My list is not too different from yours. I need to have eggs, cheese, chicken breasts and canned tuna on hand. I can make do with those for a long time. However, I also prefer to have salad greens handy. I keep some frozen broccoli and cauliflower on hand, too. That worked out well during the pandemic when fresh vegetables were in short supply.

Adding to your list, rice, peanut butter, milk, salt, paprika, mayo, tomato sauce, pasta, pasta sauce.

I always like to have ”the next one” on hand, when the current item is in use. I keep a pad of paper on the refrigerator, and when I open the ”last one”, I write it on the list with an exclamation mark. That’s the signal to whoever is going to the store to get that one, don’t put it off.

Good question. Whenever there is a snowstorm predicted local folks stock up on bread, milk, and eggs. I stock up on library books. Food essentials in my house? Milk, yogurt, cheese, unsweetened cold cereal, tomato sauce, green salad ingredients.

Impending storms is when I miss my menu-planner subscription days. 8” of snow coming? That’s okay, I would have four or five days of full meals on hand, not to mention the freezer and backup pantry (a small bookcase next to the freezer). DH goes shopping once a week but doesn’t get a full week of food. Ugh.

No true "essentials" that are always on hand and little to no food storage. Sometimes we don't go to the store when we know it's necessary. We can usually make do with whatever is found or, failing that, can happily eat out or get take out.

Butter here too is an essential lately as DH is on a bagel and butter kick for breakfast.

My essential is Coffee Mate Bliss Sweet Cream. I love it in my tea.

Good Culture cottage cheese. I eat it every day.

Food items I consider essentials to always have on hand: olive or canola oil, flour, sugar, frozen fruit, frozen meat (usually turkey or pork), salt.

Food items I like to always have on hand in addition to the above: potatoes, onions, frozen veg, cheddar or mozzarella cheese, Hojicha tea, anchovies, canned black olives, chicken broth.

Fresh veg/fruit and spices are on the "if I can get there" list.

Coffee and milk to go in it are the only things I can think of that I really feel like I can't live without. I keep lots of food in the pantry and freezer, so can make do with most things. I started buying individual serving size shelf stable milk in 6 packs to keep on hand for my coffee in case I run out of milk in the 1/2 gallons I usually buy. When it approaches its 'best by' date, I switch to using it up and then replenish it.

My list would be too long to write out. I very rarely shop for specific meals so I have enough supplies in store to cook for a couple of weeks. If necessary we could probably manage for a couple of months. I hate shopping and get all the store cupboards items and vegetables delivered. Only fresh meat, bread and milk are bought in person and DH does that once a week. And there are always back ups in the freezer.

There are standards on my weekly list: Apples, oranges, milk, grapes,salad fixings, frozen vegetables. Then there's the once a month standards: coffee, cereal, creamer . Meats I buy in bulk when the price is acceptable to me-so my freezer is usually full. What I like to make sure is 'on hand': Peanut butter/condiments/eggs/butte/pasta/spag sauce. If I run out of a standard ingredient for cooking it goes on the list for the next shopping trip. Things I only buy when company is coming are snack foods, breads, bacon.

Coffee

Bottled water

Eggs

Very little that I’d consider essential. Being out of Rao’s marinara tells me it’s time to go to Costco. No eggs with at least one melty cheese makes the fridge feel naked.

The freezer, honestly, is more of a waiting room for the garbage. Overbought or underused meat goes in there woth good intentions, but the majority is dug out and thrown out a year later. But for that reason, there’s always something available in a pinch. Together with whatever grain or pasta is available, preferably with some veggie in the fridge, and/or anything else that happens to be on hand, I can create something to call a meal.

As I’m typing, I’m realizing I also can’t be out of lunch makings for my daughter if it’s a school night. Yes she could get cafeteria food but she doesn’t like to. Her lunch goes through long phases and throughout each phase is always the same, at her request. It currently consists of a grilled chicken salad, apple, various snacks. Anything missing from the salad, and I’d need to run to the store.

Nicole

Cat food & Churu treats are #1 to have on hand. Two kinds of grain-free dry. Pate & chunks.

Yellow cheese. Eggs. Butter. Yeast. Flour. Tortilla chips. Mexican salsa. We make a LOT of nachos. I usually have everything to make a pizza from scratch on hand.

