I used to love grocery shopping. We used to eat pretty healthy and I loved shopping for the best deals, and trying new recipes and all that. Well--that has definitely changed now that I have Lucy and Ruby. They both hate grocery shopping. They've got less than a half hour grocery trip time limit before they just explode--which is NOT enough time to go grocery shopping. This has kind of unraveled the whole eating experience for us. I don't have time to look for the cheapest prices, I've been buying more junk food, and I've been making the same meals every week. And since I dread grocery shopping so much we run out of food a lot, and we end up getting emergency fast food (Not healthy or even tasty). I can only see this getting worse when I have THREE kids who hate grocery shopping.
So--here's my plan.
1. We signed up for this fruit & vegetable co-op thing where we just get a box of fruits and veggies every week from a local farm. It's just whatever is being harvested that week. I am so excited! I don't have to shop the produce department or even decide what veggies to get, or wait in the check out lane. I just go pick up a box once a week, and that's it. I think it'll be fun to try new vegetables and new recipes. It seems like it might be a lot of food, so I might even be able to freeze some for the winter. It starts in June and I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.
2. We're going to get a freezer to put in the basement and we're going to fill it up with meat. Like--a quarter of a cow and some chickens or something.
3. The non-perishable stuff it seems like we can get in bulk maybe. Like we can get a big bucket of rice and a case or two of mac & cheese, and a big tub of coffee. This part of my plan isn't completely in place yet--but I'm sure it can be done.
4. There's really not too much left at this point. Shawn could easily pick up milk, juice, eggs, bread and cheese once a week on his way home from work. Or even if I had to do it--that is definitely less than half an hour's worth of shopping.
So--what do you think? Am I forgetting anything? Any ideas on where to get cheap pantry items in bulk? I think it's really going to work out--especially if I can be creative with the vegetables. but I'll be saving so much time and stress by not grocery shopping, that I should have time to look for great recipes and try them out.
Loving the idea of not grocery shopping,
val =)
So--here's my plan.
1. We signed up for this fruit & vegetable co-op thing where we just get a box of fruits and veggies every week from a local farm. It's just whatever is being harvested that week. I am so excited! I don't have to shop the produce department or even decide what veggies to get, or wait in the check out lane. I just go pick up a box once a week, and that's it. I think it'll be fun to try new vegetables and new recipes. It seems like it might be a lot of food, so I might even be able to freeze some for the winter. It starts in June and I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.
2. We're going to get a freezer to put in the basement and we're going to fill it up with meat. Like--a quarter of a cow and some chickens or something.
3. The non-perishable stuff it seems like we can get in bulk maybe. Like we can get a big bucket of rice and a case or two of mac & cheese, and a big tub of coffee. This part of my plan isn't completely in place yet--but I'm sure it can be done.
4. There's really not too much left at this point. Shawn could easily pick up milk, juice, eggs, bread and cheese once a week on his way home from work. Or even if I had to do it--that is definitely less than half an hour's worth of shopping.
So--what do you think? Am I forgetting anything? Any ideas on where to get cheap pantry items in bulk? I think it's really going to work out--especially if I can be creative with the vegetables. but I'll be saving so much time and stress by not grocery shopping, that I should have time to look for great recipes and try them out.
Loving the idea of not grocery shopping,
val =)
March 14, 2008 at 9:07 AM
Sams and Costco sell in bulk.
Like your plan. Lucky for me Jon enjpys grocery shopping or we tag team it. I havent been by myself since Grace was a bay
March 14, 2008 at 10:47 PM
Make sure Shawn picks up ice cream, too. There is no life without ice cream. Maybe that's just me.
March 15, 2008 at 5:23 PM
You've been to Sam's Club, right? I think it's about $40 a year. We get our paper towels and toilet paper there in bulk, and you can get pretty much anything. Huge containers of peanut butter, big bags of rice, jumbo boxes of cereal, commercial sized containers of things like pickles and pudding and sandwich bags...whatever. If you've never been there, let me know, I'd be happy to take you to check the place out.
March 18, 2008 at 8:48 PM
I'd suggest this wholesale, bulk food store called GFS (Gordon Food Service) because they don't require a membership to shop there. And I know there is one in Rockford.
www.gfs.com
March 21, 2008 at 10:23 PM
I remember when we lived in Rosendale that I would do the shopping once a month because the grocery stores were 10 miles away in Fond du Lac. I was fun to leave the babies at home and jump in my old Ford F-100 and come home with a pick-up full of groceries. Makes you feel like a rich man stocking up a pantry with a month or more of food.
I really like the produce club thing; that sounds like that will be great.
April 8, 2008 at 2:25 PM
What is the food co-op thing? I didn't realize that was available anywhere near Rockford. I second that Sam's is a good idea. You can also get bulk meat there to freeze, but going with a 1/4 cow or whole chickens from a butcher is probably even cheaper and better quality.