Eat ’til you’re empty, shop ’til you’re full

Earlier this week, in the pumpkin pancake post, I mentioned our depressingly empty refrigerator and pantry. Well I’m happy to report that we finally made it to our bi-weekly grocery store date (cause we’re romantic like that), and our kitchen is once again stocked with all sorts of foodie goodness. It’s a great feeling, partly because it makes us feel like real grown-ups with an actual working kitchen (does that trying-to-be-a-grown-up feeling ever stop?) and partly because it ensures that for the next week and a half to two weeks, I don’t have to worry about what to make for dinner. So why the self-induced stress of waiting until we’re down to olive oil and Cheerios to finally hit the store? There’s a method to our madness, I promise.

A 2004 study out of the University of Arizona found that the average American throws away about 14 percent of the groceries he or she buys. That means that for the average family that spends $300ish a month on groceries, roughly $500 a year is going straight to the trash. Wowza! Jared and I heard a story about this on the Today Show about a year ago, and we started thinking about all the stuff that, despite our ambitious culinary intentions, never makes it from the refrigerator to our plates. Then we actually started keeping track. It was depressing.

So we decided it was high time we revamp the way we planned, shopped and cooked. We made it a goal to use everything we bought and to eat through what we had before making another trip to the store. It definitely took some getting used to, especially when we hit the end of the loot and had to milk it for a few more days (speaking of milk, we would make quick runs to the store for must-haves like milk, fruit or veggies). But at the end of the experimental period, we emerged smarter, healthier, savvier shoppers, not to mention way satisfied knowing that every dime we spent was going to good use.

About a year after starting our eat-through-everything-you-have-first method of grocery shopping, we’re still going strong (and saving tons!). It’s definitely not a perfect science, but here’s how we go about it:

Plan ahead: This is key. For a two-week period, I usually plan about 10 meals. There will inevitably be the nights we eat leftovers. Or cereal (come on, you know you do it, too), and I’ve found that if I plan 14 meals for 14 days, something won’t get eaten. So I go for 10, and then I plan for a few lunches, a few snacks and a few things to bake. Then I make a list and stick to it. Easy as pie.

Add some extras: I’d be lying if I said this method were foolproof. There are definitely days when the planned-ahead meal sounds awful by the time I get around to making it, and for that reason I try to keep a few extra things on hand. In addition to the main grocery list, I always pick up extra meat of some sort (chicken breasts or ground beef usually), a few boxes of whole-wheat pasta and some tortillas (seriously, you can do a million billion things with tortillas). That way when I’m stuck in “eew, that sounds awful” mode, I can whip up something different.

Keep stock of the basics: There are certain things I always want to have on hand: for cooking, it’s olive oil, chicken broth, brown rice, pasta and garlic; for baking, it’s flour, sugar, butter, eggs and spices. If we were snowbound for days with nothing but these items, I think we’d do all right. Snowbound without them? Yikes.

Be creative: This type of grocery plan works so much better when you’re buying ingredients that you’re excited about using. Jared and I are big fans of trying out new recipes, and we try to buy for at least one newbie every time we do a big shop. We did that with a tomato basil cappellini recipe a while back, and now we make it almost weekly. The same holds true for using new ingredients. Creativity breeds deliciousness.

So what do you think? Do you let your cupboards go bare before heading to the grocery store? How do you plan ahead? Tips and tricks are meant to be shared!

XO,
Katrina

For the list-lovers of the bunch, check out this master grocery list I whipped up a while back. It helps streamline the whole list-making process and can be easily customized to suit what you buy. I usually highlight the things I need and then check them off once I’ve picked them up. Shopping made simple. Woot!