Food Preparedness Meal Planning

[anna43]

I've been pulling out and reviewing various pamphlets, books, government bulletins etc. on emergency preparedness planning. I've also started an Indepth inventory of my pantries. Once I have my inventory completed, I intend to figure out number of servings/meals in my pantry and then see how that translates into months of food I have.

Now seems to be the time to fill any holes and until I do the work of inventory and meal planning I won't know what holes need filled. Also, with all the predictions of food shortages starting this fall, it feels like its now or never to fill those holes.

I refuse to live in fear and to avoid that I need to be prepared.

Anyone else going this route lately?

 

[AlaskaSue]

Good thread Anna! Personally my fam is on just meat and greens (for which we fish, hunt or grow), so very easy meal prep for me - as long as things hold out (and I AM working on the permafrost freezer idea). Most people want more though, so great point. Kathy in Fl has some fantastic threads and ideas on this very issue.

 

[packyderms_wife]

Start with this video in this thread! This YT channel has gobs of inexpensive meals you can make from your pantry/preps.

Food - VIDEO HOW TO EAT FOR $10 A WEEK | Emergency Grocery Budget Haul & Cheap Easy Meal Ideas

She posted this a year ago, wonder what the food prices are like at her local WM today! View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPou4EmLqxI RT 10:53 HOW TO EAT FOR $10 A WEEK | Emergency Grocery Budget Haul & Cheap Easy Meal Ideas | Julia Pacheco Welcome back my cooking friends! I've been...

www.timebomb2000.com

 

[Kathy in FL]

If anyone wants to know how I make queso blanco from powdered milk basically just make a gallon of milk from the real stuff ... like NIDO, not Carnation stuff ... and then follow the directions at

Queso Blanco Cheese Making Recipe

This delicious cheese is produced from simple acid coagulation with a high acid ingredient such as lemon juice, vinegar or citric acid. Try this recipe today!

cheesemaking.com

 

[AlaskaSue]

If anyone wants to know how I make queso blanco from powdered milk basically just make a gallon of milk from the real stuff ... like NIDO, not Carnation stuff ... and then follow the directions at

Queso Blanco Cheese Making Recipe

This delicious cheese is produced from simple acid coagulation with a high acid ingredient such as lemon juice, vinegar or citric acid. Try this recipe today!

cheesemaking.com

Kathy, we JUST now got NIDO up here (never, ever saw it before…) and I can’t wait to try this. On the sched for this weekend <3

 

[Kathy in FL]

Kathy, we JUST now got NIDO up here (never, ever saw it before…) and I can’t wait to try this. On the sched for this weekend <3

You can make a killer fried cheese from this stuff. Or, you can melt it and use it in a dip. If you can get it cold enough and solid enough you can shred it and put over casseroles, etc.

 

[AlaskaSue]

Yow, sounds great! I look forward to finally getting to try this out IRL, my friend! <3
….in other news, I can see dirt in my garden at last! Hope I get to see you next trip down ….

 

[summerthyme]

I've been pulling out and reviewing various pamphlets, books, government bulletins etc. on emergency preparedness planning. I've also started an Indepth inventory of my pantries. Once I have my inventory completed, I intend to figure out number of servings/meals in my pantry and then see how that translates into months of food I have.

Now seems to be the time to fill any holes and until I do the work of inventory and meal planning I won't know what holes need filled. Also, with all the predictions of food shortages starting this fall, it feels like its now or never to fill those holes.

I refuse to live in fear and to avoid that I need to be prepared.

Anyone else going this route lately?

That's a really good idea. We did an inventory of the stuff I still buy at the store (catsup, relish, mustard, canned fruit, etc. I filled any holes to get us back to 24 months worth (but if we suddenly are feeding all 8 here on the homestead, replacing the organic fresh fruits and veggies they buy now, that will be a lot shorter!)

Meal planning doesn't work much around here, mostly because we produce all our meat and veggies, all dairy except hard cheeses, and much of our fruit. If TSHTF, well be buying local fruit and canning it... it's been really hard to justify when I coukd buy a 30 oz can of peaches in heavy syrup for 99 cents... canning our own from purchased peaches ran about $2.25 s quart, counting fruit, sugar and lid costs.

The only semi formal meal planning I do is cooking extra of whatever main meat I'm serving, and then making "planned overs"... for example, I'll make sloppy Joe's for supper. The next night, I'll cook up some rice, add sweet peppers to the Sloppy Joe mix and extra catsup... we call it Spanish rice. The next night, I'll use up the Spanish Rice in stuffed peppers.

