15/03/2020
Some of you have never listened to your Grandparents’/Great Grandparents’ stories about the Great Depression… and it shows. We need to show more resilience regarding the current grocery situation.
I do not recommend going out and buying 20 cases of any item at this point, but by reducing the amount of times we need to go to the grocery store, we are reducing the risk of spreading cooties 🙂 So, I get it, I really do. In the event you find yourself unable to grab your usual convenience foods and are wondering how you’re going to feed yourself (or perhaps an entire clan like we have)...here is our experience and what we’re doing with it.
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A lot of the store shelves are emptying of convenience foods, but there’s a ton that can be done to utilize/extend the dry goods we see still hanging around on the shelves. AND given the fact that a lot of you are going to need to work from home AND homeschool during this time, it might be the perfect time to implement the slightly less-convenient/BUT more affordable options that you may need to resort to during this time.
I’m going to give you the rundown of the three biggest CHALLENGES we ran into while trying to shop to feed a family of six for an extended period of time - even after the shelves had been raided. We’ll also discuss the OPPORTUNITIES that have presented themselves as a result of the current situation.
➡️ $$$
➡️ Waste/space
➡️ Making it last
1. CHALLENGE: Low funds - Yes, this sucks. We don’t have $1000 to spend on groceries right now. $1000 would typically feed our family of six for five weeks. Dry, bulk goods and baking staples were a good choice here..plus, they were available because the convenience foods went first 🤷🏻♀️
OPPORTUNITY: Because of this, it was an opportunity to exercise how to use our resources wisely. Going back to the days of slowing down and having to bake our own items is a reminder of how self-sufficient we can be! I broke out a cookbook my Grandmom gave me years ago when I started my own family and am making items with it today. ❤️
2. Risk of waste, lack of space - I like to keep a lot of fresh fruits and veggies on hand. The first store we went to had zero fresh options to choose from, the next store had a ton. In a situation like this where I am trying to save money typically I would have purchased frozen veggies. Unfortunately we only have one small freezer and I needed to be able to store frozen proteins as well. So I had to purchase a mix of fresh and frozen.
OPPORTUNITY: Be sure to carefully organize plan when and how each piece of food is to be used...our grandparents did not waste and neither should we. Not only is this time and cost-effective, but it saves you from having to run back out to the grocery store (remember, trying to limit exposure to cooties).
3. Rations - typically my children are known to raid the grocery bags as soon as we get home. They can easily decimate several packages of convenience snacks within a few minutes. Because the majority of convenience foods were gone, and I knew it would only take a matter of minutes if the kids saw a package of cookies or baked goods, this actually worked out in my favor.
OPPORTUNITY: Portion-control! We have implemented a structure of 3 meals a day, plus two snacks. Seriously, if you can’t trust the kids (or adults) in the house, place ALL shelf-stable snacks in a container you can lock up. They’ll thank you later!..
MY ACTION ITEMS:
First thing I did with an abundance of bulk celery, carrots and onions, was prepare stock bags for soup. We were able to load up on dry beans and I knew if the carrots and celery sat in the fridge, they would go bad or be used as snacks and I wouldn’t have them to use later to make a good batch of soups. So we kept some to snack on, and prepped the rest.
I had our son chop everything up, I prepared the bags.
THE RESULT:
What’s in each bag?
- carrots
- onion
- celery
- garlic
- two packages powdered stock each
- aromatics (thyme, rosemary)
- ham (optional, only used in half the bags)
The bags were then flattened (to save space) and popped in the freezer. They can be pulled out whenever we need them and used in either a crockpot, Insta pot, or on the stove top. I will add the contents of one bag, some bulk dry items and however much water or broth is necessary.
HOW WILL I USE THEM?
- lentil soup
- bean soup
- split pea soup (with ham)
- turkey pot pie
- black beans & rice
Not only are these stock bags versatile, they’re extremely affordable. The resulting recipes are cost-effective, time-saving and will provide healthy, balanced meals for our family during this time.
BIGGEST TAKEAWAY:
We are not helpless. Is this necessarily what we want to deal with right now? Nope. Is this going to present a s**t ton of challenges? YUP. You can either complain the whole time OR...
This is your chance to practice resilience. What we can’t buy, we can make or go without. A little bit of work upfront will save time and money during the week AND might help us learn how to rely on ourselves a bit better.
You can do this!
