I never seem to be able to keep food in the house. I think the reasons for this are #1 I have 2 girls at home from school all day due to summer vacation #2 Food is so damn expensive I am buying less food for more $$.


So how do you grocery shop?

Daily, more than once a week, once a week, every two weeks, once a month?

Lots of processed food?

Lots of fresh foods?
How do you store your fresh foods that keep them fresher longer?

Do you have a list of food staples that you always have on hand?
What are they?

This has seriously been a problem for me which is weird because I've been grocery shopping for 17 years now. Thing is, my kids are getting older, I'm sick of my own cooking and I'm trying to rely less and less on processed foods. Also, my refrigerator is possessed and is constantly freezing food in the refrigerator part even when the temperature is not set really low.

I have been using my crock pot more which has been a lifesaver!!

It's making me a bit mental now that I'm working 4 days a week with a 2 hour commute each day.

I hate grocery shopping especially when I have to take all the kids with me

Once a week - lots of bread, peanut butter, marmite, water, noodles, sausages, pasta, baked beans, tuna... the basic, cheap stuff I eat most days. That's around $10-$12 a week.

We then eat outside maybe once a day from the noodle soup guy who comes round or go to local restaurants. That's maybe another $10 a week.

Very occasionally, maybe once every 2 months, I go to Villa supermarket to buy special stuff like cheese, liver pate, fresh baked bread, smoked salmon, wine, ham and all the western things I don't eat that often here. That's usually a good $40.

Then there's eating out at nice restaurants and family barbecues at home, which probably costs about $25 a month.

So about $130 a month on food, I'd guess.

But then there's beer, so... add in about $30 for that... so $160 a month for food and drink.

...
[Edited 7/9/06 20:38pm]

condiments. lots and lots of condiments.

Reply to 'What types of foods do you keep in the house?'

Bananas, Watermelon, Cookies, Brownies. Milk for the kids and wife. I don't drink milk.

Is beer a food?

bkw said:

a very whole food so I've heard! Just like tobacco

I hate grocery shopping (because of the rude people),I've started to get two or three of everything so I dont have to go so often

On an average I go every 2 weeks (3 weeks is the longest I wait)
Sometimes I stop by weekly to get snacks or something for lunch

I always have milk,cereal, fruit & candy on hand. During summer months I like to stock up on ice cream.


Spelling edit
[Edited 7/9/06 21:25pm]

Let's see..supermarket a couple times a week, farmer's market once a week, Indian and Chinese grocery stores once or twice a month, health food store occasionally.

Not much processed food but I try to keep some for those days when I can't stand the thought of cooking.I buy Quorn , Boca and Morning Star Farms veggie products for convenience.

I always have fresh fruits and vegetables around, I could live on salad and fruit most of the time.

We always have peanut butter, olive oil, lentils, beans, rice. pasta,soy milk,cheese, yogurt, bread,spices, poppadoms and chocolate .

Nothinbutjoy said:

There are two types of food. Food that is easily prepaired. Very often this food gets eaten up first. You should avoid buying that type. The other is food that requres some amonut of prepairing. Too many people look for a quick bite to eat, so this food is often left hanging about. Prepaired food is often better for you.

Nothinbutjoy said:

I shop weekly with speciality items picked up day or two before use. Sometimes I will go a couple more days longer then a week as long as I pick up milk or bread. We avoid processed foods here. I do like to go to a farmers market for my fresh foods when I can. I try to store the foods correctly. Some produce isn't suposed to be kept cold like Tomatoes. Some Produce keeps better in the dark. Most Produce do require refrigeration, to keep it longer you must learn to pick good produce, and keep it down low in the icebox. Don't let it get too cold. It's better to get a little too warm then a little too cold.

Nothinbutjoy said:

I'll keep several boxes of pasta, rice and other cans of beans, tomatoes, and other cheeper staples stocked up. I'll keep 3-4 jars of peanutbutter and such items. Keeping food stocks, foods that require little in the way of being kept and will keep for months in a pantery.

Nothinbutjoy said:

You have to learn to better use your refrigeratior. Most foods like that freeze in the back, and they can be stocked accordingly.

Nothinbutjoy said:

Not to long ago I got my first crock pot. I've been using it religiously since then. The foods there get cooked slowly and turn out wonderfully. Plus they keep the house cooler. I even made a crockpot thread. it's a very handy kitchen tool

Nothinbutjoy said:

I fucking HATE grocery shopping. In fact I hate doing anything more often than I have to. When I get gas I fill up. When I got to Target I get staples to last me a month or more. & I don't like hitting the stores more than once a week.

