Author Topic: Pandemic hoarding  (Read 262133 times)

TartanTallulah

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #450 on: November 15, 2020, 12:48:31 AM »
I managed to run out of coffee capsules last week. The internet obviously realised, and sent a discount code for a retailer I've used before. I also had paper "spend £X and get £Y off your bill" vouchers for a store I don't normally use that stocks good own brand coffee capsules. I now have 550 capsules. I use two a day and my husband uses one or two a week. We're sorted for a long quarantine.

GuitarStv

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #451 on: November 15, 2020, 07:13:19 AM »
What is a coffee capsule?  My coffee comes from beans.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #452 on: November 15, 2020, 09:50:02 AM »
Just got back from curbside pickup at the grocery store. Got my two turkeys and two spiral hams all on sale! Stocked up on the other usual stuff. Store parking lot at 9:20 am was getting full! Glad I got there early, then picked up a few bottles of wine and rushed home! Now, I am going to hunker down for a few weeks!

My two turkey's and one ham went into the new freezer!

Cranky

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #453 on: November 15, 2020, 10:27:18 AM »
The parking lot at my neighborhood IGA was pretty full when we walked by at 8 AM, and it’s not usually.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #454 on: November 15, 2020, 10:32:24 AM »
I would suggest that if any of you plan to get any bargain turkeys, shop early. I have a feeling people are going to wipe everything out with this virus. They may have turkeys, but you might not like the size. I got two that were about 15 lbs. each and just what I wanted. But if I had waited too long the only ones left might have been 20# ones or tiny ones.

NotJen

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #455 on: November 15, 2020, 10:51:51 AM »
I would suggest that if any of you plan to get any bargain turkeys, shop early. I have a feeling people are going to wipe everything out with this virus. They may have turkeys, but you might not like the size. I got two that were about 15 lbs. each and just what I wanted. But if I had waited too long the only ones left might have been 20# ones or tiny ones.

I was so excited that turkeys were finally on sale again (as expected this time of year, of course).  Yesterday was my normal shopping day - at 8am all they had were 22+ lb turkeys, which was more than I wanted.  They also didn’t have any of the sale ground sirloin, or any spinach (??? what ???).  The problem with shopping so early is they aren’t always fully stocked.  I popped back in today around 9:30, and got a 15lb turkey - they had the full range of sizes (plus lots of ground beef out, and the spinach back).  Whew.

I considered getting another turkey, but I assume they’ll be on sale again in December, so I’m holding off.  I’m just 1 person, so I’m not so focused on stocking up.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #456 on: November 15, 2020, 11:43:50 AM »
NotJen, If you shop at Costco, they have these fantastic cooked turkey breasts vacuum sealed. I bought one about a month ago and it is approaching expiration. The Hub cut it in half and we each had a slice of it and it is OMG so good. It is boneless and a nice big breast. A beautiful hunk of meat! We cut it in half, vac sealed it and will freeze the two hunks for later on. This could be a great option for you! You will find this turkey breast in by the packaged meats like (refrigerated) deli meats I think. Not in the fresh meat area.

I was super excited today too getting my bargain turkeys and ham! Now, I will be on the lookout for Prime Rib Roasts! Sometimes they are on sale for $5.99-$6.99 a lb. I usually buy 4 and then squirrel them away in the freezer. Then we have them every couple of months.

Catbert

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #457 on: November 15, 2020, 12:25:55 PM »
What is a coffee capsule?  My coffee comes from beans.

I'm guessing for use in a Keurig or similar machine.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #458 on: November 15, 2020, 04:50:02 PM »
Sun Hat, so sorry on your bummer grocery experience! Just keep trying. I have been stocking up little by little since March. I have a good amount of things but it took time. We are eating it and replacing as the inventory starts to deplete. They predicted it was going to be really bad this fall and sure enough, it is getting terrible. I just want to stay away from the stores as much as possible. I bring baby wipes saturated with alcohol into the stores and wipe the cart handle, open the freezer doors with the wipes. Get out new wipes when I am back in my car and wipe down my hands. My dog gets groomed every six weeks and after I drop him off, I swing by an IGA store. They are very cautious and take your temp as you enter and squirt hand sanitizer into your hands. I pick up veggies and other things but it is an expensive upscale little store that caters to an upscale clientele. It comes in handy because it is close to my house but not really good to shop there all the time. Limited inventory there. It is a very small store. But, I'd rather play it safe as much as possible! Curbside works for me. I have a friend that is very picky and will not do curbside. She has to pick out her meat and fresh veggies. I am not that fussy. If I get something that is nasty, I will call the store and complain and they will return my money. Most stuff is packaged in plastic bags so, not seeing the problem letting someone shop for me! Wish, when I worked, curbside was available to me! It would have been so wonderful to have an extra hour every week not to shop!

