Tag Archives: grocery shopping

I had a request from my friend Leanne (or Uncle Leon) a couple weeks ago to do a post on grocery shopping and meal planning and how I plan my eats!  I went grocery shopping yesterday before the baby shower so I thought it would be a good time to tackle this topic.

I could honestly spend hours in the grocery store looking at all the different kinds of foods, but because I didn’t used to leave a lot of time for food shopping and it was one of those chores that I needed to squeeze in quickly, I wasn’t the biggest fan of actual grocery shopping.

With a bit of meal planning beforehand, this has changed around.  I can get in and out of there pretty quickly, because I have a routine and I already know what I’m looking for.  Easy peasy.  Plus, I then have everything I need for a week of healthy eating in, and I don’t stress out when I get home from work about what I’m going to make for dinnah!

So here are my tips.

Choose Your Time

I always do my big shop on the weekends because I have more time, and usually in the morning because if I go any time after 11:00 it’s absolutely rammed in there.  I also make sure I go once a week so that it’s not overwhelming.  Once you have a routine, it’s not so bad!

Choose Your Store

I like to choose one grocery store and get it all done there because it’s familiar, and I find when I am in an unfamiliar grocery store I spend way too long hunting for things.  I always go to the Superstore near my house, and I know that place like the back of my hand.

I chose Superstore for a few different reasons.  My gym is there so it’s super convenient to squeeze in a workout as well as a grocery shop (yesterday for example, after my shop I hit up the arc trainer for half an hour).  It’s cheaper than Metro and Sobey’s, and I really like President’s Choice products, which are found there.  Joe Fresh being in there doesn’t hurt either .

I tried going to Walmart Supercentre for grocery shopping in the past, but it is just way. too. big. for me.  I couldn’t find anything and I was seriously overwhelmed.

Plan Ahead

I always do a bit of planning beforehand and have a general idea of my dinners for the week.  I will usually go online and check out the flyer first and see if there’s anything on sale that I would like to incorporate into my meals and kinda plan them that way (example – I bought shrimp because it was on sale, so for dinner one night we will be having shrimp!).

Sometimes I will look up recipes beforehand that I have been wanting to make, and make sure to pick up any ingredients I might need.  Although the ingredients that are not fresh (spices, etc), I usually already have on-hand.

I only loosely plan my dinners for the week, as I always buy basically the same items for lunch, breakfast and snacks, and I have them on-hand for easy meal prep.  Those usually depend on what is on sale as well though, for example raspberries were on sale for three pints for $5, so I know I will be incorporating a whole lotta raspberries into my breakfasts and snacks!

It’s very important that I plan my dinners though, otherwise after work I’ll think we have nothing to make, even if I’ve just been shopping, and then we’ll just eat out!  I try to make as many meals as possible at home.  It’s so much healthier and cheaper.

Buy On Sale

Since Ando and I have bought a house and are making our own dins to save moolah, I am a pretty budget-conscious shopper.  I already mentioned that I buy what’s on sale and plan my meals around that, but for items like bread, if it’s on sale I may buy a lot at one time.  I used to be really weird about freezing bread, but now I’m more comfortable with the idea, and I may buy a couple loaves of bread, or a couple packages of bagels if they’re on sale, and then freeze them.

My grocery shop today I actually did not need to buy any bread because we have a few loaves, wraps, bagels, and English muffins already chilling in the freezer. 

Make a List

This is a no-brainer.  I am a huge list maker.  If I don’t have a list, I will forget something, guaranteed.  Since I loosely meal plan, I write down everything I need, so I don’t throw a bunch of random items in my cart.  My list has direction!

My iPhone has a really great list app called ListPro that separates all your items into their departments, and you can check them off as you go.

I would highly recommend this app if you have an iPhone, but a hand-written list works just as well.

Shop the Perimeter

Another no-brainer that I’m sure you’ve heard a million times.  I am a huge fan of shopping the perimeter though.  My weekly grocery shops consist of usually fresh items: produce, breads, meats, yogurt, cheese, etc, all found around the perimeter.

I will wander into the isles for items like cereal, oatmeal, peanut butter, etc. but those are not items that I need to buy weekly.  I do always hit up the canned section though, for beans, soups, broths, etc, and the frozen section, usually for frozen fruit or ice cream.  But I try to steer clear of the chip and candy sections, because if I don’t buy them, I can’t eat them!

Are you proud of your shopping cart?

I am!

I may have dropped by the Joe Fresh section…

Not including the shoes, skirt, and body wash, I spent about $95 on only groceries for the week.  Here is what I snagged:

Produce

• 6 apples
• bananas
• 3 pints of raspberries
• pineapple
• grapes (I always have grapes in my fruit bowl for easy snacking!)
• broccoli
• baby carrots
• baby spinach
• asparagus
• 2 red peppers
• 1 large onion
• 4 tomatoes
• green onions
• 4 parsnips

Dairy

• Liberte vanilla Greek Yogurt
• 3 PC Greek yogurt fruit cups
• shredded mozzarella cheese

Meat and Seafood

• frozen shrimp
• pork
• ground beef
• 1 full chicken (that I used tonight to make easy chicken fajitas!)
• turkey deli meat

Canned

• beef broth
• Prego pasta sauce
• chick peas
• red kidney beans

Other random

• hummus
• Kashi granola bars
• whole wheat spaghetti
• PopChips!
• frozen strawberries
• fat-free Italian salad dressing
• bread crumbs
• low-sodium taco seasoning

What are your tips for healthy, budget-friendly grocery shopping?