Fire drill! Skip this week's grocery shop

[psychomoustache]

I don't know that we'll skip the grocery shop, but I think that I no longer will go with Mr. Psychomoustache who seems to Not Be ABLE to resist buying more wine (Frenchman) or yogurt stuff (ditto), or chocolate...

And gives me big sad sulky eyes when I remove things from the cart...

[EMP]

Thanks, startingfromthestart!  We have a new kitten who can eat anything right now.  However, we have a 3 year old that has trouble with "cheap" food.  We are looking at the GMO's in foods.  Corn is one of the big bads with GMO's. 

My sister has had great luck with something in a blue bag from the feed store.  I think she gets it for $15 for 50 lbs.  I'll ask her the brand.  One of her cats used to get sick all. the. time.  unless she was on some super expensive stuff, but hasn't had any trouble with this.

[startingover]

Thanks, EMP!  I'd like to know that brand name.  Our cats mean a lot to us and we really don't want to push our luck.  A cheaper food is good, if it works for them!

[EMP]

http://www.dogfooddirect.com/store/p/1037-Tuffys-Dinnertime-Cat-Food-40-lb.aspx

This is the stuff she used to use.  Since she got married and moved, the new feed store carries something different that she say works just as well.  And when I say feed store I don't mean Tractor Supply Company.  I'm talking the place on the bottom floor of the grain elevator. 

I was surprised when I looked at the ingredients.  I didn't expect her to have much luck with something that had corn as a first ingredient, but there it is. 

[startingover]

Thanks EMP.  I will see if I can find this in my neck of the woods.  I looked at the website.  There are a lot of options!  I will see what works for us!  PS, welcome to the MMM forum.  It's great, isn't it.

[swick]

Hi All,

Great to see this thread is still going and some new people have joined us! I haven't been as active due to some new job opportunities - and the lack of oven:). The bright side was the landlord replaced it - but being oven less for a month made me realize how much savings there is in baking your own bread and treats!

On the topic of dogfood. One of the best resources I have found is: http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/ They provide a very unbiased view...you learn things like my fancy-pants brand from the local pet store is about comparable to one of the costco brands (now it is still 2 hours to the nearest costco, so that is something to keep in mind) But it is very useful because you can sign up for food and treat recall email notices (and there is a frightening amount lately) so at the very least you may save some heartache and vet bills by unknowingly feeding your pup bad food.

[TansyPants]

We switched to a paleo diet a couple of months ago.

While I think we'd have been able to handle a "no grocery week" prior to the switch, we rely on fresh eggs, meat, and vegetables now, at least once a week. We have a freezer full of food we could probably stretch but our morale would suffer, if not our health.

Anyone else try this while on a paleo diet?

FWIW, I love the idea of a fire-drill week and would love to try it, without compromising the diet. (no dining out)

We're on a paleo diet and I'm currently trying this out (trying to stretch our last grocery shop until my parents are ready for a joint run to Costco) I think it's doable, but easier with planning. I tend to make enormous trays of quiche/casserole/roast vege or pots of soup and bean-less chili and then freeze them in individual servings. I'm pretty sure we could go a full month with the meals already in our freezer. We also tend to buy meat in bulk and freeze it (though "bulk" in a 650sq ft apartment in the city is pretty different to "bulk" when you have a chest freezer the size of a bed... I miss the country) and I do fork out a little extra for the bags of frozen veg that my boyfriend can take out and microwave. It's not the best, but when I'm not home if the vege isn't easy to cook he won't eat it (hence also the availability of pre-cooked meals in our freezer. This trick has saved hundreds in ordering in sushi.). So far the best solution has been showing him that once he's cooked some bacon he can fry up a ton of broccoli in the left over fat. Add a bit of salt and he'll eat 2 heads without a problem.

[kkbmustang]

This trick has saved hundreds in ordering in sushi.

I love sushi, but we haven't eaten it in a very long time as it is expensive. I need to learn how to make it at home.

[swick]

How is everyone doing?

We are having another "no grocery shopping week" this week. Anyone want to join us?

We were fortunate to be able to buy 15 doz farm fresh eggs for 40.00 so 2.66 a doz compared to our usual 5.99.  So besides eggs we are going to be focusing on using up our freezer contents ahead of moving in June.

I made some soup out of some boiled asparagus stems - the parts I would usually toss out, and homemade turkey stock which turned out really yummy (I do love my blendtec)

I have been inspired by the "Living below the Line" challenge,  although won't be participating this year as I found out about it this morning. It did get me seriously thinking about the food we use, waste, and how I would plan for next year.

The only reason I can do "no grocery shopping" weeks is because I have a stocked pantry and freezer. If I had to buy full sizes of everything as you do for the challenge or if I was just starting out, I'd be hooped - especially with the prices in our somewhat remote northern town.

We are lucky we can drive to the nearest big town and stock up at costco, many single income or welfare families were moved to this area because of the low cost of housing - but we have one grocery store in town who way over charges and has very little selection or quality control - I can see how hard it would be for these folks to get ahead. Unfortunately the old adage is true that sometimes it takes money to save money....just some food for thought I am working through today:)
 

[anastrophe]

This trick has saved hundreds in ordering in sushi.

I love sushi, but we haven't eaten it in a very long time as it is expensive. I need to learn how to make it at home.

I LOVE making sushi. I do use rice wine vinegar but I don't find it a hassle. I like putting random vegetables together to see if they will taste good (sweet potato cucumber, anyone?). That might work out well for this challenge...

[CNM]

I'm in.  I went grocery shopping yesterday, like I usually do. But my mom suddenly decided to move out of her apartment (long story) and so she gave us all of her food, too.  Suffice to say, we are bursting at the seams food-wise.  No food shopping until May 10th is my goal. 

[hoodedfalcon]

I am definitely in! I had house guests over the weekend and they all brought food. In addition, I stocked up in preparation for their visit. Needless to say, I went over my grocery budget in April. I am up for the challenge!

[swick]

always nice to have company :)

I always struggle with being creative to find substitutions for things I don't have with things I do have instead of walking to the store - so that is my goal this week. I didn't actually stock up before hand so it'll be good for me!

[Rural]

We did this challenge last week but I did shop this weekend, so this week's out. I'll have to buy dog food next weekend, but I shouldn't need any people food except milk (which I acknowledge is a want, not a need, and which I'm choosing to buy anyway because I'd rather have the milk than the money)

[swick]

I hear you about the milk :) I am trying to use less, simply because I went to our storage room in our basement and we have a rope hanging from the ceiling that we stash our bottles on as we save them up before recycling. At 6.99 for 4L it is a pretty good visual of how much we drink.

Last night for dinner I made a turkey curry over quinoa using turkey, stock, and roasted asparagus from the freezer.
I made extra gravy and portioned out out so tonight will be pot pie with some more turkey and whatever odds and ends of veggies I can find languishing in the freezer:)

I have an insane amount of frozen chopped rhubarb in the freezer, anyone have any tried and true recipes?

[shusherstache]

This recipe for blueberry and rhubarb baked oatmeal is ridiculously delicious.

http://www.nutmegsseven.co.uk/2012/04/rhubarb-blueberry-and-almond-baked.html

[anastrophe]

I hear you about the milk :) I am trying to use less, simply because I went to our storage room in our basement and we have a rope hanging from the ceiling that we stash our bottles on as we save them up before recycling. At 6.99 for 4L it is a pretty good visual of how much we drink.

Fascinating. I get my milk from a farm that takes back the bottles so it's one-in-one-out for me, but I can see the value in being able to visualize your consumption that way.

[swick]

Thanks Shusherstache! I even have all the ingredients :)

I'm envious anastrophe! If we had access to farm fresh milk that would be my choice and I would gladly pay for it. Our town doesn't even offer the option of organic - although in Canada we don't have to worry about the growth hormones in milk at least.

