Fillin' up the fridge

Today's post is all about grocery shopping.

Now, with a 1 and 1/2 year old, timing is everything. We were seriously all out of groceries in this house and since yesterday was payday, C and I decided to venture to Super Target with the purpose of filling up the fridge. The best time to go grocery shopping is either in the morning around 10am (so you arrive at home for lunchtime) or after nap so C can have her snack while riding nicely (and quietly) in the cart so Mommy doesn't lose concentration while bargain hunting. We left around 9:45am, which is a perfect time for us. The store is not too busy, people are still refreshed from their morning coffee, and the carts are relatively clean. First stop: produce. Why do I always forget that if C sees me putting grapes in the cart, she needs one immediately? So, of course, I cave in and give her a few grapes (feeling guilty that I am technically stealing). Thankfully, Super Target gives a free kid's size cookie to our little bundles to keep them content for the next 10 minutes - God bless them, really. So she gets the cookie and I continue shopping in peace. As we ventured through the store, C did an amazing job of talking to passerbys and muching on her snacks. She got out of the cart about 10 min. before we left to have a wander around the "doggie" section, making sure to point out every picture of a dog she spotted.

I AM THE WOMAN!!! I saved over $25 in sales and by using coupons. I tend to be quite frugal when it comes to spending (afterall, we live on one income). Each week, I write a menu of our daily meals and then below it, write the list of the things we need to buy at the store. I make most of our food from scratch (yorkshire puddings, cookies, soups of several varieties, bread, lasagnas, etc.) and we eat a lot of fruits, veggies, and cheese. I try to keep in mind the idea of knowing where my food and its ingredients come from. As a result, we save a lot of money by buying fresh foods rather than packaged or processed foods and hopefully we're healthier for it!

I will conclude today's post by advising grocery shopping when your child is well-rested and can be entertained with snacks & toys in order to aviod the meltdown and becoming "that parent."