Stocking up

[zuludog]

When I was a boy in the 1950s & 60s we lived in rural Warwickshire, and each year at about this time my Mum, and many other families, would stock up on food for Christmas and the winter, in case there were shortages, or the weather was bad, or if someone was ill and couldn't get out

I carried on doing that sort of thing when I left home, and now it's that time of year again, and I'm getting ready for a couple of big shopping trips
My freezer is nearly empty and I'm making my shopping list for frozen and other food
The consideration now, of course, is that now I have diabetes, and as most Christmas goodies are very sweet, carby, or fatty, that will rule out many of them; but I don't celebrate Christmas much so that isn't a problem

But I'm asking for advice and suggestions on what to buy

Frozen food isn't much of a problem as I usually buy fish, veg, and have a browse round Iceland to see what else I fancy.
In any case I don't have a huge chest freezer, just the freezer section of a fridge - freezer, so it doesn't take much to fill it anyway
So I'm thinking of items that can be stored at room temperature, like cans & packets; but even there I have to be careful as many of those packets are carbs, like breakfast cereals, rice & pasta, and jars of sauces will usually contain sugar

Although there are local shops and a couple of supermarkets close to me I would still like to stock up, so if you have any suggestions or comments I'd be grateful

 

[PattiEvans]

Iceland do some small frozen meat/poultry roasts e.g. chicken breast, turkey breast, pork usually 3 for £10. We've had them occasionally, they roast from frozen so they are really handy and we find they do 3/4 portions. How about tinned tomatoes (very versatile and you can make your own tomato sauce easily), lentils and pulses. Any kind of mince freezes well and is very versatile. Roast peppers in jars. Small jars of pesto make quick sauces.

 

[Drummer]

Maybe buy another freezer?
Back when I went out to buy a freezer I was offered the last of the really big ones at a reduced price - it has been so useful.
I buy frozen vege mixes, put cheese, lard and butter in there, all sorts of things for the DH to have one at a time, low carb bread when I find or make it, and I tend to shop at Lidl and go in on Thursdays to buy meat when it is on offer or marked down.
I tend to put leftovers in the freezer so they don't languish in the fridge and go mouldy, but put them into one particular basket, so I retrieve them whilst I still remember what they are.

 

[AndBreathe]

When I was a boy in the 1950s & 60s we lived in rural Warwickshire, and each year at about this time my Mum, and many other families, would stock up on food for Christmas and the winter, in case there were shortages, or the weather was bad, or if someone was ill and couldn't get out

I carried on doing that sort of thing when I left home, and now it's that time of year again, and I'm getting ready for a couple of big shopping trips
My freezer is nearly empty and I'm making my shopping list for frozen and other food
The consideration now, of course, is that now I have diabetes, and as most Christmas goodies are very sweet, carby, or fatty, that will rule out many of them; but I don't celebrate Christmas much so that isn't a problem

But I'm asking for advice and suggestions on what to buy

Frozen food isn't much of a problem as I usually buy fish, veg, and have a browse round Iceland to see what else I fancy.
In any case I don't have a huge chest freezer, just the freezer section of a fridge - freezer, so it doesn't take much to fill it anyway
So I'm thinking of items that can be stored at room temperature, like cans & packets; but even there I have to be careful as many of those packets are carbs, like breakfast cereals, rice & pasta, and jars of sauces will usually contain sugar

Although there are local shops and a couple of supermarkets close to me I would still like to stock up, so if you have any suggestions or comments I'd be grateful

We have a couple f decent sized freezers, so usually have a decent array of food around the place.

In terms of laying in for a siege/bad weather/whatever, there's obviously the spares of tea and coffee, and some UHT milk. On that front, there hasn't been any full fat UHT milk in my local ASDA or Tesco for a few weeks now. I make my own yoghurt, with a mixture of full and semi-skimmed milk, so I'll be keeping my eyes open.

When we find we might have run down a freezer, we'll do an audit and ensure we have our standard stock of butchery supplies and so on. If we're doing OK on that, we might have a couple of weeks when we batch cook, then eat a partion, and freeze the remainders in portion sized packages.

In terms of getting the best out of our freezer space, I adopted Nadia Hussain's strategy of freezing bagged up meals/produce in poly bags, in tupperware boxes - only until the content is frozen, the rescuing the box for anther time. This creates "bricks" for efficient storage. Obviously, whilst we always intend to label everything, this strategy inevitably leads to the odd "Brown Block Surprise" dinner.

