Grocery shopping tips during Coronavirus quarantine #3

[BetteDavisEyes]

Ours was today but I didn’t dare put anything out since I’m still testing positive for Covid. I have a number of items I’d like to share tho. I know someone can eat peanut butter!! Just not us. Maybe once I’m better, I can set a box of items out with a free sign.

I always include peanut butter and beans with food donations. Both are good sources of protein and have long shelf life.

Sorry to learn that you are not over Covid yet. I hope you feel better soon and that you won't have lasting side effects that might interfere with your overall health and well-being.

Happy Mother's Day!

 

[PayrollNerd]

My good friend went to 2 food pickups this morning, showed them a photo of my card, brought it all inside and put most of it away. She went to Publix and got milk too. So now I have many choices and don’t have to cook too much.

I was happy to get catfish filets!! When I get better, I’m going to fry some up. I have to find a recipe for hush puppies too. I am not sure what to do with ground chicken. I am not a fan of Greek yogurt but this has fruit. I am going to try it. Lots of English Muffins.

 

[JrzyGirl70]

Sorry to hear you are still testing positive PayrollNerd. Hopefully you will turn the corner soon. I make Chicken parmesan meatloaf or Asian Chicken lettuce wraps with ground chicken. Not sure if either of those would work with your allergies, but both are pretty good.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Sorry to hear you are still testing positive PayrollNerd. Hopefully you will turn the corner soon. I make Chicken parmesan meatloaf or Asian Chicken lettuce wraps with ground chicken. Not sure if either of those would work with your allergies, but both are pretty good.

Good suggestions. Ground chicken doesn't have much fat and is quite dry. I'd make a Bolognese with plenty of veggies for moisture and serve over pasta.

 

[PayrollNerd]

If you’re looking for cereal, CVS is having a sale. $1.99 a box with your CVS card. I like that they’re regular size boxes, not the huge ones.

Cereal & Breakfast Bars - CVS Pharmacy

Shop Cereal & Breakfast options at CVS. Get FAST FREE SHIPPING on the best products in the industry at the lowest prices. Browse through photos and reviews to find exactly what you’re looking for!

www.cvs.com

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

A Tomato Tale.
When DH goes to a grocery store (Ninos, Meijer, or Kroger), he usually gets only what's on a written list or specific items that we need. He'll occasionally get fresh flowers or a snack if he's going to be watching sports.

We had tomatoes and didn't really need more, but DH couldn't resist buying a beautiful large heirloom tomato even though they weren't on sale. The bright red tomato weighed more than a pound: Heirloom tomatoes were 2.99#, and this beauty was $4.00. DH said that he had to buy it because I might not have believed him if he described it.

I carefully sliced the tomato along the natural grooves with a serrated knife and arranged the slices on a plate. I sprinkled the tomato slices with Kosher salt. We ate the tomato instead of a salad with our dinner. The heirloom tomato was delicious.
The End.

 

[PayrollNerd]

Today was produce pick up day. The amount was helpful for me as I don't need much most of the time. But I'm sure the people with families would need more. I just need to find a home for the mushrooms. I'm not sure how long plantains last. My oldest is on a ship in the Gulf until Sunday so I can't give them to her. I need to see if anyone else wants them. I've got those luscious looking grapes washed and chilling in the fridge. The peaches are on the window sill to finish ripening. I LOVE peaches!! I'm going to sit outside and shuck corn. Then I'll cook it up, wrap them individually and freeze them in a baggie. My youngest still has her hand in a brace so I'll chop the red onion for her.

 

[anneg]

A Tomato Tale.
When DH goes to a grocery store (Ninos, Meijer, or Kroger), he usually gets only what's on a written list or specific items that we need. He'll occasionally get fresh flowers or a snack if he's going to be watching sports.

We had tomatoes and didn't really need more, but DH couldn't resist buying a beautiful large heirloom tomato even though they weren't on sale. The bright red tomato weighed more than a pound: Heirloom tomatoes were 2.99#, and this beauty was $4.00. DH said that he had to buy it because I might not have believed him if he described it.

I carefully sliced the tomato along the natural grooves with a serrated knife and arranged the slices on a plate. I sprinkled the tomato slices with Kosher salt. We ate the tomato instead of a salad with our dinner. The heirloom tomato was delicious.
The End.

Seems like there should be a picture or two!

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Seems like there should be a picture or two!

We've never done photo sharing. If we take pictures, they go into a file on my computer. If I post a photo, my name, account information, etc. will show up. For privacy and safety reasons, I don't share photos. Sorry. DH sends/receives photos on his cell phone.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Today was produce pick up day. The amount was helpful for me as I don't need much most of the time. But I'm sure the people with families would need more. I just need to find a home for the mushrooms. I'm not sure how long plantains last. My oldest is on a ship in the Gulf until Sunday so I can't give them to her. I need to see if anyone else wants them. I've got those luscious looking grapes washed and chilling in the fridge. The peaches are on the window sill to finish ripening. I LOVE peaches!! I'm going to sit outside and shuck corn. Then I'll cook it up, wrap them individually and freeze them in a baggie. My youngest still has her hand in a brace so I'll chop the red onion for her.

Frozen grapes are a sweet treat I also put frozen grapes in smoothies instead of ice cubes.

 

[PayrollNerd]

I cooked up that corn on the cob and gobbled one up! Yum! I wrapped the other 4 in parchment paper then in foil and put them in the freezer. I can take out one at a time when I want one. Only one ear wasn't salvageable.

