Can anyone give any recommendations to my grocery list?

Kekemamas1

If anyone has any good tips as well on a good starter grocery list for a beginner I would love the help🙂

lynn_glenmont

Realized I left out quite a few things I normally or frequently have on hand, like cheese (both for cooking, such as mozzarella and Parmesan, and for snacking -- a charcuterie plate, with cheese, any suitable meat I have on hand, fresh or dried fruit, nuts, picked veg or crudites, crackers/bread/rolls, mustard, jam or other preserved fruit, is one of the easy meals in my rotation); canned tomatoes; marinara, pesto, or clam sauce, canned evaporated, condensed, or coconut milk; fresh ginger root, garlic; candied ginger; dried milk; protein powder (for smoothies); molasses, honey, frozen fruit (for smoothies), coffee, tea, rice cakes (for a low-cal snack -- I like the Lundberg brand), peanut butter, no-sugar added applesauce (because I prefer the flavor), naan.

wahmx3

I make a grocery list based mainly on what's on sale and stock up on things that last or I use a lot of. Then I meal plan for the week. Meal planning is key to shopping and eating, easier to make better choices when it's planned out. Great food suggestions so far.

lynn_glenmont

It's going to depend on what you like, what your goals are, how much time and effort you want to put into food prep, whether you are shopping preparing meals for other people and what their preferences are ...

I'm generally shopping just for me and like to do a mix of scratch cooking and easy, low to no prep meals. I generally will Buy some mix of these, depending on what I still have on my kitchen:

Fresh veggies (some that need to be eaten quickly, like leafy greens, cucumbers, asparagus, frrsh herbs, and mushrooms; some that will last several days to a week like bell peppers, tomatoes, summer squash, broccoli, cauliflower, avocados; and some that could last more than a week, like potatoes, carrots, onions, and winter squash). I don't have all of those at the same time; I'll buy one or two meals' worth of eat-quick veggies, one or two meals' worth of last-a-week veggies, and make sure I have some of the longer lasting ones on hand.

Fresh fruit: I generally buy bananas and/or berries to put on cereal for breakfast or into a smoothie, although some weeks I skip them when I plan to do hot cereal (usually with dried fruit) or eggs or burritos for breakfast. I also generally have some fruit for snacking (apples, pears, stone fruit, melon, kiwi, citrus, mango, pineapple -- bananas if I bought them and didn't have them for breakfast.

Protein: Chicken, lean beef or pork, kielbasa-style turkey sausage, fish, shellfish, eggs, ground meat/poultry/veggie crumbles, veggie burgers, canned and dried legumes. Once in a while bacon or deli meat, but I can't recommend them health wise. I generally try not to buy more than one animal protein a week, since they need to be eaten within a couple of days or frozen, which the freezer always has single-serve packages of meat, poultry or fish from market packages that too much food for one person to consume in one or two meals. Shelf-stable canned and dried beans or things meant to be stored in the freezer until cooking (veggies crumbles or burgers) I buy when on sale.

Dairy or plant-based substitutes: I generally buy a half gallon when the container of milk on hand is less than half full. I'm pretty agnostic between dairy and soy milk; other plant milks have less protein, but they're also lower calorie. There still seem to be supply chain issues making one or the other unavailable, and I often make my decision based on price and expiration date.

I generally have plain yogurt (usually Greek) on hand for topping things like burritos or mixing in smoothies or oatmeal or topping muffins, and I'll vary things with sour cream, kefir, buttermilk. Sometimes I'll buy cottage cheese for variety.

Freezer: I try to keep the aforementioned burritos on hand (I like Red's brand) and some frozen veggies for the rare occasion that I run out of fresh veggies or want something I don't normally buy fresh, like peas, okra, or Brussels sprouts. I keep bones and veggie scraps in gallon freezer bags for wen I want to make stock. I like Eggo NutriGrain waffles, and sometimes I buy frozen pretzels or dinner rolls. And a lot of space gets taken up by meat and poultry sold in amounts too large for one person.

Pantry: Bought when I run out or on sale. As mentioned, canned beans and dried beans; canned soup for easy meals (I like Progresso, especially lentil and Italian wedding); rice, quinoa, and other grains; pasta; flour, sugar, cocoa and other baking goods (I actually store whole grain flours in the refrigerator, along with yeast); baking mixes for convenience; salt, pepper, and spices; nuts (I mostly store those in the refrigerator unless I know they'll be used soon); commercial stock or broth; dried mushrooms and seaweed; canned seafood (tuna, mackerel, sardines etc), oil, vinegar, oats, grits or polenta, olives, mustard, ketchup, mayo, barbecue sauce, olives, hot sauces, miso (in the fridge), various condiments.

Theoldguy1

Decent list above. Take a look at the labels and limit things with added sugar.






https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/health/diet-nutrition/total-sugar-vs-added-sugar

Kekemamas1

Aww thank you guys that means a lot🙏🏾😫

tomcustombuilder

What are you trying to achieve

joytojen

Great question, I usually just google it

springlering62

My advice would be, do it the other way around.

I plan meals 1-2 weeks out. I go in with a list.

If I have a specific list, I’m less likely to be wandering the aisles, surround by temptations as I make it up as I go along.

I can remember obese me walking through the grocery store, deciding on the spur of the moment what we’d have for the next five or six days, and being stopped in my tracks by BOGOs on Pepperidge Farm cookies, Breyers, etc.

If I go with a list, I’m laser focused and far less likely to fall prey to “deals”.

It’s also cheaper. I’d load up on a ton of random, expensive snacks, and then because I hadn’t planned would load up on a ton more when I went back to pick up something I’d forgotten while creating meals in the fly. Honestly, I think part of me wanted that way. Just an open IV of sweets was all I wanted from life.

I even pre-log my diary a few days out for the same reason. If I know I have a bowl of popcorn coming up at 3 (yay!!!!), and cottage cheese and fruit at 5, I’m less likely to go off piste and start stuffing my face with whatever I can pull out of the cupboard.