Smart Shopping can be an automatic event, and in fact you are probably already doing most of these suggestions. It all starts at home, then making and sticking to a list, and figuring out what to buy and what to avoid. I hope these suggestions on Smart Shopping are helpful.
Smart Shopping Starts at Home
Organize Fridge and Pantry:
Smart Shopping starts in your own kitchen by storing food in a way that keeps them visible. I do not need them perfectly arranged and labeled. My goal is to know where the leftovers are, with oldest in front. I want to know what ingredients I have that have not been cooked yet. I use clear glass containers for storage in the fridge and pantry.
Review your Fridge and Pantry:
Know what you have already before you go out to buy. Update your shopping list with pantry replacements and keep to that list. Usually I have an ongoing list and as I run out of a staple I add it to the list so I do not forget to pick more up.
Kitchen “dump” Recipes:
Once a week I take out all the produce in my fridge (usually Saturday) and make a dish or two from all the veggies or fruit that have been sitting in there. The idea is to use up all the food that may be starting to go bad and need to be used now. These types of dishes include soups or stews, egg casseroles, veggie lasagna, salads, or shakes.
Stock Storage:
All food about to turn, but still edible I put in a stock bag and keep in the freezer so I can pull it out and use the next time I am making a soup or stew.
Dry Storage:
Mushrooms, for instance, go bad quickly so if I cannot get to them or do not use them all I slice and dry them on the counter top in the sun. Then keep it in the pantry for use later.
Fully use produce:
Plan to make meals that use similar ingredients so you can be sure to use up everything. If I buy parsley for a recipe that calls for 1T chopped, what else can I cook this week that uses the rest of the parsley? Or if I make the Rainbow Cole Slaw but we cannot eat it all, can I make a Vietnamese banh mi sandwich the next day using the slaw?
Where to Shop Smartly
Plan my recipes for the week.
Smart Shopping relies on making a list of items to buy after reviewing the recipes for the week and what is in the fridge and pantry. I make sure to eat or snack on something so I am not hungry, and only then do I start the “hunting and gathering.” I try to buy only what I plan to cook, unless a particular veggie or fruit is looking amazing and is just too perfect to pass up.
Shop organic or local:
The goal is to shop for quality food that has been handled minimally, was grown locally, and where the farmers care. I want food without pesticides, and I want to know who grew the food I am eating and serving to my loved ones. For example, I love Frog Hallow farms, their food, and people.
Shop at your local farmers market:
These days there are farmer markets everywhere (nearly) and you can buy directly from the farmer (or their kids). In Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world this is not uncommon, but for the USA it is a relatively new outcome that continues to grow.
Grocery Stores carry organic too:
Many of the organic food and brands I buy are also now available in regional and national food stores. There is no need to always default to the more expensive alternative stores. Take advantage of savings (and the honored coupons) when you can. The same hot sauce costs me $1.75 more in the local natural food store than in a regional grocery chain. Where I live I shop at four stores: 1) Monterrey Market, 2) El Cerrito Natural Grocery Store, 3) Trader Joes, and occasionally 4) Lucky or Costco.
How to Shop Smartly
Buy for this week:
Smart Shopping means knowing that while the turnips look great, the weekly plan does not include turnips; so do not to buy them. Reality is I will not get to them in time and they will go bad before I have a chance to cook them. Good deals are not a reason to buy something I cannot find time to cook.
Consider Store brands:
Trader Joe, Costco, and many other stores carry good quality food under their own brand names. These items are generally less expensive and yet still very good.
Use coupons for staples:
Why not? For decades your parents and grandparents used coupons for shopping because it provided savings. The key is to buy what you normally would and get the savings, NOT buy something just because you have a coupon.
Loyalty Programs:
Rob also reports that if you sign up at certain stores’ websites, they will often send you additional coupons beyond those in the newspaper or junk mail deliveries. Raley’s, in particular, will send you coupons for the things that you have actually bought in the past, which they know from their loyalty program that tracks your purchases.
Shop at the top and bottom:
Stores tend to put the more expensive items at eye level. So check out the top and bottom shelves.