Whatever you do; don't forget loo roll, as we know from earlier last year, the world loves a decent loo roll. 🙂

 

[Deleted member 21371]

I used to live in a country village, we always kept a stock on.
Freezer food was anything marked down, I used to plan meals around whatever was in the freezer.
Frozen veg is always a safe bet as well, or bought fresh, prepped, and frozen.
In the last 18 months, I'd ramped up storage of tins and dried foods.
I can buy wholesale, so some of these came in crates of 24.

Tins-
tomato
kidney beans,
butter beans,
any bean really
chick peas
soups.
fish, tomato, chilli, other flavours
sweetcorn
mushrooms
corned beef
tinned steak
tinned mince
white chicken
hot dogs
pesto
various sauces, chilli, bolognaise, curries
No doubt many other things that should have been used years ago (I actually don't worry about "use by" dates, so long as it smells ok, looks ok, and I usually taste it before I throw it in the pot)

Dried -
loose, and in flavoured ready made packets -
cous cous
chick peas
beans
quinoa
millet
rice, brown, black
pasta
flours, rye, almond, chickpea, wholemeal
yeast
bread mixes
oats
barley
fruits
stock cubes, herbs, spices, oils

And don't forgot the beers, wines, and spirits.

I'm ready for the Zombie Apocalypse.

 

[helli]

Maybe buy another freezer?

Are you serious?
Freezers are not cheap and then there is the problem of having space to put them.

As @travellor has shown there are many things you can stock up on without the need for a freezer.

I confess I live my life in the "opposite way". I keep a good stock of staples and get a vegetable box delivered every week which I use as the basis for my meals. During lockdown, was invaluable, especially when it was difficult to get supermarket delivering - trips to the supermarket have been reduced and variety was increased. It's been so good that we have continued with this approach.

Occasionally we get things we don't like or don't know what to do with. But we discovered that we DO like cabbage and many new recipes for various types of squash. This week's conundrum is an interesting vegetarian dish with cavolo nero. I eat fish but think the "kale" is too strong for the cod, salmon and pollock we have in the freezer.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Are you serious?
Freezers are not cheap and then there is the problem of having space to put them.

As @travellor has shown there are many things you can stock up on without the need for a freezer.

I confess I live my life in the "opposite way". I keep a good stock of staples and get a vegetable box delivered every week which I use as the basis for my meals. During lockdown, was invaluable, especially when it was difficult to get supermarket delivering - trips to the supermarket have been reduced and variety was increased. It's been so good that we have continued with this approach.

Occasionally we get things we don't like or don't know what to do with. But we discovered that we DO like cabbage and many new recipes for various types of squash. This week's conundrum is an interesting vegetarian dish with cavolo nero. I eat fish but think the "kale" is too strong for the cod, salmon and pollock we have in the freezer.

I'm ready in case the zombies get to the electric supply as well.

(And the village I lived in used to get power outages regularly, do I didn't want to depend on just frozen food)

 

[Drummer]

@helli yes, absolutely serious.
My big freezer must have saved me so much money over the years, storing low priced food bought in bulk, keeping leftovers fresh, I used to buy whole lambs and pigs when we had a real butcher. When the supermarket does a loss leader on meat, or other useful foods, I stock up. I keep things in baskets so I can keep track of how long they have been in there.
Our electricity supply is on the same area as the local hospital, so the supply has been very reliable over the 40 years we have lived here.

 

[nonethewiser]

Not one to stock up on food never have been, prefer to buy fresh, have freezer in garage with just basics like milk bread rolls chicken breasts mince peas sweet corn ice cream.

Dont batch cook, reason being like to spend time preparing & cooking food at each meal time & enjoying rewards afterwards, have radio on in background & enjoy time in kitchen, own little space.

 

[Inka]

So I'm thinking of items that can be stored at room temperature, like cans & packets; but even there I have to be careful as many of those packets are carbs, like breakfast cereals, rice & pasta, and jars of sauces will usually contain sugar.

Soup is always useful. I have the Baxter’s ones as they seem to have less carbs, probably due to the fact they’re not that weird gloopy texture. They’re tastier too. Tinned tomatoes are very useful. What about jars of pesto as a flavouring not necessarily for pasta, peanut butter, sauces like mint sauce, etc, sugar free jellies, some nice sparkling waters and/or sugar free drinks, nuts and seeds?