My dumb as happens to like certain shit from THREE stores So I try to hit Safeway, Whole Foods & Trader Joes all in one day & get it over with

Must haves: Tangerine Juice, frozen "Mushroom Lovers" patties, wheat english muffins, egg whites, frozen veggies, yogurt, something sweet. (I'm very simple)

In terms of keeping things fresher longer the only thing I've found that helps me is to cook 2 large meals @ once & freeze some for later. I do find that hydroponic (sp?) lettuce lasts longer than regular though, which is great (the root is still attached so it's alive longer).

Rice is a great thing to have cooked & ready to go in the fridge - I put it in a dish or cook it in with eggs to add texture...

I really don't have many secrets. I wish I could keep more fresh food in the house but I find my self doing lots of frozen things b/c it's just too hard to keep up w/ the fresh food schedule

I love love love fresh blueberries for my yogurt but they go bad so quickly eventhough I store them properly, sometimes there's just no winning.

You'll work it out girlie

I go out once or twice a week JUST for milk.

I go to the produce store for fruit veggies cheese and lunch meat usually twice a week.

And I go get all my other stuff once a week. Ya know, pasta, cooffee, sugar, all that kinda stuff.

my cupboards are more stocked from winter through spring than they are from early summer through fall, mainly cuz i don't eat as much in summer and don't think to go grocery shopping as much. my cupboards look kind of pathetic right now...

Old Mother Hubberd when to her cupboards to get her old dog a bone, but when she bent over she found that old rover had a bone of his own.


Everyone, well too many people, say "i hate grocery shopping". I think their all crazy. I love going. The secret is not to rush, take your time, and pick out some good stuff. Even my wife "hates" it, but she won't let me go alone because I'll come home with two carts full.

I get paid once a month, so in the beginning of the month, I do my whole food shopping and it usually ends up somewhere around 400 bucks or so. I then get stuff I need usually every week, like bread or milk and the like. I miss living with my parents where everything was free.

Thanks ya'll.

Looks like I've got the right idea about what to do.

Like I said I've been grocery shopping for 17 years. Guess overall I'm just bored and sick to death of it.


Thanks again!

Lots of pasta and tomato sauce
Always food in the house

Dewrede said:

I think we will have that tonight - thanks for the inspiration

Dewrede said:

actually, I found half a pumpkin in the fridge so it will be a roasted pumpkin penne, with pine nuts, sundried tomato strips and garlic

you never know what you are going to score. Today, I took my old blind mother out shopping, as I do weekly. I take her to the neborhood market, a grocery store associated with walmart. Anyway, while walking around, they had quarts of Strawberries, that looked so good I had to pick one up, until I realized they were selling them for 89 cents. I picked up 3. Now I have to make something with them. Like a strawberry pie.

MickG said:

aren't they good enough to eat just like that with maybe a sprinkle of sugar?

ZombieKitten said:

I try to stray away from the sugar sprinkle. I like them just as they are.

MickG said:

so your strawberry pie is made with no sugar?

ZombieKitten said:

With at least amount of sugar as posable. I do however believe that to many "sweets" take on less of a life when over loaded with sugars. I believe the natural tastes of the food should be showcased. There are ways of cooking, low and slow, that bring out the foods natural sugars. And that can't be sprinkled on.

I for one do believe in using less sugar in sweets. That does go as far as my cookies too. I commonly use half of less sugar then most cookie recipies call for.

Making food yummy is a key to cooking, but I also like to make my food healthy.

MickG said:

you'd like my buns then, the sugar you taste is the sprinkles and in the scroll, not much in the dough itself

ZombieKitten said:

Never had pasta with pumpkin befor e, sounds nice

Call me a freak but I LOVE food shopping. Love it.

I don't need any excuse to do it.

I try to buy in bulk - say, a week's shopping - but I always find myself popping back to the shops for more stuff during the week. I love coming home to a full fridge or a full cupboard. Usually it's fresh stuff but I often get something readymade like pizzas or something I can just grab and munch on.

Just to give an example: on Saturday I had friends round and - right up until the last minute - we were going to go out for the night. I'd already taken some money out but we decided to stay in instead. So Sunday, I thought 'Aha!' and went straight to the supermarket and spent what I was going to spend on drink on food. It feels like much less waste of money. And I get to eat it all.

I know what you mean about loving to come home to a full fridge and cupboards. That's why this phase in my life is so frustrating. I cannot keep up with my ravenous family.

I want to shop like you, onenitealone, a big shopping trip once a week or once every two weeks, then go back as needed to pick up more fresh foods or things I don't have for a new recipe or whatever.

My husband hates shopping that way, so it's a bit of a struggle to get his cooperation.

Nothinbutjoy said:

Sorry to hear things are so difficult at the moment. In reality, I should just buy everything in one shopping trip ; going back and forth means I just spend even more.

I hope things sort themselves out soon, Diana.