How often do you shop for food? - fresh food vs frozen food?

[florida-again]

My mother shops daily for dinner, so if she hasn't shopped yet, their is usually no food in the house. Our cupboards and fridge only ever have stuff like jam, butter and ketchup. We often don't even have milk or bread and there is rarely anything but ice cream in the freezer. The reason for this is that she only ever cooks fresh food, no frozen or processed food, so she has to shop daily

BFs mum has TWO freezers stocked full, the fridge is always full of food and so are the cupboards.
BUT they never have any fresh, fancy dinners, always something that's been put straight in the oven from the freezer....

I'm still undecided about which I prefer, BFs house where you'll never go hungry, or mine where you never have to eat frozen, processed stuff.

Personally when I'm at college I try to achieve an equilibrium between the two, I try to eat fresh food but I always have a stock of frozen food in case I run out and can't get to the shops.

 

[pearlieq]

We shop weekly. Here in the suburbs it's just isn't practical to go to market daily, plus it would cost a fortune! It's so easy to just to grab "one or two" extra things every time you're in the store and it really adds up. I've found fewer trips to the store usually means less money spent!

As for frozen vs. fresh, I rely heavily on frozen vegetables and fruits. At least here in the States it's usually more nutritious to eat frozen produce than fresh because it's preserved very shortly after it's picked whereas fresh produce could have to travel thousands of miles before it reaches the store.

Of course, no one can live on frozen alone so I try to buy longer lasting produce like apples, carrots, and potatoes more than things that would spoil quickly like berries and greens.

Good luck figuring out what works for you!

 

[anewvance]

I shop weekly, usually Monday nights. My dh goes monthly to Sams for hamburger and hot dogs and cheese that we freeze. I've never heard of shopping daily for dinner, that would stress me out. I hate grocery shopping though, ugh!

 

[mcnuss]

It's not an either/or situation.

I don't use canned/processed/frozen foods much; I cook fresh every night, but I work full time so I cannot shop every day. Fresh foods last more than a day properly chilled! I do freeze meats that are for later in the week (the challenge is remembering to defrost!). On occasion, I'll need to fill in with a quick stop at the store for veggies or fruit. I do keep frozen veggies for emergency situations. We are not snack people so I don't have much of that stuff in the pantry either, I do keep nuts, dried fruit, cereal, granola, pasta since that keeps well. It sounds to me like your mum is a little extreme with nothing in the pantry except what you're going to eat that day!

When I lived in Europe in the late '70's, I noticed that my parents' generation (and older) shopped daily and had teeny tiny fridges by US standards. Now that I visit my contemporaries over there (I am 43) I notice a trend towards larger fridges and kitchens in general. Your BF's family seems to mirror that trend, while your mum seems to be working on the more traditional model.

 

[TDC Nala]

Once a week, sometimes less. I don't buy many fresh foods; they go bad before I can finish them.

 

[aprilgail2]

some weeks once a week, occasionally I will skip a week and not even go at all.....we live on the go a lot of days with all the after school things we do so many times we jsut grab a sandwich on the go..

 

[Honu]

I shop every week or so for milk, yogurt, butter, cereal, rice or pasta and water/diet sodas. I get my bread, fruit & veggies from the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning. When I cook something with meat, which is maybe once a week, I stop at the butcher on my way home from work. The fridge is generally pretty empty and the only thing in the freezer is ice and sugar free popsicles.

I used to impulse shop a lot at the grocery store & Costco, but most of it went bad or got frost bite before we ate it.

 

[MamaLema]

I shop weekly

 

[swankybeth]

I shop weekly. I use fresh fruits and veggies, but also frozen ones. The fresh veggies I use are generally for salads and frozen ones are cooked for side dishes. Frozen berries are used for smoothies. I try to stock up on bargains that will keep well in the pantry (pasta, cereal, sauce, etc.). About once a month we go to Costco, mostly for boneless skinless chicken breast, turkey burgers and fish (Tilapia, tuna fish). Invariably I end up picking up a couple of last minute items during the week, but just specific ingredients that I need for dinner.

 

[cakecup]

I shop once a week for yoghourt, milk, pasta and other frozen food, also buy a little fresh food, if i want to eat some fresh food, i would go shopping again, but that doesn't happen so much.

 

[aprilgail2]

wow---where did this get dug up from? Its been so long I don't even remember posting on this thread LOL.

 

[MIGrandma]

I can't imagine food shopping every day. She must live very close to a grocery store. For me it's about a 45-minute round trip to go to the store.

I generally shop once a week, sometimes even less often than that, and sometimes I'll run in for just a few things mid-week, it just depends on what I have and what I want to make.

Since I no longer work outside the home I do a lot of cooking, but I do have meats in the freezer and always keeps staples (bread, milk, eggs, butter, etc.) on hand. I try to keep a few packages of frozen vegetables in the freezer as well, and boxed rice, etc.

I've been eating more salads so I keep a couple heads of lettuce in the refrigerator, and tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, hard boiled eggs, chick peas, carrots, etc. They usually stay good for several days, up to a week or so.

I like keeping the cabinets and pantry stocked with staples, and always have ingredients on hand to make spaghetti, homemade soups, etc. but I do enjoy cooking with fresh foods as well. And I keep snack foods (chips, pretzels, popcorn, etc.) on hand too.

 

[MIGrandma]

Ack!! Another thread where I didn't bother to read responses before I posted, THEN I see how OLD the thread is. Gah!!

I have GOT to start looking at the date on a thread BEFORE I post!!