A recent conversation with the other editors proved to be quite reassuring to me because of one simple fact: it turns out I’m not the only person who’s terrible at grocery shopping.
How about you? Are you, like Hillary and Sally J., a list-maker and meal planner and all-around efficient shopper, or are you more like me, Slay Belle, Sara B, and Selena, and end up with a random variety of junk food, prepared meals, and “how the hell did this get in my cart” items?
15 replies on “Grocery Store: Friend or Foe? Lunchtime Poll for 10/16/12”
We use cozi, it’s an online organization tool. The list is on our phones and the computer. That way if I forget to put something on the list while at the store, Wayne can add it. I don’t plan menus, really. I like to cook whatever inspires me that day. The boys (8 & 5) eat standard kid fare, so shopping for them is easier.
For the most part I have a list and a menu…about every other week. LOL I use a great app that shows me what things are on sale, recipes to choose from and gives me a shopping list. Ahh…guidance is wonderful.
Lists! Not only because I can suddenly lose all inspiration and tramp around in mild frustration, but also because I won’t have to go through coming home and realizing that you forgot half.
I try to plan 2 major meals, stew/soup type thing, that will leave lots of leftovers, which requires a list, and then I just restock the pantry and the produce drawer with things Sir NuddyPants and I eat for lunchs/snacks. But there is always somehow one or two things at that end up in the cart as “treats” that I really shouldn’t be getting because they are pricey and in theory I have a budget.
I like grocery shopping, its soothing and reminds me I’m an adult now. Its just a pain in the butt to drag it all home as we don’t own a car.
I like making lists, but I’m not always good at meal-planning. More often than not, me or the BF decide we want to make something while we’re shopping, and we try to remember what goes into it while we’re figuring out which produce to get.
I’m a super list maker. But I also try to only go grocery shopping once every three weeks, so I have to have a fairly good idea what I can make and how long it will feed me. I do allow for extras especially in the case of snacks and chocolate.
I avoid the grocery store as much as humanly possible. Since I eat Trader Joe’s Frosted Mini-Wheats for dinner more often than not, this isn’t much of a problem. Thank goodness I don’t have children to feed, otherwise I would resent them for forcing me into cart-battles in the Safeway aisles.
I hate grocery shopping. But, I’m pretty good at it. I’m mostly a list person, and said list is planned around a few meals for the week. I will deviate from the list if something is particularly appealing at the store. For example, beautiful eggplants will mean that we need to eat rollitini, so then I need another meal that uses ricotta. But really, I hate the time and effort of grocery shopping.
I’m sorta both. I make a list for essentials, but leave wiggle room. My usual list (when I have grocery money, anyway, and excluding what I already have) is something like this:
Rice
Veggies
Chicken
Seasonings
Coffee + creamer
Things for sandwiches
Pasta + sauce
Things to nibble
Things that are chocolatey
Eggies + cheese
…Which allows for variation between turkey sandwiches or pbjs, or pretzels or cheese to nibble, or a bag of mini-Reeses or a container of ice cream. Occasionally I’d grab premade things to heat up, or decide that it’s a soup making weekend (in which case, most of the budget is soup making things and that’s what I eat for a week or two).
“Things that are chocolatey.” BWAHAHAHA I love that. (And btw I totally subscribe to that too.)
I love grocery shopping, but I’m pretty terrible at it. :)
I’m normally pretty good at it. If I don’t have a physical list, I have a rough mental list of what I need. I don’t mind grocery shopping, but I prefer to do it by myself.
It’s really a learned habit- I grew up watching my mom take the sale paper, and make a list- along with the days of the week and what was for dinner jotted down along either the top or the bottom. I typically put shopping off until I HAVE to go, and by then, if there’s no list, there’s no way I’m feeding all four people for a set number of days. No way in the world.
It didn’t occur to me to look at the sale papers while deciding what to get. That’s a really great idea!
I’m a little of both. I’ll make a list and get everything on it, but I’ll also find a few random things in there, especially if I went shopping hungry and everything sounded delicious as I walked by.
But if I don’t make a list I kind of just stand in aisles and stare at things.