Grocery Shopping, Food, and Obsession

I am obsessive/compulsive about grocery shopping.  Always have been. Plus I am cheap.

So this is why when the grocery store ads come out with the Tuesday paper, I sit down and make out my list.  There are three major chains in Napa -- Safeway, Lucky and Raley/Nob Hill.  As luck would have it, they are all pretty close together, so I can do a swoop through them all.  Rarely is more than $30 spent at any one store.  Then I look through my coupons, which I keep in a big envelope in my purse with a list of what coupons are in the envelope written on the outside.  I add any store coupons, pick up my canvas bags and off I go.  Today I bought enough chicken thighs for five meals and two boxes of Splenda on sale --- buy one, get one free, plus a $1 off coupon.  Major coup.

The only times I ever buy groceries without a list are at WalMart (where mostly I buy milk because they carry the Hood lo carb dairy product we like), the Grocery Outlet, and 99 Cent only.  At these places, you kind of have to go with the flow of  what's there, and can't depend on anything being there for long or repeatedly.  Like the sugar free decaffeinated International Delight French vanilla instant latte mix, which I should have bought ALL of them. Last time Rod and I were lo carbing, and had a bread machine, we bought dozens of boxes of the low carb bread mix for a dollar each -- and that's when we knew they would soon be unavailable forever.  But because of the cheap produce at 99 Cent only,  I am loathe to pay more for things at the supermarket once I have bought them there.  Amazing things like asparagus and portobello mushrooms.  Yukon Gold potatoes and shallots.  Cans of tiny shrimp that I use in a shrimp spread recipe I make for parties and appetizers (they have been out of these for a while now, and I am running low in the pantry!).  Red, green, orange and yellow bell peppers -- who cares if they are misshapen when you cut them up anyway? So this is where I get produce and many canned goods.  The Grocery Outlet is another surprise place.  Last time we were there they had V-8 light, with way fewer carbs than regular V-8 (Rod likes this, me not so much), package cubed ham which is hard to find at our supermarkets but which is great to have on hand for omelets,salads, soups, and fritattas, and a really nice soft plush kitty bed for only $4.99.  It has become Mamie's favorite place, leaving Rod's lap freer in his office for work on the computer.

Here's how pedestrian our lives are:  A major outing on a weekend is to go to the Pet Club to stock up on cat food, to Costco (where I always eat the only hot dogs I EVER eat), and to 99 Cent Only.  Sometimes we stop at Chevy's for lunch!!!!!!   This is the big date of the week.

And when I whip out my canvas bags, the clerks are always kinds surprised, even though I have been bringing my own bags to the grocery store since the 70's.

Earlier this summer, I spent two days cleaning out the pantry because we had an infestation of pantry moths.  Total gross out.  I threw so much stuff away, and then gave alot more away because we were starting our low carb eating plan.  Now I have moth traps in there and so far so good.  Plus everything is sealed up tight in jars or ziplock bags once it is opened.

On Friday, I cleaned out the refrigerator.  This is another major job that includes washing all of the shelves and bins, and putting in new liners in the vegetable bins, throwing away all of the stuff in the bins that has turned into unidentifiable green slime, the plastic containers of fuzzy leftovers, and combining the three partially consumed jars of peanut butter into one jar.  And I also took everything out of the freezer, made a list of what was in the freezer, and threw out a few things.  Now I have a list posted on the door so that when I take something out of there, I cross is off, and when I put something in there, I add it to the list.  I wonder how many times I have bought some kind of meat for a special dish when I already had it in the freezer, buried under the meatballs, frozen corn, and tamales?  So no more of THAT!!!!!   I think that takes care of the resolution I made about cleaning out one drawer or cupboard a day for the next two MONTHS!!!

All this writing about food is making me hungry.  I think I'll gp downstairs and get a bowl of nuts and a piece of string cheese (my low carb snack of choice) and a big glass of diet cherry Pepsi.