Tonight, I'm making ham and beans in the Instant Pot. Homegrown Jacob's Cattle dry beans, leftover homegrown ham from a ham and scalloped potato supper Saturday.

If our weather cooperates, we'll be starting to have fresh salads in a couple of weeks, and then, by June, meal planning will start with whatever us ready in the garden.

Summerthyme

 

[nomifyle]

I desperately need to get some kind of inventory, I basically know what I have, it just didn't get organized well when we put in the new shelves.

Packy, I watched that first video, I was skeptical at first. However, although the meals were vegetarian, bits of meat can easily be added. I don't eat a breakfast meal, but what she posted for breakfast would be fine for the two meals that I do eat. I don't/can't eat spicy foods, especially since covid, so those peppers are out for me.

I'll watch the other ones after I've found and posted that lentil burger recipe.

 

[anna43]

When I say meal planning, I'm not exactly talking specific meals. I'm looking at what I have and how many servings that will provide. Divide, multiply etc. to come up with how much of that food I need for 365 days. Food fatigue is very real so I want a good variety. I know a can of fruit or vegetables will provide three servings. However, if I add a can of fruit to a package of jello I suddenly have six servings. If I add a can of vegetables (along with other ingredients) to a pot of soup I could end up with 16 servings. However, I am basing my numbers and planning on three servings per can. Then I decide how many servings I need of each food category per day. You can see it gets complicated!! First step is to count food figure the servings and go from there. I know I can prepare a wide variety of meals from my pantry but I want to know how many months I can do so hence the inventory.

I've seen recipes for cheeses other than queso blanco made from powdered milk but really need to print them out. I have a recipe for making yogurt from powdered milk that I haven't made for years. Just need to get a starter for the yogurt to have in my pantry or freezer.

I have lentil soup, lentil stew and lentil loaf recipes but have not seen a lentil burger recipe. I was at the library today and forgot I intended to find a vegetarian cookbook to checkout for lentil recipes.

I have tomatoes and pepper seeds started for the garden and a sweet potato sprouting in water in the kitchen window. I've counted over 20 sprouts on that one potato which is good because the other one I put in water rotted. I prefer sweet potatoes to winter squash, but will be planting both. Push come to shove I'd be happy to eat squash a couple times a week.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

What I have done to keep up with how much food to keep in my pantry is to make out enough simple recipes/menus for a month. I plan 2 meals a day for 2 people. I don't like food fatigue, so I have a wide variety of meal menus. I stock my panty based on the ingredients I need to make each recipe/meal. I multiply that x 12 to make a year's worth. I also stock food items that don't really pertain to all the recipes just for the sake of more variety. I've never gone through everything and put it all down on paper. I'm just using my best guess based on what we already eat and how much. We eat out of the panty using these same recipes/meals on a daily basis. It's easy for me to keep up with and replace what I use, constantly rotating the oldest out.

 

[Kathy in FL]

My only caveat with meal planning is you have to remember if you are suddenly having to do everything by manual labor, your "serving size" may fall way short of what you and your people are going to need. Even if you say "I've got lots of fluffiness to offset things" that may not be the best way to work your numbers, however you count them up.

I counted calories for a long time but left things like sugar and the calories in my flavoring mixes, gravies, etc. out of it. I also left out the calories of bagged flour.

Your average, moderately active adult male needs a minimum of 2000 calories per day just NOT lose weight and that's assuming he is starting off at a healthy weight with decent muscle tone. Get even down to 1980 calories per day in the same male and he could wind up ten pounds plus lighter in less than three months. Stress, fatigue, and new manual labor chores means his calorie intake needs to be closer to 3000 per day in order not to lose weight precipitously which would not be good for his health and well-being.

Male adolescents? Don't even get me started. Same for female adolescents.

Then there are types of calories you need. Rice, pastas, and other types of carbs can add a lot of calories but they don't exactly add to your health especially if you are already dealing with health conditions such as diabetes. "Healthy" and "plant-based" items look good until you really start looking at some of the nutrition on those items.

I know people plan on gardening to help with nutrition, calories, and servings for their food stores but lets be honest, if you aren't doing it now it will take at least a season or two to learning and get a garden up and running. And that is a lot of manual labor. One of the reasons you shouldn't plan on living on forage alone is because you expend more calories than you can bring in.