K_in_the_kitchen

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #459 on: November 15, 2020, 05:58:54 PM »
Reading what others are writing in this thread, and also checking with the media in terms of Covid cases rising, I'm pretty sure I've decided to plug the garage refrigerator back in. I think we need to go back to the March/April/May strategy of shopping less frequently. I want to have room for the things that last longer, like eggs, carrots, ultra pasteurized milk, etc. I also plan to order 40# of grass-fed ground beef in early December, and don't have freezer space for it currently.

I did a small Aldi order this morning so I could order yogurt for an upset tummy. DH has been wanting sparkling water, so I ordered two packs of their canned plain sparkling water, and my shopper could only find one available. I wonder if it has to do with the aluminum can shortage.

I do prefer to pick out my produce because I'm fussy about it, but I'm making do with what's chosen for me. I just make sure to prep as much of it as I can the day I get it, so I can be aware of soft spots, etc. I also include notes so the shopper knows I want them to check for freshness. It doesn't always work, but it's worth a try.

I think it was here in the MMM forums where I saw the suggestion last year to buy the Kirkland turkey breast for Thanksgiving. It was really good (for turkey). I'm pretty sure we're going to shake things up this year, however. For us, it's not going to feel like Thanksgiving in the same way, so why serve the same foods? I'm leaning heavily toward making pizza.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #460 on: November 16, 2020, 02:45:53 AM »
K_in_the_Kitchen, I think you are wise in everything you said. Less trips to the store is my goal. Less exposure to crowds. In reality, there doesn't even have to be crowds. Just one Covid virus hanging around on handles, grocery carts can infect you.
Pizza sounds really good to me for any occasion! Just last week I made a home made dough and made my own pizza. It was a pesto, chicken pizza with mozzarella. I plan to make more pizza's and some calzones.

When I do curbside, there is no way to put in any comments on anything. You choose an item, quantity and that is it. I wish there was, but I am sure it would be too time consuming for them.

Where do you get 40 lbs. of ground meat?

My friend lives in MI and she tells me the stores are limiting things again, here in the north east I am hearing the same.

NotJen

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #461 on: November 16, 2020, 07:51:04 AM »
Rancho Gordo finally has more beans in stock this morning (they got wiped out of many varieties early in the pandemic), so I've got 9lbs on the way (to get free shipping).  These beans are so good, I don't mind hoarding them, and potentially having to move with some in tow next year.

NotJen, If you shop at Costco, they have these fantastic cooked turkey breasts vacuum sealed.

I think I prefer the whole turkey - I like having a carcass to make stock out of, and plenty of meat to stick in the freezer for various recipes.  Plus my gravy was quite successful last time (and I'm not a gravy person).  I want to cook it up soon, but I'm going to wait to see how Thanksgiving pans out, in case I'm home (current plans are to visit BF's parents, a 5hr drive away, but I'm kind of hoping he changes his mind).


I've also never been in a Costco.

K_in_the_kitchen

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #462 on: November 16, 2020, 10:05:57 AM »
K_in_the_Kitchen, I think you are wise in everything you said. Less trips to the store is my goal. Less exposure to crowds. In reality, there doesn't even have to be crowds. Just one Covid virus hanging around on handles, grocery carts can infect you.
Pizza sounds really good to me for any occasion! Just last week I made a home made dough and made my own pizza. It was a pesto, chicken pizza with mozzarella. I plan to make more pizza's and some calzones.

When I do curbside, there is no way to put in any comments on anything. You choose an item, quantity and that is it. I wish there was, but I am sure it would be too time consuming for them.

Where do you get 40 lbs. of ground meat?

My friend lives in MI and she tells me the stores are limiting things again, here in the north east I am hearing the same.

You are so right that the risk is there even if the crowds aren't! Around here unfortunately, the crowds are usually there, making it even riskier. I know we're fighting pandemic fatigue, along with a fair amount of innumeracy. I've heard more than one person say that they didn't get the virus when they shopped in the spring and that it's just as safe as it was then. But of course, with a much higher infection rate, the number of potentially infected people at any place is now higher.

Pesto chicken pizza sounds delicious! Since I'm allergic to tomatoes and to nuts I can't have basic red sauce or pesto (unless I make it nut and seed free), I make a pizza sauce for myself using kalamata olives and olive oil. I usually keep it simple and top it with mozzarella and veggies. I also like to use olive oil as a base for a pizza topped with thinly sliced potatoes along with some prosciutto.

Well, DH has expressed a preference to not have pizza. He suggested steak.

I do curbside with Sprouts. They use Instacart as their platform, but if I go through the Sprouts website it's better for me. Instacart allows the comments/notes. The downside to going through the Sprouts website is not having direct contact with the shopper. Some notes make sense, like if you want greenish-yellow bananas, but a lot of the notes I feel like I shouldn't have to to make. I shouldn't have to tell a shopper to check for cracked eggs or to check freshness dates.

