possible virus, not to mention not getting things we need or wasting money. My mom's much more of a "full pantry" person than I have ever been - when I was on my own I shopped a couple times a week because that way I wouldn't overbuy and end up letting stuff go bad. This, in a lot of ways, is a return to my rural childhood when we didn't have a ton of money and there weren't stores nearby.</p> <p>Good and Cheap is a great cookbook - available for free online if I recall correctly - and her website is useful too. Budget Bytes is another great resource; she's got tons of recipes, substitution ideas, and meal planning stuff. A recent post that might be useful:&nbsp;</p> <p><a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.budgetbytes.com/long-lasting-produce-to-stock-up-on-during-isolation/">https://www.budgetbytes.com/lo.....isolation/</a> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/3#post-2111188 Thu, 02 Apr 2020 19:18:48 +0000 Ginger 2111188@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>texstyle, I'm avoiding the big stores. I'm having fantastic luck at the Albertson's a block away from the Walmart, actually. It's like everyone forgets it's there. (I'm seeing huge lines at Costco, too, though I never go.) But I'm still going into the store; I haven't attempted any delivery or curbside or anything like that. Last time I went was on Friday morning about 9 AM. No lines, except they only had a few checkers so that was starting to stack up a bit. There was plenty of produce. I got TP! And canned chicken! I didn't need any dairy so I didn't see how that looked. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/3#post-2111183 Thu, 02 Apr 2020 18:45:04 +0000 rachylou 2111183@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>An FYI on food safety:</p> <p>Eggs, even in the shell, at room temperature are only good for 2 hours in the U.S., Japan, Australia, Sweden and the Netherlands; 1–3 weeks in other countries.</p> <p>It’s because we wash them at ‘the egg factory.’</p> <p>Refrigerated, they actually dry up before they go bad. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/3#post-2111165 Thu, 02 Apr 2020 17:21:03 +0000 Cardiff girl 2111165@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>For those in the Uk I have found the Food section of the BBC news website invaluable.I am also growing veg in pots and we have &nbsp;dug up a small section of our lawn to do the same.we can returf &nbsp;it in the autumn.Its getting very make do and mend here! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/3#post-2111147 Thu, 02 Apr 2020 16:47:51 +0000 texstyle 2111147@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p><div>So yesterday (after a 2 week pre-order) we get text messages from our curbside grocery pickup that nearly everyone we ordered was "unavailable" and there were no subs. Oh and it's a nearly 1.5 hour round trip to the closest curbside store. Too far for some lemons, bananas and one pack of chicken. Good thing we did stock up on some stuff or we would be out of luck.&nbsp; Next delivery slot, 2 more weeks. We won't go into this big store because you have to stand in line in the parking lot.&nbsp; <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>If you can please do plant a garden or at least some food in pots on your patio!&nbsp; The grocers can't hire enough people to keep shelves stocked (they are afraid to work I guess).</div> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/3#post-2111143 Thu, 02 Apr 2020 16:27:09 +0000 rachylou 2111143@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I really like it. Lots of... food for thought!</p> <p>I’m checking out Tamar Adler. Thanks for the rec Sarah! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/2#post-2111132 Thu, 02 Apr 2020 15:42:55 +0000 Anonymous 2111132@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Rachy - thank you for the link to Leanne Brown's book - it looks terrific! &nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/2#post-2111095 Thu, 02 Apr 2020 13:02:59 +0000 Gail 2111095@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I have a huge Wegmans that I can walk to so it's tempting to decide what to eat and walk up there. With the onset of COVID19 I am trying to only go every week or 10 days. I could certainly survive longer and I am willing to eat leftovers - my husband not so much, however I do find that right now at the end of each day I find I do need a nice meal to look forward to !<br />&nbsp;I'm certainly planning more and go to the store with a list.<br />I usually don't buy milk and last week a recipe I made required it . I was proud of myself for substituting &nbsp;a can of evaporated milk I had and watering it down, simple win lol. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/2#post-2111038 Thu, 02 Apr 2020 04:53:35 +0000 SarahD8 2111038@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I love Leanne Brown’s work!