Smart Shopping Ideas

This is a post on how to shop smartly. 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.

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Smart Shopping Starts at Home

Organize Fridge and Pantry

Smart Shopping starts in our own kitchens by storing food in a way that keeps them visible. I do not need them perfectly arranged and properly labeled (although that would be great). 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 tend to use clear glass containers for storage in the fridge and glass or silicon containers in my pantry.

I explored my idea of pantries (Pantries Are Necessary) in another post and make the argument we need about three types (a kitchen, bathroom, and medical pantry) in addition to our kitchen cabinets. So let’s now turn to how to shop smartly.

Review What We Have

Know what you have already before you go out to buy. Update your shopping list with fridge and pantry replacements and keep to that list.

Usually I have an ongoing list on a notepad in my kitchen, and as I run out of a staple I add it to the list so I do not forget to pick more up. This way I remember a spice I ran out of, of something I thought of while making dinner. This is a simple and good way to prep for shopping.

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, called “dump” dishes, include soups or stews, egg casseroles, veggie lasagna, salads, rice bowl, or shakes.

I address how one makes up a dump dish with a post done earlier last year (Gabby’s Mac-n-Cheese).

Broth (Stock) Storage

I place meat bones (chicken, turkey, pork, beef) in freezer bags for cooking stock once the bag is full. Then once the bag is full I make a bone stock out of the leftovers. Cooking chicken and turkey about 24 hours, and up to 36 hours for pork and beef. The stock is then put into the freezer for use when I need them for soup or stews.

Another stock, Dashi, I make when needed from dried foods I have in my pantry (bonito and kombu).

In all cases I label the containers with what it is and the date I put it in the freezer.

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.

I do this for herbs as well, as I document in soft herbs and woody herbs posts. What I dehydrate and store are: oregano, sage, thyme, verbena, parsley, basil, and mint.

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?

I use the veggie tops where appropriate so nothing of the food goes to waste. Examples are carrot greens, fennel fronds, beet tops, etc. I use all of leeks, white and dark green parts), and will use soft herbs stalks for garni.

I also use all parts of fruits, including the skins, as documented in a post last year: Using Peels + Rinds.

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 Pesticide Free

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. Another example is I buy animal milk and milk products from Strauss Farms.

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, having been done for thousands of years.

This is important these days for it allows farmers to get direct retail sales which should help them survive these hard times.

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.

But since turnips will last longer than tomatoes, perhaps the sale is a good idea but then I have to store it properly and must cook with it next week. During the pandemic I have tended to buy for two weeks. What this means is that I prep the food I bring home for freezing if they cannot last that long.

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 than the branded named foods, even if in fact they are the same foods.

• MoneyWise reports on many of these arrangements, for instance: Stacy’s Pita Chips are the supplier for Trader Joe’s Pita Chips. StonyField yogurt is the supplier for Trader Joe’s Yogurt.
• YahooFinance shows the same arrangements with Costco. Starbucks Coffee supplies the Kirkland Coffee. Bumble Bee provides the Kirkland Albacore tuna.

Box Stores Volume Caution

However, places like Costco sell large food packages. So, at Costco I always buy their Kirkland Organic Virgin Olive Oil. But I will go through their large sized oil container before a year is up. If you do not cook with Olive Oil as much as I do, there is a chance the oil would go bad before you used it up.

Same Is also true with many of the food items they sell. So I split with neighbors, or learn which foods I can break into smaller sized packaging and freeze for later use.

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.

Consider 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. He reports that Raley’s, in particular, will send you coupons for the things that you have actually bought in the past.

Implied in this is that they are collecting data on your purchasing habits. If you are okay with that, you could receive financial savings on foods you prefer purchasing. These days you can also sign up at the vendors or manufacturer’s websites to receive coupons.

Shop the Top and Bottom Shelves

Stores tend to put the higher profit items at the consumers eye level. So check out the top and bottom shelves as you do your shopping.

I always find my preferred peanut butter, Organic Adams Creamy Peanut Butter (containing just peanuts), is always on the top or bottom shelf. Eye level is always Jiffy and Skippy.

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, organic spinach, riced cauliflower, corn, organic blueberries, organic strawberries, and organic peaches.

I prefer frozen veggies or fruit to canned veggies or fruit.

Cost Per Unit

Often somethings appear cheaper, but when you look carefully you may find the size has been reduced, so it is actually more expensive. 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 deceptively 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, 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. This “give away” is a good market tool to increase sales.

Nothing is Free

Pay $5 for two packages where they normally cost $2.50 each. Where is the savings in that? Another good marketing tool to provide the consumer a sense of dramatic savings, where there are none.

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 our favorites, with info on their farms and 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.

I generally buy my meats at the Natural Grocery Store’s butcher shop and have made friendships there so I can ask all sorts of questions about what I am buying. Pick out a Fish Monger as well so you can ask questions of them as to where the fish was caught, how fresh it is, and so on. I will buy some meat from Costco or from specific farms where I know something about the way they raised the animals.

What to Avoid or Limit

Smart Shopping is all about knowing what to buy, but also 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

I avoid meals with 0 fiber, so have psyllium husks in my pantry to add to those dishes. Many “instant foods” have 0 fiber while also being highly processed so I just avoid them.

This issue is beyond a lack of fiber, these foods also often contain too much sugar, salt and bad ingredients that provide limited nutritional benefit to our body.

Limit Canned Food

Part of this caution 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. My choice of tomatoes (strained, sauce, paste, chopped, pureed, etc) is Pomi which comes in paper, tube, and glass containers.

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). 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 are 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. Pre-cut also goes bad quicker than whole veggies or fruits in their original container.

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 many notices of lettuce and salad contamination.

Finally, pre-cut raw food often are placed in a large amount of plastic wrap and containers.

Avoid Unnecessary Wrapping

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.

Definitely, during this pandemic do not eat at buffets or bulk food areas.

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, cookies, muffins
• Flavored salts, peppers or sugars
• Spice blends or meat wet or dry rubs
• Pickled veggies or relish
• Condiments (mayo, salsa, salad dressings)
• Bread crumbs, croutons

I hope this is helpful, please share other ideas and I will add them so this post is better and more complete.

—Patty