 

[zuludog]

Thanks for your comments

I live on my own in a small flat, so I can eat what I want, when I want, but getting another freezer isn't on
I have a slow cooker, and if I have any veg or salads that are getting a bit old & tired I turn them into veg stew and freeze it as one meal batches in plastic bags - sometimes I actually label them!, and generally keep the frozen compartment stocked up
However at the moment I'm deliberately emptying the frozen section in preparation for restocking, and to use up those anonymous odds & ends that tend to accumulate in freezers

I'm not talking about serious Prepping or being totally confined and isolated for months on end, just to stash a few bags & boxes here & there in case the weather's bad or if I'm ill
And as I mentioned, this will be at room temperature, so it will have to be cans, jars, and packets

Within walking distance or a short drive I have --

LIDL, Tesco, ALDI, Sainsbury, ASDA, Iceland, Marks & Spencer
2 or 3 discount/bargain stores
A proper greengrocer who also sells Middle Eastern & Indian food
A Polish shop and a large Romanian & general Eastern European store
A couple of late night convenience stores

For years I worked on product development for a large food company; then after redundancy I retrained as a chef.
Without wanting to sound too big headed I like to think that I know a bit about food, diet, and nutrition
But sometimes I sort of run out of steam, and it's nice to swap ideas on a Forum

I do keep a reasonable stock of food, but already some of your suggestions have been helpful

I have canned - tomatoes, beans & lentils, and recently those plastic pouches, but check as some of them include carbs; sardines, sweetcorn, soup
Tea, coffee, dried milk, coffee whitener; UHT milk
Ryvita & oatcakes, as long as I count the carbs

In the near future I'll have a good browse round Iceland and the other stores, perhaps paying a bit more attention to the cans, jars, and International Food sections
And keep my eyes open for bargains & offers
I've already started playing Pass - The - Parcel and Solitaire to make room for my extra food
Besides food, I have my camping stove & pans, candles, matches & lighters in case there are any power cuts
Also bog paper, soap, washing powder, and other cleaning materials

I suppose one answer would be to just buy seventeen cases of Scotch.......

 

[Inka]

You sound pretty organised @zuludog 😎 I just had a quick look at my tinned goods, and I have tuna and mackerel in addition to the sardines you mentioned above. I also have some tinned veg in case I run out of freezer veg, some tinned curries, tinned ratatouille, etc I bought those so I could make up quick meals in emergencies.

For jars, I have jam, honey, peanut butter, pesto, pickles, numerous dried herbs and spices; for sachets I have some of those spice mixes you can buy eg Korean grill, etc. I also have jars of pre-cut ginger and chillies in the fridge to add to stir fries and so on.

I always keep pasta, rice, bulgar wheat, quinoa and millet in, but you could explore the lower carb pastas maybe if that was appropriate - ie the ones made from pulses. I also keep dried noodles in the cupboard.

I’d forgotten about tea and coffee! I wouldn’t want to run out of those - I’d never function 😱 I also have emergency alcohol - in moderation, of course.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

You sound pretty organised @zuludog 😎 I just had a quick look at my tinned goods, and I have tuna and mackerel in addition to the sardines you mentioned above. I also have some tinned veg in case I run out of freezer veg, some tinned curries, tinned ratatouille, etc I bought those so I could make up quick meals in emergencies.

For jars, I have jam, honey, peanut butter, pesto, pickles, numerous dried herbs and spices; for sachets I have some of those spice mixes you can buy eg Korean grill, etc. I also have jars of pre-cut ginger and chillies in the fridge to add to stir fries and so on.

I always keep pasta, rice, bulgar wheat, quinoa and millet in, but you could explore the lower carb pastas maybe if that was appropriate - ie the ones made from pulses. I also keep dried noodles in the cupboard.

I’d forgotten about tea and coffee! I wouldn’t want to run out of those - I’d never function 😱 I also have emergency alcohol - in moderation, of course.

Ah yes.
Tea and coffee.
I have an assortment of teas, herbal, Chinese, Indian, and coffees, ground, and instant.
Dried powdered milk as well, I can drink black coffee, but prefer white to take the edge off the acidity, and while I keep UHT for cooking, I don't like it in coffee.
And cup-a-soup!