Semi-FRC...changing the way I shop, and could use some advice!

J

jeni

Enthusiast Member
First of all, please let me say THANK YOU to all of you - I mostly lurk here, but am learning so much about food and cooking. So, thanks! I'm hoping you all might be able to help me think through a few ideas about how I'm planning to change the way I shop and cook.

Until now, I've done the typical grocery run every week or so, with Costco every couple of weeks. My 3 year old was just dx with type 1 diabetes, and this was the last push that I needed to move forth with a plan I've had in the back of my head for a while to change the way our family shops and eats - namely, cutting out unnecessary processed foods, and focusing on higher quality foods across the board. Organic when it makes the most sense (IMO - beef (which we don't eat often), some poultry, eggs, milk and certain fruits and veggies), and just fresher, better quality when not (ie: greengrocer produce, quality bread from a bakeshop...assuming I don't make it myself). I haven't been happy with our convenience-based way of eating for a while, but I'm really ready to change things now. The thing is - I'm not too sure how best to approach this. My grocery budget for a family of 3 is about $80/week (CDN). I'm planning to spend a chunk of cash up front to stock the freezer and a good pantry's worth of items - the freezer will be "back up" supply, so to speak, and will fill in with food when it's not possible to shop as often in a week, or when the budget is stretched too tight for much meat or fish that week. For the most part, I want to be buying fresh maybe 2 or 3 times a week, and only for what we'll use within 2 or 3 days. As I use freezer items, I'll replace them.

I plan to still shop at Costco every other month or so, for frozen veggies and berries, staples like flour, pasta, rice, tinned tomatoes,etc. household products, and some meat and fish that would break the bank otherwise (ie: boneless skinless chicken breasts, which we use a LOT)....for the most part, though, I want to try and stay away from the chain supermarkets (in my area, the chains often have poor produce, lesser quality meat, and the prices aren't overwhelmingly competitive). I'm really starting to hate giving them my money as the quality just isn't there!

What I'd like to know is if anyone else is eating/shopping this way? Does it sound doable? (I realize it's a lot more shopping, but I'm a SAHM, so I have the time to be able to shop and do more from-scratch cooking.) It's going to be a bit of an adjustment, adapting to more seasonal shopping, and planning meals around what's fresh and looks good (as heavenly as it sounds it's a big change for me!!) - I like the flexibility, but also want to make sure this doesn't become so much work that it doesn't seem worth the extra time it takes. If anyone has any tips or advice or thoughts, I'd be happy to hear them all!

Sorry to waffle on for so long - if you've read this far, thanks!

 
a few thoughts...

see if you can find a good meat market in your area.

if you shop in a supermarket, do most of your buying from the perimeter: that's where the healthy stuff is.

watch for farmer's markets and pick-your-own places.

you prolly know what produce is good and which is bad: refuse to buy garbage.

remember! costco isn't always a bargain.

try to budget loading up on sales. around here, boneless skinless chicken breasts are often a loss leader.

make sure to eat what's in your freezer before you need to donate it to a museum.

 
Hi there.....

a couple thoughts...
Buy fresh and make 2 of a lot of things like pies, stews, tarts etc...then use that fresh frozen from the freezer, when stretched tight, rather than use purchased stand-bys.
At first make a weekly meal plan. Menus for each day and try to stick to them when shopping...Make sure these menus are seasonal. You'll soon not think so hard about it all.
Buy the best you can afford to eat with say salads (un-cooked) eg really good extra virgin olive oil but buy the not so expensive stuff if you are going to cook with it. A little goes a long way when it is excellent quality.

When I first started cooking / budgeting for a family I used to think things like shepards pie cheap but in fact I had to buy so many different ingredients and then had so much left over (till I got wise and made 2)I found (in those days) a roast and a couple of veg turned out cheaper. We had a slice or two of meat and filled up with salad and veg. Left over meat was made into that pie or tart, or soup....It's hard to use left over shepard's pie for another dish...and we always ate huge portions of this rather than a healthy couple slices of just meat and veg.
Also if you cook wisely the left overs, (some people think left-overs are awful), are just the pre-prepared part of the next meal. You can keep this in the fridge for a night or two...don't have to have fish 3 days running.

Buy fish with skin and bones, meat with bones and make your own stocks with the outer (good clean) part of the veg. the brown skin of onions, the tops and outer parts of celery and leeks, the stalks of parsley etc.

And you can cook to save time...if you are using the oven for a meal then do the next days prepartion on the stove top....ie Roast in the oven tonight (Cathy Z's chicken is a meal in itself what with the fowl and the veg. in one dish) and the stock for the soup or the pasta, the beans, the chickpeas etc for the salad on the stove top for the next day.

good luck, I'm sure this will all become easy very quickly.

