What would you buy to stockpile? (kinda long)

[Mommabean]

I feel like I've shopped my but off the last couple weeks.
We have FS and thank God we have work again as of the last couple weeks. Things are looking brighter and so we must report the job within 10 days (today) and we know FS will end.

The kicker I still have 400 on the card, and I was told they do not expire but I don't want it to just sit on the card in case it just POOF goes away.

SOooooo in the last couple weeks I have taken our storage room inside and converted half it into a pantry. (I'll take a picture later today). So far I have spent 400 on canned items, snacks for the kids, breakfast foods, and baking supplies. I am loaded with things in there and am struck as to what now. Do I just buy more of what I have and stock it to the max, or are there things that I'm missing I should stockpile?

Being pregnant I did buy some *gasp* convenience things for dh to cook to make life easy on him in a few months....and made sure we had tons of things the boys could get for themselves. Like fruit cups, granola, and cracker snacks. Another thing that made me so happy is my grocery is now selling more organic teas!!! One being mother's milk tea and I was able to pick up a couple boxes of that to stow away AND also some teas for the boys if they were to get sick this spring!!

We don't have an extra freezer space so I'm limited on what I can buy in that area, I have gotten quite a bit of organic items as well. But again I feel like I need to REALLY focus and get other things but I'm lost and tired of grocery shopping pregnant. (All I want to do is go to the cookie aisles and buy soft batch cookies and eat my way home )

So any ideas?

[BetsyS]

Olive oil? It's one of those foods that is really pricey, but very useful. You may have included it in your baking supplies already, though.

I guess I'd work to make sure that I had enough of everything so that during your first few months working, you could have an almost non-existent grocery budget, easing the swing back into your normal budget.

[Mommabean]

OOohhh Olive oil is very pricey, I'm putting that bad boy down. Thanks!!

[Denvergirlie]

We use sesame oil a lot, it's like $10 a little bottle.

Nuts, beans, oats, dried fruit all keep well too

[feminist~mama]

Are you all stocked up on spices?

[velochic]

Originally Posted by BetsyS

I guess I'd work to make sure that I had enough of everything so that during your first few months working, you could have an almost non-existent grocery budget, easing the swing back into your normal budget.

I agree, I would look toward buying in order to bridge the gap between having your FS and trying to work out a livable grocery budget with the new income.

Think of complete meals. Buy all the ingredients for however many times you think you might make that particular meal during the transition period. (i.e. for spaghetti with marinara make sure you have enough noodles and sauce ingredients for 6 meals over the next 4 weeks). Shop sales. Buy staples that never really go bad if stored properly (salt, sugar, white rice, most beans). Good luck!

[AlwaysByMySide]

They upped our food stamps, and I have a really hard time spending them all, even with stockpiling, because I only shop sales. (I'm looking forward to spending my surplus on blueberry bushes when they hit stores! I don't have it in me to buy expensive stuff just for the sake of buying expensive stuff.)

Remember that you can buy seeds for herbs and veggies with your food stamps, as well as fruit trees.

Also things like baking soda and vinegar (for cleaning). Coconut oil (if you have a store that does the organic, less-processed kind).

Make sure you're checking expiration dates on the granola bars, and are storing them by those dates!

[sleepypeanutsmom]

Does your family eat meat? I know you said you are short on freezer space, but whenever we have extra $ we purchase organic meat. It is also great if you can cook a lot of it up and then freeze it in ways that you would use. For example, taco meat, shredded chicken/turkey, etc. That way you have convenience as well. I wonder if you could get your hands on a small freezer for free? Maybe a friend/family member, craigslist, freecycle? You could just get the word out and see. A few years ago we bought one for the garage from a scratch/dent place and it has more than paid for itself.

[honeybunmom]

Not a big help with ideas, here, but I go through 1 box of Mother's Milk tea a week. I double up on my bags so I'm not drinking it all day. I drink a double bagged cup in the morning and a single bag in the afternoon. And my son is 10 mos old. All that to say, I could easily end up going through 24 boxes as I went back to work when he was 6 mos old and I'll be pumping during the day until he's 12 mos old. At around $5.00/box, that's $120 right there.

Now, I'm at the point where my supply is dropping and this weekend I'll be buying More Milk or More Milk Plus. I don't know whether one can use FS to buy these, but, it's something to consider as they are more pricey than the tea. Or Fenugreek capsules. I think that's the supplement that enhances milk supply.

