Grocery shopping questions

Masterchef2000

I've been wondering about how other people shop. So I have a few questions for anyone willing to answer.

What store do you do most of your shopping at?
How healthy do you eat? Little, Good, Excellent?
How much do you spend for one week?
How do you prepare for shopping? (A list or just walk in and grab)
How many people are you feeding on your budget?

wolfchild59

What store do you do most of your shopping at?
- I honestly don't have just one. I go to Lucky because it's close to my work and I can go on my lunch break. I go to Safeway because it's closest to my house and has the best deals on greek yogurt. I go to Sprouts (imagine if Whole Foods and Trader Joe's had a baby, it would Sprouts) because they have the, hands down, best deals on fruits and veggies as well as bulk items. They also carry an amazing low carb, high protein, whole grain bread that's made by my favorite bakery/restaurant in the world. Then I shop at Trader Joe's because of their low prices on super low sodium broths, salsas and soups.

How healthy do you eat? Little, Good, Excellent?
- Probably good, if I average everything out.

How much do you spend for one week?
- My grocery budget for the week is $100 and I'm usually under. But that total includes all grocery items, like cat food, cat litter, light bulbs, hygiene items, etc.

How do you prepare for shopping? (A list or just walk in and grab)
- All of the ads come out on Tuesdays so I read the ads and make lists for each of the stores of who has the cheapest prices on the items I need. I keep the list on my phone so I have it handy for whatever store I'm in. Safeway also allows you to go online and add items from their ads, coupons, and personalized prices to their rewards card and keeps a list of every discount on your card, so I utilize that feature as well.

How many people are you feeding on your budget?
- I would say 1.5 people. Because I mostly buy food for my meals since I make almost all of my breakfasts, lunches and dinners through each week. But I do also buy stuff for the hubby like his bread, snacks for him to keep in his desk and food items for me to cook meals for the two of us on the nights we're both home for dinner.

Masterchef2000

What store do you do most of your shopping at?

~I shop at the commissary overseas. I try to buy all of our veggies on the English economy because even with the exchange rate, it's cheaper.

How healthy do you eat? Little, Good, Excellent?

~I would say a mix of Good and Excellent. It's not perfect but I'm still working out kinks.

How much do you spend for one week?

~I spend about $120 a week

How do you prepare for shopping? (A list or just walk in and grab)

~I make a list of every single meal we will have for a 2 week period and go buy it. However, I buy our veggies weekly otherwise at the end of the two weeks, the veggies I bought at the beginning will have spoiled.

How many people are you feeding on your budget?

~I feed 5 people on our budget. 3 kids, 11 and under who eat more than I do! I dread the teenage years when eating is at a maximum. My father-in-law, who keeps track of every penny (he's a farmer) said they saved $4,000 a year in grocery bills when their 2 sons moved out. YIKES!

mellocat

bump!
I actually came to these board topics to post a similar question because I need help and guidelines as to how to shop. Though I would like to add one more to anyone reading this and planning on answering, what kind of healthy food do you buy? A bag of frozen chicken breasts ready to be whipped into a healthy meal as needed? Frozen veggies so they don't rot as fast? Sauces?

runnercheryl

I'm in the UK, so some answers are specific to that.

What store do you do most of your shopping at? Tesco or Asda

How healthy do you eat? Little, Good, Excellent? I suppose, I could be put in the 'Good' category. I go for light, low-fat and low-salt options wherever possible, and I make healthy choices a majority of the time, but I'm not going to deny you'll find chocolate, biscuits, pizzas and frozen potato products in my basket once in a while.

How much do you spend for one week? £30

How do you prepare for shopping? (A list or just walk in and grab) - I shop online initially, so I've got a running total of what I need and how much it costs, and I can add and delete things as appropriate, then I write it out and go to the store with the list.

How many people are you feeding on your budget? - Just me, for £30. My fiancé does his own shopping for £10 a week.

What kind of healthy food do you buy? A bag of frozen chicken breasts ready to be whipped into a healthy meal as needed? Frozen veggies so they don't rot as fast? Sauces? - I buy fresh meat wherever possible, but freeze it when I get home. I also buy frozen vegetables and have a whole freezer drawer dedicated to them, but will buy the occasional pepper, mushroom or piece of fruit from the fresh section. I only buy for myself, and fresh stuff gets expensive for that, particularly when you consider the fact that I'm very food paranoid and won't touch anything fresh when it's been around for 48 hours. As for sauces, I tend to buy bake-in-bag flavourings, and I'm currently building up a stock of seasonings in jars.

wolfchild59

bump!
I actually came to these board topics to post a similar question because I need help and guidelines as to how to shop. Though I would like to add one more to anyone reading this and planning on answering, what kind of healthy food do you buy? A bag of frozen chicken breasts ready to be whipped into a healthy meal as needed? Frozen veggies so they don't rot as fast? Sauces?

I buy very little frozen. Sometimes I'll buy a few bags of veggies as backup. But I but fresh fruit, fresh veggies and fresh meats. With the meat, I buy what's on sale for the cheapest that particular week and will usually buy more than I need and throw the extra in the freezer at that point. That way if there are weeks when nothing is on sale for the right prices, I still have plenty in the freezer to get me through.

My standard shopping (with things purchased as they're on sale) is:
Boneless skinless chicken breast
Extra lean ground turkey breast
Extra lean ground pork
Extra lean ground beef
Occasional pork chops
Shrimp
Assorted fish (depends on what's on sale)
Center cut bacon
Baby carrots
Eggplant
Bell peppers
Yellow onions
Brussels sprouts
Asparagus
Mushrooms
Spinach
Jicama
Cucumber
Avocado
Tomatoes
Bananas (for the hubby and baking)
Apples (mostly for the hubby)
Blueberries
Strawberries
Blackberries
Kiwi
Roasted, unsalted, almonds - whole and sliced, from bulk
Roasted edamame - from bulk
Low sodium broths (chicken, veggie, beef)
Low sodium soups (tomato, roasted red pepper & tomato, red potato, broccoli)
Eggs
Egg whites in carton
String cheese
Greek yogurt
Tofu
Shirataki noodles
Smart white wonder bread (for the hubby)
Low carb, high protein, multi grain bread (for me)
PB2 (online purchase)
Kashi GoLean Cereal
Various cereals and breakfast bars for the hubby
Clif Shot Bloks
Luna bars
PowerCrunch protein bars
Balance Bare bars
Unsweetened almond milk
Polenta
Brown rice
Sour cream
Oatmeal - from bulk

I'm sure there's more that comes and goes, but that's pretty much my core list.