To need your help in how to food shop?

[Totallyuseless31]

I always used to shop for just the ingredients we needed when it was just me and DP, and carried this on when we had DD1. Now we have DD2 who has a big appetite, DD1 has started school and has friends round, I had flu and could not shop or cook planned meals for a week (DP works late shift). I had no emergency food apart from baked beans. A week of baked beans is not good. How do I shop so I have spare food in? So if DD has friends round I can always have something made for tea that's nice and healthy. And if DD2 wants yet another snack. Or I'm too ill to shop for a week. I worry about buying spare food and it not getting eaten and it going off. I hate waste and always meal plan tightly, but I think that has too change and I need help with this.....

[Guiltypleasures001]

Hi op don't forget you can freeze ham and cheese, I've always got a stock of both in the freezer.

I often find that the on the day stuff from the deli In Tesco have large bags of hand cut ham for a couple of quid sitting in amongst the other yellow label stuff. I always buy my cheese in huge blocks when they are selling it off, works out a lot cheaper.

[PrettyPenguin]

We do an online shop twice a week for perishables but our staples that we always have are:

Cupboard:

Dried pasta
Rice
Cous cous
Tinned tomatoes and or passata
Tinned mackerel
Tinned tuna
Tinned chickpeas
Tinned fruit (usually peaches)
Eggs
Pesto


Fridge:

Milk
Cheese (cheddar, grated hard cheese such as parmesan or grana padano and usually mozarella)
Broccoli
Carrots
Onions
Baby new potatoes
Butter
Sourdough starter
Lardons/cubed pancetta (keep for ages!)
Ready to roll puff pastry

Freezer:

Lots of meat (we raise our own lambs so always have some of that), usually at least lamb, minced beef, chicken pieces, sausages and bacon
Peas
Sweetcorn
Spinach
An emergency fresh pasta sauce tub, carbonara usually
Butter
Flour (I keep it in the freezer to keep it fresh)


My turn to meal for my kids if we're low on supplies is pasta with tinned mackerel, broccoli and pesto. They all love it and it's really healthy too. Visiting kids often aren't quite so keen so for them I'll usually do sausages (I buy the kids the skinny Richmond ones - they cook straight from frozen in the oven in about 20 mins) with pasta/new potatoes and broccoli. Or I'll make a cheese sauce for some pasta and chuck some pancetta and peas in it.

Mince can be cooked straight from the freezer too so as long as you always have that it, and the onions/tinned toms/dried pasta in then you can always rustle up an emergency spag bol :)

[chopinbabe]

When posters say they 'zap' something like lasagne in the microwave: does it mean defrost in the microwave and then put in the oven to heat up?

[ramblingmum]

One that goes down well in our house is the packs of favoured couscous. Just add boiling water. I use for lunches when we run out of bread/fillings, and when the kids beg me for it.

[lauralouise8]

Very helpful thread OP, thank you. I've just had my first baby. Pre-DD, I'd stop at the shop to buy dinner on the way home. As getting out of the house is now a performance, I also need store cupboard staples. Woman cannot live on crackers alone.

[CatCushion]

My cupboards always have rice, dried pasta, onions, potatoes, flour, dried herbs and tins of chopped tomatoes, berlotti beans, tuna, and in the fridge there is always milk, cheese, fresh veg. Eggs, butter, fruit and bread on the side. These are our cheaper basics and DDs and friends can make sandwiches, cheese on toast, tuna pasta, bakes potatoes or omelettes themselves at my suggestion, depending on what we have most of.

Home cooked ready meals are a bit too special/expensive to be used up feeding their friends, so they are off limits.

[lomega]

Could you buy tinned stuff? Not sure if you're funny about it, but tinned food keeps for ages, doesn't usually cost a bomb, and can just be opened and cooked very quickly if the kids have mates round.

My mum used to keep a stash of ravioli, macaroni cheese, soups and spaghetti shapes in the cupboard to serve with sweetcorn (tinned) and/or frozen potato wedges. Not the healthiest thing, of course, but if you're caught short and don't have enough "normal food" to go around, its useful to have. Me and my DB were quite naughty and would bring people round without asking a lot of the time, so it saved embarrassment and my mum and dad going hungry by giving up their share of food.

I go a bit mad if I don't subconsciously know there's a tin of Heinz mac n cheese in the cupboard for emergencies :D

[Esmum07]

Freezer is my friend too...

