On my last blog post of 2009, I asked you the readers to give me feedback on what you were looking for in 2010. What questions you had, or what topics you wanted covered, stuff like that. I had a tremendous response, and I thank you for that. A few people in particular asked me to elucidate my grocery shopping habits, and help them figure out what theirs should be.

When it comes to grocery stores, most are set up the same way. The good stuff on the outside, the dangerous shit in the middle. If you stick to the perimeter of the store you will find the fruits and vegetables, the fresh seafood, the fresh beef and poultry, the eggs, the yogurt and usually the nuts. That is the vast majority of your needs right there!

Now you will have to make foray’s into the middle aisles to get stuff like beans, frozen fruit, frozen vegetables, quinoa, oats, milled flax, tuna, salsa, natural peanut butter and more, but the trick is to make a list and stick to it! That is a key point right there, do not stray off of your list, that is when you get into trouble.

Now these same people also asked how I differentiate my shopping. Meaning, where do I buy some stuff, where do I buy others, since not everything I eat is available at one grocery store, or at least isn’t the most reasonably priced at every store. If you have the means, you could probably purchase everything I list below at Whole Foods, if like me that is well outside of your budget, then you should consider splitting up your shopping.

I do the vast majority of my shopping at a local Stop & Shop, with some Whole Foods mixed in and a dash of Amazon.com. Here is exactly how I do it:

Stop & Shop (purchased weekly or bi-weeekly)

Produce

• gala apples


• navel oranges


• bananas


• random fruit selection here: strawberries, pineapple, etc


• baby carrots


• cucumber


• spinach


• sweet onion


• green pepper


• sweet potatoes


• wild frozen blueberries


• frozen raspberries


• frozen strawberries


• frozen mixed peppers and onions (for omelets)


• frozen mixed vegetables (a few varieties for late-night stir-fry)


• veggie wash (especially for foods on Dirty Dozen List)

Nuts & Meat

• almonds


• walnuts


• pecans


• wild salmon


• buffalo


• chicken breast family pack (when on sale)


• tuna, chunk light


• natural peanut butter

Eggs & Dairy

• omega-3 eggs


• 2% plain Greek yogurt

Grains

• organic beans (kidney, garbanzo, black)


• quinoa


• old-fashioned oats


• buckwheat

Misc.

• salsa, black bean and corn


• pesto, extra virgin olive oil and basil


• hummus, original tahini


• guacamole


• POM Wonderful pomegranate juice
  
  Whole Foods (purchased monthly)

• unsweetened vanilla almond milk (cheaper than Stop & Shop)


• Ezekiel sprouted grain tortillas


• Ezekiel sprouted grain English muffins


• Ezekiel sprouted grain bread


• milled flax (Barlean’s Forti-Flax)


• raw cheese


• pasture butter


• grass-fed beef - sirloin strips and ground


• coconut, shredded unsweetened


• Tazo Tea (green, black, white)


• Rooibos Tea (Republic of Tea Good Hope Vanilla)
  
  Amazon (purchased as needed)

• chia seeds (Navitas Naturals)


• cacao nibs (Navitas Naturals)


• coconut oil, organic unrefined extra virgin (Barlean’s)


• hemp butter (Manitoba Harvest)

Now this is my shopping list, and it might not be the same as yours, and that is ok. I didn’t put the amounts that I buy because it isn’t always set in stone, but when I go to Whole Foods I generally stock up enough to last me at least one month, usually more, since it is a 20+ minute drive. Hopefully this gives you an idea of how to set up your own grocery shopping, and remember stick to the list!