Yearly groceries and planning

I have been reading a lot of homesteading blogs today. I enjoy passing the time reading others adventures.

One particular subject I have been meaning to get on a little more is grocery shopping, the larder, food pantry, freezer, etc plans.

This subject is a bit of a chore for me because it means I have to do a lot of tracking, and find a way to do it where the other two in my family don’t throw me off my numbers. I am still thinking of a good method for this… The best I have so far is keeping a list, and then adding a tally (with an amount) for each time I buy a product during the year. At the end I look through the house to see what I have left and subtract that amount if it is anything substantial (as I like to over estimate rather than underestimate what I will need)

Out of that very long list of items I will also list what I can grow of those, how much of it I will need to grow, and how many cans/bags I would need to produce from said crop per person.

Each year I will put down what I have growing and if it is under, over, or right at what it needs to be for preserving.

Of course this list will change each year as our tastes do. I am sure what we eat in fruits and veggies now will greatly grow once we can have it fresh on the table during the harvest seasons.

We may eat more of something in the future because I can grow it, than we would if we were to buy it in a fruit stand or store. Artichoke is a good example of one veggie we all love but never really buy due to increasing prices.
I absolutely love steamed artichoke with Italian dressing to dip the leaves and heart in. I also hate the canned stuff because it is not usually cooked quite to my liking and doesn’t come out right.
Growing my own will solve that.

Everyone is going to use different things and different amounts. When someone thinks of a larder, or prepping for a year of food, one usually thinks of beans, rice, etc… And while we eat those things, we normally do not base our whole diet off of those. You need to base your pantry goods off of what you actually use, not just that but also how much you actually use. No need to buy 50lbs of beans if your family only uses 10lbs or less a year… That is just a random number for an example. I see people that buy a LOT of rice, when they only need maybe a small few bags a year.

The idea for me is that I will need to go through a multi-step process that may take a few years to get down. One at the very least.
First step is to go through my pantry and write down everything I have just to start the “what do we use” list
   Each time we go shopping I mark down new items with amounts, or add amounts to items already on the list.
   I would also like to add how much those items were so I can get a yearly grocery expense ballpark.
   I will then have my “currently growing” and “To grow” list. Based on the grocery list I can at least have a guess on how much of something I will need to grow and adjust accordingly.

Also I would like to make a “Thinks we would like to use, but don’t use much of, or do not presently use” list to see how I can incorporate new food items in the mix.

I may not go this particular route as I do not go shopping once a week, but something like what this blogger has posted about is a brilliant idea.  Click the link below to see how another blogger created their food pantry.
Food storage for people who don't hate food

There are some great charts on that site that give you a good idea on how to create your own list.

I keep seeing these “Eat from the larder challenge” Where basically for a month you are not allowed to eat anything except from what is already in your pantry/fridge/freezer.
People tend to eat out or shop so often that they end up with things in their pantry that they do not even remember when they bought it at times. I think the reason is that they end up with random cans of pumpkin, or boxes of noodles they don’t know what to do with. Random ingredients that are missing others to make something.
I think by building up your food storage, you have a well rounded pantry, freezer, fridge, and will be better able to cook more meals, and get creative with ingredients without it being an awkward mix.

What I mean is it is fun to experiment with random recipes whenever your heart fancies. It is not always fun when you have to try and throw random things together that are only passible by the taste buds as being ok for a one time meal.

I also think that if one was to do something like this they might bake more, eat healthier *depending on items they stocked up on of course* and can have more food groups to their diet.

I remember as a kid we literally had all the food groups at every meal like a good old fashioned home cooked meal would be imagined. You had your potatoes, your roll, your peaches, meat, veggie… It was much too large of a serving size back then, but people didn’t really know as much about portioning as they do now.

Nowadays I notice people are lucky if they have more than two food groups a day even, let alone a meal. That is not to say I think all food groups need to be there in every meal, but you should be getting enough servings of each food group for your bodies needs.

My problem with people today is laziness. People would rather pop a hot pocket in the microwave than cook something.
My brother and I have this argument all the time actually. He argues that he loves to cook, but all I ever see him do is use the microwave, yet he cooks at his friends houses all the time. I have been trying to get him to eat healthier meals and cook more here for ages. Heck, I have made healthier food accessible that is not even time intensive, or pre-prepared for him. Usually he only eats it if I make dinner for everyone.
  He finally told me it was because some of his friends families had a LOT of really random fresh ingredients which provided a better variety. He doesn’t really like to cook normal foods… He likes to play master chef and create new yummy food concoctions, some of which I love, others you couldn’t pay me to try haha.

While I admire his ambition and love for experiments, I doubt that he will do much more than basic cooking here. This is another reason why my freezer meal idea will be awesome once I can implement it further *As in fix the chest freezer* When I froze big batches of my home made chicken veggie soup he absolutely loved that. I will have to do that again soon as the weather cools.

What he said made sense to me, though I still frowned at him due to having things to cook, just not quite the variety that a Mex-Asian family who is traditional on both sides would have. Food is a very big part of both of those cultures.  I have been amazed at some of the meals he has told me he has had over there. I don’t usually shop for some of the more exotic ingredients they use.

I do think getting a rice cooker and a bread maker will entice my brother a bit though. He has mentioned those being handy on more than a few occasions.

At least I don’t have to force him to eat veggies.

My husband on the other hand is really picky about what veggies need to be cooked to what texture… He will not eat anything but raw when it comes to carrots. If they are cooked he won’t eat them. A few other veggies are like that for him. These things I have to take into consideration when cooking.

Considering what you eat raw, cooked, dried, fresh, frozen, the meals you like, how you like them prepared *baked, fried, etc* and doing a little meal planning in addition to just knowing how much of something you use might be useful when building up your larder. 

For me having options is both good and bad. Like loving ice cream but then going into baskin-robins and not knowing which of the 31 flavors you want so you sit on the floor for hours not sure what to pick. Well, for me it is the floor of the kitchen with my fridge door open every couple of minutes in hopes of deciding. I can be very indecisive.

Another great thing about doing this is you aren’t just doing it for quick meals, but also for cooking. For instance, I could put down that we can eat up to 4 granola bars during working days *20 days a month* for the year, equaling out to 80 bars a month or 960 a year (Yes that sounds like a hell of a lot of bars, but we really love them, and they make great work snacks) OR I could put down how much oats I need, honey, and all the other random ingredients I would need to make my own batches of granola bars.
  Not only would they be fun to make, it would save money, and be another way I could utilize the list.
    I don’t think we really eat quite that many, but for me I usually eat 1-2 a day. I only assume the same goes for the hubby for my estimation.
   Now if I make my own bars I have to take into account what kinds I will be making. I also think there is a great benefit in knowing what goes into making your food, as well as there are so many bars I go “You know I wish they would have added X to this bar… or why can’t I find a bar that tastes like X when I am craving it” So cooking has many benefits to it really.

I won’t go into the whole long rant about how most of our newer generation doesn’t know or care to know how to cook. That is an overgeneralization based on my own experiences and the ones I hear from others. I feel cooking is an essential skill everyone should know and I will leave it at that.

For now I am making a list (Not close enough to Christmas to make that joke)
It may take awhile to get the hang of it but I think it will be worth the effort later, especially since making a list on the fly or during breaks at work is not exactly easy.

I think the next challenge will be to add shelving for more canned and dried food storage.