Green beans is a good example of having to balance things out. Green beans are good. They're nutritious, You can even get them in cans and low sodium. They are one of the easiest veggies to dehydrate and then use at a later date and have them taste like a quality product. And they are great for weight loss ... 34 calories per serving, maybe less if you steam them without seasoning them. Low in fats and carbs if cooked without fats/oils. See
Calories in Green Beans
for nutrition break down.

A man would need to eat a freak ton of green beans to keep his calorie intake up enough to stave off unhealthy weight loss.

When I had to change our diets for various reasons ... mostly my own Type 2 diagnosis ... my food storage changed pretty radically. I've struggled to get the calorie intake/food storage back up for the family in general. I still have rice, quinoa (yuck, bird seed texture), pastas, and flour in my storage plan but it will be more for my family than me. I still have soups in my storage plan but I've been forced to lose some that used to provide lots of calories (potato soups as an example). Speaking of potatoes, that's another carb/starch that I've had to minimize for myself while keeping some for my family's use so there went the instant mashed potatoes, etc.

 

[Kathy in FL]

Continuing on ...

I've had to adjust to have more proteins in my food storage plan. That sucked. Not because I don't like proteins but because of the associated cost. I decided to bite the bullet and ordered a freeze drier. Hopefully it will get here within 10 weeks (gah!).

Now a lot of people, myself included past tense, say they are going to rely on beans and rice to make a whole protein. Meh. The problem that is only part of the story. When my daughter was forced by her health to search out a new dietary lifestyle I started watching carefully to make sure she didn't develop an eating disorder. She did an elimination diet and we found she had a very bad problem with dairy. So she tried to go vegan. That didn't work. She tried to go vegetarian. That didn't work. She's now a happy ovo pescatarian (will eat fish and eggs). She also works out every day. That skinny girl can put away some food, let me tell you. Her major in college was Health Sciences with an emphasis on nutrition. We learned a lot together.

So, back to the beans and rice whole protein thing. Like I said, it is only part of the picture. Yep, you guessed it ... carbs and fats. Heavy on both. So, again it is a great filler and most of the world subsists on beans and rice but it isn't necessarily the most nutrition packed meal.

The Protein in Rice & Beans | Livestrong.com

Rice and beans are complete protein examples and are surprisingly filled with a lot of nutrition. Here’s how to maximize rice and beans in a healthy diet.

www.livestrong.com

You are going to need to find what works for your family. Simply saying servings or calories isn't necessarily going to net you what you need. Just a heads up from someone that has had to rotate out over a year of food storage due to health changes in the family. That was a lot of time and money and frustration. I used to have 24 months in my food storage. I just recently figure I have gotten it back up to 12 and that's on thin rations towards the end.

 

[Cardinal]

@Kathy in FL I am not a diagnosed type II, but definitely insulin resistant, so I went with keto. I have found some low carb eggg noodles and a Keto friendly flour that I am storing. I dont use these products heavily, as the flour, especially, is pricey. But I stock some for a little variety.
Most of what I have stored in heavy on protein and fats.

 

[Hermantribe]

@Kathy in FL I am not a diagnosed type II, but definitely insulin resistant, so I went with keto. I have found some low carb eggg noodles and a Keto friendly flour that I am storing. I dont use these products heavily, as the flour, especially, is pricey. But I stock some for a little variety.
Most of what I have stored in heavy on protein and fats.

I'd love to know the brand of low carb flour you have. Have you used it for anything and found the taste and texture acceptable? TIA

 

[Cardinal]

I'd love to know the brand of low carb flour you have. Have you used it for anything and found the taste and texture acceptable? TIA

Introducing Keto Wheat Flour

If you thought a keto diet meant saying goodbye to your favorite baked goods, think again! With our new Keto Wheat Flour, you can easily make classic baked goods keto-friendly, including everything from pizza to pie.

www.kingarthurbaking.com

Yes, I have used it so far for frying ( a coating).
I'm not a big bread person, but I plan on trying it in a tortilla recipe.
I'll report back when I do that.

 

[anna43]

My late dh and I both loved beans so I stocked them in a major way. Now he's gone and I have colitis and kidney stones and both diets say no dried beans. I was successful in growing pinto beans so have a LOT of them. I wish I knew someone who would like them because I hate to throw them out. Some are quite old, but those are the ones I like to can as they don't go mushy when canned.

