Grocery Shopping like a green, fiscal machine.

In our house, I do all the grocery shopping. With this great power comes great responsibility. ;) Responsibility to NOT come home with junky, unhealthy, pricey stuff that we don't need in our diet. All it takes is a little self-control, right? Wrong. That has never worked for me, so, I've come up with a few ways that help me in the grocery store to keep my food budget to about $40/week. 

1. DO NOT, whatever you do, GO TO THE GROCERY STORE HUNGRY. The last time I went to the grocery store hungry, I came out with orange juice, sugary cereal, poptarts, and Pizza rolls (ew? I didn't know hunger could persuade me on that one). My body was low in the blood sugar category, and so I came out with things that were immediate (but not healthy) fixes to that, and I definitely regretted those purchases later, haha. So, EAT before you go!

2. Make a menu plan before you go! Trying to come up with meal ideas while you're in the grocery store is pretty ineffective and usually ends up in you not buying everything you really need and buying a lot of things you don't need. Along with this, check your fridge while you're making your weekly  menu plan and try to base your meals off of things that you need to use up that are still hanging around in your fridge. I don't know about you, but it takes me FOREVER to use up sour cream when I buy it, so I try to plan two or three meals at least that week that will use sour cream when I do buy it. I hate throwing away food...

3. Don't go to the grocery store without a list, and make sure to check it twice. If you leave a necessary ingredient off and have to go back in an "emergency run" to the grocery store, you're likely to come out with something else you don't need during that extra trip. Having a list also helps you to avoid going down unnecessary isles full of temptation in the middle of the store--this way, you only have to go down the isles that have something you need. :)

 4. Avoid the middle isles at all costs! Almost everything that you really need (fresh veggies, fruits, dairy, meat, etc) is on the OUTSIDE edges of the grocery store. The middle isles are the evil labyrinth of pre-made, processed foods that cost you extra $$ and don't add much to your health. Only travel into the labyrinth when something on your list must be retrieved from there...

5. To save even more money, buy fruits and veggies that are in season and that are on sale that week. Luckily we are headed into the summer months (fresh produce heaven!) and there will be many more fresh items at better prices. Take advantage of it! Use tons of fresh veggies and fruits in your recipes, and extend that even further by taking advantage of sales at your grocery store. This week, I was going to use some zucchini in a recipe, but at the store I discovered yellow squash was on sale, so I substituted the yellow squash for the zucchini in my recipe (obviously this doesn't always work for every recipe, but if something on sale works as a good substitute, do it!). 

These are all things that I do every time I go to the grocery store. I don't give myself a budget anymore really, and honestly, I never go more than about $5 over my usual amount. Sometimes it even ends up being less than the usual $40 if I get really creative with what's left over in my fridge and pantry at the end of the week. :)