Grocery shopping multiple times a week

[bonquiqui]

I have always been a once a week grocery shopper. I feel like now that I'm single, I waste SO much. Things go bad because I don't have time to make it, I forget I have something, or I'm simply buying too much.

Does anyone go to the store every couple of days? I feel like maybe if I say buy only a couple of meats/fish, fruits and veggies at a time, maybe I will cut the waste.

Bananas for instance, I buy a bunch of 6 or so and I never finish them. I have grand plans, but it never works out. Maybe I should just buy 2at a time. Green bananas for the win.

Everything I read seems to show that bulk shopping saves more money.

[Deleted]

We go every day, but one, H stays home, two, we have a Whole Foods just down the street, and three, neither of us cooks so we eat fish or chicken from their hot bar pretty much every night.


This does NOT save money. It does, however, eliminate waste- we used to order groceries (pre-WF) and constantly had to clean out the refrigerator because with just two people, and me rarely home, we never finished anything. Even the milk.

[Serenity9]

I used to live in a food desert. I went once a week or less, and I had the same problem. Now I moved somewhere with 3 grocery stores in walking distance, so it's easy to stop in after work. Location and convenience make a big difference.

[lauralala]

I go probably every 3 days, on average. For me, it helps a lot with waste. It also seems to help us eat more fresh fruit and veggies, since I am not worried about them going bad. It saves money since I am not having to replace food that went bad, and I am much better about meal planning for just a couple of days at a time - I don't change my mind because I'm no longer in the mood for what I bought as often as I used to.

[shopgirl07]

I'm single and I always shop 2-3 times per week. Mostly because I can't get it together enough to figure out what I need for a whole week. I have the same problem with bananas, grand plans but no follow through. Anyway, I'm not much of a bargain shopper but I don't think I spend more shopping several times a week than I would just once a week.

[ECB]

As much as I want to meal plan and buy in bulk - at the age of 46 and 7 years into parenthood, I just need to accept this will not happen. It's not in my DNA.

So - we do tend to go to the store every few days.

[blondemoment123]

I'm at Publix at least 3 times a week. I buy non perishables once a week, like you I used to waste so much because I'd never get around to using it.

[littlemisssunshine]

I do a weekly shopping trip for non perishables and then go maybe 1 or 2 more times to pick up fruit, veggies and meat as needed. It definitely cuts down on the waste and saves money. Bulk shopping never saves us any money. It's just my H and I. I don't need a 20 tins of tuna or 5 lbs of chips.

[brooke77]

I generally buy breakfasts and lunches for the week on Sunday. For dinners, I go to the grocery store every few days. I lam not good at meal planning/hate following a plan, so it helps cut down on waste. I live half a mile from whole foods so it's easy to just stop by on my way home from work/the gym and grab ingredients for dinner.

[glitzyglow]

I'm single and I just go shopping 1x per week, sometimes longer between trips.

I normally try to meal plan 3 meals: a meal of fresh foods, a meal that is fresh + pantry/frozen foods, and a pantry/frozen food meal. For example, this week I made a batch of homemade chicken noodle soup for lunches at work (fresh meal), I've eaten turkey wraps for dinner (fresh + pantry), tonight I'm making sun-dried tomato/fresh basil sauce served over pasta (fresh + pantry meal), and Monday I'm going to make a dish of baked chicken mixed with a frozen bell peppers/onion mix, chick peas, and a prepared Kroger sauce served over quinoa (pantry/frozen food meal). Meal planning helps me buy just what I need and keeps me on track to use items so they don't go bad before I get to them.

For something like bananas, if I don't get through them I'll freeze them for smoothies or I'll mix up a batch of banana pancakes and freeze them for quick breakfast mornings.

[Elsa]

I despise grocery shopping and refuse to go more than once a week. Could you use Amazon instant prime to fill in holes/help eliminate waste? Have you price compared to see if it's comparable?

