This seems like a weird question, but have you ever thought about how you grocery shop? Yeah, of course, you might say. You go to the store, get a cart, put food in, pay for it, and bring it home. OK, but do you ever find that you spend more time at the store than you'd like? Do you hate standing around trying to pair this protein with that starch, or find yourself buying yet another packet of dried thyme because you couldn't remember if you had any?
Planning healthy meals takes some work, and shopping for the ingredients is one of the most important tasks. Whether you are trying to save money on your groceries and get as much healthy, wholesome foods on the table as possible, the way you shop can be your best first step on that journey.
Here are some tips to help make your grocery shopping trips faster and better:
1. Recipe Roundup. Meal planning requires some basic steps. You start by thinking about what you would like to make for the week. You can do this by jotting down some meals you know how to make by heart, and you can also pull out some recipes from blogs and magazines you had been meaning to try. Gather up 6-8 recipes or meal ideas and decide which ones you want to make for the next week. Try not to be overly ambitious and plan a week of elaborate meals. Consider your schedule and try to make your meals a good balance of quick and time-consuming dishes.
2. What's on special? Once you have your meals chosen, you should then check the weekly store circulars and flyers for salt items that would fit into your plan. If you are on a budget, choosing items that are on special can only help. This is the time when you should decide on whether there are any items you can substitute in for ingredients in your recipes. For example, if you wanted to make some turkey meatballs, but there is a special on ground chicken, swap in the chicken.
3. Make a list and stick to it. This step is pretty self-explanatory, but its importance cannot be overstated. Making a good list of what you need from the store will cut down on the length of time you have to shop. It also allows you to fight the "wandering belly syndrome", which happens when you push your cart around, looking at everything on the shelves, and then having the sudden urge to drop some Nutella or ice-cream in your cart, when it wasn't on your list. Just seemed like a good idea at the time, right? Don't feel too ashamed - we've all been there. Keeping your focus on the stuff on your list, while not much fun, will help save you from yourself!
4. Use the butcher counter or measure your meat. If you are fortunate enough to have access to a butcher shop or a good butcher counter at your local grocery store, you can buy your meat in exact quantities. The problem I always found in grocery stores is the way meat is sold. Families come in many different sizes and needs, yet the ground beef only comes in two general sizes. If you buy the smaller package, you might come up short for your recipe. If you buy one of those big 5 pound packages, you either have to divide it into more appropriate sizes yourself, or you might end up cooking it all.
Meat will often be the largest cost in your shopping trip. Buying in bulk can be a big money-saver, but only if you do it right. When you get your meat home, you should immediately portion and repackage it for freezer storage. If you bought a quarter-side of beef from a farm, they will usually divide it into the portions you specify. No matter where it came from, the important thing is to not let your good intentions of buying in bulk sabotage your budget and portions.
Most recipes call for meat by the pound, such as ground meat or roasts. Sometimes you may find that the only quantities you see in the case are amounts that are bigger or smaller than what your shopping list calls for. In that case, use your judgment and buy one that is either a little bit bigger or a little bit smaller than the amount you wanted to buy.
5. Fruits and Vegetables. As the foundation of a healthy diet, a variety of fruits and vegetables are essential to keep ourselves from getting bored of eating them. Most of us are lucky enough to have access to a huge range of fresh produce all year and can often get just about anything we would like to eat at any time.
Sometimes fresh produce is expensive though. If you have ever wanted red peppers in a Canadian February, you know what I mean. So how can you get all your fresh veggies without going broke? Always try to substitute a sale produce item in for what a recipe calls for. If getting your hands on jicama is going to be pricey, then skip it and pick up an equal amount of pears. If celery root is $4 a pound (ouch!), then pass on it and pick up another kind of root. Recipes can always be improvised and changed; no ingredient is worth blowing your budget on.
If you live in an area with an Asian market, try it out. You will often find produce at very low prices there. The catch, of course, is that the produce might have a spot here or a bruise there. These markets can be truly a no-frills kind of establishment, but the food is subject to the same inspection and food safety laws as a typical chain grocer. The prices are much lower though, so if you aren't overly picky about your lemons being arranged in pyramids, you can definitely pick up a bargain.
6. Pantry Stuff. There are some items that you will be using often, such as stocks, oils and canned tomatoes. When non-perishable or long-lasting items are on sale, take the opportunity to stock up on them. You might spend a little extra in that one trip, but it will take that one item off the next shopping list.
Sometimes a recipe will call for an ingredient you don't always stock. For example, if a recipe needed a half a cup of pecans, you would put those on your shopping list. The problem might come when you get to the store and find that they only sell them by the bag, which is much more than you want and need. When you don't want or need to buy a large quantity of something, find it in bulk. Bulk stores are great places to buy things such as spices and special ingredients that you only want a certain amount of. Only need a cup of quinoa? That will be no problem at a bulk store or at the bulk section of your local grocery store.
7. If you have a freezer. As discussed in the earlier point about buying meat, a freezer is an excellent tool for the bulk-buyer. When there are large sales or you just happened to acquire a lot of food at once, a freezer can help you make sure that nothing goes to waste. Knowing that you have a bit of space in your freezer helps you make those money-saving purchases easier - you won't be scrambling to rearrange your small standard freezer like a game of Tetris later.
If and when you stash things in the freezer, remember to write the current date on it. We've all been there; reaching in the bottom of the chest, pulling out an unidentified foil package and wondering "when did I freeze a ham?"
8. Get out of the grocery store. Who says you have to shop for your apples and salmon at the same place? If you have access to them, try sourcing your greens from the following places:
Farmers Market:
The great thing about a farmer's market is that you can often find varieties of vegetables that you have never seen before, like purple cauliflowers or pattypan summer squash. Conventional grocery stores are not always able to stock such unique produce, so a farmer's market is the next best source for new foods. On top of that, the produce you buy at the market was often just harvested that morning or day before.
A trip to the farmer's market is more than just business. You get to see the people behind your food. The money you pay for a butternut squash goes right into the hands of the person who grew it. There is a certain satisfaction in that that is hard to replicate in a store.
Garden Markets:
These markets are often seasonal, mom-and-pop type shops that can also be flower nurseries. They are sometimes on a farm or a 'pick-your-own' berry field, but can also be found in cities. Produce is usually sourced from local farmers, but can include the same stuff you get at a grocery store. It's the middle ground between a regular grocery store and a farmer's market.
Your Own Garden?:
If you have the space and time to grow your own food - you could consider giving it a try. If you have never had a vegetable garden before, you might want to stick to the easier vegetables to grow, such as tomatoes, cucumbers and summer squash (zucchini). A packet of seeds from an organic, non-GMO source can cost as little as $1. Nothing really beats going outside and picking a tomato from your own plant.
The Plate Planner - Meal Planning Made Easy
Take the work out of weeknight meals!
Subscribe and receive new menus with shopping lists and detailed preparation guides and nutrition information each week!
Suitable for Clean, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, and Paleo eating plans.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Louise_H._Clark
No comments:
Post a Comment