Mumsnet Talk

We get our shopping online and often spend needless time trying to remember all the usuals, or scrolling through the favourites list. I also need to organise our cupboards because there are things I've got that will never get used!

Obviously we have all the usual fruits, cereals, milk, bread etc but I'm just being nosy wondering what ingredients you are never without?

Cupboards: rice, risotto rice, pasta (few different shapes/linguine etc), gnocci, lentils, broth mix, baked beans, spaghetti, mixed beans, tomatoes, passata, ragu, pesto, tuna, savoury crackers, rice cakes, fully stocked spice rack, all your usual condiments, ingredients for baking, cereals, oats, cereal bars, snacks

Fridge: cold meats, cheeses soft and hard, butter, veg, salad, fruit, bacon, yoghurts, eggs, cream, milk, crab sticks, tubs of couscous/coleslaw

Freezers: chicken whole and breasts, beef casserole, different types of fish (fillets, breaded, fish fingers), mince, burgers, meatballs, pizzas, pies, sausages, chicken nuggets, frozen veg, chips, waffles, always Tupperware with frozen batch cooks inside like soup or casseroles and lasagne knocking about in there, often freeze some bread products like bagels or homemade pancakes.

That's all I can think of what we have in right now off the top of my head pretty much always have those items in, I replace what we use on a weekly basis, I hate letting cupboards and freezers go bare but do make sure I meal plan so everything gets used and things aren't left sat there for months.

Fridge -
- eggs
- cheese (Cheddar, paremsan, feta, cream)
- at least one lemon
- red and normal onions
- pesto (red and green)
- grainy mustard
- barbecue sauce
- red and green chillis
- chipotle paste
- fizzy water
- natural and flavoured yoghurt
- soured cream

Cupboard -
- lentils: red, green, puy
- barley
- basmati
- pasta - spaghetti, lasagne and at least one shape
- tins of kidney and butter beans
- passata
- a well stocked spice box
- olive oil
- balsamic vinegar
- baked beans for dp (blurgh)
- Heinz tomato soup
- SR and plain flour
- cocoa
- marigold stock powder
- Bisto

Freezer -
- peas
- sweetcorn
- broad beans
- Quorn mince
- veggie sausages and veggie hotdog sausages
- pitta breads
- icecream
- raspberries

That's what I can think of off-hand!

Forgot honey and brown sugar, plus black pepper and sea salt.

Thank you, lots of ideas there!

At the moment we are usually eating the same things every week. Not what I want ideally but things have been tough lately so we are just going for simplicity, although the kitchen is still chaotic!

I'm hoping to sort out a list of absolute basics and then gradually build up to a more varied menu.

Who do you shop online with? Most companies you can save a shopping list or more than one, so i have one saved called `usual ` ie . All my normal bits and bob s i always want. Why don't you do this?

Then you can just add to it as you need to.

We have a Dairy diary which we use to write our meal plans out (I like it because there is plenty of room per day), and in the back of that there are some "Note" pages. We use these to write a complete list of the things we buy in Costco, and then just keep on photocopying it everytime we go, with the items ticked which we want. At the start of each year it is transferred to the new diary and amendments are made as necessary. I would start with the meal planning and then build up from there. I have "Good Food" delivered every month and I always go through it carefully. We then aim to try at least two new things a month.

Just re-read the post and realised I have gone off on a tangent! But I find the answer for everything is plan, plan, plan.

I always keep in stuff that gives me a few emergency meals
fridge: whole chorizo and sliced
salami (whole and thinly sliced),
mild cheddar for the kids
another melting cheese for dinners (either mature cheddar, jarlsberg, gruyere type thing depending on what's on offer),
block of parmesan
rocket
cucumber
peppers
carrots
spring onions
chillies
jar of ginger in flavourless oil (never vinegar)
eggs (raw and hard boiled for snacking)
clover for toast
baking spread (I.e. stork knock off as dairy free)
milk/almond milk
cheese slices/cheese strings (lidl knock off) for kids lunches
kids yoghurt
lemon and lime juice

cupboards:
passata (prefer it to tinned tomatoes)
tinned sweetcorn
various tinned fruit (for out of season times)
baked beans
tinned fish (for me and the cat as no one else will eat it)
pasta (basics stuff and lasagne sheets)
rice
chickpeas and lentils/split peas
bulgar wheat (they don't like couscous)
grilled peppers
oil (various)
various vineyard
baking powder/bicarbonate of soda
plain and self raising flour
bread flour
dried fruits/nuts/seeds
ground almonds and almond essence (I hate vanilla)
various sugars/maple syrup/treacle/golden syrup
peanut butter
oatcakes

fruit and veg
apples
bananas
onions
garlic

freezer
various veg (peas, broccoli, peppers, cauliflower)
mixed frozen fruit
potato product (e.g. waffles)
fishfingers
pastry
pasta sauce (I make in bulk and freeze)
plain ice cream
leftovers
frozen homemade soup for my lunches

plus fully stocked herbs and spices, condiments, tomato puree, chilli paste.
I also keep in bread (loaf and part baked baguettes) and wraps.

I''ll always have enough in to make e.g. chorizo and veg (sweetcorn and red onion) pizza (make base with bread flour) with salad, pasta and sauce, usually buy a pack of chicken and have loads of different meals I can make from what I have in with that. lunches are leftovers/stuff from the fridge in wraps.

I tend to just buy meat/fish as per meal plan plus a few different fruit and veg depending on what's on offer. we eat different meals every week as I get bored easily with the same foods.

