snowy

How do you shop for food? Do you comb the ads of local grocery stores, looking for the best possible deals to stock up on? Or do you have a couple of favorite stores you like for different things, and shop at those regularly? Or do you just pick up what you need, when you need it?

This question comes up because yesterday at a family dinner I had to listen to several complaints about a local grocery store closing. While this store did have a reasonable produce selection, to me it didn't have anything special that I couldn't find at the farmer's market or the local hippie co-op. But my mother-in-law insists that it had the best prices on said produce (it might have, but this was likely a result of being able to keep overhead low because the store was last updated in the 1970s...ew). She's willing to drive all over town now to find the best deals that she claims she was once able to find at this one store (oddly, she isn't willing to try the hippie co-op, she writes it off as "too expensive"...yet she's never shopped there).

It occurred to me that I am NOT willing to drive all over town to find the best deal. Our shopping strategy is this: we hit up the local "big box" grocery (Winco) once a month and stock up on pantry items, such as pasta, canned goods, baking supplies, frozen veggies, etc. This place has the lowest prices in town, guaranteed. Then, once a week, we go to the local hippie co-op for fresh staples such as half and half, coffee, eggs, hummus, and when market isn't open, veggies. The hippie co-op also has an owner sale day once a month where we get a discount for spending more, and so we usually save our bulk section shopping for then, as the hippie co-op has an awesome bulk section. As needed, we go to another store about half a mile from us (Fred Meyer/Kroger) for some produce (namely mushrooms), health and beauty stuff, and assorted household supplies (laundry detergent, dishwasher soap, etc). But I typically don't wait for these things to go on sale somewhere and stock up. First, I don't have the room, and second, I don't want to spend a load of time combing ads and driving all over town to find something. How much would I really be saving after I calculated in time spent on that activity, and the gas spent on driving around town? I save money instead by buying in bulk and doing my restocking of pantry items at the store in town that I know has the best prices.

Your turn!

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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Wes Mantooth

Thats nuts! I never understood why getting the absolute best, rock bottom prices on anything (maybe a HUGE purchase...but food?) would warrant blowing a whole day and god knows how much gas just to save 25 cents on a can of tuna, its just not worth the time and effort to me.

I don't think I really have a shopping ritual, when I run out of stuff I try to find a few hours to go to the closest store and get more. Rinse and repeat....okay maybe it is a ritual.

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Willravel

Every half a month I plan out half a month's meals and buy only those specific ingredients. I started this in college as a way to help me be fiscally responsible, but it's really made life a lot easier because I can plan out nutritional needs at one time, be in and out of the farmers' market and then the grocery store very quickly and there's never any question as to "what am I going to eat today?" I don't check ads or clip coupons anymore because I'm fortunate to be in a comfortable situation with money.

PonyPotato

How long does this actually take you? Do you write it all down on a calendar? Do you take new recipes with you to the store to make sure you get ALL the ingredients for them? Do you only cook meals you've made a zillion times so you know exactly what you need? Do you just make your grocery list from recipes you plan out?

I've wanted to live like this, but plans would always fall by the wayside if I had planned a meal that took an hour to prepare and I came home with only 20 minutes between activities to grab something to shove in my mouth. What do you do about snacks??

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"Without passion man is a mere latent force and possibility, like the flint which awaits the shock of the iron before it can give forth its spark."
— Henri-Frédéric Amiel

amonkie

I don't have a car and grocery shopping requires that whatever I purchase I can carry home on a 20 minute walk.

That limits the distance of my possible trips and options significantly.

I usually hit the grocery store 3-4 times a week, buying what I need. It usually rotates between produce, staples, little splurges. I've found a keep a lot of fresher food when I buy only what I can realistically eat as 1 person in 3-4 days.

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Calling from deep in the heart, from where the eyes can't see and the ears can't hear, from where the mountain trails end and only love can go... ~~~ Three Rivers Hare Krishna

Willravel

It takes me about 15 minutes to make the list of meals because I cycle them: 4 breakfasts, 3 lunches, and 5 dinners. Instead of having to create 45 individual meals, I only have to make 12. Here's this cycle:
oatmeal with apple, cinnamon, and a hard-boiled egg
fruit smoothie with protein powder
turkey sausage and eggs
melon and cottage cheese

vegetable wrap
taco salad
caesar salad

collard greens
lentil soup
salmon and asparagus
lamb kabobs
chicken and broccoli stir fry

On average, each day comes out to fulfill most of my basic nutritional needs, fills me up and the changes in the order of meals keeps it fresh.
Yes. I have a Numbers (the Mac version of Excel) document that outlines meals.
No, after I've listed my meals, I simply take the ingredients from each meal and multiply them by how many times I have the meal. If I'm having 6 taco salads, I know I'll need 6 servings of romaine, 6 servings of iceburg, 6 servings of salsa, 6 servings of olives, etc. The list doesn't end up being too long.
Some of them are staples and favorites (I'm particularly fond of salmon/asparagus and chicken fajitas), but I also like to change it up so as not to get bored, which is the only risk in the system. I keep an eye out for new recipes or new ingredients during the month. Today I had the idea of incorporating charred tomatoes into a salad for next cycle's dinners.
Yeah.
Snacks are the only variable. I have big bags of nuts (almonds, cashews, walnuts, etc., raw and unsalted of course), some low fat string cheese, an assortment of dried fruit, plain yogurt, and some vegetables like carrots, cucumbers, and such to munch on. The trick is to not ever buy sugary/salty/fatty snacks. They're usually empty calories and whatever temporary satisfaction they supply because of taste is negated by having to try and burn them off exercising later. Is that one, 11-calorie potato chip really worth having to do a minute of jumping jacks? Multiply that by how many chips you have in a sitting.

