How To Win At Grocery Shopping

How To Win At Grocery Shopping Grocery shopping. The errand you will have to run for the rest of your life as required by normal bodily functions. Wouldnt it be nice if this mandatory errand wasnt a hassle? Better yet, wouldnt it be nice if you loved it? Use the below hacks to navigate this part of life, and youll see how grocery shopping is about to get a whole lot more fun.Dont Shop On An Empty StomachLets departure with the basics. Dont shop hungry. Ever. Shopping when youre hungry primarily happens due to a lack of planning when you want to make your Plan A MenuNotice I didnt just say make a grocery list. I want you to plan a menu and put a little effort into it. Treat it like youre opening your own restaurant. The worst thing you can possibly do is settle for the same seven staples week after week. Menu planning doesnt have to be complicated if theres a comfort food that ends up on your menu regularly (for me, its tacos), just make an attempt to spice it up. Switch out your topp ings, change the salsa you buy, etc.Curate What You BuyTo keep your grocery list budget-friendly, curate two or three foods every week. Make a point to select seasonal foods that you know will beavailable at your store. The goal is to select items that can be used in multiple meals.For example, if you buy potatoes, you can use them in three different meals. (For me, I think of baked potatoes, vegetarian curry and homemade french fries.)Keep A Running Grocery ListMaking a grocery list shouldnt be a chore that takes an hour of your time every week. Keep a running list on the fridge and hold everyone in your house accountable for contributing. Separate your grocery list by category, i.e. cleaning supplies, vegetables, pet supplies, etc. When something runs out or is close to empty, put it on the list. By the time youre ready to head to the store, the list should have completed itself.Shop WeeklyOnce a week is a great schedule for grocery shopping. Its tempting to make lots of smaller t rips to the store, but those baby-sized trips add up. Commit to one trip a week with a goal of obtaining a weeks worth of meals and neccessities. If youre going to make a second weekly trip, make it a larger event by visiting a farmers market to get fresher produce or swinging by a specialty shop for more authentic salsa if youre going to go the taco route. (I told you its my favorite)As for when you make your trip, never shop on weekends. Everyone shops on weekends. If you want long lines at the cashier and limited selection of produce, pick the weekend.Use The Buddy SystemWe tend to assume that grocery shopping falls on the shoulders of one person in any given household. Heres my pitch for you consider grocery shopping to be a group effort. My boyfriend and I shop together every week. Shopping together allows both of us to participate in the act of filling up the fridge. Shopping together gives you an extra set of eyes in the store to catch stuff that mightve been missed on a lis t. Shopping together takes the errand out of the equation. Its actually our time during the week when we can hang out and focus on making a shared decision on our meals and, in the grand scheme of things, our health.Take Advantage Of Online ShoppingIf youre a person who likes to winzigkeit and see every item that goes into your cart, dont rule out online shopping quite yet. Online shopping is fantastic for nonperishable items that you regularly buy each month. Im a huge fan of Amazon Prime, specifically their Amazon Pantry option. I keep a running list of items I will need to buy every month such as laundry detergent, toilet paper, cat food, etc. I pick one week to order my pantry box, and suddenly I no longer have to physically pick those items up in stores. By planning ahead and ordering the items youknowyou will need to purchase online, you will save yourself time in the stores and will be able to budget those items that you will always need.Be SpontaneousI love food. My love of food has helped me to love grocery shopping. As much as I plan out menus and lists and budgets before I leave the house, I always keep my mind open to trying something new. It makes my trips more interesting, and it helps me to look forward to my meal prep.To help keep my mind open, I keep the rule of every aisle gets one shot. I walk down every aisle of the grocery store it forces me to be meticulous with my shopping so that I dont backtrack or miss an item and also helps me to see items that I might be overlooking. Ive discovered hominy by walking down an aisle that I typically just breeze past. Cheesy Hominy Casserole is now my favorite menu item I also get out of the habit of grabbing the same brand names every week, and I seek substitutes (often times on the spot) to keep things interesting. For instance, I had a noodle dish on my menu, but the store was out of gluten-free spaghetti noodles. So, I grabbed thin rice noodles and decided to make homemade ramen instead.Food is so b eautiful. Just experiment and see what happens--Erika Jenko is a playwright and theme park junkie trying to navigate the magical world of adulting. Also, a YouTuber and blogger at www.subwaymouse.com.