Stocking Up and Staying In

Across the country and across the world, we are all practicing the new trends of social distancing and self-quarantine. It's all the rage right now! All kidding aside, we're inside, and it isn't ending anytime soon.

So what do you stock up on, when you are trying to stay home and not go out in public? Did you know that eggs can keep in your fridge for up to 1 month? Or that milk freezes? Or that apples will stay crisp in the drawer for a month or more?

Here are the staples I made sure we had on hand before we self-quarantined:

Milk; 1 gallon in the fridge and 1 gallon in the freezer. When you finish the first gallon put the other one in the sink over night, shake well and put in the fridge when completely defrosted.

Eggs; we bought 3 dozen. Here's why - they'll be good for a month or more in your fridge and you can use them for baking and eating. Breakfast- scrambled, lunch- egg salad, dinner- Frittata.

Apples; keep them in the crisper drawer and they'll be good for ups o month in the fridge. Make the kids eat whatever other fresh fruits you bought first, the apples will stay best the longest.

Fruit: Frozen fruits are great for smoothies and desserts but they aren't my favorite to eat. Buy green bananas so you can enjoy them later. Wash berries in a mix of white vinegar and water and store them in an air tight container with a paper towel at the bottom, I promise they'll last you twice as long as normal! Citrus fruits stay good for about 2 weeks on your counter.

Butter; again baking and it isn't going to go bad quickly, in fact if you don’t think you’ll use it before the sell-by date, you can freeze it.

Bread/Tortillas; at least 2 loaves or 2 dozen... or both! Use the first and freeze the second. Leave it in the bag and tightly wrap in foil to keep moisture out. Defrost on the counter.

Cheese; grated cheese freezes! But block or slice cheese does not freeze well. So you can stock up on the shredded but only buy what you need for slicing and sandwiches.

Vegetables; I prefer fresh so that's what I bought, but I always have frozen broccoli and frozen green beans as well. These roast the best (our preferred method for cooking veggies) and you can also add them to recipes. Buy things you can eat as is and make recipes with: carrots, celery, cucumbers, onions, potatoes, yellow squash and zucchini. Store the onions and potatoes separately but in the pantry. Keep the others in the fridge. If you over buy and don't think you're going to be able to eat them all you can chop (for convenience later) and freeze everything except the cucumbers and squash.

Lunch Meat; this does NOT freeze well, it changes the texture. So just buy what you need.

Meat; Okay so this is going to be family preference but we always have ground meat (beef, turkey, venison or pork) on hand, chicken thighs, pork tenderloin and fish (we prefer Cod, Orange Roughy or Sea Bass), and these all freeze fantastically. I prefer to defrost meat in the fridge over night.

Flour; for baking of course! If I'm stuck in my house I'm going to end up baking. To guarantee my flour is always fresh, I freeze it first. That's right, 48 hours in the freezer before you store it an air tight container will make sure you never get any of those yucky little bugs!

Oats; I prefer Old Fashioned Rolled Oats but Quick cooking oats are great too. I love oatmeal but oats are also very necessary for my grandmother's Oatmeal Raisin cookies.

Stocks/Broths; I love bone broth like chicken and beef, they're nutrient dense and I promise, take your soups and stews to a whole new level, but I also keep unsalted vegetable stock on hand, my bestie is a vegan.

Pantry Staples: dried beans, canned beans, jasmine rice (or your favorite rice), dried pasta, boxed macaroni and cheese, back-up condiments (soy sauce, mayo, mustard, ketchup, jelly, etc.), peanut butter, canned tomatoes, jarred marinara, tomato paste, diced green chilies, Rotel, Panko bread crumbs, sugar, chocolate chips, vanilla extract, dried fruit, snack bars for the kids, popcorn, unsalted nuts (if you don't use them within 3 months you can store them in the freezer for up to a year)

Is this everything? No. My lists are not complete, fill in the things your family can't live without and I hope some of these things you just already have. I didn't include paper products or drinks on my list either, but I promise we have tons of coffee and Topo Chico... and wine... and beer! 😉

I hope this help you as we prepare to stay indoors. I think it’s imperative for our country right now that we stay isolated and only go out when we absolutely need to. The fewer chances we take on getting infected with Covid-19, the better, and the quicker we can hopefully go back to our normal lives.

I've made sure I have everything we need to bake for my sanity and to count as math and science for the kids. Cooking is the ultimate life lesson for those kids stuck at home, so find a recipe here on the blog and get to cooking! And be sure to share it with me on Instagram or Facebook, I love to see y'all!