[Chloe&Coop'sMom]

I agree wtih the suggestion to try and get your hands on a small freezer for really inexpensive or free. We got a small on for free off of Craigslist two years ago... it is ugly, but it works great!

[Satori]

Originally Posted by honeybunmom

Not a big help with ideas, here, but I go through 1 box of Mother's Milk tea a week. I double up on my bags so I'm not drinking it all day. I drink a double bagged cup in the morning and a single bag in the afternoon. And my son is 10 mos old. All that to say, I could easily end up going through 24 boxes as I went back to work when he was 6 mos old and I'll be pumping during the day until he's 12 mos old. At around $5.00/box, that's $120 right there.

Now, I'm at the point where my supply is dropping and this weekend I'll be buying More Milk or More Milk Plus. I don't know whether one can use FS to buy these, but, it's something to consider as they are more pricey than the tea. Or Fenugreek capsules. I think that's the supplement that enhances milk supply.

Might I suggest you stop double bagging and drink an extra cup of tea? Not drinking enough liquid can impact your supply, some moms need a lot of liquids to keep up there supply.

[Satori]

I agree with everyone else, try having enough to make a meal several times. I try having no less then 1 month worth of food in the pantry in case something happens and were stuck eating out of it which has happened more then once.

[honeybunmom]

Originally Posted by Satori

Might I suggest you stop double bagging and drink an extra cup of tea? Not drinking enough liquid can impact your supply, some moms need a lot of liquids to keep up there supply.

Thanks - I'm also drinking a lot of water in between cups of tea. Besides my 1 cup of coffee each morning, tea and water are pretty much my only beverages.

[kanga1622]

We go through a lot of tomato sauce as it is a staple in several of our recipes. I'd stock up a bit too on convenience things like pizza crust mix, pizza sauce, shredded cheese, etc. that could be used after babe arrives or when you are just in a hurry for a meal.

I second stocking up on spices that you use often.

[Mommabean]

You momma's are amazing!

I am making a new list for my next round to the store on Monday!!

I reported our changes and I am praying that it goes smoothly, there is still like I said 400 on there from this month that I'm praying we won't lose.

OH! dh's mom told me that I can use freezer space at her house! They have 2 fridges over there and she said we can stock some things there. (plus she lives less than 7 blocks away )

NOW ... to keep reading and taking notes!

[freestylemama]

I always keep a lot of the following on hand:
- brown rice
- white rice
- assortment of beans and lentils
- coconut milk
- curry paste
- frozen veg.
- frozen beef (we go in on a cow with neighbors once a year)
- some whole chickens
- oatmeal
- raisins and other dried fruits
- pasta
- pasta sauce
- nut butters
- cheese
- flour and sugar
-onions
- coffee!

If you want to get fancy you could buy nice oils and maple syrup or something.

Hope this helps!

[sleepypeanutsmom]

YAY! Glad you found a way to have some extra freezer space, and especially someone who lives so close.

[Kaitnbugsmom]

Glad you got some freezer space opened up to you! We're using the inlaws extra freezer space as well And likewise, ours are only a mile down the street

We just got approved for food stamps and by the time I got the card there was $640ish on it. That was Tuesday. There's now $68 on it I got:

*pasta
*sliced turkey
*fresh produce
*frozen veggies
*lean meat. {going back for poultry either tomorrow or next week, I haven't seen if it's on sale or not}
*butter
*eggs
*orange juice
*soups and ingredients for the ones I make from scratch
*sugar
*canned veggies for the nights I don't have the energy or time to deal with seasoning and all on my own.
*condiments
*boxes and boxes of tea bags, and a canister of the powdered kind
*cereal bars
*granola bars
*toaster pastries- the dry stock variety because they're cheaper and seem more filling

and a bunch of stuff that I'm too tired to remember and too leery of waking sleeping kids to traipse across the house to find out. will add more tomorrow when I update my spreadsheet.

[jessaroo]

Can a family member or friend organize other friends and family to bring over food after the baby comes?

[Paxjourney]

Canned soups
Canned broth or stock
Canned tuna, samon, turkey, chicken
Canned veggies
Canned fruit
Canned tomato sauce
Mayo, Ketchup, pickles
dryed beans
Rice, brown and or white... white keeps ALOT longer
Flour
sugar
Honey
Powdered Milk (we use it alot for baking)
Oat meal
Pasta (bagged pasta has a longer shelf life than boxed)
cereal
baking mixes
jello
potato flakes... mashed taters or used in soups.