Many of us wander the store shelves, without guidance, overwhelmed by the quantity and variety of products. Is this organic or all-natural food better? Is it better to rely on a well-known brand, buy the low-fat, salt-free or gluten-free product? Couldn't it be simpler? Find ways to avoid "shopping stress" by learning how to plan it and make your life easier. Learn how to look for high quality ingredients and how to find them while saving money.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Choosing the Ingredients
Step 1. Decide what to cook before going to the supermarket
It is much wiser to leave the house with a clear idea of what you are going to buy and with a detailed list. When you are at home you have easy access to cookbooks and all the information you need to prepare spaghetti carbonara, chicken with lemon and any other dish you want without finding yourself wandering around the grocery store shelves trying to figure out what to cook for. dinner.
- Write down what dishes you want to prepare during the week and divide the shopping list according to the ingredients. Try to plan your diet so that some ingredients can be reused. If you need garlic and tomatoes to season Monday's pasta, think about another tomato-based dish that you could cook towards the weekend.
- Making a list makes grocery shopping much more manageable, especially if you're doing it for the whole family. If you need to buy products that serve a large number of people, take a tour of the group members and ask them if they have any special requests, so you can be sure you don't forget anything.
- If you're not sure what to cook, go to the store first and see which ingredients look best to you. Buy a variety of fresh foods, take them home, and find a way to prepare them over the course of the week. This is what cooks do!
Step 2. Buy different ingredients
Don't come home with three packs of bacon, a six-pack of beer, and a fennel, unless you want to make the weirdest cocktail of all time. Try to get plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, some starchy, quick snacks and ingredients to cook meals to make your shopping as efficient as possible.
Learn to buy things that you can use more than once. Pasta can make a great hot dish for one evening, but the next day you can turn it into a fresh salad with vegetables. Pre-cooked foods, on the other hand, do not give the same advantage because they are always the same as themselves
Step 3. Check the degree of ripeness of the vegetables and fruit
You don't want to end up with a mass of "green stones" when you thought you had some ready-to-eat avocados in the pantry. Learn to choose fresh vegetables and understand their degree of ripeness to make a smart shopping.
- Smell the fruit and taste the vegetables. Most people feel intimidated by choosing fresh produce, thinking that there is some mysterious secret. Not so, you should check and smell what you want to eat. If it has no scent, it probably has no flavor and needs more time to mature.
- Check for blemishes and blemishes. If the vegetables are stained or have a very soft texture already in the store, they will probably have rotted before the next day arrives. Unless you want to consume the vegetable immediately, always choose slightly unripe products.
- Pick up the vegetables and fruit, don't be ashamed to touch them. Go through all the fruit in the basket and don't stop at the top layer. When buying melons, lemons and other similar products, you must choose specimens that are heavier than they appear because this is a sign that they are ripe.
Step 4. Buy fresh meat
If you are a carnivore, getting fresh meat is a difficult task. The cuts available in the butchery sector are many and the choice appears complicated. Whether you are going to buy poultry, beef or pork, invest some time to find something of excellent quality at a good price. Freshness must be the first of your worries.
- Buy only the meat you can control. If you can't see through the package, don't pick it up. Make sure there are no spots or greyish spots on poultry, beef, and pork. Check the expiration date and rely on common sense rather than the branding that gets printed.
- When it comes to meat, it's usually best to buy in bulk. However, don't overdo it and only buy what you are able to consume. For example, it is cheaper to buy a whole chicken and learn how to cut and debon it yourself rather than buying the breast that has already been skinned and boned. Buy what you need in its most basic and least processed form.
- If in doubt, ask the staff. If you are shopping at a grocery store where staff are unfamiliar with their products, consider going to another store. Small independent shops or your neighborhood butcher know much better about the meat they sell and are the best places to shop.
Step 5. Learn the difference between certified organic and normal product
A moment of confusion assails everyone when it comes to understanding what exactly organic produce and meat are. They are usually more expensive foods, but understanding how they differ from "normal" foods will help you make informed and informed decisions.
- To obtain organic product certification, food producers, farmers and breeders must undergo rigorous checks by the control body appointed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, which certifies the absence of use of pesticides and their absence in the soil. Meat, eggs and other products of animal origin must come from farms where the livestock is fed with organic fodder.
- "Natural" is not the same as "organic." Food that is labeled "pesticide-free" or "hormone-free," probably comes from companies that have not yet received organic certification as it is a long and expensive process. This doesn't mean their food is worse, just that it's not certified yet. Organic fruit and vegetables are usually more expensive because the yield of fields cultivated in this way is lower, since the use of pesticides is not allowed.
