Grocery shopping

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I neglected to mention that
a) I get my eggs from a poultry place on the highway -- the eggs aren't cheap, but they are fresh and huge. I tend to buy 4 dozen at a time, as we use them for baking, egg muffins (breakfasts) and of course, just normal eggs.
b) I buy big bags of chicken breasts from the same place, when they are on sale, and then separate into small bags for freezers
c) i buy pork from a small farm owned by a friend of my sons -- not cheap, but, dang it is good
d) I buy beef less frequently, but, from a butcher that is quite close to the poultry place. They have a market stall at St. Lawrence Market.

Then, I also buy discount meat if I see it and throw it in the freezer. Picked up 3 roasts that way the other week.

I like to get vegetables at the local fruit stand again, close to the butcher & poultry place, which sells local farm products. it is more expensive but....it is a good thing to do. I agree, @ChemGal that fresh vegetables can be anythign but fresh.

We used to buy bagged salad. I know shudder at the price of them and the quality. On occasion, I still buy them, for a hurry dinner / salad

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What I never cooked before was soup. I just didn't like the taste of any soups that i made.
A year or so ago, I finally got the concept of a good broth. (Don't ask me how many times I ended up tossing a broth that I made). Now, I alway make a turkey broth, then throw it in the freezer in mason jars.
Wow, my soups have become quit etasty, even youngest son eats them.

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if veggies are getting close to age, I cut them up, and throw them in the freezer.
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We created a leftover shelf in our fridge.
all leftovers go on that shelf, and if someone need a lunch, then, they know what to grab. We also regularly have leftover meals where everything comes out of the fridge and is eaten.
it used to be fairly common to throw away mouldy food. Doesn't happen o much any more.
 
That sound exhausting to me, Pinga. Good for you for doing it.

These days, food is fuel. I just want to eat something and get it over with. I still enjoy some food more than others, but making meals, doing all the prep and clean-up. That's a lot of work.

I'm not lazy (or I can be if I'm feeling down and depressed I guess - looks like lazy to everybody else, don't judge me) but if I use up all my remaining time and energy on food - making food, thinking about food, keeping track of what needs using up, prepping, cleaning up, watching all the sales and trying to get to more than one store and back - and first I take a long time just to get ready to go out - I can't enjoy much else. Can't do anything important to me, which requires deeper thought to do than cooking - my mental energy is used up too. Cooking isn't a satisfying endeavour for me. It's just a series of chores. I end up inevitably wasting food (unless it's frozen, dry, or canned) if I don't buy single portions at a time, or things I can just pop into my little freezer and heat in the microwave. It used to be more enjoyable. It particularly was when we occasionally had company. At least I'm eating less now that food is mostly just fuel. That's not a bad thing for me.

I made nachos (loaded with extra stuff), made guacamole, and frozen ready to eat appy's for company Christmas season 2019 - or shortly before. A little housewarming for my place here. Just 5 of us. That's the last time I had company. Everybody sharing from the same platter! Seems weird now. Will probably never do that again! And we played board games. Can't do that either! Sigh. That's so sad. (That goes under unintended consequences of covid)
 
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Also - when it was two of us it was two brains keeping track, and two mouths using stuff up. He ate everything in the house. Like a growing teenager who never gets fat. He has a higher metabolism. Couldn't keep enough food in the fridge then! I'd go to get something I bought the day before and it'd be gone!
 
Sometimes I think I could probably just survive off a case of Boost. I've thought about it when I can't think of what to buy or eat or budget. I have thought before, why don't I just buy a case of Boost so I don't have to think about food? Especially when I can't think about budgets, coordinating meals. I just can't sometimes. But then I'd crave something probably, and go out and get it once I came out of that phase/ funk. I could live off of toast and peanut butter, and some apples. I have before for days. And I surprisingly still love peanut butter. It's dysfunctional but I never claimed to be perfect. I have some unique challenges. Or maybe it's not that bad but it's just not up to typical expectations. I don't need to be typical - nobody's here to care if I'm typical - I just need sustenance.
 
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Can anyone relate to hating meal planning and cooking - any domestically challenged singles - or am I the only one?

