By Diane Nguyen–Grocery shopping can sometimes be a challenge because there is a part of you that wants to eat to feel full, but the other part also wants to be healthy. Eating to feel full can mean eating junk food and making you feel not so hot about yourself. Eating healthy leaves you feeling hungry in an hour and broke.
I’ve come up with a list of grocery that is only budget friendly but will keep you feeling full and eating healthy.
Start off with some pasta. Everything goes with pasta and it’s easy to make. Plus pasta noodles are carbs meaning they will keep you fuller longer. Noodles and sauce — check.
Next are frozen veggies. Frozen vegetables last longer than the fresh veggies. You’ll want veggies because they can be added to multiple different meals! They also don’t have to be cooked all at once, so once you’ve poured enough into your dish you can tuck them away in the freezer until their next use. So add your favorite veggies to the cart and move forward to the bagged rice.
Eating the same thing over and over again can and will get tiring. Rice is inexpensive, tasty, and easy to make all at the same time. Not only that but just like pasta add anything to the rice and you have a meal. With some bagged rice added to your cart, you now have meal variety between pasta or rice!
Canned veggies are next. Green beans or corn are ideal because then you can just add butter, cheese, and hot sauce or a combination of the others to the veggies and you’ll be good just to eat that. Just like frozen veggies though, canned goods also last a while as well. Meaning you don’t have to eat them right away or worry about them spoiling.
So! With that said you better add butter, shredded cheese, and hot sauce, if you so wish, to your cart if you don’t already have those ingredients back at home.
Packaged fruit are next because like frozen and canned veggies, it also takes a longer time for packaged fruit to expire. If you don’t believe in frozen, canned, or packaged goods for whatever reason. Think of it this way: ‘You’re stressed enough as it is with whatever is going on in your life. Why add another worry such as wasted money going towards rotting food because you forgot to eat it or because you didn’t eat it fast enough.’ Not just this reason, but then you’ll also be able to save foods for other meals as well.
Next is protein. Eggs are a good choice but they can expire. I personally settle for hotdogs. If I’m feeling like I want to spend a little more I’ll buy bacon, which can be frozen. The downside with bacon is that once frozen you have to plan the meal you want to cook just so that you can thaw it in time. Two each his own here, go ahead and do as you please in the protein section.
Last meal is a childhood favorite cereal. With a simple meal such as cereal you now have three meals to choose from when you buy cereal to eat. Choose your favorite cereal here because this might be your dinner one night, just because you can.
Not saying you need to buy milk, but it’s not a bad idea just for you to if you are buying cereal. Rule about buying milk is to buy milk that you trust. This may sound funny. The thought behind this is to just buy milk that you are used too. Only because you don’t want to end up with milk that ends up messing with your stomach or that tastes weird to you. And if all milk messes with you and you don’t like soymilk. Almond milk is what you need to try. Its lactose and soy free so if you have a weak stomach; this is a great milk substitute.
For your grocery list, that’s all you’ll need. Now let’s say you skipped buying a protein or you didn’t take anything out of the freezer to let it defrost. OH! You’re also low on money and starving. A rotisserie chicken is what you need. It’ll save you in a pinch when you want to eat something instant and this will last you about a week for protein. Already cooked and ready to go, rotisserie chickens will not disappoint you.
For your shopping trip, without the rotisserie chicken, the bill will normally come out under a hundred dollars. Maybe even a little over depending on what brands you get. Off brands are cheaper than big name brands of course. My main tip: buy the off brand stuff. All of it tastes the same anyway. Other tip: always buy trusted dairy products, just to be safe. Besides price this trip should also last you a month in food depending on what you buy and how much you eat.
In the end, you’ll probably end up finding a grocery list and schedule that works for you. This was just a guide to help start you off. Best of luck to your future grocery store endeavors and happy shopping!
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