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?