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Thrifty Eats
Apr. 15th, 2020 08:07 amOne of my 2020 goals was to cut down on our grocery and dining out bill and we accidentally did so. Hubs had surgery in February that required a bland, mushy, small portioned diet afterwards. "You won't be eating steak, that's for sure!" the surgeon told us in December. Hello pudding, rice, soggy cereal, Jell-O, oatmeal and pasta!
Then, COVID-19 came along. Goodbye dining out! Goodbye pricey lunches! We have been trying to support our favourite restaurants with delivery, but it's only now that hubs can start to eat regular food again.
Grocery shopping has become it's own mini nightmare. My parents grew up in scarcity and I grew up with scarcity, so I have scarcity on the mind. Hubs, however, did not, and meal planning shows our disparity. For example, a typical dinner when I was growing up was canned corned beef, canned vegetables and mashed potatoes. Dad used to be a work camp cook in the oil and gas industry a long time ago, so he knew a thing or two about making eggs and pancakes. It feels like we ate a lot of frozen waffles as kids along with mac and cheese.
Anyway, since hubs was immune-compromised for a while, I did the grocery shopping. We would try to figure out what to eat but I couldn't make any guarantees that I could buy it. I used to enjoy going to Safeway at 7am--no more. I used to enjoy shows like Supermarket Sweep as a kid, but gosh, the real life version is not so fun! Grocery shopping has become a game of dodge 'em. There are grocery delivery services where I live, but our smaller appetites also make it difficult to plan. I don't want to spend money on food we won't eat.
I stocked up on pantry staples so we wouldn't have to go grocery shopping again for another week. I also stocked up on frozen dinners since that takes the guesswork out of everything. Surprisingly, I have been able to get a lot of fresh produce and that makes a big difference.
I appreciate working from home and being able to make us a good hearty lunch! Here's yesterday's lunch of black forest ham, leftover bratwurst and cheese on a bun. It was really delicious. It was a bite of gratitude in action :-)
Then, COVID-19 came along. Goodbye dining out! Goodbye pricey lunches! We have been trying to support our favourite restaurants with delivery, but it's only now that hubs can start to eat regular food again.
Grocery shopping has become it's own mini nightmare. My parents grew up in scarcity and I grew up with scarcity, so I have scarcity on the mind. Hubs, however, did not, and meal planning shows our disparity. For example, a typical dinner when I was growing up was canned corned beef, canned vegetables and mashed potatoes. Dad used to be a work camp cook in the oil and gas industry a long time ago, so he knew a thing or two about making eggs and pancakes. It feels like we ate a lot of frozen waffles as kids along with mac and cheese.
Anyway, since hubs was immune-compromised for a while, I did the grocery shopping. We would try to figure out what to eat but I couldn't make any guarantees that I could buy it. I used to enjoy going to Safeway at 7am--no more. I used to enjoy shows like Supermarket Sweep as a kid, but gosh, the real life version is not so fun! Grocery shopping has become a game of dodge 'em. There are grocery delivery services where I live, but our smaller appetites also make it difficult to plan. I don't want to spend money on food we won't eat.
I stocked up on pantry staples so we wouldn't have to go grocery shopping again for another week. I also stocked up on frozen dinners since that takes the guesswork out of everything. Surprisingly, I have been able to get a lot of fresh produce and that makes a big difference.
I appreciate working from home and being able to make us a good hearty lunch! Here's yesterday's lunch of black forest ham, leftover bratwurst and cheese on a bun. It was really delicious. It was a bite of gratitude in action :-)
