2. I do my best not to get lured into buying more than I need but I do get tempted by the cheeses. How can there be so many delicious cheeses in the world and what meanie invented cholesterol?
3. I buy fresh fish. It's much tastier than those frozen lumps covered in breadcrumbs and today the fish man packed my haddock into a 'bake in the oven' bag with a lump of fennel butter. Yum!
4. I set out with the intention of not piling my trolley up too high...
But
Whoops!
5. And I always try to get someone else to unload the trolley for me. Thanks, Mr A :-)
Phew! Shopping all done for another week. Time for a cuppa.
What are your tips for a stress-free supermarket spree?
Supermarkets give me a fit of the vapours, especially the big ones. Plus I don't have a car - so there's no hope of carrying a big shop.
ReplyDeleteSo - I do it online and use my local shop for milk, the market for fresh fruit and veg. I drop into the supermarket occasionally for fish, but only when I'm feeling strong.
I'm guessing, Jo, that you meant hypothetical vapours. When I was younger they really did affect me badly. I'd get panic attacks half way round. I think it might have something to do with the lighting. I wish we had some decent local shops but sadly the supermarkets have chased them all away.
DeleteI shop every two weeks. I put it off, eating everything in the fridge and cupboards. Because I really hate this part of life. Shopping. Bleh!
ReplyDeleteHugs and chocolate,
Shelly
Me too! When I serve up pasta with a tin of tuna stirred in then everyone knows its time to get back to the supermarket.
DeleteI have to tell you how sweet and old fashioned 'trolley' sounds to me. Here we call them shopping carts. I so agree about cheeses and fish. I love both. I just bring a list and more or less stick with it when I shop. Hubby is another story altogether. The kids who stuff our bags at the supermarket counters help us load our groceries into our cars and take the carts, trolleys, away for us. If we look old, they always ask if we need help. I usually say no, because I believe in doing as much as I can myself, but when you're tired, it's a blessing.
ReplyDeleteI love those language differences. I would have had no image of what a shopping cart might be had you not explained it. We used to have people helping to pack and taking things to the car for us but I'm guessing they went along with all the other cuts.
DeleteGood for Mr A. Being vertically challenged I have to ask people to reach to the top shelves for me and then have to stand on tiptoes to unload the stuff from the bottom of the trolley. The first time my husband sees the food is when it is prepared and on the table! Cooking is the easy part.
ReplyDeleteIf your husband is still working then that's fair enough. When Mr A was at work he had nothing to do with the 'domestic' side of running the house but now that he has retired he is more than happy to help out both at the supermarket and occasionally in the kitchen. Since we bought a bread maker he now bakes bread every few days but that's for another blog post, I think.
DeleteSend the other half. Truly! I hardly ever go shopping because he likes it. Wonderful isn't it?
ReplyDeleteIf I send him on his own then he comes back with precisely what is on the list, nothing more, nothing less. Then we run out of food because I'm rubbish at making shopping lists!
DeleteI'll muddle through until I have no inspiration. Then I bring Ray on a Saturday and must expect to pay a ton of money, but at least he's saying, "We can cook this. And I'll create that." Sometimes there are too many choices at our grocery stores and it's way too easy to buy junk food. Yes, we are fat Americans. Sigh
ReplyDeleteIt's good to hear a husband inputting ideas though. We try to avoid junk food as much as possible!
DeleteNice photo of the Waitrose car park in Oadby! Living 4 miles from the nearest shop, I go to the supermarket between once a week or a fortnight for household essentials. All my veg and fruit ,meat specialist flour, sourdough loaves etc I get from a wonderful farm shop about five miles away.
ReplyDeleteThe only time I get stressed at the supermarket is at Christmas,and that's why this year's shop will be done online!
As you know, I don't understand the concept of 'living 4 miles from the nearest shop'! I'd be in a perpetual stage of siege.
DeleteI'm afraid I don't have any tips - it's never stress-free with our two children!
ReplyDeleteDuncan In Kuantan
Not to treat my local supermarket like a corner shop, even though in fact it is my corner shop, i.e. we have a large supermarket on the nearest corner! Supermarkets are NOT good corner shops, becuase they have far too many temptations
ReplyDeleteAs I don't do the cooking in my house, I don't do the shopping either. I do sometimes help put away... although other times I get told I'm not doing it right :-/
ReplyDeletehahah I am one of those raries who likes supermarket shopping! I like looking for bargains and bent tins! and as you know, I like going to ALDI with my eccentric friend Pauline. Perhaps you should pay me to do your supermarket run?
ReplyDeleteI love the cheeses too-especially manchego and brie and I always overfill my trolley and get a bit stressed at the checkout when they scan everything too quickly. Big bags seem to work better at the checkout (but I usually forget to take them). I throw in all the light things such as crisps and biscuits etc and they're easier to unpack too. I always pack fridge/freezer stuff in separate bags so I don't have to unpack everything when I get home. I've started having food delivered every now and again to free up time for writing-it's worth doing sometimes, especially with the heavy things. I like the idea of the bake in the oven bag with fennel butter-yum! Would love to read a post about using the breadmaker-we've had one in the garage for 10 years-a wedding present along with a lazy susan and ice-cream maker. Oh dear!
ReplyDeleteHi Ros .. being only me I only occasionally use a trolley - but actually I consider once unloaded into the boot it's part of my exercise to get the trolley to its parking lot ...
ReplyDeleteCheese - yes I'll join you .. cheers and happy weekend - Hilary
I've never yet had a totally stress-free supermarket trip. I hate the places, but I have to eat and don't have the time to go round lots of small shops. I avoid Thursdays, if at all possible, because that's pension day, and all the shopping buses visit then. The place is usually packed with people who don't actually have anything else to do and they stand around in groups chatting. It isn't helpful when I'm trying to get out as soon as possible. Yes, I know I'll be old one day. But I hope I'll have enough nous left to go to the cafe for chatting, and not hang around in the aisles where I'm a hazard to other customers.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on numbers 1, 2, and 3. I never have to worry about piling the cart too full because I only get a few things at each store. I run around to four or five different stores to take advantage of all the sales. But it's easy to over buy this way. It might be better if I could see the cart getting too full!
ReplyDeleteI usually shop online I fill my online trolley with everything I want then cut it back to what I need I actually save money shopping online although it does take time and can be annoying sometimes if Internet goes slow. When I do go to supermarket it annoys me when cashier scans the food so quickly that she's throwing the food at you.
ReplyDelete