Food shopping for one

pattypan4

I don`t make a list for shopping, it was hard at first, downscaling to being one after being 5 then 2. I still had the good houskeeper stores, too much of everything and I am still working through things, like rice and tinned fish but I am getting there. I get an assortment of organic food delivered from riverford almost every week, sometimes I get carriesd away when ordering, like last week but I bought some more green bags and am storing fresh veg in those, they last much longer.

I look in the fridge and make my meal according to what I have in, just sometimes I get a bit more eg, meat, with my order, on purpose so that I make a casserole for ready meals, just got to add fresh veg when I serve up. I order meat now and then from an organic producer, got an order coming next, week. I vac pack it all in single portions but it does not fill a drawer as it is expensive. Vac packs keep the meat and fish extra fresh. I got venison this week because of the very short season I get fish direct from cornwall and again it is expensive I get the whole fillets and cut small to vac pack


I don`t get the set organic box, don`t eat potatoes and don`t like peppers, I do get milk, eggs, yoghurt and cream every week from them and just a bit of fruit, apples, kiwis and maybe grapefruits. I have a freezer full of berries and little pots of stewed apples

lessonlearned

Hi Fusspot

Shopping for one is a bit of an art isn't it, especially if you have been used to shopping for a family. It takes a bit of getting used to.

I think given that you do have two flights of stairs to your flat then shopping online for the heavier things is definitely the way to go.

You are very lucky in that because you are in The city centre for work anyway you then have the option to "shop like a French woman" :rotfl: for fresh produce, milk, eggs etc. Picking up things as and when you need them.

I dont know if this helps.....but when I buy meat etc I still buy it in the standard sizes and then cut it up and freeze it. For example a pack of say 6 or 8 sausages, I divide them into two. Or say a tray of 4 pork steaks or chicken breasts then I freeze them as single portions. If I make a casserole or bolognese sauce then again I divide it into portions and freeze it that way.

pamsdish

I agree with all who suggest meal planning, I use copy me that for recipes, it has a meal planner so just put into the queue, then assign to days, add all ingredients to my shopping list, then just go through removing what I have already, you can also just put ie: fish and chips, then I use my phone shopping list add what`s needed, also add to my list in general when running low on items, always have my phone so no forgetting list, sounds long winded but it only takes seconds.

suki1964

Fusspot, My ongoing shopping list is on my phone. I don't go anywhere without my phone as I also use it to pay. No fancy apps, just in the notes. And as I buy, I delete

I have fish in my freezer since the spring and last week I used some stuffing I bought before Christmas. I also have packs of stews that were made during the last winter. I will use them eventually. As long as what ever you freeze is well wrapped and air tight, it's fine. You may want to buy a vacuum sealer as Pattypan uses if you really do have concerns. You can buy them very reasonably from Lidl/Aldi when they come around ( usually twice a year ). I have one that I use for joints that I cut smaller. Also all my local butchers will vac pac into portions . When I used to visit friends in England Id take good NI steaks over vac pac'd

Please don't be afraid of food you have frozen. As long as it was fresh when you froze it, all freezing does it keep it to that condition until you use it, which it will as long as its wrapped carefully. Freezer burn will dry frozen food out, won't look nice or even taste too good, but it won't have made the food dangerous to eat

pattypan4

vac packer from andrew james, its been used an awful lot. I am old enough and savvy enough not to need to meal plan but I am not broke and being short of money would get me meal planning, its far the cheapest way to eat and helps with rotations. Depends on local facilities too and what you keep in store ie flour for bread, butter frozen in portions, a pint of milk in the freezer

Winter coming and again depends where you live but always good to have tinned basics and pasta in if nothing else. A little store of foods to see you through potentially a month or so of hard packed snow.


I suppose that having a decent sized freezer is key, even more important on your own I think. I squeezed a tall upright into my small dining end, they only gave me an integrated fridge/freezer with 3 very tiny freezer drawers. I couldn`t be doing with that

pamsdish

I got my vac pack off a great deal from Amazon, think the "bags" are better value Lidl or Aldi, I menu plan so I am fetching what I need from freezer the previous day, less tendency to grab something quick and easy, also a more varied diet, plus nothing is wasted.

[Deleted User]

suki1964 I too have a fish stash and usually go to Whitstable about half an hour away from where I live about twice a year I always think of stuff frozen as being in a 'suspended animation' state so as you say if its gone into the freezer fresh it will normally stay that way until needed.

I have been a careful budget shopper for most of my life and although I now am widowed and live alone I can see from what I buy normally how many meals I can streeetch things to So far this month I have spent around £21 ish ,mainly on fresh fruit and veg and a few odds and ends that I was running out of .

I don't buy or eat bread so only buy butter by the block if I am making shortbread.
I use UHT milk, as that way I don't end up throwing any out. I do cook from scratch and this morning I have 500 gms of mince from the freezer which with some diced onion (also from the freezer and a lonely carrot that's getting a bit bendy I diced up and chucked in as well .A tin of chopped tomatoes and a stock cube or two from the cupboard along with a dollop of lazy garlic and I have a bit potful of beautiful smelling beef to make some lasagnes and shepards pies to be returned to the freezer when cooled down I will get at least 6-7 meals for myself out of this easily as I will add (if lasagne ) some fresh salad), or steamed green veg if shepards pies .
With either a bowl of HM soup to start with, or some rice or semolina pud, or maybe a crumble made from foraged blackberries or apples and custard for pudding it will more than fill me up for dinner.
My late Mum always gave us children either soup to start with or a sweet to finish with, and two courses mean the main meal doesn't have to be huge (a canny wee Scot was my Mum ) she knew how to fill her children up during WW2 and after with even more severe rationing
I don't have to cook a Sunday dinner as I have that at my DDs every week and Tuesday nights I eat at the pub quiz which comes in with the price of the quiz so I really only have 5 dinners to make per week. I normally have porridge or a cereal of some sort for breakfast and soup or crackers and cheese for lunch with a piece of fruit afterwards Hence how I can live fairly healthily on quite a small budget .

