Toilet Paper - Again? Stocking Up?

[Deleted]

Nov 2, 2020 8:47:00 GMT -5 azucena said:

I went to walmart yesterday and seeing all the empty shelves made me nervous.  I couldn't tell if it was because it'd been a busy weekend, because people are stocking up, or because the supply chain is still messed up.  I also wonder if stores aren't holding as much inventory in an effort to prop up their balance sheets.  Either way, I hadn't been to WM in a couple months.  The combination of election and COVID second wave has me nervous.

They don't need to prop up their balance sheets because business has been way up at supermarkets since this all began.

And wvugurl26, WM's aisles are always full of pallets on Friday nights so they can be ready for the wild weekends. We've found that if we shop early on a Saturday, there's plenty of everything. As the day goes on, there's less and less of nearly everything, especially frozen and other convenience foods, pasta, rice, cereal, bakers' supplies like flour/sugar/yeast.

[stillmovingforward]

Plus it was the 1st of the month so SNAP came in. Always crazy then.
I toss my beans in the slow cooker in a 1:3 ratio with water. Come back 8-10 hours later and they are perfect. No soaking. We eat 1-2 pots per week, dusted throughout our recipes.

[Lizard Queen]

My friend has the red Cadillac SUV. I don't think it's the Escalade, because it's a bit smaller, but I'm not sure the model. She originally bought a black one brand new, and it had all kinds of transmission problems, so she traded it for the more basic model in red, which is her favorite color. Well burgundy is her absolute favorite, but I think the color is sort of between red and burgundy.

[Deleted]

When I moved, I had been using the same yeast from a 1# bag from Costco. I kept it in a jar in the freezer. It was 10 years old and working fine. I do proof with warm water and brown sugar.

There is NO EXPIRATION date on canned food. It doesn't expire...

Those are "sell by" or "best by" dates unregulated to mean anything by any government safety agency. The reason the food banks won't take them is ignorance of the American people on their meanings. 

Honestly, this bugs the shit out of me. My mother insists on tossing everything "expired" in her kitchen - including canned food. At least twice a year she tosses an insane amount of perfectly fine food.

The food packagers want you to toss stuff. Why? Because then you buy more...

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Meh. I just soak beans at least overnight. I hate single-purpose gadgets. I’m in a Facebook group of @200k members and the latest big discussion is on rice cookers. I’ve only ever cooked rice (brown, wild, jasmine, etc.) in a stainless steel pot with a cover. Why would I need a separate appliance? Or, maybe I’ve been cooking rice wrong my whole life...?

[Deleted]

Nov 2, 2020 10:16:07 GMT -5 stillmovingforward said:

Plus it was the 1st of the month so SNAP came in. Always crazy then.
I toss my beans in the slow cooker in a 1:3 ratio with water. Come back 8-10 hours later and they are perfect. No soaking. We eat 1-2 pots per week, dusted throughout our recipes.

I've always heard the purpose in soaking the beans is to reduce their ability to make one fart. 

I've always wondered if that was true or if they really need pre-soaking at all...  lol 

[wvugurl26]

Tomato products I am a little leery of. Those do go bad faster than other things.

My experiences with expired stuff has been mixed. Milk we smell it and when bad. Eggs that have been refrigerated, we have used long past the date.

I've had no issues with canned fruit pie filling. The condensed milk was turning colors and I was a little suspect of it. We've used frozen stuff (vegetables and chicken nuggets) a year past the date.

The Quaker chewy granola bars seem to hit less than ideal texture pretty quickly.

I try to keep things rotated and in view to be used up. In some instances I think it's being willing to gamble and have a backup plan if the product is less than ideal.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Nov 2, 2020 12:17:44 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

Meh. I just soak beans at least overnight. I hate single-purpose gadgets. I’m in a Facebook group of @200k members and the latest big discussion is on rice cookers. I’ve only ever cooked rice (brown, wild, jasmine, etc.) in a stainless steel pot with a cover. Why would I need a separate appliance? Or, maybe I’ve been cooking rice wrong my whole life...?