My best tip? Better than bouillon; you'll always have chicken stock. I will shop and shop, planning down to the last detail, for every event. Inevitably, I will run out of butter on the day of the event. I cannot tell you the amount of times I've sent kiddo to the store while I am cooking and cleaning, to get butter. Essentials? Every month, eggs, milk, and onions. Some sort of chocolate, nuts, and cheese. I've been eating healthier, so always some veggies on hand to either eat as is, or to pop into my scrambled eggs. And green onions. Seems like every recipe from Cooking Light requires green onions? Weird, but true. Or maybe just the ones I like.

i don't recall ever running out of butter. I usually have 2-4 pounds between the fridge and freezer. I'm going to infuse some butter to make magic chocolate chip cookies this weekend. That takes 2 lbs. I am stopping at Aldi when I leave work in a few minutes and my shopping list included 3 lbs. of butter and a few other things.

Some years ago our British friend came back from a visit home. He complained that the minute he brought his elderly mum home from shopping, she'd start a new list, writting down BUTTER.

My guess was that she'd spent all those war years unable to get it and wasn't about to do without it now!

My 'musts' are butter, eggs, milk, cheese. Guess I need some hens and a cow. Add a pig; we also like ham and bacon.

Amy.....All yours but chicken broth and always cat food.

My must haves are butter, peanut butter, coffee, chicken broth (and I do keep Better than boullion on hand, both beef and chicken), cheeses, eggs, canned diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, pastas, whole wheat english muffins. I almost always have some lettuce and tomatoes in the fridge for a salad along with an avocado or cuke to chop with it.

My fridge always has milk, half and half, eggs, butter (I use a butter/canola oil spread blend), regular butter for baking and recipes, ketchup, sour cream, juice of some kind, a large pitcher of filtered water. Other essentials are toilet paper, paper towels, pet food, plastic wrap, aluminum foil, zip lock plastic bags in 2 sizes. Also various spices,peanut butter, crackers, honey, vanilla extract, coffee. My daughter always has some kind of plant milk (oat, almond, etc). She's been vegan for years.

Got my buttah! And the puppy pads and trash bags. And some dog treats. And I began my Valentines treat hoard! And I got some cocktail weenies because why not?

Thought of a few more for my list. Breakfast stuff, other than the aforementioned eggs. Sausage and bacon for sure. Rice. He eats rice for breakfast sometimes for some reason. And pancake mix and syrup. My SOs favorite meal is breakfast, and since he's not a huge eater anyway, I like to have anything he could want on hand. Also, some rolls. I buy already baked dinner rolls from the bakery section or slider buns to make small breakfast sandwiches for him to take with him when he goes to work. I make several small little ones because they are easier to eat on the go. So, all that is essential as well.

I do not really like the better than bouillon paste stuff. I want to like it, but its got a strange aftertaste to my taste buds. I keep cartons of stock and cans of chicken broth on hand. The cans for when I need a smaller amount. I use chicken stock to cook a lot of veggies in. I do like the bouillon cubes and granules for when I make SOs favorite rice. I prefer that to the paste stuff, and will use those if I ever run out of chicken stock. I also use it for seasoning some things, adds a lot of savory depth. But i would really prefer to just not run out. :)

Gardengal, so glad you like my post! i have a floofy and somewhat nosy brain and the everyday preferences and routines of other people fascinate me for some reason!

I saw a lot of people at the store today. A winter storm is supposed to be moving in overnight and tomorrow and the deep south is just not equipped for that. So I got to see what some people thought of as "essential". Most notably the man checking out in front of me. He had 2 gallons of milk and 2 cases of beer. :P

Haha I remember those days. ”I’m going out grocery shopping (before the liquor store closes)!”

FOAS - I start to worry if I have less than 2 cases of beer in stock!

A buddy of mine and I have our own herd to beef cattle. Baldies, which are a Hereford/Angus cross. So we always have plenty of beef on hand but never enough steaks. We also split a whole 300+ lb. hog purchased from a local farmer every 9-12 months or so. We get about 90-100 lbs. each from one hog but never enough ribs.

