Here in New York we started a quasi-lockdown last night: Everybody stays home except essential workers, though we’re allowed to go to the grocery store and pharmacy, and leave home for brief periods of exercise (as long as we maintain social distance). I almost made one last panic-shopping trip yesterday, but I realized that would be foolhardy right now. Over the last two weeks I’ve bought every shelf-stable product I can think of. We’re low-ish on fresh fruit (confession: I really wanted to go grab another crate of mangos), but I’ve got dried, some frozen (my kid keeps eating it!), and even a few cans. We’ve got a full gallon of milk, a dozen raw eggs, and another dozen hard-boiled. I can avoid shopping for a week, maybe more.
I know it’s unlikely that you’ve got everything you need for every meal in this week’s plan (reminder: I wrote a guide to substitutions for common items, available on Huffington Post). If you’d like to choose a different recipe completely, I’ve gathered up a few good sources. Each of these has dozens of pantry-based options:
We still have plenty of food. My biggest issue is my husband keeps wanting to us (me) to shop! We don't need bananas! We have apples and oranges and frozen peaches and frozen raspberries and frozen blueberries. There are fruit options!
I handle the meals - cooking, planning etc, but I laid in so many supplies that I haven't really had to get creative yet even (mostly right now I'm watching use by dates of fridge items like a hawk).
Our local farmer's market has an email list and you can specifically order and then pick up which I may do in another week, but I feel like things just aren't dire yet, so why go out when I don't have to?
We can't find any lentils anywhere! Did manage to snag a bag of sun dried tomatoes though. We have switched to online grocery delivery and the people are real sweet about the stuff that's missing. Tonight we made the soup with a couple cans of white beans. The kids gobbled the chicken up so I'm glad we're having it again later. My anxiety is high!
I had an uncle drop off some groceries today and I now have a ridiculous amount of regular / sweet potatoes hahaha
But I wanted to post on here since I I I chicken adobo may be good to have for one of the meals on the meal plans if were to keep doing pantry based meals till this blows over? Theres so many ways to make it and it's very versatile for what combination of soy sauce and vinegar you use!
We’re pretty laden, but because we move around and haven’t found a place to hunker down yet, access to groceries is always in the back of my mind- along with access to water and dump stations. I ordered a cache of dehydrated food, but my mailbox is in SD...and we’re in KS, heading to CO. Same issues as the rest of you, but with a few more moving parts.
Here in MD, I signed up for deliveries from a local creamery who will bring us produce, milk, eggs, and cheese. It's spendier than I'd normally do but it's a huge relief because my three kids are eating everything I haven't hidden and the 2yo doesn't understand the concept of "no, that's it on the strawberries. Seriously." (Side note, I hate that I have to hide food.) We lived in Africa for six years and some of those food hoarding skills have helped me out: I accidentally have far too much protein socked away in the freezer. The rice/beans/pasta/flour aisles were wiped clean by last Thursday and still haven't been restocked, so hopefully they'll get used to polenta and brown rice as sides because that's what we've got.
Every time we use the last of something I wonder how long before we will see that again. I can make bread, but how long will the flour last? Are those clothes really dirty? Wear them again kids. :(
I'm struggling with having to feed everyone three meals a day x 7 plus snacks. We are trying to do online pick up grocery orders which means a six-day wait for a slot. I hope to be starting this week's plan on Wednesday night which is when last week's order was first available - who knows what from my order will make it.
Went to our local grocery store to discover mobs of people and signs all over stating that they are not honoring sale prices at this time. A can of Goya beans is $1. Seriously? It is a stressful time for all of us and to have your local grocery store doing this makes it more difficult. I spent much of the week trying to procure unemployment benefits as our income has disappeared as quickly as the virus spreads and then trying to get food that we can afford for our family. I appreciate your posts though, and will look up the bean recipes because I bought some very expensive beans.
Thank you for all your help. We are in WI and very close to similar situation as your “lockdown”. I went to the store yesterday and overbought shelf stable as well. My challenge will be using what I have to be creative for meals past this weeks menu that my family will eat.
We still have plenty of food. My biggest issue is my husband keeps wanting to us (me) to shop! We don't need bananas! We have apples and oranges and frozen peaches and frozen raspberries and frozen blueberries. There are fruit options!
I handle the meals - cooking, planning etc, but I laid in so many supplies that I haven't really had to get creative yet even (mostly right now I'm watching use by dates of fridge items like a hawk).
Our local farmer's market has an email list and you can specifically order and then pick up which I may do in another week, but I feel like things just aren't dire yet, so why go out when I don't have to?
We can't find any lentils anywhere! Did manage to snag a bag of sun dried tomatoes though. We have switched to online grocery delivery and the people are real sweet about the stuff that's missing. Tonight we made the soup with a couple cans of white beans. The kids gobbled the chicken up so I'm glad we're having it again later. My anxiety is high!
I had an uncle drop off some groceries today and I now have a ridiculous amount of regular / sweet potatoes hahaha
But I wanted to post on here since I I I chicken adobo may be good to have for one of the meals on the meal plans if were to keep doing pantry based meals till this blows over? Theres so many ways to make it and it's very versatile for what combination of soy sauce and vinegar you use!
We’re pretty laden, but because we move around and haven’t found a place to hunker down yet, access to groceries is always in the back of my mind- along with access to water and dump stations. I ordered a cache of dehydrated food, but my mailbox is in SD...and we’re in KS, heading to CO. Same issues as the rest of you, but with a few more moving parts.
Here in MD, I signed up for deliveries from a local creamery who will bring us produce, milk, eggs, and cheese. It's spendier than I'd normally do but it's a huge relief because my three kids are eating everything I haven't hidden and the 2yo doesn't understand the concept of "no, that's it on the strawberries. Seriously." (Side note, I hate that I have to hide food.) We lived in Africa for six years and some of those food hoarding skills have helped me out: I accidentally have far too much protein socked away in the freezer. The rice/beans/pasta/flour aisles were wiped clean by last Thursday and still haven't been restocked, so hopefully they'll get used to polenta and brown rice as sides because that's what we've got.
Every time we use the last of something I wonder how long before we will see that again. I can make bread, but how long will the flour last? Are those clothes really dirty? Wear them again kids. :(
I'm struggling with having to feed everyone three meals a day x 7 plus snacks. We are trying to do online pick up grocery orders which means a six-day wait for a slot. I hope to be starting this week's plan on Wednesday night which is when last week's order was first available - who knows what from my order will make it.
Went to our local grocery store to discover mobs of people and signs all over stating that they are not honoring sale prices at this time. A can of Goya beans is $1. Seriously? It is a stressful time for all of us and to have your local grocery store doing this makes it more difficult. I spent much of the week trying to procure unemployment benefits as our income has disappeared as quickly as the virus spreads and then trying to get food that we can afford for our family. I appreciate your posts though, and will look up the bean recipes because I bought some very expensive beans.
Thank you for all your help. We are in WI and very close to similar situation as your “lockdown”. I went to the store yesterday and overbought shelf stable as well. My challenge will be using what I have to be creative for meals past this weeks menu that my family will eat.