Organic milk in the nearest city - 2 hour drive is usually 10.99-12.99 for 4 L.

[swick]

Anyone have any updates?

For supper last night I made a turkey pot pie. Usually I use mashed potatoes on the top, but we had no potatoes. I found this recipe: http://www.withinthekitchen.blogspot.ca/2013/01/cookbook-review-savory-pies-by-greg.html

Which has a cornbread drop biscuit crust. I subbed the cream, which I didn't have, for some Sour cream and milk and cut down the amount of Parm and added some Cheddar. It turned out awesome! So light and fluffy and reheated for lunches way better then I expected.

[hoodedfalcon]

So far so good! I got pretty creative with dinner tonight. Lentils and quinoa, an avocado that was about to turn, and some kale from the garden! I love going out in the yard for ingredients. At this point in the season kale is about the only thing ready for harvesting, other than herbs. I am planning on buying/borrowing a kitchen scale so I can keep track of how many pounds I harvest from my yard!

[swick]

Good Job hoodedfalcon!

I don't have my mom's green thumb but she keeps tracks of her yields. It offers a lot of information as to what she should grow again based on cost of yield (she takes into account seed cost, time spent weeding/harvesting, equipment and supplies used) and gets an average per pound price for all her garden goods. Sometimes she finds some things are a better deal to grow in terms of money and effort then others. There are a few non-certified organic farms in her area so she can compare the cost of growing it herself to what they have and grow things she can't find on the farms. I'm in aw. I can't keep herbs alive :)

We have been doing pretty good, used up some slightly older carrots and green onions to make Ginger Beef for Hubby's birthday meal.

[Rural]

Bought my milk and dog food as planned, but nothing else. We're eating down the pantry and freezer in preparation for the move, though it won't be that much trouble since it's a quarter mile on our own property. I don't think we'll be moving next weekend since it looks like rain, so we may go two weeks with only milk and dog food -- that would be no real hardship. I think I'll allow myself $20 (inclusive of the milk and dog food) a week to make up a few favorites, but creativity is called for, too.

[hoodedfalcon]

Holding steady! I am a little worried about my vegetable supply. I am vegan, so I eat a ton of veggies. I have two sweet potatoes and some broccoli left...Hopefully that will get me through today and tomorrow. There has been an unexpected side effect of this challenge. Weight loss. I've purposefully been making my meals stretch out a little further. For instance, when I cook something, I generally make a double batch so I will have leftovers. This week, I've been making two meals stretch to three. The result of these smaller portions? 2 pounds lost! I've also been pretty active this week, but still. Then again, it could be totally unrelated because my weight has always fluctuated somewhat on a day to day basis.

Off to make lunch!

[CNM]

I'm in.  I went grocery shopping yesterday, like I usually do. But my mom suddenly decided to move out of her apartment (long story) and so she gave us all of her food, too.  Suffice to say, we are bursting at the seams food-wise.  No food shopping until May 10th is my goal.

Well, I failed.  We ate all of the fruit and vegetables last week so I re-supplied with fresh food only. (Baby has upped his solid food intake by about 40% this past week!  Which is great but also means that the fresh fruit and veg gets used faster, too.) At least the grocery shop wasn't expensive.

[swick]

I think veggies for baby is a good reason to shop, very exciting! :)

How is your veggie supply hoodedfalcon?

Today makes a week for me :) But I have been doing this in a general sense since the first challenge. It feels great to be really conscious about what we are buying for groceries.

First shopping trip will include some milk, onions, and cheese. I discovered three 1/2 bags of Brussel sprouts in the freezer and we love em roasted with apples, onions, seasoning salt, pepper and a splash of balsamic vinegar. When on sale, they are one of the most economical veggies we can get here and the prep is pretty easy :)

I have come to realize because we buy in bulk and with how limited our one grocery store is,  when we eat out of our pantry we actually eat way, way healthier.

