Grocery shopping tips during Coronavirus quarantine

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One last post about my trip to the store. When I was in the produce section there was a young man stocking the potatoes and he was coughing all over them and not covering his mouth. OMG! :eek: I quickly decided not to get potatoes and moved out of the produce section as fast as I could. As I pushed my cart away from the coughing employee I wondered if I was overreacting. Maybe I should go back and get some potatoes? Then I noticed the song that was playing on the store speakers. It was "Stayin' Alive":


I laughed. Ironic but appropriate timing. I kept moving and got my shopping done as quickly as I could. And from now on anytime I wonder if what I'm doing is too much, I'll be singing "Stayin Alive" to myself. LOL. :cool::D
 
Same here. I made this “survival slop” which was so bad I could barely eat it lol - That in itself though helped ration. :D
Yes, I made a concoction last week involving left over roasted chicken, rice, broccoli and cream of chicken soup. I don't know what happened, but I had to fish the chicken out for the dog because it wasn't eatable. Sounded good though.
 
Decided to go on an expedition to acquire toilet paper, meats and fresh vegetables and was surprised to find meats and vegetables at Aldi's. No paper products at all but did find a great buy on wine. Limit of two each (chicken, beef and pork).
 
Yes, I made a concoction last week involving left over roasted chicken, rice, broccoli and cream of chicken soup. I don't know what happened, but I had to fish the chicken out for the dog because it wasn't eatable. Sounded good though.
I did something similar and it literally was HORRIBLE! Had to throw it out. Now I can't wait to have the trash come, so I can't get the stench out of my garage. It was a nice attempt, but just couldn't do it.
 
Here's what I did today: I wore a big brimmed gardening hat with my hair pulled up into a bun inside the hat, my wrap-around sunglasses, N-95 mask, a light scarf to cover the mask and rubber gloves. I only had my debit card and my key fob for the car in my pocket. I parked next to a cart coral and took a cart into the store that had been sitting outside in the sunshine. There were no wipes in the store near the door and I didn't want to waste the few I had with me to wipe the cart, but I'm hoping getting a cart that has been outside for a while will mean less chance of virus on it. And I had gloves on my hands anyway.

When I returned to the car with my groceries I left my gloves on and used the key fob to unlock the car (read on before you freak out). I opened the trunk and placed my bags on a blanket I had spread out as a barrier between the bags and the car. Then I returned the cart to the corral and opened my drivers side door, only touching the outside handle with my gloves. I stood outside the car with the door open. Before touching anything inside my car I removed my gloves inside out the way a nurse does. I had a bottle of hand sanitizer, wipes and clean empty grocery bags in my car door. I placed the inside out gloves inside a bag, removed my hat, sunglasses, scarf, and mask and placed them all into a second bag. Without touching anything in my car I placed the bags of contaminated items on the floor on the passengers side. Then I used hand sanitizer on my hands. Then I removed a wipe and wiped down my key fob and my debit card and sanitized my hands again for good measure. Then I got into my car and drove home.

I was careful not to touch my face the entire time. When I got home I put on a fresh pair of gloves and took a wipe and wiped the outside handle of my car as well as the trunk where I had touched to open it. Then I used wipes to clean anything cold that needed to be put away right away. As I cleaned the items from the trunk I placed the clean items onto a clean counter in my kitchen to dry. I cleaned all the cold items and unbagged all the rest of the groceries and left anything that is shelf stable in the car. Fortunately we are having mild weather and it won't get too hot this week. To save on wipes I'm leaving everything non-perishable in the car for 3 days. This won't work when it gets hotter but I'll figure that out when we get there. I removed my second pair of gloves and washed my hands before touching my fridge or freezer to put away the cold items. I threw the used gloves away, hung my mask on a nail in my garage, washed my glasses in hot soapy water and put my hat and scarf directly into the washing machine along with all the clothing I was wearing. Then I washed my hands again, closed the washing machine door and showered and put on clean clothes.

I'm exhausted now. It's not a perfect system but I did the best I could to clean anything before it came into my house, washed my hands frequently and tried not to touch my face. I can't wait for someone to invent a pass through grocery washer that I can install between my garage and kitchen. LOL. I'm thinking something like one those industrial dishwashers that you run the dishes through on a conveyor belt would work, only with a UV light system instead of strong blasts of water. Wouldn't it be nice to put all the groceries on a tray and push it through some UV rays or misting sanitizer and come out clean on the other side? :p

yeah.... I did NOT go to a grocery store today and it was a huge relief ... exhausting to think about infection control and I know that in really dicey situations, health professionals have a "spotter" who watches what you do and stops you if you mess up, like a buddy system.
 
had monstrous bagel cravings last week

am aware how used I was to shopping "whenever"
however, l am also aware that I could not easily go 2 mos with no
grocery trips. first they said "stock up for 14 days in case
you are quarantined"... now we have a shut down from mid March
to probably at least mid May.


