How do proper grown ups grocery shop?

Sayschezza

I don't have any of the big shops near me just a MrT express and a Coop. All other supermarkets are a bus ride away. I have a Mr S delivery every Thursday and very rarely have to shop in between. Maybe bread now and then. I meal plan from stock, (but plans do often change) and sometimes batch cook. If we run out of anything we go without and have something else. I don't buy snacks and never have. When I had children at home they funded their own sweets etc from pocket money. I was watching a YouTube video yesterday where a young mum was showing her weekly shop and was saying how shocked she was at the cost. I noticed just how much sweet stuff, crisps etc she had bought which I think is unnecessary but then I am an old lady that remembers rationing and I do realise the world has moved on since then.

Longwalker

I keep a well stocked larder and freezer, country living demands it.

I shop twice a week.

I dont meal plan, I plan around who's working and who's not. Three adults here, 1 retired and elderly , two of us working part time  - different days. I do all the shopping and cooking

I try to keep to around £50 a week ( used to be £35 - £40  pre pandemic ) but its tough trying to keep it healthy and often quick

So I have a packed larder. That kind of food gets rotated, as soon as the last 6 pack of beans lets say gets opened, then beans go on the list, theres no rush, they will be picked up when I see them at a decent price, they arent an everyday food, we wont miss them if we run out ( rarely if ever happens ) Most dry and tinned foods, sauces and pickles I work on a one opened, one in store ( same as soap and soap powder etc ) once the one in store comes into use - on the list it goes. Means Ive never got to do a big shop of non foods , Ill be buying perhaps one product each time I shop - so can keep in budget

So cos I dont meal plan, I head to the meat counter and see whats on special, whats good value and with luck,  whats reduced.

Thats the basis of my planning. I can often be seen with my phone out looking up recipes whilst in the reduced section, to see if Ive already got at home the ingredients to turn that bargain into something we will all eat. I never buy cheap food reduced, I buy only fish and meat ( I mean things like cakes/desserts/bread ) 

Then I go pick the veg. If Im buying a single priced veg then I find the biggest. Might as well get two or three meals out of an 90p cauliflower then one that will just do one meal  I do buy whats in season, whats grown locally, bit boring but cheaper, picking things like asparagus and sprouting broccoli as treats , for when there is a small meat portion - like a steak ( me and mum will share one ) We dont all eat fruit, mum likes to have bananas and grapes but neither me nor he are bothered

I think it is person one who points out a tomato is a tomato. And shes right, I avoid dutch if possible and tend to buy whatever tomato is in season from the country its imported from - taste better , and whilst Im a good cook,  Ive not got Jamies budget so Im never going to be buying an assortment of different coloured cherry tomatoes  

I do mainly keep to budget, some weeks less, others more, but for me its knowing at all times whats in the house and also knowing the prices in the shops, and most of all knowing how to cook from scratch 

Sayschezza

I think we can all learn something from your post longwalker.

Rosa_Damascena

Longwalker said:

I think it is person one who points out a tomato is a tomato. And shes right, I avoid dutch if possible and tend to buy whatever tomato is in season from the country its imported from - taste better , and whilst Im a good cook,  Ive not got Jamies budget so Im never going to be buying an assortment of different coloured cherry tomatoes  

If people are hungry, they will eat up without mithering.

El_Scot

I always plan for leftovers, which might work better for you?

I roughly follow:

Cook Sun, leftovers Mon, cook Tue, leftovers Wed, cook Thu, leftovers Fri, one off meal Sat (one-off meal can move around to be earlier in the week if I need to shift which day is a cooking day/leftovers day).

I think the benefit of deliberately cooking to have leftovers, is that it's designed to be food that's easily reheated, so if you or your husband cook, and the other won't be home for a few hours, just leave a portion out and reheat it.

This week I did pulled pork in the slow cooker, ate it with chips and stir fried veggies on Mon/Tue. There was loads of pork left, that I then turned into a pie. Partner got to eat a portion when he got home, and I had my portion when I got back from babysitting my niece.

Tonight I made stir fry, partner will have hi leftovers before going out to volunteering, and I'll have mine when I get back from my Fri night swim 3 hours later.

Spendless

It took the lockdowns for me to change the way I grocery shopped - ironically to the way my MIL told me to do it in the first place. Keep the dry/tinned goods stocked at a good level, so you've always got something in to create a meal from. You just add it on to your shopping list when you are running low. Go through your fridge and freezer meal plan and put the bits you need to create meals. 

We also have to make sure we have the veggie equavilent in for DD as she prefers to eat meals that are in line with ours. 

Lumiona

I hate grocery shopping so like to buy in bulk and store.
Non perishables; cleaning items, toilet rolls, tea bags and coffee beans from Costco twice a year.
Stock up on large meat packs from a butcher's cash and carry. Portion at home and freeze. Tend to go every 3 months or so.
Toiletries, I pick up from B&M whenever I go, every couple of months.
Food shopping, I alternate with Lidl or Aldi and Sainsbury's home delivery weekly. I stock check before I go for things I need and buy based on food offers for meals and then meal plan once shopping arrives. I can usually eek out 3 weeks of meals from a good shop, then only need to top up with fresh items the following week.
For emergency top ups of bread/ milk (if my frozen bread stocks and UHT milk stocks have run out) I have a co op within walking distance that I have a student discount card for.

prowla

I go to the shop, see something, and think can I make a meal with that?

arnoldy

Develop a process, one that I tend to use is:

Pre-Shopping
1. Check food bin - is there any waste? If so, why? Who or what is responsible for waste? and what are the "lessons learned"?
2. What is in fridge etc that needs eating up.
3. What is on offer in supermarkets - check online
4. If you have an allotment what's ready?
5. Meal plan, considering how to use energy effectively and make meals last over >1day
6. List, considering all the above

Shopping
1. Buy from list, but be prepared to think on your feet if bargains present themselves

Post shopping
1. Have you deviated from list & brought unnecessary "luxuries" - biscuits, cakes choccies etc? Understand why you have behaved like this and try and reduce/avoid in future.