I have been having trouble trying to sort out how much we actually spend each month on groceries - or I guess I should say consume? Living somewhat remote we have to have a good supply of food on hand, which we do have to cycle through regularly. Buying in bulk and sometimes during the month we will have a huge expense  for food we will be eating in the future (an order of fish or Menonite chicken or a lamb or huge grain order) It always fits within our budgeted food amount - which is generous -  but it makes trying to see patterns we can use to cut back difficult.

Anyone else have the same problem? It is easy for us to look back at last years data and see what we have spent, but it doesn't really help for the day to day. How do you keep track?

[Rural]

I do bulk purchases that way, and when I started budgeting, I tracked it and took averages, first for a month, then for three, and I did manage to track for a full year to get a sense of monthly food costs since they go way down during gardening season. It was a pain, but it gave me really solid data to work with. I included costs of seeds in food, by the way, but not sweat equity, and I saved seeds so that cost went way down the second year.

Edited to deal with stupid ipad auto"correct"

[oldtoyota]

We decided to skip the main big grocery store run this past week. Instead, DH got a few basic items like eggs. We're starting to eat more rice and beans, which we both like. I've got a 16-bean soup on the store right now (beans were purchased a long time ago and sitting around in the cabinet). I do the same as a lot of you guys. I have multiple cans of a kind of bean or tomatoes and then I go buy more. Crazy. Though it IS good to have extra in case of an emergency. Remember to keep at least 3 days of food in your pantry in case of a storm or other emergency.

[hoodedfalcon]

Woo-hoo! First challenge was a success. I will say my last meal was a tad odd, but still tasty. I was certainly running low on vegetables, and I am pretty sure I ate most of the kale growing in my yard. Oh well. That is what it is there for.

I enjoyed this challenge so much I am going to stock up on some veggies and do it again (starting over, I guess, but I am not going to get anything besides vegetables). Anyone in? Maybe this could be a thing. Once a week grocery shop (which is a big deal for me since I am used to going every 2-3 days), and then pushing it out as far as I can. It was also nice not to have the grocery list in my head all week.

[oldtoyota]

We skipped last week. DH spent about 18 or 20 at the store to get eggs and other items we use a great deal. Other than that, we're eating down the pantry. I miss fresh fruit, but we have frozen so I'll make some smoothies.

[Dr.Vibrissae]

We're doing this this week, with the caveat that we're leaving town on Wednesday night.  We usually shop on Saturdy, but are going to eat up the perishables before our trip.  I actually usually do this or a minimal shop before we leave for more that a couple of days so I don't have wasted food when we get back.

[workathomedad]

I made this, even though it is more of a winter dish, and it turned out amazing!

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2013/01/lentil-soup-with-sausage-chard-and-garlic/

It cost me $6.50 for 6 servings, but I imagine if you skipped my all-organic ingredients it might be even cheaper. I used a couple left-over sausages from Trader Joes (and counted them in the cost). I did it in the crockpot instead of on the stove too.

[kkbmustang]

We usually grocery shop on Saturdays, but I was out of town this weekend, so we pushed it to Monday. And at that shop I bought/spent half as much as usual. Does that count for at least a few points? :)

I got a Groupon for Greenling ($50 for $25). It gets delivered this Thursday. I'm excited to see what's in my box. Hoping that having that box will reduce my spending overall since we'll be forced to use what's in there which should reduce my grocery store purchases of produce.

[swick]

Hoping to revive the thread and get some updates :)

Been really busy with moving, our new place has a dedicated pantry so it has been awesome and eye opening once I got all the food that was stored throughout my old house in one place. Still trying to find balance between food storage and regular grocery consumption and how to figure it out $ wise.

We did our big monthly grocery shop, actually the first one since March, so we had lots of staples to replenish but even so, we spent about 1/2 what we normally would have!

How is everyone else doing?