I see guys in the grocery store loading up on frozen pizza and stuff like that, and some fruit - 30 somethings probably single, but healthy looking - and I'm like "I can relate!" If it's okay for men to do that because other things are more important to them than cooking and shopping, why not me? When it's men, people have different expectations. But women judge other women. It's not fair. I'm not a domestic "woman's work" type, except for decorating because it's kind of artistic and I like my place to look and feel comfortable even when it's a really an expensive hovel. What my place looks and feels like to be in it, is more important to me than what I cook. I tried to be domesticated for awhile but it's not how I'm wired. It's not impossible, but I resent it. Done with it for now. Maybe I'll go through another domestic phase again.
 
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It's okay. Frozen pizza (again Dr Oatkers is pretty darn good and even has spinach on several of them) and fresh fruit could be worse. Even a peanut butter sandwich and some carrot sticks and some canned misestrone soup is not too bad for the diet, really. We're spoiled in Canada to eat whatever we want, fresh all year long. It's not necessary.
 
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Kimmio Laughterlove said:
Sometimes I think I could probably just survive off a case of Boost. I've thought about it when I can't think of what to buy or eat or budget. I have thought before, why don't I just buy a case of Boost so I don't have to think about food? Especially when I can't think about budgets, coordinating meals. I just can't sometimes. But then I'd crave something probably, and go out and get it once I came out of that phase/ funk. I could live off of toast and peanut butter, and some apples. I have before for days. And I surprisingly still love peanut butter. It's dysfunctional but I never claimed to be perfect. I have some unique challenges. Or maybe it's not that bad but it's just not up to typical expectations. I don't need to be typical - nobody's here to care if I'm typical - I just need sustenance.
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I used them for a year or 2 when I danced. Wasn't really a full meal replacement then, but I didn't have the time to eat a meal between classes one day a week with the schedule without making myself sick. I think I had a 15 minute break. I'd quickly eat a bit after school, spend most of the evening at the dance studio and then have a late supper.

I make use of frozen microwaveable meals now. Often lunch when I'm alone, they become the occasional dinner ones too. Depends on what's around for leftovers or if I want something else. Considering I'm often dragging myself out of bed at 1 or 2 pm - I rarely get through the day without a long nap at some point and my sleep schedule is off - it's easy to not think, especially when my dexterity isn't fully up then too.

I'll do other easy things too, bagels, cucumbers or baby carrots and hummus, yogurt.

Dinners by myself I don't mind doing veggies - roasted, a salad, etc. The meat though, that's where the M&M style stuff is handy - other places sell it too, I liked broccoli stuffed chicken breast, individually wrapped. I try to keep a box of meatballs on hand too, easy to pop in the microwaves. Also nice to have if he unexpectedly has to work late. If he was gone more I would use the slow cooker more and would freeze at least half. Now when we do it I tend to end up eating leftovers for lunch and dinner, and with Chemguy eating it for dinner too we rarely need to freeze. I would probably also use slow cooker bags. With my energy levels, cooking does take up a fair bit, as it is I often need to sit down after a bit just due to being totally exhausted or getting lightheaded. We use the bags sometimes but if it were just me they would be an every time thing I would guess.

Non-COVID times I really do like the idea of the companies where you go in and assemble meals, but most of the prep work is complete. I'm picky with spice and have some strong dislikes too, so that seems preferable to the it's all assembled and just go and pick it up (I assume what they are doing exclusively now). The issue, I haven't found one that's allergy friendly other than peanuts/nuts, which isn't my concern.
 
I get sore/ tired standing at the stove balancing. My balance isn't good and I could easily stumble and burn myself or cut myself or fall while carrying something. The fewer cooking steps, and fewer steps to and from the fridge carrying things, the better. And then I don't have a dishwasher so I hate making a mess.
 
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M&M is a bit pricey. And the only location I know of is far from me now. PC makes some frozen meals that are just as good. And some Western Family dinners are pretty good too - like Butter Chicken, or Thai Red Curry Chicken (it's almost as good as the Thai restaurant I like and about 1/3 - 1/5 the price!) Theyre substantial and sometimes they're on sale for $2.99. Shoppers has some groceries and those PC dinners are often on for $2.99. They take one step, and about 5 1/2 minutes. They're great.
 
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I could live on peanut butter in toast with apples and carrots

and I can totally get that it is hard to cook for one and it can be very tiring

i do like one pot meals that you don’t have to fuss over. Throw all the stew things inthe pot. Stick it inthe oven. For the day and then eat
 
Kimmio Laughterlove said:
M&M is a bit pricey. And the only location I know of is far from me now. PC makes some frozen meals that are just as good. And some Western Family dinners are pretty good too - like Butter Chicken, or Thai Red Curry Chicken (it's almost as good as the Thai restaurant I like and about 1/3 - 1/5 the price!) Theyre substantial and sometimes they're on sale for $2.99. Shoppers has some groceries and those PC dinners are often on for $2.99. They take one step, and about 5 1/2 minutes. They're great.
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Yes, we buy these from Superstore, typically when on sale - Real Canadian Superstore Supermarket | Grocery shop online or instore
Costco has something similar.