</p> <p>I’ll put in a plug for Tamar Adler’s An Everlasting Meal. It’s kind of next-level using-up and repurposing but totally changed the way I cook and greatly increased my joy quotient in the kitchen. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/2#post-2111018 Thu, 02 Apr 2020 03:33:10 +0000 rachylou 2111018@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Ok. I like this topic. Eg, I love that show, Chopped, which I see as a less scary Iron Chef (lol). You get a basket of crazy things and then have to make a meal. And also, I realised I was throwing away food that was fine to eat but just looked less pretty and wanted to stop that. With the coronalypse... things are sorta snowballing to make it all the more imperative, interesting and worth pursuing.</p> <p>Anyways, two cookbooks that I think are interesting:</p> <p>- a free cookbook on eating on a food stamp budget: <a href="https://www.leannebrown.com/cookbooks/" rel="nofollow">https://www.leannebrown.com/cookbooks/</a></p> <p>- using scraps and ugly produce: <a href="https://m.barnesandnoble.com/w/Scraps-Wilt-WeedsMads-Refslund/1123500329?ean=9781455536177" rel="nofollow">https://m.barnesandnoble.com/w.....1455536177</a> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/2#post-2110976 Thu, 02 Apr 2020 01:41:18 +0000 Echo 2110976@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I have to agree it is all about planning. We plan the menu for two weeks, and I am feeding five (three teenagers). I plan all the way down to desserts and snacks. I have a list of ingredients for each recipe, check what we have before we shop and once we walk out of the store, we are DONE for two weeks minimum.&nbsp;</p> <p>If you are short on refrigerator space or freezer space, keep in mind that beef and pork do better for several days in the refrigerator than chicken, so prioritize freezer space for raw chicken you aren't going to eat or cook immediately. Alternatively, you can also precook things like a pork roast (for pulled BBQ pork sandwiches) or chicken breasts if you have recipes where you can use them, and cooked meat keeps longer in the refrigerator than raw.&nbsp;</p> <p>As for veggies and fruits, we plan those, too, making sure to eat those that will go bad more quickly sooner than those that will last. I also buy frozen veggies to have with dinner unless the recipe calls for fresh. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/2#post-2110972 Thu, 02 Apr 2020 01:36:05 +0000 elpgal 2110972@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>You all are so savvy! </p> <p>One idea that I don’t think has been mentioned is to see if you can sign up for a CSA share. I usually don’t for winter/spring but have been able to get a box at the farmers’ market. We don’t meal plan and cooked by mood so this has worked out well. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/2#post-2110968 Thu, 02 Apr 2020 01:28:02 +0000 Anonymous 2110968@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the sheer ugliness of privilege as it’s been revealed during this crisis . And it occurred to me tonight that my haphazard method of grocery shopping and off-the -cuff meal planning is a symbol of privilege itself . I am self employed and work from home . I don’t need to shop after a long day at the office , or only on weekends . I can run out to the store every day if I feel like it . I don’t have to watch prices super closely , although now I am , and never stopped to think about how lucky I was to be able to operate that way . Felt like making a salad with fresh cilantro ? Went out and bought some ! Felt like baking cookies ? Went to get brown sugar and chocolate chips . I learned a big lesson with this thread, my friends , and will take my meal planning and shopping to a new level - one that reflects the necessity of spending as little as possible and not wasting anything , while hopefully staying on course with what I need/want to eat for health reasons. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/2#post-2110960 Thu, 02 Apr 2020 00:44:21 +0000 cindysmith 2110960@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Dear heaven, I am terrible at this. I buy stuff that catches my ooh look it's a bunny attention. I now have 3 bags of purple and gold and pink fingerling potatoes (down from 5), at least 43 boxes of cereal, several bags of flavored coffee, 4 bags of ravioli, somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 loaves of various types of bread, a package of pork chops (and I don't even eat pork chops), no less than 7947 tins of soup plus several packages of dry soup mix, olive oil, grapeseed oil, a package of chicken breasts, 5 packages of southwestern seasoned chicken breasts, an institutional size jar of peanut butter, enough yogurt to feed the entire army breakfast, 1/2 jar of arrabiata sauce, a pizza crust, several blocks of cheese, pepperoni, several types of apples, 6 bananas (4 of which are still green a week after I bought them), 3 packages of breakfast sausage, 2 or 3 cartons of coconut milk for all that cereal, some P3 type snacks, 2.5 cartons of 1/2&amp;1/2, around a half dozen eggs, and one pear.