Canola oil, eggs, cream cheese, butter, milk, whole wheat bagels, whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, frozen fruit, frozen meat (chicken wings, fish, shrimp, burgers), frozen veggies, salt, sugar, apple cider vinegar, instant noodles. We are always prepared for storms, have about 3-4 weeks food in stock.

And what kind of butter? I want Kerrygold for table use. The Kirkland knockoff is OK, but the savings isn't huge if you're already willing to pay more for 'ordinary'. I won't buy even more expensive brands lest I come to want only those!

@amylou321 Your post has been a fun read - thanks! For my household the essentials are library books not food! We always have a stack, especially DH. Food wise it seems to be breakfast items - frozen organic blueberries always & nonfat greek yogert for me, 2 kinds of dry cereal for DH + nonfat milk for his cereal & my coffee. Must not run out of coffee & milk for my 2 morning cups. “Good” bread & wine are a close second on essentials list. We do have 2 boxes of emergency food rations in garage courtesy of Costco & which I hope we never need & always have good supply of TP courtesy of Covid days. But, books are top of list for getting us out to go get something we absolutely need. It helps us get to the gym on a fairly regular basis since the library we use is on the same campus as the gym we use.

I always enjoy amylou’s ”floof” threads!

Besides books, before a storm we like to stock up on movies or series from the library. Ones we know we like, just in case there’s nothing on the screen we want to see.

@bpath Yes, I agree about movies & series from the library! We’ve found several series from PBS at the library which are fun to binge watch on these cold days. Hard to find much on TV to watch especially since I’ve cut myself off the news channels. 😳

I love our libraries! During Apple’s free weekend (thanks, dedtired) I watched a few episodes of Ted Lasso. Heading out today to get the rest from the library.

My second job (for fun!) is at a grocery store. Last night, some guy came through passing out mini Moonpies to workers and customers alike, saying "Here's a a commemorative moonpie for snowmageddon!"

It amuses me when I see carts full of toilet paper bread eggs and milk, the commonplace, and the next second, I see a cart piled high with pizzas, sweet, and beer/wine. Yes, I'm watching you, seeing what you're stocking up on for the big storm, but it's just for humor 😀 I understand both carts full well

Chisue, my favorite butter is President. And I always have some. That is for when butter is a key part of the food. Like on toast, on a baked potato, or straight off the end of the knife. :) Its so GOOD. For sort of everyday cooking, I buy land o lakes and the butter at sams club is pretty good too. I do go through quite a bit of it if I am honest. I like Kerry gold too. I like that on popcorn. Vermont Creamery is another good one, but President is the BEST. I eat it on crackers sometimes.

" Yes, I'm watching you, seeing what you're stocking up on for the big storm, but it's just for humor "

Even without a storm, it's fun to make up fantasies based on what I see in other people's carts.....it helps pass the time. I went to Costco yesterday (restock after 5.5 weeks away), and it was interesting to see who was getting what - some just 3 or 4 things, others a piled cart.

I don't shop much in person at supermarkets but just before Christmas I had a cart (or shopping trolley as we'd call it) containing only very large amounts of chocolate and double cream. Goodness knows what people were thinking. Or perhaps they realized I was making desserts for 8 people to last 10 days.

I don't think anyone mentioned beans and lentils! They're a food staple for me, dried or canned. I need them for so many recipes.

Beans are also called gas booster. 😎

Coffee Mate Hazelnut creamer and bread. Also butter. I too don't mind standing in line, as I enjoy watching what other people buy, especially at Aldi. I keep a separate stash of "sick" food. Chicken noodle soup, chicken pot pies, jello, vanilla wafers and juices. I hate to even talk about sick food, bad luck.

@rob333 (zone 7b) post about the grocery store staff seeing what people’s carts contain made me think of my chats with friendly checkout staffers. At Costco they’ve asked about items in my cart - either new items they hadn’t seen & wondering how it tastes or what recipie used for, or something they love too. One time at my regular grocer, I had a lot of different kinds of wild mushrooms both fresh & dried & the checker was curious about my plan for them. I explained the wild mushroom lasagna dish I was making with bechamel sauce for a vegetarian dinner with guests. She was delighted saying she has a family member who will only eat dishes that include mushrooms. I had the recipie on my phone for my shopping list so she snapped a pic with her phone.