I have all the usual suspects in it, pizza, couple of fish products (fish fingers and batter fish as they can be cooked from frozen), some fresh fish to either have on its own or put in a fish pie or chowder. I always make double or triple portions of food like chilli, bolognese, mince or beef or chicken chunks and onions (they can then go in a pie or as the basis for a stew), and I make a full blown stew/casserole (ie with all the veg already in it) and freeze that too. I also grate down any getting hard cheddar and freeze it to use on cheese on toast or pizza (thanks Jamie O for that little gem). And I always freeze chopped onions (I buy a big bag at the market and use what I need, chop or slice and freeze the rest). They are then just bunged in a frying pan to go with a tin of tomatoes and some garlic (maybe some odds of bacon or the odd couple of sausages that I always mean to use up but don't and have to throw out otherwise or I will open a couple of time of tuna and chunk them in at the last minute for a tuna pasta dish) or I will use them in more casseroles or whatever. But they are there for when I have the meat in the fridge but don't have time to buy onions. I also keep bagels and bread, crumpets etc when they are on offer - DS loves muffin pizza (tomato puree or even tomato ketchup, fresh tomato, grated cheese on an English muffin then toasted). Most of my veg is frozen or I freeze it myself (so I buy a bag of carrots, use and freeze the rest -same with brocolli, cauliflower etc) left over tomatoes I mix with tinned then freeze and use in a tomato sauce for bolognese or chilli, same with 'getting a bit too soft for a salad' peppers - bung them in with tinned tomatoes and use them in a chilli! I also freeze extra sliced cooking apples or berries as you can put them in a crumble.

In my store cupboard I have dried herbs (always adds a bit of pep to a tomato sauce), rice, pasta of all shapes and sizes, oils, soups (you can always use them as a sauce to pep up a piece of chicken or veg - so a bit of chicken, some frozen onions, chuck in some frozen veg add a tin or two of chicken or mushroom soup, simmer til cooked serve with rice!), tinned beans (baked beans and kidney/bean salad type ones), tinned tomatoes and tinned fish of all kinds. Tinned apricots, peaches can be put in a crumble or pie or are great with bought or home made meringues like a mini pavlova.

Oh and talking about the waste of food - I heard Jamie Oliver say, on his war on waste programme (whatever it was called) that you can use lettuce like pak choi or spinach in a stir fry and I thought yeah right. I always have lettuce in now and DH knows when it is getting a bit limp cos we have a stir fry! Works brilliantly. I almost get disappointed when my lettuce stays perky (shame I can't say the same for DH but that's another story ha ha!)

[SuperGlue]

Bauer you have said very succinctly what I was trying to say in my long-winded post. I have 2 weeks worth of food by working a week in advance. It is very handy. I built it up over time and sometimes it runs down as we need it all (like this month) but I get paid this weekend and will build the reserves up again. It is such a mental weight off to know that there is food no matter how tough the rest of it gets!

[BauerTime]

Just to add to my earlier post, you could also try building up over a few weeks if money is tight to make sure you have 2 weeks worth of food in instead of just one. You can still meal plan and avoid waste but you always work a week in advance IYSWIM. Obviously perishables you might have to go without but I'm sure in a real emergency situation you could go without fresh fruit and veg for a week. If you have some tinned/frozen stuff in.

And beans on toast is a perfectly acceptable meal for the DC's friends if you have to feed them on short notice.

[Artandco]

I would buy more to start with. I mean apples last more than a week so but extra so they have enough. If they haven't been eaten by the following week use them to make a pie or stewed Apple etc

Same with cheese etc, it lasts weeks so buy more and if it's eaten it is, if not it can be used the following week

[2rebecca]

pasta and pesto, stir fries with noodles (buy preprepared sauces and chicken breasts and peppers onions broccoli peas etc), macaroni cheese, keep in eggs for omelettes.
I mainly didn't accommodate large numbers of children at the last minute though, they got sent home for tea.
If they wanted snacks then they had fruit, if they didn't want fruit they can't be that hungry

[Purpleflamingos]

You've had my quick suggestions from other posters. Don't discount quorn products. Quorn chicken nuggets, mashed sweet potato and peas are one of my instant easy meals.

If you're ill - go to bed early and do an online shop. Some delivery slots are only between £1-£5.

[chocolateorsalad]

I meal plan all breakfasts, lunches and dinners, plus snacks, so I don't have loads of emergency bits. But I make sure to always have certain things in as well as buy things like chopped tomatoes in packs of 4, even if I only need one for a dinner that week. So that's extra in the cupboard for quick pasta meals. I buy big bags of pasta and always stock up before running out. Always have carrots, onions, tuna and potatoes. DS is a big eater and loves snacking on carrots and cucumber. I also keep raisins and fruit bar/winder type things in the cupboard. OK they're sugary but they're handy if all the apples are gone and better than a bag of Haribo!

