Frugal and Healthy Grocery Shopping
Posted by Burnette | Filed under Uncategorized, food / dining, health / self-improvement, household, personal finance / money management
Since Heath and I have been on our new wellness journey, I find that we are actually spending less money on our grocery trips. Most likely because we’re focused on buying foods that are going to nourish us versus automatically being tempted by toxic junk. Also, we buy more raw ingredients so that we can make multiple healthy meals within 1-2 weeks.
I do NOT use coupons
Now, first of all, this post is not on couponing. I really suck at keeping track of paper coupons. Plus, I’m just super lazy to try to go online and search for coupons for the exact things I need at the moment. There are people out there who love the thrill of the chase, but I’m not one of those people so I’m not going to fake it. If you are the extreme master/mistress of couponing then congratulations. I wish I had that super talent and motivation.
Make a list
However, one thing I do have time for is checking out grocery ads for the markets that I shop: Safeway/Lucky, Sprouts / Trader Joe’s, and Target. I will spread out the ads in front of me, or go online and open different tabs for different ads.
Produce
I will normally check the produce first. I find that you save a lot on grocery bills when 50% of what you buy is produce, especially with those that are in season. Even with the high cost of living in the Bay Area, the in-season produce costs under a dollar per lb or bundle. I usually stray away from produce costing more than that, unless it’s a staple in the kitchen.
Pick fruits and veggies that you know you really are going to eat. For example, I usually go for things like kale, carrots, celery, zuchini, and things of those sort because they are versatile to prepare and can make a variety of meals. Write your produce staples down on a list with the name of the grocery store next to it.
Of course, I love trying out new foods too, so I’ll usually pick one item that’s outside of the usual group of produce, like sweet potato. It’s like your “star ingredient” of the week. Of course, make sure that it’s in-season or on sale. Write that down.
Pantry Staples
Next are the staples – the things that are daily must-haves in your kitchen: milk (almond milk in our case), eggs, minced garlic, minced ginger, juice, vegetable broth, honey, olive oil, honey, frozen fish fillets, mixed spring greens, spices, whole wheat tortilla wraps, etc. This is personalized to your daily cooking needs. Everyone’s pantry items are going to be a little different. I write down on our shopping list the pantry staples that need to be replenished for that week.
If you really don’t have pantry staples because you’re just learning to cook, here is a comprehensive link to pantry items to get an idea. Remember, you DON’T need all those items. Just get items you will need everyday for the week.
Toiletries
Next, add your daily toiletries. Check the ads to see if your toiletries are on sale and, if possible, only buy it then. Don’t overdo it on toiletries because it’s about simplifying your life. You don’t want to waste your money on excess waste.
Modifying your list
Start thinking about recipes or figuring out how you are going to use the things on your shopping list. That way, you can add other ingredients you may need onto your list, or you can subtract some items if you won’t use it that much for the week.
Also, start checking the location of most of the items on your list. Is there one store that is dominating your list? Keep that in mind when you map your course later.
Make sure it fits in your reuseable bags
Heath and I also bring 4 reuseable bags (2 bags/person) with us grocery shopping. To not get carried away with our shopping list, we have to make sure most of the items fit in our reuseable bags. Since we also live on the third floor of our apartment complex, we try not to buy too many items so that it’s not a pain in the ass to lug it up 3 flights of stairs.
Map your course
Check your list and start figuring out where you’re going to go. Heath and I will usually hit 3 stores MAX during our weekly grocery runs, and the stores are within a 5-mile radius from our home. Our route usually consists of the asian supermarket, Costco, and big-chain grocery store that’s dominant on your list, which is all enroute of one another. You don’t want to be driving all over town and wasting gas. You can customize your route accordingly to your list.
Asian supermarket
Luckily, Heath and I live within 2 miles of an asian grocery store, where items are normally less expensive than the big-chain grocery stores. I will usually go there first and buy the majority of my produce on my list. Then I try to look for staple items, like spices or seasonings, but making sure that I’m not compensating quality / freshness for cheapness.
Costco
Next, we head to Costco. Costco can be lethal because of the temptations and everything is in bulk, so it can get costly if you’re not careful. Stick to your guns and try not to stray away from your shopping list. We normally get our staples of frozen fish fillets, juice (2 – 96oz pack for $6-7), mixed spring greens, bag of quinoa, toilet paper, frozen vegetables, etc. Buying in bulk is only effective if you actually consume those items on a regular basis. Make sure you have space to store your bulk items. It’s pointless buying the items if you have no place for it. Beware: calculate the price/unit – not all bulk items per unit is less expensive than its individual-sized counterparts.
Finishing it up
Lastly, we head to our big-chain grocery store, where we get the remaining items on our shopping list.
Say NO to junk
We try not to put any junk food in our basket because that just leads to temptations at home and it’s a waste of money for us when it’s not nourishing our bodies. Of course, we have the occasional indulgences but we choose a healthy option, such as rice or flaxseed chips, dark chocolate, raw nuts, or small pint of ice cream.
Key things to note:
- Check the local ads and make a list of in-season produce that are on sale. Aim for 50% of your groceries to be produce.
- Include in your shopping list pantry staples and toiletries that are on sale.
- Focus on shopping for only a week’s worth of food.
- Make sure items will fit in your reuseable grocery bags and / or you only need to make one trip from your car to home.
- Map your course so that you can limit your mileage and not waste gas, time, and energy.
- Go to an ethnic supermarket where items are cheaper.
- Buy staples in bulk only if they are truly cheaper per unit and if you have a need and space for them.
- Don’t buy unhealthy, overprocessed, junk food. Waste of health and money.
Extra Frugal Bonus Round:
If you really want to make it extreme, you can take it up a notch by just carrying enough cash for what you need. If you only have $50 to spend, then you won’t be tempted to buy unnecessary items.
Hope this helps a lot of people out there. Happy healthy shopping!