We owe you an apology…we left you hanging last week and did not give you our usual Thursday post. But then again, you are probably all just finishing up those lasagna rolls so maybe the timing is just right! Forgive us? Good!
Do you want to know what I did on the weekend?
Each and every weekend, generally on Sunday, I sit down and get myself ready to head to the grocery store. Now, I know it may seem silly…why do I need to “get ready” to go to the grocery store? But the time you take to plan and organize your list will save you the hassle of spending 3 hours wandering around the aisles and coming home with absolutely NOTHING to help you cook for the week ahead. And it will also save you from running back to the store at least 3-4 times, sometimes mid stirring, for that one onion or extra cup of flour you forgot. (it’s happened to the best of us!)
The first thing I do is sit down, get out my computer to see what I’ve bookmarked this week, open my latest favourite cookbook (Smitten Kitchen is at the top of my list), and take out any recipes I may have pulled from magazines. I pick out what I want to make for the week and write it down. It’s not always a new recipe, sometimes a household favourite will make many weekly repeats. You don’t need any fancy spread sheets or laminated pages, a simple blank piece of paper and blue pen is just fine.
I also generally leave 1-2 days up in the air…for going out, ordering in, or whatever fun eating adventure comes up! Then I write out my grocery list. But not just a list…a categorized organized list that I swear, will change the way you shop!
I divide up the list into groups: Dairy, meat/fish, canned/shelf stable items, fruits/veggies, misc. It makes navigating the store that much easier.
Then I will take stock of what I have at home…check out the fridge, pantry, freezer, spice cabinet and make sure I don’t double buy any items. This also helps me see if I can make a meal out of anything I already have on hand. I also make sure to jot down any staples I need to re-stock on…things like yogurt, bananas, olive oil, apples, and milk, etc. are items I always like to have on hand and use daily.
Then it’s off to the store! Pen in hand! That way you can cross off what you buy and circle what you can’t find to make sure you don’t miss anything. Those darn corn tortillas sure are a tricky item to find!
With this new method of shopping you will surely shave at least 20 minutes off your regular trip…you could probably even win Supermarket Sweep! And there will be no more running out for that darn onion or can of tomatoes you forgot mid stirring of your homemade tomato sauce.
These fun and helpful “kitchen tips and tricks” posts are a new and different kind of post for us. Let us know what you think! Any cooking/meal planning/grocery shopping questions you have, send ’em are way! We’d love to hear from you!
Dara
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How To: Organize Your Grocery Shopping List and Trip – How to Eat