How have your food habits changed with the mandatory staying inside?

[petra]

Shopping? Eating out? What's different?

Comments

[petra]

My household went from grocery shopping a couple of days a week and eating out once a week to grocery shopping maybe once a week and ordering food every other week, if we can make it work. I'm aware we're part of the problem restaurants are having right now, but it's hard to get ourselves to order the same amount of food we would otherwise pay for, not significantly more, since it's such a production to go anywhere for food at the moment and the trips are no longer "Well, we were already going to that part of town anyway."

[lilysea]

Old: used to order from Uber Eats at least once a day.

New: Never ever Uber Eats.

two lots of home delivered groceries per week [different stores]

also sometimes 15 or 20 pre-prepared freezable meals from a place that deliveries foam eskies of preprepared meals.

[petra]

What made you change your policy on Uber Eats?

Getting bulk quantities of pre-prepared meals sounds like a good plan under the circumstances.

[dine]

went from GrubHub lunches a couple times a week to one order since being shut in (and one pizza also). when I venture out into the wider world (1-2 times a week) I tend to pick up fast food rather than go to an actual restaurant - lots of my faves aren't open at all, or I'm not in that area for some other reason, and I'm trying to conserve gas, so don't go driving all over town. shopping and eating at home was/is affected by shortages - so many of my staples aren't available, or only sporadically, so I'm eating more of the stuff I can get which makes meals more monotonous

[minoanmiss]

I used to have a standing go-out-to-dinner date and to eat out a couple of times a week. Now I haven't had anything not cooked at home in 3 weeks (since my sweetie bought me a burrito). There are several things I really miss, like walnut cookies and sushi, which I can't have because someone I live with is sensitive to an ingredient, and other things, like pork, which I can't have because they aren't kosher. (That last is part of why I haven't ordered in. The emotional toll of dealing with What's In What You Ordered would be too great.)

... man, this is whiny. I'm sorry. Cooking at home has its charms! My roommate is making sourdough!

[scytale]

So many changes over here!

I used to do part-time vegetarianism, but I've stopped that because...well, I really wanted to eat meat. But I'm also eating less meat overall because of availability reasons.

My diet has shifted to more shelf-stable vegetables: more carrots, cabbage, celery, onions, and sweet potatoes. I'm eating less fresh greens and fruit than I used to. Also, mushrooms, just because they're tasty. And so much more rice instead of pasta. I also discovered that I really like oyster sauce and the Trader Joes' smoked ghost pepper that has sat in my pantry for years.

I'm going shopping once a week at the grocery store. This means I can't do the "oops, I forgot to pick up things" runs any more, which means that I'm learning to be much more creative with what I have.

I've also been ordering delivery once a week from a new favorite ramen place. I used to go to restaurants within walking distance once or twice a week (and usually a few set restaurants), but the delivery place is an improvement, as far as food quality goes.

[hannah]

I've shifted to only going to farmers markets that I can walk to. I still don't eat out, or order in - I haven't done either of those things in the last couple of years. I don't go to coffee shops anymore, since they're not open.

[petra]

I'm glad that you have plural farmers' markets that you can walk to, then.

[j00j]

We were already doing grocery delivery for disability/time saving reasons, but now we're trying to only order every 2 weeks. Doing more bulk shopping, doing most prep as part of daily cooking rather than planning meals that can be bulk prepped on weekends to save time after a commute. We are eating less meat and I'm trying more alternatives with my carnivorous household due to concerns about safety for workers; we're working on local sources where we can ascertain the conditions for animals and humans. Before a CSA seemed way too impractical due to limited time to prep produce, now we're trying to sign up for one, and will also be going to the farmer's market.
We also tip all delivery people extra as hazard pay, and call restaurants directly to order instead of using Grubhub.

[fred_mouse]

I'm doing almost no shopping -- the younger two offspring have taken that job, and are doing that once a week. We are still getting our pizza order on Tuesdays (the shopping and the pizza happen the same day, so that if we are exposed, we have a reasonable chance of someone showing symptoms before we next go out), and anything the offspring miss at the bigger shops we buy at the local while waiting for the pizza order.

This means that we are getting longer lasting veggies, cauliflower instead of broccoli, no spinach, no bok choi; I'm remembering to eat the celery. Fruit is the other thing I'm struggling with -- 3kg or so of bananas doesn't last the week, apples last if I forget they are there, most everything else goes off too quickly or isn't in season. I've taken to buying a kilo of grapes when I go into the local, but this week that lasted no more than two days.

Beyond that? We have been moving into a weekly recipe cycle for a while, and some of that has solidified a bit better than it was.

[petra]

We're not quite relying on staples as much as I expected we would be by this point, but ordering out has become a Thing that my brain thinks is a great luxury that no mere mortal should ever aspire to. We've been trying to do it anyway, pushing aside all the anxiety that comes with it, but it's been difficult.

[petra]

You're allowed to miss your favorite foods, especially since your eating patterns have changed so drastically. Your escape-the-house foods aren't available to you anymore -- that must be very hard, coming as it does in the guise of not seeing the people you'd share them with either.

Sourdough is great, but it's no sushi.

[petra]

Part-time vegetarianism sounds like an ethical plan, and if we all end up there due to meat shortages at least you won't be one of the people asking their children via Zoom, "How do you make beans taste good?" Not that this happened to anyone I know recently. ;)

Shifting to once-a-week grocery runs has been hard on us, too. We're not that good at planning, it turns out, which is why going more frequently has always been a thing for us.

Yay discovering uses for condiments you've had for a while!

I'm glad you have a good ramen delivery place. That sounds like a pleasant way to support local business.

[petra]

Shopping every two weeks is a thing that would take me a long time to get used to, so I tip my hat to you. Daily cooking rather than bulk prepping is the luxury of time that balances out the awkwardness of the shopping trips, I suppose.

Good for you looking for the maximally ethical food solutions in your area! Tipping delivery people well has always been a thing in my household; now it goes to 30%.

[petra]

When the cat helps me type my responses, they often start off a little rocky. Sorry about the misfire comment.

It's good that you're able to delegate the shopping, and to keep up the weekly pizza tradition. We've been getting longer-lasting veg here too -- giving up on the leafy greens in favor of things that hold up better, or things that freeze well.

I hope that having a weekly schedule for your recipes helps keep your food needs predictable and attainable.

[mific]

Yeah, making my own meals all the time and not eating take aways or cafe food. Healthier, so I hope I can maintain it.

[petra]

I hope you can keep it up too!

[j00j]

Yeah, we've gone from 20% to 30% in most cases.
I like improv cooking when I have the luxury of time to be spontaneous, so using up random leftovers or foraging for older frozen veg to use up to make another meal is a fun challenge for me.