I worked more on my inventory this a.m. and discovered that I have zero cranberry sauce/jelly. I make my own, but I thought I still had several jars. I also pulled some 2008 applesauce to discard. It wasn't eaten because no one cared for it so stupid to keep it on the shelf. A full shelf gives a false sense of security when the shelf is full of something that needs to go. I also have a shelf of homemade pickles and relish that I don't like so should eliminate those too.

I did shop at Dollar General locally yesterday and picked up a box of macaroni for $1 plus Betty Crocker cake mix and brownie mixes also for $1. I noticed they again had some canned vegetables 2 for $1 so I may go back for some of those. I've not tried their brand so am hesitant to stock a bunch without trying them.

In going through my buckets, I found a package of brown rice that was a solid mass of mold. The bucket also had bags of lentils and garbanzo beans so all went into a garbage bag and into the trash instantly. Fortunately, I have not found any other spoiled foods. Some is outdated, but not seriously enough to worry about. I brought several of those upstairs to be used asap.

I've found several areas where I'm woefully short so I'm hopeful of correcting that when I shop later this week. First, I want to compute how many additional I need.

 

[nomifyle]

I've used DG's products from time to time and i have no issue with them.

Kathy in FL, your ideas for healthy eating are spot on in my book, you will remain an angel to mw. It wasn't until the last year or so that I actually started storing some boxed processed foods. I did that mainly for variety.

I know that if I started eating more heavily processed foods I'd be diabetic. Most people simply don't realize that you are what you eat. If you have heath issues look at what you eat regularly. Occasionally eating some of that food won't kill you but if you eat that on a regular basis, it will kill you.

yes, I do have cans of spam type meats, but would never eat them even weekly, and in bad times, maybe monthly.

I need to pay more attention to how much DH eats. Mostly he doesn't like what I cook, but will eat a small serving of it. Lately he has been putting three cans of fruit in the processor along with a good scoop of sugar and freezing it. He calls it ice cream, unfortunately he's going through one container a day, at the rate he's going our canned food supply will be almost nonexistent. But I seriously consider what I fuss at him about. He's 6.0 feet and weighs about 185 and ind good health. He does have to take a blood thinner because he's just about always in afib.

WE had covid back in October '21, but that was the first time either of us had been sick in the longest time.

Judy

 

[WalknTrot]

I'm slowly going through the 'pantry' to see what I did and didn't use over the winter. It's what happens every year about this time. Sort of a switchover time from eating hot meals and canned/shelf stable to lighter and more fresh/garden.

Already did a bit of 'panic' stocking because I noticed a few weeks ago that canned milk, canned peas/carrots/corn and grocery store tomatoes were getting low. Next will be checking the home-canned cabinet to see what's left. Plenty of apple products and salsa yet, but the home-canned tomatoes and meat took a heavy hit.

All good indications for both store restocking, and fall garden preserving I guess. Don't plan to take it down to the meal level..have a decent idea from the seasonal overview.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

It's that time of year where we start switching over to lighter/ fresher meals, too. I stocked so heavily over the winter that I'm still in good shape for the heavier type meals. Now, I get to conserve what I have stocked, since we won't be eating much out of the pantry. We'll switch to more fresh produce, salads, sandwich type meals.

 

[ejagno]

I sat down and wrote out DH and I's favorite breakfasts, lunch's and dinners. We eat somewhat seasonal (cold weather food, summer food) since we live in the deep south. I made menu's for one month of each, down to the ingredients and amounts needed for each. I even included a dessert for each evening and beverages. My whole food storage is around these items. Since we only have 3 months max of cooler weather I knew I had to multiply my month of meals times 3. Since we have 9 months of warmer weather I multiplied that times 9. That is my years supply of food. I don't keep a long term pantry because I rotate out daily so I just call it my working pantry. If company comes over and we decide to use triple the normal amount of ribs it's no biggie because as things go on sale I'm constantly replenishing and always do my best to adhere to "fist in-first out" when using my stock.

I did the same thing with shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, soap, and yes, even tennis shoes. I know that about every 6 months I have to buy new tennis shoes for maximum comfort since I'm on my feel al day, every day. This means I need 2 pair of tennis shoes per year.

 

[Kathy in FL]

@Kathy in FL I am not a diagnosed type II, but definitely insulin resistant, so I went with keto. I have found some low carb eggg noodles and a Keto friendly flour that I am storing. I dont use these products heavily, as the flour, especially, is pricey. But I stock some for a little variety.
Most of what I have stored in heavy on protein and fats.

