Shopping to Save: Time, Money and Calories...that is.

I just started using a weekly guideline to have all the dinner menus made up so when my spouse and I go shopping on Monday night, we'd just shop for meals for the week. We selfishly started to do this to cut down our time in the grocery stores and to help out with eating properly throughout our weeknights. Although it started off as that, I found myself seeing that our grocery shop was between $25-40 less than it had been when we weren't planning.

Like I was saying, I started off doing this to help stem and implement healthier meals for dinners and packed lunches. In fact, I found myself cutting out the junkie snack foods like chips, cookies etc that I would get for our treats. Not only does that curb our junk intake, but it puts money in our pockets.

Here is how my household has discovered "Shopping to Save:...":

• Plan your dinners from Monday to Friday. By knowing what you want to eat for the week, you can shop, prep and cook in less time than if you were trying to figure it out at 5pm when you get home. If you can't plan the exact dish you want for the dinner, try listing the basis of the dinner, for example, Monday- beef, Tuesday-chicken, Wednesday-salmon, etc. etc. etc.  In doing this one simple act, you find yourself cutting out buying unnecessary meat, poultry or that extra 'maybe' veggie you were thinking about cooking up. Keep it simple. 
• Perimeter Shopping. I use the rule of trying to stay in the outside of the grocery stores. All the essential stuff that you need for a meal, not to mention the healthiest foods, are all on the outside of the aisle. Whether it be produce, meats and fish, dairy products etc, they can usually be found on the outskirts of the packaged foods. The less processed the foods when you buy them, the better they tastes and the healthier they are for you.  Now we all know we need to hit the inner aisles for things like tea, coffee and spices, but try to keep it to a minimum and only buy that stuff, like most foods, when you need it. 
• Night Owl Shopping. Depending on your work and lifestyle schedules, I find the best times to hit the supermarkets are between 7:30-9:00. The people already have gone home to cook and digest their meals in those hours so you have more room to maneuver in and around the store, and spend less time in checkout lines. That way you can head home and still enjoy a show or two on the tube or read a book, etc., etc. 

 I've been implementing this plan of attack for about two weeks and it's saved me time, stress about what my family should eat, and of course saved a few dollars along the way.  If I miss an item, I will just step out and get it for the meal but since the meal plan isn't written in stone, you can adjust accordingly. Another example of  simplifying tasks to bring upon more wellness and nutrition.

Justine Galo

(Note: I don't buy meats from the supermarkets and tend to buy from butcher shops that sell non-medicated and preferrably grass fed meats. I do take the time to head to the butcher shop to pick up these items instead of having them hanker space in the freezer if I buy 'bulk'.)