As a junior in college, I am no longer on a meal plan and have to go grocery shopping each week. I’ve come to learn how difficult it is to plan how much food to buy, and what meals to make, all while trying not to spend over $50 on groceries each week. As this semester has gone on, I’ve gotten better at managing groceries, so here are a few of my tips!
Tip 1: Try to shop where it’s cheaper!
At the beginning of the semester, I would only shop at Hannaford’s because I thought it was my cheapest option. However, I was very wrong! I’m not sure how I didn’t know this before, but Trader Joe’s is a much cheaper alternative to Hannaford’s, and they offer a lot of unique items that are specific to Trader Joe’s. For some reason, Trader Joe’s has a reputation of being a lot more expensive than other typical grocery stores, but I can buy a week’s-worth of groceries for only $35 there, compared to $60-70 at Hannaford’s. There are also other options besides Trader Joe’s, such as Price Chopper or Costco (if you are a member).
Tip 2: Don’t buy more than you need
One big mistake that I was making was buying items that I already had at home, and needed to finish. For example, I went to the store and bought an extra avocado even though I had two at home that needed to be eaten. In my mind, I figured that by the time I finished those avocados, the one I recently bought would be ripe enough to eat. The reality, however, is that I waited too long and forgot about them, and two out of the three avocados went bad before I could eat them… That was money down the drain! My suggestion is to only buy what you need/don’t have before assuming you might need extra. It is better to go a week without an item than spending unnecessary money and letting food go to waste.
Tip 3: Buy the staple ingredients
One key tip for grocery shopping is to buy the “main” items, and then buy other things that would go well with them. For example, each week I buy a pack of chicken and a pack of ground turkey to make various meals with each. For chicken, I will usually have burritos, pesto pasta, corn bean salad, rice and beans, or even just regular salad. All these dishes go well with chicken and are easy to make. Ground turkey is also a great source of protein, and I will usually make tacos or turkey burgers. There are so many ways you can mix and match your proteins, and they don’t have to be in-depth or time-consuming meals. If you are vegetarian, buying a block of tofu each week is a great way to get your protein in, and you can make so many different things with it as well.
Tip 4: Buy things that are easy
We all get lazy sometimes or are so busy that preparing meals can be hard. One of the things I like to do when I go shopping is to buy frozen meals or things that I can make in a few minutes. One of my favorite frozen meals is Trader Joe’s fried rice because it takes 2 minutes to heat up and it’s the perfect lunch or dinner meal. Additionally, sometimes I will buy Trader Joe’s dumplings or spring rolls, which also only take a few minutes to make but are filling and delicious. I also like to buy frozen edamame, pizza bites, or any other small premade frozen meals to snack on. For breakfast, I like to buy a 32 oz container of yogurt, which I can quickly prepare with granola, fruit, and chia seeds for a healthy and easy breakfast. It is also good to buy a bag of oats to make oatmeal or overnight oats for when you are in a rush in the morning. Another thing I buy each week is frozen fruit to make smoothies with. I usually throw some frozen fruit in a blender with orange juice, and sometimes a little bit of spinach. It is the perfect snack for when I am feeling too lazy to make a full meal, but is also very healthy (the spinach also adds vitamins and you can’t taste it)! Finally, I like to buy a few boxes of mac and cheese or pasta. Making pasta is one of my favorite go-to’s because you can make so many dishes with it – but also if you’re feeling lazy you can have it with marinara sauce or pre-made pesto sauce!
It takes some time to perfect your grocery shopping routine, but eventually, you will get it down. Shopping and cooking for myself seemed intimidating at first, but now I feel excited to make new meals each week and I am grateful to leave dining hall food in my past!