Yep, this has been part of my plan moving forward. My diabetes isn't strictly an issue of carbs and starches. I have the type that is influence by stress. Doesn't matter what kind of stress. Exercising can actually makes my numbers go through the freaking roof so I have to be careful. There are days I can down three cans of pop and my numbers don't wiggle. Next entire week I don't have a single sip of soda but then I'll have a tenant lose their mind and cause us some grief and my numbers will spike a la Mt. Everest.

I've done well watch gluten, getting enough fiber, and trying to creat a healthy lifestyle in general. Plus I take Amberin and some supplements that are generally good for diabetics. I just can't go heavy on the carbs because it is a whole lifestyle choice issue for me, not just a dietary one.

 

[nomifyle]

I sat down and wrote out DH and I's favorite breakfasts, lunch's and dinners. We eat somewhat seasonal (cold weather food, summer food) since we live in the deep south. I made menu's for one month of each, down to the ingredients and amounts needed for each. I even included a dessert for each evening and beverages. My whole food storage is around these items. Since we only have 3 months max of cooler weather I knew I had to multiply my month of meals times 3. Since we have 9 months of warmer weather I multiplied that times 9. That is my years supply of food. I don't keep a long term pantry because I rotate out daily so I just call it my working pantry. If company comes over and we decide to use triple the normal amount of ribs it's no biggie because as things go on sale I'm constantly replenishing and always do my best to adhere to "fist in-first out" when using my stock.

I did the same thing with shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, soap, and yes, even tennis shoes. I know that about every 6 months I have to buy new tennis shoes for maximum comfort since I'm on my feel al day, every day. This means I need 2 pair of tennis shoes per year.

This is an excellent plan for normal times, but with shortages already here, I'm looking to be stocked for most things two years out. Personally, I have enough of the shoes I like to last the rest of my life and I've tried to do the same for DH. If he can't find any of the velcro close shoes he likes he may have to go back to tying his shoes. He's already seen a trip price increase of the velcro shoes he wants. He keeps a good pair and a working pair, when he wears out the working pair, he switches to the good pair and buys a new pair, that's on him.

I do understand and remember the misery you have going through in your location with more then one time losing what you have with hurricanes. When I see a hurricane coming your way I pray for you. I went through that with Katrina and I moved 300 miles inland and never looked back. But I can understand why people will stay and rebuild. God Bless.

Judy

 

[anna43]

I try always to put an item on my grocery list as soon as I use it. I also do that with items that will last awhile like vanilla or other seasonings. Especially now I don't want to wait for something to be mostly empty before replacing it. So if I open a can of peaches, peaches go on my shopping list. If I open a package of TP, TP goes on my shopping list. This way I never run out of anything. My pantry is also first in first out to avoid outdating. Canned goods don't go bad by the outdate but other things like prepackaged boxed foods do.

Shoes for my narrow feet are hard to find and expensive. I try to buy one pair per year and the ones I bought in 2021 cost $65 more than 2020 for the same shoe. Over $134 for a pair of shoes about kills my clothing budget for the year. I've had shoe store looking for a pair of winter boots for me for over two years to no avail. Due to the fact shoes are so expensive and difficult to find, I plan to order a new pair before long. Not this month though, not with $1400 dentist bill looming!

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I try always to put an item on my grocery list as soon as I use it. I also do that with items that will last awhile like vanilla or other seasonings. Especially now I don't want to wait for something to be mostly empty before replacing it. So if I open a can of peaches, peaches go on my shopping list. If I open a package of TP, TP goes on my shopping list. This way I never run out of anything. My pantry is also first in first out to avoid outdating. Canned goods don't go bad by the outdate but other things like prepackaged boxed foods do.

Shoes for my narrow feet are hard to find and expensive. I try to buy one pair per year and the ones I bought in 2021 cost $65 more than 2020 for the same shoe. Over $134 for a pair of shoes about kills my clothing budget for the year. I've had shoe store looking for a pair of winter boots for me for over two years to no avail. Due to the fact shoes are so expensive and difficult to find, I plan to order a new pair before long. Not this month though, not with $1400 dentist bill looming!

