Two food shopping trips a week?

[Coffee234]

Hi. I know this isn't a big issue.
Just wanted to see what people thought and what you will be doing.
I usually do one big click and collect shop and then a small (fruit and milk) shop a few days later. No chance of getting a click and collect slot and I'm thinking it should go to the more needy anyway.

So do you think one big shop and one little shop is ok with the current lockdown.
How are you going to plan you essential food shop now?
?

Go to jack monroe on twitter - she is sharing loads of free recipes on cooking with tinned food.

I will be walking to shops and carrying as we don't have a car. We will need to restock as on 14 days isolation already but will try to stick to one shop a week, unless i have problems getting milk for my son.

I am lucky as local market that used to deliver to restaurants is now home delivering with 48 hours notice, so can get veg abd fruit for us and neighbour. So i have quite a bit of choice and should be able to carry what we need.

Part of it is changing mindset - had to tell partner no eggs for breakfast as need them for main meals. Uht on weetabix or granola is not his idea of a good time but it's also not real hardship.

But i am lucky to just be hand carrying for two adults and a baby

I've had sainsburys tomatoes in the fruit bowl for 3 weeks and they are still young and beautiful - it's slightly scary what they must be made of.

We are only eating bread once a day, for either lunch or breakfast.

Oat biscuits are good and filling with cheese.

Potatoes are good on vitamin C, veg are generally better in terms of vitamins and minerals than fruit.

Buy a big white cabbage and a bag of carrots (both of which will keep 2 weeks) shred for coleslaw, shred some more finely for stir fry, shred some more for a mayo free slaw with some ginger (powdered is ok) lemon juice or wine vinegar and oil.

Make chick pea curry, sag aloo (with frozen spinach) daal.

I don't think anyone with a car needs to shop more than once a week. I did a weeks shopping last Sunday and am thinking carefully about which day I'm going to go next. I want to time it so there will be eggs. I've no idea how I do that though.

How can people only shop once a week though? Most fruit, veg, bread etc goes out of date in 3-4 days

mabel RTFT.

Loads of examples of fruit and veg that do not ‘go out of date’, things to buy instead of soft fruits that don’t last, and ways to adjust your eating to a once a week shop.

Veg isn’t out of date until it is rotting! Much frozen veg is good: green beans, petit pois, broccoli, sweet corn.

We need to adapt.

How can people only shop once a week though? Most fruit, veg, bread etc goes out of date in 3-4 days

That just isn't true. Even in normal times I shop roughly once every 10 days. You eat the things that are short dated first. You use the freezer and you buy different "baked goods" options ranging from bread to crumpets to long life wraps

Most frozen veg is actually better for us in terms of nutrients and fresher than "fresh" stuff in shops.

How can people only shop once a week though? Most fruit, veg, bread etc goes out of date in 3-4 days

Easily. If you store your food correctly it lasts ages. Throwing food away because it's reached it's use by date is massively wasteful, too.

Frozen vegetables last months and are actually more nutritious than fresh as they're frozen immediately, whereas the fresh stuff ripens and ripens before it's brought to you. Bread can be frozen and defrosted as necessary, same as milk.

If you store fruit and vegetables in the fridge or in a cool, dark cupboard it will easily last a week. If not, buy tinned or frozen.

Shopping every 2-3 days is a luxury we can no longer afford. People need to be creative. Buy packaged foods, batch cook and freeze sauces, buy frozen meat and vegetables that won't go off in a day or two, buy tinned or frozen vegetables.

Of course there are situations where people simply cannot avoid going out more than the very bare minimum. Then of course you can do so with a clear conscience and just take the best precautions you possibly can, being smart about it.

But those who can avoid it, should.

Everyone should read these, to understand more about what we are up against:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/3860306-this-is-our-reality-please-stay-inside-nurse

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/3859971-Viral-load-can-someone-explain

On food shopping, obviously it’s difficult now because people aren’t finding what they want or need in the supermarkets, but whatever you can find that you even vaguely know how to use, buy it, store it carefully and make use of it all of it. Now is not a time for being precious or picky. Don’t throw anything away that is still usable. We’re very spoiled, we eat on a daily basis much, much more than we actually need. It will not harm any of us (barring those with allergies, illnesses, and exceptional circumstances) to have a bit less of certain things for a while. Children will stay healthy, they’ll get what they need from quite a limited diet as long as it’s well balanced.

