02-05-2007, 07:42 PM
I hate it. Grocery Shopping, that is.
I shop to order -if it ain't on the list, it doesn't go in the cart- and usually end up going at least once a week, but -apart from fresh stuff- I'll buy several weeks supply of whatever is on the list -if it's on sale I might stock up for a couple of months. So I usually end up with a cart full of fruit veg, bread, milk and then a lot of a few things, but about the same volume as I would have if I shopped on a weekly-needs basis.
In the store today (with 2 of 3 sprogs in tow), the woman behind me suddenly asks "excuse me, but do you have a large family?" and waves at my cartload of groceries. Huh? So I said well I have one more kid, but I hate shopping, so I wait until we nearly run out then stock up. I noticed she had about six all organic items (why on earth didn't she go through the express lane?)
But then I thought about it and my shop wasn't so bizarre or so huge given that we're a family of five (three of whom she could see and a 4th being a reasonable assumption). Perhaps she believes that one should shop daily for one's daily needs? Well fine, but that's not the norm these days, so why target me? Perhaps she only eats pre-prepared foods so has no idea what volume basic ingredients take up? (but given that a large % was fruit -the fastest pre-prepared food there is, even that doesn't make sense). Perhaps she just objected to my two cases of beer? Nah, people often comment on that -they just ask if I'm having a party..... Weird woman, I reckon. Still would be interesting to know why she found my shopping odd.
Anyway, for those with absolutely nothing better to do/incurable nosiness -here's what I bought
1 lettuce
1 head broccolli
1 pack celery
3lb carrots
1 bunch Kale
1lb mushrooms
that's nowhere near enough veg to last a family of 5 for a week, but there wasn't a whole lot of "affordable", storeable, edible-looking stuff, so we'll supplement with frozen and I'll probably veg-shop again later in the week)
3 dozen apples (sounds a lot, but family of 5 =1 apple each per day)
10 bananas
10 oranges
20 grapefruit
small bunch grapes
3 plums
Total about 80 servings of fruit, might seem a lot but = 16 each -barely more than 2 a day. Not so weird then, surely?
6 gallons milk -if we make the full week on that we'll be lucky, two kids only drink milk, we will probably make a rice pudding, 4/5 of us have cereal in the mornings....
4 loaves of "Italian" bread (not overly sweet, unsliced). Unlikely to last the week but freezer space is a little tight at the moment (we freeze it on day of purchase). Mostly used for toast.
2 packs tortillas. Used for packed lunches, will probably last two weeks. (Freezer)
2 cans of pineapple
1 small bag rice
3 boxes tissues -it's winter, yo
1 box food bags
1 bottle strawberry syrup
2 doz eggs (prefer to buy cage-free veg fed from Whole Foods, but needs must...)
.5lb deli salami
.5lb deli beef
2lb casserole beef -on sale and currently in the oven
4lb cheese -less than half price on sale
small tub peanuts
12lb spaghetti (@25c on sale that's a definite stock-up item)
5 jars of salsa ($1 jar on sale stock-up item)
2*24 bogrolls. Hopefully will last more than a week roll but sale price was 2 for $10 so many customers had two packs. Not so weird. Besides, with all that fruit......
6 packs of Jammy Dodgers -$1.39 a pack, wasn't in my local store which doesn't carry them -wouldn't you? lol
2 cases beer. meh.
8 boxes cereal -less than half price on clearance, long dates on them, 2 (Barbie Fairytopia cereal) are destined as "gifts" for little girls we know. We usually get through about 3-4 boxes of cereal a week, but this particular supply will probably last us a couple of months alongside other cereal because it's the sugar-coated crap with marshmallows in which the sprogs are allowed for breakfast "pudding" after their "serious cereal" -branflakes/weetabix/whatever.
Is that really so weird it merits comment from a complete stranger? What did your last shopping cart/basket/trolley/buggy/armful look like?
I shop to order -if it ain't on the list, it doesn't go in the cart- and usually end up going at least once a week, but -apart from fresh stuff- I'll buy several weeks supply of whatever is on the list -if it's on sale I might stock up for a couple of months. So I usually end up with a cart full of fruit veg, bread, milk and then a lot of a few things, but about the same volume as I would have if I shopped on a weekly-needs basis.
In the store today (with 2 of 3 sprogs in tow), the woman behind me suddenly asks "excuse me, but do you have a large family?" and waves at my cartload of groceries. Huh? So I said well I have one more kid, but I hate shopping, so I wait until we nearly run out then stock up. I noticed she had about six all organic items (why on earth didn't she go through the express lane?)
But then I thought about it and my shop wasn't so bizarre or so huge given that we're a family of five (three of whom she could see and a 4th being a reasonable assumption). Perhaps she believes that one should shop daily for one's daily needs? Well fine, but that's not the norm these days, so why target me? Perhaps she only eats pre-prepared foods so has no idea what volume basic ingredients take up? (but given that a large % was fruit -the fastest pre-prepared food there is, even that doesn't make sense). Perhaps she just objected to my two cases of beer? Nah, people often comment on that -they just ask if I'm having a party..... Weird woman, I reckon. Still would be interesting to know why she found my shopping odd.
Anyway, for those with absolutely nothing better to do/incurable nosiness -here's what I bought
1 lettuce
1 head broccolli
1 pack celery
3lb carrots
1 bunch Kale
1lb mushrooms
that's nowhere near enough veg to last a family of 5 for a week, but there wasn't a whole lot of "affordable", storeable, edible-looking stuff, so we'll supplement with frozen and I'll probably veg-shop again later in the week)
3 dozen apples (sounds a lot, but family of 5 =1 apple each per day)
10 bananas
10 oranges
20 grapefruit
small bunch grapes
3 plums
Total about 80 servings of fruit, might seem a lot but = 16 each -barely more than 2 a day. Not so weird then, surely?
6 gallons milk -if we make the full week on that we'll be lucky, two kids only drink milk, we will probably make a rice pudding, 4/5 of us have cereal in the mornings....
4 loaves of "Italian" bread (not overly sweet, unsliced). Unlikely to last the week but freezer space is a little tight at the moment (we freeze it on day of purchase). Mostly used for toast.
2 packs tortillas. Used for packed lunches, will probably last two weeks. (Freezer)
2 cans of pineapple
1 small bag rice
3 boxes tissues -it's winter, yo
1 box food bags
1 bottle strawberry syrup
2 doz eggs (prefer to buy cage-free veg fed from Whole Foods, but needs must...)
.5lb deli salami
.5lb deli beef
2lb casserole beef -on sale and currently in the oven
4lb cheese -less than half price on sale
small tub peanuts
12lb spaghetti (@25c on sale that's a definite stock-up item)
5 jars of salsa ($1 jar on sale stock-up item)
2*24 bogrolls. Hopefully will last more than a week roll but sale price was 2 for $10 so many customers had two packs. Not so weird. Besides, with all that fruit......
6 packs of Jammy Dodgers -$1.39 a pack, wasn't in my local store which doesn't carry them -wouldn't you? lol
2 cases beer. meh.
8 boxes cereal -less than half price on clearance, long dates on them, 2 (Barbie Fairytopia cereal) are destined as "gifts" for little girls we know. We usually get through about 3-4 boxes of cereal a week, but this particular supply will probably last us a couple of months alongside other cereal because it's the sugar-coated crap with marshmallows in which the sprogs are allowed for breakfast "pudding" after their "serious cereal" -branflakes/weetabix/whatever.
Is that really so weird it merits comment from a complete stranger? What did your last shopping cart/basket/trolley/buggy/armful look like?