Friday, September 24, 2010

Day 221- No Shopping This Week

Oddly enough, *not* because of cash problems. That's usually what causes it, but right now I've got plenty for food, gas, and even soda (which is good- productivity goes waaaay down without soda).

The thing is, I spent most of this past week (plus...) trying to figure out how to eat, and very little of it actually eating. So all that amazing grocery shopping I did last week? Most of that stuff is still in my fridge.

Ok, so the bananas got tossed, but how was I supposed to know that wrapping them tightly enough so they didn't stink up the kitchen with their banana-y stench would make them grow white fur... Dratted bananas.

Anyway, other than an onion (or two...) and some cabbage, I really haven't used much of anything I picked up last week. Until I do, it seems kinda wasteful to go out and buy more- right?

So I'm going to keep trying to eat like a reasonable approximation of a normal human being (rather than the robot I was last week, or the locust-like thing I become when I don't have to cook). I should have at least another 4 days worth of easy food, plus a couple more if I make something like pizza. I could probably make it to next Saturday if I picked up a bag of beans or block of tofu.

Other than the treat-stuff I picked up to try and tempt myself back to hunger (about 10% effective...) the whole zero appetite thing was really good for my budget. Not so much for my body, but budget, oh yeah.

For food, Thursday was a replay of Wednesday, down to the sweet chili sauce. I love that stuff. Finished off the leftovers. Fried rice is, I think, better the first day. Nuking does nothing to improve it.

In other news- I'm not fond of the light soy sauce I bought (pearl river bridge brand, I think). The dark isn't bad (10 cents more, so I didn't get it this time- stupid, I know), but the light is like colored water... Anyone out there have an amazing, cheap, flavorful, imported, non-kikoman soy sauce they love? This bottle is going to go fast, and I'm looking for suggestions. Wheat's fine, mushrooms not so much. TIA

8 comments:

  1. I get Kimlan brand soy sauce, variant Ponlai (which I think I picked for the absence of sugar, can't remember). Orange label, yellow lid. I can't remember how much it costs but it must have been less than $2.

    ReplyDelete
  2. If you have a Hispanic market anywhere nearby, or in the store's international section, look for Maggi's soy sauce. Some come in English package but the rest are in Spanish (translated as Maggi Salsa de Soya).

    I don't know how they do it, but it has WAAAY less than half the sodium as other brands, yet it has the salty taste (and no, not a bunch of chemicals to sub) and a MUCH darker color than any soy sauce I've found in the US. Taste is all there too. We have another brand at home that does an OK work, but I'll have to check later tonight.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lauriat Soy Sauce is yummy, cheap and in a huge bottle (less than $2). Usually if you buy it at the Asian Grocery there are a ton of cheap good ones. I HATE how regular grocery stores make asian ingredients soooo expensive. Crazy.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for these suggestions, I'll keep an eye out for them.

    The soy sauce section at the local asian market is about 30 feet long, and divided by country. While I *could* eventually try all of them, I figure it's faster to ask for suggestions and go with those first.

    Oh, and welcome HBW, awesome first comment.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have one week about every month that I don't have to shop, sometimes two. It's a great money saver - allows me to buy shoes!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ooh, shoes...

    I admit, I'm saving up for meatless-ball subs with melty fake cheese. The longer I can stretch what I've already got, the more likely that tasty food fest becomes.

    ReplyDelete
  7. If you add some water to the rice before you reheat it, it makes it somewhat better. Though you probably already know that.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yep. Fixing the rice is easy, keeping the veggies from getting weird, a bit tougher...

    ReplyDelete