The weekly grocery shop is not often on the list of favourite things to do each week – supermarkets can be overwhelming and confusing at times, it’s noisy, there can be crowds to battle, and if you have kids it just throws a whole other challenge into the mix!
Your grocery shop needs be done, but it doesn’t have to be such a chore. With a little planning it can become an easy and even enjoyable task.
Here’s my tips to make that happen:
1.Make a rough plan of your meals for the week so you know what you need. This means you only need one grocery shop for the week and don’t have to keep running out to the shops every second day.
2. Make a list – perhaps the most important tip! Use your meal plan and make sure you check what you’ve already got. Add all the ingredients you need as well as your other weekly staples. Organise your list by department e.g. fruit & veg, meat, fridge, etc. making it easy to follow and tick everything off as you go.
3. Leave your shopping bags on the front seat of your car so you won’t forget them. Be sure to put them back as soon as you’ve unpacked your groceries.
4. Once you’re at the supermarket, stick to your list. It’s easy to get distracted and confuse yourself if you start looking at other things, so stick to what you need.
5. Don’t go shopping on an empty stomach – not only can it make you irritable, but it increases the likelihood of adding extra enticing items to your trolley that you don’t need.
6. If you need to bring the kids also make sure they are not hungry (hangry tantrums are the worst!) and involve them so they don’t get bored. Try giving them tasks to find certain items, talk about what you’re buying and ask them to help you choose e.g. Can you pick 6 red apples? If they’re too young for this, bring along something for them to play with while they sit in the trolley to keep them happy.