I order my grass-fed ground beef from a small family ranch several hours from my home. The price has gone up to $7.19 per pound, which is just a little higher than it was in April. Buying grass-fed beef and pasture raised pork is one of the things we prefer, even though it's much more expensive. One motivation I had for us to reach FI was to be able to buy the meat I wanted, within reason -- we don't buy grass-fed steak because it's too expensive, and we mostly stick to ground or roasts. I also watch for sales; I just bought 20 grass-fed rump roasts because they were on sale for $4.39 per pound.

I'm still trying to stay prudent in terms of my hoarding stocking up. I think we need another case of salsa, one of applesauce, and a couple of cases of canned peaches, as those are all items we've gone through at a quick pace. My boys have gone though 30+ jars of applesauce (at 46 ounces each) and at least 4 cases of peaches. I'd like more chicken breast, not because I love it but because it's cheap and easy and we can't eat beef all the time. I was also hoping Progresso lentil soup would go on sale, but I don't think they have any incentive to drop it down to 99¢ this year. My oldest takes a can of the lentil soup for lunch when he works.

Cranky

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #463 on: November 16, 2020, 10:48:45 AM »
LOTS of stuff out of stock for my Giant Eagle order today, including milk and eggs.

mm1970

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #464 on: November 16, 2020, 10:55:40 AM »
I would suggest that if any of you plan to get any bargain turkeys, shop early. I have a feeling people are going to wipe everything out with this virus. They may have turkeys, but you might not like the size. I got two that were about 15 lbs. each and just what I wanted. But if I had waited too long the only ones left might have been 20# ones or tiny ones.
I went yesterday and searched high and low for a 12 lb turkey - we don't need a 22 lb turkey, thanks.  Ended up buying the slightly more expensive butterball.  Cannot fit another turkey in our spare freezer, so that's all we've got.

mm1970

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #465 on: November 16, 2020, 10:58:57 AM »
Yeah, we are probably going to try and go back to the less frequent shopping also...we never manage to go more than a week and a half.  Lately, I've been shopping weekly.  I go early on Sunday morning (7:30 am), and there are rarely more than 6-10 people in the store at that time.  Downside: not everything is stocked then.

StarBright

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #466 on: November 16, 2020, 12:16:54 PM »
LOTS of stuff out of stock for my Giant Eagle order today, including milk and eggs.

The scuzzlebutt  on our town FB page yesterday was that the wait for grocery pick up exceeded three hours and folks were only getting about 40% of their orders. Michigan shut down schools (and maybe restaurants?) on Saturday night though which I think panicked our corner of Ohio.

I picked up Saturday morning and got 95% of my order and didn't have to wait at all.

FINate

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #467 on: November 16, 2020, 02:39:32 PM »
Last month we built up a stash of TP. Nothing crazy, hopefully just about enough to get us though next summer ... that is, if the kids would stop spinning it like the Wheel of Fortune, lol.

Stocked up on a few staples as well, like bulk active dry yeast, pasta, and rice. Though part of this is just normal shopping so we're not frequently running to the store.

Also have 1/2 pasture raised pig and 1/2 grass fed beef on order, so ~300 lbs of meat for the chest freezer. Though this wasn't prompted by COVID, we've been wanting to source better meat for a while, but didn't because of our pending move. We now live in a place with great small scale local meat producers so we decided to go for it. But I'll admit, it's nice to know we'll have a freezer full of meat just in case.

the_fixer

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #468 on: November 16, 2020, 04:14:22 PM »
Did a curbside @ Kroger today no eggs, no turkey, no turkey legs, no hazelnut coffee the majority of everything else was substituted for a different item or brand.

Going to try again for a turkey, eggs and turkey legs later this week. If not I told the wife I guess we will just have thanksgiving sides and some of the rotisserie chicken thighs we put away this summer.

Guess I need to start paying better attention when we are getting low on stuff again let myself slip a bit.


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couponvan

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #469 on: November 16, 2020, 04:37:10 PM »
I just realized I am out of tampons....from March. There better damn well be tampons at Costco tomorrow morning.

Rant over.

Back to other hoarding.  I had good luck at the grocery store today, but I wasn't buying meat or cleaning products.  DH is mostly plant based, so we've been doing a lot more plant-based purchases.  Every single thing I wanted on the list was there except the Cheese Whiz. 

Why Cheese Whiz? I am doing a charcuterie Xmas house tomorrow.  It will have to be habanero pineapple salsa vegan cream cheese for the glue instead.  DH will be able to eat the walls and door. LOL.  The roof of salami and cheese will be for me with Boursin snow will be for me.  Mushroom snowmen will be for him.  :-)  It's give and take in our house.


