Catherine's post about having a minimalist menu to pay off debt reminded me of a thread we had several years ago about a reduced item grocery list to save time and money, but still be well thought out for flexibility and health.
If you had a grocery list of 20-24 repeated items and 1-5 slots for seasonal items/farmer's market items, what would be on your list?
I'll play.
In no particular order:
dried beans
whole chicken
ham
frozen vegetables (unadorned string beans, broccoli, etc.; no "butter" sauce or "meal starters")
peanut butter (two kinds to keep both of us happy)
eggs
cheese for snacking and for accenting meals
onions
garlic/granulated garlic
oranges (seasonal, but not a farmer's market item here)
sweet potatoes
coffee
bread (we don't eat much bread, but it seems there's always some in the house)
canned tuna
retort-packaged almond milk (for DW's protein shakes; seems to have a much longer shelf life than milk)
canned tomatoes (except for those three weeks when the fresh ones are ripe here)
cookies (DW likes her little treats)
white fish (halibut, tilapia, whatever's more seasonal. I much prefer fresh fish to frozen)
bananas
pork muscle cuts (chops, roasts, etc.)
peanuts
carrots
seasonally:
cabbage
cucumbers
apples
berries
greens (collards, turnips, kale, pea tips, etc.)
Then there would be things which would be purchased on a much less frequent basis, like olive oil, salsa, crackers, spices, mustard, etc. We buy many different foods and I like to think I'm creative enough to use them all up. But these items strike me as the ones I'm always buying somewhere.
Wonder what I forgot...
Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. - Booker T. Washington
Couldn't get it down to 25. I'm vegetarian but others in family are not. We do grow our own tomatoes (short season, though), carrots, garlic, onions, potatoes, strawberries, blueberries, greens (chard, kale) and lettuce (though I haven't been organized enough to have a crop always ready.) We also have many fruit trees, so don't buy fruit when they are going strong. I generally pick enough blackberries and freeze them to get us through the year. I see that I could save a lot of money by canning - something I've been afraid to do. I have this fear of botulism. We don't generally have all these things all the time - maybe barley but not quinoa, broccoli but not cauliflower. We try to buy all organic foods, as much from the farmer's market as we can, but also shop at Costco and Trader Joe's.
1. Milk
2. Soy milk
3. Cheese
4. Eggs
5. Bread
6. Rice
7. Barley
8. Wheat flour
9. Pasta
10. Oats
11. Quinoa
12. Nut butter
13. Walnuts
14. Almonds
15. Raisins
16. Strawberry jam
17. Apples
18. Bananas
19. (Seasonal fruit)
20. Broccoli
21. Cauliflower
22. Spinach
23. Lettuce
24. Tomatoes
25. Tomato sauce
26. Cucumbers
27. Avocados
28. Salmon
29. (Seasonal fish)
30. Chicken
31. Tea
32. Coffee
33 Beans
I'll give it a try based on what we bought last week:
1. chicken
2. beef
3. fish
4. bacon
5. butter
6 olive oil
7. coconut cream
8. pistachios
9. eggs
10. cajun seasoning mix
11. mexican seasoning mix
12. apples
13. oranges
14. bananas
15. brussels sprouts
16. cauliflower
17. broccoli
18. lettuce
19. tomato
20. cucumber
21. red bell pepper
22. avocado
23. kumara (sweet potato)
24. fennel bulb
25. celery
26. silverbeet
27. coriander
28. carrots
29. cabbage
30. lemons
31. feijoas (seasonal fruit of awesomeness!)
32. frozen strawberries
33. frozen blueberries
34. frozen black berries
35. frozen cherries
36. frozen mixed veggies
37. yogurt
other things that may be purchased at other times --
1. tea
2. coconut oil
3. cod liver oil
4. chocolate
5. other nuts including almonds, macadamias, walnuts
6. other seasoning mixes or herbs/spices
Oh yes, add olive oil and chocolate to my list as well!
I don't know about a list of 25 but I have decided that I will no longer push a cart around the grocery store. What doesn't fit into 2 of my bags will not go home with me. I'm tired of throwing out produce that I get excited about and over buy. When I buy 5 red peppers because they are a good price.....I end up throwing away 2. It may mean more trips to the store but hopefully less waste.
Grocery Items (some replaced by garden at home in season)
spinach
red-leaf
carrots
red pepper
cucumber
tomato
sweet potato
potato
grapes
cantalope
apples
oranges
strawberries
chicken
beef
fish
bacon or pork (keep that a secret from DH he doesn't eat pork)
pasta
red or white sauce
beans
tortila shells
french bread
oatmeal
cheese
ice cream
milk
My chickens keep me in eggs
re-bought as used:
dark chocolate chips
pecans
almonds
flours
brown sugar
honey (local bee keeper)
oils
spices and seasonings and dressings and condiments
Float On: My "Happy Place" is on my little kayak in the coves of Table Rock Lake.
I'll play too, but only 'cause I'm on my second glass of wine.
1. beans
2. rice
3. pasta
4. butter
5. cheese
6. bacon
7. chicken
8. ground beef
9. onions
10. garlic
11. milk
12. flour
13. eggs
14. celery
15. carrots
16. canned tuna
17. canned tomatoes
18. spices (I can't do 25 items if I have to divvy up individual spices. Need too many of them.)
19. olive oil
20. canola or other general-use oil
21. vinegar
22. coffee
23. tea
24. bouillon cubes (can I have both chicken and beef?)
25. sugar
Seasonal items:
1. tomatoes ('cause off-season store-bought tomatoes are just worthless. I'm counting that we've grown our own in gardening season.)
2. cabbage
3. apples
4. asparagus
5. peaches
So far I've got 21 Items plus 4 slots for the seasonal and farmer's market items. Debating peanuts or sesame seeds though. Would welcome thoughts on which is better.
On some of the lists you might be able to use a more basic ingredient to create some of your other items. Nuts could be used to make nut butters. Flour could be used to make bread, pasta, cookies, crackers.
I think last time we had herbs and spices and salt as a separate thread, so no need to count those in your top 25. Blackdog Lin, maybe your #18 could be wine.
Rice
Corn
Wheat (+sourdough)
Quinoa
Chicken
Eggs
Salmon
Beans
Milk
Cheese
Peanuts or Sesame Seeds
Bananas
Grapes
Citrus fruit
Canned tomatoes
Seaweed
Olive oil
Vinegar
Honey
Tea
Chocolate
Seasonal/FM (Many would be from the garden)
Seasonal/FM
Seasonal/FM
Seasonal/FM
Amaranth: oh wow, I can't believe I forgot that one!
1. eggs
2. sharp cheddar cheese (no lactose)
3. vanilla yogurt
4. canned or frozen fruit to put in the yogurt
5. celery
6. onions
7. carrots
8. garlic
9. gingerroot (for tea)
10, green tea
11. Summer squashes
12. alfalfa sprouts
13. lunch meat
14 avocado
15 tomatoes
18. mushrooms
19. chicken
20. V-8 juice (keeps my hair from graying)
21. sugar
22. cocoa powder (for homemade chocolate)
23. sunflower kernels
24. brown rice
25. butter
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote