Shopping lists

christine_6980

I always have a hard time with going grocery shopping. I always only want to spend a certain amount but always spend more than I thought I was going to. (I hate that) What are some of your shopping lists? Just to get some ideas? I never go in the store with a list.. I do have a few things in mind but always just pick and go. I am going to try and start using some coupons as well. I have never been a coupon user but I am going to start. Any advice helps! Thank you!

shovav91

Here are some of my staples:
-Greek yogurt
-Cottage cheese
-Almond milk
-Peanut butter
-Fresh fruits and vegetables
-Kashi cereal
-Fiber One cereal/bars
-Steel-cut oatmeal
-Tea
-Whole wheat bread

hummingbird71

Some of my staples are:

35 Calorie bread
turkey meat
chicken breast
eggs
90 calorie buddig meats
yogurt
just for one veggies
fiber 1 bars/brownies
100 calorie snacks
cool whip

seeled

I am going to try and start using some coupons as well. I have never been a coupon user but I am going to start. Any advice helps! Thank you!

I have found for the most part, it is cheaper to buy the store brand. There are a few things that I insist on having the name brand and for those I do try to find coupons. They are usually few and far between. Give the store brands a try if you are trying to save money.

My grocery lists almost always includes milk, apples, peanut butter, and eggs.

eddie8131

Here are some of my must-haves:

Tortilla wraps to make sandwiches, I like the veggie wraps
Thin sliced deli turkey
Low fat soups like lentil
Canned salmon
Apples (my fav lately have been the Jazz variety)
Eggs (I eat 4-6 egg whites each morning)
Turkey bacon
Quinoa
Tofu

nrimas

Fuji apples
raw spinach
tomatoes
onion
celery
baby carrots
Ezekiel bread
turkey (Oscar Meyer oven roasted)
water packed tuna
FF veggie stock
Greek yogurt
skim milk
protein drink mix
pretzles

world2c

I am a planner, so normally I have three recipes for the week, and then stop in on days when I'm short, but my routines are:

Fruits
Veggies (I love salad)
brown rice
english muffins
peanut butter
milk
chobani yogurts
cottage cheese
some ice cream sandwich bar - I know not the healthiest, but it's way better than a whole gallon- keeps off the sweet tooth.

I add my recipe needs to the list and try really hard not to deviate from that...I also love our store brand foods too.

bozwa78

I pick out recipes and/or meals that I am going to make the following week. If there are good sales on meat and such, I'll try to coordinate the meals I pick out with the sales. Doesn't always work out that way though. lol

This week, I picked out:

french bread casserole
pizza
crockpot cheeseburgers/baked fries
crockpot swiss steak
salmon, fried taters, butter beans
salsa chicken, rice
chicken/chicken stew
fast & easy stuffed peppers*
easy turkey lasagna
crockpot burger heaven casserole*
cowboy stew*
chocolate bundt*


I then make my list from those and write down any of the ingredients I don't already have. (The starred ones are the ones I already have everything for). On top of that, i will be making egg beater/spinach/cream cheese wraps for breakfast, so I put the ingredients down for that too.

With having to buy diapers, formula, laundry detergent, paper towels and other misc household, jar baby food/extra veggies and lunch stuff for my hubby, too, I've been spending about $150 a week. Ack!!

Hope this helps! Once you get started, it's really not that huge a process as it seems.

(Looking closer at my list, I'll be getting close to 2 weeks worth of meals out of that list. lol

maemiller

greek yogurt
cottage cheese
low fat cheese
oatmeal
bagels
whole wheat bread
PB
Honey
pretzels
canned tuna or salmon
turkey
fresh fruits vegetables
dried beans, if you buy canned, make sure you rinse them
hamburger 96/4
egg beaters
tortilla wraps
unsweetened milk

beckie4442

Hey, Firstly always eat before you go shopping it's a nightmare when you're hungry and you usually make the wrong choices.
Secondly, pre plan your dinners for the week, and write a list of what you need!

It's as simple as that...

Good luck.

gramofseven

some of my staples:
greek yogurt
fruit and grain bars
fresh fruit
frozen veggies
oatmeal
salad greens
olive oil
whonu cookies
whole wheat wraps and bread
cottage cheese
cheese
good crackers...like milton
fish
chicken

Sweet_Potato

Tell me about it... last night I stopped at the store for "just a few things" that I needed:

carrots
ginger
avocados
potatoes
parsley
pistachios
coffee
Wasa crackers
tuna
anchovies
dog food
yogurt
orange juice
corn tortillas
cheddar
eggs

The total came to $80! And I always buy generic/sale items if there's an option.

stephabef

Steel-cut oats
Almond butter
Popping corn
Veggies (cucumbers, baby carrots, celery, campari tomatoes)
Fruit (strawberries, apples, raspberries)
Eggs
Frozen mixed veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, corn - for stir-frying with eggs)
Soy crisps
Greek yogurt
Cottage cheese
SOUUUUUP

Those are my staples!

gdb86

Organic Cottage Cheese (I get the whole foods 365 everyday brand b/c it's less expensive)
Organic Almond Milk (ditto for above)
Organic Gala Apples
Bananas
Kashi Go Lean (either cereal or oatmeal - it's good to have in the house for quick/easy breakfast)
100 Calorie Popcorn (An awesome random snack to have! In general, I would say have a few "snack" type foods that are low calorie that way if you're having a moment of craving something you can turn to something healthy easily!)
Near East Couscous Whole Grain or Quinoa blends (quick/easy side for dinner)
Organic Frozen Veggies (Always have them stocked up ready to go!)
Frozen Tilapia and/or Turkey Tenderloin (For dinner protein)
Low Fat String Cheese
Organic Natural Almonds
Organic Kale (For Salads OR Kale Chips which are a-mazing if you haven't made them!)
Clif Bars (for a quick meal replacement that tastes great!)

The list could go on, but those are most staples I like to keep in the house so I'm not making excuses to eat other food. I would say in order to not over spend and buy what you'll actually eat - always buy a little less and have a few things like the popcorn, almonds, frozen veggies, etc that don't need to constantly be replenished. That way, if you do run out you have something and you can always go BACK out to the store to get what else you need and you won't feel like you're wasting.

Haha... I didn't realize I had so much to stay about groceries! Anyway, hope that helped!

ogottwald

On big weekly shopping-Groceries:

Frozen vegetables
Fruit (Apples, Grapefruit) - Bananas tend to be cheapest
Meat when on Sale (Turkey, Chicken breast - boneless skinless), Beef 90% lean
White Bread, Multi Grain Bread
Eggs
Milk 1%, Whole for baby
Rice Chex or some sort of cereal but be really careful with portions when eating!
Progresso or Campbells Light Soup
Noodles - when not stocked up
Rice

THE BIG THING IS DON'T PURCHASE JUNK FOOD! You will cut out about 4 isle in the grocery store! Always amazes me how much crap is for sale in Grocery Store.

Side Note: My wife recently got into coupon's after watching Extreme Coupons. You can save a lot of money. Just gotta learn the game. This week we are already over 90$ saved. Get a couple Sunday papers and look out for sales. Stores tend to match up coupons with sales.

Goal_Seeker_1988

Almond milk
bananas
oatmeal
chicken
cottage cheese
all natural pb
mixed nuts
apples
loose hamburger
fish

MusicPsycho

One big help is to create a master shopping list of things you always need on hand. Then before you go to the store, just check of the things you need more of to get you through until you shop again. I've also found that when shopping for "healthy" items, a lot mentioned above, be sure to look at the sugars per serving. All the reading that I've done that I trust indicates you want to try and stay under 9g per meal. This may be a little tough (it is for me), but I use it as a guide. My favorite example is Greek Yogurt. I used to always buy the Fat Free flavoried varieties, until I realized that the sugar content for that little 6oz container was as much as two meals worth. Then the understanding that the full-fat version has the good fats we need and low sugar so our blood sugar doesn't spike, really saved me. I don't always know what I'm going to buy but if I see something that looks or touts itself as healthy, this is my first easy check to see if its even worth my time.

kidbxrs

i always make a meal menu out for the week before i go to the store. Like say 5 meals example: Monday, roast chicken, w/ steamed veggies, Tuesday spaghetti & salad, Wednesday vegetable soup w/crackers...... you get the idea. Then i will use those 5 meals and go meal by meal what items i need from the store to prepare each of those meals. Once i have the dinner shopping list made up i will decide two things for my lunches to take to work. Like one week might be turkey sandwiches or smart ones... the next week is tuna or salads for the week. i always do two choices so i don't get bored. i add that to the list then Once i have all of the items for meals and lunches written down i will think of anything else like shampoo, soap, paper towels and write that out to the side as well. I hardly ever pickup things that are not on my list unless they were really important and i had forgot about them. It keeps me safe and on a budget. It feels nice having a plan and knowing what meals I have to be prepared for the week. I keep my menu on the refrigerator and mark them off as I cook them. i don't really stick to the days its all more about just know what meals you have to be prepared not so much the night you make them. :-)
Some staples for me
Luna bars
Activia
Peanut butter
snakums pickles
Carnation instant breakfast
Bananas
Silk
Bran Flakes
Instant oatmeal

peanut_parker2

I shop on budget and try to get the healthiest foods..sometimes it's hard because the healthy stuff is sometimes the most expensive stuff..in my house we eat alot of FRUIT, LOW FAT YOGURT(100 calories), CHICKEN BREASTS, CRAB meat(Ceviche-crab meat, tomato, onion, cilantro, lime juice, and a lil salt<delicious) and SOUPS(veg and chicken) I like cesear salad alot too:)

We Dnt eat much beef unless we go out to eat somewhere

kidbxrs

we do the same thing. I replied to this post pretty much the same thing you did. i Guess I should have read all of the replies. I do my menu and list by the two weeks at times too depending on when our pay periods fall.
It does seem a little bit daunting at times but I couldn't manage to do it any other way. No telling what would happen if I went to the store without a list and my menu. Im sure i would spend to much and quite sure I wouldn't have what i needed to cook with when i got home. LOL.

JillyBeanMcCullough

I write menus for my family every month. By doing this I know exactly what I am going to buy and about how much I will spend. Our 1st paychecks every month are bigger than our second one so I write the first 2 weeks of my menu go shoppiing and if there is any meat on sale(safeway does a lot of BOGO's on meat)I we buy it while we have more money,write the next 2 weeks of our menu based on the meats I buy and then usually we just have to pick up fresh veggies and a couple other little things here and there for the rest of the month.