It's time to talk about grocery shopping. Let me just add that like packing, which is over now and we are in the unpacking stage... not as bad, I need a shopping buddy. Am I just prone to loneliness? I think it's that I get bored easily and I love talking to people when I buy things... not strangers in the store, I'm not that crazy. But, I like picking something up and being like, "Oh, I didn't know they sold this! I could use this in a recipe. It would be good with this. This looks yummy, should I try it?" Blah-di-blah-blah I'm sure is echoing through my buddy's head. It's better that I talk to someone and not to myself though...
Anyway, I thought I would indulge you in my grocery shopping experience since I like talking about food so much. It starts before the store though. I've recently been planning our meals for a 2 week period, that's how often I shop. And because I'm a super organized person I needed a system. So I started one and am giving it a whirl. If anyone else has a simpler method than mine I'm all ears. But, for now this works for me.
I start by getting out all my cookbooks, magazines and my recipe box and scour through them. I look on the internet too. Usually on Allrecipes.com and Rachael Ray. I've had the best experiences with those 2 sites.
Then, when I choose about 8 recipes, I write them down on a piece of paper.
I try not to find 10 recipes to fill the 10 days of the 2 weeks... I know there are 14 days in 2 weeks I just don't like planning on the weekend because anything can come up, date night, family's house for dinner, leftovers, you name it. Same goes for the week days. I like to leave 1 or 2 days for a frozen meal or leftovers. That way I didn't plan on making a dinner that called for a bunch of fresh food and then something comes up and it would be a huge waste. I'm trying to avoid that, which is why I started planning.
So... after I find the recipes and write them down, as seen above, I list all the recipes and the ingredients I need on more paper.
Then... it keeps going! I transfer this list onto the final list where I write other things I need not related to recipes... all on another piece of paper. It sounds kind of silly, but I like the organization of it. I could probably use this list, above, and add to it but it looks crazy to me.
And then... it never ends, it's an ongoing, paper-wasting , food-writing system... I write the meals on a weekly calendar that stays on my fridge.
So, with my list and shopping buddy in tow, I head off... to...that's right you guessed it... TRADER JOES! I do the majority of my shopping there because I know there are no hidden preservatives or nasty-nesses... yes, it's a word, in my food dictionary. I also like their food options. Almost everything I have tried from there has been really good! Even if I didn't like much there I would still go to fulfill my deep love for their ice cream.
Finally, to end my shopping journey, my fridge is now full of food for the next 2 weeks and it thanks me for making it look so good.
Oh, and there's a bonus to shopping with a buddy who happens to be my husband...
Fresh flowers to go along with all the yummy fresh food!
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