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As long as you use very fresh produce, most will last the week. Some more delicate vegetables, like cucumber or tomatoes, don't last that long, so those are pushed to the beginning of the week, when they are still at their best. But things like Brussel sprouts, broccoli, onions, etc, easily last a week. The only time I encounter vegetables getting slimy, is when the produce isn't very fresh to start with. For example when I have peppers or chillies that were already starting to go a bit soft when I bought them, or had already been in my fridge for a week. But that's rarely an issue, as the quality and freshness of produce here is very high.

The cheaper butcher is about 3km/2 miles away, so it's a bit of a cycle there. So when I go there, I like to make it worth my while. And buying in bulk is a lot cheaper, plus it saves on waste. Also, it's just a nice feeling to have a full freezer.

Thank you for the recommendation. I'll have a look.

This is still super fresh, because I'm only cutting food. I'm cooking it minutes before I eat it. No reheating or freezing! So it has the benefits of prepping, but not the drawbacks. This is how most restaurants work.

They are from the Modula series by Mepal

No, I'm not trained as a chef. Just self-taught. My background is in auditing and accounting, very different field! We speak Dutch.

They've been pretty good. Video coming out Friday!

Hi!

I'm glad you liked it! I really enjoy getting everything organized as efficiently as I can.

Thank you. Wishing you well, as well.

$55 is a tight budget, especially if you try to get fresh, non-processed foods. And yes, olive oil (and oils in general) has gotten so expensive. There's always a bit of an "ouch" moment when you have to restock items like that. At least it will last me a while.

They are from the Modula series by Mepal

Beautiful area. I've had the pleasure of visiting the Lower Mainland, it was stunning

I should have made note it is -37 Celsius., Not Fahrenheit! Brutal, freezing weather!!! Ha ha

@@SherriOlson-km2cq that is very cold! Since we're right by the ocean, the weather is a lot more temperate here. It doesn't dip below about -10 usually in winter. Stay safe up there!

I know you meant Celsius :). The two scales are actually not far off at that temperature.

I love chocolate. Other sugary things, I'm really not fussed about. I'll eat some cookies or candy if they're there, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get them. Chocolate, however, is my one true vice. So I limit myself to 2 bars a week. Because if you deny yourself constantly, it's hard to keep up with any kind of diet. By allowing myself that little pleasure on the weekend, it's easy to eat helthy the rest of the week.

De enige echte!

I very much like where I live, and how it was created. So I love teaching people about the history.

I'm glad you're enjoying them!

I've kept cards from my various trips, too, like my Oyster card from London, Navigo from when I went to Paris, and is it the Metrocard in New York? They make for nice reminders of trips.

You're very welcome!

A cargo bike would actually work for that. But more effective would be to have less restrictive zoning, and allow (smaller) grocery stores near residential areas, so getting to the store on foot or by bike is actually viable. And then you don't have to buy for 2-3 weeks at a time, because getting groceries wouldn't be such a chore. You just go once a week, or every few days, on your way to somewhere else. Instead, in the US, you have to drive for miles to somewhere on the outskirts of town where there's one massive store, with no bike infrastructure or even sidewalks to get there, and you have to buy in bulk to make it worth your time.

I plan in weekly cycles. It always starts by seeing what kind of foods need to be used up (for instance, this week I'm having coleslaw because I had half a cabbage that needed using), and what's on sale. I also try to minimise waste, so if I'm only using part of an ingredient in a dish (for instance, a butternut squash, or a pack of tortillas), I plan other dishes that week or the next, that will use the rest of those ingredients up. That usually takes care of most of the meals that week, and the rest is just things I might have seen that inspired me, or something I've been craving. I do make use of theme days (Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday, Fish Friday) to help with planning, as a way to limit the options a bit. Because I'm only cooking for myself, which means I can have whatever I want. And if you can have anything you want, what DO you actually want to eat? Too many options can make planning a bit difficult sometimes. I go per week, because I use mainly fresh produce. Plus all the sales here run weekly.

