I’ve never liked the word “prepper” – maybe because of the shows on TV where people are sometimes . . what’s the word? Not weird, not aggressive but I guess way more into the “prepping” than I am. I have never wanted to be one of those people and I suppose, depending on your level of prepping, we all have different views of where normal is out the door and weirdness takes over.
This story is more on the weird side of the meter than the normal side of the meter. I’ve told it before but if you want to go read it, it’s kinda funny . . more so now than it was back in 2018 when I wrote it. I have no idea how much toilet paper was delivered to our house. I did a Google search of how much toilet paper each person uses in a year and they say 100 rolls. I don’t think we use that much. Raise your hand if you care how much toilet paper we use? That’s what I thought . . no one. But, I open a six pack of toilet paper and put it in a little cabinet that’s next to our bathroom and I only have to open a new six pack about once a month. We’re downstairs a lot and a six pack lasts about the same amount of time downstairs (longer before we used it to clean up some of Oscar’s messes). So, say we use 12 rolls per month, that’s 144 rolls per year for both of us or let’s just say 75 rolls each per year.
There were four boxes of 48 double rolls. I get so confused on what’s a “roll”. Some are double, some are bigger . . who knows. I’m just going to say 48 double rolls should be 96 rolls . . but . . what if the rolls in our bathrooms are double rolls? OK. I can’t figure this out. I really don’t need to know and I’m sure you don’t either!
No, we did not cause the toilet paper shortage by ordering that much in 2018 but we dang sure didn’t contribute to the problem when there was a shortage because we never needed to buy any. On the other hand, we did pay to move it all here so that 20% we saved was probably spent on moving expense. 🙂
I said at the end of that blog post that we would probably leave toilet paper behind when we die and I stand by that statement.
I’ve said all this before but my grandparents had a garden and they raised all the food they needed for the year. They always had one cow and one pig. I guess they had two cows because they would butcher a cow and a pig but they also had a cow, Spot, for milk and she didn’t get butchered . . at least not that I remember. I don’t know. Maybe they had a bull and Spot had a baby each year. I never quite knew all the details. In the summer when lettuce wouldn’t grow in Louisiana, they did without lettuce. In the winter when there was no fresh fruit on the trees, we didn’t have fresh fruit. My grandma canned what she could, made jelly and jam and that’s what we had. We never expected to have a juicy, ripe strawberry in December. We never expected to have a fresh salad in July. We’d have tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden but no lettuce that time of year.
In my younger years, I lived like so many Americans live today. Almost every day I stopped by the grocery store, bought what I needed to cook for dinner, went home and cooked. At some point I realized I was wasting a lot of time stopping at the store every day and I also realized that if chickens were on sale, it was more economical to buy several chickens and keep them in the freezer than having to buy one at full price when I needed it. That’s pretty much how my “prepping” has evolved to where it is today.
And, on that note . . what’s going on with my prepping today?
While I can’t say . . can’t even guess . . what’s going to happen with our food supply, for us, it’s time to start using what we have – I feel like we’re living in the time for which I’ve been preparing. Will I stop buying groceries and start living 100% off what we have? No. I don’t have that kind of food stash. Will we start eating more dried beans and less meat? Yes!
I’m going to try to share at least one, maybe two, recipes each week that are kind of out of character for us – meatless dinners or meals that have very little meat. I think we can still have quite tasty meals but spend less. These meals will probably almost always contain beans or lentils. No doubt there are some who don’t like beans or lentils but my goal is to share ways we’re cutting back and using what we have so it will be foods we like and enjoy.
We’ll not skimp on food, so long as food is available, but we can do a better job of serving less expensive meals that are still tasty and nutritious. We’ll see how it goes. I’ll post the recipes for a few weeks and if there seems to be any interest, I’ll continue doing it.
Vivian Oaks says
I can guarantee my husband won’t eat a meatless meal unless under duress. It just won’t happen. He won’t even eat eggs as a protein. If we have eggs, he wants bacon or sausage. He also won’t eat most vegetables, so he’s very difficult to fix food for. If things ever go so far downhill that we’d have to resort to our stash of dehydrated food we purchased several years ago, I’m afraid he’d starve. LOL!! Maybe not, but he’d be miserable, however it worked!!
I also grew up having a huge garden, with a cellar full of canned goods that we lived off of during the winter. Sure, we still went to the store and bought meat and other things, but we had lots of canned fruits and veggies, and a freezer full of meat and more veggies. With 5 kids, we needed lots of food!!
Even though we don’t have the place for a garden anymore, we’re planting what we can this year. Our ground is contaminated with heavy metals because of industry in the area, so we plant what we can in above-ground spaces. Even then, there’s just not room for a lot. Time will tell how things turn out this year. Wish me luck!! 🙂
Phyllis says
I have way too much food in our freezers. We eat out way too often, but otherwise I am trying to use food from my freezers and my dry beans. We tend to eat very plain food due to health restrctions, but I welcome any and all recipies. Thank you.
