What are your staples?

[oblio]

How often do you go to the grocery store? How much do you spend on groceries? What are your staple items?

We can not figure out our food situation. He's not a snacker. I am. But he's the meal maker and grocery shopper. I don't complain...except for here. There is never food in this house!! We get groceries for dinner, that's it. I am always hungry, apparently he subsists on air.

We (he) gets food daily, for dinner that night and I have no idea what he spends. My guess would be 15-25$ a day. We don't do much other shopping. If I go with him to the grocery store we shop for a month of snacks and it's at least 200$ and we supplement throughout the month for dinners. My grocery list is veggies/pitas and hummus, cottage cheese, sandwich fixin's, salsa, fruit, salad, pasta, yogurt, string cheese. Surely I'm missing something.

[merigayle]

We spend around $150-200+ a week on groceries (3 people, no eating out).

What we get every week: (or as needed, like onions, potatoes)
carrots, onions, potatoes, leeks, beets, kale, mangoes, bananas, basil, other fruit, winter squashes, peanut butter, Luna bars (DD's go to breakfast if we are in a bind), dried beans, box of diced tomatoes, rice, tofu, flax milk, coffee and tea, cat food.

That is our basic list every week. Add to it as we alter what we are eating that week for meals.

[srsly]

I do a major food shopping 1x-2x a month. and 1x a week for fresh stuff. My major food shopping involves buying coffee, sugar and flour (though I haven't bought either of them since winter and probably wont until the fall for baking), butter,  eggs, olive  oil, meat, chicken,  and bread/bagels to freeze, toilet paper, paper towels.

Fresh stuff that I buy every week are milk, sour cream, fruit, salad stuff, sandwich meat stuff, cheese, veggies, like onions, carrots, celery, or whatever veggies I need to make for dinner. I no longer keep potatoes as staple because we're cutting back on starch. I do buy new potatoes from time to time when we're having guests over.

[caribougrrl]

staples:
tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, garlic, lemons, limes, dark green leafy veg, lettuce, mushrooms, flour, masa harina, sugar, salt, olive oil, sunflower oil, lard, butter, milk, cream, hard cheese, soft cheese, plain yogurt, tahini, peanut butter, unsalted nuts (usually almonds + some other type), dried fruit (varies depending what's available and what's on sale), dried legumes (lentils, split peas, chick peas, black beans), basmati rice, asian noodles, fresh fish, meat, coffee, dog food, cat food

I do one big shop every couple of weeks (~$150-200) to re-stock staples (I don't have to buy them all every time I shop) and buy whatever other fruit and veg looks good & see what sale items we might want to stock up on... which is supplemented by smaller shops for specific items we decide we want and anything drastically on sale we know we will use... that probably totals another $60-150 in a 2-week period.  Another ~$10 in a 2-week period on coffee or tea out.  That's 2 adults, 2 dogs and 4 cats.  We almost never eat out.  I always bring a packed lunch.  It feels like a lot to spend, but things are expensive here to begin with and we're food snobs so will choose quality over price.  Some of our meat is free (wild meat, gifted), but what isn't free is fairly pricey because we buy only wild- or humanely-raised.

We don't keep ready-made snacks in the house as a general rule (though nuts and dried fruit sometimes become that).  There's always fruit & veg, popcorn, cheese (and bread or crackers), peanut butter; often there are things in the freezer that can become snacks with a bit of planning.

[rocketgirl]

Staples that I have to buy regularly:  eggs, bacon (usually the pre-cooked stuff), fresh spinach, onion, red bell pepper, tomatoes, half n half, black and/or kalamata olives, bread, cheese (most commonly shredded cheddar, Italian cheese blend, mozarella), Caesar salad kit, chicken breasts, Sauvignon blanc wine, granola bars, some kind of beer or cider, coke, ginger ale.

Things I buy less regularly are condiments (like mustard, mayo, dijon mustard, bbq sauce), garlic in a jar, olive oil, lime juice, lemon juice, flour, cornstarch, sugar, cooking spray, green olives, V8.

I generally also have pasta, canned tuna, capers, some tomato sauce, pasta sauce, crackers, peanut butter, canned green chilis, instant rice, coffee (regular & decaf).

I buy pears or apples sometimes.

I don't really snack much, so I don't normally have snack food.  I tend to keep my granola bars at the office and sometimes have one of those instead of lunch.  In a pinch, I usually have some individual apple sauce cups at home (like if I go to bed and am suddenly hungry, that will take the edge off), or can make peanut butter crackers.