 
Planning is the key...

...otherwise you'll be tempted to spend too much money.

One of my downfalls/strengths is that I shop 2 to 3 times per week. When I plan ahead, and only shop that often for freshness, I stay on budget. When I shop that way just to see what's on 'quicksale', I often buy stuff that I wouldn't normally buy. I do this when I go into the market with no idea what to make for dinner that night.

If I don't plan, I end up building a meal around some item that requires I buy other items to complete a recipe or menu. Those items often times are only partially used and end up thrown out two weeks later, when I find them stuck to the back wall of the fridge. $$$ down the drain!

Suggestion: try rice/legume/bean/vegetable stews and soups. Cheap to prepare. They practically cook themselves. Very nutritious and good for diabetics. They keep well in the freezer or the fridge and can be pureed and used as a base for the addition of chicken or as a side dish for a more complex meal. Good stuff.

I'll add more if I can think of things.

I applaud your decision and your determination. I pray God's blessings for you and your family.

Michael

 
and just to clarify...

the freezer stock up I'm planning to do is for whole foods - extra chicken, beef, fish, pork, veggies, etc. NOT convenience or "ready meals". Just ingredients really, that I might not always be able to afford every week smileys/smile.gif

 
Jeni, my suggestion isn't really stocking or shopping related but

since you have a freezer, keep it organized and have a list of what is stocked in it on or in the freezer door. That makes planning meals so much easier when you know what you have and makes restocking easier too. Always mark products with the date and what it is clearly marked. I try to keep my stock bones and stock ingredients in one area of the freezer. I make stock freq. during cooler mos. then use them from the freezer during the summer mos. Everyone has offered such good advise. Good luck to you and your family...Steph

 
I agree with the hints and have a couple more to add if I may

You mentioned that you use a lot of boneless, skinless chicken breasts- I do too. When I find chicken breasts on sale I buy a bunch of them then I skin and bone them myself then freeze on cookie sheets and then toss into zip lock bags for easy access. Two winning reasons: 1. much cheaper 2. I have bones for stock and chicken broth on an ongoing basis. I store the bones in the freezer until I have enough for a good-sized batch then cook the finished stock down and freeze for later. I use a lot of chicken stock in my cooking.

I do the same thing as Joanie- I make two of something frequently and freeze the second one for later. I cannot tell you how often I have been thankful for finding a nice something-or-other in the freezer to just defrost and heat up on a busy day. I make a double batch of spaghetti sauce for example. Sometimes I make two homemade pizzas and freeze wedges of one for another time. I have BBQ chicken pizza in the freezer right now. Casseroles, pot pies, soup- so many things can be frozen.

Many people get stuck in a cooking routine of making the same few things over and over. If you feel you are one, try one or two new recipes every week- pick things that use the same type of ingredients that you have around (maybe one or two new ones) and keep a running grocery list for both the "regular" shopping and your once a month Costco run. I used to have a running inventory sheet on the front of my freezer- it works great. I don't now because I manage it differently but it is always good to know what you have in the freezer at any given time.

Again, like Joanie, I use leftovers as pre-cooked ingredients for the next meal- or skip one day and use them up the next day. I also keep a bag in the freezer for cut ends of veggies that would normally be thrown away- celery, carrots, onions, etc. for stock. I also keep a bag for cheese ends in the freezers- bits of this and that kind of cheese- and I use it on any number of things.

Once you try a few things with your new changes you will soon get in the routine of it all. Good luck!

 
For awhile, I was feeding a family of four on $25/week, and would go into

Costco only for milk, eggs and butter. I would just take in cash, so I wouldn't be tempted by any unplanned purchases. It did help, because those items were usually much cheaper at Costco than at a regular market. It was painful, but necessary.
I used to look at the specials, sales and coupons, and form a meal plan around them. I would have to go to two or three markets sometimes, but I also was a SAHM, so I was able to spend the extra time it took.
A meal plan really helps save money. Then make your shopping list from your menu plan.
I used to make a lot of meals around dried grains and beans. I used meat or poultry, but in fairly small amounts. For instance, I would make colcannon, a casserole of potatoes, cabbage, onions, and this particular recipe called for 1/2 lb. kielbasa. I found I was able to only use 1/4 lb. with no harm to the recipes flavor.
I would buy 4 or 5 whole chickens when they were on sale, sometimes as low as $.49/pound. As soon as I would get them home, I would cut them up and put them in freezer bags. I would put the drumsticks and or thighs in one bag, and I would bone the chicken breasts and put them in another bag. Then I would put all the carcasses in the oven and roast them, until they were golden brown, then I would make chicken stock with them. It was a little time consuming, but your become pretty proficient pretty quickly when you do that many of them at a time. Whole chickens are quite a bargain when you can find them on sale like that. Roast chickens make a great dinner and the leftovers can be used for another dish the next day, casseroles, salads or soups, for instance.
I know you will have to work around your three-year old's dietary needs, so after meeting with a nutritionist, you will know which kinds of foods and meals he/she will need to eat and can go from there.
I grew to enjoy the challenge of feeding my family healthy food, and stay on a restrictive budget.
My husband is diabetic so if you need any ideas or recipes, you can email me or private message me here, and I will help you out if I can. I have the MasterCook program so it is easy to email recipes.
I received a lot of good advice, recipes and support from everyone on this site after he was diagnosed with diabetes. So you came to the right place! Good luck!

