Last time I emphasized the importance of planning. Today’s post is about implementing your meal plan at the grocery store. For the best use of your time, it’s best to plan out your meals and THEN make the grocery list.
I’ll confess though. Sometimes I just go to the grocery store, buy some things on sale and then plan my meals after I get home. That often requires an extra trip to the grocery store on my way home from work another evening to get the extra things I need for my menu. However, when I’m not in the mood to plan, and I just want to buy some groceries, it works.
Here is a tool for planning your grocery trip. It’s called The Grocery List (No, I’m not trying to be sarcastic!! Ok… maybe just a little. 🙂 ). Once you’ve picked your meals to cook for the week, write down everything you need to get at the grocery store. The handy thing about this list is that it breaks the food up into the areas of the grocery store, so you’re less likely to forget something. That makes the trip go faster too! I found it very handy last time I went grocery shopping.
My only problem is that the Fruits and Vegetable part wasn’t long enough! So I just let them run over into the next section. How many dairy foods are there anyway? Milk, cheese, yogurt… I’m not sure why you need so many space for that section!
Here are 5 grocery store tips for your next trip:
- 90% of the products in the grocery store are NOT healthy. OK, maybe just 85%. When you pick up a product to buy, you are best to assume it’s not healthy until proven otherwise. Don’t be deceived by the claims on the box, those are just to get your money!
- Mainly shop on the exterior of the grocery store, where all the “real foods” are kept. (Except for the pre-made cookie dough that for some reason sits near the eggs. What the heck are they doing there??).
- Of course, don’t shop hungry.
- Don’t buy too much. I made this mistake last week. Now I have some foods already going bad. I’d rather make an extra trip than have food go bad. To avoid this scenario… always make your plan!
- Smile and thank the grocery check-out person!
That’s all for today. Remember that on your grocery list, you should have mostly protectors and not many promoters. Looking at people’s grocery carts can give you a good indicator of their health status! Start working on what meals you’re going to make next week and try out the shopping planner for your grocery store trip.
Happy Shopping!
-Julie
