Why do you eat the foods you do? Is it for health? Time? Money? I read some report last week from the UK stating how trends are turning towards money and time as the leading factors of how people choose food. The younger the age group, the more this is true. So understandably, the younger generations were eating more junk food. (I am trying to find the article again stay tuned for that link)
Trust me, I get it. Baker Man and I both work. And we have a lot going on outside of work. If I didn’t enjoy cooking so much and have this blog, I would be much less likely to cook as often as I do. And even though I love it, it can still be a struggle.
But eating healthy and cooking can be done on a budget and can fit into your schedule. It just takes a little planning. So, I thought I would write some posts on how I do my planning and shopping so that we don’t have to compromise our health or our budget and time.
Shopping:
I try to do all of my grocery shopping for the week on one day. That means I need to plan ahead for a week. I’ll talk more about the planning later.
Shopping on one day does not mean I only go to one store. Generally, I go to three different stores. I have a local store that I go to for meat and veggies. The quality of the meat and veggies are amazing and the prices are equally good.
The second store I go to is a chain grocery store. Generally their items are pricier but I have found that they have great BOGO sales each week and their fruit is cheaper than my first store.
The final store is major chain that is known for its low prices. I’m sure you have one close by – it sells just about everything. I go here for basically everything that I didn’t get at the other stores.
Why three stores? The money of course! I plan my shopping so that I can get the best deals from all of those stores. I generally hit all three in one trip so even though it does take a little more time than shopping at just one store, it really isn’t too bad. And since I do my shopping all at once, it is still better than going to a store everyday trying to figure out what is for dinner that night.
I have also found that I can track and control my food budget much easier by putting it all into one day. The more times I go to the store during the week, the more I find my budget creeping up.
I have some more topics in this area, like finding deals and how to save time in the kitchen, so keep an eye out. What is most important for you in picking foods?
A Recipe For Living 
I see you learned something from me about planning a menu and shopping only once a week.
It’s all about you huh:)
The most important thing for me is which beer I select, and when it comes to quality beer, cost cannot be a factor unfortunately. Mmmmmm……
Ha – Yes David, I agree. Quality plays into this too. I planned to touch on that at some point, though not necessarily related to beer. I’ll leave the beer to you.
Why thank you! In fact, anyone else who would like to leave their beer to me, you can contact me directly via email through my profile. =D
This is a very good blog.
You can always make food cheaper and healthier yourself and it doesn’t have to take long.
Parents should make sure to involve their kids in the shopping and cooking.
Completely agree with involving children. There is a huge benefit from involving kids in the kitchen. From encouraging them to make smart decisions and be self-sufficient, building self esteem, and then the idea of a family spending time together.
I shop at several different stores too. Health and sustainable foods are my main motivators for what I buy. Although organic produce can be pricier, I have found that my family eats it more readily and less goes to waste compared to buying produce grown under conventional means.
Good topic and I agree, planning ahead and devoting one day to shopping are a good ways to save time and money. I know the more I go to stores throughout the week the more money I spend because I end up seeing items that I don’t really need but decide to buy anyway.