We used to love food shopping before the current quarantine situation. Now that it’s hazardous to leave our front door, it’s not so much fun anymore. However, ordering through Instacart aside, we still like to browse the shelves and select certain groceries ourselves at the supermarket.

We just came from a trip to Publix where we spend nearly $300. On what, you ask? It cost almost $30 for the probiotic my GI doctor recommended rather than yogurt with its sugar and dairy content. As for the rest…

Meats – I bought ground beef and chicken breasts in case there’s a meat shortage with manufacturing plants shutting down due to illness. I’ll freeze them except for one pack of chicken to make soup. Oh, I bought bourbon salmon fillets for dinner tonight.

Fruits and Vegetables – Apples, bananas, berries, salads, other veggies, and an eggplant. This category is the hardest to keep in stock at our house.

Staples for the Pantry
Bisquick – Yay, I found it! The shelves were bare last time and I couldn’t even order it. Many of my FB friends shared recipes for homemade biscuit mix, but easy is better where I’m concerned. I found it on Amazon just this week and ordered a big box for an inflated price. Lo and behold! Publix had a few boxes in stock. I grabbed a small one to make pancakes (along with frozen blueberries) and a bigger one for my veggie egg bake dishes. Who knows when the one from Amazon will arrive? I still have packages being delivered from there and Walmart that I’d ordered a month ago. My new motto – Buy it when you see it.

Progresso Bread Crumbs – These were in short supply and I had just opened my last one at home. I snatched this up.

Dairy – Cream cheese, eggs, Egg Beaters, shredded mozzarella. Plenty available.

Breads – I spied a fresh baked Challah and got that along with some mini blueberry muffins.

Cleaning Supplies – Another item I couldn’t find lately was All Free & Clear laundry detergent, so I’d bought an unknown brand online. Now I could see my favorite brand on the shelves so how could I resist? Also I had ordered Dawn dishwashing detergent online as it was another item I needed. Publix had it in stock so I got one to use when our current bottle runs out. And they had Scrubbing Bubbles! I scored one of these to help clean the shower. No Clorox wipes available but plenty of Clorox jugs. I passed them by as we have enough for now.

Paper Goods – I bought one two-pack of paper towels and one box of tissues. No TP but we don’t need it yet.

Specialty Items – We bought some other items like shelf stable puddings, dried cranberries in little boxes, mandarin oranges cups, etc. With hurricane season coming, it doesn’t hurt to stock up as we go along. We already have plenty of canned goods.

Most people wore masks, including the cashiers. We followed the arrows up and down the rows and tried to steer clear of anyone else, although that’s not always easy when the store is crowded.

And that was the haul for today. Then it was home to dump the bags in the front hallway that’s our staging area. Unpack the items onto our clothed dining room table. Wipe down the cold items and refrigerate. Dump clothes in washing machine. Drop ourselves into the shower. Finish disinfecting rest of items that don’t need refrigeration and let them sit for a day or two. Eat lunch. Get some rest!

Have your bills gone up at the grocery store? Do you stick strictly to a list or stock up as you see what’s available?