 
I'll second Michael's suggestion of using dried beans and legumes. Here's an old standby...

I had a crockpot before I had a stove and used it often for Ham Hocks and Beans. It's dirt cheap and the beans are so good for you:

Wash well two large (or several small) smoked pork hocks. Put in a crockpot. Add 2 cups dried navy or lima beans (unsoaked), 6 cups water, and about a cup each of chopped onion, carrot and celery. Bring to the simmer on high then turn to low and cook all day, or until the beans are tender, adding a little hot water if necessary.

Fish out the ham hocks and let them cool a few minutes. Pull out the chunks of meat, discarding the bones, skin and fat. Chop the meat and return it to the pot of beans. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with greens or a green vegetable. I usually make cornbread with this but that may not suit your little boy very well. Perhaps whole wheat rolls would be better.

 
Another idea: The Boiled Dinner. the French call if Pot au feu, but it's not fancy at all.......

just meat and veggies simmered slowly to produce a succulent dinner and a wonderful broth. There is no wrong way to do this, but here are some tips:

You can use any or all: beef, pork, chicken, sausage, onions, leeks, carrots, turnips, rutabegas, cabbage and potatoes. Corned beef can be used instead of fresh.

Gather together any soup bones you have, put them in a big kettle with an inexpensive beef roast (chuck or round: have the butcher tie it up, if possible) and lightly salted water to cover. Add an herb bouquet, or just thyme. Bring to the simmer, then lower heat and cook at just below the simmer for a total of four hours.

Add other ingredients to the pot as it cooks, depending on their cooking time: A pork shoulder will take 3 hours, so add it an hour after the beef. With each addition, turn the heat up and bring to the simmer, then reduce heat to cook gently.

Add a cut-up chicken, wrapped in cheesecloth, an hour before done-ness, along with sausages, and any root vegetables--leeks, boiling onions. carrots, turnips--that you're using. Wrapping each item in cheesecloth and tying with a length of string which can be tied to the pot's handle is helpful, but not essential. As each is done, you can remove it and add it back later.

Cabbage wedges and potatoes can be added to the pot, but the final broth will be better if you cook each separately, basting with a little of the liquid from the pot.

The only trick to a boiled dinner is not to let your "boiled" dinner boil--just barely simmer.

The whole boiled dinner can sit in its kettle, with the heat turned off, for at least an hour. (This is the traditional Normandy Christmas Eve supper--it sits and waits during the midnight Mass.)

Voila! You now have a feast of meats and vegetables to serve on Sunday, (with good bread, some of the broth, sea salt, pepper, mustard and cornichons, along with some tomato sauce if you're ambitious) and the rest of the broth to make soups during the week, using the vegetables, AND fantastic sandwich meat for lunches. The possibilities are endess.

 
Two words - big freezer! More...

I blanche some vegetables that are in season, and have them "fresh" in the winter and spring. I know they're available at the stores, but usually the quality and price are sometimes not so good. Also good for buying "club/family packs" meat (large) when they are on sale.

Also, remember that the nutritious stuff is usually along the perimeter of the stores, with the processed and junk foods between the meat (in the back) and you (in the front!).

 
As so many more folks are being diagnosed diabetic, would someone ..

like to start a thread on appropriate recipes? I haven't been in this situation myself but am interested in eating healthier all around.

 
Sounds like a great idea. And if anyone is interested, I have a...

yahoo group called GRS-Low-Carb. I started it a couple of years ago for those of us at Gail's (and others) who were low-carbing, but it got changed to "healthy carbs" and now includes stuff like beans, whole grains, etc.

The home page is: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/GRS-Low-Carb/ if you want to bookmark it to another site where you can get good recipes! There are a little under 200 of us, but I seem to be the only one who posts (erratically, at that!).

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/GRS-Low-Carb/

 
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