Here’s how to make the most of your next grocery shopping trip! You’re tired after a long day at work, the kids are moaning from the backseat, and you can already envision the line of pre-dinner shoppers swarming the supermarket aisles. Don’t panic! There’s no reason to dread buying groceries if you do some clever planning to be in and out of your local store in a flash.

Make a list

First and foremost, you need to go in prepared. If you don’t know what you are looking for, you will most probably end up ambling down the shopping aisles. Think about what’s needed for dinner, what’s almost empty and what never goes to waste. Jot it all down on a piece of paper or save a list on your phone. Group your items based on their aisles so that you shop quickly and effectively.

Here are great shopping apps to check out:

AnyList
List Ease
Mealime
OurGroceries

Go “10-items-or-less”, if you can

If you only want to pick up a handful of ingredients for tonight’s dinner, try to keep the number of goodies you need to under 10 items. Not only will you be in and out of the store in less time, but you will also get to work your way to the front kiosk where t e line is usually much shorter. 

Divide and conquer

Whether it’s your kids, your partner or a friend, divide the shopping list between everyone who came along and meet up at the till as soon as everyone has the items they were sent to find. They don’t say “more hands make light work” for nothing!

Tip: grab your frozen goods, meats and fish produce last before heading to check out, so they don’t sit in your basket or trolley for the entire shopping process. 

Don’t be afraid to ask

If you are looking for something specific, but can’t seem to find it, ask one of the staff to help you. If it’s an ingredient that you know they usually have, but don’t this time, ask the manager when they will be receiving new stock so that you know when to go back for it. Otherwise, look up a simple substitution and avoid a return trip altogether.  

The post How to Make the Most of Your Grocery Shopping Trip appeared first on MyKitchen.

It’s usually a bright, red banner and the writing is in bold – the coveted (and dreaded) special offer signs decorating the supermarket’s entrance. Of course, grabbing items at a lowered price is great for your wallet, but what about buying products just for the sake of buying them, without any real need? It’s all about staying level-headed and making smart choices.

By Jana du Plessis

Think rationally
The number one rule to help you navigate the reduced price aisles, is to constantly ask the question: Would you have bought it had it not been on sale? Then ask if it’s something you’ve always wanted to purchase but refrained from doing so because of it’s usually expensive price?

If you answered yes to the first question, by all means go ahead. That should mean that the item is something you use regularly or can easily incorporate into your daily dishes without having to make a special recipe or buy lots of other ingredients to be able to cook with it.

In the event of the second question being answered positively, if it’s a luxury item that you can see effortlessly forming a part of your meal repertoire, but haven’t yet bought in order to avoid over-spending on your weekly groceries, then go for it.

Allow a treat
You will certainly come across items that you haven’t noticed in the shops before, but the neon marker anouncing its sale caught your attention this time. Again, you should think carefully before adding it to your shopping basket. If it really is a good price for the intrinsic value of the item, plus it doesn’t hike up your shopping bill’s total too much, consider buying it for a special occasion you know of in the near future. Perhaps it’s some fig preserves that would go perfectly with your Saturday finger food dinner party? Or a zingy sauce for the salad you are planning for Sunday’s lunch?

Remember shelf life
While you are scoring big on your loaded basket with a small price tag, always consider the shelf life of foods – that is after all the reason why it is on sale in the first place. Fresh produce and diary items needs to be used as soon as possible, so don’t buy too much and not have a use for them before they go completely off. Meat items are even more risky – if you can, plan to cook it the same day or the next, but be wary of taking any chances thereafter. Tinned items and things in jars will keep a little longer and items such as bread or bread rolls can be frozen and then toasted without losing too much on texture and flavour.

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