Dunno.  I don’t have a rice cooker either.  Alton Brown calls them unitaskers.   I have always cooked rice on the stove top in a pan.  Not a big deal and it always comes out for me.  

However, my Asian SIL and her kids all have one.  

I have a slow cooker that the only reason why I don’t get rid of it is when we lose power I can plug it in as it doesn’t draw as much power as the stove for the generator.  

[Lizard Queen]

Isn't the instant pot also a rice cooker?

[Deleted]

Nov 2, 2020 12:52:14 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

Isn't the instant pot also a rice cooker?

They are expensive pressure cookers. You can cook nearly anything in one, I'd imagine, that can be pressure cooked. 

[Lizard Queen]

Nov 2, 2020 12:54:19 GMT -5 @shastasnewlife said:

Nov 2, 2020 12:52:14 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

Isn't the instant pot also a rice cooker?

They are expensive pressure cookers. You can cook nearly anything in one, I'd imagine, that can be pressure cooked. 

You can also slow cook in the instant pot. It's just I could have sworn it advertised itself specifically as a rice cooker, too.

[stillmovingforward]

Nov 2, 2020 12:25:42 GMT -5 @shastasnewlife said:

Nov 2, 2020 10:16:07 GMT -5 stillmovingforward said:

Plus it was the 1st of the month so SNAP came in. Always crazy then.
I toss my beans in the slow cooker in a 1:3 ratio with water. Come back 8-10 hours later and they are perfect. No soaking. We eat 1-2 pots per week, dusted throughout our recipes.

I've always heard the purpose in soaking the beans is to reduce their ability to make one fart. 

I've always wondered if that was true or if they really need pre-soaking at all...  lol 

Doesn't seem to affect anyone here. And my kids would have been the 1st to take advantage of that! I have heard it's more to the unaccustomed fiber in the gut. We eat so many of them, fiber is not an issue.

[saveinla]

Nov 2, 2020 12:52:14 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

Isn't the instant pot also a rice cooker?

Yes. It can be a rice cooker also. I returned mine since it broke a week after I started using it, but I cooked rice in it.

[Tiny]

I use canned beans. I'm single. I just stock up on cans of the types of beans I use in recipes. I did cook dried beans once... it worked fine - but it was too much and I didn't care for the beans after they had been in the freezer.

I usually use 2 or 3 different kinds of canned beans when I make chili.

Great White or Cannolini's go in soup (italian style) or become a bean dip.

I use a lot of garbanzos - I make hummus a couple times a month. I just use the canned kind (Aldi garbanzos are OK (smaller - so good on salads or in a Curry or Chili), bush garbanzos are good, I didn't care for the goya garbanzos (seemed like more liquid than beans). )

I will stick with canned beans (bought on sale) so I can have the convenience and variety I'm sure it helps that I'm single and not feeding a family of 3 or 4.

[stillmovingforward]

....or 6.
I don't like the taste of canned beans anymore. Weird, I know.

[Deleted]

Nov 2, 2020 12:25:42 GMT -5 @shastasnewlife said:

Nov 2, 2020 10:16:07 GMT -5 stillmovingforward said:

Plus it was the 1st of the month so SNAP came in. Always crazy then.
I toss my beans in the slow cooker in a 1:3 ratio with water. Come back 8-10 hours later and they are perfect. No soaking. We eat 1-2 pots per week, dusted throughout our recipes.

I've always heard the purpose in soaking the beans is to reduce their ability to make one fart. 

I've always wondered if that was true or if they really need pre-soaking at all...  lol 

When you're in a hurry, you can wash your beans, cover them about an inch more with water, bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and let them stand for an hour. Drain the water, refresh with hot water, proceed. If your water cooks off too much, only add hot water.

Boiling is what de-poops beans.