[witchypoo]

bell peppers, onions, bananas, apples, garlic, lemons, ginger root, frozen vegetables (typically broccoli, cauliflower, peas)

sugar (white and brown), maple syrup, honey

salt, coffee, tea

balsamic vinegar, pepper, cumin, oregano, bay leaves, chipotle powder, hot sauce (we grow our own basil, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, and tarragon)

tuna fish, tomato paste, canned tomatoes, coconut milk, chicken broth

pasta, rice paper wrappers, rice (brown and jasmine), oatmeal, corn meal, a/p flour, whole wheat flour, crackers (triscuit-like, typically)

beans (black, pinto, kidney, cannellini), green lentils

olive oil, butter, eggs, milk, yogurt, nibble cheese (cheddar, gruyere, goat, and mozz)

jam (raspberry and apricot)

we buy other veggies and fruit based on season;
we rarely buy meat, but usually have a package of chicken thighs or lamb shanks in the freezer;
we purchase wine and beer depending on what we'd like to drink, but always have at least 6 bottles of wine, and a sixer in the house.

we shop every two weeks or so. 

[fancypants]

We spend $1100 a month, or pretty close to that, but that includes OTC allergy meds, shampoo, TP, etc.

Staples (some of these things last more than a week but we're never without them):

Eggs, Cheese, ham, chicken, bananas, apples, seasonal fresh fruit, lettuce, onions, peppers, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, snow peas (Gus), other seasonal veggies, milk, coffee, diet coke, tea bags, Cheerios, oatmeal, pretzels, popcorn, peanut butter, bread, buns.
We are also BIG condiment users. We go through hot sauce, adobo, a gazillion kinds of mustard. A jar of jalepiños lasts us a week.

The kids pack their lunch every day.  We go out for bagels on weekend mornings and DH eats lunch out, otherwise, all meals are at home.

I usually go big grocery shopping on Friday morning and then stop a few times a week for little things.

I have an app on my phone that starts out at $275 every week and anytime I spend money (groceries, coffee out) I enter it into the app. Whatever is left over rolls over.

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[RioG]

I'm just going to steal witchys list AND i must get that phone app.

[Beer Gut]

I do more than 95% of the cooking in the house.  I love it.

Things I do not run out of:

Flour
Potatoes
Onions
Garlic
Pasta
Cheese
Eggs
Black beans
Peanut butter
Rice
Lentils
Milk
Diced canned tomatoes (for making pasta sauce)
Canned green peas
Oil
Coffee
Tea
Sugar
Apples
Bread
Hot sauce
Butter
Canned vegetables/fruit
Salt


This isn't an all-inclusive list, I'm sure I've missed several things.  And we usually have a LOT more on hand; these items are just th ones that I make sure we have. 

You probably noticed there's no meat on there - we can take it or leave it most of the time.  I think we've had red meat twice this year, the rest usually sliced turkey or canned chicken.  But I sure like to fry up a dead chicken once in a while.

With this stuff, I can make just about anything we need. Other stuff is just icing, but I do like a variety.


I go shopping every week or so, and keep a detailed list of what we need.  I usually spend about $70-90 when I go, depending on if we need some non-food items as well.

[Ice Cream]

Why do you all buy sugar?  I do about 6 years with one pack.

[caribougrrl]

Why do you all buy sugar?  I do about 6 years with one pack.

I listed it because it's something I always have around (thus I consider it a staple), but like dried legumes and masa harina, I don't buy it every grocery trip, only when I'm running low. 

I gift homemade candy for Christmas... there's no way a bag of sugar would do me more than a year.  A box of sugar cubes (which we have in order to make old-fashioned cocktails when the mood strikes), could last for years.

[radial]

Why do you all buy sugar?  I do about 6 years with one pack.

Just for two reasons.  1) half a cup of sugar in two cups of water makes the hummingbirds happy.  2) when I'm brining chicken, a little sugar added to the brine seems to improve the results.  Otherwise I don't add sugar to anything, and don't have to buy it very often. 

[witchypoo]

because I use it.

[onawhim]

I don't have any sugar in my house either. 

[LilyLily]

Kosher Salt
Garlic
Lemons
Basil
Dried Pasta
Basmati Rice
Flour
Sugar
Coffee
Bananas
Apples
Avocados
Butter
Eggs
Bacon
Tomatos
Kale or Spinach

[Magic Microbe]

because I use it.

Yep. I like to bake.

[rocketgirl]

Why do you all buy sugar?  I do about 6 years with one pack.

I rarely buy it.  But I always have it.  But yeah, other than holiday pies, it rarely gets used, so I don't buy it often.  I don't use flour particularly often either, but I have it.

[oblio]

Hmm, looking at these, I think we should do more bean meals. I don't really know any, maybe I'll start a new thread about it.

[Natasha]

Why do you all buy sugar?  I do about 6 years with one pack.

Cookies, brownies, banana bread, pie, pudding, ice cream. I sometimes add it to a smoothie if my fruits aren't sweet enough. And tea... I don't use it in my coffee but I still need it in tea.

Point taken, though.

[triciaflower]

Main staples:
Bacon
Eggs
Cheese
Fruit/veggies- bananas, blueberries, melons, tomatoes, avocados, various types onions, broccoli, bell peppers, mushrooms, carrots, celery, cilantro, parsley.
Milk
Yogurt
Rice
Beans
Tortillas
Pasta
Applesauce
Canned tomatoes (sauce, diced, whole, paste, rotel)


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