While I've had my bike stolen plenty of times over the years, it seems lately thieves are only interested in more expensive (=electric) bikes. My bike is not very expensive, so the risk is very low. I do keep an old bike as a back up, in case something happens with my bike.

It's currently around 0 C / 32 F. But no wind, so not bad at all. I haven't needed my big winter coat yet this winter.

I'm spoiled for choice here. I can walk to at least half a dozen supermarkets within 15 minutes from my house. Supermarkets here are a lot smaller than in the US for example, but far more numerous. And they're located in residential neighbourhoods. Specifically so they're within walking/cycling distance for most people. Cycling is usually faster than driving, and even walking can be faster.

Thank you

Have a great week, too

I'll film that soon. Either this week, or if I pick up a few more pantry items to stock, next week.

He's the best

Thank you

I'll see what I can do

The menu schedule you'll find on my Sunday prep day posts on Instagram, it's always the third picture in the carroussel (before chopping -after - menu). As for item checklist, do you mean essentially a written out version of what I say in the prep and grocery haul videos? What ingredients go in what dish, etc? I don't have that posted anywhere. I don't have my own website, just Instagram/Threads/Facebook (all the exact same content) and TH-cam. So if you don't see it posted there, it's not posted anywhere. I do make a list for myself where I break that down for everything together, like "peppers: diced 2, strips 1", "onions: sliced 3", etc, but I don't have it written down per recipe, I just do that in my head. If you just want to know what items and how many of them you'll need to follow along with the prep, I can see if I can make a nice looking list. If you're looking for exact recipes, though, I'm afraid I don't have those, since a lot of it is improvised and/or based around what I have left over from other dishes. Also, the clear containers are all from Mepal, the Modula series to be exact. I've had these for years, but I'm pretty sure they still make them. I don't have a link for you, as I don't know where you are based (I'm in the Netherlands), but if you search for Mepal Modula, you should find them easily.

Thank you for your reply and mention in your video! I appreciate you taking the time. What you posted will do just fine and thank you for the direction in your IG posts. It was helpful. Watching from the United States.

You're very welcome.

I love spending time with him. And he really enjoys coming with me, too

There are a few ways to make low carb wraps. But this is probably the easiest way, with the least amount of (processed) ingredients. I haven't seen low carb wraps in stores here, so I have nothing to compare the price too. Definitely more expensive than buying/making flour tortillas though. I spent about € 1.50 on the cauliflower (they were on a very good sale), € 1.49 for the cheese, and about 20 cents for the egg. So around 3.50 in dollars. Compared to about $1 to buy a pack of tortillas. But these are a lot lower in carbs, for sure.

I hope they were at least massive apples! For reference, I paid € 1.50/kg, or US$ 0.70/lb. Apples are abundant at the moment, so they're pretty cheap, especially at the street market.

Cooking yourself is almost always cheaper than take out, even if you get cheaper options like meal deals. And if you plan it, cooking doesn't take much more time, either. I spend 30 minutes to an hour on the weekend to prepare, including clean up time, and then I can throw a meal together in under 15 minutes. You'll easily spend that much time going to the store/restaurant for a take away meal. And I'm definitely getting a lot more vegetables in by cooking myself.

Hi

I love seeing historical building and monuments, that's why I highly prefer city trips. So much history there. Especially here in Europe. As for your meatless suggestions, that's where pickiness comes in. I'll try most things, but there are certain textures that I just can't stand. Tofu is one of them, as well as similar textures like mushrooms and certain cheeses. I really *wish* I liked mushrooms, as that would be such a great low carb alternative, but I've tried many times, and the squishiness just puts me off so much. Beans/legumes, I tolerate more than tofu/mushrooms. But they're still not my favourite, by a longshot, so I don't eat them too often.

We have amazing bread here, better than I ccould bake myself. Though I have baked bread in the past. I don't do a lot of baking, because I'm diabetic. and don't eat a lot of baked goods in general, homemade or store-bought. Good thing I'm not really into sweet things anyway, apart from chocolate. I'd love to see more American prices, to see how we compare.