[DarcyLongfellow]

I do, but not intentionally. I just seem to realize I'm out of some staple the minute I get home from grocery shopping.

I do think that shopping for only the next couple days could save money, though. You could make sure to only get what you'd eat. And if plans change and you eat out two nights in a row, the raw ingredients for those two nights of planned dinners would still be good, so you could just make them the next night.

I tend to have grand plans of salads and kale twice a day, then at the end of the week I have a whole crisper drawer of rotting greens.

[verycontrary247]

Do you just eat the bananas regularly or mix them into stuff? I get slightly green bananas, slice and freeze half of them to mix into smoothies. That way I only have to eat 3 before they start getting brown and spotty.

[Deleted]

There's two of us, and I shop once per week for produce and fresh meats. We also bulk buy non-perishables and frozen items. We don't waste much, but that's because I meticulously meal plan. Every Sunday I sit down and map out the week (what nights we'll eat at home vs. eating out, how long I expect leftovers to last, how many lunches I'll need to pack for work, what meals will be made with fresher foods, what meals will be made with pantry/frozen foods, etc.).

I go to the healthy/organic store once per week for fresh stuff, and once a month I go to the big superstore for pantry/frozen/paper products/dry goods stuff.

[MixedBerryJam]

Jul 9, 2016 10:20:27 GMT -5 bonquiqui said:

I have always been a once a week grocery shopper. I feel like now that I'm single, I waste SO much. Things go bad because I don't have time to make it, I forget I have something, or I'm simply buying too much.

Does anyone go to the store every couple of days? I feel like maybe if I say buy only a couple of meats/fish, fruits and veggies at a time, maybe I will cut the waste.

Bananas for instance, I buy a bunch of 6 or so and I never finish them. I have grand plans, but it never works out. Maybe I should just buy 2at a time. Green bananas for the win.

Everything I read seems to show that bulk shopping saves more money.

I feel silly keeping my BJs membership year after year, but I still bulk shop things like tp, kleenex, soap and all that stuff that never goes bad. Regarding groceries, I'm in the same boat as you. It goes against everything I've done my entire life to buy the smallest unit of anything. But a giant mayo jar with get thrown out before it's half gone, just because it's been open so long I don't trust it any more. And while I can buy a 5# bag of potatoes for $1.99, I'm still going to pick from the 3 potatoes for $2 bin instead. It still feels very unnatural. And I have just accepted that I'll go to the grocery store at least 2x/week, often more.

Also, I do have a freezer in the cellar so I still bulk purchase meats and freeze in small portions. Like, I'll get a package of 6 steaks and wrap in freeze them individually or in pairs. (Plastic wrap is one of my bulk purchase items, lol.)

[abcdefu]

I am single. My sister in law and I eat healthy, but my brother doesn't. So we split fresh produce and fish, turkey, and chicken, to eliminate waste. She goes one week and then I go the next week. It has worked out well.

I had the same issue that you are experiencing. If you have someone you know that you could split the food with, that could help.

[bonquiqui]

Jul 9, 2016 10:23:19 GMT -5 elle said:

We go every day, but one, H stays home, two, we have a Whole Foods just down the street, and three, neither of us cooks so we eat fish or chicken from their hot bar pretty much every night.


This does NOT save money. It does, however, eliminate waste- we used to order groceries (pre-WF) and constantly had to clean out the refrigerator because with just two people, and me rarely home, we never finished anything. Even the milk.

I'm embarrassed to say how much I've thrown out this week alone. Pork chops went bad, left over chicken, salad, veggies, bananas. I feel like I will save, because I won't be throwing all of this out. I guess I'm just buying too much.


I'm glad I'm not alone though!

[bonquiqui]

The worst part is I will meal plan and still have waste. I plan too many meals, because you have to figure leftovers, being single. My lunches are leftovers from dinner.

I think I'm going to try it, just to see.

