I haven’t done a grocery haul post in awhile but thought I would start doing them during this time of isolation and social distancing. Grocery shopping is one of those things we used to take for granted but life is very different now.
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Grocery Haul
in Time of Isolation
We live out of range for grocery delivery but my wonderful daughter places an order for us and my parents each week. After it is delivered to her porch she divides our orders. Then, while maintaining even more than the recommended distance, I pick up my order and my parents’. We chat for a few minutes and then I take my parents’ order to their porch. We are all being extremely careful and doing our part to “flatten the curve”.
Opinions differ on whether this is necessary or not but when I get my groceries home I place the box on the floor, wash my hands and disinfect the kitchen counter. I then pick up each item with my left hand, wipe it with a disinfectant wipe in my right hand and place on the counter. After everything has been disinfected and has time to dry I wash my hands again and put it all away.
I maintain a good stock of food under normal circumstances but I stocked up a bit on some non-perishables a few weeks ago. At this point I’m mostly buying dairy, fresh produce, some meat, and bread. As soon as I get my act together I want to start baking all our own bread so that will be off my list.
Here is what I bought this past Saturday:
- milk (2)
- lactose free milk
- half and half
- eggs
- deli sliced colby jack cheese
- string cheese
- cottage cheese
- fresh pineapple
- bananas
- grapes
- bell peppers (3 pk.)
- lettuce
- grape tomatoes
- breakfast sausage patties
- spinach feta chicken sausages
- frozen chicken breasts
- sandwich bread
- hot dog buns
- cereal
- tortilla chips
Our menu for this week:
I already had a round steak, organic hot dogs and a turkey in my deep freezer which will be used this week.
Since we won’t be able to have our usual big family Easter meal with all my cousins this year I decided to make use of that turkey I’ve had in my freezer for several months and cook a nice meal. I’ll make up plates for my parents and take it to them (on the porch, of course). I’ll still have LOTS of leftovers so I’ll package those up and freeze for soups and casseroles.
So how is the grocery shopping going for you? Are you making use of pick up or delivery services or still going inside? Are you finding many things out of stock or difficult to find?
We can’t get deliveries from the supermarket any more. There just aren’t any slots, and then they sometimes cancel your delivery because they just don’t have the stuff in stock. The smaller local shops are better stocked (since most people are wanting from the supermarket) so we’re formulating a new plan, which involves most things being delivered still, but from local places and smaller businesses instead. It’s a win-win situation really, since we get food and things, and at the same time we’re supporting small and local businesses. Hubby’s had to go out a couple of times while we’re getting this all set up, and maybe will have to continue that for some of his stuff. But we’re trying to limit how much he goes out, and my stuff will all be being delivered, which will help with that.
It’s definitely a challenge none of us ever expected to face. We’ve been able to get most of what we wanted but my daughter has to place our orders a few days in advance for a delivery slot. That’s not an issue for me but my mom is not in the habit of planning ahead. It’s been a lot more difficult for her. There is a small locally owned supermarket in a small town the other direction from where we do our shopping that I heard will take your order over the phone and bring it out to your car. I’d like to try that even though I’ve been doing fine getting things from Aldi. I like the idea of supporting local businesses and I appreciate the ones that are making adaptations. It’s all a learning game.