Mami of Multiples

Grocery Shopping Tips with Hormel Foods

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Honestly speaking grocery shopping can be challenging.  Ever go to the store for just a gallon of milk and walk out with 20 products you didn’t plan on buying or even worse…you didn’t even really need? As a wife, mother to a teen son and identical toddler twin boys, and a small business owner, I try to accomplish a lot in one day like most people do.  I learned that it was not always beneficial to take my young children grocery shopping with me.  Though the teen is a great source of help, the twins can be a different story.  As toddlers, they are naturally curious and want to discuss, touch, or feel EVERYTHING in a grocery story.  They love to help and “shop” by pulling items off of grocery shelves that are at their eye level.  Needless to say if I’m not careful my shopping cart will be filled with 18 boxes of Goldfish Crackers.

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Growth (and Tips) in 2011

Flying solo at the grocery store is certainly useful and less distracting but another issue can arise…the shopping list.  I have many times shopped without a grocery list and usually end up with double of things (items I forgot I already had at home or that didn’t need replacing at that moment) or ‘Get In My Belly’ food shopping (shopping on an empty stomach and all of sudden all items in the store look good enough to devour).  Either way results of shopping without a grocery list are usually not positive for me and causes me to purchase more ‘junk food’ then I had originally intended.
In the past 2 years I have trying to plan out recipes for weeknight meals and purchase ingredients necessary for those meals.  It has helped me organize kitchen duties and feel more prepared to answer one of the most commonly asked questions, “What’s for Dinner?”
Helpful suggestions:
  • Take Inventory of Kitchen and Pantry – It is very helpful to take stock of what you already have in your kitchen so you are not purchasing groceries you already have in your home.
  • Use Cookbooks or Online Recipe Sites – Not everybody is Julia Child or Rachael Ray or my Mother. I am one that can use suggestions, tips, or advice in the kitchen.  I like finding new recipes to get out of the weekly meal rut.
  • Buy What is Needed – Its easy to go off course when shopping at the grocery store so I like to make a list beforehand. I usually center it around ingredients that are for meals.

With 4 men in my home, we tend to go through a lot of the ‘staples’…milk, bread, juice, fruit, ground meat, etc. However, if I don’t write down exactly what we need even for our weekly staple run, I will end up buying more than I had wanted to.  Creating shopping lists has really helped us financially to stay within our grocery budget and make more healthy choices.

Sample of a Quick Weekly Grocery Run
Tried any of the new Hormel Foods products lately? 
If not, then check out the many products at http://www.hormelfoods.com.

Is part of your New Year’s resolutions to try to eat more healthy? Have any grocery shopping tips?

Share and leave a comment below.
Happy Shopping!

Comments

  1. I love finding new recipes in cookbooks, even older cookbooks from the ’60s – ’80s are a real resource. Also, I use a shopping list app on my iPhone to help when shopping. Lists really do help.
    Great post!

  2. I so need a list when shopping too! Otherwise I end up with only Chips Ahoys and Doritos. LOL

  3. Eat more raw, green, organic, foods…. less eggs, milk — dairy in general. and at least 3/4 gallon of water per day… only buy what you need for the week… that will eliminate wasting food you never got to!

  5. I find that planning out the week and definitely making a list before going grocery shopping helps us. Just like you mentioned, we tend to pick up those “extra” items all too often.