The Big Shop

Veggies go bad within a week or so usually, so even for a Big Shop I usually only pick 2-3 that I can alternate throughout the week. I also like to pick at least one fruit or berry.

In a small shop, I’d say pick one. For the big shop, I pick a grain + a pasta to start stocking my cupboard with. Rice and quinoa are my favorites - these can be mixed in with pretty much any meal as a base to make the meal more filling.

This one’s important! It can be meat if you eat it, but if you know me you know I advocate for alternatives. I’d even subdivide this category into a couple of different components:

1) Legumes - beans, lentils, chickpeas, something of the sort. Great protein, super filling, super cheap, easy to add to any meal.

2) Eggs! I always get eggs. So easy, so yummy.

3) Cheese: I like to get at least one kind of cheese with each shop, feta, mozzarella, or cheddar are my favorites.

4) I can’t really speak to meat, but if you’re on a budget and a meat eater, I’d look for something that you can keep in the freezer and take out as you need it, or precooked that you can shred up and add to whatever you’re making. I’ve heard rotisserie chicken is great for this.

Get some greens. Spinach and arugula (rocket for our British fans) are my favorites, mixed salad greens or lettuce work as well but surprisingly I find aren’t quite as versatile. Kale’s great if you like it and can find it, but watch out for excessively thick stems in supermarkets - it won’t be as good.

Food is not good without flavor. period. Nothing worse than coming home from the grocery store after your big shop to an apartment with no salt, so get some salt at the very least. Because you’ve got nothing in your apartment, here’s my flavor list to get you going. Get them all or pick and choose what you like and can afford to purchase in one go, you can continue slowly stocking your cupboards with this list as you go.

1) Garlic

2) Onions - red or yellow or white

3) Lemons

4) Cumin

5) Curry Powder

6) Paprika

7) Hot sauce

8) Balsamic glaze (or vinegar, I prefer glaze)

9) if you can’t be bothered to chop onions or garlic, get some onion or garlic powder!

10) Soy Sauce/Tamari

11) Fresh ginger (store in the freezer, zest or chop finely into meals) or ground ginger (use sparingly, it’s strong)

These are what I like to have around all the time, however, it can be hard to purchase so many spices in one shopping trip. So I’d emphasize picking a few, and adding one more flavor item to your list every week until you feel sufficiently stocked up.

All kinds of things don’t fit into the above categories, (paper towels, toilet paper, household items being ones I won’t include because they’re not food related but do a scan before you leave the house and see what you need). Here’s what I would add to my misc. food list:

1) Milk, creamer, or milk alternative

2) Olive oil (or some kind of oil)

3) Bread - here in Spain I’ve found the extra trip to the bakery for fresh bread is worth it and surprisingly affordable

4) Coffee or tea

5) Snacks- I get one or two snacks that I can have throughout the week. Popcorn is a favorite.

6) Yogurts- easy fast breakfast on the way out the door

7) Little treat - chocolate, ice cream, yummy drink, coffee, some sort of reward to make grocery shopping enjoyable