How to Successfully Grocery Shop

Have you ever let your food from the grocery store go bad or let it collect dust in the pantry? We all definitely have. To stop this bad habit, it can be helpful to think about what you want to eat for the week and how you can make that last over a few days.

Starting with breakfast, think about what your mornings are like. Are they rushed or do you have time to make something? Fortunately, there are options for both! For a rushed morning, it’s easy to grab a granola/breakfast bar or a yogurt. If you have a little free time, eggs with avocado toast or oatmeal are a great way to start the day! Lunches can be tricky, so it’s helpful to make something easy the night before that you can prepare quickly the night before and pack it for later like a sandwich or wrap. For example, to make a chicken Caesar wrap you just have to make chicken, a salad mix, and put it into a wrap! Dinner is probably the hardest meal. Getting a protein that is easy to make all at once that you can eat throughout the week is probably the best way to make sure what you bought gets eaten. Some good options are chicken, fish, or chicken sausage and for vegetarians there are fun ways to cook tofu, tempeh, or the impossible burger meat. Another easy thing to go along with the protein would be pasta, vegetables, or both! Baking vegetables in the oven is a great way make a lot at one time and put them in Tupperware for later. Beets, sweet potatoes, carrots, corn, and so many more options are great to throw in the oven together!  Last but not least, there are a ton of snack options. Fruit is a great, easy snack that doesn’t take any preparation time. There are also other options like chips and hummus or salsa. Nuts are also a great thing to keep around because they don’t go bad. Another easy snack are rice cakes with anything on top like peanut butter, cream cheese, avocado, etc.

There’s nothing more frustrating than going to the grocery store and spending money on stuff that doesn’t get eaten, so hopefully these tips will help for next time! After you have given what you want some thought, make sure to make a list so you don’t forget anything or end up getting stuff you don’t need. You can also look up different student discounts that stores offer. Good luck, Pirates!