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I feel like the last two years we have been playing dodgeball, ducking and hiding, just trying to stay in the game — that’s how I’ve felt running my home the last 2 years when it comes to meals. In this post I am sharing how I changed my grocery shopping habits in 2022.
We are supposed to be back to “normal” now, but with inflation and craziness continuing to happen I just want the “dodgeball game” to end.
We are currently a family of 8! We welcomed our 6th child early this spring, and I don’t know if it was the fear compilation of the last two years while grocery shopping or simply my ever-changing hormones, but I started to feel super defeated. One of our largest expenses, food, has gotten way out of hand this year.
I really had to sit and review my menu plans and grocery receipts to look at inflation, what I’m buying and realized it wasn’t necessarily me letting grocery shopping slide, inflation is happening — but I decided something had to change. So here is how I started changing my grocery habits in going into the second half of 2022:
1. One Major Grocery Shopping Trip a Month
I think we all can make a “master” grocery list on any given day — the items you buy every time you go grocery shopping. Now you just need to figure out how much you need to last a whole month.
TIP: create a seasonal menu — 10-20 meals that you consistently have the ingredients on hand for.
Don’t worry if you forget something — most people that “once a month” grocery shop do make at least 1 smaller grocery run during the month for fresh, the forgotten, and last minute items.
This doesn’t mean you are only stuck with one store! I just do all of my grocery shopping in one day. This will also help keep your fuel cost lower, and only using one day’s worth of energy!
2. Need One? Buy Two or Three.
This is a great way to build up your stockpile. Once you have a rotation system in place you won’t feel like you are buying the same things all the time.
For instance, when I ran out of ketchup I decided I need to have a stockpile so I bought 3 instead of just replacing the one.
TIP: Clean out the fridge and check for anything missing on your list the day before your major shopping trip!
3. Try Misfits Market.
I can’t always make the time to go to the local farmers market on Saturday mornings. But shopping online makes everything more convenient. Misfits Market is an online fresh produce delivered straight to your home. I have been quite happy with ours so far!
Try Misfits Market with $10 off your first order HERE.
4. DIY.
Do you know how easy BBQ sauce is to make at home? I’m ashamed to say I only recently did, after watching videos to make ribs. Not only do you already (90% probably) have the ingredients — you can control the taste and the sugar content. I have spent a small fortune over the last 5 years trying all different kinds of BBQ sauce that is lower in sugar but that we actually like– now I make my own! I haven’t perfected a recipe yet but it’s much closer than any store bought!
Need more inspiration that you can DIY in the kitchen?
Chive Butter — this is how I preserve my garden chives. Great with potatoes!
Salad Dressing — apple cider vinegar, honey, mustard, salt and pepper
Spaghetti Sauce
Red Pepper Sauce
Buttermilk Biscuits
5. Find Alternatives and Get Creative.
Have you heard of “flax egg”‘ in baking? One tablespoon of ground flax, 3 tablespoons of water — let sit for a couple of minutes to thicken… and tada ! an egg alternative.
I use this method almost exclusive when baking now! Egg prices are high, so I save those for fresh eating, and the ground flaxseed adds additional nutrients.
Finding alternatives and getting a bit creative is helping me change my shopping habits too because I’m not running to the store for every, little thing. Knowing food substitutes is very helpful!
Have a favorite banana bread recipe? Trying subbing pumpkin. Or zucchini. Or peaches! Feel free to try Grandma Dee’s A to Z Bread!
6. Learn How to Cook Your Favorite Foods.
We all have to eat … why not make it enjoyable? You can easily turn it into a family affair, date night, girl’s night, etc! I happily get requests when I ask the family what their favorite dinner is (it’s usually lasagna, ha!).
These days any information can be found with a few clicks — and there is such pride with sitting down eating something you enjoy and that you made from scratch.!
Peach Galette (shown above)
7. Batch Cooking
Batch cooking can be a great help especially when it comes to simplifying your grocery shopping habits.
There are a variety of ways to batch cook– put extra in the freezer, turn the extra into a completely different meal, or my simply choose 2 meals: mon/wed, tues/thurs–are the same meal! I call this the Choose 2 Method and it is how I schedule our breakfast and lunch during the homeschool week!
This helped simplify my grocery habits and help be more prepared. Having the same meal, or repurposing a meal also helps keep the food waste down too.
TIP: You can also batch cook ingredients and make completely different meals. Ex. chicken and rice: one night could be an enchilada dinner and another night become chicken and rice soup.
8. Invest in (REAL food) Cookbooks.
Flipping through a cookbook and landing on something that looks delicious and have all the ingredients – if you have a “real” cookbook this can become a normal activity!
This saves me from random, in between, grocery shopping trips that lead to going over budget and buying items I have no other use for.
Even if you have some family favorites that use things like cream of chicken soup- with a stocked pantry you can easily make it!
My Philosophy in the Kitchen: If I can buy it at a store or in a restaurant, I can learn to make it!
Suggestion: The Praire Homestead Cookbook – the sourdough brownies and the cream soda are both worth the price of the cookbook!
9. Buy Your Pantry Basics from Azure Standard.
We just recently started buying from Azure Standard and have nothing but high praise for both the quality and their prices. You do have to be flexible to be available to meet the truck with your order (once a month), unless you have it shipped straight to your home.
You can so many items in bulk -from 1 pound packages to 50 pounds. Small containers of oil up to gallons! A great way to slowly build up a good, rotating, working pantry.
Check out Azure Standard for a drop near you! I hope to share my AZURE hauls and pantry via my YouTube soon!
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