Some people love shopping at the supermarket or the market, for other people it is a tedious task. If the latter is your case, pay special attention to these tips, it is very likely that one of these tips is the solution to make shopping a much simpler and more entertaining. In addition, they will help you avoid making many of the most common mistakes, for example:
People who do not enjoy going to the supermarket or the market to do the shopping, often prefer to go once every 15 days or once a month and do all the shopping together. A very common problem, is that such a time to accommodate the food you just bought, many will be left behind in your cupboard or refrigerator, blocked by the food left in front, and it always happens that after weeks, when the amount of food goes down we realize that we had bought a certain ingredient or food … and often for a specific purpose.
This is not the only possible disadvantage of making all your purchases of the month in a single day, but that’s why I have collected these 10 tips to make better purchases that I’m sure will make your life a lot easier.
Do not go shopping when you’re hungry.
You may have heard this advice before; but still I have decided to put it in first place because I think it is very important advice and remembering it is not too much.
Going to the supermarket or going shopping when you are hungry is a mistake because your purchases will be influenced by hunger and the whim of the moment, and you will lose a bit of the more forward vision you need to make a good purchase of foods.
The best thing is that you are not hungry at the time of shopping, and so you can think clearly about what are the products and ingredients you need to have a healthy diet.
Look for foods that are in season.
I have previously talked about the advantages of foods that are in season, however this is also a good time to mention the benefits of this practice.
The foods that are in season are fresh foods, which are in their best condition, and therefore their nutriment contribution is in the best moment. The foods that are in season are much easier to obtain and buy, they are in excellent condition in most cases and their price decreases considerably.
Taking advantage of seasonal foods such as fruits and vegetables, or fish is a very good option to take advantage not only the best price of these products, but also their excellent nutriment contribution.
If you stayed with the curiosity to know which note I talked about seasonal products, here is the link so you can read it.
Have a shopping list ready.
Having prepared a shopping list is a very common practice, but if you are not used to having one when you shop at the supermarket, you must adopt this custom.
There is nothing worse than arriving at the supermarket and suffering a lapse of short-term memory, and you can not remember all the products, foods and recipes you had in mind just before going to the supermarket.
Many times we rely on our memory to remember certain tips, advice or recipes that we recommend or read and we fancy, but let’s face it, many times we end up forgetting completely or we remember when we are unpacking and shopping in our kitchen.
For that the best thing is definitely to have a shopping list on hand to write down all those ideas and foods that we want to try or include in our meal plan.
A shopping list is a perfect guide to buy only what you need and not exceed the expense with extra products perhaps unnecessary.
Complement your purchases with the food you have.
Many times it happens that we buy some food for a specific recipe or dish, but after preparing it we have a certain quantity of that food, which often ends at the bottom of the pantry.
It is a good idea that when making your shopping list you have in consideration the food you have in your house when you make your purchases, and so you can take advantage of 100% of your purchases . It is also very common that we buy some food or product to make a specific recipe, but almost always that food can be used to prepare many other recipes. It is worth looking for recipes that contain the food we have at home to continue to take advantage of everything we buy and not have to waste anything.
Avoid the peak hours of the supermarket
I think we all had one of those days when you get to the super and from the entrance you realize that the line in all the boxes starts to reach the corridors. At that time you know that it will not be a “quick purchase” as you had planned. More time in the super means a greater likelihood of buying things that you may not need, are not urgent or simply did not plan to buy that day.
The supermarkets provoke in us a strong influence that encourages the purchase thanks to the marketing so intelligent that involves the distribution of products, aisles and prices of products on the shelves.
To avoid spending hours spinning in the corridors battling among the people, I’m tempting in the boxes to buy some product for the road; the best is to avoid the peak hours and thus concentrate on your purchases and finish quickly with the task.
The peak hours will depend on the area where you live, but usually on weekends, and after 6 pm on weekdays are the busiest times, which should be avoided if possible.
Go shopping at the supermarket when you are not in a hurry
This advice may seem a contradiction of the advice number 5, but it is not like that, let me explain what I mean.
When you go in a hurry to make your purchases, the most likely is that you go directly to find the hall where is what you need, when you find it you take it and you go to the cashier to pay and not waste more time.
This might seem like the ideal scenario, however in this case there is a possibility that we may lose some good promotion or some better offer.
Going to peak hours and being forced to spend more time than necessary is counterproductive because we can eventually convince ourselves to buy things we did not have planned; but going in a hurry will not allow you to choose your products calmly, look for offers and compare prices.
Therefore, it is best to avoid peak hours, so that, calmly and without hurry you can concentrate on your purchases and spend the time necessary to make good decisions and get the most value and profit for your money.
Listen to music
This advice is a very personal one and that works for me excellently.
When I go shopping at the supermarket I feel there is a lot of stimulation to my senses. Between the noise of the carts, the people, the voceadores, the talk of the people. Anyway, it’s not a quiet place, and this personally strikes me and distracts me a lot. If this also happens to you, listening to music while you make your purchases is the ideal solution. Put some of your favorite songs in a playlist, and so, without prose and without stress, make your purchases with peace of mind, taking the time necessary to make good shopping choices.
Buy frozen fruits and vegetables.
Definitely the best option s buy the food and when they are in season; especially if they are organic products. However, there are many fruits and vegetables that although not in season, are essential for our kitchen and to prepare our favorite dishes.
Buy frozen foods is an excellent option because it will allow you to save them as long as necessary and use them when you need them . In addition, frozen products of good quality lose very coconuts nutrients and benefits to be frozen almost immediately after being grown.
Check the shelves above and below
It is very easy that when we walk the shelves of the supermarkets we concentrate only on the redoubts that are in the middle, at the height of our sight, and that we choose one of these products.
These are strategically placed, because it is a tendency of people to choose the products that are most visible and most at hand. A good advice is always to look at the shelves up and down to find the different brands and the same product and compare prices and quality. The products that are in the middle shelves pay more to be there and it is possible that for that reason they are more expensive, but they are not necessarily better.
Search products on the internet.
It is difficult to know if in product it is at a good price or it is expensive when we do not have a general reference of the prices of each product or food. Search foods and products online is a very good option not only to find many foods that you might not find in the super, but you can also make a general comparison of prices and make better purchases. A huge advantage of online food services, such as the organic patio shop , is that in addition to having all the products together on a website, you request them from the comfort of your home and right there you receive them, thus avoiding all the problems of the supermarket that we have seen in this article.
