Grocery shopping tips during Coronavirus quarantine #3

[mickey2942]

Had to go to Costco tonight, the place was absolutely dead empty. Good information, Tuesday and Friday night, you have a warehouse to yourself.

 

[155etta]

I hadn't seen many of these produce hacks before.

You can't BEET these fruit and vegetable hacks!

 

[LadyL]

Walmart order is awaiting pickup.

This time I have a couple of questions about 'substitutions'.

Ordered two sweet potatoes and am getting one.

Ordered four bananas and am getting ONE.

I like bananas!! Are they being rationed now???

Does this seem 'odd' to anyone else?

Dont know if I should call customer service or not, they might take away my ONE banana!

Anyone??

ETA: Called customer service and they say there was a 'glitch in the system'. hmm
My robotic shopper was having a bad night??

I ordered three bananas and they gave me six last time - before Christmas I ordered two large foil pans and they gave me ... wait for it ... ELEVEN

yes I still have 9 lol

 

[PayrollNerd]

Over the past several months, I was given a lot of meat items from the food bank. So much so that I simply cannot eat it all. Like a 5lb bag of chicken leg quarters, 3 lbs of sausage links, a 3 lb ham, 2 quart cartons of frozen eggs, etc. Today, I went thru my freezer and pulled out food I knew I couldn’t use timely.

I met up with my friend that has 3 grandsons. Her daughter’s husband is the one who had a stroke at age 49 back last summer. Their boys are about 6, 11 and 14. The husband is now back working part time.

My friend went straight to her daughter’s house with all the food, mainly meat but a little produce too. Her daughter had just come from Aldi’s and apparently hadn’t been able to purchase much. When my friend showed her what I sent, she nearly dissolved into tears.

I read about these cases of children being starved and it just breaks my heart. There are hard working families out there that simply cannot feed their growing children enough food.

Pay it forward, whatever that looks like.

 

[LadyL]

Over the past several months, I was given a lot of meat items from the food bank. So much so that I simply cannot eat it all. Like a 5lb bag of chicken leg quarters, 3 lbs of sausage links, a 3 lb ham, 2 quart cartons of frozen eggs, etc. Today, I went thru my freezer and pulled out food I knew I couldn’t use timely.

I met up with my friend that has 3 grandsons. Her daughter’s husband is the one who had a stroke at age 49 back last summer. Their boys are about 6, 11 and 14. The husband is now back working part time.

My friend went straight to her daughter’s house with all the food, mainly meat but a little produce too. Her daughter had just come from Aldi’s and apparently hadn’t been able to purchase much. When my friend showed her what I sent, she nearly dissolved into tears.

I read about these cases of children being starved and it just breaks my heart. There are hard working families out there that simply cannot feed their growing children enough food.

Pay it forward, whatever that looks like.

aww that's awesome
glad you were able to share

 

[LadyL]

I hadn't seen many of these produce hacks before.

You can't BEET these fruit and vegetable hacks!

definitely gonna do the baking soda tip for spinach, strawberries, and kale - I hate pesticides!
thanks for posting

 

[PayrollNerd]

I hadn't seen many of these produce hacks before.

You can't BEET these fruit and vegetable hacks!

I just watched this. I actually do some of this, particularly the greens. I have this Insta Hot thing at my kitchen sink. I never thought to use it to get the wax off the apples. I’ve been scrubbing them all this time. Duh. LOL!

 

[JDG]

What to do?? What to do??

Bought a double 'bag' of Pillars Sliced Ham from Walmart, it came Tuesday.

Got it out for tonight and the Best By Date is tomorrow!!!!

So, I didnt open it. I am well past the three day time limit for calling Customer Service but dont really want to 'suck it up' price wise and throw it out.

Am I wrong to expect a double section of ham to have a much later BBD??

What would you do??

 

[Panhypopit]

What to do?? What to do??

Bought a double 'bag' of Pillars Sliced Ham from Walmart, it came Tuesday.

Got it out for tonight and the Best By Date is tomorrow!!!!

So, I didnt open it. I am well past the three day time limit for calling Customer Service but dont really want to 'suck it up' price wise and throw it out.

Am I wrong to expect a double section of ham to have a much later BBD??

What would you do??

I would julienne the ham and freeze in small quantities if you can’t get your money back. We use it in omelettes, on home made pizzas, in soups... you may take a long time going through all of that!

 

[PayrollNerd]

What to do?? What to do??

Bought a double 'bag' of Pillars Sliced Ham from Walmart, it came Tuesday.

Got it out for tonight and the Best By Date is tomorrow!!!!

So, I didnt open it. I am well past the three day time limit for calling Customer Service but dont really want to 'suck it up' price wise and throw it out.

Am I wrong to expect a double section of ham to have a much later BBD??

What would you do??

I would freeze it. I just took a package a sliced turkey breast out of the freezer last Tuesday? It had a July 2020 date. But it’s been frozen the entire time.

 

[JDG]

Thank you PayrollNerd and Panhypopit.

Do I need 'freezer bags' per se or can I use unused produce plastic bags?

Have a lot of unused produce bags but not freezer bags.

I've never frozen ham before but there's a first time for everything, right?

Thanks again!

 

[PayrollNerd]

Thank you PayrollNerd and Panhypopit.

Do I need 'freezer bags' per se or can I use unused produce plastic bags?

Have a lot of unused produce bags but not freezer bags.