I do the same. I keep a running grocery list on my kitchen counter. When I pull something off the shelf, I add it to my shopping list. Some of the time, I'll add 2 to replace the one, especially, if it's an item I use a lot of. That way, I'm always adding more to my stock, not just replacing. Before any new stuff goes back on the shelf, I date and rotate it. I don't store a lot of prepackaged food, but I do have some just to add more variety. Those items don't stay on the shelves much past their expiration dates, if at all. The oldest food I have in my pantry is pasta and rice. The oldest of those is 5 years, and it's still good. Most everything else, other than a few spices, are no older than 2 yrs. I can keep a good working rotation going, because we eat only out on my pantry on a day to day basis. Only stock what you already eat! I don't buy and store food that we don't really like, or MIGHT eat if we get hungry enough. To me, that is a waste and not good planning/prepping.

I have a hard time finding shoes to fit me, too. I have small feet. I do shoe shopping twice a year. Since I have a hard time finding them, when I do find a few pair that do fit, I go ahead, and buy them. I've bought 3 or 4 pair at one time. If I don't buy them when I find them, I'm not guaranteed to find them, once I do need them.

 

[Hermantribe]

Introducing Keto Wheat Flour

If you thought a keto diet meant saying goodbye to your favorite baked goods, think again! With our new Keto Wheat Flour, you can easily make classic baked goods keto-friendly, including everything from pizza to pie.

www.kingarthurbaking.com

Yes, I have used it so far for frying ( a coating).
I'm not a big bread person, but I plan on trying it in a tortilla recipe.
I'll report back when I do that.

a big thank you! yum tortillas!

 

[kyrsyan]

Introducing Keto Wheat Flour

If you thought a keto diet meant saying goodbye to your favorite baked goods, think again! With our new Keto Wheat Flour, you can easily make classic baked goods keto-friendly, including everything from pizza to pie.

www.kingarthurbaking.com

Yes, I have used it so far for frying ( a coating).
I'm not a big bread person, but I plan on trying it in a tortilla recipe.
I'll report back when I do that.

Thank YOU! You just saved my sanity. I'm so tired of paying $5/loaf or other for simple things like tortillas/bread/muffins. And I need the fiber, so I actually do need the "breads" right now. I'm going to see if I can find this locally and test it. And if things keep going the way they appear to be going with my son, he may be able to have it. It looks like he finally may be outgrowing some of the food allergies.

 

[kyrsyan]

My late dh and I both loved beans so I stocked them in a major way. Now he's gone and I have colitis and kidney stones and both diets say no dried beans. I was successful in growing pinto beans so have a LOT of them. I wish I knew someone who would like them because I hate to throw them out. Some are quite old, but those are the ones I like to can as they don't go mushy when canned.

I worked more on my inventory this a.m. and discovered that I have zero cranberry sauce/jelly. I make my own, but I thought I still had several jars. I also pulled some 2008 applesauce to discard. It wasn't eaten because no one cared for it so stupid to keep it on the shelf. A full shelf gives a false sense of security when the shelf is full of something that needs to go. I also have a shelf of homemade pickles and relish that I don't like so should eliminate those too.

I did shop at Dollar General locally yesterday and picked up a box of macaroni for $1 plus Betty Crocker cake mix and brownie mixes also for $1. I noticed they again had some canned vegetables 2 for $1 so I may go back for some of those. I've not tried their brand so am hesitant to stock a bunch without trying them.

In going through my buckets, I found a package of brown rice that was a solid mass of mold. The bucket also had bags of lentils and garbanzo beans so all went into a garbage bag and into the trash instantly. Fortunately, I have not found any other spoiled foods. Some is outdated, but not seriously enough to worry about. I brought several of those upstairs to be used asap.

I've found several areas where I'm woefully short so I'm hopeful of correcting that when I shop later this week. First, I want to compute how many additional I need.

You might try finding some free groups on FB. Just post up items. Make it clear if they are expired. You would be surprised how many people would be more than happy to come get them.

 

[kyrsyan]

I keep my grocery lists in the shopping carts for the stores I do site to store from. And then a separate one for stores that I have to go in physically. Works for me. Every night I go in and add the items we used up during the day. That was an education in inflation this month when I went shopping.
And I've gone back to once a month grocery shopping. Less wasted money.
I'm keto now. And by default, my son is mainly as well. He still gets sweet tea. And on rushed nights, he can have rice/potato quick dishes while I do something simpler for me. Who knew that pb&j would taste so good as an adult. (Sugar free, of course.)
It's taking time but I will get things figured out keto wise. I am allowed some carbs daily, and once you get portions under control, it's not hard to keep the carbs low. But then, I've been eating non-wheat based baked goods for years. So it's just another small alteration for me.