With so many distractions and choices out there, it's hard to stick to your goals and get only what you need when going grocery shopping.
Make your next trip with ease by adding these few habits to your shopping routine!
Plan Out Your Meals For The Week
The best thing you can do to make your grocery shopping more efficient is to plan your meals for the week in advance. Try to be as specific as possible so you can avoid multiple trips during the week. Also, start with the ingredients you already have and work from there.
In addition, creating a plan will help you stick to making nutritious choices. It will also make the weekdays a lot less stressful because you won't be coming home to look in an empty fridge trying to plan a meal from ingredients that aren't there!
Make Sure You Have a List
After you plan out what you intend on cooking for the week, put all those ingredients on a list. This will help you not to forget that one ingredient you've never heard of in that recipe you're trying so you don't end up turning right around mid meal prep to drive to the store for said ingredient (I'm not guilty of this, no, of course not!).
And since we always have our phones on us, why not keep your list on your phone? I like to use the reminders list feature on my iPhone. That way the family can share and update the list at their fingertips as soon as we run out of something. Nothing is left behind or forgotten!
If you need some ideas for healthy choices, meal ideas, grocery lists and more, click here.
Go Shopping on a Full Stomach
I'm sure you've had those days where you just head to the store without a plan and you also happen to be super hungry. And I'm sure those grocery trips ended with double the amount of produce that you needed for the day (and maybe it all didn't make it through the car ride home).
If you go hungry, your stomach will OWN your grocery trip. You'll be more likely to make poor choices and probably come up with twenty different ideas on what to eat for dinner- and they're all in your cart! So try to save yourself some hassle by eating a snack before you go, or waiting to go shopping after you've had a meal.
Don't Try The Samples!
And speaking of cravings, a full stomach will also help you avoid the dangerous sample stations! These are like little mini naughty buffets that will add up in calories ( and cost) that you didn't intend to spend in the first place.
So just avoid them all together. You will not only spare your healthy eating, but also your pocketbook.
Have a Budget Prepared
Another way to spare your pocketbook is to have a planned budget before going to the grocery store. Having a budget will not only help you stay focused on the list, but will also make you less likely to splurge on temptations you didn't need to take home with you.
So if you prepare your list, budget and meals in advance, eat a snack before you go, and avoid the samples, you will be able to stay on track with healthy eating and grocery success.
Happy Shopping!
Planning meals for the week is the best idea but the hardest. Planning each meal, shopping , and prepping. Organization is very to important in this equation. The hardest part after you have had a hard long day is putting the meal together. That is where having a routine makes implementation so much easier. Only way I know how is to be consistent in all the steps. The rewards in health as well as economics is amazing. Good luck one and all.
I need help on this part because I don’t cook very much anymore! I am really bad at the “balance “ thing!!
I too have found shopping hungry the worst idea ever. I went to Costco once on an empty stomach and ended up with a bill over 200$. Mind you I don’t have kids, so that’s a lot of food.