Grocery Challenge

[Littlesister]

I only have the one daughter and lost the 2nd child. She was never picky and still not to this day. Unfortunately, she married a very picky man when it comes to food. And that trickled down to all 3 of the grandkids being picky eaters. The girls are doing much better now and now eating veggies. As for my GS there is no hope. He is a junk food addict. Will now eat some veggies but not many. I have him now eating fried squash, green beans, and corn. That's it. He hates tomatoes just like his father. Though I did have his father eating tomatoes on hamburgers for a while. Once they were able to move into their house, he quit eating them. 

 

I have been trying hard to cut out carbs. Being a diabetic certain carb are out. My Endo doctor wants me eating bacon and eggs for breakfast every morning. That gets tiresome. So, I will eat oatmeal also and that has not affected my sugar levels.  Though right now my pantry is based on being a diabetic. So just eating out of pantry and freezer. Once everything has gotten way down, Then I will start again filling it up. I do have things in there for GS though, but that is his stuff. He loves Chinese and Indian foods. Anything spicy works for him. I still have a lot of stores canned veggies that I will most likely use for making my soups. DH and I bought those late in 2019 just before the churches were forced to close down due to covid. So, I was stuck with them. We have a tax-free card for the church for all of that and I have been slowly taking some of it to the church over the past year. But I still have a long way to go. But some of it now is getting near its expiration dates and cannot be given out once it goes out of date. It is still good so I will use up what's close to the date for soups next week. I need to get some space before next year's crops come in. 

With the savings on food right now. I am using that money as a small savings account. Putting the grocery money into the things needed for house. I got the firewood, and the well man is working on the well. that is taken a while because of what I am trying to do. Hopefully it can be done. Then I will have one sink that doesn't rely on city water. 

There are a lot of great ideas on here and I am trying to adapt some of them with what I already have in pantry and freezer. 

[Darlene]

On 1/12/2024 at 6:23 PM, Mother said:

make dozens of menus and choose what fits the sales that week.

I have found that this strategy saves the most $.

[Midnightmom]

On 1/13/2024 at 1:06 PM, Mother said:

Already I know I pay $1.09 each for small avocados?  Twice WM.

If you look in the fruit section of the freezer aisles you may be able to find a bag of diced avocados. It is just chunks of avo's so you can use only as much as you need at a time and not have to worry about the unused part of one going bad/getting brown in the fridge. They are very handy for making small batches of guacamole, or even larger portions then freezing it in individual serving sizes. They are also a pretty fair substitute for "Potatoes O'Brian" or just salted and roasted and served on the side as a "potato."

[Midnightmom]

13 hours ago, Littlesister said:

I have been trying hard to cut out carbs.

Are you familiar with Carolyn Ketchum? Her website is "All Day I Dream About Food" and she has a wide variety of recipes from soup and nuts to desserts (and everything in between).

 

Quote

KETO AND LOW-CARB RECIPES!

Dreaming of truly delicious keto friendly recipes? You’ve come to the right place. I’m conjuring up low carb and sugar-free dishes that rival your old favorites. Everything from easy flavorful dinners to gorgeous keto desserts. Make keto fun again!

https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/

 

[Homesteader]

I am spoiled by volunteering at a local food pantry. Anything that has been donated that won't make another week is distributed to the volunteers. Many of us take extra for the widows in the church we minister to. It not only helps them but gives us the opportunity to check up on them each week. At home, we pretty much stick with meats, fresh veggies, fruits, milk, and eggs. I do can a lot of it as we receive so much. I unload some of our shelves at Christmas time of jams, jellies, and fruit juices. I love doing that, except I lose so many Mason quart jars to family and friends. 

 

I just bought a dressed out goat from my nephew for about $2.00 pound last month. I rounded up the total on the check and he delivered it, weighed and packaged.    So far, it tastes GREAT. He taught me to cook it slow and low. It's much more tender than what we used to eat in Africa.  No knife or machete needed.  

 

I seldom stop at the grocery store except for paper goods, cold cereal, and fresh greens. We still go through the weekly sale flyers at the dinner table just so we can keep up on the prices. Sure glad our country isn't in a recession yet.   

[Littlesister]

Midnightmom, I had not heard about Carolyn Ketchum. I will definitely check it out. Thank you.

 

Homesteader, I think for some people it does feel like a recession. I feel for those out of work, people on a fixed income and others that can't afford these grocery prices. I know it is hard to stretch a dollar these day.

[euphrasyne]

Goat is my favorite meat.   It love it in Indian sauces.  Vindaloo, tikka masala, curry, Calde/Paya soup...goat is scrumptious.  I prefer it to all else. 

Edited January 15 by euphrasyne

[Ambergris]

Dog is a lot like goat.