We use a fair bit of frozen veg just as a matter of course, to supplement our fresh stores; it’s a great way of having greater variety without risking anything being wasted. Peas, corn, cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, spinach, mushrooms, peppers, butternut squash, onions, leeks, mirepoix mix, stir fry mix, bean mix. And probably quite a few more that I can’t remember just now. I also chop up and freeze any veg or herbs that aren’t going to be used in time, to avoid them going off.

Anyway, this isn’t really the thread for this specific discussion, I guess. But if anyone does want some help with stretching food, recipes for leftovers, guidance in planning meals with a view to making the best of what you’ve got to hand, please join this frugal foodies thread which I opened recently. There are lots of good ideas on it, lots of tips and hints for quick and easy meals too.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/3857078-Food-thread-Favourite-leftover-dishes-avoiding-waste-menu-ideas

to all who are stressed or worrying - it is difficult when things are taken out of our control like this and we can’t take comfort in maintaining normalcy, but we can cope, and so can our children.

Loving the go once a week and just buy enough comments. There are five of us. Most shops will now only sell one of most things. We'll be going 2-3 times a week unless we're allowed to buy more things in one shop.

Most shops will now only sell one of most things

No they won’t. It was three of any item in Morrisons yesterday.

People here assume others have a massive freezer to store bread and plenty of veg etc. My freezer is small, no room for a bigger one due to size of the kitchen.

For those for whom one shop a week will work, great. For those of us where it's impossible, leave us be

We have a tiny kitchen, and a small freezer section at the bottom of our fridge.

Those who don’t have freezer space or simply have no alternatives are obviously not the ones who need to be worrying about it. Those who do have freezer space should avoid going out more than is strictly necessary.

Reading this with interest as we've run out of cat food and will have to venture to a shop tomorrow. My plan is to do a thorough stock take tonight and top up on everything else so we don't have to go for another week. I'm a bit worried people will think I'm 'panic buying' as there's 5 of us so we'll need a fair bit.

Can you buy it on amazon?

(If you don’t find it in the shops, I mean)

People are still assuming life can carry on as normal - what was it Nicola Sturgeon said? If your life feels normal then you're doing something wrong.

We need to learn to adapt. Fresh fruit and vegetables are not a necessity. Tinned will do for now. Frozen is fine too. You can store cupboard necessities in the spare room, or on a bookshelf, or in carrier bags on the floor. Our kitchen storage is tiny so we have food being stored in living room and in the cupboard under the stairs.

You're entitled to fresh fruit and vegetables. Buy tinned fruit, tinned beans, frozen vegetables. Buy pitta bread or crumpets or bagels as well as normal sliced bread. Contact your local dairy or small shop and arrange home delivery of things too.

No-one's assuming a massive freezer, just a normal fridge freezer. Plenty of room for a couple of loaves of bread, some milk, packs of veg, fish fingers and other breaded stuff, pizzas, meat, fish, anything really.

That's not an unrealistic luxury. Most of the people I know are far less affluent than the Mumsnet average demographic and I don't know anyone without a normal fridge freezer. Yet on here, many people seem to view them as less accessible than a supercar.

The time will come when people are forced to shop sensibly if they won’t do it themselves, eg you’re allocated a shopping day and will be turned away on every other day. This was all you got for a week in WW2 and they didn’t have fridges, let alone freezers.

Sorry, my last post should say you're not entitled to fresh fruit and vegetables.

alsohuman
those rations were supplemented with bread, veg/fruit from the garden or allotment.

I unexpectedly came on my period today so had to pop out for tampons...I'm not due on until next week and have some ordered in my online shop. We also ran out of milk and I can't get loo roll for love nor money...

As long as people aren't just having a casual stroll to the shops as entertainment then it's fine to pop out for a top up shop!

In what world can people spread two cartons of milk out over a week?!