[onehappypanda]

I haven't read the whole thread, so forgive me if this has already been posted:

http://myfridgefood.com/

Fun little site where you can click on the foods you have on hand, and it'll bring up recipes that use those foods (with notes about calories per serving and whether there's anything you need to pick up). I haven't used it extensively but I've played with it a bit and it looks useful for those "I have a bunch of random crap and no desire to figure it out myself" days.

[charles_roberts]

Sounds like a great idea. It will be amazing to see how much food in the cupboards are sitting there, unforgotten about.. UNTIL NOW :D

[kkbmustang]

I have fallen off the grocery shopping wagon. The Hubs was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, so I've been trying to get my sea legs (the whole house will be converted to Gluten Free) and shopping at Whole Foods. Last week we spent $206 for two adults and two kids with bottomless pits for stomaches. They literally both eat more than I do. I have GOT to get this weekly grocery spend back down. I'd love to get it to $125/week.

We don't have much in the pantry -- we did a major cleanout when we got the diagnosis. I have about 4 pounds of dry beans, a bag of sushi rice and some condiments/olive oil/spices. Some frozen berries and vegetables. Otherwise, pretty much starting from scratch each week.

[grantmeaname]

Sorry to hear that. Finding out is unpleasant, but hopefully he'll be feeling a lot better before long. My SO certainly is.

[kkbmustang]

Sorry to hear that. Finding out is unpleasant, but hopefully he'll be feeling a lot better before long. My SO certainly is.

Thanks Grant. He is feeling much much better. So not at all upset at the diagnosis. Mostly just relieved. That being said we are starting from a different place in terms of trial and error and education. So, a new adventure.

[swick]

Posted this in another thread, but thought it would fit here too :)

This is our favorite recipe for crockpot "re-fried" beans.
http://www.alaskafromscratch.com/2013/01/08/crockpot-refried-beans/

Lately we have been making a big pot every couple of weeks. Crockpot a chicken and make a pot of rice at the same time and you have the building blocks for a lot of quick and healthy meals. You are responsible for adding your own veggies, we usually do a side of salad or coleslaw.

Rice bowls with beans, chicken, salsa and cheese,
Bean soup (save the leftover cooking liquid)
Burritos
Enchiladas
Quesadillas
Nachos....
The rice bowl idea also makes some awesome freezer meals. I layer rice, chicken and beans in yogurt tubs and freeze them. Let thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat at work. Hubby loves these and adds his own salsa and cheese and hot sauce. He said they don't taste like they were frozen at all.

You don't need too much chicken to flavor everything, so we usually get about 5 meals for the two of us and a few lunches out of one bird, I separate the meat as soon as it cooks (way easier with a crock pot bird) and the trun the crock back on and make stock with the bones and whatever scraps I happen to have been saving.

[caligulala]

I'm back in! I didn't fall off the wagon or anything, but we started getting our produce and milk delivered, so it's been a long time since we needed to do a shop at a regular grocery store. Just Costco once or twice a month and Trader Joe's every 3 months or so. Delivery didn't reduce our food spending, but the quality jumped way, way up.

But! We are moving to England at the end of September and are traveling in the US for the last 2 weeks of August, so we need to eat up our extensive pantry. We have a lot of food to use up! So back to meal planning, which we have fallen out of the habit of doing since our produce delivery made it easy to look in the fridge and whip up whatever struck our fancy. We also need to minimize spending because we've had to front all our moving costs. Moving 4 people, 2 cats and everybody's stuff is expensive. Really expensive!

Going to work on a meal plan now!

[swick]

Wow sounds like a lot of exciting changes, Caligluala!

I sure wish it was possible to have our milk and produce delivered! We got a special treat of a local lady bringing back from farm fresh eggs with her from vacation and I was able to get two dozen. That has been like the highlight of my month!

We are trying for a no shop August, except the very bare minimum to worth through our pantry as we are going back home at the end of August and will be packing in as much hard to find nutritious food stuffs as we can in the car for the long winter.

Anyone have some tried and true recipes for using up chickpea flour?

[caligulala]

It has been wonderful having the delivery every week. Just not having to schlepp 4 gallons of milk from the store has been so helpful. I hope we can find something similar in our new city, but they do have a fabulous outdoor market and lots of ethnic food stores, so I think we'll be able to find some good deals and have fun exploring.

 Menu plan is complete for the next 11 days. Very Heidi Swanson heavy. We just need a handful of things for dinners, milk and fruit to get us through. May need a dozen eggs as well, but I think we'll do well on the budget.

[swick]

We had a cook from the pantry/freezer day yesterday.

I made: sausage/spinach/potato/egg hash, rhubarb slurpees, garlic fried rice, stir-fried green beans, dal, popadums, peanut butter balls, huckleberry frozen yougurt.

The ironic thing is I think we eat healthier and get more veggies in when we shop from the pantry instead of going to the store, looking at the pathetic produce, getting discouraged and buying something quick and easy.

[FI@2022Jem]

I've been off the forum for awhile but want to jump start the thread if there is any interest.  I am making some chocolate-chocolate chip cookies right this moment from a gift cookie mix.  Using up and (soon enjoying) a food gift instead of hoarding it in my pantry!  I've realized I have a tendency to 'save' my special foods or nice ingredients (gifted truffle salt, cookie mixes, fancy teas) and that seems silly, so I am making an effort to really use them and enjoy them. 
Aside from that I need to make a major grocery run this week but I am making and sticking to my list and trying to keep the food budget in check.  Any new recipes or motivational stories appreciated.  Take Care!

[swick]

Welcome back, Jennie!

This might very well be my favorite thread, so I am glad you brought it up.

I too have issues with saving ...er hording...the good things. It has become worse since moving North because I know they are going to be really hard if not impossible to find again.

You might want to check out the "cook everything from scratch October" challenge too.  https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/throw-down-the-gauntlet/cook-everything-from-scratch-october/

We are planning our once every month or two shopping trip into town this weekend - but I will definitely join in the "using up delicious pantry products" Truffle salt tastes awesome sprinkled on some eggs!

[FI@2022Jem]

Thanks Swick,
That is an awesome thread!
p.s. truffle salt on stove-popped popcorn with coconut oil is AMAZING!

[KulshanGirl]

I'm back on board for this kind of challenge for the month of October! 

I budgeted for a big Costco shop and pantry stock-up on things I can't get at Costco, completed that under my set budget.  I'm looking at my regular monthly budget now and I'm going to cut my regular grocery bill by 2/3.  This isn't going to use up those pantry items faster than usual, but it will use up some pantry items that have been sitting around.

Not as intense as the original $10 for a week.  I'm giving myself $30 per week based on a meal plan I've made between now and November 2.  I'll check in on weekends with my shopping items/totals.  I've missed this thread!
 

[swick]

p.s. truffle salt on stove-popped popcorn with coconut oil is AMAZING!

This is one of my favorite snacks :) Smoked chili pepper and a dash of cumin is also really good on popcorn. We have been experimenting with our spices to see what other blends work, we have  a lot of spices.

We are definitely doing a lot better on groceries since this challenge originally started. Right now I am trying to get my proportions right for cooking for an extra person as we are renting out a room and include dinner. Definitely cooking more - a huge pot of soup use to last hubby and me for two complete days, including lunches. Now it seems to last one day with maybe an extra lunch thrown in, but never enough for three of us plus hubby's lunches and then enough for the next night. I have been doing lots of soups and stews though, mostly vegetarian or lightly flavored with meat so it doesn't seem to be costing us more so far.

[4alpacas]

We're in for not grocery shopping this week because we're going on vacation next Thursday.  I want to eat down our fridge and freezer as much as possible. 

Also, what are some ways to use 5 dozen eggs?  Two people.   I made a mistake in my order (long story). 

[KulshanGirl]

I made some scrambled egg cups in a muffin tin and put them in the freezer once.  I'd thaw one or two the night before and bring to work and microwave them.  I don't have the recipe but you could google one.