Planning a grocery list

I am finishing up my grocery list for the week. I have tried many different ways of planning and shopping over the years everything from discount retailers, mega-grocery stores with one-stop shopping to home delivery and use of small local specialty shops. I don’t think there is one right way of doing things. Last trip I shopped at a large regional grocery store (Meijer), where I could get everything in one trip. The trade off was the physical and mental exhaustion of long aisles and endless choices. This week, because of my sore back, I plan to split my shopping between 2 different stores. More about that later.

To get started, I pull my magnetic list off of the fridge. I add to this as things are used up and as I think of ingredients I want for a new recipe to try. I also have a meal planning notebook with a running list of meals I want to make in the next couple of weeks. This varies from season to season and from one life event to another. In my earlier post https://abitofaplan.com/plans-always-change/, my goal was to add as many fruits and vegetables as possible to our diet and avoid using the oven. I went a little bit crazy in the produce department last time but we did manage to eat through it all, which was an accomplishment. I will try and continue this theme moving forward, however, because I am going to be off work for at least another 1-2 weeks, I am adding in some more budget meals as well. I want to try and stock up on extra protein for the freezer for the unknown near future.

Meal Planning Tip 1: Keep a running list of items you are out of or running low to avoid extra trips to the store.

I have also checked my calendar and I know that we are meeting family for dinner this Friday (No meal plan needed) but we are hosting a group at our house on Sunday that I need to account for. My husband also needs to bring a dish to a potluck at work and I have volunteered to bring a dish to church breakfast next Sunday. My husband also has tickets to a soccer match one night, so I don’t need to plan a dinner for that night either.

Meal Planning Tip 2: Check your calendar for any special meals or events before going to the store.

This week’s grocery shopping strategy involves going to 2 stores. The first is a higher end grocery store called Fresh Thyme. Their regular prices are higher than the large chains but they run great sales and carry many organic and specialty items not available other places. I am starting with their weekly ad to plan my list. I am adding berries, peaches and bagged salad to my produce list. They also have a great sale on frozen shrimp as well as bacon, whole chickens and sirloin steaks. My second stop will be Aldi. They are only a mile apart. Aldi does not typically run sales but their prices are competitive on many items. For example, if no local store is running a sale on boneless skinless chicken breast, I know Aldi has a good price and will buy enough for my next menu plan until I run into another great sale. They have some high quality staple items I always purchase from them including coconut oil, natural peanut butter and organic pasta sauce. They do not carry tamari sauce, coconut milk or bulk popcorn, so those will be purchased at Fresh Thyme unless I feel like adding a trip to the local Asian market to my day for a better price on the tamari and coconut milk. I am taking into account time and energy costs as well as actual dollars with this choice.

Meal Planning Tip 3: Make sure to account for the physical and mental energy required to complete your shopping.

I chose these two stores because they both have a relatively small footprint and they are both less than 5 miles from my house. I can easily come home and rest in between if that is what my body is telling me I need to do. I may wait to do my second trip after my husband comes home so that he can help with the carrying if needed. Do you have any tips for shopping when you have pain or low energy? Feel free to share your strategies!