[Littlesister]

Sorry, can't do the dogs. They are our pets.

[Necie]

I’m finding this interesting.. and wanting to join, but.. I don’t tend to plan meals/shop like any normal person. I hate shopping. In the winter, I tend to go once a month or less. In the summer I go much more often, generally because I have more money and tend to run the roads. 😂 But, even then, I shop sales/discount/bulk... only going to a *regular* store every 2-3 months. 
I’m not sure how I would keep track of spending ($20/wk/person) between my using stored items, buying a few needed items, buying prep items I may find on sale while shopping. 🤷‍♀️ 

[mommato3boys]

14 hours ago, Necie said:

I’m not sure how I would keep track of spending ($20/wk/person) between my using stored items, buying a few needed items, buying prep items I may find on sale while shopping

Necie, I just added stuff like the cornbread mix to account for the cost but I will be making my own. I will not be buying canned beans, I will cook dry beans from my pantry. I will probably use the money alotted for the canned beans and buy another bag of dry beans same with other items like the cornbread mix.

 

This challenge is more for me to see how many healthy meals and how far I could stretch said alotted amount of money. I am pretending that we have had a "Black Swan" event and the gubberment is only giving everyone $20 a week for food since there is no more food banks. Yeah I made up a Mt_Rider scenario where there is a major food crisis and the gubberment had taken over the food supply. I did not post my scenario on here anywhere, just hubby and I are working though this. So in my black swan event every family has been issued a "food card" and it is resupplied every week depending on something I never got that far, but our card will renew every Tuesday at midnight. You are given $20 per adult per week to feed your family. I didn't factor in children I just based it on adults. I guess for those with children I would say $15 a week for the first 4 babies and then $10 for each one after that. If you have a baby that needs formula that is a different card. There is only one grocery store open in your community and everyone has to shop this one store. There are no sales. That is why I was using the Wal-Mart app for all my prices. 

[Littlesister]

Mommato3boys, that is a good way of doing it.  Learning to prep for a scenario that hopefully won't happen, but we know I some point it will happen.  Don't know in what way it will happen, but something will happen. 

Right now, it is very hard for me to follow a $20 a week list as I have a full pantry and freezers and working on meals from there. There are some weeks I don't do any grocery shopping. As I have shelved stable milk in pantry, I have everything I need to make bread and corn bread, and right now I have 3 doz. eggs in fridge. Going to make some egg salad and some boiled eggs later today. Also going to make some chicken and tuna salad. That will be my dinner for the next 3 or 4 days. Maybe lunch on some days. I do tend to skip breakfast and have brunch or eat breakfast and skip lunch then have dinner. Just depends on what I am doing that day and how hungry I am. 

[Mother]

MT3B,  I believe it is a great challenge and it isn’t inconceivable that we could have rationing.  I have been trying to get an idea of what we spend on groceries a week.  At first it seemed like a whole lot more than that but then I remembered that part of my grocery money was for household goods,  

[euphrasyne]

I think if it comes down to rationing, it will be a set food type allotment rather than a dollar amount. Specific items that run short or are needed for other things....pork, Margerine, milk, etc.  The EBT cards out now are because the government outsourced the program to local stores. If they take it back up, it is unlikely to be as outsourced.  My prep for that scenario is to learn how to cook without certain items or know substitutes.  

 

I hate Walmart, it is by far the most expensive place to shop for groceries in town.  I check the prices, but it is always the most expensive along with Costco and Sam's Club.  Even Harris Teeter or Whole Foods are cheaper around here.  I mostly stick to BJs, Kroger, Food Lion, Aldis, Lidl, The Royal Bazar (Indian Grocery,) or the Asian Market. I spend about one or two hours a week cross referencing prices.

Edited January 17 by euphrasyne

[Littlesister]

They rationed food both in WW1 and WW2, I am sure if things get really bad, they will ration food in WW3.  

My go to store is Food Lion, it is the cheapest of the others not counting Lidi and Aldi's. I go to Harris Teeter depending on the sales and I rarely go to Kroger. You have to stick with the sales there or it will scare you at the register. I don't shop China Town (Walmart). I just don't like them. I went with GS twice to help him with something he needed and that was after not going in there for 5 or 6 years. I like Sam's Club and BJ's wholesale for things other than just food. I coupon BJ's to death as I can use coupons and their coupons. I think the most I saved at BJ's is over $270 in one trip. DH was with me, and he was buying garden things and other stuff. The bill came to something like $152. It was a good savings. But living alone now I stopped buying in bulk. But for the $20 membership, I can still get my propane tanks filled as it is cheaper there. 

