Fast forward to Friday night. I was sure I had a back up of an item, but it turned out I didn't. It's a essential item so we headed to the store. Chuck had not been into the stores since all of this had started. He had seen it on the news and I had been telling him, but seeing it for himself was sobering. Actually, it was for me also. Isles, and isles of empty shelves. It's only been a little over a week since that first shopping trip, yet it feels like months ago.
Seeing as how food is now scarce it's time be extra diligent about food waste. The fridge was fairly full and a container of leftover roast beef was pushed to the back. Sadly, it had to be tossed. That was the moment that I knew I had to take better charge of the kitchen.
I went through the refrigerator and put away things that I thought might go bad before they would be eaten. Chuck had picked up some lunch meat. I divided it down into more manageable portion sizes and put them into the freezer.
A container of blueberries were close to passing their prime, so into the freezer they went. They will be used in baking or for Megan snacks. She loves frozen blueberries! The browning bananas became banana bread.
I had used some beef broth in a recipe earlier this week. I took the leftover broth and poured it into ice cube trays for later use. I saved just enough broth to use in the roast I intend to prepare on Sunday.
We had take out recently and there was a small container of dressing left. That was added to my current bottle.
I know I've mentioned this before, but you can write on plastic/glass containers with a dry erase marker. I am now making sure to mark the date on all leftover. I want to ensure that things are used in a timely manner.
Beside the fact that finding food is scarce we also need to be diligent due to cost. For those without a stocked pantry it's currently hard to shop on a budget. No ground beef or chicken means you may have to buy the more expensive cut of meat. The $1 loaves of bread out stock means you may have to buy the premium loaf. All of those subsitutes can add up to budget crushers.
I still find it unreal to think about all of the events that have unfolded in such a short amount of time. If you let it, you could become anxious and paralyzed with fear. I find that besides prayer, the best thing I can do is "look well to ways of my household."
Please let me know how you are doing.