What Should Be On Your Shelter-In-Place Grocery List?!?!

Lately, some conversations with my friends include anecdotes of how high we loaded our cart at the grocery store or how many carts we needed. We are limiting our time in public places and therefore trying to get as much as we can in one trip to the grocery. To optimize sustainability and avoid waste, I've provided suggestions for your shopping list during SIP.

1. Choose produce that will last longer.

Avoid (or buy 1 or 2 of these items): Most bagged items in the refrigerated produce section-

berries

prepped and/or chopped convenience items

bagged lettuce and salads.

Buy Most items in the center of the produce section-

potatoes (all varieties)

butternut and spaghetti squash

ripe and green bananas

tomatoes

kale

cabbage

broccoli

apples

melons

non-ripe avocados (keep them in the fridge, take them out and let them ripen when you are ready)

eggplant

pears

onions

garlic

mangoes.

2. Choose healthy shelf-stable items.

Avoid

Chips

crackers

candies

cookies

Challenge yourself to find alternatives to these items that contain whole grains (or no grains) nuts and seeds. Try rice crackers or even tortilla chips with blue corn!

Buy

lower sodium soups

beans

tuna

salmon

sardines

shelf stable milk alternatives (coconut, rice, almond)

rice

quinoa

olives

nuts

nut butters

beets

artichokes

bone broth

pasta (look for alternative grains for variety in your nutrients)

pasta sauce (buy a salt free version and add your own salt). Even better, direct message me to buy Sunfire Salt!

3. Buy frozen items and items that you can freeze.

Avoid

Processed meals

vegetables frozen in sauce

microwave snacks

desserts

Buy Frozen fruit

vegetables

cauliflower rice

meat

anything with one ingredient.

Buy and Freeze

Meat (even nitrate free bacon freezes well)

cheese (slices or shredded work remarkably well-blocks can get crumbly upon thawing)

nitrate free lunch meat

fresh fruit, mainly berries

bananas that are close to turning can be sliced, frozen on a parchment paper tray, then stored in a container when frozen (use them when you're ready for banana bread, a smoothie or blended on their own with a little milk to turn the blender, for ice cream!)

believe it or not, you can do the same with avocados and they thaw to make great guacamole or for an addition to a smoothie.