Angie S. says
Thanks Judy, for sharing more meatless recipes! We are vegetarian, so hopefully you can help me get out of the cooking rut I seem to be in. I’ve always enjoyed reading your blog and share some of the posts with my husband since he is an engineer as well and gets a kick out of Vince stories.
Joyce says
I think we could all eat less meat and be fine. I’m not saying we need to be vegetarians or vegans (I like meat too much for that!). In some cultures meat is used sparingly almost as more of a side dish rather than the main course. It gives flavor and you get a bit of it, but the amount is much less than what Americans consider a “serving”. I measured how much TP I used at the beginning of the pandemic when there was none to be found in the stores. I was working from home too, so I was using more than when I was spending 8 hours at work. I used about 1 roll per week during that time. I think what I buy is generally considered the “double rolls”, so that was my basis. I had enough to last me for a couple of months, and I figured I would be able to find some to buy by then. (and I was able to find it by the time I needed it.)
patti says
i remember the first time i made a meatless meal. it was spinach lasagna, and my husband took one bite and asked “what’s this?” he didn’t grumble, but didn’t eat much of it either, so it went in the trash. two days later i warmed it up and also heated homemade spaghetti sauce to pour over it. when he came to dinner he said, “now that’s more like it! ” and ate every bit.
i’m anxious to see what good recipes you find, i’ve never had lentils but we love just about any type of beans. i even picked up a bag of red beans to try after reading about them here. i so appreciate your blog and have been reading since the lime green kitchen. enjoy your weekends and i look forward to whatever stories, hints, recipes, and fun facts you share.
Verna A. says
I have been trying to eat less meat, so I look forward to your recipes!
Nancy H. says
I am looking forward to your recipes. I need more ideas. My husband has trouble thinking of a meal without meat but we need to cut back as we don’t have a great inexpensive butcher shop or Mennonite store to shop at.
Twyla says
We use Scott tissue or a generic Scott which are heavy rolls. I tallied we used 186 rolls in a year and about one and a half boxes of 160 count facial tissue per month. So in early spring I purchase 15 boxes of tissue and do not have to worry with it til next spring. Toilet tissue I keep as many packages the closet will hold and keep it full with on sale only tt pkgs. I buy toothpaste , shampoo and soap for the year. Looking forward to more recipes.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
That’s exactly how I do it. In Texas, Vince and I used different bathrooms. I thought I was the only one buying toothpaste and shampoo but I was wrong. We may never need to buy either again. I keep looking at closets and thinking .. I wish we used that stuff faster but then when I see today’s prices, I’m thankful we have it . . and lots of storage space.
Sara says
We eat about half the meat now than we did when we were younger. But then again we are no longer working jobs that required lots of physical labor. There are some meatless meals, but since neither of us care much for most types of beans, the meatless dishes tend toward eggs. We tend to stock up on those non-perishables too if there is room to store them. It saves time.
Barbara Yarnell says
I’m very interested in recipes using less or no meat. We have also been storing up some food and supplies and I agree that we are coming to a time that the food supply is uncertain. There are empty shelves in areas of our stores and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better.
Carolyn says
I have been doing “meatless Mondays” for a couple of years, and while hubby would rather have meat, he has adjusted and is okay with it. We often have beans and cornbread (the traditional Monday meal in my family), but tonight we had a veggie pizza, and it was very good.
Jill McCaughey says
I truly think it’s time for the men of the world to exercise their right to “prepare their own food according to their tastes”. After about a week of “working” in the kitchen, I bet they would appreciate the effort made to prepare food, and perhaps looking at the current food budgets would help, too. We have catered far too long, as well as working outside the home, then coming home to do our second, Payless, job. From a tired retiree who gets no help…Jill in Phoenix/Calgary
Nelle Coursey says
We had red beans and cornbread for supper tonight! Sometimes I cook black-eyed peas and have cornbread with those. Nothing better. I was raised on these foods and still love them. One of my dad’s favorites was sweet milk and cornbread with a little onion. I still like milk and cornbread, but I never wanted the onion.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
Black eyed peas are my least favorite except I do like them in a cold salad. I also like cornbread and buttermilk in a glass together.
Nelle Coursey says
That is the way daddy had it and the way I like it also!
Elizabeth Streeter says
We are not big bean eaters but do eat them we really need to do a few more meatless meals and since we have enjoyed some of the recipes you have shown look forward to more,really surprised at how much cream and cheese is in a. Lot of the recipes you do,low cholesterol and low salt diet makes me double check al Ingredients
judy.blog@gmail.com says
Everyone, especially those on special diets, has to watch out for their own needs. I have no issues with salt and my cholesterol surprisingly stays fine without any medications. Again, everyone has to know their own limitations and cook/eat accordingly. I’m posting what we eat . . not advertising a low fat/low sodium diet.
Laura H says
I’m interested in the meal ideas.
Bridget says
LOL I am a dietician so it is horrid to be my husband and kids. On the other hand they are not picky eaters and have no problem eating less meat or anything else I decide to cook up. My husband can cook but doesn’t like to, he gets clean up detail.