We have a big freezer but I definitely don't use it as much as I could. When DP works nights it's just DS and I having dinner so I freeze half for another time DP is on nights, which saves money. I keep loads of veg in the freezer but not really anything to make a meal from. This thread has inspired me to stock up on things for the freezer. So the next time DP is poking his head through the fridge and cupboards moaning there's nothing to eat, I can direct him towards the Fish Fingers!

[florascotia]

Lots of good ideas above. To add to lists of stockcupboard items already suggested, can I add little tins of tomato puree, tomato ketchup, soy sauce, chocolate (very dark, and fruit and nut), tea, coffee, dried yeast, bread flour, baking powder (to make v. quick scones or soda bread), olive oil, nuts/seeds (if you like them), mayonnaise, stock powder (I think Marigold low-salt tastes best), tinned or dried butter beans and chickpeas, bottled lemon juice (pancakes make an almost instant snack), porridge oats or cereal, jars of grilled red sweet peppers (from Poland, usually - great for soup and to add to stews etc), dried parmesan or similar cheese and packets of red lentils. Dried mushrooms make v good soup, but are pricy.

As well as the frozen meat and fish and batch-cooked meals mentioned above, butter, cheddar-type grated cheese and packets of sliced ham/bacon/salami all freeze well, too. So do boil-in-bag kippers. Fresh herbs can be washed and chopped and frozen, then just tipped into a recipe. My problem is remembering to label them...

As well as those already suggested, fresh veg such as sweet potatoes, squash, celery, aubergines, garlic, hard white cabbage and red cabbage will keep for up to a fortnight in a coolish place - so will vacuum-packed beetroot and dry, unwashed carrots and parsnips (if you can find them). Plain yoghurt will last for about 10 days unopened in the fridge. Am not keen on processed foods, but low-fat Phildelphia-type cheese keeps unopened in a fridge for a good while, and can be used for instant pasta sauces and also for salmon/mushroom/kipper pate.

[SuperGlue]

Actually this is something I have always wondered about people who meal plan very rigidly - what happens if you can't get to the shops, or you unexpectedly have friends over? I also find it hard to imagine getting to the last day of the plan and literally having no food there. I think it is my issue though as I over compensate. I meal plan but always have at least 2 weeks of food in the house. I write the dinners on a list and cross off each night as I make them, I order them to coincide with the dates on the fresh food but as I get to day 5 out of my 7 I start to get a bit twitchy and feel the need to 'stock up' again. Dh laughs at me and says I am never happier than when gazing into a full fridge / cupboard. He's right.

We live in the country so don't go to the shops every day and I always account for bad weather etc esp at this time of year. I have built up a very good store cupboard over the years but I have to be strict with myself and make sure we actually USE the stuff and not let it get out of date.

I always have the following:

Freezer:
pizza,
homemade bologniase in individual portions for dd (9yrs) so she always has a good dinner no matter what happens
homemade chicken curry - same as above
frozen chips
bag of aldi cauliflower cheese (excellent stand-by for emergency dinner)
petit pois
at least 2 chicken portions (usually breast)
frozen unbreaded fish from Aldi - usually salmon & cod - super fast fish pie
prawns (not always but a lot of the time, a bag of uncooked from aldi)
frozen herbs - Aldi are doing them now
raw meat - beef (usually mince)/ sausages / bacon / pudding
Some aldi icecreams and ice lollies (more so in Summer)
ice cubes (emergency gin & tonic!)
I am very lucky to have an entire wild salmon in mine at the moment, given to me as a gift but now I need to use it - may have to invent a party or something, next family gathering!

Fridge:
milk
cheese - cheddar, brie, parmesan, soft cheese (all from Aldi)
smoothies for lunch box (except during holidays)
eggs
veg - carrots, peppers, onions, potatoes, garlic at the very least, usually at least 3 or 4 more - this week kale, turnip, salad potatoes, broccoli
cucumber
ham / salami - if e run out we have hardboiled egg and tomato etc
mushrooms
berries - whatever is seasonal / cheap

Cupboard:
part-baked rolls x a couple of packs
cheap pack of pain au chocolate (aldi, great for snacks for visiting kids)
hot chocolate
tea
fresh coffee
couple of packs of basic Aldi biscuits
tins of tomatoes / beans / kidney beans / coconut milk / salmon
bread
crackers / breadsticks
popcorn (both raw and in bags)
rice - basmati and risotto
pasta - spaghetti and penne (or some other shapes)
jam
peanut butter
honey
marmalade
stock pots - beef, chicken, herb, fish
gravy pots - chicken and beef
one or two jars of pataks curry paste, pesto, chilli paste
cereal x a few types including porridge
fruit bowl - bananas, pears, apples, tangerines this week

I go through my cupboard each week and meal plan around things that have been sitting there a while so I use them up but as I am using them I replace them that week iykwim?

