
I’m third in line.
Hues of red and amber litter the cart in front of me; fried foods, meats, frozen meals targeted at the impatient cook. He wheezes as he scoots his belly around his cart to unload more items.
The woman checking out struggles to corral her children as they bicker and grab for her smartphone. Cardboard boxes featuring colorful characters are rang up alongside frozen corndogs and neon fruit juices.
…
I’ll be honest, going to the grocery store makes me disheartened. Even maddened when I see a clueless parent raising their children on sugar and processed snacks. These foods are making you and your family weak.
Grocery shopping should be empowering. What you purchase should be the fuel you use to tackle every day of your life. You should be proud when you’re in the check-out aisle.
I’ve figured a few things out after cooking for myself as a student athlete. Tips that will revolutionize your Sunday afternoon.
This is how you get groceries:
- Stick to the perimeter
The biggest secret to grocery shopping comes down to literally the route you take in the store. Stick to the outside wall of the store for the healthiest and freshest food.
The perimeter typically has the produce section, the bulk bins, and the butcher. Once you become an adult shopper, you should almost never be shopping in the middle aisles.
2. Use the bulk bins
Not every store has bulk bins, but most will. Fill up on specialty items that you would normally buy in a box. The bulk bins will always have the lowest prices on any item in the store and you can buy as little or much as you want.
Stop buying individually wrapped, single-serving foods. Foods like plastic yogurt cups and K-Cups are so wasteful since you immediately send them to a landfill after you finish them.
3. If it has a brand name on it, you are wasting money
Any box of food with a character, bright colors, or movie advertisement on it is a waste of money. If you can find it in a box, you can probably find it in the bulk bin section. Not only is it a waste of money, but the boxes they come in are quite wasteful.
I want to like Trader Joe’s but I can’t support them with how wasteful all their packaging is.
4. Buy natural, real foods
Chances are if you are buying anything in the aisles, it is processed and full of preservatives. Seek out vegetables and fruits, not crackers and plastic-wrapped items.
Bread, muffins, cereal, sausages, and frozen dinners aren’t real, natural food.
5. Skip the freezer aisle
Most everything in the freezer section is processed and likely not what you should be eating on a regular basis.
Exceptions that are worth buying: frozen berries and some frozen vegetables will be cheaper than the the un-frozen variety.
6. Buy dry goods
Growing up, I remember my parents throwing away pounds and pounds of food each month because it went bad. Buy dry goods like beans, rice, lentils, oats, and pasta that won’t go bad and don’t need to be refrigerated.
Extra tips to help you shop and save money:
- Avoid Safeway and other big name, overpriced grocers. Shop at discount stores like Grocery Outlet, Winco, FoodMaxx.
- Don’t buy paper towels, just use a reusable towel and wash it. Stop being lazy and wasteful.
- Buy the store’s in-house brand instead of name brand. Ex. WinCo pasta sauce will be cheaper than Prego pasta sauce.
- Routinely buying meats and poultry is an expensive diet, reconsider it. I almost never buy meat unless it is for a special recipe or group event. Eggs and bacon for breakfast and a steak for dinner will only serve to negatively impact your health.
- Shop more frequently while buying only a few things each time. For reference, I spend about $20 to $40 every two weeks and that keeps my kitchen stocked and I never throw out old food.
- If your grocery store offers it, use the peanut butter machines to make your own peanut butter — much tastier and healthier than the jar variety.
- Never buy pre-cut fruits or vegetables, they are EXTREMELY overpriced to profit off your laziness.
- Prepackaged dinners are always overpriced and full of preservatives. Cook for yourself.
- Juices and fruit punches are pricey and not good for you. Drink water, you could use it.
- Dairy is going to cost you. Yogurts, milk, cheese is all expensive because they know people are used to having that in their diet. Be wary of how often you buy dairy.
I have reached a point in my grocery shopping career where I am nearly zero-waste, meaning all the food I buy is purchased in reusable plastic bags(from the bulk bins) and I buy mostly dry goods that never go bad.
I spend far less on groceries than the average shopper and my food never goes bad.
My trashcan is nearly empty because I don’t buy prepackaged food, paper towels, or single-serving foods. Shopping like this sustains a college-athlete, so it should easily work for the normal person.
I can give you all the advice in the world but it comes down to you to make a hard choice:
Do you value your health and your body, or are you going to continue to buy every bright-colored box of food that is pushed your way?
Rethink what you are putting in your body.
Stop wasting money, start improving your health; grocery shop like an adult.
