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Grocery Shopping
K&H
Posts: 3,368 ✭✭
Do you have a successful system for grocery shopping? What is it? I'm so desperate for a different way to do things. Right now we hit the store when things are pretty bad at home with the lack of food in the house. But there isn't one store that carries everything that I want/need. So, if I had enough time and patience, I would have to go to at least three if not more stores to get everything. Also, we have the world's smallest kitchen with crap for storage space. (seriously. there is ONE drawer and it is four inches by four inches, our silverware tray lives on the ledge of the pass through window to the dining room.) Tonight was the bottom of the barrel I think. We got home from being out of town just in time to put E down for bed at a slightly late but not yet absurd time. I headed out to pick up a few things at the closest grocery store and walked in the door as they were making the announcement that they were closed. :mad: I had two things in my cart (needed at least 20) and I just walked out the door.
It seems as though lately we're hitting one of the three needed stores per weekend, and if necessary another one mid-week. Nothing is organized, food is not as good as I would like, and E is hitting her 2yo bored with food stage, so she's hardly eating what's offered.. and how can I be frustrated with that when what is offered is SO boring!?!
We leave the house by 6:45am every day. Two days a week we don't get home til 7:30, the other three days vary, 5-6-ish. We are both extremely exhausted by the end of the work day and just want to spend time together at home. Also, we live in a horrible area for traffic (H's commute takes an hour and she goes 7 miles), so any store that is more than 2 miles away is at least 40 minutes each way. On the days we've gone after work we end up not getting home until 6:45 or so, then having to start dinner at that point.. not rolling E into bed until 8:45 or later and that just doesn't go well with getting up at 6.. Oh, and we're out of town most weekends in the summer.
When do you shop? How do you organize your shopping?
It seems as though lately we're hitting one of the three needed stores per weekend, and if necessary another one mid-week. Nothing is organized, food is not as good as I would like, and E is hitting her 2yo bored with food stage, so she's hardly eating what's offered.. and how can I be frustrated with that when what is offered is SO boring!?!
We leave the house by 6:45am every day. Two days a week we don't get home til 7:30, the other three days vary, 5-6-ish. We are both extremely exhausted by the end of the work day and just want to spend time together at home. Also, we live in a horrible area for traffic (H's commute takes an hour and she goes 7 miles), so any store that is more than 2 miles away is at least 40 minutes each way. On the days we've gone after work we end up not getting home until 6:45 or so, then having to start dinner at that point.. not rolling E into bed until 8:45 or later and that just doesn't go well with getting up at 6.. Oh, and we're out of town most weekends in the summer.
When do you shop? How do you organize your shopping?
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Mock-up
Safeway
__ Large AA Eggs 12 (Dairy)
__ Nonfat Milk 1/2 gallon (Dairy)
__ Rice (Aisle 3b)
__ Black beans (Uncooked) Aisle 3a)
Progesterone therapy and baby aspirin daily
Two miscarriages in between (August 2012 - same donor as Maggie, and December 2014 with husband)
Maggie
I don't budget time for these trips. I just stop on the way home. I guess it adds 30 minutes to the commute when all is said and done. I have tried to do it all in a big circuit on a Saturday and it's exhausting. All that in-and-out of the carseat routine is just too much! Easier just to stop off day by day.
Mommy to Twins plus One - donor 733
Also, in terms of boredom, I try to choose at least one new recipe every week. It changes things up.
I recently looked at the amazonfresh website to see about having more food items delivered. Maybe you would like this for a standing order and only stop by the store for a random trip?
As for meals can you cook in bulk and freeze? Or I will try to think of food items that can be turned into something for the next days meals--Like baking a chicken then using leftover meat for fajitas, or to toss on a spinach salad. Also even if I don't freeze a lot of food ahead of time I try to cook extra for the rest of the week.
Got distracted, hope this makes some sense
I
I also try to make foods that lend themselves to multiple dishes. For example I may boil two chickens. I'll use the stock for a batch of home made chicken noodle soup, a batch of butter nut squash soup, cook any rice I need for the week in stock, and freeze any remaining stock in ice cube trays to use as seasoning. I'll take the chicken and shred them. One will be frozen for next week. I'll make a chicken enchilada cassarole, BBQ chicken sands, have chicken ceasar salad this week.
While the chicken is cooking I'll throw a bunch of potatoes in the oven for twice bakers. I'lll also bake a pound of bacon at a time because it will keep all week and breakfasts and/ or salads will be better with a slice... You catch my drift?
Essentially 4 to 6 hours of hard kitchen labor can feed my home for roughly two weeks.
Max is eating so many fruits and veggies so every couple of days we make a quick run to pick and save, aldis, or the co-op. When life is really hectic, DH goes at night after max goes to sleep.
I agree with checking into a delivery service like peapod. That might be a good idea. I know many stores have it in NYC, but I don't know if they do out where you live.