Depending on when you are reading this (currently April 2020), the world is experiencing a deadly virus, that is quickly spreading throughout the world. COVID-19 is a respiratory illness, that is spreading from person to person. Many people are in a government mandated shelter-in-place, staying home and only going out for essential items. At this time, only essential businesses remain open, causing many job losses/fuloughs, financial difficulties and uncertainty. The incubation period for Coronavirus (COVID-19) is 14 days, so staying home is essential to protect yourself and others.
How my family is handling the Coronavirus
My family has been in quarantine for about a month (at the time of me writing this). The only time we leave our home, is for necessary grocery trips and walks outside.
For us, our life hasn’t changed a whole lot. My husband normally works from home (most days) and I stay home with the boys, so our day to day is still fairly normal. We are definitely social distancing, so we haven’t seen family since this started, doing this to protect ourselves, AND others.
While being quarantined, we have probably watched more TV than normal, eaten some snacks we don’t normally consume and have finally gotten to those home projects we have been putting off.
How our budget changed
I make a budget every month for our family, that we follow pretty strictly. Normally, we set aside money for personal spending, entertainment, etc. For now, we are putting a hold on all extras. We are doing a “bare bones budget,” meaning we are only spending money on the necessary items; food, bills, home supplies and needed beauty supplies (shampoo, soap, etc).
Although my husband still has his job, he works off commission. With companies furloughing employees and being scared to spend money, that directly affects his paychecks. Since we don’t know how long this will last, we are choosing to be cautious with our spending.
Our current approach to food
When this all started, and the mayor issued a shelter-in-place for Nashville, we made a grocery list, choosing foods that have a longer shelf life. My husband made a trip to Costco (which we normally do once monthly) and purchased two months worth of the items, so we wouldn’t have to return for a while.
What we bought from Costco:
- frozen fruit
- frozen vegetables
- bread
- frozen fish
- seeds
- nuts
- burgers (for my husband’s lunches)
- salad/greens
- dates
- canned tuna
- quinoa
- brown rice
- miscellaneous snacks
- toilet paper (we lucked out on this)
In addition to our Costco list, I made a list of recipes I wanted to cook and freeze. At this point, we had no idea what the future of grocery shopping was going to look like, and to be honest, we were a little scared about a food shortage. In our city, people were overbuying, causing a shortage of things like beans, eggs, grains, pasta, and… toilet paper.
I choose to cook and freeze:
- Chicken noodle soup (made a double batch)- I didn’t include the noodles, those will get added later on.
- Chili- I made a double batch of chili, leaving out the chili powder so my toddlers could eat it too.
After our Costco trip, we took a trip to Kroger and purchased the rest of the items we would need, to last us at least 2 weeks.
What we bough from Kroger:
- potatoes
- onions
- vegetable broth (very limited supply)
- squash
- dry beans (we ended up only finding dry pinto)
- canned beans
- canned soup (we normally don’t buy this)
- apples
- citrus (lemons and limes)
- oranges
- cabbage
- carrots
Some of our impulse purchases because of fear…
- A frozen pizza (I haven’t eaten a frozen pizza in YEARS!)- no judgement if this is a normal purchase for you..it was good!
- Annie’s organic mac and cheese (a first time purchase)
- Amy’s canned soups
- Applegate organic hot dogs (a first time purchase for our family)- when I went to the store, the meat was pretty much all gone. Since we couldn’t make our monthly farmers market trip (where we normally get our meat), I wanted to have something just in case. I saw these organic 100% beef hot dogs, and thought I would give them a shot.
- Extra snacks- we grabbed more than normal (chips, crackers, cheese bricks)
Our Costco trip and Kroger trip put us well over budget for the month of March. However, now being in the middle of April, things are surprisingly evening out.
A peek into our pantry
Here is our current pantry items. We have more canned beans and snacks than normal, as well as more nuts, seeds and oats.
I made sure we were stocked with:
- quinoa
- brown rice
- pasta sauce and noodles
- snacks
- beans (canned and dry)
- canned tuna
- canned tomatoes
A peek into our freezer
Here is our current freezer. We have more bread and veggies than normal.
I made sure we were stocked with:
- fish (we eat fish once a week)
- frozen fruit (for smoothies)
- frozen veggies
- meat- we ended up getting 100% beef hot dogs, fish
- bread
- tortilla shells
A peek into our refrigerator
This is pretty much what our fridge looks like all the time. I meal prep each week, so we always have a lot of containers full of prepared food. No different here! Just a few extras.
