Stocking up on what??

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Replies

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,329 Member
    And not daring to say why? Come on: you can click 'disagree', now stand up to your opinion and say why you think so.
  • beulah81
    beulah81 Posts: 168 Member
    I bought a 10 pound bag of Basmati from Amazon. I can eat any protein with rice and sesame oil and crushed red pepper.

    Along the same lines...sticky rice with tahini, splash of soy sauce and crushed red pepper flakes.
  • moonangel12
    moonangel12 Posts: 971 Member
    I have been more adventurous with fresh produce to make sure we use it up... a local farmer gave me a bag of creasy greens because I commented on never trying them before. Not sure I would have taken the time with them had it happened a week or two prior. Ended up being a hit with the whole family! The kids joked about feeling bad for the chickens since they aren’t getting as many food scraps :D last night was mangoes past their prime that I forgot about... trimmed off the not so good parts and salvaged what I could rather than dumping the whole thing in the scrap bucket (it was well on it’s way out... dark spots and weird holes/webbing in the fibers that I trimmed off, but lesson learned, every one declared it the best mango they have ever had!).
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    edited March 2020
    yirara wrote: »
    yirara wrote: »
    And not daring to say why? Come on: you can click 'disagree', now stand up to your opinion and say why you think so.

    Why does it matter that one person disagreed with you? It could have been pressed accidentally or what not.

    I personally don't think it's selfish to want to have a few extra things that you want to get through these tough mental times. Everyone is different. Calling people selfish is not really needed now. 🤷🏼‍♀️

    Yes, you are right. A few extra things are fine. Stocking up big time though? The UK is currently seeing about 30% more garbage, most of this accounting for food thrown out because some people panic emptied shops and then found they could not eat it all in time. It's just so terrible to throw away produce that would have benefited other people who stood in front of empty shelves.

    I didn't hit disagree, but I think many of us are thinking about this with different levels of "stocking up" in mind. For me, "stocking up" would equate to having enough on hand to avoid going to the grocery store for at least 2 weeks, including stuff that's easy for a sick person to prepare, as that's what was recommended should one actually be quarantined. Also, at the moment the grocery stores around me have plenty of food (and are getting better with TP due to limitations they've instituted). Being in a city I normally don't buy a large amount at a time of anything (and haven't had to so far, as I do impulse-buy non perishables that look good to try and then forget about them (and I have a nice pantry that I already had plenty of canned tomatoes, pasta, and canned and dried beans in, among other things), so even though I normally don't buy all that much and instead shop more frequently at a variety of stores, I still managed to have what seemed like a lot accumulated already. I "stocked up" by buying about a week's worth of additional easy to prepare stuff since mostly what I have are ingredients and I suspect if I get sick I would need no effort things like "add water and stir" or the like.

    I also tend to assume "stocking up" means non-perishables, so even if one were going well above what I have, it shouldn't cause waste. I'm sure there are exceptions given panic and related illogical thinking, but more likely short-term shortages are due to many, many people buying just a small amount more.

    It also seems that delivery services around here (for groceries, not just meals) are functioning okay at the moment after being initially overwhelmed, and for those of us with cars there are pick-up options. Someone on my NextDoor reported that in that no one (compared to usual) is going downtown currently (it's true, I was there last week and it was already a ghost town even before the stay at home order), that there's plenty of stuff (including plenty of TP) at the drugstores down there. Should my local stores get more overwhelmed than they currently seem to be (the worst was right before the stay at home order when people didn't know what to expect and it's more normal this week from what I have seen reported on NextDoor) I'd certainly volunteer to drive there and pick up stuff for people (neighborhood-wise, we are having a virtual ward meeting about ways to help and also volunteering on NextDoor to help out neighbors).
  • LoveyChar
    LoveyChar Posts: 4,335 Member
    m3hnl5phwkqi.jpg

    when in doubt: desperation nachos.

    Oh my goodness on a baking sheet...
  • pancakerunner
    pancakerunner Posts: 6,137 Member
    jm_1234 wrote: »
    I'm in a shelter in place city and not stocking up, but I am rationing by counting calories and being strict with my daily intake. Decision to ration was because I'm hoping it helps others get what they need and lessens the impact of my reduced activity. Because of my reduced activity I'm also not ordering to go from restaurants (I can't afford the calories).

    My experience so far has been that ordering groceries online (Whole Foods) is more successful than in store shopping. And if the online store is out of an item one day the next day they have it available. Occasionally I go with a non-organic or alternative item if I don't want to wait.

    So far no real issue getting what I want when I want it.

    Agreed. A shelter in place was just declared for my state. Grocery stores will be operating as normal so don't see the need to stock up or hoard anything in particular. Local grocers are actually urging people to just buy a couple days worth of goods at a time. No need to panic buy!
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,553 Member
    I am not stocking up but trying to ensure I have ingredients on hand for a few store cupboard meals. Haven't managed to buy tinned tomatoes but will get a tin or two when I see them because puttanesca and a la vodka are easy store cupboard pasta sauces.

    What are your go to store cupboard meals? These are mine. Add some frozen or tinned veg to make a balanced meal if you don't manage to shop either due to low stock or feeling unwell.

