While on any diet or healthy eating plan, grocery shopping is especially important. Having a plan before you go to the store is your best defense against buying things you don’t need/shouldn’t be buying. So, I thought I would share with you the process I use for my weekly grocery shop.
Disclaimer: I only shop/cook for one. However, the ideas below can easily be used for more than one person.
Step 1: Plan out your meals for the week – knowing what recipes you want to make during the week helps you create a shopping list. What do you need to buy? What do you already have in your freezer or pantry? For this week, I started with the plan below:
Since I am cooking for one I can easily cook every other day and have enough food. So, I decided I wanted to make Lettuce Tacos/Burritos, Zucchini Shrimp Scampi, and Mushroom Turkey Burgers with Rutabaga Fries. Then, I looked through the fridge and cupboards to see what I already had. Everything with a check beside it means I already have those ingredients on hand.
Step 2: Make your list – now that you have your plan for the week you can make your grocery list. At this point, I break out the recipes I write down everything I need to get. Also, I consider what I am going to have for lunch. For me 95% of the time I will have a salad, so I make sure to add all those ingredients as well. My list for this week looked like this:
After I make the list, I also note the things I already have. That way I don’t forget! Also, I look at my grocery store’s circular to see what is on sale. I note all the sale prices to make sure I pick up the right thing. Also, I add anything that is on sale that I may be able to use like the brussel sprouts listed. I can use those as a side dish with some leftovers to change it up.
Step 3: Go to the store! – This step is pretty self-explanatory, but I wanted to make an important point here. Just because you are eating healthy doesn’t mean you have to shop at a fancy grocery store. I shop at my local Food Lion.
The prices are reasonable, the produce always looks good, and they always have what I want. They even have some organic options if that is what you are looking for. I feel like there is a stigma around healthy eating that it’s expensive or inaccessible – but that is not true! I tend to spend anywhere between $40 and $60/week on groceries. That’s about $8.50 per day.
And that is it! We planned, we created a list, and we shopped. Here is the grocery haul I had for this week:
What grocery shopping tips do you have? Are there other aspects of grocery shopping that you find difficult?
[…] I always go grocery shopping on Friday or Saturday, so I am ready to start prepping on Sunday. But schedule your shopping for whenever works best for you. To learn more about actually going to the grocery store you can read my previous post – Ideal Grocery Shopping. […]
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