Making a Shopping List
Written by Grace H
If you’re anything like me, I used to grocery shop with my stomach. It’s easy to walk up and down the aisles of your local Trader Joe’s and grab anything with pretty packaging that is on sale! Sometimes, I even forget I bought an extra bottle of ketchup last time I shopped and come home with yet another bottle to add to my pantry collection. My forgetfulness was keeping Heinz in business!
A shopping list is essential to reducing food waste, maintaining your budget, and preventing overbuying items you likely won’t eat or use. Here are my best tips for making your shopping list:
1. Check your pantry before you go!
Checking your pantry sounds like common sense but is SO easy to forget to do! Out of sight, out of mind, right? Checking for what you already have can shorten your shopping list and ensure that you are using all your goods before purchasing more (although, I always like to have one back-up on hand of items I use often). PRO-TIP: when making that mind-blowing new recipe you saw on TikTok, see if you can use up your pantry before grocery shopping! I promise the baked feta pasta works great with any size of elbow pasta – I’ve tried them all!
2. Meal plan ahead of time!
Meal planning CHANGED my grocery game. Before your shopping trip, plan out which meals you want to make that week and gather the recipes so you can create a list of ingredients that you need to purchase. Keep in mind quantities as well: in my home, we love to take leftovers for lunch the following day, so I usually plan to make 4-6 servings when I cook. Meal planning also takes all the guesswork out of dinnertime so that you know exactly what you’re making and how long it will take to cook. Especially if you’re working with meats that need to be thawed beforehand, meal planning reminds you to have your ingredients ready to go for that routine Taco Tuesday!
3. Stick to the list!
Once you have a meal planned for the week(s) you’re shopping for, stick to it. It takes some determination to follow your plan, but it is truly worth it. Sure, life happens, and you may not be able to make that exact meal on that exact night, so allow yourself some flexibility if your plans change. There is nothing wrong with grabbing a take-out meal if you had an unexpectedly long day! But, if you can stick to your plan so you use up all the ingredients you bought at the store. Going off-script can quickly lead to throwing away food that has expired before you got around to making the meal.
4. Treat yourself… occasionally!
This might go against everything I’ve said leading up to this point in the blog post, but I am here to let you know that occasionally grabbing your favorite flavor of Oreos is perfectly okay, even if it isn’t on your original shopping list. Notice how I said occasionally, though! I always try to grab something that I know my husband will enjoy, like a box of candy or his favorite granola bars, since he loves receiving food as a gift (…don’t we all?). Following your meal plan and sticking to your grocery list is a great habit to have, but you’ve likely worked hard for the money you’ve earned, so feel free to grab something along the aisles that makes yourself or someone you love smile.