Bought extra:
- eggs
- cheese bricks
- greens (kale, spinach)
How we are meal planning now…
If you follow my blog, you know I make a monthly meal plan. I made a meal plan for April, but due to limited supplies in stores, we had to make some changes.
Over the weekend, I took inventory of what we had in our fridge, freezer and pantry, using an inventory sheet (download the sheet below under the resources section).
With the news saying sickness was going to rise in the next week, my husband and I decided we would plan out meals to get us through the remainder of the month, going to the store one last time this month.
Our meal plan consisted of planning 21 days. That is 21 breakfasts, lunches and dinners, plus food for our twin boys (23 months).
Here is how we planned 3 weeks of meals
- we took inventory of pantry, freezer and refrigerator items
- wrote the numbers 1-21, down a lined sheet of paper
- using ingredients we already had, we filled in meals we could make using those ingredients
- filled in the rest of the blanks with cheap meals we could make for the remainder of the month (this included many soup recipes because soup is easy to double and it’s generally cheap to make
- then we filled in breakfast and lunches, using leftovers as often as we thought possible.
- made a lunch and snack menu for our toddler twins
This took us about an hour to plan and gather an ingredient list, and then I typed it up and hung it on the fridge. From there, I went to the store and bought the ingredients needed. We will have to tweak a few things due to not finding ingredients were were hoping to purchase, but it will be okay.
Sharing our 3 weeks of meals
I’m sharing our REAL LIFE list of meals for a few reasons…
- I want to show how meal planning for an extended period of time can be done and doesn’t have to be difficult. I have a family of four (two of which are two year old twins)
- It is okay to give yourself a little grace right now with food. Due to food supply (and a little fear once this all started) I am eating food that I don’t normally eat (hello pizza, hot dogs and boxed mac and cheese). You might be in the same situation. Don’t beat yourself up, this is all temporary. Now, to be clear- I don’t think it’s a time to stock up on a bunch of junk food. Right now you need to be taking your health very seriously and give your body things it needs to thrive. Yes, I bought some processed food that I don’t normally eat, but I’m also eating tons of vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats and other foods that make feel good.
- I am hoping to give you some meal ideas for you and your family.
If you plan on making an extended meal plan for your family, scroll down for some ideas.
Your turn to meal plan! Here is a tip to get you started…
Start by making a master list of your families favorite meals, that you can refer to when meal planning. Save this list and update it often. Let your kids help you plan meals. If they are involved in the planning, your likely to get less of a fight when it comes to meal times. Let your kids help you prepare meals as well! Find the joy in cooking together!
Don’t forget to connect with family!
Meal planning aside, I hope you are all doing okay during this pandemic. Remember that social distancing does not mean you can’t still connect with family and friends. Make an effort to Facetime or call someone at least once a week if possible. With losing a family member to Coronavirus, I know how SERIOUS it is and how fast life can change.
Also, a big thank you to all the healthcare workers and essential workers risking your lives every single day during this. You are so greatly appreciated! THANK YOU!
RESOURCES:
Meals you may be interested in adding to your meal plan:
Sweet potato and black bean enchiladas– serves 4, takes 1.10 hours total cooking time, 7 main ingredients (along with some spices and optional toppings)
Sheet Pan Vegetables and Sausage– for this recipe, feel free to use whatever veggies you have (the recipe is for onion, butternut squash and broccoli), sausage , grain of choice and spices. Serves 4, done in less than an hour.
Vegetable and Quinoa Soup– serves 8, ready in 30 minutes, 7 main ingredients. This soup is a great cheap option!
Stir fry (with our without meat)- stir fry is one of our families go-to’s when we are running low on ingredients. It’s easy to use whatever veggies you already have, throw in some protein and add some soy sauce or coconut aminos. This recipe takes 20 minutes to make (prepare rice ahead of time), serves 2, uses 5 main ingredients . This recipe is very easily doubled.
Other ideas:
- energy balls (snack)
- homemade granola or bars
- tacos
- spaghetti, pasta
- soups and stews
- quesadillas
- seasoned beans and rice with steamed or roasted veggies
- stuffed sweet potatoes
- sandwiches
- buddha bowls (lots of veggies, pick your protein, whole grain, healthy fat)
Be safe out there, friends and let me know in the comments below how you are doing! How has this experience been for you and your family?!
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