Comments on: A New Twist on Home Shopping…

By: Beks

Beks — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 03:08:21 +0000

I’m not alone! ; ) We haven’t been to the grocery store since. Let’s see how long I can go!

By: Jenn

Jenn — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:18:41 +0000

We could skip buying meat and most pantry goods for probably 2 months. We’d only need to pick up milk, eggs, cheese and yogurt each week. The canned & frozen fruit and veggies would run out after 2 weeks. Starting after New Years we’re planning to follow this plan as much as we can. We have 3 BDs in January, but other than those special meals we’ll be buying fresh only to suppliment what’s already on hand. We’re long overdue for a good pantry and freezer clean out. Every winter we eat our way through the accumulation in the freezer and then set the last few things outside and completely defrost and clean out the freezer. It’s a job best done when we have a natural freezer outside.

By: Michelle H.

Michelle H. — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:47:21 +0000

It’s just my husband and I now – kids are grown and married. I could probably get at least 10 out of my freezer/pantry. More if meatless.
Merry Christmas all!

By: Nicole

Nicole — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 21:53:33 +0000

Nice job! Oh, I know I could find about 3 months of meals in my freezer and pantry! My mom taught me well to keep long shelf life foods in stock at all times : )

By: Mrs. Accountability

Mrs. Accountability — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 18:05:36 +0000

I’m sure we have at least 60 meals, but I’m not organized enough to tell you exactly what those meals would be. My husband does the shopping and he can’t pass up good sales and loves to stock up – just in case.

By: ellen

ellen — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:12:43 +0000

For possible meals I would say no more than four however creative I get, but I can always bake up a storm with whatever is in the cupboards. If you get down to the scrambled egg meal there is no suffering as long as there are biscuits!

By: kate

kate — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:30:12 +0000

That is fantastic that you are so organized. I WISH I could be so organized that I could put the cupboard and fridge contents on a spreadsheet! Good for you!

I know the feeling having nothing extra as well. I look around at other people at the grocery store throwing stuff in their carts with not a care in the world. I need to pre-plan my trips, and count the running tally in my head as I go. Cash only for me at stores.

By: mary kate

mary kate — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 14:59:15 +0000

love this post! – you inspired me to do a freezer inventory. we have a chest freezer in our garage filled with lots of things (mostly ice cream and veggies!). I bet we could go 3 weeks on food in this house, though i would be very crabby from cooking for 3 weeks straight! 2 adults, 3 kids – goal $300 month grocery budget

By: John DeFlumeri Jr

John DeFlumeri Jr — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:56:21 +0000

It is the right thing to do before we end up throwing out the stuff.

John DeFlumeri Jr

By: Mona

Mona — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:31:05 +0000

Make a dinner plan. If you take 3 of each weeks dinners from the fridge or pantry, your extra meals will last for 10 weeks. This will keep your food budget low in January and February.

By: Lizzie

Lizzie — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 01:29:45 +0000

I am definitely going to try that!!

By: Mrs. Money

Mrs. Money — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:08:59 +0000

My pantry is such a mess… I should definitely do this!

By: emmi

emmi — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:39:58 +0000

I fear with the age of our fridge that we may lose a whole load, so we’ve been creatively plowing through some very mysterious old things from in there. Feels good to have a month of “eat it or compost it” to clear things out. Kicked us out of recipe boredom too.

I’m aiming to empty the freezer completely (well, except maybe for the egg roll wrappers) before we drive to visit family at christmas.

We do have a lot of beans, canned and dried. We could live on those for weeks if necessary.

By: Tara

Tara — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:28:47 +0000

I thoroughly enjoy both Beks posts and the inventive comments of all these readers! So I’ll add my own… I love meatballs and I’ve started making batches just to freeze… you can thaw them out for meatball sandwiches ($2 loaf of french bread, tomato sauce and a pinch of cheese), Spaghetti (add pasta you’ve probably got lying around and tomato sauce) and Swedish meatballs with boiled potatoes (I add a little red onion, vinegar, dill and olive oil to the potatoes). A $4 pound of ground pork stretches to at least 6 meals!

By: Georgie

Georgie — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:03:49 +0000

We live in an apartment, so we don’t have a standalone freezer or a pantry. I am sure we could squeak out some meals out of our 2 cupboards and the freezer compartment of our fridge, but there’s really not a lot. We have to be careful when we go to the store because we’ve bought too much before and had to squeeze things in rather precariously

By: Money Beagle

Money Beagle — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:39:13 +0000

With our pantry and freezer, I generally try to place the newer items in the back so that we’re in a ‘first in, first out’ system. It doesn’t always work as we’ll still find stuff buried, but it has definitely helped avoid forgetting all about stuff and having to deal with the decision on whether to use something past its expiration date or throw it away and feel wasteful.

By: Deby

Deby — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:08:55 +0000

Amateur
I have at least 100 meals for 4 people each in my freezer alone, not counting any leftovers (and that includes 2 full turkeys). My pantry has easily another 100. Other than milk, produce and other perishables, I don’t need to buy another food item for most next year. Not that I won’t, I think I may have some sort of hoarding issue when it comes to food. But if the worst happens we won’t starve.

And I believe keeping a spreadsheet is vital to keeping track of food supplies, especially when you have as many supplies as I do. I keep mine on my PDA, so I can check it at the grocery store to tell myself no, we really DON’T need another chuck roast, no matter how good the sale

~Deby

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:17:04 +0000

I probably have mid teens in our house. We actually keep our cupboards pretty bare and don’t have a standalone freezer. When it’s time to go to the grocery store in our house, it’s really time!

By: mv

mv — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:35:05 +0000

Consume the 37 meals before they expire, but don’t forget to replenish. It’s a must to have backup supplies, in cases of natural (or not-so-natural) emergencies.

A better term for these ‘roommates’ would be housemates…that is, after all, what they are.

By: Caitlin

Caitlin — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:17:25 +0000

I’m more curious to hear the “why” story behind the roommates!

I only wish I had such a thing as a pantry, let alone one big enough to forget stuff in. My kitchen was totally not built for food storage.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:08:27 +0000

Whoa? Roommates? I’d love to hear the story behind that.

By: brooklynchick

brooklynchick — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:16:29 +0000

That is awesome! I bet my number is close to that, if I’m honest. Its more the creativity – what to do with all the beans and canned pumpkin………