Another thing: if you're using canned green beans or any kind of beans or vegetables where you don't want or need the liquid, draining and rinsing them with cold water will remove a whole lot of the sodium. Cheaper than buying "no salt added." Because...why is a "no salt added" product more expensive? The canner saves $$ by not adding something, right?

[Tiny]

I generally try to buy dated things with a lot of lead time on the best by/sell by dates. I will happily use most canned goods up to a year past their "date" - when they've been in my cupboard/storage well before they got to their "by" date.  
I hate it when I find canned goods at the grocery that are within 6 months of their "date" - where have these cans been for the last 12 to 18 months? Were they stored correctly? If I'm buying 'em they better be at a step discount.

Milk in a can - is definitely something to watch the best by dates on. It doesn't go "bad" as per se. the color and consistence changes (tastes the same, is still edible and safe to use) but it can change what your finished product looks like (a darker color). since I'm usually putting evaporated milk into pumpkin or squash cream soup - I don't care if it's color has changed. I try to use the cans up before their "date" but i'll use one's that are up to a year old - IF they've been in my cupboard since well before their "date".

Stuff with fake sweetners (like soda) also go bad... I've found the "best by" dates on Diet Coke to be fairly accurate - once you get more than a couple of weeks past the date - the sweetner tastes off to me.

I try to do a First in/First out and I try not to over "stock up". Every Spring and Fall I go thru the pantry and I menu plan to use up anything at or beyond the best by date AND I make a donation of anything that's within a month or two of it's best by - especially if i have a lot of something coming "due". I usually have 4 to 6 cans of a variety of stuff to donate.

When I was volunteering at the food bank -sorting "food drive" donations - most stuff more than 3 months past it's best by date got sorted out. I'm not sure what happened to those cans/packages. I suspect a second sort happened and some of it did indeed get eaten.

[kadee79]

My Japanese DIL has a fancy over $200 rice cooker...but she is cooking sticky rice and LARGE quantities of it at one time.  

I use the Uncle Ben's packets that all I have to do is microwave cause I can mess up instant rice on the stove.


Life Part Two...you are soooo right about the dates on stuff.  I spent over 30 years in retail mostly in grocery or drug stores.  Stores makes lots of $$ from folks throwing things out...my DIL does too & so do her kids...their loss, their expense.
If you think eggs may be bad...put them in a pan of water...if they float, pitch them.

I have never soaked a bean in my life...I put them in the pot & cook them.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Nov 2, 2020 14:24:54 GMT -5 @missrigby said:

Nov 2, 2020 12:25:42 GMT -5 @shastasnewlife said:

I've always heard the purpose in soaking the beans is to reduce their ability to make one fart. 

I've always wondered if that was true or if they really need pre-soaking at all...  lol 

When you're in a hurry, you can wash your beans, cover them about an inch more with water, bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and let them stand for an hour. Drain the water, refresh with hot water, proceed. If your water cooks off too much, only add hot water.

Boiling is what de-poops beans.

Another thing: if you're using canned green beans or any kind of beans or vegetables where you don't want or need the liquid, draining and rinsing them with cold water will remove a whole lot of the sodium. Cheaper than buying "no salt added." Because...why is a "no salt added" product more expensive? The canner saves $$ by not adding something, right?

Salt is also a preservative.  I imagine that the ‘no salt added’ cans are treated differently.  

[Deleted]

Nov 2, 2020 14:24:54 GMT -5 @missrigby said:

Nov 2, 2020 12:25:42 GMT -5 @shastasnewlife said:

I've always heard the purpose in soaking the beans is to reduce their ability to make one fart. 

I've always wondered if that was true or if they really need pre-soaking at all...  lol 

When you're in a hurry, you can wash your beans, cover them about an inch more with water, bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and let them stand for an hour. Drain the water, refresh with hot water, proceed. If your water cooks off too much, only add hot water.

Boiling is what de-poops beans.