It's because we grow our own vegies and fruits locally in greenhouses. With space as our biggest enemy, efficiency is very important for us. The definition of fresh seems to be slightly different here as well since I hear many Americans say that our fresh products last longer. You can buy tomatoes that are harvested the day before. And I noticed that Paul knows well where to go shopping for reasonable prices. You can pay twice as much for some products if you go to the wrong store. I live in a small town in the Privonce of Zeeland and I often go to local farmers for their products. Some even have vending machines in front of their houses. You can buy all sorts of things like patatoes, milk and yoghurt, eggs, fruit like apples, pears, cherries, blueberries etc.

Even the food we import, is a lot cheaper here than in the US. Things just spend so much more time in transit there, going from one massive transport hub to another, to another, before finally getting to a shop. Which adds a lot of costs, and makes produce last a lot less after buying it. Here, transport is a lot more efficient, and more frequent with smaller batches, so it's fresher. There are plenty of farm shops around me, too, but they're actually relatively expensive, in addition to being just a little bit far away to cycle to. Though it would be kind of fun to do it for a video some time. And yes, you can save a lot of money by knowing where to go. Street markets for produce, sales for supermarkets. And it actually makes sense to shop around, since you're just on a bike, so you're not just using the money you save on groceries for gas for your car (just FYI, gas is close to $10/gallon here, so cycling makes sense).

@@PaulvanGulik Oh my---the gasoline is terribly expensive there. I would certainly rethink my driving habits!! (which is probably a GOOD thing!) You have a lot of great info. Always like learning things and even as an old lady-I STILL get lots of great info. And yes yes yes on doing more bike tours to further out shops. Love seeing different places. Thanks!

@@PaulvanGulik By small town I mean really small. The first Farm is only 3 minutes cycling away. But, I happen to have a Lidl 50meters from my house so I walk for groceries. The farms are not always that cheap indeed but I like the idea of supporting local companies over (inter)national ones. Besides that, when a field is harvested, you are allowed to grap leftovers from the field. That's how I get kilo's of fresh patatoes and vegetables for free.

Most bike paths are set up so that you have very little, if any, interactions with car traffic. And those bike paths are often the most direct route to get somewhere, with cars going the long way around. Different modes of traffic have wildly different routes they'd take to reach their destination. And it also really helps that unlike for example the United States, where there's just one or two massive stores on the outskirts of town, that everyone needs to travel to for anything they need, we have many smaller stores spread out all over town, so you never have to go far. That makes cycling much more feasible. In my city (just under 80,000 people), I think I have close to 20 supermarkets to choose from, and I'm not even counting smaller Asian or Middle Eastern markets in that, or stand alone bakers, butchers and greengrocers, street markets. Or the farm shops on the edge of town. Fresh food is everywhere, just a few minutes away by bike (or even on foot).

What kind of knife do you usually use? A pairing knife? I typically use a standard size chef's knife, or in this case vegetable knife. I'm actually considering going up a size in chef's knife, because I'm a fairly large guy.

@@PaulvanGulik A paring knife is my go-to. I guess it's what one is used to .....I grew up using a paring knife (mom used one) and so that's what I use. But I am always impressed with people's knife skills. Your skill is awesome to watch. A paring kniife?--not so awesome.

I think it's a generational thing, too. My grandma used a pairing knife for everything, and my mom used one for a lot as well. It gets the job done, and it's very cheap. Just takes a bit longer in my experience.

Thank you

I don't use a lot of recipes, it's mostly experience. But I'll try to include more.

He loves being on camera. You'll see him a lot more in tomorrow's video. And thank you!

It's what we call winterpeen in Dutch, meaning winter carrot. Pronounced more like you'd pronounce pain in English. Much larger than the carrots you will find in bunches, called bospeen (bunch carrots). Dutch is a funny language.