Stress-less Shopping List

Updated: Dec 4, 2023

For Janice from KSHP 1400 Talk Radio in Las Vegas

Today I had the pleasure of speaking with Janice Malone from Film Festival Radio about navigating the grocery aisles during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here are a few of the small hinge tips I gave her and her listeners:

Make a list and check it twice - a prepared shopper is a less-stressed shopper. Make your list by aisle starting with prepackaged and shelf-stable (non-frozen and refrigerated foods). Plan what and WHEN you are going to eat for the week, and make sure you support local businesses by ordering out once a week. See my sample list below!

Be flexible and take what you can get - if the item you're looking for is not available, try something new. For example if you want to grill a skirt steak with chimmichurri sauce, but only see a ribeye, buy as many steaks as you can find (ideally Aussie Grassfed that is pre-vacuum sealed), freeze them and then go online and find great ribeye steak recipes.

Portion Control = Wallet Control - with reported meat shortages, and full freezers, how can you stretch a meal? You can buy a whole chicken, roast it, eat 4oz per person on night 1, then make the leftovers into chicken salad or put it into a broth and make a soup with rice and veggies. Cook fresh veggies into a pasta, stir-fry or soup when they are starting to go bad.

RELAX - listen to relaxing music like spa music, classical, salsa, etc. while you are following the arrows and safely social distancing while shopping. Podcasts work too to get your mind off the stressful shopping experience.

Sample Shopping List:

Dry Pasta (organic durum/semolina or brown rice)
Canned chickpeas and black beans (organic)
Bread, bagels, english muffins, buns (organic & GF or sprouted)
Flour/baking mixes, pancake mix, sugar, spices
Organic Popcorn (microwavable or pre-popped... just be careful of sodium content)
Sauces, oils & condiments (hot sauce!)

Citrus - clementines, lemons, limes, grapefruit, oranges
Stone fruit - pears, peaches, plums, apples
Other fruit - bananas, mango, melon, tomatoes, pineapple (must be refrigerated after cutting)
Veggies - avocados, potatoes, onion, garlic, squash (acorn & butternut)
Berries - strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries can sit out on the counter in a cool place for a week
Herbs - cut herbs can stay fresh in a cup with a little water for over a week on your counter

Veggies - cucumber, lettuce, broccoli, leeks, green beans, peppers, kale, spinach, collard greens, beets, carrots, cauliflower, celery
Dairy - milk, eggs, cheese, cream cheese, butter *you can freeze milk if you take a 1/2 cup out first... and you can also freeze butter and cheese. Don't freeze eggs :)
Meat, deli meat, fish - look for vacuum sealed meat, and frozen fish so that you can easily pop it into your freezer. Vacuum sealed deli meat can also be frozen!
Freezer aisle - pizza dough, frozen fruit for smoothies, ice cream, breakfast items (waffles & sausage), frozen mixed veggies (toss into pasta or soup for added nutrition), kids meals like chicken nuggets or smiley fries...

Thank you for having me Janice! For more information, please follow me on social media @lindzoneill

Contact me if you need additional advice, support or recipes!

Love & yum,

Lindsay