Effective Grocery Shopping

Ever feel overwhelmed with grocery shopping? Yea, me too. But, I’ve learned a few things over time, so I’m here to help. Shopping can be easy if you plan, plan, plan. Ready to get to it? Let’s go!

Write out your meals for the week:

Going through the week without a strategy is an epic fail. If you need some recipe ideas, check out Google or Pinterest (warning, you may begin to feel like a chef). There are some amazing resources that can cater to your appetite. Some ideas could be meatless Mondays, taco Tuesday, wing Wednesday, and so on and so on. The goal is to make it fun! Also, you could try a quinoa bowl that I made, definitely worth it.

Put your grocery list into sections according to the aisles in the store:

Using this method will make your transition through the aisles smooth. Start with the produce, bread, canned goods, snacks, frozen foods, dairy, etc. I’ve noticed that when I go into the store without organizing ny route, I end up going down some aisles more than once, which is way too time consuming. Try it out and watch how efficient your trip becomes!

Go to the store during less busy hours:

Overcrowding can cause frustration, which will lead to you possibly forget an item and “ain’t nobody got time for that!” It seems like everyone wants to be in the stores at the exact same time as you and I don’t know about you, but crowds are not my thing, especially with COVID-19 lurking around. Either head to the story early in the morning (early bird gets the worm) or late in the evening (cool peeps come out at night).

Never go to the store hungry:

Heading to the store on an empty stomach is a big NO-NO! When you go grocery shopping while hungry, you tend to put unnecessary things in your basket. You see those chips you wanted to try, or a box of muffins that you know does not go along with your diet, or you wind up buying candy that you haven’t ate in months. A starving stomach is the devil in the store! Whatever looks good at the moment is bound to hurt your pockets at the register (ask me how I know lol).

I don’t always get it right, BUT I try! I’m a big believer in working smarter, not harder, and the same goes for grocery shopping. If you have some tips, leave them in the comments.