grocery shopping

[mllesays]

Grocery shopping is the worst chore in the world for me.  How do you make yourselves do it?

It's not that I think I'm particularly bad at it — I definitely never buy enough produce, but it's always because I'm scared I won't eat it in time — but rather that I loathe it with a passion and would rather eat all the food in the house before I force myself out to buy new things.

Any tips, tricks, suggestions?

Comments

[cheyinka]

I plan out all the meals I'm going to make for a week and then make a comprehensive list from those ingredients (plus snacks), organized by aisle in the store. For me that makes the task easy enough to complete, and prevents me from going over budget, since I'm not wandering the store aimlessly getting everything I need.

On the other hand, I only mildly dislike going to the grocery store, so that might not ameliorate the awfulness for you.

[lassarina]

I just make it a regular chore with a schedule, exactly like cleaning the litter box or doing laundry. It helps that I take my lunch to work every week as a matter of money-saving, so every week about the same time I need items to make lunch with. So every Saturday morning (I live in a VERY heavily Orthodox Jewish area, though I am not myself Jewish, and on Saturday 90% of the village is at temple and would never THINK of going to the store) I drag myself out of the apartment with my list.

On days when I am particularly "do not WANT" about it, I bribe myself with bagels (there's a Panera less than 2 minutes from my awesome grocery store) or some other kind of treat--but only after the shopping is done!

[miss_s_b]

Eating all the stuff in the house before going shopping is GOOD, isn't it? SAves on waste and stuff.

[sid]

Grocery shopping is actually one of the few kinds of shopping that I actually enjoy, but there are still times when I'd rather eat up whatever's left in the house because I just don't want to go out and make the effort.

I get from the other comments that you don't like planning too far in advance, but maybe have just one recipe, a new one or an old favorite, that you can look forward to buying the ingredients for, and build a list around that.

There's also been times I've gone shopping without any list whatsoever and looked at shelves I don't normally look at, and found items I never knew existed, and taken them home and enjoyed them. That can be kind of fun and give you a new perspective on the same-old store.

Giving yourself a treat for getting it done sounds like a good idea, too. Rent a movie or get new library books or call a friend or whatever turns you on!

[twowrens]

Are you in an area with grocery delivery options? I've used Safeway and Amazon Fresh and been fairly happy with both. The produce through Amazon Fresh, in particular, has been very good.

I just throw something in the online cart whenever I think about something I want, click the order button once a month, and presto--no more wasting precious hours of my time thinking about food. :) You can also create model orders of items you know you're going to need, to save time.

(Since the delivery is coming from the stock at your local grocery store, where you'd be shopping anyway, I don't think the ecological footprint is much worse than shopping in person, if that's something you're into.)

If you're outside everyone's delivery area, I don't have any useful suggestions. :( When I have to go to a physical grocery store, I try to go in around midnight.

[foxfirefey]

This is a little dorky, but I like going grocery shopping with somebody else more than going alone.

[viklikesfic]

Well, since it sounds like planning is your issue, don't plan. Like others have said, have stuff you eat reliably. I don't buy much produce, but I always have some frozen veggies on hand. I tend to keep stuff like pasta, rice, etc. around so I don't need to shop for them specifically. Having staples generally means less grocery shopping, like I always have a few grains, canned beans, spices, eggs, garlic, flour, etc lying around. I also always have one sweet and one savory snack on hand in case a craving hits.

[landshark]

I hate shopping because of the crowds-so I go late in the evening (the place I go is open 24 hours and I have a very flexible schedule). Or if I have to brave the hoards, I bring my iPod with me and listen to some upbeat music (something that makes me want to move fast like you'd work-out to) and I'm usually done before I know it.

Hope this helps :D

[killing_rose]

I love grocery shopping, so I'm probably not the best one for this. However, I'm the only one in the family who does, so these are the tricks we've figured out over the years.

*Break it into manageable chunks. If you need to go to say, Costco, Safeway, and Fred Meyer, do the shopping in parts. Either do it on multiple days, or grab lunch in between stores.
*Set a time limit. You don't want to be there, so make certain you aren't there any longer than you have to be.
*Don't just make a grocery list, make it organized so that you don't have to double back while shopping.
*Give yourself an incentive--buy your favorite soda while you're there, or pick up a chocolate bar. Alternatively, treat yourself to a movie when you get home. (Or something similar. Playing a wii game is the common treat in our family.)


There are probably other tips that we use, but I started writing this three hours ago...

[telesilla]

For me it's all about mood and how much energy I have. Some days I'll happily hit three different stores (my local co-op, Trader Joe's and Safeway) and putter around planning meals as I find stuff that looks interesting or is on sale. Other days, I just want to get in and get out with the things on my list. And still other days, I just can't bring myself to do it.

For me what helps on the days when shopping just isn't going to happen is always having certain things in the freezer and cupboards (my bare minimum is: frozen chicken pieces, frozen veggies, tuna, rice and pasta) and so that I can put together something even if I haven't been shopping in a while.

