Saw this great infographic a couple days ago. In particular, the last four tips caught my eye:
- Plan to shop infrequently
- Make a list to shop intentionally
- Shop for multiple households in one trip
- Use delivery and pickup services
Good advice. Except it’s missing the one big thing that makes it doable:
Plan Your Meals!
1. Plan to shop infrequently
Totally doable if you plan out several days of meals. Then there’s no need to drop by the store every day or two. (I haven’t shopped for two weeks and won’t need to go until next week when I shop for our Cook Together!)
2. Make a list to shop intentionally
But how do you make a list? First you need to know what you’ll be making! Ahhh, the beauty of a meal plan.
3. Shop for multiple households in one trip
If the other household(s) plan and make good lists, this can work. But it could get unwieldy if others are really buying for four to five days—which I hope is the case. That much shopping might be more than one person can handle and stay sane. This is where a delivery service comes in (see the next tip.)
4. Use delivery and pickup services
Once again: A service can’t shop for you without a list, and a plan delivers the list!
More Food Thinking
With a little more time on our hands, maybe there’s an opening to think a little more deeply about our food lives. If so, here are a few ideas to ponder:
Today’s situation has spotlighted our culture’s last-minute approach to meals, i.e., “I am hungry and therefor food should be available.” And it always has been. Wherever we turned, there was always something we could eat, even if a lot of it was “not-food,” i.e., products manufactured to look/taste like food but without real food’s nutrition.
Now, with away-from-home food outlets closed, immediate gratification isn’t so easy. Understandably, what’s followed have been dismay, uncertainty and even panic.
But here’s the thing: Food is still available in grocery stores! We still have electricity, gas and water. We could make our own wonderfully delicious meals—no “not-foods” needed.
A silly-ly obvious observation, right?
Of course we could make our own meals. But many of us no longer have the kitchen systems, cooking skills and mental motivation in place to actually do that, especially not on an everyday basis.
Convenience food eating has robbed us of these vital survival skills. So “just making our own food” doesn’t seem realistic. That’s where the dismay, uncertainty and even panic come in.
Of course what am I going to tell you?
It’s Totally Possible . . .
. . . to start re-learning the skills and systems for everyday meal-making.
They’re not hard, and we are smart and entirely capable.
Now is the perfect time.
Start with Meal Planning It’s not only critical in terms of helping prevent Covid-19. It is the #1 Foundational Skill that makes the entire meal making process manageable and even enjoyable. It is the best defense against the last-minute approach to meals that is causing us health problems far beyond Covid-19.
How Do You Plan Meals? Got you covered there, too. I’m just finishing my 5-week workshop on the Think-Ahead-and-Plan-Habit that shares the basics for planning meals. As or more importantly, it shares how to get around the many barriers, obstacles and challenges that will try to block you from adopting this simple, powerful habit. Stay tuned for more info!
2 FREE Intro Videos In the meantime, take a look at these two videos–maybe while you’re cooking?! See what you might be missing and how you can easily get it back:
The Vital LifeSkill that Saved My Sanity, Health and Life . . . and that will save yours, too
The #1 Best and Most Brilliant Way to Make Your Healthy Eating Dreams Come True
Shopping for Our Cook-Together Class
The safe-shopping topic is especially pertinent in light of our upcoming Cook-Together. A couple readers caught right on, asking: “Will I get the shopping list in time so I can get the ingredients when I’m doing my regular shopping? I don’t want to do a special trip just for this one recipe.”
Good thinking! Please don’t shop for just one dish. I’ll send out the shopping list as soon as you register and you can shop as much as a 7 to 10 days in advance, whenever you are going to the store otherwise. Mushrooms, some kind of milk and parsley are the only perishables in the recipe and they can easily last, properly stored, for 7 to 10 days. (I just did this; worked fine.)