Check the freezer section:
It is possible to get organic veggies and fruit cheaper when frozen. What I buy from the freezer section to help with quick meals includes: peas, spinach, riced cauliflower, corn, blueberries, srawberries and peaches.
Cost per unit:
Often something appear cheaper but when you look the size has been reduced so it is not cheaper. Once way to compare food is to pay attention to the small print on the store price label as they often say ” $0.32 per oz” which is the best way to compare prices between items. Often what appears cheaper has a higher unit cost and is expensive.
Get in and out:
Do not linger in stores or just wander up and down the aisles, as that is a way to add unnecessary foods to your basket. The more you smell, see, taste, the more you will give in to “want” and not “need.”
Skip free samples:
As I walk through Costco for staples I get there (butter, daily use olive oil, organic meats, etc.) I avoid the freebies. I know that once my taste buds are activated I am more likely to buy things that I consider tasty rather than what is on my list.
Nothing is free:
Pay $5 for two packages where they normally cost $2.50 each; there is no savings.
Shop for Meat, Eggs + Dairy
A friend who cooks well, Rob, mentioned a local farm where he buys eggs. That got me to thinking about the meat, eggs, and dairy products I had not mentioned in this article originally. Here are two of our go-to farms and their products. Keep in mind these are working farms so check out their website to figure out how to arrange a visit — do not just drop in!
Johnson Farms: Their chickens have free range in 7 acres of pastured land. The farm sell their eggs and occasionally chickens.
Straus Family Farms milk products: Their organic milk products come in glass containers and are full of rich, natural food. Their milk products (milk, cream, yogurt, butter, etc.) are minimally processed and given by pastured cows with no-hormones, antibiotic, or GMA feed.
Staus Family Farms meat products: Straus sell beef, lamb, and veal products. What I look for is cattle that are raised humanely and in a sustainable way, that are 100% grass-fed and grass-finished. The farmer should not be feeding cattle any antibiotics, hormones, or GMO feed.
What to Avoid or Limit
Smart Shopping is also all about knowing what to buy and what to avoid buying.
Limit processed food:
In general, processed foods contain hidden sugars, chemicals, high calories, and a multiple of things I cannot pronounce. They have added flavors, like lemon flavor, but not lemons. They are enhanced with nutrients, but often this is just putting back what they processed out in the first place.
Avoid highly refined food:
Foods with 0 fiber (grits, cream or rice or wheat). Instant foods (instant oatmeal, rice, soups).
Limit canned food:
Part of this is related to BPA safety, so while you can find “BPA free” cans, I am not confident they actually are totally free of unwanted chemicals. Acidic foods in cans are especially of concern, so I avoid tomatoes in cans and use products that come in glass containers when I can. As always, fresh fruit tastes better to me than canned fruit (Weight Watchers: heating fruit for canning reduces vit C, and many canned fruit have added sugar), frozen veggies are better than canned veggies (Healthline.com: canning process can destroy some nutrients or contain high salt levels), and fresh always tastes better to me. At the same time, eating canned veggies and fruit can be cheaper, just be careful and read the labels.
Avoid pre-cut veggies and fruit:
These packages may help save time, but it is more expensive than the actual whole food. It may also effect the nutrition of the food since it is exposed to light and air longer. By having others prep the food you eat, you are introducing potential contamination because you do not know their cleanliness standards. Thus, we have had lettuce and salad contamination.
Avoid veggies and fruit in unnecessary packaging:
Packing groups of bell peppers or pears may look pretty, but it just adds to the waste stream and often costs more. There are exceptions, primarily for easy-to-bruise items such as English cuckes, but generally I do not need my broccoli packaged in Styrofoam and plastic.
Avoid store salads:
This is just plain expensive, and it has been sitting out with everyone hovering above it checking out the goods. Cheaper and probably safer, not to mention better, is just to make your own.
Make Your Own
Smart Shopping is also about knowing your own skills and what you can make on your own, versus spending money buying premade products.
Make your own: Here are the items that I believe are better and cheaper if you make your own: quick breads, chips, flavored salts or pepper or sugars, rubs, pickled veggies or relish, condiments, bread crumbs, crackers, croutons, salsa, and spice mixes, etc.