    Pasta puttanesca
    Spaghetti aglio olio
    Spaghetti cacio e pepe
    Spaghetti carbonara
    Penne a la vodka (use tinned coconut cream instead of fresh cream)
    Vegan mongolian beef (tinned seitan in asian supermarkets is often known as buddhist mock meat)
    Baked potato with baked beans

    A girlfriend showed me some good tricks for making warm meals out of store cupboard fish. Smoked mackerel can be frozen and served warm after heating in the microwave. Tinned sardines can be fried in the oil that's in the tin. Serve either with a squeeze of lemon or a drizzle of vinegar and a good grind of black pepper.
  • bisky
    bisky Posts: 953 Member
    musicfan68 wrote: »
    I really wish people would quit hoarding toilet paper. Do they really think they need 50 rolls of toilet paper if they get stuck in their house for 2 weeks? Coronavirus does not cause diarrhea. For those of us who are just out of it and just need one package, we are SOL. Thanks to everyone hoarding toilet paper.

    I agree and it is so stupid. They are never going to quit making toilet paper. I just hope they are using it for something useful.....like a design for a N-95 mask. Why toilet paper??? It is not going to save anyone from Covid-19. If I run out of toilet paper there are other options........

  • BarbaraHelen2013
    BarbaraHelen2013 Posts: 1,940 Member
    edited March 2020
    acpgee wrote: »
    I am not stocking up but trying to ensure I have ingredients on hand for a few store cupboard meals. Haven't managed to buy tinned tomatoes but will get a tin or two when I see them because puttanesca and a la vodka are easy store cupboard pasta sauces.

    What are your go to store cupboard meals? These are mine. Add some frozen or tinned veg to make a balanced meal if you don't manage to shop either due to low stock or feeling unwell.

    Pasta puttanesca
    Spaghetti aglio olio
    Spaghetti cacio e pepe
    Spaghetti carbonara
    Penne a la vodka (use tinned coconut cream instead of fresh cream)
    Vegan mongolian beef (tinned seitan in asian supermarkets is often known as buddhist mock meat)
    Baked potato with baked beans

    A girlfriend showed me some good tricks for making warm meals out of store cupboard fish. Smoked mackerel can be frozen and served warm after heating in the microwave. Tinned sardines can be fried in the oil that's in the tin. Serve either with a squeeze of lemon or a drizzle of vinegar and a good grind of black pepper.

    5 out of your 7 ‘go to’ meals are pasta based. I’ve honestly not seen pasta in any supermarket near or even semi-near me for a month! 🙄

    Canned fish of all types is also invisible 😂
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,553 Member
    Although I have seen some off putting queues in large mainstream supermarkets, I am finding that near me in E London the ethnic grocers are still well stocked. Plenty of egg noodles at the asian supermarket. The Italian grocer still had proper pasta yesterday. The Italian was mostly expensive small scale imports but the asian shops are actually cheaper than mainstream supermarkets for a lot of items. Last weeekend I went to a Bangla supermarket and they seemed fully stocked and even had facial tissues, if not toilet paper.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,553 Member
    It occurs to me that the ethnic grocery shops might be better stocked because they probably don't use high tech "just in time" logistics for stocking which would likely fail when demand is higher than normal.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    just_Tomek wrote: »
    acpgee wrote: »
    It occurs to me that the ethnic grocery shops might be better stocked because they probably don't use high tech "just in time" logistics for stocking which would likely fail when demand is higher than normal.

    I dont think so. I think they are better stocked because people still think of this as "China" virus, thank you emperor Trump, and are simply affraid to go in there. Here, I can go into any Asian store and get whatever, and I do mean whatever I want, but I go into any Canadian supermarket, and things are hard to come by.

    I talked to someone in NYC early on who said that Asian groceries were pretty picked over, although it varied by item and this was a week or so ago so it might have changed.

    The weekend before last I drove up to a BestBuy in Evanston (just north of Chicago) to get supplies for having to start working at home, and when driving back went through the area (not too far from me) where there are lots of South Asian groceries. I thought about checking them out, but hadn't any real need for anything and so many people were out and about I was afraid that they would be really crowded.

    I do think they are likely, here, to be better stocked, and the East Asian groceries too, unless the people in those areas have panicked, just because I think people tend to go to either places like Costco or else their big supermarket if panic buying.

    I've mentioned before that I normally do a lot of my buying from a local German meat market (that has a lot that's neither German nor meat), and even well into panic buying time it seemed totally normal for things like pasta, rice, beans, other grains. I think people weren't going panic buying there. Similarly my closest grocery store has consistently been one of the better stocked in the area, and I think that's because it's relatively small compared to places that were getting hit harder.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    acpgee wrote: »
    It occurs to me that the ethnic grocery shops might be better stocked because they probably don't use high tech "just in time" logistics for stocking which would likely fail when demand is higher than normal.

    Yes, your bigger chains are likely moving towards (or have already adopted) stocking just-in-time and also reducing backroom storage by moving items by the unit (or smaller bunches) instead of by the case or pallet.

    Note: I work in supply chain and my team is involved in this process for my company, but this is just my personal opinion of general industry trends.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 12,939 Member
    acpgee wrote: »
    A girlfriend showed me some good tricks for making warm meals out of store cupboard fish. Smoked mackerel can be frozen and served warm after heating in the microwave. Tinned sardines can be fried in the oil that's in the tin. Serve either with a squeeze of lemon or a drizzle of vinegar and a good grind of black pepper.

    I would never have thought about frying sardines since they're already cooked. I bet they're tasty. I might try it! I usually buy packed in water, but I can either use some vegetable oil or dig in to the one tin I have in olive oil (I just buy a few of those for days I want/need more calories than packed in water).