I've got all I need for 3 months. What no one in the media has asked or pointed out, is that the IHME modelling that is touted by US in pressers states "COVID-19 projections assuming full social distancing through May 2020" IHME | COVID-19 Projections
 
Costco trip, Part One: Mr. BDE left the house at 9:30 this morning so he could be in line when Costco opens at 10:00. He just called to say that there are already about 100 people in line and that an employee is telling everyone that if they're looking for TP, there is none. We're OK for now, but if they had TP, DH would have gotten more. Other items on our list are things that we get at Costco on a rotating basis and should be available. DH is wearing a surgical mask and gloves. Stay tuned for Part Deux :D
 
I ran into Dollar General yesterday for some quick items and was relieved to smell the hint of bleach in the air, seems they are disinfecting the store all day and not just at the end of the day. I was the only shopper in the store until checkout when another shopper walked in. Wore a mask and gloves, and used hand sanitzer afterwards until I got home to wash my hands.

(We still cannot find any TP, Lysol disinfecting spray, wipes, paper towels, or tissues).
 
I had a successful shopping trip today as far as finding food goes. No toilet paper, no paper towel, no wipes of any kind, no hand sanitizer found. I bought a package of paper napkins to use in place of paper towels which we are almost out of. We can ration our toilet paper another couple weeks. I really only use paper towel to cover things in the microwave anyway so a paper napkin will work for that. I use spray cleaner and cloth kitchen towels for wiping counters and microfiber towels for other cleaning. The exciting thing was that my store had meat again! They started limiting people to only 2 packages of each kind of meat (2 chicken, 2 pork, 2 beef items, etc). I got 2 ground beef, 2 ground lamb, 2 ground turkey, and 2 packages of fresh chicken breasts. I wanted to get a ham for Easter but they only had one brand and it was one I knew we didn't like when we got it in the past. I'll have to check another store or maybe we will skip the ham this year. Also, we normally only buy grassfed beef and there was none of that. I bit the bullet and bought what they had. I'm afraid it will be a long time before we see grassfed beef again. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. I did manage to get organic chicken which is a good sign. I also noted that the store had duck (whole and individual breasts), goose, quail, and a limited supply of whole turkeys. If I can't find a small ham elsewhere maybe we will start a new Easter tradition and have a fancy bird meal instead. :D

MOO.

Call your local butcher and see what they have. Ours has been amazing, working 6 days a week and offering delivery and curbside pickup. Good luck.
 
Call your local butcher and see what they have. Ours has been amazing, working 6 days a week and offering delivery and curbside pickup. Good luck.

Thanks, but I don't think I have a local butcher. I live on 3 acres in the country and the nearest town is a one-stop light town with only one grocery store. They shut down the butcher's counter in the store. I did a curbside pick up order once but there was almost no meat in my order. I had better luck just going into the store and seeing what they had. I have to drive 30-45 minutes to a store. We have a farmer we have bought 1/4 of a grassfed cow from in the past. We were going to get a 1/2 cow this spring. He was sold out early this year. I've checked all kinds of online delivery places and none will ship grassfed beef to my address or they are sold out. Most are sold out. But we will survive on conventional beef and other proteins we can find. I've switched my thinking to survival over preference right now. We mainly like grassfed beef for the taste and the leaner fat content. We frequently travel abroad and when we come back and eat in a restaurant in the US we notice the difference in the taste of the beef. Conventional beef just doesn't taste as good to us. But we will eat it and be thankful we have it. I'll just be using it in soup and stew more that I can spice up rather than eating a burger or a steak. I have 2 grassfed steaks in my freezer from Australia and I'm going to save them for a special occasion. Maybe to celebrate when this pandemic is over. :)
 
Costco trip, Part Two: Mr. BDE got everything on our list except a large jug of Palmolive dish liquid and B-12 tablets. He will get a couple of small bottles on his next trip to Meijer as they always have it in stock. He wasn't sure of the dosage of my B-12 but can get that at Meijer or Rite Aid on a future visit. I take one sublingual tablet every other day and have enough for at least a month.