Also, on days when the cupboard has gotten bare and I know I'm going to have to drag my ass out to the store and I'm all mentally whiny about it, I try to come up with some kind of reward, even if it's something small like getting a mocha or a smoothie somewhere.

[wendynever]

How to make yourself shop? Figure out that one item that you will miss enough to go out for and always buy just enough for the week, even if it's on sale. In my house it is chocolate soy milk- if we are out of that my kids give me grief until I get off my duff and do the shopping.

On the produce issue- the best way to make sure you eat all the fresh veggies/fruits you buy is to do the prep work on them right after you get back from the store- wash and cut it all so that eating or cooking it requires no effort. Then they will be just as easy to eat as prepared foods or snacks.

[redsnake05]

I get enthused about food purchasing by buying from small, locally owned shops. I find it more satisfying, bizarrely, to go to the Asian supermarket for rice noodles and tofu and spring roll wrappers and then go to the greengrocers for my veges and fruit. In the last place I lived, there were three small shopping centres nearby (5 - 15 min by car, or 15 - 45 minutes walk) with many different specialty shops. It took longer, but it was nice, and I got to know the people and what they offered. And then, depending on what I bought, I would go home and think about the next week's dinners and whatever. Ooooh, and Farmer's Markets.

But, if food shopping just doesn't spin your propellor, you may find that this depresses you even more. If so, then my advice is to buy frozen veges. They lose hardly any nutritional value so long as they are snap frozen and don't rot. They're not as tasty as fresh, but they are sooo convenient.

[cita]

It's just been two month or so since I decided to make it a habit to only shop with a grocery list. It's working out well; I spend less money and I'm not throwing away lots of uneaten produce anymore.

Here's what I do
- During the day, if I use something up or notice it is running down, I jot it down on a piece of paper.
- Then, before I go shopping, usually the evening before, I sit down and add anything else I think I need. I then order the list according to store layout. I do this for every store I plan to visit. (It usually fits on the same piece of paper).

This doesn't take me long, since it's just me and the rabbits.

Because I have no car, and have to carry my groceries home, I do go grocery shopping two times a week. This allows me to be somewhat flexible in terms of meal-planning. Especially when it comes to produce. Maybe you could schedule a second, shorter trip to the store during the week? This way, the pressure to make the "right" decisions regarding every meal for a whole week could be lowered.

Once I'm in the store, this is my one basic rule:
- I don't buy anything that isn't on the list except if I clearly remember thinking about putting it on the list but forgot.

As I said, it works for me.

Good luck!

[zing_och]

Most of the stuff I do has already been suggested! This comm is really full of helpful people!

I keep a shopping list pinned to my fridge. When I notice I'm (almost) out of something it gets added. When I actually manage to plan meals (I don't like this either) ingredients go on the list, too. Since I can't get everything at one store, I printed out some lists which are already divided by store.

I have a shopping trip in my schedule for the week (not always the same day), and then I only have to grab the relevant list and my ipod and am done really quickly.

[azurelunatic]

I stock up on staples (there is no need for me to go shopping for rice on a weekly basis) and store them in sturdy, airtight, moisture-proof containers if their original packaging doesn't suit.

Then I also go shopping regularly, just a 10-minute stop to get perishable stuff that I don't pick up on a run that's for staples or at the farmers' market. It is perfectly OK to drop in at the grocery store on the way home from somewhere else and pick up two apples, a head of lettuce, and a loaf of bread.

I also suffer from not knowing what I am going to want to eat, and/or just plain not wanting to eat even when I am hungry. I have a small box of fairly bland but unobjectionable meal bars (I went with Luna bars) and a container of protein powder that I can eat completely without enthusiasm if I need to get something into me but nothing sounds good. I try to avoid resorting to those, but they are there if I have to have them.

[kyrielle]

I actually like shopping, so I don't know that my response will be as helpful - but I love to freeze things. (I bought a chest freezer when we moved here so I'd have more freezer space.) Keeping enough veggies around is easier when a lot of them are frozen (I usually get those pre-frozen), but you can also make ahead entrees and freeze those. Pop them out, bake them, eat - so you can go with the craving of the moment but not have to get ingredients together and do all the prep work right then.

Of course, I say that on a day when my husband and I tried a couple tastes of an experimental veggie bake and dumped it in the trash. *shudders* The tried and true recipes have been pretty decent, though. It's when I experiment beyond my cooking skills that life gets interesting.

[kathmandu]

Are there fruits and veggies that you're happy to eat in preserved form? I fill in the gap between when the fresh stuff is gone and when it's convenient to go shopping by keeping supplies of

* canned mandarin oranges, in pear juice; one can contains a half to two-thirds of the recommended daily vitamin C

* frozen spinach; I cream it or eat it raw with lemon and feta

* frozen cooked, pureed squash

* frozen mixed berries.