If you read this blog, take a sec to answer this/these questions...
How often do you grocery shop?
And how is your grocery shopping done?
by this I mean...do you go 1 big shop to the next big shop? do you do 1 big shop with a few small shops in between? etc.
When we lived in Vancouver we did all our main grocery shopping at the beloved Real Canadian Superstore (aka Stupidstore). We would shop once a month at Stupidstore and then go weekly to the Dunbar Produce store to get our produce for the week. And occasionally some stops into Stongs to get milk, eggs, etc. But for the most part we would go each month and stock up! We found it was betetr on the budget to do it this way as well.
When we moved here to Edinburgh we assumed we would do something similar but had a couple problems with that. 1)the fridges are smaller here and 2)the freshness doesn't last as long on food here. So we have been doing our big shop (actually we have our groceries delivered) twice a month. Even still we are havung trouble with the freshness on things lasting 2 weeks. Which means more quick stops in at the small grocery store. I mentioned to Derek yesterday about the possibility of getting groceries delivered once a week and while it would be really nice to do this it would also be a hassle, not to mention then having to pay 4 delivery fees each month.
Anyway, there is lots to think about but in the meantime I thought I would ask you, just out of curiosity, what your grocery routine is?
After typing 'grocery' so many times I realize what a strange word it is....
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7 comments:
Katie-
This is a good question. I checked your blog again today to see what responses people have given, and NONE! So sad! I hope you get some good feedback.
As for us, I've always been terrible at keeping a regular grocery-shopping schedule. We basically stock up, make an occasional trip to the store for little things, and stock up again once our fridge and cupboards are totally, depressingly bare. Not the best approach, so I can't help you out much! I'm looking forward to hearing about the routine you decide on.
Well - you know my feelings of pure hatrid towards Stupidstore - so I won't dive into that right now. Because of said feelings, we've gotten back onto a routine of shopping once a week for just those items I'll be needing for the next 5-7 days.
I find that I'm actually doing okay still with the grocery budget this way - shopping once a week vs. doing a big haul. I still wait and buy things like toilet paper, shampoo, household basics, at Stupid because it makes a difference for those things - but everything else I buy at IGA.
I've also fallen out of the habit of meal planning (which was a lifesaver for a while there) and have been sticking with a handful of regular meals (which makes grocery shopping mucho easy).
That's my two cents!
ah, the beloved grocery shopping issue.... I feel like our system is a little complicated, but seems to work. We usually do a big trip about 2 times a month. I start by making a list of possible dinners to have, some fun ones and some easy basics- like pasta and breakfast. i try to get about 7-10 meals down. then i make a list of everything we need. Then, I separate the list into 3 columns: Stupid Store, Safeway, and Dunbar Produce. Stupid Store doesn't always make it on the list, it just depends on what we need and if it's worth the trip out there. We usually stock up on meat at Stupid Store so if we don't need meat, we often don't go. We end up at Safeway regardless to buy yogurt, cheese and bread (and whatever S.S. was out of), because i don't like their selection of those items. THEN, we go to Dunbar Produce to get what we need there. Actually, we often do produce first or second and then Safeway last to get what the produce store didn't have. I found Stupid Store didn't frustrate me as much when i just planned on going to Safeway afterwards anyway since Stupid is ALWAYS out of something i need.
Finally, we arrive home. I'll say that lately, this kind of shopping often gets spread out over 1-3 days. Then for the next couple weeks i refer to my meal ideas list on the fridge and decide what to have. And of course there are always leftover nights and the occasional night out. I try to have a few meals that don't rely on super fresh ingredients to have at the end- like things made with several canned or frozen ingredients. Of course, there are the little trips that come up for get togethers with friends, or random missing ingredients, or a need for coffee beans or milk or a good loaf of bread for a planned meal. These items are usually purchased at Stong's on a walk with Naomi.
That was a very long answer. Basically, we big shop about twice a month and little shop in between if necessary. I have found it extremely helpful to keep a list of dinner and lunch ideas to remind me of what we can make and have ingredients for.
Oh, the days of The REAL Canadian Superstore! In our present situation, when it comes to the bulk shopping trips it's a matter of enjoying the pleasures of Target shopping while ignoring the fact that it *might be* more expensive than Wal-Mart, or braving said real American Stupidstore to "save" on Great Value brand items, then standing in line and cursing my decision to choose Wal-Mart this time around!
That said, I typically do a big shop at the beginning of every month. The cupboards, as at the Reimers', get quite bare by the end...especially months like January with 5 weeks! Like Grace, I will make a comprehensive list of meal ideas, often choosing a Cooking Light mag to draw several new recipes from, deciding how many nights each meal will feed us, what we'll have when according to the freshness of ingredients. Also factored in is which meals share ingredients. (This list is exhaustingly complicated and it takes me a couple of days to pull it together. BUT, throughout the rest of the month I'm glad I did it.) I will also plan occasional extras like muffins, hummus, etc., for "spontaneous" times.
I get meat and bread to freeze. Enough dairy to get us through a couple of weeks. I supplement at Publix maybe weekly if necessary (another pleasurable more expensive choice). We are sooo far from civilization it feels, that we don't go into town, ie. near a grocery store, any more often than once a week.
Excitingly, as of last weekend, I will be doing all of my produce shopping at a local (5 miles away) farmer's market with amazing stuff. Imagine, a HUGE box of grapefruits or oranges for $5!
This month I am going to try Costco with a friend to see if it's cheaper and/or better.
Thank goodness it's almost Friday (the 1st of the month)! I'm running out of provisions!
We pretty much do what you guys used to do here in Vancouver...we do a once a month run to the Superstore (thanks to the Edsalls who let us borrow their car) and then we go to the local grocery store 2-3 times a month for bread, fresh food & milk. Lucas normally prepares menus for the entire month so we know exactly what to get at the Superstore. Also I've become much better at not picking up anything that isn't on my list. If I didn't think of it at home then it must not have been that important. :) These two things (preparing ahead of time & not picking up extra things) have cut our grocery bill by a lot. Even with Vancouver prices we end up walking away from the Superstore with a months worth of groceries for around $175. Granted we don't make too many gourmet meals but we don't starve either.
One other thing we do is when we do go to the States (and we can bring back tons of stuff) we do!!! When we came home from Christmas we bought 20lbs of ground beef, 20 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken, cases of beer, and tons of cheese. Lucas then packages the meats into 1lb bags and we freeze it. The cheese we cut up into smaller amounts and we only use one section/month (that way we don't run out of anything too soon. This helps a lot and might be useful for any Costco shoppers in the States.
Whew...that's a lot of grocery talk...hope it helps!
All I know is I'd give anything to be back at Tesco or Sainsbury's - anything. Oh the good old Tesco own brand and Sainsbury taste the difference. Walkers sensations (chilli, or roast lamb). I have to stop I'm tearing up!
What a very complex, yet simple question. We tend to go to the store once a week, on my day off of work. I gather the supplies needed for several recipes (4 or 5) and use those supplies throughout the week to make those recipes and eat the leftovers as necessary. Every once in a while Mike will make another short jaunt if perhaps we've forgotten something that should have been on the list...or if he has a hankerin' for icecream. This is the method to our shopping madness.
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