K_in_the_kitchen

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #470 on: November 16, 2020, 04:38:52 PM »
Yeah, we are probably going to try and go back to the less frequent shopping also...we never manage to go more than a week and a half.  Lately, I've been shopping weekly.  I go early on Sunday morning (7:30 am), and there are rarely more than 6-10 people in the store at that time.  Downside: not everything is stocked then.

We managed every 2 - 3 weeks March - June, but it took a lot of planning plus the chest freezer and garage refrigerator. All we were getting was produce, milk, and eggs. Fresh produce was the hardest part in terms of spreading out the shopping.

Checking Instacart, all my stores show delivery slots available today. I had wanted to do a big Costco stockup in person, so I may try to do that tonight (less busy in evening usually), as my last in-person shop. But I might go ahead and order instead. I'd like everything in place pre-Thanksgiving because I expect a major spike after. We're going to hunker down. I know the kids aren't thrilled because they were hoping for some loosening of rules, but we just can't.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #471 on: November 16, 2020, 04:44:54 PM »
Just did a curbside Sunday but also realized I am out of a small list of things. I also want to pick up two more turkeys and two turkey breasts for the freezer. How can I resist when the whole turkeys are 49 cents a lb.? The turkey breasts are $1.29 a lb. that is pretty good too! I have a list of other mundane things to add to the list.

I am doing another curbside pick up tomorrow! OMG! Take my car keys away from me! LOL!

mm1970

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #472 on: November 16, 2020, 04:59:46 PM »
Yeah, we are probably going to try and go back to the less frequent shopping also...we never manage to go more than a week and a half.  Lately, I've been shopping weekly.  I go early on Sunday morning (7:30 am), and there are rarely more than 6-10 people in the store at that time.  Downside: not everything is stocked then.

We managed every 2 - 3 weeks March - June, but it took a lot of planning plus the chest freezer and garage refrigerator. All we were getting was produce, milk, and eggs. Fresh produce was the hardest part in terms of spreading out the shopping.

Checking Instacart, all my stores show delivery slots available today. I had wanted to do a big Costco stockup in person, so I may try to do that tonight (less busy in evening usually), as my last in-person shop. But I might go ahead and order instead. I'd like everything in place pre-Thanksgiving because I expect a major spike after. We're going to hunker down. I know the kids aren't thrilled because they were hoping for some loosening of rules, but we just can't.
The hardest thing for us is always milk and eggs, because we get produce delivery from 2 places each week.  I found that I'd go to the store for milk - we'd need 2 gallons for 2 weeks, but all the milk they had would expire before 2 weeks were up, and we don't have room to freeze it.  The exception is Costco.  So, I'm okay with every 10 days, TBH.

I sort of stocked up on GF pasta this weekend (6 boxes), and got some spare TP.  But 6 boxes of pasta is only 6 weeks.  So I will buy some more this weekend.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #473 on: November 17, 2020, 03:22:32 AM »
Try these boxed milks:

https://www.boxed.com/product/4217/horizon-organic-lowfat-milk-18-x-8-oz.-plain

https://www.amazon.com/parmalat-milk/s?k=parmalat+milk

I use the Horizion milk and for us, it is really good! We don't use much milk so this comes in very handy to use in recipes, mashed potatoes. It would be good to use for cereal because the container has 8 ounces and basically no waste.

You might be able to buy fresh milk plus stretch it by using the boxed milk for cooking, cereal.

You can also buy the 32 oz size of other brands. It is shelf stable for a long time.

Check your area to see if there is a farm where you can stop by and buy their eggs. You might find a great resource and help the farmers out too.

SailingOnASmallSailboat

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #474 on: November 17, 2020, 05:54:12 AM »
I just realized I am out of tampons....from March. There better damn well be tampons at Costco tomorrow morning.

Rant over.

Back to other hoarding.  I had good luck at the grocery store today, but I wasn't buying meat or cleaning products.  DH is mostly plant based, so we've been doing a lot more plant-based purchases.  Every single thing I wanted on the list was there except the Cheese Whiz. 

Why Cheese Whiz? I am doing a charcuterie Xmas house tomorrow.  It will have to be habanero pineapple salsa vegan cream cheese for the glue instead.  DH will be able to eat the walls and door. LOL.  The roof of salami and cheese will be for me with Boursin snow will be for me.  Mushroom snowmen will be for him.  :-)  It's give and take in our house.

Not meaning to hijack a thread here, but if you're not familiar with a Diva Cup (there are lots of brands) it's a life changer. I wish I'd known about them 35 years ago.

couponvan

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #475 on: November 17, 2020, 06:25:43 AM »
I just realized I am out of tampons....from March. There better damn well be tampons at Costco tomorrow morning.

Rant over.

Back to other hoarding.  I had good luck at the grocery store today, but I wasn't buying meat or cleaning products.  DH is mostly plant based, so we've been doing a lot more plant-based purchases.  Every single thing I wanted on the list was there except the Cheese Whiz. 

