Grocery Shopping

I have not been to the grocery store in quite some time. I let my wife do that. Well, I went with my wife the other day and was shocked. I do not pay much attention to what she spends on groceries. I always thought since it was just us, it was not much.

There was not a lot in the grocery cart. It was almost $200. It would have been more, but some of the things they were out of because of supply chain issues.

We would have also spent even more if I had been willing to pay $14 for a small bottle of pancake syrup that I used to like when it cost $8. It was $12 for a box of granola bars. I always took them hunting and fishing when they cost $7. That is only a few examples.

Meat prices had gone up more than anything. The only thing I was looking for that had not increased in price was my favorite Guatemalan coffee beans, which I grind and enjoy every morning. They had plenty, so I bought a bag. I told my wife to buy a bag or two every time she went grocery shopping as long as the price remained the same. She is more than willing to do that because she knows how cranky I get when I do not have my coffee.

On the way home from the grocery store, I already had my coffee, but I was cranky anyway because of our grocery shopping experience. She just rolled her eyes and humored me as I went on about Washington politicians, government waste, supposed shortages, price gouging, disruptions in the global supply chain, adverse weather, rising fuel and energy prices, and a few other things I said about certain politicians that are not printable.

How do some families make it? My wife had to listen to me go on about everything all the way home. She was glad we did not have to stop and get gas because that would have also set me off.

It did not take long to bring groceries into the house. I offered to help put them up. She declined my help and told me to go and cool off for a while. That is not exactly what she said, but what she did say is not printable here either. I do not think she will want me to go grocery shopping with her again. I also bet I will never know what she spends feeding us. That is probably a good thing.

I went to my man cave. She was glad I did. So was I. Surrounded by my deer, duck, pheasant, turkey, and fish mounts, a brilliant idea came to me. To help save a lot of money, I needed to go hunting and fishing more. That way, I would bring home more fish and game to put in our freezer to help offset the cost of groceries.

My grocery shopping would be in God’s great outdoors. In nature rather than in a building surrounded by people pushing carts around and spending too much money.

I am retired and have accumulated a vast amount of the outdoor gear I would need. I reasoned that there really would not be much cost to do this kind of grocery shopping. The only cost would be my license, tags, plus gas to get where I was going. I could even stay out for several days doing grocery shopping. My wife would like that. I could take my tent and camp in places where I did not have to pay a fee.

As for food, I could bring the deer jerky and summer sausage I make for snacking. I could fry up fish I caught for my meals and still take some home for the freezer. Grilling a deer steak would be good. I could also fry up potatoes since they are not expensive. I could even boil up a pot of my Guatemalan coffee over a campfire. Doesn’t this idea sound good?

For my grocery shopping/hunting, I should be able to tag two deer and two turkeys. The turkeys will not give us a lot of meat, but they will be good in soups or cooked in my smoker or deep fryer. I would skin the deer and process it myself to save money. My wife does like deer burgers. I enjoy the steaks, jerky, and summer sausage. I like the heart. She definitely will not eat that.

As for grocery shopping for ducks during the season, I should be able to bring home plenty. Maybe I can come up with a good recipe for baked duck and wild rice she would like. I forgot about the dove season. I might get her to try grilled bacon-wrapped dove.  Did I mention I cook all the wild game at home because my wife will not? That is just another reason she will like this idea.

She does like to eat fish. So she will approve of grocery shopping/fishing. This is where the meat could pile up in the freezer and save us money. If I can catch my limit of several fish species every day while shopping, can you imagine how many fish I would have in the freezer even if I make sure I do not exceed my possession limits? I can fry them, bake them, grill them, can them, and smoke them. I can also go grabbing and gigging for sucker fish. I love fried suckers. So does my wife.

When the frogging season is open, I could go fishing during the day and get a limit of frogs at night. I love frog legs. I could even catch crawdads and boil them up. They say fried snake tastes like chicken. I might try that. I will never get her to try any of that. While I am out there doing all my grocery shopping I can also gather wild mushrooms, berries, and nuts. I’m telling you, my idea of grocery shopping could work.

In the little time, I would be home and not out grocery shopping, I would take care of our garden so we would also have a good supply of tomatoes, cucumbers, and all the other vegetables to go along with the fish and game I bring home from my grocery shopping.

This idea of mine is sounding better and better. Wish me luck in convincing my wife how much money I can save us with my kind of grocery shopping.