5.09.2007

Grocery shopping and the single girl

I am a grocery store addict.

I will spend three hours wandering the aisles, comparing prices, looking for new products, scrutinizing labels. Mr. Wufflekins says I will stand motionless in front of canned soup displays for 10 minutes, apparently transfixed. (What he doesn't realize is that my eyes are actually darting all around, searching for the one can of soup that perfectly balances taste, price and nutrition. One day, I will find it - a delicious soup that is completely calorie-free and that the store will actually pay me to take away.)

Finally, I will drag myself to the checkout line with $200 in "ideas" - fresh vegetables and exotic ingredients for some future dish that will never materialize. I don't want to think about how much cilantro, eggplant and ground turkey has spoiled or developed freezer-burn at my hands over the years.

Reading this post by Stepfanie at the Enquirer blog The Foodie Report made me think about the way I shop for groceries. This is not a smart method for a girl who cooks only for herself (and occasionally her boyfriend).

I want to start shopping differently: more frequently, but less intensively. I want to breeze into Bigg's three or four times a week, spend $20 on food I will eat within the next day or two, and be in the express checkout lane within 20 minutes.

The grocery store is always going to be there. I just have to remind myself of that.

1 comment:

AE said...

I miss Bigg's with a fiery passion. It had absolutely everything I needed and I knew where it all was, and there were no annoying little discount cards, and the music wasn't annoying.

Shopping as a single lady means you throw a lot of food away. I still try to gravitate toward nonperishable goods, and limit my intake of stuff that will go bad if it doesn't go in the freezer. My pattern with Bigg's was usually one big trip every couple of weeks, and then smaller, intermediate trips there or to Bracke's to get meat/ veggies for immediate consumption. It worked pretty well. Ideally we'd all eat locally, I'm sure, but I find that largely impractical.

Mmm. Bigg's.

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