I've never frozen ham before but there's a first time for everything, right?

Thanks again!

I rarely use actual freezer bags. I use sandwich baggies or plastic wrap, then load them into a bigger gallon baggie or even a container. As long as you get the air out, it should not get freezer burned.

 

[mickey2942]

What to do?? What to do??

Bought a double 'bag' of Pillars Sliced Ham from Walmart, it came Tuesday.

Got it out for tonight and the Best By Date is tomorrow!!!!

So, I didnt open it. I am well past the three day time limit for calling Customer Service but dont really want to 'suck it up' price wise and throw it out.

Am I wrong to expect a double section of ham to have a much later BBD??

What would you do??

That is the drawback of someone else doing your shopping. I got some potatoes a week or so ago, that didn't look that good to me. I wouldn't have put them in my cart. However, the absolute convenience for me, little things just are not that big of a deal. I used the potatoes, cut out the bad parts.

Ham freezes well, because there is so much moisture in it.

 

[Panhypopit]

Same as in plastic wrap etc.. we started wrapping whatever tightly in wrap, and then putting smaller portions in a big zip lock so we know what it is, and then we can take out a portion or two, and let the rest stay frozen. Buying is so hit or miss...

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

During the holidays, Nino's always has bins of whole nuts (in shells) in the produce department. They order just enough for the holidays - (pre-Thanksgiving until early January), and when the nuts are gone, they're gone. Meijer seems to do the same thing, but they had whole walnuts and almonds for a couple weeks longer than Nino's. We were buying at least a pound every week as soon as they were available because we love feeding the squirrels nesting in oak trees behind our home. They are so cute and entertaining, and they seem to appreciate the nut supply. At the very least, they know which house to visit when they're hungry - LOL! We used up the last of the almonds yesterday and had squirrels here this morning expecting to be fed. Sorry, guys You'll have to wait a few days for whole walnuts (10 pounds) that DH found on an online source for bulk nuts. Supply should suffice for the remainder of the winter.

 

[Yesiamapirate]

During the holidays, Nino's always has bins of whole nuts (in shells) in the produce department. They order just enough for the holidays - (pre-Thanksgiving until early January), and when the nuts are gone, they're gone. Meijer seems to do the same thing, but they had whole walnuts and almonds for a couple weeks longer than Nino's. We were buying at least a pound every week as soon as they were available because we love feeding the squirrels nesting in oak trees behind our home. They are so cute and entertaining, and they seem to appreciate the nut supply. At the very least, they know which house to visit when they're hungry - LOL! We used up the last of the almonds yesterday and had squirrels here this morning expecting to be fed. Sorry, guys You'll have to wait a few days for whole walnuts (10 pounds) that DH found on an online source for bulk nuts. Supply should suffice for the remainder of the winter.

Mr Pirate loves those nuts! He stocks up every holiday season.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

That is the drawback of someone else doing your shopping. I got some potatoes a week or so ago, that didn't look that good to me. I wouldn't have put them in my cart. However, the absolute convenience for me, little things just are not that big of a deal. I used the potatoes, cut out the bad parts...

This is one of the reasons that I won't even consider curb-side pickup or delivery. I like to select my own produce, and I'm pretty picky about fish, poultry, and meats when I buy them. I have watched the professional "shoppers" at Nino's, and they certainly don't take much time in choosing items for customers' shopping carts. I understand the goal of efficiency in fulfilling customer orders especially during the pandemic when many people are using curbside or delivery services. If I were to order two Idaho baking potatoes, I don't want to end up with one super-big potato and one that is much smaller. When I'm going to bake potatoes, I want them to be about the same size and shape so they bake evenly and are done at the same time.

Since last March when Michigan's governor pretty much put the state on lockdown, I have only left the house for a weekly trip to Nino's for groceries, a handful of medical/dental appointments, physical therapy, three haircuts, three manicures/pedicures, dinner out five times (when it was allowed), and a holiday trip to my sister's. That's it. A weekly grocery outing is necessary for my mental health

 

[Panhypopit]

That reminds me of a meme (of course I can’t find the picture) of don’t send your husband to the store... it had a picture of 5 normal even potatoes and one teeny weeny one.
You know it happens... it even happens in the bag which is annoying...

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

That reminds me of a meme (of course I can’t find the picture) of don’t send your husband to the store... it had a picture of 5 normal even potatoes and one teeny weeny one.
You know it happens... it even happens in the bag which is annoying...

LOL! After nearly 50 years of marriage, I've got DH pretty well trained He likes to shop and is good at it

We don't always have potatoes in the pantry and tend to buy them only when we know we'll eat them. I usually buy small cartons of fingerlings, Yukon golds, or baby red potatoes for roasting. If I'm baking potatoes or making mashed spuds, I hand select loose russets. I know what you mean about a 10# sack of taters. There might be five or six large potatoes for baking, but the rest are usually quite small, not to mention the two or three that are rotten and get tossed.

 

[Panhypopit]

Yum! My husband is now a good shopper... he had a few hiccups in the beginning (the infamous strawberry fluff incident...a huge jar... he thought I liked it um maybe the regular when I was a kid?) he got a little hung up on sales then realized oh, we are only getting weird stuff, but it was hard to plan meals... then he started to think meals when he shopped and it is way better. He has had to take shopping over for the most part so glad he can do it well now.
Mmmmm fingerling potatoes....