How to Make an Effective Grocery List
(and know if you need bananas or not)
Hi there friends and welcome back to the Good to Know series. For eight weeks, we are discussing some good things to know about saving money on food and eating well. Topics include things like how to save on groceries, menu planning, and this week’s topic, how to make an effective grocery list.
If you’d rather listen than read, the audio version is at the top of this page.
This past week, my youngest son was listening to a bodybuilding podcast while we were riding to the gym together. The speaker was an old-school bodybuilder and trainer. I was struck by what this trainer was teaching his listeners. He was not saying to follow this or that routine or do things exactly like he did, but rather he shared information that could be used as building blocks to train their bodies in the way that was best for them.
And I thought, wow, that is kind of what is happening here in our Good to Know series. We aren’t getting ripped at the gym, obviously, but we are learning tools and skills that are building blocks on how to purchase and cook food for ourselves and our families. I hope that you make this information your own and apply it in a way that makes sense for you.
So, let’s look at this week’s goal: how to make an effective grocery list.
Grocery Lists 101
Once upon a time, I used to shop without a grocery list. I’d show up at the store, push my shopping cart around, and hope that somehow magically I would know what to buy. People shop without a grocery list all the time. I saw it again this week at the store: a man in the checkout line who said that he needed tomatoes and had to walk all the way across the store to the veggie section, a woman who stood and stared vacantly down the canned goods aisle, and a young woman who asked her toddler if they still had bananas at home. None of them had a list in hand.
We mentioned the importance of a grocery list in the last two newsletters. When you have a list, it helps you to 1) save money because you aren’t buying things you don’t need or already have, and 2) buy the ingredients for the meals that you are cooking for the week.
Many years ago I belonged to a group called MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers). In addition to it being a chance to be childless for two hours, drink coffee while it was still hot, and have real conversations with adults, the meetings often featured an informational or encouraging speaker. At one of our meetings, the topic of grocery shopping was discussed and there was a template passed around on how to make a grocery list. I thought it was dumb. You just write down what you need. The end. No one needed to tell me how to make a grocery list, seriously I have a master’s degree. How hard is it to put a list together?
I was given a free notepad with these sections preprinted on it like frozen foods, dry goods, refrigerated items, etc. Not one to pass up anything free, I took one. And just for laughs I used it for my grocery list the following week. You already know what happens. My shopping trip was beautiful and I nearly cried.
Not really.
But I saved so much time on my trip through the grocery store and it was so much more organized. I got everything I needed in each section of the store and did not have to double back for that bag of onions or crisscross the store for hamburger buns I didn’t get while in the bread aisle. It worked!
I realized I had never been taught how to make an effective grocery list.
Once I had plowed through the free notepad I did not order more from the company that supplied them because I’m a cheapskate. I made my own list. It looks like this.
You don’t have to use the headings that I do. Name the sections with what makes sense to you. If you’d rather label the fruit and veggie section “plant-based life-sustaining vegan goodness” then by all means, please do so. Or arrange your list in the order that your favorite store is laid out. That idea has always been a little too complicated for me but it might work for you.
Grocery Lists 201
Now that you have an idea of how to divide up the sections on your list, let’s take a look at how to use it.
Post the list on the fridge or somewhere visible so it can be added to during the week. I have my list on my kitchen counter next to my calendar. Yes, I have a paper calendar in addition to the one on my phone because old habits die hard.
I write down items as I run out of them or remember things needed. Once I decide on the recipes to make, I add those ingredients to the list. The list below is what one of our subscribers, my good friend Deb, puts on her fridge each week and just circles the things needed.
Other people in the house can add to it as well. My kids have always known if an item was not on the list, it wasn’t going to get purchased.
As you write down items, include a quantity, if it is appropriate. For instance, rice comes in 5 or 10-pound bags, so you don’t need to do this so much with things like that. But for fresh produce, bulk bin items, or canned goods, it’s helpful to know exactly how many tomatoes, cans of garbanzo beans, or bags of frozen peas you actually need. It’s also a way that you can stock your pantry, a topic that we will dive into next week. Having a well-stocked pantry is important not just for emergencies but also for fewer and shorter grocery trips.
If you are a couponer, attach your coupons to your grocery list or place them in your wallet. I don’t use coupons as often as I used to, but when I do I am terrible at remembering for what items I have a coupon. Putting a star by the item on my list helps me remember.
Cross things off as you put them in your cart. This works whether you are shopping in-store or online. It’s so easy to overlook an item on the list if you don’t cross things off as you go. I always have a pen in my purse but if I don’t I borrow one from the customer service desk and try to remember to return it after I’ve checked out.
If you shop at more than one grocery store, make a list for each store. I have a list for the grocery store where I routinely shop and a separate one for Costco.
The Frozen Pea Saga
Okay, so if you’ve been following along for the past two weeks, you already know that over the holidays I found five bags of green peas in my freezer. It looked like we were scheduled for some major surgeries (we aren’t, thank you Lord) but I just didn’t do a very good job of surveying what I had slumbering in the deep freeze.
My solution to the abundance of frozen peas? The delicious concoction is below. It can be a dip with pita and veggies, a schmear inside wraps and sandwiches, or part of an appetizer platter.
Easy Green Peasy Hummus
Makes 2 cups
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1 cup garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
3 Tbsp tahini
3 Tbsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Garnishes: crushed red pepper flakes, whole garbanzo beans and green peas, finely chopped parsley
Add all the ingredients (except the garnishes) to a blender or food processor. Blitz until smooth, about 30 seconds to one minute. Taste and add more of whatever you think it needs for your taste (lemon juice, garlic, salt). Adjust the consistency to your liking by adding a little water if needed and blitz again.
Scrape the hummus into a serving bowl. Top with any or all of the garnishes. Serve at room temp. Store any leftovers covered in the fridge.
Tell Me
What did you learn or were reminded of in this article? I’d love to hear how you are going to use it the next time you make your grocery list. Please leave a comment below.
Next week, we talk about stocking a pantry. You don’t have to blow your budget to do this and it’s easier than you think. See you next Friday!
Hahaha! Tom actually found a big bag of peas two days ago and wondered why he had bought them! I mentioned that we had tasted pea salad a couple of times while in Spokane last year and he had made it several times...but we both had forgotten about it...until last night when he made pea salad again as a side. Yum!
I am not a huge fan of peas, but I loved your article on making a grocery list. I use my phone to make my grocery list and I have it in sections as well. Because I shop at Winco (once a week when all the kids were home), I made my list in order of the arrangement of the store. Now that the kids are out, I rarely make lists, but when I do I usually do it in sections without titles. It makes it easier to get all the items you need without having to trapse back and forth across the store/s. I hope many people are helped by your suggestions. These are great!