There have been a lot of photos shared since the pandemic started. People in hospitals hoping to survive. People wearing masks and gloves in public. Places that are usually packed with people being empty because people are isolating themselves. But I think the photos I see most often are related to grocery stores and getting supplies. I see so many photos of people hoarding supplies and having full carts or empty shelves in grocery stores. I do understand how panic buying happens because I’ve had those same thoughts, but I don’t get it to the degree that some people are taking it to. To me, panic buying is getting an extra thing of soap and toilet paper when you are buying some, not buying enough to last you a year.
Because of people panic buying, the idea of going to the grocery store has become very stressful for me. I am trying to limit my shopping to once a week to limit my potential exposure to someone who might be sick or an asymptomatic carrier. But at the same time, I don’t know what I’ll find at the store when I get there. If there’s something I need, I know I could still go out and try to get it another time, but there is no guarantee I’ll find it. And again, every time I go to the store I am potentially exposing myself to the virus. So I’ve just been working on doing my shopping once a week and figuring it out from there.
Honestly, if I could just get microwave meals for most of my meals, I would be doing that. But frozen food is a bit limited at the stores right now (hopefully they will be restocked soon). Some fresh things aren’t as easy to find either, but there are some things I can get. I do have to cook for at least some of my meals. And as much as I would love to meal plan and cook based on that, I have to work around the idea that I don’t necessarily know what I will be able to get when I do go to the store. So my cooking has needed to be a bit creative and I’m not used to that.
I’m not a big cook and I have said for a long time that I need to be better about cooking more at home. It’s very easy normally to get prepared or frozen meals (or to order in) and I am a fan of the convenience. I’m not going to deny that some of that comes from being lazy. But it’s a habit that I’m not proud of and I have known for a long time that I need to do better. And I guess being forced into change was the thing that I needed.
I’m not necessarily cooking the way that I have always wanted to. The things I’m making are pretty random or boring. For example, I cooked some peppers and onions and put it over rice with some beans. It was nothing fancy, but it was food and I made it. And I am making enough so I do have some leftovers so I don’t have to cook every night. I would love to find ways to be a bit more creative as I’m forced to cook, but I can’t depend on getting all the correct ingredients for something. I guess I could make a list and see what I can get each week, but a lot of things are perishable so that doesn’t really make sense. So I’m really stuck with this mismatch cooking and figuring out what to eat.
The only things that I am trying to collect things and hopefully I’ll get everything soon are for baking things. I’m not a big baker, but there are a few things that I know are not as easy to find in grocery stores right now that I would like to try baking. I don’t have everything I need, but the baking supplies are dry goods so I don’t have to worry about them spoiling.
Maybe this method will work and I’ll like doing it. I might figure out some new favorites. Or maybe people will stop hoarding soon and the grocery stores will look normal again. I’m mentally preparing that it won’t be normal for a little while and that I’ll need to do my shopping once a week. And fortunately, the grocery store near my house seems to be pretty calm and decently stocked. They limit how many people can be in there at one time so nobody is rushing around trying to get everything they need. People aren’t leaving the store with carts full of food (or multiple carts). They really are only getting what they need and that helps everyone have a chance to get the food they need.
I still have been having panic attacks the past 2 weeks before going to the grocery store because I have no clue what it will look like when I get inside. But the most that I go in and see that it’s not too horrible, the easier it will be. And hopefully, my grocery shopping will get easier as I find a routine with cooking a few things that I feel confident that I can get the ingredients for each week. This isn’t really the way I imagined myself working on cooking more, but it is the way it is and I’m going to try to take advantage of the moment.
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