[bonquiqui]

Jul 9, 2016 10:58:05 GMT -5 verycontrary247 said:

Do you just eat the bananas regularly or mix them into stuff? I get slightly green bananas, slice and freeze half of them to mix into smoothies. That way I only have to eat 3 before they start getting brown and spotty.

I eat them, but also use them for smoothies. I need to peel them and put them in freezer bags for my smoothies.

I buy bags and bags of salad, with good intentions, but I can't eat it all. I guess I needed to just type all of this out to see that I'm being ridiculous by buying too much food lol.

[lovelyshoes]

Go more often for fish/meat/berries/fruit. Those things go bad fast and sometimes you aren't in the mood for chicken by Wednesday. I used to go every 2 days when I loved closer to my favorite store. I think you only save when buying in bulk, but I doubt you are doing that on a regular basis. I think it just wastes money in the long run unless you have a ton of people to feed.

[dreamcrisp1]

I go 1-2 times a week. One big trip and then one small trip if I run out of anything (bananas and bread). I spend too much if I do multiple trips. I also cook 2 meals a week and then if I need anything else by Thursday/Friday, I figure it out.

[whitemerlot]

I've been trying to go only once a week, but my refrigerator is small and there are 4 of us. I also find that if I buy enough salad greens or fresh produce to last the week, it doesn't always stay fresh. I am going to try going twice a week, with one trip being fresh produce or meats.

[livinitup]

When I was single, I remember freezing a loaf of bread (Oat Nut) and using 2 slices at a time when I made a sandwich. I did a lot of stuff like that. Salad kits were terrific, too. I kind of miss them.

I bought weekly (or longer) but I also bought a lot more lunches on the go and little things for dinner. Like getting a salad for lunch or $2 bowl of soup from the Chinese food place for dinner. So, I wasn't grocery shopping much but I was popping into places to supplement groceries.

[dexteroni]

I've done it both ways and I definitely spend less going once a week. Some weeks I do the one main shop and then one additional stop for more fresh produce. That works well for us, and sounds like it might work for you. On the second trip I don't even walk through the entire store, just get the produce I need and head to the checkout.

What definitely doesn't work for me is stopping a few times a week. I end up buying too much and buying things that don't work together to comprise meals. That's when I run into a lot of food waste.

[dexteroni]

Jul 9, 2016 11:15:25 GMT -5 bonquiqui said:

The worst part is I will meal plan and still have waste. I plan too many meals

Then maybe try making your meal plan and then eliminating one of the meals before you go shopping.

Or make a plan to use all of every ingredient you buy. You mentioned bags of salad in another post - one bag of salad is usually enough for two entree-sized salads for us. So plan salads for two dinners that week, or one dinner and two lunches. Either way, you can grill or broil two chicken breasts and those meals are halfway done.

[spedrunner]

I pretty much go everyday. I get fresh fruits and veggies and get the staples I need. I am pretty good and figuring out how much I need and use. I also enjoy goi g to trader joes and whole foods. It's just part of my day

[wesleycrusher4ever]

It's two of us. We go mostly every day to get a dinner meal. Saving money on the food budget isn't really a priority for us, so we just buy food when we need it, so it doesn't waste.

[wambam]

This sounds exhausting.

[Deleted]

We go once a week, but often I'll pop in on my way home to pick up a thing or two that I need midweek.  

We were doing Blue Apron regularly for a while, but I'm a little bored with it and not 100% sure it's saving money anymore.  
Now we're both eating 3 meals a day made at home--bring breakfast and lunch to work.  
Blue Apron doesn't give us enough for leftovers which we sometimes like to have for an easy next day lunch.

ETA: It's just the 2 of us and many times we do waste stuff....there's no perfect solution that I've found.  I refuse to go daily.

[juliachild]

I go a couple times a week, but not intentionally. Go to the farmer's market on Saturday, big grocery store on Sunday, CSA on Monday. And then usually we need coffee or milk or something later in the week.