Sunday, October 26, 2008

Food Preparation 101: The Grocery Shopping List

The majority of people that are successful have something in common, they plan ahead. We've all heard the old adage "failure to plan is planning to fail." Making the commitment to plan your food preparation will inevitably lead to better health and a better physique. The first step in planning your food preparation is gathering the food. This quest involves making a simple list, sticking to the list and getting your butt to the store at least once per week.

According to America's Cheapest Family by Steve and Annette Economides “Shoppers making a ‘quick trip’ to the store to pick up a few specific items usually purchase 54 percent more than they planned.” So grab a piece of paper and pen and lets try and get this list right.

Who eats flowers?

Create the list. Your list should be fairly simple. It should mostly be comprised of lean proteins, vegetables/fruits, good fat sources and some nutritious carbohydrate sources. An example might look like this:


You can download the list here.

Stick to the list. Impulse buying accounts for more than 50% of grocery store purchases which will not only lighten the wallet, but fatten the belly. If you spent the time creating the list, you owe it to yourself to follow it.

Now that you have all this food what do you do with it all? Next week we'll address some food preparation strategies to help you plan your meals in advance.

2 comments:

trierweiki said...

I'd like a printable/editable grocery list, but I find the Google Docs version inadequate as it only provides for consumable groceries. I need a place for household items such as cleaning supplies, toiletries, etc. I use the The Dollar Store and Dollar General for as many of these items as possible.

trierweiki said...

I believe a list for grocery shopping is important. However, the downloadable Google Docs list isn't really the best. It allows only for consumable groceries. I need a place for the cleaning supplies, toiletries, and other household products. These are a huge part of the grocery expense. I try to get as many of these items as possible from the Dollar Store, or Dollar General.