[Mother]

Euphrasyne, I agree.  It’s a good idea to learn to substitute items ahead of time so there isn’t that learning curve when you least need it.  It’s also a good idea to have a copy of substitutes to refer to. It’s hard telling what would or could be rationed.  Like you, I hope it’s not a dollar amount though in some ways that could be better.  Then we’d at least have choices.  
 

I suspect it will more likely be a Combination of shortages and the lack of funds to buy groceries with.  Kind of like we had during the pandemic. …..  We probably should practice and prepare for both.  

[Littlesister]

I agree with the substitutes on many things. We need to know how to do that. There will be other things also we will need to learn how to do. I think we will be stretching more food and nonfood items in the near future. Washing our hair only using a dime size amount of shampoo as an example. Many other things as well. We need to not only know how to use substitutes in food but how to stretch all of our nonfood items as well. 

[Virginia]

I was born at the end of WWII, and my dear mother saved my War Ration Stamp book.  It contained basic food stamps, shoes, and another thing or two.  Dear granddaughter took my book to school years later for history class, issued to me when I was only 1 month old. I guess she still has my book.  Mother said when they issued a booklet they questioned the items you already had stored at home.  If you were due 5 pounds of flour, but had 2 lbs in storage you could only get 3 lbs issued.  Since I was a newborn they probably got no shoe stamps for me.  My grandfather drove his car and farm equipment til the tires were completely bare. They used barb wire to wrap the tires in to hold them together somehow. Times were hard, and may become so again.

[mommato3boys]

I think a lot of people are going to be shocked when they are handed a bag with flour, meal, powdered milk, and dry beans. If they are lucky they may get a jar of peanut butter, cheese, eggs and butter. I don't think "convenience" foods will be in the "rations." I think they will be the first thing that disappear. I am learning to make pop-tarts from scratch. That is hubby's weakness. He loves blueberry pop-tarts. 

 

My mother used to be a director of a senior citizen center and they would get government commodities to pass out. This was usually a bag of dry pintos, a block of cheese, a can of peanut butter and maybe a can of pork. I think that maybe what we see again.

[mommato3boys]

11 hours ago, Mother said:

Like you, I hope it’s not a dollar amount though in some ways that could be better.  Then we’d at least have choices.  

Mother my scenario was based on limited supply. Since I live in a high Hispanic area I went with the basic Hispanic foods. I doubt very seriously I will be able to get fresh veggies when rationing starts. I remember my parents sprouting dry beans and planting them. I am not sure that will work anymore but we are going to try it this summer. I have my garden planned out and hope to have a good harvest this summer/fall. There are a few more seeds I need to get like peas, collards and mustard greens. I saw where someone took organic potatoes and sprouted them so I will try that. I have grow bags in my Amazon cart. I plan on using 15 gallon grow bags for potatoes. I need to stock more basics. Since I am a type II diabetic I try to avoid carbs so I need a fairly good size garden to get us through until harvest of 2025. Tonight I was making a list of how many plants we needed per person. Since it is just the two of us I think my little backyard will be sufficient. However, I am putting in a cold frame so that I can extend the growing season for things like greens and squash. I missed getting garlic in the ground for spring so I am hoping I can do a fall harvest and plant some for a spring harvest also. There is no way I can grow enough tomatoes for our meals. We are tomato people so I will need to stock canned and dehydrated tomatoes. 

[euphrasyne]

Homemade poptarts are easy!

Make a pie crust.  Roll into a squares.  Fill half each square with jam.  Fold over and bake.  Frost and cool.  The best pie crust are made with lard, but half butter/half crisco turn out well also.  Remember to let it rest in the fridge after mixing before rolling.  If your hands run hot, chill them in some ice water before working with pastry.  

[Littlesister]

My GS likes pop tarts. Might try that for him when I get some projects finished. Getting ready to start another week of canning. Had to stop to work on house a bit. Tearing up a house to go through and downsize stuff and get rid of things is really making a mess of the house. So had to work on that for a couple of days. 

I do think we will be going back to the rationing stamps or something if WW3 does break out. Right now, I have enough food to get me through the first few months without rationing stamps. Other than milk, bread and eggs. But I already have powdered milk, eggs, and can make bread.  

I am also a type 2 diabetic, so have to watch what I eat. I try to stock more protein and veggies than anything else. Though for the past year I have been stocking a little for GS as well. He loves chicken and fish more so than beef. He's not much of a beef eater. Big issue is he loves his junk food, and I won't buy much of that. 

[mommato3boys]

*****UPDATE***** 

 

Wal-Mart was the cheapest this week except for potatoes if I wanted to buy seconds. I could get them for $2 for a 5# bag. More on that later. We have three grocery stores in our area without traveling to Amarillo. Wal-Mart, Cost Plus (this is where you pay "cost" plus 10% and also where the potatoes are on sale) and United Supermarket which is part of Albertson's (think Publix, Food Lion) It is where the influent people (or at least they think they are) shop so the prices are higher. 

