7 Things to Remember When Doing Grocery Shopping

Doing the grocery can be tasking yet relaxing for anyone most especially for mothers. If you are the head chef of the family (like me hahaha), you opt to buy ingredients you favor and you spend so much time picking the best and freshest ones.

Going to the grocery is therapeutic. You can pacify your urge to shop, thus, you can also create such excitement of preparing a meal from scratch. Sometimes, when we get too excited (yes, it's true) to shop, we often forget what and why we are in the grocery for. Hehe. So for us to be more guided, here are some (obvious) things to remember when doing grocery shopping:

• Create a list

To save time (and money), it pays to create a grocery shopping list. In this manner, you can only select what you really need for your home and kitchen. You can also save loads of money just by purchasing the most important and needed stuff only. 

This is doable especially if you are working on a tight budget or trying to save more.

• Allot time

Not that you should spend almost the whole day in the grocery just by picking the best ingredients, but you must allot some time to do so. If you are a busy mama, going to the grocery alone can be a ~leisure.~ 

Remember that you also need some time to spend doing what you love - to keep your sanity. Hahaha! 

• Choose bundles

If you are like me who likes cooking pasta of any kind, it is worth it to choose pasta bundles. It saves you more money for that chocolates later. Hehe.

• Choose FRESH

I know that in the grocery, we are not really sure if we are picking fresh goods like vegetables, fish, poultry, and other meat products. Though, I still choose to shop in the grocery because, I think, it is way cleaner. Flies aren't around (most of the time) and crews have good sanitation and in proper uniform. 

Personally, I'm a paranoid cook and a paranoid mama overall. Haha! Therefore, I choose branded meat products because for me... it's better to be safe than sorry. Now that we are on a bird flu and red tide scare, I resort to choosing branded even more to provide a safer dish for my family. 

If you are like me, you can opt to buy Monterey meat products. They are deem fresh each day and I like the quality of their meat. Even if you store the products in the ref for a maximum 2-3 days, it still smell good and do not have any discoloration. 

If Monterey meat products aren't present in your go-to grocery, you can choose Bounty Fresh and Magnolia as alternatives. (I choose Bounty Fresh for eggs. It might be kind of pricey compare to other brands but it surely is worth it.) 

• Don't be afraid to ASK

If you are unsure of any products in the grocery or you simply want to know more before purchasing, ask questions. Sales associates or grocery crews are knowledgeable (they should be) about the products and brands assigned to them.

• Utilize membership and reward cards

If you are a regular shopper and has a chosen 'home court' grocery, you might want to utilize your membership and reward cards for points. These points can also be used on your succeeding purchases. Though, every thousand can be just equivalent to single or minimal point, when collated it will be rewarding. 

If you are like me, I try to acquire points and wait until Christmas season to use it so I can buy more from the grocery or purchase gifts for my loved ones. *wink*

• Indulge a little

After you are done with all your grocery needs, reward yourself after. Whether you want to buy chips, chocolates, candies, or choose to eat out after shopping, you deserve it. 

Remember that you don't need to spend so much money on it, just enough for you to taste something new or eat your favorite food.

I know we all have techniques when doing our grocery shopping. These are just (obvious) things we often forget that can create bigger impact (naks!) to our shopping experience. 

Do you have any tips to share? I'd be glad to know! :)