Another thing: if you're using canned green beans or any kind of beans or vegetables where you don't want or need the liquid, draining and rinsing them with cold water will remove a whole lot of the sodium. Cheaper than buying "no salt added." Because...why is a "no salt added" product more expensive? The canner saves $$ by not adding something, right?

Big oops! If you use the boil-then-let-stand method, cover the pot when you turn off the heat!

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

So, I apparently had some undiagnosed PTSD from March that revealed itself in this past weekend’s grocery shopping. I clearly have unacknowledged anxiety about my toilet paper supply. Somehow, shopping at 4 different places, I managed to accumulate...104 rolls of TP!!!! That’s more than we use in a year!!! 😂😂

Maybe I can use it to barter for other things if the poop hits the fan this Winter...

😂😂😂

[wvugurl26]

I like my gadgets. I have never cooked rice in a pot in my life. If you use them and like them who cares if there's another way.

My instant pot, rice cooker and veggie steamer were all gifts. We have various crock pot sizes because tailgates.

[chiver78]

Oct 31, 2020 10:13:36 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

I keep a well-stocked pantry as a rule both for budgetary reasons and because New England is prone to both blizzards and hurricanes. I am a fan of Amy Dazcyzn of Tightwad Gazette fame who advocates following price cycles and then stocking up when an item hits its low point in the cycle. The pandemic, however, has pretty much put an end to that kind of shopping both because sales are now so infrequent and because of the shortages. I’ve been stocking up steadily this Fall, and aside from things like fresh milk and bananas, could eat reasonably healthy for quite a while at this point.

I'm trying to remember what I need to stock up on, since it has been so long since I have operated normally. I have been having no trouble finding TP, paper towels, or Kleenex...but those limits. so basically, any time I walk into a store, I'm buying a package of at least the TP/PT. my Walmart order last week had included a 6pk that was shown as available when I ordered. they subbed three 2pks, which had I gone in, wouldn't have been allowed. I figure that I'm going to lay low most of the winter in general, it won't go to waste. I wouldn't mind finding a small chest freezer, like I had in the last house and sold to my buyer. the kitchen fridge here has a weird freezer layout, and large stuff doesn't work well in it.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Nov 2, 2020 19:11:42 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

Oct 31, 2020 10:13:36 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

I keep a well-stocked pantry as a rule both for budgetary reasons and because New England is prone to both blizzards and hurricanes. I am a fan of Amy Dazcyzn of Tightwad Gazette fame who advocates following price cycles and then stocking up when an item hits its low point in the cycle. The pandemic, however, has pretty much put an end to that kind of shopping both because sales are now so infrequent and because of the shortages. I’ve been stocking up steadily this Fall, and aside from things like fresh milk and bananas, could eat reasonably healthy for quite a while at this point.

I'm trying to remember what I need to stock up on, since it has been so long since I have operated normally. I have been having no trouble finding TP, paper towels, or Kleenex...but those limits. so basically, any time I walk into a store, I'm buying a package of at least the TP/PT. my Walmart order last week had included a 6pk that was shown as available when I ordered. they subbed three 2pks, which had I gone in, wouldn't have been allowed. I figure that I'm going to lay low most of the winter in general, it won't go to waste. I wouldn't mind finding a small chest freezer, like I had in the last house and sold to my buyer. the kitchen fridge here has a weird freezer layout, and large stuff doesn't work well in it.

I scored a 5 cubic foot chest freezer online at Baron’s in Salem, New Hampshire. It took 5 weeks to come in, but that turned out to be much faster than the website originally predicted. I went with one that had a high rating on Consumer Reports: GE Model No. FCM5SKWW.

[Deleted]

GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl How many people in your household? Please let us know when you've used up 104 rolls of TP.