I'm not a disciplined person by nature, so I have to force discipline on myself. And occasionally I do slip and grab fast food, but for the most part this is a good arrangement.

Starkizzer

Once a month or so we head to Costco and buy things that can keep for a while. Frozen chicken breasts, salmon, lunch meat and cheese, sourdough bread etc. We also pick up some other household items like detergent, tp, paper towels etc.

Then every week we order produce from washingtonproduce.com This place is close to our roomies work, has really good prices, a decent selection and thus far all the produce we have gotten from them has been super fresh. I like this because it helps on weeks when things get really busy and I don't have a lot of time to run to the store.

Then when there are other items I want I head to Stater bros or Albertson's. Both of these places are a few blocks from the apartment.

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Frivolity, at the edge of a Moral Swamp, hears Hymn-Singing in the Distance and dons the Galoshes of Remorse. ~Edward Gorey

777

I've found that a very large back pack can really help in this situation. And if you don't mind looking like a bum, stealing a shopping cart does wonders for the amount of food you can carry without those annoying plastic bags digging into your palms.

Speaking of bags, if you have to carry some a few blocks, keep a good pen handy. Simply hang a few bags on the middle of the pen, and hold it in your hand like a handle, with the bags hanging between your fingers. Now you have a straight handle for carrying your bags more comfortablely than the plastic bags strangling the circulation from your hands.

Market wise, there's only a family owned "Farmer's Market" supermarket and a 99Cent store within walking distance. I tend to go to the 99, since it's easier on my budget, and their pasta selection is decent. When it comes to buying meat, I have to go to the real market and make use of their butcher.

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"I don't know that I ever wanted greatness, on its own. It seems rather like wanting to be an engineer, rather than wanting to design something - or wanting to be a writer, rather than wanting to write. It should be a by-product, not a thing in itself. Otherwise, it's just an ego trip."

Roger Zelazny

Plan9

PFFT. With a bandanna over my face and a .44 magnum in my hand, how else?

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I'm the guy that is always looks at generics and the price per ounce on items. I almost always buy the store brand, even if it doesn't taste good, because it saves money (and I have no taste buds). Shelf stable items, like canned goods and pasta, as well as frozen items, are purchased in last-a-long-time quantities (30 cans of tuna - GO) while dairy/fruit/vegetables are purchased once a week. I don't do coupons, but my super-picky brand-specific female sidekick is all over that side of shopping for me. I exclusively shop at big box places because I'm a sellout and a lazy cheapskate that lives near a highly urbanized area where strip malls are more common than trees. I tend to do my shopping late at night to avoid crowds and because I'm largely nocturnal.

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I can't be the only one here that is curious as to how many hours are in a WillRavel day that allow him to do the super OCD fancy shit listed above as well as maintain a job, participate in relationships with a significant other / friends, maintain a house, get in that hour of exercise, do hobbies, and post on TFP. If you're married, that might work. You can spread out the chores. Alone? C'mon. After working a 12 hour shift I thank Sweet Baby Jesus I don't have to do anything with planning meals. I eat the slop that is put in front of me, choke down a Clif bar and call it good. Am I just really unmotivated?

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Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

Charlatan

We sit down on Saturday morning and come up with a menu for the week.

Make a grocery list based on the menu and whatever we've run out of during the week (we keep a running list of staples, etc as they are used up).

We then hit our local grocery store and buy what we need for the week.

We don't have a car so driving around to various shops is not a common thing. I will hit our butcher for special meats (beef or lamb) but generally just buy chicken at the grocery store.

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"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

Shadowex3

We get regular and semi-regular staples, one-offs, and things that spoil readily from publix with a decent enough timing and regularity of use that we make hopefully one trip every few weeks for things other than bread, milk, and eggs. Other than that we buy thighs, cereal, and non-spoilables from costco or sam's where possible and when the math works out.

As for how we actually prepare things... the freezer usually has a bunch of frozen batches of barley&lentils, barely spiced boiled chicken thighs, and stocks to be turned into just about anything and on a day to day basis I pretty much just cook what I feel like eating that fits into my "nutritional slots".

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Jinn

God I wish I had will's discipline.

I buy everything I want at QFC when I go there, once a month. I buy fast food once every couple weeks.

I'll go to a farmers market if it's sunday and I'm free and looking to splurge.

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"I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

StanT

I'm pretty much the anti-Will.

We live in the sticks and have a freezer full of cow, pig, and chicken from Costco. The local hippy co-op actually delivers nice organic vegetables weekly. I look in the vegetable box, decide what will go with it, and have at it nightly.

We pick up milk, bread, and other staples while we are out; but meals are almost always on the fly.