 

Everything on my list was 20 -40 cents more expensive this week. A lady I used to work with husband is an assistant manager at Wal-Mart and I spoke with him today. He advised me to go ahead and buy things I am going to need for the next few weeks because the next shipment of frozen veggies will see a minimum of a 10% increase. I bought the pepper and onion mix that had already gone up a dime from last week and the stir fry I had planned on using like week 3 or 4 had gone up a dime. Cilantro went up a nickel. My canned green chilies had goine up 12 cents and the zucchini had gone up 20 cents a pound. And to think Wal-Mart was the cheapest. I did catch 3# of ground turkey marked down to $10.06. They no longer carry the rolls I used to buy for $2.25. Potatoes had gone up like 30 cents. Jalapenos had gone up 56 cents a pound. The Riccota cheese had gone up a dime so I bought cottage cheese instead. It was 20 cents cheaper and had 6 more grams of protein. 

 

I did buy breakfast sausage which was not on the list. Hubby was adamant that the breakfast burritos would have sausage in them. I bought two one pound rolls of the WM brant for $2.87 each. I also bought smoked sausage which was not on the list and it was 2.81. But will be used in week three for the sausage skillet. It was Earl Campbell*  brand. The only other meat that was bought was 10# of leg quarters for 7.72. There were 8 leg quarters in the bag so I cut them up and divided them into just thighs and legs. One thigh will give us plenty of meat in the stir fry and two thighs will make about 2 dozen taquitos. That 10# chicken will last the 4 weeks (or else ) 

 

As for the potatoes I don't like shopping the Cost Plus store, it smells bad and the people are rude. So I bit the bullet and paid extra for the potatoes since that is the only thing I would have bought while in there. We usually buy peppers, roma tomatoes and cilantro there because they are always cheaper but not this week. Once you factored in the extra 10% they were the same price as Wal-Mart. 

 

Long story short I spent most of my budget for the month. I had alotted $175 for the month and I spent $156 but like I said I bought stuff for week 2-4 also. I need to sit down and figure out exactly what will be used this week and see if I stayed within budget. I know I spent extra on dessert ingredients since we have a function to attend Saturday and I am taking dessert and that was like $7. 

 

*Earl Campbell funny - I meet him when he played for the Houston Oilers many many moons ago. He had an account at the bank where I worked. Because of who he was he skipped the teller line and went to one of the VPs and the secretary would bring his deposit straight to us to be processed. Well one day the VP, Mr. Campbell and one of Mr. Campbell's friends brought it in on their way to lunch. The VP trying to be impressive introduced him. I was polite and said nice to meet you. The VP went on to explain who it was and I said that was nice. His friend nudged him and said that I must be upset over the botched play from the weekend. Me being who I am said " no I am not a fan of football" the team mate lost it. I thought he was going to wet himself he was laughing so hard. The VP turned red and Mr. Campbell smirked. I apologized and said I was really not a sports fan, I was more of a bookworm. 

[Littlesister]

Prices seem to be going up every week on things. It's hard to keep up. But from what you said about some things going up, I am going to pick up some frozen veggies and a few other things before they go up again. The Dollar Tree is next door to Harris Teeter, so will swing in there also. I really don't need much of anything, but I do want to try to stay ahead of these high prices. 

GS has been promoted to full time even though he was already working full time, he was considered part time.  It also came with a $1.00 raise. These days that doesn't seem like much but a dollar an hour raise does help. He never had training as he already knew how to do the job and he hasn't been there 3 months yet. So, he is doing well with this job so far. But I wish he would let me know when they are about to have a hike in prices. He just doesn't pay attention to that stuff. He buys what he wants and doesn't care what it cost. 

[euphrasyne]

We went to BJs and Lidl today.  We spent an obscene amount, but we got some extras and a few toys to put away for gift holidays.  The price on everything has gone up, but they were the cheapest option for what we did get.  I like BJs because it is bulk, but contained bulk that breaks down nicely as smaller items packaged together.  So we get a better price per oz/lb while still being able to use the item before it spoils.  We also splurged and bought 2 cases of the mini sodas.  I can't drink a 12, and when I try it makes me sick.  The little 8oz are just perfect for me to have a few a week.   I got two cases of gogurt (my toddler's favorite side dish) for 32ct at 6.99 and a $2 off coupon per box.  That is roughly .16 per tube.  Walmart is 16ct for 4.97 which is .31 per tube.  Our walmart is like that for pretty much everything I buy including staples like tomatoes and lettuce.