I love grocery shopping! It’s honestly a blast; I love going down a nice, clean store and picking up new ingredients to create some healthy yet tasty meals. I’ve had a pretty limited ability to do any major gourmet cooking while I’ve been in California where I’m limited to two pots and pans. Oh, and I don’t even have any mixing spoons! But, I have mastered the buying small amounts of food for a good price and then having to carry it all back to the dorm. Shoutout to not having a car for 2 months, lol.
I know what it’s like to cook in a small kitchen with limited supplies, oh and being a semi-broke college student on a budget. Throwback to when I wrote this popular post about grocery shopping on a budget. Check it out here. I tell you all my tips for shopping on a budget over on that fine blog post. Today, I figured I would give you a typical list that I would bring with me on a normal grocery shopping trip. I tend to go around every two weeks. I’ll pick up produce and meat/fish once a week, but this is what a typical bi-weekly grocery trip would look like.
Also, side note, I’m thinking about buying my produce at the farmer’s market because I’ve heard really good things! For now, I buy everything at Walmart, Harris Teeter, or Trader Joe’s depending on how I’m feeling!
Produce
Bananas
Raspberries
Blackberries
Strawberries
Baby Spinach or Half & Half Salad Mix
Sweet Potato
Zucchini
Russet Potato
Red Bell Pepper
Green Bell Pepper
Asparagus
Avocado
2 Heads of Broccoli
Dairy & Eggs
Danon Vanilla Greek Yogurt
Swiss Cheese Slices
Pack of 6 Eggs
Snacks
5 Kind Bars or GoMacro Bars
SkinnyPop Original Popcorn
BareNaked Granola
Oats & Grains
Belvita Chocolate & Oats Chewy Bars
Special K Cinnamon & Almond Cereal
Whole Wheat Bread
Mini Plain Bagels
Drinks
Gold Peak Sweat Tea
Medium Roast Iced Coffee
Dinner Entrees
{Pick 2}
Salmon
Chicken Tenderloins
Turkey Burgers
1/2 lb Lean Ground Beef
This is what my cart would be filled with on a filler grocery trip! At the start of each month, I’m typically out of some of these essentials ! I figured I would share the things that I will buy every once and awhile, but don’t need to be purchased weekly!
Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
French Vanilla Coffee Creamer
Peanut Butter or Almond Butter
Chia Seeds
Frozen Fruit and Veggies
Taco/Fajita Seasoning
Mozzarella/Taco Mix Shredded Cheese
Halo Top Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream
Brown Rice
While this may or may not come out to be exactly $50 dollars, I get pretty dang close! I can get all these things with sales and smart shopping for pretty close to that price. Also, you can mix and match most of the things on the list to make 3-4 dinners! That’s enough for two weeks of dinners, realistically! Did I miss anything? What are your favorite recipes and food essentials?
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keep on keepin’ on,
