I occasionally go on strike from grocery shopping. Well, okay...it's not exactly a strike per say. But I sometimes skip a week just to use up what we have in the house already. I may stop at the store and grab some milk, but other than that, we just make do with what is in our pantry and freezer and eat any leftovers that may be in the fridge.
This week is looking to be one of those weeks. I typically grocery shop on the weekend when my husband is home, because - well, let's face it - taking 2 toddlers and an infant on a trip to the grocery store is 1) not very enjoyable, 2) filled with whining, and 3) completely impractical - where do you put the groceries if your cart is full of children? I did not make it this weekend and I'm starting to think that's okay. I stocked up on milk last week at CVS, so we're good there. We have lots of chicken and beef from when it was on sale the past few weeks. And we have plenty of frozen veggies, rice, and potatoes. What more could we need?
Have you ever gone on a "grocery strike"? I encourage you to try it! Not only will it save you some money. It will also help you find and prepare some foods that may otherwise go bad if not eaten soon? We have enjoyed (well, eaten) some meals that were made up of some, shall we say, rather unusual combinations during some of these "grocery strikes" at our house (i.e. oatmeal w/ green beans). Nevertheless, we lived to tell about it and our grocery budget benefited from it too!
Tonight we had grilled Italian chicken, mashed potatoes, and mixed veggies (various veggie leftovers).
Tuesday's dinner will be spaghetti w/ meat sauce and garlic toast.
On Wednesday, we will have meatloaf (from the freezer), potatoes, veggies, and homemade biscuits.
Thursday night is breakfast night! Bacon and cheese omelets w/ toast! (I noticed we have a lot of eggs). Yummo!
Friday's dinner is yet to be decided, but as you can see, we will probably not go hungry. I'm thinking chicken sandwiches right now.
Saturday we have a cookout at a friend's home, so no cooking required.
See how easy that was? Now you try it! :)
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This week's dinner menu - mostly courtesy of the freezer and pantry:
Monday - Fish, steak fries, canned pineapple, and sliced tomatoes
Tuesday - Oven BBQd ribs, macaroni and cheese, broccoli, and applesauce
Wednesday - Breakfast for dinner - Pancakes, eggs, sausage, and oranges
Thursday - Pasta bar (pasta with meatballs, alfredo sauce, and spaghetti sauce), parmesan biscuits, and salad
Friday - Frozen pizza night (Dad's "cooking"), canned pears
Saturday - Baked chicken, potato salad, peas, and canned peaches
Sunday - Restaurant dinner for Mother's Day
The only things I really had to buy this week were tomatoes (my 6-year old helped plan the menu this week and they were his special request), frozen pizza (dh's request for the night he's handling dinner this week), eggs, and a few other basics like milk, bananas, and cereal.
A good week all in all!
Since we're moving cross country in 2 weeks I've been trying to do this for the past month :-) My cupboards are quite bare now o it's looks like I'm succeeding!
I go just after dinner on a week night all by myself. It takes me exactly 1 1/2 hours so I am back before dinnertime. I do 1 major trip to the store every pay period (twice monthly) and then a small trip for bread, milk, eggs, fruit, etc once in between major trips. I also have 3 kids, so it is usually a lot of food to buy on the big trips, but saves me time and money.
I used to go on grocery strikes all of the time. My husband would definitely get sick of eating whatever is in the freezer/cabinets. I am doing that this week except for CVS of course and we are out of the free Coffeemate creamer so now he is used to it and really wants me to get more. Also, I am going to the Farmer's Market tomorrow, but that counts as enjoyment and not so much as grocery shopping!
I love grocery strikes. While it is hard, I love using stuff I should have long ago. It really helps me evaluate what I am wasting my money on. I love the sense of accomplishment I feel from practicing self control.
I am happy to see that I am not the only one who does the breakfast for dinner thing. At my house my daughters and I call it "Opposite Day"! We will have pancakes or french toast with bacon and eggs for dinner.
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