White wine!

vineyard not vineyard

ffs vinegars

also various stocks (beef, chicken, veg) and mini bottles of white and red wines for cooking (we don't drink it so the big bottles go off otherwise)

Yes to the mini bottles of wine.

That's what I'm planning to do pendipidy so I can just click on the list rather than going through favourites choosing stuff (as lame as it is, when I am having a flare up even clicking/typing hurts).

It's Tesco BTW - we have a delivery saver prepay thing and are planning to switch from one weekly shop (which means we often end up with hardly anything by the end of the week, or we overbuy fresh stuff which goes off) to twice a week (but with half the amount obviously)

lots of full fridges here!

Fridge:
milk
cheese slices
yoghurt
bread
eggs
butter
hummus
celery, cucumber, tomatoes, chillis, coriander, mushrooms,
carrots, parsnips
crushed garlic, ginger
marmalade
mayo

Freezer:
homemade chicken nuggets in portions, bagged
chips
peas
sausages
portions of precooked food: chilli, bolognese, chicken curry, lentil soup, etc

cupboard/s
tinned tomatoes
red/green lentils
quinoa
rice
pasta
spaghetti
baked beans
tuna
peanut butter
honey
spices
porridge/rice krispies
spices

Vegetable-wise I don't like to be too far from:
- potatoes
- carrots
- leeks
- celery
- onions
- bag of spinach
- garlic
- peppers

Other vege we tend to buy for specific use, according to a meal plan.

Erm cupboard - various rices and pastas. Kidney beans, chick peas, lentils, mung bean. Soy sauce. Worchester sauce. Various vinegar - malt, rice, white, wine vinegars. Various mustards.. Chili sauce.. Tomatos and puree. Tuna and salmon. Various crackers. Baking powder. Bicarb. Oats. Various sugars. Various nuts whole and some ground. Various oils. A very good assortment of spices and herbs. Barley. Bulgar wheat and couscous. Semaloni. Tapioca. Dried fruit. Cocoa. Drinking chocolate. Cooking chocolate. Icing sugar. Peanut butter, choc spread, jam, honey, treacle, marmalade. Sherry, brandy, wines, and whisky for cooking. Coconut. Chestnut. Rose water, lavendar sugar, Fresh juice. Cereals. Sundried tomato. Yeast. Polenta flour, plain and SR. Ketchup, mayo and bbq sauce. Garlic. Onions. Various root veg. Bread. Breadcrumbs. Doritos.

Fridge - milk, cream, cheese, butter, spread, oranges (I prefer them cold), yogurt, ginger, lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, pak choi, mange tout, baby corn, beansprouts, eggs, coleslaw, houmous, courgette, avocados, chillies. Herbs. chow chow.okra. peppers. celery. mushrooms. Fruit juice. Wine. Lager. Spring onion. Berries. Brocoli. cauli. carrots.

Freezer - sweetcorn, peas, chicken, lamb, beef, duck, fish, seafood, left overs. pastry. garlic bread. ice cream. berries. ice. vodka. pizzas. (My dc's are strange, they don't like nuggets etc,)

Fruit bowl - apples, bananas, oranges.

Next week, some of the fridge stuff will be different. Don't like eating the same food every week. I don't really meal plan. I just think when I'm doing the shop ooh I haven't had chicken orange for a bit, or salmon and will buy the stuff needed.

Hi Fuzz - my list seems quite long but I don't buy all this each week. I try to make sure I have all/ most of it in & I panic if I run out of something (OCD tendencies)

Cupboard:
Rice: longrain, pudding & rissotto
Pasta: macaroni, linguine
Tea, coffee, fruity teabags
Hot chocolate powder
Baked beans
Tinned tomatoes
Tomato puree
Pesto (green & red)
Tinned spaghetti (for DS emergency meals for when I am too ill to cook)
Marigold powder
Olive oil
Veg oil
Basic herbs & spices
Good quality chocolate (I bake a lot)
Eggs (because my chooks have given up laying)
Flour: Self raising, plain
Baking stuff - bicarb, vanilla extract
Sugar: icing, light & dark brown, muscovado, caster, demerera, granulated
honey, marmite, nutella, peanut butter
cocoa posder
golden syrup, treacle
maple syrup
Cereal
Porridge oats
Microwave popcorn (treat for DS)
Tinned fruit (for fruit crisis)
Squash or cordial

Fridge:
Butter: salted & unsalted
milk
Cheese (whatever cheddar is on offer - for cooking with)
Yoghurts
White wine (in case of visitors)
Apples, pears, oranges, bananas + something different - kiwi/ pomegranate etc
Berries when in season
Peppers
OJ

Freezer:
Decent bread
Any reduced bread
Criossants/ teacakes/ crumpets/ muffins etc - to try to get DS to eat different things for breakfast & lunch
Petits pois (I don't like big peas)
Pizza
Frozen chopped onion (I can't chop veg easily)
Wraps

Housekeeping:
Loo rolls
Kitchen roll
Bathroom cleaner
Bleach
Kitchen spray
Washing up liquid (only ever Ecover because it doesn't bubble)
Laundry detergent
Ace
Softener
cloths etc

Lemons

Garlic

Onions

Potatoes

Chickpeas

Pasta

Rice

Tins of tomatoes

Toilet rolls

Passata.
Tinned toms.
Pasta.
Rice.
Tinned pulses.
Coconut milk.

Eggs
Cream
Bacon
Parmesan
Peppers
Tomatos

Ooh yes to coconut milk or coconut cream.