I reckon I could create at least another couple of weeks worth of food from the stores and that makes me feel safe / on top of things - no matter what else happens I know we can eat and I can feed dd. My dh is self employed and cash-flow can be hit and miss at time if clients don't pay when they say they will and we have often (too often) been in the situation where a big sum is owed and 'on the way' but we are counting change from our pockets till it arrives so at least I know we can eat!

[Lioninthesun]

Freezer/slow cooker and staples in the cupboard:
Freezer: fish fingers/chicken/salmon/prawns/sausages/bacon and all frozen veg/chopped onions. Also those innocent fruit smoothie tubes are good to freeze and produce as an ice-pop treat.
Slow cooker:use up any veg festering in fridge and any left over meat from meals - chuck in with soup and make stew. Or stock and blend to make soup.
Cupboard: Always have a spare 'emergency milk' ie UHT for complete emergencies. A bag full of those part baked rolls for times when bread may be eaten faster than expected. Soups to add to slow cooker or be a quick healthy filler. Pasta/tuna/tinned sweetcorn/soup (chicken or mushroom) makes an easy pasta bake and can be used in other variations. Likewise those 1min rice pouches and a tin of mackerel and tomato sauce with frozen peas (optional cheese also works in this). Bacon and peas mixed in with pasta is a fave of dd's (again add optional cheese and/or garlic puree).
All of these are my essentials for those sick days or when I have no time or will to cook something more special. I've added tinned potatoes after the thread on here and of course beans and tinned tomatoes. I've not gone into fresh meat/veg/fruit as you asked for long keeping emergency food

[ChazsBrilliantAttitude]

Homemade tuna or egg mayo in the sandwiches?

[PeaStalks]

I could survive a zombie apocalypse for weeks eating from cupboard and freezer. I don't live near a shop so I bulk buy and have 2 massive freezers.
I grow fruit in summer and freeze it. I also make lots of casserole type meals and always cook triple so one to eat and two for the freezer.
Pasta is very cheap (50p kilo in Asda at the moment). Make sauces to go with it and freeze them.
There is nothing wrong with jam sandwiches once in a while.

[Charltonangel]

Those sachets of ready cooked rice are always on offer somewhere. Also, jars of biryani sauce are great - just add it to frozen chicken, an onion and rice in an oven pot and leave for 35 minutes. Grapes in the freezer are like little ice lollies or can be defrosted. Eggs and tuna to be mixed with mayo for sandwiches!

[Mammanat222]

Also in an emergency beans / cheese / hoops / scrambled eggs on toast or an omelette is a good option. Plus jacket spuds. You can bung them in oven and that is literally it.

[Gawjushun]

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/storecupboard

This has been in my bookmarks for ages! I don't have much freezer space, so I tend to make sure I am stocked up with rice, pasta, tuna, and tinned tomatoes. I always have a big block of cheese in my fridge, because a bit of melted cheese can turn any weird combination into something tasty. A chorizo is also handy and lasts ages.

[Mammanat222]

Having just got a freezer for the first time in 7 years (previous places both had teeny kitchens so under the counter fridges only!) I am on course to stocking it up.

I am due to have DC2 any day so I have been saving portions of my home made food (curry, cottage pie, bolognese, chilli, basil and tomato sauce, Chinese diced
pork).

I've also invested in a few ready meals (M&S I love you) plus fish fingers, oven chips, frozen veg and ive stuck some pitta and naan bread in as well. Not healthy as such but its easy and filling and wont do us any harm.

I have a pretty comprehensive store cupboard as well. Always keep things like beans, pesto, dried pasta in stock as well as my actual 'cooking from scratch' stuff.

Have even bought some microwave rice for ease (to go with my currys) as I am sure covered in sauce it tastes ok?

[ghostyslovesheep]

Yup:

Fridge:
Onions
Mushrooms
Eggs
Milk

Cupboard:
Soup
Beans
Skettie
Part cooked bread rolls
Toms
Noodles
Pasta

Freezer:
Cops
Baked spuds
Loaf of bread
Ice pops
Fish
Chicken
Veg

[Allalonenow]

Get some jars of peanut butter, jam, lemoncurd and other cheap spreads and give those to visiting children, they shouldn't be eating you out of house and home and using up all your cheese and ham!
Or send them home when they are hungry/before mealtimes.

Other good freezer standbys are frozen rissoto and frozen mashed potato.