How to grocery shop???
Posted by desdesu on Jun 01, 2007 · Member since Jun 2007 · 2 posts
So I'm really stuck here. I'm on a HUGE budget (in college...), and I need to be able to come up with as many meals as possible (to last at least 1 week)...
The last time I went to the grocery store, I had a panic attack, and bought many non-vegan items (ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh). :-\
The problem is, I dont know how to incorporate simple recipes where I can reuse ingredients, buy things in bulk, while keeping it healthy. Nor can I figure out how to snack (sounds really lame, but it's true. I do not know how to snack).
someone please help! I need to eat :'(
p.s. I love stir fry... I cannot I survive on stir fry alone.
Sunday- or whatever day you want- cook an entire 1 lb bag of beans, your choice. Store in fridge. Then, Monday, you can have bean burritos with just a portion of those beans. Tuesday, add some to a salad. Wednesday, make a quickie chili. Thursday, add some olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes, saute that, and use it to top pasta. You can do that with grains, too. Use some for a salad, some under your beloved stir-fry, some as filler for soup, etc.
As for snacks, I like popcorn. And fruit.
Yup, God gave us fruit as a portable snack that comes in its own container--the peel. Except of course soft fruits like strawberries and raspberries, but what college student can afford em?? ;)
You can do a lot with a hot-pot in terms of soup, get some dry bullion granules or cubes, add to your beans, maybe a chopped carrot, potato, a small can of green beans--like that.
If you could get one of those small crockpots for one, maybe at a garage sale? That would help and you wouldn't be stuck with 10 portions of the same thing. Throw all your ingredients in before your first class, come home and dinner's ready.
Tkitty has a good point. If you have access to a freezer, even a little one, that would make your life easier. What I do is make a big batch of chili or soup or pasta and portion it out in ziplock baggies or tupperware, and freeze them (this is my favorite sunday activity LOL). When you're ready to eat, pop one in the Microwave, and there's dinner :) This can be done with stir-fry dishes as well.
I also buy frozen veggies, and keep them in stock (and they last much longer than fresh, and the frozen ones are just as healthy).
Keep a lot of cheap dry goods on hand. Like beans, split peas, lentils, ect. They don't go bad, last forever, and they are good for you. And there's a lot of yummy recipes on Vegweb for these items as well.
EDIT: Yabbit posted while I was typing. I also agree. The crockpot for one is a great idea.
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=5006
This is a really good recipe because you can make a bunch of rice and beans and veggies and then keep it for a long time and just keep eating it! ;D
Seitan is an inexpensive protein. It's vital wheat gluten. If you buy it, make sure it's not just wheat gluten. If you don't see it in the bulk section, ask for help. It's also packaged under another name I forget right now (something like hi-pep). It's vital wheat gluten with water and seasoning added and then simmered for about 45 minutes. You can then dehydrate it some of it and make seitan jerkey - which would be really easy to carry around with you at school. Also Google "Seitan O' Greatness". Instead of slicing and simmering it, you bake it as a log and it comes out kind of like pepperoni.
Beans/legumes and grains. I cook them once a week. I refrigerate half and freeze half. Halfway through the week I thaw the frozen portion, so my beans and grains don't go bad before I get a chance to eat them. Delicious Pakastani Dhal (http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=4917.0) is a really good lentil recipe. I use them like TKitty described and find it's a tasty and versatile recipe.
When I was a broke college student, fruit and veggies were the hardest to come by. I liked the bags of fruit because they were less expensive. I didn't get a lot of variety, but it's what I could afford. For veggies, I bought the veggies that stayed fresh the longest, like spinach instead of lettuce, carrots, and sweet potatoes (a superfood). I don't advocate non-organic food, but I also understand college budgets. My friend reports that 99 Cent stores have produce (like two large green, orange, or red bell peppers for a buck) and small heads of organic red leaf lettuce.
I don't try to get the USDA recommended amounts of anything. There's no way one person could eat all of that food each day. Even as a working professional, I'm not sure I could afford to buy all of it. I just try to make sure I'm eating a balanced selection out of the food groups and hope for the best. If I miss something my body tells me, anyway.
Thanks so much to all of you and your suggestions! I'm already feeling super motivated.... hopefully this time I wont get overwhelmed.
i will definitely be making that dhal recipe recommended by humboldt_honey--it sounds divine. And everyone seems to be recommending lots of beans and legumes (which I love, so i'm excited to work with those)
my boss also just gave me a crockpot... which im still terrified of, but i think ill just experiment and throw a bunch of stuff in it and see what happens.
I really appreciate all of the help! I've definitely now got a few more ideas for staples in my diet.
But
one more question:
how do I go about buying spices?? I know they can be pricey.. ive been sticking to the sort of all-in-one types since I dont really know much about seasoning
Don't be scared of the crock pot! It is your friend! ;)
I love cooking my week's worth of beans in the crock pot. I also cook lots of healthy "whatever is in the fridge" soups and freeze them. Once you experiment a little bit you will LOVE your crockpot!
Hi, I'm in the Boston area and the best bulk I have found (they have spices, oils, molasses, all the dry goods you can think of: nuts, seeds, flours, rices, beans....) is the Harvest Co-op in Central Square (red line on the T). Their produce is a little pricey though, unless you're a member. Oh, they also have bulk organic fair trade teas and laundry detergent!
For the cheapest produce (but mostly non-organic), you can't beat the farmer's market at Haymarket (orange/green lines). It takes place every Saturday, all year long, from 11-6pm (I think). You can get whole bags of produce for $1 each, when I go I usually only spend about $10 and come away with bags and bags and bags of produce. One tip though, make sure you do a complete circuit of the entire market before making purchases, because sometimes prices will vary a lot for the same stuff vendor to vendor.
Good luck and have fun! :)
Make menus beforehand and utilize the sales at the supermarkets.
Soups, chili's, stews and casseroles are very economical I'd say. Make two of those for the week and alternate eating them.
Make a giant bowl of a sandwich filling or a giant bowl of salad (pasta)and eat it for the week.
For breakfast make some bagels I'd say and eat it with veggie butter.