Grocery shopping for single seniors

JaniceM

JaniceM

Well-known Member
Location
still lost between two shores..
(this can also apply to couples)

I can relate to what my parents used to say when they become empty-nesters, and only had to grocery shop for themselves.
A difference, though, was they were retired, and had unlimited free time- I'm not, and I don't.

It's virtually impossible to find suitable-sized packages of anything- everything, from boxes of cereal (the good stuff, anyway) to meat is only available in "family-sized" packages. I lack time and space to separate everything into smaller-sized portions.

Has anyone come up with solutions to this?
 

There is one little grocery, (quite a ways away) where (Bless his heart) the produce manager
breaks up clumps of celery, carrots, green onions, etc,, in case you don't want to buy a dozen
carrots at a time or a whole clump of celery.
Not worth the gas to travel there, but I stop if I'm in that area.
It's nice for people living alone.
 
I’ve been lucky in that I think there must be a lot of singles in my community. Because there doesn’t seem to be any problem locating small size packages & cans. The better groceries have meat depts where can get small amounts. And no problem getting “just right” amounts of fruits and vegetables. Even 1/2 dozen eggs. I just took it for granted, now I’ll appreciate it more
 
Our problem was storage. For example a 15lb. pork loin at a significant savings wasn't feasible due to bulk.
But after buying a vacuum sealer, breaking it down into boneless pork chops for stuffing, some for grinding for either pork patties or making sausage, some for pork cubes for a variety of meals, & at least 2 lbs. for a slow roasted pork roast.

The vacuum sealing compresses & seals allowing for space saving stacking, easy Id & longer term storage for fresh as the day it was bought goodness.

That works for any protein, home made soups <---- frozen then sealed, fruits & veggies. In this economy taking advantage of store sales when they are actually sales is made a whole lot easier now that we have a way to store more compactly & for extended period of time.
 
palides2021 said:
I love to buy bags of frozen veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots) and store in freezer. Fresh vegetables don't last long, but these veggies I can use in meals whenever I need them, such as soups and spaghetti sauces.
Click to expand...
My tall larder freezer is stocked with frozen veggies, they're still cheap, they are more nutritious than fresh ( unless picked immediately from your own garden)... and they can be used in so many ways.

I mostly have Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Shredded Cabbage, chopped leeks, mushrooms , Roast Potatoes, and more onions than a French man would know what to do with.. ( red & white ) I used to have much more of a variety because estranged O/H is vegan.. but now he's gone I just buy the veggies I like
 
JaniceM said:
It's virtually impossible to find suitable-sized packages of anything- everything
Click to expand...
Yes that is so true, I like tho that the FiberOne cereal at least has the box contents separated into two separately sealed sections.
Even produce is too much quantity. So I buy bags of frozen cut up fruit. And I generally eat the healthy type individual frozen meals because then I can have a nice flavorful dish that has like 6 beans and four slices of zucchini, 1 leaf of spinach etc etc. If I tried to make the same meal from scratch I'd have to figure out what to do with the rest of the can of beans, remainder of zucchini, rest of the bunch of spinach -- pretty sure I'd wind up accidentally forgetting to eat the extras and they would spoil in the refrigerator.
 
Around here we can buy individual portions from the supermarket if we wish. One carrot, or one potato , One banana if you so wish.. at the Deli counter we can buy as little as 4 oz of cold cuts or cheese... and equally at the butchers we can buy a small amount of minced beef, or just one chop or one pie..etc....and even on the supermarket shelves we can buy a lot of things for one person...from pies to yoghurt..
#However I do agree if you want to buy pre-packaged foods, then there's rarely one person portion packs, and when there are it's disproportionately priced ...ie, 6 chops £5.00... one chop £2.50....
 
C50 said:
Yeah there's things I don't buy anymore, like loaves of bread for one. Most other things I can find in smaller quantities but end up paying a premium price.
Click to expand...
I freeze the bread right away and just pull out the slices I need. I’ve found it’s better to pay a premium price for some things. Going through my cupboard I found 3 items from 2016/17. They likely weren’t bad (vinegar & a seasoning) but they were taking up space I don’t really have. The larger size may be cheaper per ounce but when I’m throwing it down the drain, it’s not.

The vegetables & fruit can usually be purchased in small quantities. Smaller packages of meat are more expensive. Sometimes I cook up a larger package and then freeze what I’m not using right away. Makes for a quick meal later.
 
JaniceM said:
(this can also apply to couples)

I can relate to what my parents used to say when they become empty-nesters, and only had to grocery shop for themselves.
A difference, though, was they were retired, and had unlimited free time- I'm not, and I don't.

It's virtually impossible to find suitable-sized packages of anything- everything, from boxes of cereal (the good stuff, anyway) to meat is only available in "family-sized" packages. I lack time and space to separate everything into smaller-sized portions.

Has anyone come up with solutions to this?
Click to expand...
I meal prep for the week and freeze a lot. If you buy meat bring it home and separate it into your serving size and then freeze. Many vegetables can be cooked and frozen.
Time is an issue. I still work full time but spend a morning on the weekend prepping.
 
I found one solution: buy plastic or silicone ice trays, freeze whatever you need in smaller-sized portions, then store in a zip lock bag after you pop them out of the tray. Works well for things like tomato sauce or beans that you can’t get through the whole can before it spoils in the refrigerator 😊
 
There is a lot of waste because so many things come in family size packages. I suppose it's cheaper for companies to make them that way. I feel very guilty putting so much in the bin. I presume I'm feeding the rats and pigeons at the waste site?
I buy vegetables at the greengrocers because then I can pick small quantities and nothing is wasted.
 
Every couple of days I try to review my fridge's produce and use up whatever is heading south. Leafy greens, fruit, zucchini and the like are easy to work into meals or snacks.

I bake my own bread (four loaves at a time). The following morning I cut each in half, wrap the halves in Saran, then freeze in Ziploc bags. A half loaf lasts a couple of days and doesn't spoil in that amount of time. I reuse the Ziplocs.
 

Back
Top