Why Cheese Whiz? I am doing a charcuterie Xmas house tomorrow.  It will have to be habanero pineapple salsa vegan cream cheese for the glue instead.  DH will be able to eat the walls and door. LOL.  The roof of salami and cheese will be for me with Boursin snow will be for me.  Mushroom snowmen will be for him.  :-)  It's give and take in our house.

Not meaning to hijack a thread here, but if you're not familiar with a Diva Cup (there are lots of brands) it's a life changer. I wish I'd known about them 35 years ago.
I can't get over the ugh factor.  I know it's the more responsible solution. It's probably also a good pandemic idea.  I'm kind of hoping this is the last box of tampons I will every need....Old age and all!

honeybbq

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #476 on: November 17, 2020, 09:57:36 AM »
I just bought 4 new board games (on sale) from the Amazon sale.

With us moving back to lockdown here in WA, and the crappy rainy weather, I feel like we are going to go through alllll of these quickly.

We have lots of board games already... but gotta keep the kids interested/entertained. At least it's quality family time, right?

SunnyDays

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #477 on: November 17, 2020, 10:19:35 AM »
@FINate, if the kids are using too much TP, try flattening the roll before you put it into the dispenser.  It rolls less easily that way.

Case numbers are skyrocketing here, (and we're back into lockdown), so I have stocked up a bit more in my smaller town (there are empty spots on shelves again) and debating about going to Costco in the nearby big city, but getting more and more hesitant about that.  I had read not long ago that in one of their stores, there were very poor Covid compliance measures, so I don't know know that I want to take the chance.  Plus, I don't want to stand outside in a long line at -5C.  Might have to order the dog her favorite bones for delivery.  All else can be substituted.

Cranky

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #478 on: November 17, 2020, 10:23:39 AM »
I think I won't actually go inside a store again until I've got my shots, so I'm extremely happy about my "hoarding".

The little neighborhood bar and grill across the street from me is closed today because the employees are in quarantine. Ask me how shocked I am...

K_in_the_kitchen

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #479 on: November 17, 2020, 10:49:21 AM »

The hardest thing for us is always milk and eggs, because we get produce delivery from 2 places each week.  I found that I'd go to the store for milk - we'd need 2 gallons for 2 weeks, but all the milk they had would expire before 2 weeks were up, and we don't have room to freeze it.  The exception is Costco.  So, I'm okay with every 10 days, TBH.

I sort of stocked up on GF pasta this weekend (6 boxes), and got some spare TP.  But 6 boxes of pasta is only 6 weeks.  So I will buy some more this weekend.

I've found that eggs last at least a month past the sell by date -- I used to check them with floating, but since then I read that if an egg is bad we'll smell it, so with old eggs I break them one at a a time and sniff for freshness.

For milk, we started buying ultra pasteurized milk during the pandemic. I was freezing a gallon of pasteurized milk here and there, but it takes up so much space. I have room in the garage fridge for enough pasteurized milk to last a month, about 3 gallons stored as 6 ultra pasteurized half gallons.

Thanks for mentioning the pasta! We could use more of the Tinkyada/Pasta Joy white rice spaghetti. The health food store that carries it is rarely busy, as well. But there are no online or curbside orders. Still, it should be safe to do a quick stop in for the rice spaghetti and bacon. We'd given up bacon, but started eating liver regularly and bacon makes it so much better.

FINate

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #480 on: November 17, 2020, 11:00:05 AM »
@FINate, if the kids are using too much TP, try flattening the roll before you put it into the dispenser.  It rolls less easily that way.

Good idea. Thanks!

Imma

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #481 on: November 17, 2020, 11:00:57 AM »

The hardest thing for us is always milk and eggs, because we get produce delivery from 2 places each week.  I found that I'd go to the store for milk - we'd need 2 gallons for 2 weeks, but all the milk they had would expire before 2 weeks were up, and we don't have room to freeze it.  The exception is Costco.  So, I'm okay with every 10 days, TBH.

I sort of stocked up on GF pasta this weekend (6 boxes), and got some spare TP.  But 6 boxes of pasta is only 6 weeks.  So I will buy some more this weekend.

I've found that eggs last at least a month past the sell by date -- I used to check them with floating, but since then I read that if an egg is bad we'll smell it, so with old eggs I break them one at a a time and sniff for freshness.

You clearly have never smelled a rotten egg before!  Trust me, the floating method is better. Rotten eggs have a disgusting smell and it will linger for a long, long time.