A small tin of pilchards cost around 50p will make two meals for me ,either as fish cakes with a small salad one day, then leftover bits mixed with a dollop of mayo go on crackers for lunch the next day
I usually find any leftovers can be utilised into something else the next day
I like sometimes to use leftover mushroom stalks into a quiche with maybe some diced pepper and a small amount of diced onion a couple of eggs and some grated cheese all chucked into a pastry base which costs pennies to make will do 2=3 meals easily for me .and the cost is minimal.

But its a habit that I have got into more over the past few years When I was widowed in 2003 for about a year I seemed to live on jacket potatoes for some reason I just didn't feel like cooking much ,than I thought this is daft I am a reasonable cook and I'm fed up of jacket spuds so I returned to cooking, but instead of cooking for two it was cook for me, plus one or two dishes for the freezer .
But I never look in the fridge and think 'what do I fancy ' as I know with in reason for the following week what I shall be eating Plus it saves me a lot of trailing around the shops

JackieO xx

pattypan4

soups are always good for emptying fridge drawers. I feel like making a nice minestrone on friday, have everything there except tiny pasta. I suppose that is a meal plan it will last for several days and get tastier by the day. I have parmesan and bread so yes definitely a meal plan. I have lettuce, tomatoes and radish, so more meals based on salad. I manage to get by without wasting anything

dreaming

pattypan4 wrote: »

soups are always good for emptying fridge drawers. I feel like making a nice minestrone on friday, have everything there except tiny pasta. I suppose that is a meal plan it will last for several days and get tastier by the day. I have parmesan and bread so yes definitely a meal plan. I have lettuce, tomatoes and radish, so more meals based on salad. I manage to get by without wasting anything

I just bash some ordinary pasta into smaller pieces for adding to soup.

Fusspot

JackieO wrote: »

suki1964 I too have a fish stash and usually go to Whitstable about half an hour away from where I live about twice a year I always think of stuff frozen as being in a 'suspended animation' state so as you say if its gone into the freezer fresh it will normally stay that way until needed.

I have been a careful budget shopper for most of my life and although I now am widowed and live alone I can see from what I buy normally how many meals I can streeetch things to So far this month I have spent around £21 ish ,mainly on fresh fruit and veg and a few odds and ends that I was running out of .

I don't buy or eat bread so only buy butter by the block if I am making shortbread.
I use UHT milk, as that way I don't end up throwing any out. I do cook from scratch and this morning I have 500 gms of mince from the freezer which with some diced onion (also from the freezer and a lonely carrot that's getting a bit bendy I diced up and chucked in as well .A tin of chopped tomatoes and a stock cube or two from the cupboard along with a dollop of lazy garlic and I have a bit potful of beautiful smelling beef to make some lasagnes and shepards pies to be returned to the freezer when cooled down I will get at least 6-7 meals for myself out of this easily as I will add (if lasagne ) some fresh salad), or steamed green veg if shepards pies .
With either a bowl of HM soup to start with, or some rice or semolina pud, or maybe a crumble made from foraged blackberries or apples and custard for pudding it will more than fill me up for dinner.
My late Mum always gave us children either soup to start with or a sweet to finish with, and two courses mean the main meal doesn't have to be huge (a canny wee Scot was my Mum ) she knew how to fill her children up during WW2 and after with even more severe rationing
I don't have to cook a Sunday dinner as I have that at my DDs every week and Tuesday nights I eat at the pub quiz which comes in with the price of the quiz so I really only have 5 dinners to make per week. I normally have porridge or a cereal of some sort for breakfast and soup or crackers and cheese for lunch with a piece of fruit afterwards Hence how I can live fairly healthily on quite a small budget .

A small tin of pilchards cost around 50p will make two meals for me ,either as fish cakes with a small salad one day, then leftover bits mixed with a dollop of mayo go on crackers for lunch the next day
I usually find any leftovers can be utilised into something else the next day
I like sometimes to use leftover mushroom stalks into a quiche with maybe some diced pepper and a small amount of diced onion a couple of eggs and some grated cheese all chucked into a pastry base which costs pennies to make will do 2=3 meals easily for me .and the cost is minimal.

But its a habit that I have got into more over the past few years When I was widowed in 2003 for about a year I seemed to live on jacket potatoes for some reason I just didn't feel like cooking much ,than I thought this is daft I am a reasonable cook and I'm fed up of jacket spuds so I returned to cooking, but instead of cooking for two it was cook for me, plus one or two dishes for the freezer .
But I never look in the fridge and think 'what do I fancy ' as I know with in reason for the following week what I shall be eating Plus it saves me a lot of trailing around the shops

JackieO xx

Jackie, I wish I was as organised as you. Do you ever do an online grocery shop? I like to batch cook and freeze but then tend to go off the idea of eating the food once its thawed out. I need to get back on track though.