</p> <p>There is no method to my madness, but I've got food to last through all of my 14 days of self quarantine and then some. </p> <p>Let's not talk about the toilet paper and wipes and paper towels. I don't use paper towels unless I'm dealing with my cast iron skillet after cleaning it, yet I bought the largest package of them Walmart had back in early February. I am only on the 3rd roll with at least 3 more rolls stuffed behind the chair in the corner of my living room. My toilet paper hoard did come in handy when I worked a deal with ex-DH to trade toilet paper for surgical masks, aloe vera gel with lidocaine, and 70% rubbing alcohol, which has to be one of the strangest drug deals of all time.</p> <p>I. Am. Crazy. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/2#post-2110949 Thu, 02 Apr 2020 00:10:58 +0000 DonnaF 2110949@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I haven't really cooked more than a couple times a year for the past 40+ years; DH has been the cook and would shop every couple of days. We have a tiny 18 cu.ft. fridge with a freezer door that pops open if you carelessly slam the fridge door -- so not so great for frozen food.</p> <p>But now things have changed. DH is the poster child for being at risk; he pretty much checks off all the risk factor boxes, plus his lung doctor told him that because of one of the meds he takes he is likely to die if he contracts coronavirus. No, he actually said he would die. And his kidney doctor and primary care doctor told him he needs to keep taking that drug. So I won't let DH see the inside of a market until maybe this fall.</p> <p>Good news: He is still doing the cooking. But the tricky part is combining a planner (me) with more of an emotional cooker.</p> <p>We used to shop at Trader Joe's twice a week (together), and he used to shop at Safeway probably three times a week. He would buy bread and meat at another market every ten days or so, and go to a fourth market for fish every week or so.&nbsp;</p> <p>My goal for the short term is to shop at Trader Joe's every two weeks and Safeway every two weeks, staggering the weeks. They each have stuff not available at the other, same with the other two stores where we buy food. I will also add that he likes to cook semi-Asian and that we have a wok burner on our stove.</p> <p>First, I keep a running list of staples, and am trying to keep track of what I've seen gone at Safeway like chicken broth or chicken stock, either to pick up at Trader Joe's or buy the next time at Safeway. I'm also trying to keep track of how fast I use something so that I don't run out.</p> <p>I go to the meat/poultry section first because what's available or what looks good can vary from week to week. I had to cook for a couple of weeks last month as DH was in isolation awaiting covid19 test results, and learned NOT to buy Value Packs: Too much in the way of leftovers.&nbsp;</p> <p>Then, I see what looks good in the way of vegetables, because again, what looks good can vary from week to week. I also learned that microwave steamed veggies go bad much, much quicker than stir-fried or roasted ones.&nbsp;</p> <p>I was thinking that I need to have the pantry stuff around to make minestrone soup to take care of the bits of veggies hanging around just before a shopping trip. DH would never do this, but I abhor waste.</p> <p>Anyway, I woke up at 5 am today wondering if I needed to put vanilla on my list (no, I have plenty) and to make sure I bought aromatics like onions and shallots. Just because. I also have DH on phone standby as I shop (what type of bacon? I don't eat the stuff) and have him empty the shopping bags so he knows what I bought.</p> <p>It won't be perfection, but we'll get through this.</p> <p> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/grocery-shopping-and-food-management-how/page/2#post-2110943 Wed, 01 Apr 2020 23:32:05 +0000 anne 2110943@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I meant to say that I'm doing less meal planning than usual, and like others, much more seeing what's available in the shop and taking it from there. </p> <p>I could manage to do a fortnightly shop if it wasn't for the fact that I am feeding five people. I already do most of what Angie is doing.<br /> How many are you feeding Lisa? </p> <p> I am already thinking that despite all my calls to go easy on the milk, we are not going to make it through the week unless we use frozen or uht (I use uht mostly to make homemade yoghurt, and powdered to thicken it, but powdered milk is very rare now and also counts against your milk item limit) </p> <p>Item limits at our major supermarkets on meat, milk, frozen veggies, pasta, rice, egg, canned veggies and many other things. </p> <p>Our supermarkets are also doing the seniors hour, which is great. We've persuaded the over 70s in our lives to either get delivery or let their children shop for them. </p>