Cranky

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #482 on: November 17, 2020, 11:36:02 AM »
Yeah, you won’t have to sniff to see if an egg is bad. LOL

I haven’t had a bad egg in years and years though.

mm1970

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #483 on: November 17, 2020, 12:43:12 PM »
It's more that we go through so many eggs, it's hard to be able to fit them in the fridge.  For the amount of produce in our fridge each week...we just are space limited.  I could go back to eating oatmeal, but I'm not the biggest egg eater.  I eat one a day.  I found myself counting them this morning...if the kids don't eat eggs, we'll make it until Sunday.  For awhile, I'd added eggs to my weekly Thursday produce box (local farmer's eggs).  But then after COVID, so many people added them to their weekly subscription that they were permanently sold out.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #484 on: November 17, 2020, 12:56:28 PM »
Just did another curbside pick up today. Got two more bargain turkeys and 5 chuck roasts on sale. Using one chuck roast for dinner tonight and next week a turkey. I am turkied out now. They do take up a ton of room in the freezer. But I will have turkeys every 3-4 months to use up this stash and next year start over again when Thanksgiving rolls around again. I always use the Reynolds turkey cooking bags and have perfect results every time.

Parking lots were pretty full and I went out around 9:30 am. It is a Tuesday! Where did all those people come from? Are people stocking up for the pandemic or for Thanksgiving?

Imma

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #485 on: November 17, 2020, 01:08:15 PM »
It's more that we go through so many eggs, it's hard to be able to fit them in the fridge.  For the amount of produce in our fridge each week...we just are space limited.  I could go back to eating oatmeal, but I'm not the biggest egg eater.  I eat one a day.  I found myself counting them this morning...if the kids don't eat eggs, we'll make it until Sunday.  For awhile, I'd added eggs to my weekly Thursday produce box (local farmer's eggs).  But then after COVID, so many people added them to their weekly subscription that they were permanently sold out.

You don't have to keep eggs in the fridge. They will just last longer if you do, but it seems that's not the issue. You could put half of the eggs you buy in the fridge and keep the ones you're going to eat first in the cupboard.

OtherJen

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #486 on: November 17, 2020, 01:12:10 PM »
Just did another curbside pick up today. Got two more bargain turkeys and 5 chuck roasts on sale. Using one chuck roast for dinner tonight and next week a turkey. I am turkied out now. They do take up a ton of room in the freezer. But I will have turkeys every 3-4 months to use up this stash and next year start over again when Thanksgiving rolls around again. I always use the Reynolds turkey cooking bags and have perfect results every time.

Parking lots were pretty full and I went out around 9:30 am. It is a Tuesday! Where did all those people come from? Are people stocking up for the pandemic or for Thanksgiving?

Both. My grocery shopping time is Friday morning and now I'm hoping I can get a turkey at all.

jrhampt

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #487 on: November 17, 2020, 01:12:40 PM »
You do actually have to refrigerate eggs in the US, I believe.

Imma

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #488 on: November 17, 2020, 01:45:14 PM »
You do actually have to refrigerate eggs in the US, I believe.

Huh, what makes American eggs different than other eggs? Maybe there are laws that demand eggs are refrigerated while in transport / in the shop? (That's not the case in my country BTW). But you don't have other chickens than we do, right?

Source: grew up on a farm. Any given moment we had at least 100 eggs on the shelf (in the coolest place in the house). We wrote the laying date on the egg. In my country the legal expery date for uncooled eggs is 28 days after laying. If you cool them, they last longer. During hot summers they don't last that long.

I usually put eggs in the fridge because it's a convenient place but whenever the fridge is full it's the first thing I take out.

GuitarStv

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #489 on: November 17, 2020, 01:56:54 PM »
You do actually have to refrigerate eggs in the US, I believe.

Huh, what makes American eggs different than other eggs? Maybe there are laws that demand eggs are refrigerated while in transport / in the shop? (That's not the case in my country BTW). But you don't have other chickens than we do, right?

Source: grew up on a farm. Any given moment we had at least 100 eggs on the shelf (in the coolest place in the house). We wrote the laying date on the egg. In my country the legal expery date for uncooled eggs is 28 days after laying. If you cool them, they last longer. During hot summers they don't last that long.

I usually put eggs in the fridge because it's a convenient place but whenever the fridge is full it's the first thing I take out.

They actually are different.

Eggs in the US and Canada are washed with chemicals to prevent salmonella . . . but this washing leaves the egg shell somewhat pourous which allows bacteria to enter the egg if any touches the shell after teh washing.  Other countries don't do this, so it's more difficult for bacteria to enter the egg but they have a marginally higher chance of having salmonella on the outside of the egg.

ChickenStash

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #490 on: November 17, 2020, 02:00:54 PM »
You do actually have to refrigerate eggs in the US, I believe.

Huh, what makes American eggs different than other eggs? Maybe there are laws that demand eggs are refrigerated while in transport / in the shop? (That's not the case in my country BTW). But you don't have other chickens than we do, right?

