Tom is seated at the kitchen island, eating his morning toast with strawberry jam and coffee. Over the past several months, he’s preferred toast to bacon and eggs, and I’ve kept my mouth shut about this unhealthy breakfast. The remainder of the meals I make are healthy, low carb, and without grains, sugar, and starches.
A few days ago, I mentioned how time-consuming making meals can be, but I didn’t say so, meaning I am unwilling to take the time for special meals we enjoy. Today is such a day, and I am making Low Carb Chicken Pot Pie, a favorite recipe I usually make once or twice a year.
Unable to get the ingredients in Ecuador and not cooking for a few months while we traveled, I included all the ingredients in yesterday’s Smith’s Marketplace order, delivered to us by Instacart through the Boost service we joined to reduce and avoid weekly delivery fees. Boost charges $7.95 per month and especially pays for itself when ordering weekly. The minimum order for free shipping is $35, which is helpful when needing to fill in a few items here and there.
Many markets throughout the US offer this or a similar service….pay a small monthly fee for “free” delivery for as many orders one prefers in any given month. A small tip is included, which may be increased, reduced, or eliminated as desired. We stick with the included tip.
The person who selects our chosen items, a “picker,” contacts me by text if a replacement is needed. I make a point of keeping my phone nearby once I receive the message that the picker is in the process of gathering our items. This works perfectly for me. Yes, one or two items aren’t available each time, but the picker suggests alternatives, or I can choose an alternative.
Yes, we’re paying for the delivery service, $7.95 a month, and the tips, around $20 a month, may seem like a significant extra expense. But, the store’s coupons are online, offered for each item, and we easily save more than these costs using the coupons. For example, yesterday’s $160 order provided me with $8.98 using online coupons. I indeed wouldn’t have clipped walking into the store.
But, the most significant savings are ordering online and not purchasing a single impulse item, which most of us have trouble avoiding when shopping. This is particularly useful for us when we don’t want food left over when we depart a location. As that annoying insurance commercial on TV always says, “Buy only what you need.” I imagine we save more than $20 monthly, avoiding impulse buying.
Also, we avoid tossing unused food, mainly produce, which is expensive, and shoppers often over-buy. We use all the vegetables we buy. I don’t recall when we’ve had to throw away unused food.
What’s surprising me here in Nevada, is that once we stocked up on basic laundry and cleaning supplies, spices, and paper products, we’ve only been spending about $160 a week for groceries, way lower than we’ve paid while in the US in the past. Of course, based on the way we eat, we don’t buy snacks, chips, cereal, milk, or fruit other than the frozen berries I’ve been adding to my Fage yogurt as a dessert at night.
The only snack Tom’s been enjoying lately after he finished his three huge Costco pies when we first arrived, is microwave popcorn, which he enjoys at night when we’re streaming something. We don’t eat much during the day. Plus, we love leftovers, and I usually make sufficient quantities of any dish, enough to last for three nights’ dinner. Yes, it takes time to prepare three night’s dinner, but it’s worth it when the following two nights, all I have to do is make a salad.
Since I am feeling better today, I don’t mind heading to the kitchen soon to finish making the pot pies. I make them in individual tin foil pans for each night. I am cooking them fresh each evening. This time, I am making enough for an extra batch to freeze for future dinners.
Tom is feeling better, too. This morning, we slept until almost 9:00 am. When my cough is mostly gone, I will start working out again, which I look forward to.
Be well.
Photo from ten years ago today, January 6, 2014:
