What's on your grocery list?

amother

Olive

Tue, Nov 17 2015, 5:36 am

I find that I am constantly shopping but am always scrounging for food and hungry with nothing in the house.

When I go to store I get the following:
- Fruit
- Salad veggies
- potatoes
- onions
- Only any other veggie if I'm planning on making soup otherwise they go bad
- one package of chicken (1/2 suppers)
- tuna fish
- cereal
- milk
-eggs
- Rice/bulgur/couscos

I want to have stuff stocked up so I don't have to go to the grocery store every time I think of something I want to eat/make. What do you have in your pantries/freezers?

lfab

Tue, Nov 17 2015, 10:01 am

These are things that are regularly stocked in my pantry/freezer/fridge. Some are non-perishable and I always make sure I have in the house. Others are perishable and need to be restocked each week (I.e fruits and veggies, milk, etc.).

Freezer:
Bread
Pita
Rolls/bagels
Chicken (that I've already cleaned and divided into meal sized portions)
Chopped meat (again divided into meal sized portions)
Tilapia/Salmon
frozen waffles
Fozen broccolli
Frozen corn
Frozen green beans
Garlic cubes
Plus any food that I've cooked ahead (meatballs, sloppy joes, deli roll, cakes, cookies, soups, carrot/apple kugels, challah etc.)

Pantry:
Peanut butter/soybutter
brown rice
Couscous
baarley
Pasta-various types including spaghetti and lasagne noodles
pasta sauce
tomatoe sauce
canned corn
tuna fish
rice cakes
crackers-graham, tea biscuits, the round ones but I don't recall the name
granola bars
flour
sugar
brown sugar
chocolate chips
cocoa powder
ketchup
mustard
various spices/sauces that I use regularly-(I.e. worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, etc.)
ground coffee
bread crumbs/cornflake crumbs
oil
cooking spray (pam)
potatoes
onions
sweet potatoes
various cereals
Snacks for kids to take to school-popcorn, cornpops, popcorners, veggie chips, pretzels

Fridge:
Various sauces/condiments that need to be refrigerated after opening
eggs
milk
yogurt
cheese
deli meat
fruits-(depending on season- apples, pears, melon, grapes, bananas, clementines, peaches, plums, nectarines, etc.)
veggies- peppers of various colors, tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms

Whew! that's all I can think of off the top of my head.

amother

Beige

Tue, Nov 17 2015, 11:55 am

I have a general menu in my head. Sunday is leftovers. Monday is Mac N Cheese or s/t else milchig. Tuesday is something fleishig: stir fry, chicken etc. Wednes: (DH gets home close to midnight) is something easy like hot dogs / deli / sandwiches. Thursday: Something tuna based. (I'd think most ppl would like s/t easy for Thurs., but for me Wednes. is when I need easy.) Shabbos is well Shabbos!

So hmm, let's try to think of my shopping list. This is what I generally need in 1-2 months. Sometimes less sometimes more. Hope I get everything and hope this is helpful!

-laundry detergent
-fabric softener (no drier)
-paper goods: plastic spoons/forks/plates/cups/bowls
-aluminum pans
-Shabbos tissues
-diapers
-wipes
-formula
-olive oil (could last longer or shorter depending on what I make)
-canola oil
-lemon juice
-mayonnaise
-peanut butter
-jelly
-ketchup
-pickles
-corn
-frozen whole fish
-chulent meat (unless I get from a meat order. In that case, it lasts me about a half a year.)
-barley
-bulgar
-couscous
-chicken
-soy sauce (also varies how long takes to use up)
-sweet chili sauce
-garlic (use it up fast)
-tomato paste
-dark olives
-lots of whole wheat bread
-rolls
-vegetables
-fruit (whatever is cheap)
-baby corn (for stir fry)
-heart of palm (occasionally for Shabbos)
-noodles: lukshen, spaghetti, mac n cheese style
-canned pineapple
-sliced cheese or shredded cheese
-cottage cheese
-milk
-cereal
-snacks: either pretzels, crackers, chips, cookies, bamba, biscuits (some of these are for DD to take to the babysitter or else DD takes other kids)
-wine
-soda or fruit flavored drinks (for Shabbos)
-potatoes
-onions (started getting lots of potatoes and onions and putting them in the fridge)
-flour
-brown sugar
-white sugar
-oatmeal
-granola (occasionally)
-eggs
-tuna
-babaganosh (occasionally for Shabbos)
-challah
-gefilte fish rolls
-roasted liver
-chocolate chips

ETA, seems like many amothers. OK, I'll join too.

zaq

Tue, Nov 17 2015, 3:06 pm

My list usually consists of whatever is on sale this week that I need or want to stock up on. Milk, bread, eggs, produce and chicken for Shabbos (also frozen fish) are about the only things I buy regularly regardless of price, mainly because a. they are perishable staples we can't stock up on or substitute with something else; b. we use all the time and c. they virtually never go on sale. Everything else, almost, I try to buy when it's on sale if at all possible.

You could do the same. If you stock up on staples when they're on sale, you could have your pantry fully stocked within three months or less. With time you can get an idea of how much you use of each item and figure out whether having one new container in the pantry means you're fine for three months at least or panic-red-alert. I would panic with one can of tuna in the pantry, but a jar of mayo lasts me for months. YMMV.

Try to adapt your consumption to the sale timetable rather than have a rigid schedule that says "asparagus with strawberries for dinner every third week" . Buy when it's reasonably priced and sub something else when it's not.

ra_mom

Tue, Nov 17 2015, 4:44 pm

amother wrote:

I make a menu for the week, listing breakfast lunch and supper ingredients for all members of the household, and buy accordingly.
Meat, chicken, fish, cheese, eggs, milk, yogurts, bread, pasta, oatmeal, cereal, tuna, rice, potatoes, vegetables for 7 days of lunches and suppers, fruits for every day.
Snack bags and drinks for the week. Condiments, tomato sauce, onions, garlic.
Frozen pizza for Friday afternoons or motzei shabbos and frozen French fries for emergency side dish.
Ingredients for dips and challah.