Saturday Grocery Shopping and Stocking Up Our Pantry!
On the weekends we usually drive into town for groceries and other supplies. I've been wanting to stock up on our bulk items like beans and rice. We were fortunate to find some on sale today at Sprout's.
We got 5 pounds each of:
- long grain brown rice
- short grain brown basmati rice
- split green peas
- garbanzo beans
- pearled barley
25 lbs of food for about $26 is a great haul. I was able to fit 20 lbs of food into 12 1-quart mason jars. The pearled barley went into a larger glass container. I still have a case of mason jars left we will probably need to can the rest of our tomatoes and peppers.
When you go grocery shopping make sure to check for deals in the bulk section! This food will keep for a very long time and is very good for you! What is your best thing to find on sale in your bulk section? Let me know what you keep in stock in your pantry.
I also couldn't help but notice the numerology of the tags on my bulk items. Do you notice anything strange?
that is exactly what I/we used to do when I loved more rural.
Once a month, we would load up into the minivan, load in the coolers and head hour away to a large city. We'd go to three different HUGE stores... stock up... load up and head back home for another hour drive.
It became a once a month adventure for me and my two daughters but it was our day.
A helpful tip - If you are not going to be using some of your bulk items for a while, small moths and other bugs can hatch inside your containers. It's very common. To avoid this I put all grain items in the freezer for a minimum of three days, I prefer longer. Bring out and let warm up to room temperature and release any condensation for a day or so and then package for longer term. I've never had a problem since.
Great idea! I'll go ahead and put them in there for a while since we have a lot of space in there anyway. I wouldn't want to find dead bugs in our food!
Thanks for the tip!
I've never heard of this method, but it makes sense. Will have to give a whirl. Thanks!
I also do this with all flour.
Another thing that you can do for bulk grains that are stored for a longer time is get some oxygen absorber packets of the right size for the jars and use one of these in each jar. Screw the lid down tight after you put the packet on top of the food. Any larvae that hatch in the jar can't live without oxygen, so they die. You can store grains, peas, beans, and any other dry food for years this way. I have several 1/2 gallon jars of oatmeal that I have stored that way, along with some 1/2 gallon jars of rice. I think I also have pinto beans stored that way. It's a really good "just in case" storage method.
Oh, I agree with that. I use them all the time. I have many levels of storage, short-term all the way up to decades if need be. They all use a bit of a different method. I do place the oxygen absorbers in all my jars I keep my dehydrated foods in.
A great addition to our pantry!
Great choices and nice work on the sale prices! Looks like you'll be set for a while.
Nice haul! Not a bad deal 25 pounds of food for $26. I'll take that any day.
Been meaning to do this. Feel bad about how much plastic we go through. Half gallon glass jars is the way to go
It's so very nice. Have a nice day :)
This is what I would call a successful shopping :)