Most of the items that DH got were not urgent but are things that we get at Costco, as needed, on a rotating basis. Cottonelle Wipes, toothbrush replacement heads, olive oil, Perrier, V-8, Cheerios, and Lactaid were on this month's list, and all products were available. We don't get much in the way of food at Costco because the packaging is too large for the two of us, but we love their sockeye salmon and rack of lamb, both of which Mr. BDE got today. Each Easter season, we treat ourselves to a 4# canister of Jelly Bellys :D DH also got two bottles of wine. We're good for the time being.

In normal times, we would ordinarily go out for dinner two or three times a month, usually to our favorite Italian restaurant in Troy. We also do takeout once a week and have continued that habit. We alternate Jet's Pizza and Honey Tree Grille. We did pizza last week and will get something from Honey Tree this evening, if they're still offering carryout.
 
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I've been online trying to find a particular flavor of V8 juice that is helpful for me as a cancer patient. It is 100% juice veggie/fruit combo. I'm not having any luck. So, I went to Campbell's website, found the product and clicked on "Send a Sample." While they are designed as a distributor to restaurants and the like. I figured it was worth a shot to put a note in the comments. I explained this is a nutrition issue for me as a cancer patient and since I can't find any, can I buy it directly from them?

I got an email within an hour that my request would be sent to the proper team and I should hear something in a few days. This was Wednesday. It remains to be seen if they'll send me a sample, or if they'll let me purchase directly from them. The only place in town that sells the type I can drink (food allergies suck) is Gordon's Food Service. I have to buy it by the case and generally only get one every few months. Stay tuned.

Thank you for your interest in Campbell’s Foodservice. Your email has been received and has been forwarded to the appropriate person. You should receive a response within 2 business days.
Thank you,
Campbell’s North America Foodservice


Global Product Portfolio | Campbell's Foodservice
 
Quick Aldi stop during lunch break (yep still working in the office ) - eggs and whole grain bread, plenty of beef products but the only chicken was bags of leg quarters - no skim milk but well stocked on can goods and dairy products - floors taped and signs everywhere for social distancing. Plenty of produce including potatoes - No TP or paper products and no cleaning supplies - I’m done now for a few weeks - people were wearing gloves and some had masks - I need to learn how you all disinfect before bringing in the house as I have not been doing it until now - also Aldi took away the extra cart so you take your own with your own quarter and they removed the dividers so you can’t load your groceries too quickly - didn’t really slow down their process IMO
 
Quick Aldi stop during lunch break (yep still working in the office ) - eggs and whole grain bread, plenty of beef products but the only chicken was bags of leg quarters - no skim milk but well stocked on can goods and dairy products - floors taped and signs everywhere for social distancing. Plenty of produce including potatoes - No TP or paper products and no cleaning supplies - I’m done now for a few weeks - people were wearing gloves and some had masks - I need to learn how you all disinfect before bringing in the house as I have not been doing it until now - also Aldi took away the extra cart so you take your own with your own quarter and they removed the dividers so you can’t load your groceries too quickly - didn’t really slow down their process IMO

Watch this on sanitizing your groceries:

I don't follow everything he says but I like his advice on "sterile technique" and having a clean surface to set cleaned items on. And I have been leaving nonperishable things in my car for 3 days.
 
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Coming up on Food Network:

S24Quarantine Edition: Pantry Pulls

11:00a - 12:00p
Katie Lee Sunny Anderson Geoffrey Zakarian
(4/4)The hosts cook up delicious recipes using ingredients from their own pantries, in their own kitchens; Katie Lee makes her pantry pull pasta puttanesca; Jeff Mauro whips up a flavorful crispy skin salmon Provencal with charred red cabbage salad.
 
If you don't file taxes, but expect a stimulus check: Turbotax

DH found it.

The IRS will use the information on the Form SSA-1099 and Form RRB-1099 to generate $1,200 Economic Impact Payments to Social Security recipients who did not file tax returns in 2018 or 2019. Recipients will receive these payments as a direct deposit or by paper check, just as they would normally receive their benefits.

Social Security Recipients Will Automatically Receive Economic Impact Payments | U.S. Department of the Treasury
 
I needed a few things, Costco was too busy, I didn't even bother with Walmart. I went to Target. Lots of people were wearing masks. Target has increased their grocery area.

Target was not very busy. I went to self check.
 
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