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Farm Kitchen:  Grocery shopping only once a month?  |
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prairie_princess
True Blue Farmgirl
613 Posts
Elizabeth
Carpenter
WY
USA
613 Posts |
 Posted - Feb 21 2010 : 1:47:09 PM
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i LOVE this thread! i, too, only shop once a month. it's actually very easy because we live 30 minutes from town, so it's not like we can just run to the store. and especially lately, after reorganizing our budget, we really had a couple of lean months, so i learned to only use what i had on hand. it feels so fulfilling! i can get creative and i feel more appreciative when i cook because i know i'm keeping with our budget and i don't need a lot of food to keep me satisfied. i'm actually finding it hard to make menus with "extra" ingredients, stuff i wouldn't normally have on hand simply because i enjoy using what i have.
my city friends can't imagine only shopping once a month. and i applaud you gals who only go every 3 months! i would think it's very hard if you don't have freezers (we had to buy another one) and food storage to shop so infrequently.... I know it's near impossible for some of my city friends.
we've also come to a point in our lives, my DH and I, where we are more conscious of hazardous ingredients and preservatives. so we are cutting back even more on things we buy so i can homemake snacks, too. we even worry about canned goods, the BPA possibility, so I might start homemaking some of those things, too, such as cream of mushroom soup to freeze for use in meals. We're replacing anything canned that we can buy dried, such as various beans (dried goods also last longer than canned). Needless to say, our canned goods area of storage has drastically shrunk... until summer/fall canning starts back up! We also plan on digging/building a root cellar this summer for even more fresh food storage....
we are unfortunate not to have been raising our own meat, so no meat or milk as of yet. we may buy a goat or pig this year! but we do raise our own chickens for eggs. so we do have to buy meat and milk. we can or freeze the veggies/fruit we raise ourselves and buy a few frozen veggies (don't buy canned for the BPA fear). i want to cut out bought snacks, too, so i'm going to try my hand at making crackers, graham crackers, and to replace cereal, make granola. wow, pretty soon i'll only be buying those essential ingredients!
"Only two things that money can't buy, that's true love and homegrown tomatoes."
- Guy Clark
"The man who has planted a garden feels he has done something for the good of the world."
- Charles Dudley Warner |
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JojoNH
True Blue Farmgirl
1984 Posts
Joanna
Dunbarton
New Hampshire
USA
1984 Posts |
Posted - Feb 22 2010 : 2:16:25 PM
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Well, to answer Alee's question, we eat the basic meals. Nothing out of the ordinary, just cooking from scratch and it saves a ton of money.
We eat Steak, baked potatoes, veggies, Homemade bread, muffins, pies,
Lasagna, soups, stews, casseroles, seafood chowder etc. I just love to cook and found that when I purchased my basic ingredients in the super large size it lasted much longer and cost much less.
I stock up on things like 50Lb bags of flour, 25Lb bags of sugar, 20Lb bag of rice, Large boxes of pasta, Large cans of coffee, Jumbo cans of tomato sauce (plain so I can use it in many different recipes ) You get the idea.
Just simply use your regular months menus, but purchase the large size of everything you need. The savings is incredible!!
Joanna #566
JojoNH
www.CountryCents.com
http://CountryCents.Blogspot.com
http://Twitter.com/Eastwooddesigns |
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vintagejenta
True Blue Farmgirl
83 Posts
Sarah
Walden
NY
USA
83 Posts |
Posted - Mar 01 2010 : 2:19:00 PM
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From scratch DOES save a ton of money! I go shopping more than once a month, but if I had a garden and a cow, I could manage it! LOL. Most of the shopping I do now is for perishable whole food like produce, milk, cheese, etc. I buy dry goods (canned stuff, flour, pasta, etc.) about once a month. I work, so it's hard to cook from scratch ALL the time, but I try my best and hardly ever used packaged meals.
Knowing what you have in your pantry at all times and keeping stocked up not only gives you more flexibility when it comes time to cook, but also makes sure you don't overstock and helps you shop for only what you need. It also helps to be always thinking about what to make next! I'm not quite organized enough to have meals planned out weeks in advance (plus, sometimes I don't feel like eating what I may have planned for that day!), but I always think the day of or the day before to plan what to have for dinner so that when I get home from work, I know just what to do!
I'd love to be able to be farmer/cook full-time, though. Someday... :) |
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prairie_princess
True Blue Farmgirl
613 Posts
Elizabeth
Carpenter
WY
USA
613 Posts |
Posted - Mar 02 2010 : 09:29:05 AM
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sarah, i agree..... keeping a good stock does allow for more cooking flexibility! we just did our monthly shopping trip yesterday and stocked up on all our dried goods. i swear i won't have to make a menu and buy "new" grocery items for a LONG time! having lots of different cookbooks (and the internet) helps a ton, too! i can look up recipes that involve ingredients i have on hand instead of always buying new ingredients... i love it! it allows for more creativity! i feel like i have everything i need right here at home and don't have to run to the grocery store all the time.
and, sarah, i commend those like you who do work and still try to make your meals at home! i realize how much work that must be! back when i was working, i wasn't half as concious as i am now about making meals at home and how to be healthy... in fact i just didn't care about being healthy. my move to the country really opened up my eyes! when i was working, though, i did discover how much i loved cooking and i would do it on the weekend just to practice... if i were to work now, i would make meals on the weekend to freeze for later dinners or make my meals for the week. and how grand are leftovers?! who wants to cook every day, so i purposely make enough for leftovers....
"Only two things that money can't buy, that's true love and homegrown tomatoes."
- Guy Clark
"The man who has planted a garden feels he has done something for the good of the world."
- Charles Dudley Warner |
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Farm Kitchen: Grocery shopping only once a month? |
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Grocery shopping only once a month?
