I sent a grocery sack of odds and ends of groceries home with my daughter this week, and realized again that shopping for groceries for one is my least favorite part of adjusting to cooking for just myself.
Meat and Produce, at least in our local store, which has a meat counter and does a lot of their own butchering works and if I am willing to pay the cost I can buy just one potato, or onion, or piece of fruit. I usually do this as it is cheaper than buying a sack full and giving it away or throwing it out when I don’t get it eaten up. It is usually the sacks of produce that go on sale but what does one person do with a sack of oranges or grapes except just not buy them.
What I struggle with is buying canned goods, dry cereals, frozen vegetables and even Pizzas. I do freeze some of the leftover items but that is not my favorite either as then I have a freezer full of dribs and drabs. A one person size of a snack like potato chips is almost as expensive as a regular size sack but at least it gets eaten before it goes stale.
I feel so sorry for shoppers who do not have a good meat counter (butcher) as I have no problem buying 1 or 2 slices of lunch meat and one or two slices of cheeses. It really shows up in the cereal aisle and Marshmallows get stale if opened and not eaten quickly enough, to say nothing of crackers going stale.
I find I get so hungry for something I would have fixed that I buy it anyway even if I know that I will end up giving or throwing most of it away.
This is going to be my goal this year, to do a better job of shopping and still have a treat of foods I really like.
I am buying and cooking for one also. I think it would be a wonderful idea for a store to have small packages for people who are along.
ReplyDeleteOnce in awhile I find small cans of vegetables, but not often. We are lucky that the Fareway store here does somewhat favor the older shoppers.
DeleteWhen my husband passed, I found cooking for one toooo depressing (not to mention expensive) so I continued cooking 4-serving meals (was dinner and lunch for the two of us). I now pack the leftovers, label and freeze them. Since my life is so much busier with doing his chores AND mine while running a small business, I find I enjoy having corned beef/cabbage, or turkey/dressing, etc. without much effort. I still make big pots of spaghetti sauce, chili, seafood gumbo, soups, etc. and freeze them in 1-2 serving portions. I love the convenience of only cooking once or twice a week while still having variety in my diet.
ReplyDeleteThese are also good ideas thoughI usually freeze the items before putting together though I am Retired and have the time to put into a meal.
DeleteThis won't help a great deal but I have found that if you have freezer space marshmallows and chips will keep well if frozen.
ReplyDeleteI had not tried freezing marshmallows, will have to try that. Thanks
DeleteShare with an elderly person / couple in your area. How about someone at your church who may be in the same situation; just divide up what you won't use and share with a friend, neighbor, or whomever.
ReplyDeleteGo on Google and look for 'travel size' products
Hi Colleen, Good suggestions for all of us that need to scale back our buying habits.
DeleteI buy some things at the Dollar Store or Dollar Tree. I can go the Dollar section of the store and get a small box of saltine crackers and other things. Spices, candy, snack crackers, cookies and many things to cook.
ReplyDeleteI have done that but our Dollar Store does not carry as many groceries as they used to. It is a good reminder though and I will look around there again. Thanks
DeleteMyrna can I open this for a bit of discussion? Are we poor or are we frugal or both? I have always conserved and never felt poor but I am older now and it feels different. Let me know your thoughts please.
ReplyDeleteRita, At the cost of groceries and other items I I would say we were both. Not only has the cost risen, the package and can sizes have gotten smaller.
ReplyDeleteThere are other items you need buy as you get older and I think the whole Middle Class has gotten poorer.
Buying the smaller portion containers of food generally costs more than the full sized version. I use my FoodSaver hand held rechargeable vacuum sealer for leftover items. You could vacuum seal those chips, crackers, cookies, freeze then seal marshmallows, fruit, meal portions. I have even vacuum sealed swiss cheese since once you open it, it goes nasty quite quickly, sucking the air out allows you to refrigerate it longer and fresher. I use mine almost daily since I have been "cooking for one"!
ReplyDeleteWendy, Good to hear you like your food saver vacuum. Is it the Food Saver brand? I have looked at them but didn't know anyone who uses one and could not decide if they were worth the cost. Will have to take another look at them.
DeleteMyrna, I do use the FoodSaver brand, but this is the hand-held unit, costs around $20. I do buy the bags to go with it. There are two sizes, quart and gallon. OH! I just went on Amazon and see that it now costs $47!!! I got mine a few years ago and guess it went crazy since then. Sorry about that. Not such a good deal...
DeleteStill not a bad price as I save on tossing food. Thanks again for commenting on this as I think it might be worth my while to buy one.
DeleteI had trouble going from feeding three to just the two of us once our son went off to school about 7 years ago. I have to admit that I still don't find cooking as enjoyable as I did when my son and his friends were around. My mom made the hard adjustment of cooking for one two years ago. Up until his sudden death, my dad had a great appetite and appreciation for Mom's cooking. She was so creative with meal planning and using up food. It's a much bigger challenge with just one, or when cooking for someone without much of an appetite.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Myrna. I believe it's harder for the middle class now.
I've never had a FoodSaver or other vacuum seal machine, but am at least going to read about the process based on Wendy's comments.
Find some one or more than one person and split what you buy. Maybe?
ReplyDelete