There are other types but I stick to the broccoli. The M&Ms ones used to be like $2.39 or something when I was in school, haven't bought them there in a while. They are now over $5 for one - yikes!
 
For frozen meals I mostly have the Walmart's Our Finest. Chemguy keeps a little stack in the freezer at work for lazy days when he doesn't bring his lunch plus the many many times he forgets it at the door. Funny, they used to be some of the cheaper options but the price has gone up on those while prices of some other brands dropped. The meat and vegetables are good quality in them though, I found lots were using chicken that would be chewy and I would gag. I used to like the PC ones but they changed them all out a while ago. Was not impressed when they dropped the white mac & cheese (frozen). One of the unhealthier options but I would get cravings for it at times and my nausea can be weird, sometimes something like fruit is good, other times I want carby, fatty little change in consistency bites.
 
ChemGal said:
For frozen meals I mostly have the Walmart's Our Finest. Chemguy keeps a little stack in the freezer at work for lazy days when he doesn't bring his lunch plus the many many times he forgets it at the door. Funny, they used to be some of the cheaper options but the price has gone up on those while prices of some other brands dropped. The meat and vegetables are good quality in them though, I found lots were using chicken that would be chewy and I would gag. I used to like the PC ones but they changed them all out a while ago. Was not impressed when they dropped the white mac & cheese (frozen). One of the unhealthier options but I would get cravings for it at times and my nausea can be weird, sometimes something like fruit is good, other times I want carby, fatty little change in consistency bites.
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I’ve found Western Family, compliments, and President’s Choice to be better quality than the Walmart store brands, in my experience. I don’t like grocery shopping at Walmart generally. I don’t mind for toiletries and socks! But the lines are ridiculously long. Carts are loaded to the gills. Kids screaming. I avoid Walmart. Sometimes...but not since covid, I’ll go out there (it’s not very close), out of curiosity, to see what deals I can find but I never set out to get something specific there. My former roommate bought everything there. So when we ran out of something like compostable bags or dish soap (if I reminded her) she’d replace it with Walmart brand and it wasn’t as good. It worked, it just wasn’t as good. I didn’t complain or anything - actually I told her I didn’t care about brands, so that’s on me. Canadian Tire brand “Franks” is good quality for lots of items, actually, including household/ cleaning items. And even snacks! I have to admit their marketing is cute. “Frank does the Dishes” “Frank takes out the Trash” or whatever the little sayings are on the products. There’s one for every “Frank’s” item. It is cute. But it’s also good quality and price.

The chicken in the PC and Western Family meals I mentioned isn’t chewy. It tastes fresh, actually. I had a Michelina’s dinner with chicken - chicken fried rice - yesterday, and the chicken was chewy, though. i think I’ll buy the store brand of those small ones too (the Thai chicken I mentioned is twice the size). No point in buying brand name just because the picture/ package looks nicer. They’re exactly the same, and sometimes better, and .25 cheaper. When Michelina’s is on for $1.25 each, those are only $1.00. I don’t know why I got sucked into paying an extra .25. I guess because they were side by side (or on a shelf right above) and the Michelina’s “looks” more appealing. Or maybe it was easier to reach. Sometimes it comes down to that, if it’s only a few cents difference, I’ll take what I can reach. I’m embarrassed to ask somebody to help me reach the cheapest frozen dinners on the bottom shelf! How’s that for internalized white privilege and ableism? Lol. But, milk is the same. Two main brands, one slightly cheaper (but taste exactly the same). I’ll buy what’s easiest to reach without calling someone over to help.
 
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I remember a woman that I worked with who was a widow, lived alone, her children had moved out. She hated ooking. She dreaded dinners. It was funny, as i had lbeen cooking for myself since i was 18, and didn't marry until 29, so lots of years of learning to cook for one, and generally not having much money. I had put on weight at first, coz a lot of cheaper easy foods that i cooked weren't healthy. As I addressed that I ljust started cooking healthy and discovering that I enjoyed it. She & I would chat about stuff as we were both living on our own. She was often shocked that I would bother with multiple pots when it was just me.