Source: grew up on a farm. Any given moment we had at least 100 eggs on the shelf (in the coolest place in the house). We wrote the laying date on the egg. In my country the legal expery date for uncooled eggs is 28 days after laying. If you cool them, they last longer. During hot summers they don't last that long.

I usually put eggs in the fridge because it's a convenient place but whenever the fridge is full it's the first thing I take out.

https://www.businessinsider.com/why-europeans-dont-refrigerate-their-eggs-2018-4

Short answer: Different processing methods. In the US, chickens are not required to be vaccinated for salmonella so they wash the eggs, instead, which removes the cuticle that would prevent nasties from growing at room temp. Europeans tend to vaccinate for salmonella and leave the cuticle on to prevent room temp bacterial growths. The cuticle, though, causes issues when refrigerating with condensation so it isn't recommended.


Imma

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #491 on: November 17, 2020, 03:17:41 PM »
This is very good to know @ChickenStash and @GuitarStv . I had no idea. Yes, chickens are generally vaccinated against salmonella in the EU. It's been standard practice for as long as I can remember. And I'm pretty sure washing eggs with anything is not legal because it makes the egg porous.

So, don't put American eggs outside of the fridge!!!  Unless they come from your own or your neighbour's backyard.

Getting salmonella from eggs is extremely rare though. And I say this as someone who was hospitalized with a salmonella infection for a week after my idiot ex cut chicken and salad on the same cutting board - I take salmonella very seriously. But salmonella is only present on less than 0,5% of eggs here and you can only get a salmonella infection from an egg when the bacteria is transferred from the outside of the egg to the egg itself, and then the egg is eaten raw. If you want to be on the safe side, put raw eggs in 60C water for a few minutes to kill off salmonella. The egg itself will still be raw.

K_in_the_kitchen

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #492 on: November 17, 2020, 05:14:30 PM »
You clearly have never smelled a rotten egg before!  Trust me, the floating method is better. Rotten eggs have a disgusting smell and it will linger for a long, long time.

Actually, I have.  The reason I do it this way is because sometimes eggs float and are still good.  Indeed, I've never had a month old floating egg actually be rotten. Or one a month past the sell by date, which may have been in my house for 6 - 8 weeks.  Honestly, I don't bother to test them for "floatiness" until they're at least a month past the sell by date. Not that eggs are usually in the house that long, but when Aldi puts them on sale at 49¢ a dozen (pre-pandemic, of course) I take the whole family with me and we each buy the limit (usually 4 dozen).

K_in_the_kitchen

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #493 on: November 17, 2020, 05:42:30 PM »
Eldest and I went to Costco this afternoon.  The parking lot was crazy, but it wasn't terrible inside.  We're surmising that most people aren't bringing an entire group of people with them.  There wasn't a line to get in, but the person checking memberships cards was using a clicker to keep track of occupancy.

We grabbed two carts and did a stock up.  We got 2 bags of dog food even though we have 1 unopened bag already.  I'm hoping with the much cooler temperatures the big dog won't get fussy about old food.  We bought 2 jugs of All Free and Clear because it's what we use and it was on sale (limit was 2).  We bought some veggies for the week, but they were out of both the organic and artisan bags of romaine.  They were out of baking potatoes (I didn't need them).  No eggplant.  Broccoli looked terrible.  Other than buying pears, we avoided the fruit area since we didn't need any.  We bought two packages of the b/s chicken breasts, two bags of frozen grass-fed beef patties, a bag of frozen wild salmon filets, and canned tuna.  Bought 10 dozen eggs, 3 gallons of almond milk (in the half gallon cartons), 3 gallons of ultra pasteurized whole milk (again, in the half gallon cartons).  We bought salted butter, and unsalted butter to make ghee.  6 containers of Chobani yogurt because it was on sale for $2.99.  Also got olive oil, ketchup, honey, coffee, salt, vanilla extract (price keeps dropping), kalamata olives, corn tortillas, tortilla chips, a jug of Dawn, and deodorant for the men.

At the door Costco indicated they were out of toilet tissue and paper towels, disinfecting wipes, vinegar (which I wanted because we clean the coffee maker with it), bleach, masks, sanitizer, and a few other things.  They were low on stock of chicken, but that may have been in part because they had a case devoted to turkeys.  I only saw organic turkeys, not regular.  From a distance, the beef and pork area looked well stocked, but I don't know if they had all cuts.  Bakery area looked full of all sorts of breads and desserts.

I don't think of it as hoarding, but I do now have 5 unopened jugs of laundry detergent, and 4 of Dawn.

