Cooking burnout during the pandemic

Yorky said:
Just to put it into perspective. These rules (and more) have existed in Thailand since March/April 2020. Many are still being enforced although we have not had any domestic cases for over two months. Our death toll from the virus stands at 59 from a population of 67,000,000.
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I understand the reasoning behind it. I am more frustrated by people that won't follow the rules. The couple next door to me was exposed and quarantined. They did anything EXCEPT stay in their apartment. The governor is waiting for our cases to get lower than 5% or have a vaccine before opening schools.
 
Yorky said:
Given the varying quality of fresh foods in our stores here I would tend to agree with her. My wife often returns from shopping without items on the list "because they didn't look nice". Tins and packets yes, but fresh produce, no.
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Oh, I absolutely agree with that! However, I wasn't ordering produce or anything that required me "hand picking" it. It would be okay even if I was because I know a couple of the shoppers and they are also moms and know what I like. Haven't had any issues so far.
 
mjdlovescooking said:
Here's a funny for you. I have some health problems that made it difficult for me to shop. I started ordering online and just having to pick up. I asked a friend to go for me and she agreed but made a face. I asked her what that was about and she said "There is no way I would let a stranger pick out my food." I was stunned for a few seconds and asked "How do you think it goes from the farm to the grocery store?" She just shrugged. I cannot even imagine how many people touch our food before it shows up in neat little packages!
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I realize that foods are probably touched many times before it reaches the grocery store. It is not the touching that is my problem, it is the fact that I want to see first hand what I'm buying. I will not let someone else pick out my food. I see lots of produce at grocery stores that has gone bad and is still in the display. Now at one grocery store I won't buy packaged chicken pieces unless I break the package open and give it the smell test before I buy it.
 
CraigC said:
I realize that foods are probably touched many times before it reaches the grocery store. It is not the touching that is my problem, it is the fact that I want to see first hand what I'm buying. I will not let someone else pick out my food. I see lots of produce at grocery stores that has gone bad and is still in the display. Now at one grocery store I won't buy packaged chicken pieces unless I break the package open and give it the smell test before I buy it.
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I understand.

I don't trust meat from our grocery store. I've had to return chicken, pork chops and stew meat. I am honestly surprised they haven't been hit with health code violations because it's obvious they are packing up meat and poultry that is one second from going bad. For this reason, I wait until I can go to the next biggest town for meat and poultry.

Re: online shopping...I have never received anything less than what I would choose myself. I have been using the service for close to ten years and it's a great help for me. I miss going to the store but my health dictates that is not always possible.
 
mjdlovescooking said:
I don't trust meat from our grocery store. I've had to return chicken, pork chops and stew meat. I am honestly surprised they haven't been hit with health code violations because it's obvious they are packing up meat and poultry that is one second from going bad. For this reason, I wait until I can go to the next biggest town for meat and poultry.
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Sounds like the Piggly Wiggly in the tiny little town in rural Mississippi where my dad and step mom lived before they passed.
 
mjdlovescooking said:
"There is no way I would let a stranger pick out my food." I was stunned for a few seconds and asked "How do you think it goes from the farm to the grocery store?" She just shrugged. I cannot even imagine how many people touch our food before it shows up in neat little packages!
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Yep, I with her on that. When all this started, I first tried home delivery, through UPS, but found Kroger's online store for delivery to be extremely poorly stocked, to the point that I'd want maybe 20 items, and they'd have three, and two of those wouldn't quite be what I wanted, so I'd have to settle.

Next, I tried Instacart. That lasted two deliveries. The first guy was ok. Not stellar, but ok. Plus, he was good about staying in touch and asking questions while he shopped, and he had no issue using my loyalty card, so I could use digital coupons and get fuel discount points.

The second time...if I could have graded her F-, I would have. Honestly, her lack of shopping skills and customer service bordered on criminal. Asked for a pound of grapes, she just grabbed the pre-bagged ones, which was something like 2.5 pounds. Asked for a cuke, she got me one that was rotted and liquified from end-to-end (thank god it was pre-wrapped). Asked for Sam Adams Summer Beers pack, she got the Spring Beers pack, and when I pointed it out during shopping, she complained about having to go back and switch it out. Also wouldn't use my loyalty card ("I don't know how that works"). And if you've ever used Instacart, you know you pay through the nose for the service. $40 in groceries comes out closer to $65 by the time the add-ons are added on.