- Although an organic apple is not technically better for you than a normal one from a nutritional point of view, fruit produced in an environmentally sustainable way and certified as organic is certainly a better choice for the environment. Long-term studies on the effect of pesticides on human health are inconclusive.
Step 6. When choosing packaged products, check the ingredients
If you have decided to rely on pre-cooked foods, it is advisable to check the list of ingredients. This is a good habit because it lets you know exactly what you are introducing into your body.
- Check carefully for preservatives and other additives you are unfamiliar with. A good rule of thumb to follow is that if too many complicated names, chemical formulas or terms are given that don't bring to mind something that is "food" then don't buy it.
- Next time you shop, compare a jar of "natural" peanut butter with a "low fat" one. The first will usually have a couple of ingredients: salt and peanuts. The second will be full of added fats and additives to replace the flavor that is lost during the extraction of natural fats. What is the best"?
Step 7. Check the weight of the portions
Learn to read labels and nutritional information so you can make informed choices. The count of calories and knowing how many of them come from fat in each portion is an important part of the diet. When you read that a sweet bar contains "250 calories" per serving it might not sound too bad. However, when you read the label better and realize that the term "one portion" means half a bar, then you must know that all values must be doubled and the situation no longer looks so rosy!
Some products are labeled "lean" or "low fat"; in reality it is always the same food, except that the producers "play" with the quantity of the portions to make it look healthier even when it is not
Part 2 of 3: Save money
Step 1. Establish a budget for grocery shopping
In addition to the rent for the house, there is another very important item that must be taken into account in your monthly budget: the expense. You have to eat and your priority is to shop responsibly and according to what you can afford, especially if you have a large family.
- If you want to set a spending cap but aren't sure how to estimate the cost of food, start keeping all your receipts. Do your regular shopping for about a month but keep your receipts or track them on your phone. At the end of the month, do the sums to understand how much food spending affects your outings as a percentage.
- Look at the receipts and divide the products into two categories: essential and extra. The essentials should be fresh fruit and vegetables, milk, rice, pasta, eggs and lean meat, all ingredients you need to cook healthy meals. The extras are the "fancy" things like snacks, chips, sweets and anything you don't need for meals. If you find that you are spending too much each month on food, cut back on the extras.
Step 2. Find the “per unit” price of each item
Learn to find the unit cost of each ingredient to save as much as possible; usually it is information that you can find on the label displayed on the store shelves.
- For example, you want to compare two cans of tomato puree that are roughly the same shape. If one costs € 3.99 and the other € 4.25, it seems obvious that the best deal is the least expensive. However, on closer inspection, you realize that the most expensive jar contains 450 g of product and the other 390 g. What is the cheapest product at this point? On the label displayed on the shelf you should find the price per kilogram, and this is what we call the unit price. Tomato puree which has a lower unit price is the best deal.
- Don't go overboard with your purchases. If you spend even a few euros more each time, at the end of the year you will realize that you have wasted a lot of money. Four liters of fresh milk turns sour before you can drink them all. A pound of bacon left on the kitchen counter will rot. Three different types of bread for a single week will become hard and will be thrown away. Always look for the best offer, but don't buy more than you can consume.
Step 3. Buy non-perishable foods in large quantities
These are the products that you can take in large batches because they will not spoil and at the same time allow you to save money. This means that you won't have to go back to the grocery store to buy them back for quite some time. This is a smart saving technique.
- Rice and pasta can be bought in batches. If you consume a lot of rice in your family, buy it in 5 kg bags. At the moment it will seem like you are spending a lot, but if you check the price per kilo you will realize that the cost is lower and that you will not have to buy more rice for several months.
- Dried beans, oats and canned products are other foods that can be purchased in large quantities, allowing you to save for "difficult times". If you're a little short on cash a month, buying large quantities of oats, beans or rice is a great way to make ends meet. These are all ingredients that allow you to prepare substantial meals at a low price.
Step 4. Avoid frozen meals
Although from a price point of view it may seem sensible to buy a frozen lasagna instead of buying pasta, tomato, cheese and all the other ingredients necessary for its preparation, if you consider the costs per unit you will find that the frozen product is very more expensive. Learn to cook and prepare your own meals instead of relying on pre-cooked products.
Think about health, the sodium and preservative content of a frozen product makes it less healthy for you and your family. If you cook, you can control the ingredients and make the meal healthier and tastier
Step 5. Check if there are any discounts or special offers at the store
Whichever supermarket you go to, first look at the offer shelves - everyone has them, from the supermarket chain to the independent convenience store. Check the area of the store dedicated to discounted or discounted products, you often find foods in jars such as sauces, canned vegetables and other hygiene products such as shampoo.
