Do you shop weekly or monthly?

Fusspot

SunnyGirl wrote: »

I got rid of the slow cooker a while back as it was way too big once the kids left home so I use casserole dishes and pans. I cook one kind of meat when batch cooking and do it over a few days. For example, today I made myself a roast chicken dinner for tea and while the oven was on I cooked a bolognese sauce and a chilli in Pyrex dishes with lids. The chicken was eaten as a roast tonight, the other breast has been shredded and frozen for a pasta meal later in the month and the bolognese and chilli made 4 meals each from 750g of less than 5% fat minced beef. One lot of cooking equalled 11 meals where I don't have to cook :T

It's such an ingrained habit with me that I don't need motivation particularly. How about trying just one batch cooked meal this month? I don't know how many you're cooking for but even something like a spag bol where you double up the quantities and eat one and freeze one would be helpful?

As for the washing up I fling it all in the dishwasher which is about to finish now

Thanks for this. I just cook for myself now, I live on my own. I have a small 1.5 litre slow cooker that will do enough for one meal and one left over. I don't have a dish washer, don't have room for one so I have to wash up by hand.

Chicken, I love it but am always wary of reheating and freezing it for some reason. I love mince and fish. Fish I cook in the microwave in a steamer. I used to have ready meals nearly every night but now I've cut them down to once a week and other nights I have things like breaded chicken or Birds Eye foods.

[Deleted User]

GreyQueen wrote: »

I have one of those stylish two wheeled shopping trollies

What do you do with it whilst you're wheeling the supermarket trolley around?

Hermia

Fusspot wrote: »

Please tell me - how do you stay motivated Do you use your slow cooker to batch cook? I have tried this and then I find once I have frozen something I don't fancy it anymore so I end up eating rubbish. Also when you batch cook there's all the pots to deal with, even though it does make life easier afterwards.

I find with batch cooking it is easier to occasionally spend a whole day doing it rather than doing a small batch cook every week. I just wait until my freezer is nearly empty, load up my laptop with podcasts and spend the whole day listening to them whilst I have a food production line going on. It looks chaotic and I have to do several lots of washing up throughout the day, but I get into a groove and can get a lot done. Last time I did it I made 40 portions of three different soups so I didn't need to make any more soup for lunch for absolutely ages. If you choose recipes that have ingredients in common it is easier because you can just prep everything at once. I do find I need to write out a timetable so I do things in the right order.

Feral_Moon

jack_pott wrote: »

What do you do with it whilst you're wheeling the supermarket trolley around?

Why do you need a supermarket trolley when you're akready pulling one? Easiest way of knowing how much shopping you can carry is to use it as you go round the supermarket.

[Deleted User]

Feral_Moon wrote: »

Easiest way of knowing how much shopping you can carry is to use it as you go round the supermarket.

Doesn't that wind up the store detectives?

Feral_Moon

jack_pott wrote: »

Doesn't that wind up the store detectives?

Why should it? It's not as though you're leaving the store and everything is put through the till and paid for.

GrowingPlants

I tend to shop every 2-3 weeks, no set day just when the list of things I need gets long enough or important enough (loo roll, medicine when I'm ill) to be worth the trip. I think with less trips to the supermarket I save money. When I shop weekly there is definitely more of 'what do I fancy now' than planned meals around staples I already have in.

Feral_Moon

GrowingPlants wrote: »

I tend to shop every 2-3 weeks, no set day just when the list of things I need gets long enough or important enough (loo roll, medicine when I'm ill) to be worth the trip. I think with less trips to the supermarket I save money. When I shop weekly there is definitely more of 'what do I fancy now' than planned meals around staples I already have in.

Same here with regard to big shops but then I don't have any supermarkets within walking distance and nearest Aldi (my preferred s/m) is over 10 miles away. But my local Co-op is just around the corner so I tend to pop in almost daily to pick up essentials and raid the reduced items counter.

Depending which staff are on evening shift, everything is reduced to 10p by 9pm so the savings I make there more than make up for higher priced items plus there's no travelling costs. And the Co-op isn't really that expensive in comparison to Sainsbury's and a Waitrose - the nearest two supermarkets.

Spendless

Think it depends on your household. I have teenagers. I frequently have to remind them that the food bought is called 'weekly grocery shopping' not '5 minutes after Mum comes home from the supermarket'. Wouldn't dare have 4 weeks worth of some stuff in the house.

[Deleted User]

I shop now about twice a month and find that is more than enough for me I have a small list by the kettle where I put down things I have run out of or need I never shop unless there is around 10 items minimum on my list. I not so much batch cook as cook a meal and portion up the left overs If I make a lasagne then one big one will make at least one to eat and five to freeze in those rectangular plastic boxes that come with take-aways (my DD saves them for me )The boxes stack well in the freezer as well.I do the same with chillis,curries etc.Two nights a week I am not at home for dinner so only have five meals to sort out for the evening.Often as in tonight I will come home from Dds with enough left overs for Monday nights meal so I will only be cooking four meals this week in the evening.I live alone and my food shopping bills for July was a touch over £48 so it averaged out at just over £12 per week.I spend about a third of that on fresh fruit and veg and make a lot of HM soups for lunches