Tomorrow I'm going to the regional grocery chain for two standing rib roasts (Thanksgiving and Christmas -- my pizza idea was rejected), and then that's it, we're planning to stay out of the stores until we're vaccinated.  We'll use Instacart for pickup at Sprouts, and Instacart for delivery from other stores.  I want to go to Aldi to stock up on a few things, but we'll probably place that as an order since the markup at Aldi is low.  Aldi is the one store during this pandemic where I've consistently seen poor Covid measure compliance.  They stopped disinfecting carts early on and rarely have wipes to do it yourself, they don't enforce wearing masks, and they continue to give you the cart handled by the previous customer without disinfecting it.

MudPuppy

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #494 on: November 17, 2020, 07:07:02 PM »
I have a minimum spend for welcome reward bonus on a new card. I think I might stuck up on shelf stable items to do so. Accepting all ideas, if you have them!
« Last Edit: November 18, 2020, 08:54:50 AM by MudPuppy »

K_in_the_kitchen

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #495 on: November 17, 2020, 07:48:54 PM »
I have a minimum spend for welcome reward bonus on a new cx. I think I might stuck up on shelf stable items to do so. Accepting all ideas, if you have them!

What kinds of foods do you eat?  I learned from the first round of lockdowns that a) shortages never got so desperate that I couldn't get produce, eggs, and milk (although I had to pay more), and b) my family really dislikes canned vegetables.  So this time around I haven't bought any canned vegetables at all.  I bought a lot of sugar when it was hard to get, then found we used almost none of it.  Now that it's cold my son will oatmeal and thus use more brown sugar, but I donated the powdered sugar figuring maybe a family could use it for holiday baking.  I bought far too many old fashioned oats and donated those to the food bank months ago.

The shelf stable items I plan to stock up/already stocked up on this time around are peanut butter, salsa, applesauce, canned peaches, rice, pinto beans, olive oil, honey, coffee, tuna, Honest Earth mashed potatoes, and salt.  I may end up needing quick oats but my son says he has about 75% of a 5 gallon bucket left.  I'd like to stock up on Progresso lentil soup for my son if I can find a good price.

K_in_the_kitchen

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #496 on: November 17, 2020, 08:00:16 PM »
Is anyone thinking ahead to holiday shortages?  Today at Costco I bought the big tin of Walker's shortbread for us to have during the 12 days of Christmas, and a bag of caramels for stockings (I have so many food allergies I jump when I find something I can have).

I'd already been thinking I should buy stocking candy now, and any ingredients needed for fudge.  We keep our holiday treats simple -- frosted cut out sugar cookies for Christmas Eve night and Christmas Day, gluten free vegan pumpkin pie for my sons, homemade fantasy fudge, stocking candy (just a few things), candy canes from a local candy maker, the shortbread cookies to have with tea or cocoa throughout the 12 days, and a King's cake on Epiphany (Rosca de Reyes).

For Christmas supper, I'll be buying a standing rib roast this week and freezing it.  If I can get fresh rosemary I will -- maybe I can just get a plant and keep it alive until I need it.  I already have pumpkin and the gluten free pie crusts.  I need marshmallow fluff for the fudge, but have the evaporated milk.  I have everything for the cookies.

I definitely need to get the stocking candy, and soon.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #497 on: November 18, 2020, 02:26:35 AM »
K_in_the_kitchen, How much per lb. are you seeing the rib roasts costing? I have not seen any advertised yet. I did a curbside but then popped into another store for about 10 minutes but did not see any rib roasts displayed.

Over the last few months, as far as shelf stable things, I stocked up on various pasta's and jarred sauces. I had multiple jars break when I ordered them from Walmart or Target and had a major disaster thru Amazon. So, now that I do curb service, I will order 6 or 8 jars at a time and no breakage. Glass jars are totally bad news when ordering on line. I do not get why they don't take any caution on packing glass jars safely. I have had a box full of jars with little padding. The jars all smash into each other and half of them break. I have also ordered canned things and that is pretty much a horror show too. The cans are packed the same way and smash into each other. Then I get ugly dented cans that look like they were dug out of a bombed out grocery store.


rantk81

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #498 on: November 18, 2020, 06:38:27 AM »
I'm soooo over this pandemic shopping "experience".

I ordered TP a couple days ago... now I get a notification that it is "back ordered" with a mid December estimated delivery date.  Paper towels are out of stock.  I haven't been able to buy lysol concentrate since January.  I usually buy one bottle of rubbing alcohol about once every 5 years, for minor cleaning of electronics.  Haven't been able to get that either.

who would have thought that a respiratory virus would cause people to have to shit their brains out repeatedly, to the tune of needing to clear the stores of toilet paper for an entire year.

MudPuppy

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Re: Pandemic hoarding
« Reply #499 on: November 18, 2020, 06:44:19 AM »
We eat meat quite lightly, and rarely eat pastas or regular bread. I already buy our rice, beans, oats in bulk. I recently bought a triple amount of TVP than we usually buy. I guess all that leaves is canned fruits, canned tomato products, spices/condiments, shelf stable milk, maybe some extra raisins.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!