Finally, I tried curbside pickup, and I have to say, the first three went really well, but the fourth one - produce selections were a mess. Wrong items, poor quality items, items on or past their date (seriously, how do you not see the container of lettuce is more brown than green?) - after that, I decided to let them do my pantry and dairy stuff, and I go it for a quick spin through produce and meat.

I'm close to canning that as well, as the last trip, I even had a problem with that, where I asked for one kind of cheese, and they said they were out, and texted me that 90 minutes before my pickup time, suggested a substitution, which I declined.

Went to pick up, went in for my produce, happened to check the dairy aisle...and there was my <bleeping> cheese, plain as day! Either they got a shipment in and stocked in less than 90 minutes, or my shopper half-assed my order. 😒

My "problem" is that grocery shopping is just about my favorite activity. I love grocery shopping, and before the pandemic, I'd hit four stores in a day or a weekend, getting exactly what I wanted, and I'm just not willing to settle for yellow limes, rock-hard peaches, or a funky-cut steak.

Hell, I don't even like cereal boxes that are scuffed or yogurt pots with the writing rubbed off. I'm meticulous about checking dates (partly because I know Kroger isn't), too. I'm to the point now, even though my wife and I are both high-risk, of double-masking and going during off-hours and getting back to doing my own shopping again.
 
Wow, TastyReuben, I would absolutely hate it if I had any of those experiences.

I should clarify that I was speaking of curbside pickup and it's handled by actual store employees. I used curbside pickup when our family relocated to N.C. There, it was a team of employees that ONLY did online orders so they became familiar with my likes and dislikes. It also helped that they were mostly mothers so they shopped the way I would and even called me if something in my order didn't seem right based on their knowledge of my preferences.

Now, back in IL, I live in a small town (less than 10K) and we only have WalMart and Aldis and both leave much to be desired. I guess they don't have to worry about putting out fresh items because they know most residents have no other options here. The next biggest town is about 25 minutes so I wait on things like produce, meat and poultry.

It sounds like I'm the only one that likes the online grocery service and, admittedly, I like it because I've never had a major problem. <knocking on wood>
 
Finding this forum really helped me with my cooking burnout. I got to a point where I was so tired of cooking the sound of pots and pans was unnerving! It got better but I was still a bit lacking in imagination. Having others to share recipes and ideas with really helps and I get really good recipe ideas from others here too!
 
Yes, my cooking routine has changed. But that's largely due to being quarantined with my severely mentally ill stepson for significant amounts of time this year, not so much due to the pandemic itself.
He will be in therapy in about 6 weeks, and if things go to plan after that he goes to a care home so then the burden will be lifted from us. Right now I have some trouble sticking to any meal plan, there are just many days when too much happens and cooking becomes less of a priority. It's the days that it's just me and my husband here that I post most. That will change when stepson is in therapy.
 
Yorky said:
Just to put it into perspective. These rules (and more) have existed in Thailand since March/April 2020. Many are still being enforced although we have not had any domestic cases for over two months. Our death toll from the virus stands at 59 from a population of 67,000,000.
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I'm still puzzled by this statistic - but then, there are many puzzling things about the virus. Sorry - off topic.
 
CraigC said:
I see lots of produce at grocery stores that has gone bad and is still in the display.
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On-line grocery shopping here is not picked from the supermarkets. Its picked from the warehouse (before its sent to the supermarkets). So arguably its fresher and has less handling. I've not had many problems. Sometimes I get unexpected bonuses such as a substitute of something more expensive (for which I'm not charged). This often happens with wine. 🍷:drink:
 
I don't worry about catching Covid from my groceries. The chances are pretty low. This virus spreads primarily from person to person, by air. Washing fresh produce is a good habit, even without Covid, so nothing new there. Canned items? Don't lick the can, and wash your hands often while cooking. Again, not a bad practice all the time. Pantry items? Covid CAN live up to three days on some surfaces. But, most of it dies within hours. At three days, they have found traces of the virus that has survived.

Now, as for burnout, my issue is that I live alone (with a dog). Not going out with friends from time-to-time is rough. It sometimes it is hard to get motivated to do any real cooking just for myself.

CD
 
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