How do you grocery shop?

So.. I'm trying to fine-tune some things and I need some tips in this area.

I normally shop like a city person. Meaning, I go to the supermarket every other day, pick up a few items, etc - rinse and repeat. This is tiresome.

I've tried doing one big shop, but I end up with all the wrong things. I try to plan meals, but sometimes I'm just not in the mood for what I planned, you know? Or I will be too tired to cook and end up getting take out, which is stupid. Also - food seems to go so quickly with kids!

Any tips?

Re: How do you grocery shop?

I go once a week only. I just look around and plan meals or plan them from what is on sale. I usually go to 2-3 stores for everything.

How do you grocery shop?

I do one big shop a week. I go to 1-2 stores depending upon what we need and how much time I have. My gym is next door to the grocery store so I usually stop in one other time to pick up bananas since my son eats like 2 a day.

Re: How do you grocery shop?

The majority of what we buy is frozen or goes into the freezer when we get home:
veggies- corn, peas, spinach, broccoli, stir fty mix
berries- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries
meat
bread- english muffins, sandwich bread/rolls, pizza crust

We have a chest freezer in our basement so we keep whatever doesn't fit in our fridge freezer down there. As for fresh produce, we go shopping about once a week and stock up on different things. I have tupperware fruit/veggie keepers that keep stuff super fresh. For example: Lettuce stays for well over a week in there with paper towel. Celery stays for well over two weeks.

We don't meal plan. We rely on the microwave to defrost meat to cook each day for the most part if we don't plan ahead and take it out the day before.

Re: How do you grocery shop?

I shop once a week too. I also try to get veggies that I can use for different dishes. For example, I buy zucchini which I can make into zucchini sticks, or patties, or eggplant which I can make eggplant rollatini or eggplant parm etc. Or I can grill them

Re: How do you grocery shop?

We've been doing fresh direct. A weekly delivery. I find it's much easier to plan for the week and stick to the plan. When we did regular grocery shopping, they would either be out of something (and DH couldn't menu-substitute on his feet), or we would "push" it off one more day and one more day and eat junk instead.

Re: How do you grocery shop?

I go once a week. To avoid waste I only cook 3 meals a week (usually on Sunday's) and the rest of the week is leftovers and quick stuff like pasta and sauce or takeout.

I shop with a meal plan in mind but stock up on things like canned beans if they are on sale. My cart is typically 1/2 filled with fresh fruits and veggies. I buy a couple of healthier snacks (pretzels and crackers) for my kids and always 1 ice cream and 1 other treat like cookies or pudding. They know how to follow serving sizes and also know that when its gone I am not going shopping again til the weekend. I buy meat in family packs and freeze portions.

I freeze leftover meals like cooked chicken, chili or sauce. Because I am the only adult who happens to try to watch how much and what I eat (doesn't always match what kids like) some food does go to waste. I can't win!

Re: How do you grocery shop?

Once a week to the grocery store
and 1-2 times a month to the bulk store (sams, bj, costco type)
this is tiring enough

How do you grocery shop?

I meal plan and do one big food shop a week. I shop for meat from the butcher once or twice a month and freeze everything.

How do you grocery shop?

I'd love to do something like Peapod or Shoprite from Home or AmazonFresh but I'm too cheap lol. We usually just go on a weekend night when it's not so crowded and just get whatever we need/want.

How do you grocery shop?

We food shop once a week. I couldnt imagine going more than once a week. I look at the weekly circular and see what's on sale and plan the meals around that.

Re: How do you grocery shop?

Re: How do you grocery shop?

Re: How do you grocery shop?

We tend to eat the same stuff. Mostly chicken, some ground beef and pork. So I Go to BJs once every other month and stock up on those items. When I get home, I separate everything into serving sizes, ziplock and freeze.

Then I go to stop and shop once a month or so and fill my freezer with frozen veggies. They usually have the kind I like cheapest.