Many people are afraid of buying products close to their expiration date. The dates are often indicated in an arbitrary way with the sole purpose of creating obsolescence and inducing consumers to buy more instead of consuming what they already have at home and still perfectly edible. The wording "to be consumed preferably by" does not mean that the product will be rotten from that date on, indeed sometimes it is food that does not degrade at all
Step 6. Check the coupons
Many shops insert discount coupons in local newspapers or display them at the entrance. This is a good way to check the offers and discounts on fruits, vegetables and other products so that you can save money.
Vouchers are also a technique used by the store to "direct" the consumer to certain products. Don't buy two boxes of chocolate cream just because they're on sale. Buy only what you need
Step 7. If you are in financial difficulty and food spending becomes a problem, contact associations such as Caritas or Banco Alimentare
Make an appointment with the social worker of your municipality or ask at the parish. There is always a structure ready to help you.
Check if you are eligible to apply for the social card. It is a prepaid credit card that the government makes available to eligible people as a contribution to food and utility bills
Part 3 of 3: Finding the Food
Step 1. Find a grocery store near your home
If you need to stock up on food, the supermarket can be the solution. There are all types and styles, from organic to ethnic foods, so find the one that best meets your needs and offers you what you need. Don't expect to find a Vino Nobile di Montepulciano of the best vintage at the discount store, but don't expect to spend little in the organic shop where all the products are certified and zero kilometer. Learn to differentiate your shopping so you can make the most of each store.
- Some chain stores specialize in non-perishable products and offer them at unbeatable prices, while others are unsurpassed for fruit and vegetables both in terms of cost and variety. These are the best places to find offers.
- Natural and specialty food stores are best for finding seasonal vegetables, raw ingredients, whole grains, but are generally more expensive than supermarkets. You pay for the high quality. In some areas cooperatives are very popular that allow you to buy as a member and also have a voice regarding the products offered.
- The minimarkets that are located along the streets of intense traffic or the small food outlets are more suitable for buying snacks, alcohol and precooked foods, certainly not for fresh fruit and vegetables. They work just fine for a packet of chips and a can of cola.
Step 2. Check if there are any grocery outlets in your area
These deal with generic brand products (not “designer” with a major brand) and excess inventory, so it is possible to make good deals while saving a lot of money compared to the supermarket. However, these outlets often only deal with non-perishable food and have a very limited supply of fresh products.
You won't be able to take advantage of a wide variety of choices, so don't look for very specific products, however you can find basic ingredients such as large cans of oil and vinegar. They are also good places to buy snacks, crackers, carré bread and all packaged staples
Step 3. Go to the agricultural markets
Without a doubt they are the best place to find high quality fruit and vegetables, produced at zero kilometer. They are usually held on weekends and there is a village fair atmosphere thanks to the outdoor stalls and extremely fresh vegetables. Depending on the climate in your area, they could only be organized in some seasons, during the harvest, but others are regularly held all year round. If you want to find fresh fruit, vegetables and meat from human-raised animals, this is the place for you.
- Markets also give you the chance to get to know and interact directly with the producer who grew, prepared and now sells your food. There is something much more personal than taking cookies from the supermarket shelf.
- Agricultural markets are also a way to support and feed the local economy and agriculture.
Step 4. Buy special ingredients online
Like almost everything now, it is also possible to buy food on the internet and have it delivered directly to your home. It is an excellent solution if you live in a remote location and have problems getting certain ingredients or fresh food. On the internet you can find everything from organic teddy bear-shaped gummy candies to sacks of German cumin seeds to jasmine rice and always at great prices.
- Coffee cooperatives are very popular online, allowing you to sign up as a member and buy excellent quality coffee beans that are delivered directly to your home. If you are a coffee lover, this solution is beyond compare.
- Citrus fruits can also be purchased in the same way even when it is not in season in your region. Since lemons, oranges and grapefruits grow only in certain climatic areas, the internet allows you to enjoy them all year round and without even leaving the house.
Step 5. Bring the shopping bags to the store
Stores charge you for plastic or paper bags to take your groceries home with; it therefore becomes economically and ecologically smarter to buy resistant bags and use them for shopping. Also reduce the volume of household garbage. Buy five or six good quality bags and keep them in the car or near the front door so you can't forget them when you go to the grocery store.
Step 6. Go to the restaurant
Sometimes you just don't feel like cooking. Although it is cheaper to eat at home, sometimes, especially if you are single, it can be much cheaper to go out for lunch than to buy all the ingredients to cook the meal. An easy way to buy food is to take it away from a restaurant.
Advice
- When you have little money, make the most of offers and discount coupons.
- Some stores have prepaid cards that you can buy and donate to other people so they can use them to pay for their groceries.
- Even if your gluttony tells you otherwise, know that healthy foods are better than junk food.