Kimmio, I just didn't like the flavour of a lot of those prepped foods or they might have been more tempting. I also had a thing about creating garbage (eco-nut) and so that likely had an impact.

Note: I dont' go to multiple stores. I like Giant Tiger as they ad-match, so if I find a sale at store x and GT carries it, they will give it to us for the same price. I tend to do GT a few weeks, then go to something like No Frills for a fillup in another week. When my husband was shopping in the early days of Covid as he is a senior, he would go in the early hours to Sobey's. The prices though -- way more money.
 
Kimmio Laughterlove said:
Thai Red Curry Chicken
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Yum. Love Thai curries. Unfortunately, wife does not. Too hot and she hates coconut, which most Thai curries have. Our Viet-Thai place does great ones but I only get to have them the rare times I get food for them by myself (e.g. when she used to go to Shanghai regularly back before her parents died).

Pinga said:
c) i buy pork from a small farm owned by a friend of my sons -- not cheap, but, dang it is good
d) I buy beef less frequently, but, from a butcher that is quite close to the poultry place. They have a market stall at St. Lawrence Market.
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The Chinese stores all have butcher counters so Mrs. M usually gets meat there. She can get things like ribs and pork bones and such cut to order by the butcher staff. We will buy them at No Frills when on sale or if we aren't going to the Chinese stores that week.
 
Pinga said:
I remember a woman that I worked with who was a widow, lived alone, her children had moved out. She hated ooking. She dreaded dinners. It was funny, as i had lbeen cooking for myself since i was 18, and didn't marry until 29, so lots of years of learning to cook for one, and generally not having much money. I had put on weight at first, coz a lot of cheaper easy foods that i cooked weren't healthy. As I addressed that I ljust started cooking healthy and discovering that I enjoyed it. She & I would chat about stuff as we were both living on our own. She was often shocked that I would bother with multiple pots when it was just me.

Kimmio, I just didn't like the flavour of a lot of those prepped foods or they might have been more tempting. I also had a thing about creating garbage (eco-nut) and so that likely had an impact.

Note: I dont' go to multiple stores. I like Giant Tiger as they ad-match, so if I find a sale at store x and GT carries it, they will give it to us for the same price. I tend to do GT a few weeks, then go to something like No Frills for a fillup in another week. When my husband was shopping in the early days of Covid as he is a senior, he would go in the early hours to Sobey's. The prices though -- way more money.
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Some of them are in plastic trays. Some are all paper or cardboard. The ones I bought the other day are just cardboard/ paper. They’ve come a long way in taste since the TV dinners we had as a kid! Some of them are quite good, reasonably healthy, like the new “bowls”. Swanson “Hungryman” dinners are still Swanson Hungryman dinners, though. Usually gross, and really salty.

it’s just not even safe for me to juggle multiple hot pots and pans. Even lifting something heavy out of the oven is too risky. I took my husband for granted, helping me do the lifting, and draining hot water, etc. Even though I did most of the cooking then.

For the amount I buy, and the time and energy I use, I don’t think I’d save a whole lot going to a discount store vs a regular grocery store. We don’t have No Frills here (did in Vancouver). Walmart would be the closest to that, here, I think.

one store puts their deli salads in waxed paper boxes. I do feel bad about plastic. Seriously guilty sometimes. They don’t have to package all things in plastic. They could use waxed cardboard, or paper, for all of those frozen meals. I would prefer it. I reuse containers with lids, though, for storage. Other than that, i have a sandwich maker - like the one we had in the 80s! It’s great. I can make interesting hot sammies. Usually grilled cheese, maybe with tomato, but I put roasted chicken in them or other things. I’ve made “taco sandwiches” with veggie ground round, cheese, tomato, green onion, salsa, etc. Scrambled egg breakfast sandwiches. Or “pizza sandwiches“ with tomato sauce and various ingredients and different kinds of bread, but you can use ordinary sandwich bread and it’s just fine. Hot turkey leftover (that I brought home) sandwiches with everything inside. Almost anything you like, between bread, makes a good grilled sandwich. Thats also a good way to make an easy hot meal When I get creative but don’t feel like cooking anything major.

sometimes a meal is oatmeal and fruit! That’s fine with me, too.
 
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Actually, @Carolla, your dad might like one of those sandwich makers. Not even a fancy panini one. The original old school one. The machines are only about $20. I think there are recipes online for them. It’s really easy. I just saw one for French toast sandwiches. And I have frozen fruit!
 
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