Healthy Grocery Shopping

I enjoy food. I REALLY enjoy food. Food is yummie in my tummy. But when I started to eat clean, I started to really enjoy healthier food. I always ate healthy food, but not enough of it. It was often a struggle on how to incorporate it into my diet. But now, if I don't eat enough fruits and veggies, then my body gets upset with me.

yes, I do buy a lot of fruit

I go grocery shopping once a week. Usually during the weekends. Prior to heading to the store, I make a list of items we ran out of. Then I plan our meals for the week. Just one week, until the next shopping trip. 

Why only shop once a week?
1) It is easier to budget.
2) It's enough time to eat the food before they spoil.
3) I try to avoid preprocessed food, and enjoy eating fresh produce.
4) It makes meal planning simple.

Where do you shop?
I live within walking distance to Safeway. But I drive about 8 miles, one way, to Trader Joe's. I feel that it's worth the trip. Don't get me wrong, Safeway is great and I still shop there at times. I often go there to purchase items at the deli. Usually deli meat and cheese.

But I buy everything else at Trader Joe's. I like their selection of produce. I love their organic orange juice and milk. I was quite shocked the last time I went to Safeway and searched for organic chicken. Trader Joe's was definitely more affordable. About 85% to 90% of my purchases are organic. And I like the fact that most of their packaged foods don't contain HFCS (high fructose corn syrup), nor do the ingredients read a mile long of stuff I can't even pronounce.

Why organic?
Why not? Ever since my son was born, I decided I would feed him what I thought was best. I never fed him jarred food from the store. I made his baby food. I feel that that act of love has done him well. He is a very healthy young boy, and he's quite smart. I'm sold.

Being surrounded by those battling cancer also helped me with this decision. A relative on my father's side passed from it. My first degree cousin from my mother's side passed from it. And my aunt, my mother's sister, is a 10 year breast cancer survivor. Cancer on both sides of my family doesn't quite put me at ease, so I am controlling what I can to try and avoid it.

What is your typical shopping list?
Fruits, Veggies, Sides and Snacks (90% organic)

• brocolli and/or cauliflower
• sweet potato
• bananas
• baby spinach or romaine lettuce
• kiwi
• apples and/or pears
• dried fruit
• dried seaweed
• onions
• garlic
• protein bar

Dairy and Drinks (99% organic)

• 1% or 2% milk
• orange juice
• grapefruit juice (for the hubby)
• eggs
• green tea bag

Frozen or Chilled (70% organic)

• Cod filets
• potstickers/teriyaki chicken/orange chicken
• berries
• chicken
• meat

Everything else

• Multigrain bread
• Ground flax seed (once a month)
• Toilet tissue
• Multivitamin (once a month)
• Vitamin D3 (every few months)
• Laundry detergent
• Dishwashing soap

So these are pretty much my staples and I work off of that. We have the occasional treat such as tarts, pizza or cookies so we don't go crazy. And we ALWAYS have dark chocolate to help with our sweet tooth.

My budget is $100 per week. Which isn't that bad considering that I buy mostly organic. Going organic won't break the bank if you do your homework.

Where do you shop?

What are your grocery shopping staples?