 

[PayrollNerd]

I ate all 6 peaches for breakfast. They were more white on the inside than the other type. I didn’t care tho. They smelled so good. The plantains seem to be doing ok in the fridge. I’ve just about demolished the grapes too.

I noticed the prices at Publix yesterday were so high. There were a lot of drinks like Gatorade, juice boxes, etc. The milk display had holes, particularly the Publix brand. The cereal and breakfast bars were well stocked. Not much on sale. My Lipton tea bags were finally BOGO. I was down to 1 box. I was going to get Diet Pepsi but it was $6.49 for a 6 pack of 20 oz bottles. Outrageous. I’ll stick with my iced tea.

I feel like I need a shelving unit to stack my extras on. I have stuff sitting everywhere. It’s too hot & humid in the garage to store food. I have to think on that for a bit.

 

[LadyL]

we need this in Canada too

Plane carrying more than 75,000 pounds of imported baby formula lands in US

 

[PayrollNerd]

Dollar General’s shelves were bare. I’ve never seen that store so understocked. It’s right in the heart of a very low tax based area so it gets lots of business. I noticed the prices of things were not really any less than a grocery store. They had 2 liters of Pepsi 3/$10 but very few of them. They had the boxes of cans also 3/$10 but that is way too much for me.

I left without buying anything. I would feel bad buying from that store, when much of their customer base, doesn’t typically have a car. It’s like a food desert there. I can drive to another area whereas many cannot. It breaks my heart to see people walking with bags in nearly 100 degree weather.

 

[PayrollNerd]

I went to two produce pick ups, 1 yesterday and 1 today. There’s 1 tomorrow also. The food bank now does all produce every other week. I have a lot of veggie prep all at once.

The eggs are brown which I don’t normally buy. The plantains are green so my oldest says they’ll be good for awhile. That ricotta cheese sure makes it tempting to do lasagna.

I think tomato sandwich, maybe with a slice of ham & cheese, will be dinner.

 

[anneg]

I went to two produce pick ups, 1 yesterday and 1 today. There’s 1 tomorrow also. The food bank now does all produce every other week. I have a lot of veggie prep all at once.

The eggs are brown which I don’t normally buy. The plantains are green so my oldest says they’ll be good for awhile. That ricotta cheese sure makes it tempting to do lasagna.

I think tomato sandwich, maybe with a slice of ham & cheese, will be dinner.

I like spinach and ricotta in pasta dishes. Instead of lasagna noodles, I have used penne, bowties, or pasta shells. Marinara or meat sauce and shredded Italian cheeses in addition to ricotta. Now I want to fix this for dinner but don't have any ricotta on hand. Too bad!

 

[kalvis]

Those fresh tomatoes look delicious! BLT’s. Yum!

 

[PayrollNerd]

My friends are getting into this food trade thing I've got going on! LOL!!! Last night one brought me a sack of sugar that she found in her pantry. I gave her mushrooms and that cut up pineapple. She doesn't bake but she cooks really well.We are allergic to mushrooms so a win win for all.

On Sunday afternoon, I put bags of canned goods and boxes of dry goods on the curb and wrote Free Food on them. Then I texted my neighbors. By Monday morning, which was trash day, all the food was gone. I didn't want to throw it away and I can't lift it into the actual postal office's lobby either. I literally rolled it on my dolly to the curb. This is stuff I cannot possibly consume, like 20 cans of fruit, 10 cans of veggies, 3 bags of instant potatoes, 8 cans of tuna, 12 boxes of macaroni and cheese like what kids eat, etc. etc. I found some more cans in a cabinet in the garage. I will put that out this Sunday. It feels good to get the food clutter off my agenda. I feel better knowing someone I care about is not going hungry.

Today I ordered toilet bowl cleaner on Amazon. This will sound ridiculous but there is one type that doesn't give me a migraine. Lysol Mango scented gel. I had to order a 4 pack and it will be a week before they arrive.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

No, you're not imagining it — package sizes are shrinking

From toilet paper to yogurt to corn chips, manufacturers are quietly shrinking package sizes without lowering prices. It’s dubbed “shrinkflation,” and it’s accelerating worldwide.

www.detroitnews.com

From toilet paper to yogurt and coffee to corn chips, manufacturers are quietly shrinking package sizes without lowering prices. It’s dubbed “shrinkflation,” and it’s accelerating worldwide.

In the U.S., a small box of Kleenex now has 60 tissues; a few months ago, it had 65. Chobani Flips yogurts have shrunk from 5.3 ounces to 4.5 ounces. In the U.K., Nestle slimmed down its Nescafe Azera Americano coffee tins from 100 grams to 90 grams. In India, a bar of Vim dish soap has shrunk from 155 grams to 135 grams.

Shrinkflation isn’t new, experts say. But it proliferates in times of high inflation as companies grapple with rising costs for ingredients, packaging, labor and transportation. Global consumer price inflation was up an estimated 7% in May, a pace that will likely continue through September, according to S&P Global...

 

[PayrollNerd]

I’ve noticed the packages shrinking a lot and the prices are higher too. There were so many items that I wanted but didn’t buy. I am trying to stick with sale items as much as possible.

My low sodium turkey breast at the Winn Dixie deli was $12.99/lb! I only get a 1/2 lb every couple weeks but it essentially doubled in price. It doesn’t seem to matter where I buy it, that is the price.

I did finally find a 6 pack of 20 oz Diet Pepsi bottles for $3.33 at Walmart. They used to be 2 for $5 but they’re still 20 oz. They are a treat for the beach usually so I don’t buy them often.