We have 2 refrigerators so one holds all the meat and the other holds veggies.

I shop weekly at shoprite for milk, bread, eggs and produce. I also buy any canned stuff, rice, etc too - best price wise.

I hit target once or twice a month for cleaning stuff. I work with Sales, coupons and cartwheel to save as much as possible.

Re: How do you grocery shop?

Re: How do you grocery shop?

I shop like a city person. I go every few days and get what we need.

It is just the two of us and we have crazy schedules so planning ahead never seems to work out. I tried it a few times with good intentions but too much ended up being wasted. I also don't like to freeze meat, I know there is nothing wrong with it, but it's something I just don't like to do and am always afraid its not good when I defrost it so I rather pick it up fresh.

It is annoying to go multiple times but it does work better for us this way.

How do you grocery shop?

Sometimes I'll shop with certain meals in mind, but lately I tend to run in every 2 or 3 days to get what I need. I always seem to run out of milk or some other staple anyway, so I have to go to the store every few days anyway. I used to be more organized and plan several meals ahead, but it is annoying when you have meat in the fridge that's going to go bad but you don't feel like cooking that day, or,other plans came up that prevent you from cooking. Now I either plan and shop for a meal the day or day before I'm going to cook it, or I keep a few things handy that I can whip up on short notice without having to go to the store and that has a long shelf life. Like sauce and pasta (I make a big batch of meat sauce and freeze a bunch of dinner sized portions so all I have to do is thaw it in the microwave. Same thing with chicken soup).

How do you grocery shop?

I use peapod. I get a delivery every Saturday morning. I do a BJs run every month or every other month as needed.

How do you grocery shop?

I go once a week and plan all meals based on sales, what I have, and how busy I'll be each day. I rarely stray from my plan or get anything not in my list. I stick to the regular grocery store and try to stay out of target and other stores so I don't spend extra.

Re: How do you grocery shop?

I go once every couple of months to stock up on pantry staples: rice, beans, lentils, polenta, quinoa, canned tomatoes, oatmeal, crackers, cereal, paper towels, toilet paper, etc etc etc.

I usually go to Aldi and Shop Rite (they're in the same shopping center) for all of that stuff.

We also hit up the beer distributor and the liquor store and buy what we need then.

Then I just do local shopping on the weekends - now that the season is over for my CSA, I have to add a fruit and vegetable stand to the weekend shopping but there are so many within a few blocks of my house. Most weekends, I can walk on my own and carry home everything we need in two big bags. I also get bread from the bakery.

There are also many Indian markets by me and I pop in there from time to time to get spices, rice and split peas for dirt cheap. Oh - snacks too. Spicy snacks!

I do find myself at the store during the week every now and then for a random ingredient that I don't have on hand, but otherwise, the method above works best for us.

ETA - I feel like having all the pantry staples in the house makes meal planning easier...having a variety makes things flexible.

Message edited 12/3/2015 8:09:00 AM.

Re: How do you grocery shop?

How do you grocery shop?

Peapod is $7.95 for orders over $100. But it takes away all your impulse purchases so usually you end up even.

Re: How do you grocery shop?

How do you grocery shop?

I shop once a week if not a little less if I know I'm going to be super busy. On one of my late days going into work I run to trader joes so I don't have to deal with the mass crowd. I buy tons of stuff extra frozen veggies meats etc. I buy what looks good but also things we will eat. I work over an hour away from home and DH works long hours but helps with cooking. To make it easy I do 2 crockpot meals a week and 2 casseroles. I peep everything Sunday's. The days I get home early from work I do the casseroles. On my later shifts we crockpot. I make anything into a crockpot or casserole. Every now and then if I'm off I do baked chicken fingers and use almond flour and just make a side veggie. For the most part it's preplanned and I do the shopping all at once. For bulk stuff like toilet paper paper towels shampoo coffee napkins I have Amazon subscribe and save and have it delivered right to my door!

Re: How do you grocery shop?