I, too, have PTSD, but mine's been diagnosed. I never felt the need to buy 104 rolls of TP

[Blonde Granny]

I haven't counted the number of TP I have.....just know for 1 person it should be fine. My pantry is now full, so is my freezer. I likely will have to continue to buy milk, fresh veggies , bread and other odds and ends as they appear. But over all, I'm ready. The virus here in Arkansas is rising through the roof, I doubt they will continue to reopen the VA , so I figure that I've got another 6-8 months of quiet and lonesome living before things go back to normal. Unlike last March, this time I'm ready for it.

[CCL]

Nov 2, 2020 19:11:42 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

Oct 31, 2020 10:13:36 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

I keep a well-stocked pantry as a rule both for budgetary reasons and because New England is prone to both blizzards and hurricanes. I am a fan of Amy Dazcyzn of Tightwad Gazette fame who advocates following price cycles and then stocking up when an item hits its low point in the cycle. The pandemic, however, has pretty much put an end to that kind of shopping both because sales are now so infrequent and because of the shortages. I’ve been stocking up steadily this Fall, and aside from things like fresh milk and bananas, could eat reasonably healthy for quite a while at this point.

I'm trying to remember what I need to stock up on, since it has been so long since I have operated normally. I have been having no trouble finding TP, paper towels, or Kleenex...but those limits. so basically, any time I walk into a store, I'm buying a package of at least the TP/PT. my Walmart order last week had included a 6pk that was shown as available when I ordered. they subbed three 2pks, which had I gone in, wouldn't have been allowed. I figure that I'm going to lay low most of the winter in general, it won't go to waste. I wouldn't mind finding a small chest freezer, like I had in the last house and sold to my buyer. the kitchen fridge here has a weird freezer layout, and large stuff doesn't work well in it.

Sam's Club has the freezers online and in my local store.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Nov 2, 2020 19:41:24 GMT -5 @missrigby said:

GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl How many people in your household? Please let us know when you've used up 104 rolls of TP.

I, too, have PTSD, but mine's been diagnosed. I never felt the need to buy 104 rolls of TP

2. 😊

Unless one or both sons come home. But they’re guys, they only use TP once per day. 😊

[empress of self-improvement]

Nov 2, 2020 20:25:52 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

Nov 2, 2020 19:41:24 GMT -5 @missrigby said:

GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl How many people in your household? Please let us know when you've used up 104 rolls of TP.

I, too, have PTSD, but mine's been diagnosed. I never felt the need to buy 104 rolls of TP

2. 😊

Unless one or both sons come home. But they’re guys, they only use TP once per day. 😊

Well, I know where to go when I use up my 14 rolls. So your guys didn't feel the need to wipe after every every dribble on those days where they had to live on the toilet? DH would use an entire fucking roll on those trips. I've been working on the same package of toilet paper since he died!

[Deleted]

Nov 2, 2020 12:17:02 GMT -5 @shastasnewlife said:

When I moved, I had been using the same yeast from a 1# bag from Costco. I kept it in a jar in the freezer. It was 10 years old and working fine. I do proof with warm water and brown sugar.

There is NO EXPIRATION date on canned food. It doesn't expire...

Those are "sell by" or "best by" dates unregulated to mean anything by any government safety agency. The reason the food banks won't take them is ignorance of the American people on their meanings. 

Honestly, this bugs the shit out of me. My mother insists on tossing everything "expired" in her kitchen - including canned food. At least twice a year she tosses an insane amount of perfectly fine food.

The food packagers want you to toss stuff. Why? Because then you buy more...

So do I. I pay attention to expiration dates when I shop and I try to use all food I buy by the expiration date. But if I don’t I won’t eat or use it. So I do end up throwing food away. I’m not quite as strict with sell by dates.

Sometimes DBF gets exasperated with me because of that, but idc, idc. But he goes too far for me anyway. I’ve told him that he’s almost like a toddler that I have to get rid of stuff for, so he doesn’t eat it. I’m not gon even get into that. Anyway, he got exasperated with me today because I asked if we had any canned chili for chili cheese dogs tonight. He said “we have real chili”, referring to the chili I made LAST Saturday that’s still sitting in the refrigerator. I’m not eating that!