I really like it. Lots of... food for thought!

I’m checking out Tamar Adler. Thanks for the rec Sarah!

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 dug up a small section of our lawn to do the same.we can returf it in the autumn.Its getting very make do and mend here!

An FYI on food safety:

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.

It’s because we wash them at ‘the egg factory.’

Refrigerated, they actually dry up before they go bad.

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.

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.

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.

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:

https://www.budgetbytes.com/lo.....isolation/

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.

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.

I also find this really helpful - if you have these items on hand, you'll always have a quick, simple and healthy vegetarian meal at the ready: https://www.dawnjacksonblatner.com/2019/10/the-ultimate-15-item-grocery-list/

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!)

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.

Thanks for starting this great conversation!

My recipes that I often make when we are running low on supplies are

- fried rice (egg, any vege, maybe bacon or shrimp)
- spaghetti puttanesca (tomato chilli olive anchovy sauce)
- fritatta (roast vege, spinach, potato)
- Mexican red lentil soup (can supply recipe)

Sal- 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!

Here you go, it is easy and yummy!!

Mexican Spiced Tomato Soup

This is recipe is vegetarian, inexpensive, and made from
store cupboard items.

Mexican Seasoning

1 heaped Tablespoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons of sugar

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon of chilli

Mix in a jar. This
makes more than is needed for the recipe, I use the rest to flavour beef mince
for chilli con carne or tacos, or sprinkle on potato wedges, or save for a
second batch of soup.

Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 onions chopped

3 cloves of garlic

3 teaspoons Mexican seasoning

2 cans chopped tomatoes

1 ½ cups red lentils

6 cups beef stock ( or chicken stock or even water)

1/3 cup tomato paste

2 tablespoons brown sugar

In large pot heat the oil, add the onions and garlic and
cook until lightly golden. Mix in 3
teaspoons of the Mexican seasoning, then add the tomatoes, stock, tomato paste,
lentils and sugar. Bring to the boil and
stir, then reduce the temperature and simmer for 45 minutes.

Serve with sour cream or natural yoghurt, and fresh
coriander if you want to impress your guests J

Thanks! I even grabbed some chopped tomatoes for the pantry, so I’m set.

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.

Great thread, Lisa, and some wonderful suggestions! I'm going to check out some of the links for sure.

Lisa, 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. )

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 more 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 so not worth it! Like you, we're finding delivery isn't really an option.

Others have said this already, but I'll repeat -- leftovers for lunch!

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.

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.

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. 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.

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.

https://www.thekitchn.com/how-.....sor-134272

Chicken breasts, frozen veggies & rice. Pasta and meat sauce. Oranges Rinse, repeat.

budgetbytes is great! love her stuff.

when running low on things, check out supercook. you put in items you have and tons of recipes pop up.....just fyi.

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.

stay safe and healthy.

Did the grocery shopping this morning (last shop was March 24) and I got EVERYTHING on my list. Meals planned for 14 days, but may be able to do more because scored a big ham that will generate a lot of leftovers!

Weird experience, though. Only ONE shopper per household, so DH stayed home. Arrows on the floor, so you had to go in one direction and through aisles you might not normally shop. Very quiet. Everyone well behaved. Shelves well stocked, except no paper products. 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. NO inflated prices! Would not accept reusable bag, even if I packed them myself. Instead, reloaded the cart, and I packed my bags when I got to my car. I did not want a million plastic bags!

I did see store shoppers assembling orders for pick-up and delivery.

Ladies, you’re unbelievably amazing! All the advice and suggestions here are so helpful!
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.
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!