I didn’t learn to cook until I moved into my first apartment the summer after my freshman year of college. I was incredibly excited to enjoy my newfound independence, which included preparing my own meals. I could no longer rely on my mom or the Northwestern dining hall for food. Around the same time, I decided I wanted to dramatically change my eating habits to lose weight and improve my health. With these two goals in mind, I headed to Jewel for my first solo grocery store trip.

I had been to grocery stores plenty of times before. However, I never had to buy all my own food and so I had no idea what I needed to feed myself for an entire week. During my first time at the store, I spent over an hour wandering around trying to figure out what to buy. I spent way too much money and bought tons of food I didn’t need. I also forgot some essential items and ended up having to return to the store later in the week to fill in the gaps. The whole process was overwhelming, frustrating, and totally inefficient.

Over time, I managed to develop a grocery store routine that was both efficient and enjoyable. Now I actually look forward to going to grocery store. My weekly trips take around 30-45 minutes depending on when I go. I usually spend between $40-60 to feed myself for the entire week and I rarely throw away rotten or unused food. So how did I make the switch from slow, frustrated shopper to grocery store pro? Keep reading to learn the tips, tricks, and strategies that made the biggest difference for me.

Grocery shopping: Much less scary than nuclear war

Have a plan.

If you’re new to grocery shopping, it’s essential to have a plan of attack. Showing up without a shopping list leaves you vulnerable to impulse purchases and almost guarantees you will forget crucial items. You’ll likely waste tons of time making decisions at the store which could have been made more efficiently in the comfort of your kitchen.

Start by making a list of all the ingredients you need for the week. If you’re a novice cook, it’s helpful to do some meal planning ahead of time. Write down exact quantities of fresh produce and meat you need to avoid food waste. If you’re trying out a new recipe, be sure to list the ingredients you don’t have on hand.

As you become more experienced in the kitchen and at the grocery store, you don’t necessarily need to make a detailed list every time you go the store. Instead, you can establish a plan like my current strategy:

• Each week, I buy more or less the same quantity of fresh fruits and veggies. Since I use meal templates for breakfast and lunch, I know I’ll be able to eat a certain number of each item during the week no matter what. The exact fruits and veggies I buy depend on the season and what’s on sale. For example, although I always buy at least 10 fruits to have with two meals per day, I may buy apples in the fall and berries in the summer. I know I’ll eat about three bell peppers each week, but I buy different colors week to week depending on what’s cheapest.
• I’ll try to buy proteins that are on sale. Because I rotate between 5-10 different dinner meal templates, I decide what to cook during the week based on what I buy.
• Before I go to the store each week, I do a quick survey of my fridge and pantry. Do I need to replace any cans I used last week? Am I running low on staples like rice, olive oil, spices, or hot sauce? I’ll jot down the items which need to be replaced so I won’t forget them at the store.

Read More: Master Meal Prep

Strategy inside the store

Once you’ve created your list (or plan), it’s time to go the store. Two important tricks can help you buy only what you need and avoid overwhelm:

First, don’t go to the grocery store on an empty stomach. This is especially important if you’re prone to buying junk food. Instead,  schedule your shopping tips right after a meal. If you haven’t eaten in a while, grab a small snack to take the edge off your hunger before you head to the store.

Second, stick to the perimeter of the store. Almost all of the healthy foods, including fresh fruits and veggies, meat and fish, eggs, and dairy products, are located around the outside edges of the store. When you do venture into the aisles, make sure it’s only for items on your list or to replace pantry staples. Avoid any aisles that house problem foods for you, such as the chip and candy aisles.

Develop a routine.

In addition to planning what to buy at the store, it’s helpful to plan when you’ll do your shopping. It’s easier to build new habits when you keep as many variables the same as possible. We are much more likely to make changes when they fit within the context of our existing routines. 

If you’re struggling to go to the grocery store on a regular basis, try setting aside a designated day and time for shopping. Weekends work best for most people, but pick whatever time makes the most sense with your schedule. There are definitely advantages to going to the store at off hours: it will be less crowded and you may find extra discounts on meat and produce.

You may also experience more success if you make several smaller trips per week. This can help reduce food waste, especially if you’re only shopping for one or two people. I typically do one big grocery store run on Sundays and one smaller run Friday night to fill in any gaps for the weekend. Experiment to find what works best for you, then stick with it for several weeks to build the habit.

If your biggest concern is time, pick the grocery store most convenient to where you live or work. If you have more time but want to save money or find the best quality food, do some research and try out different stores in your area. You can read more about how switching grocery stores helped me save thousands of dollars on food every year at this link.

Know when to outsource.

Even if you utilize all of the above tips and tricks, you may still dislike grocery shopping or find it simply doesn’t fit in your busy schedule. There’s nothing wrong with hiring a meal or grocery delivery service as opposed to going to the store yourself. Outsourcing your shopping is a great option if you value your time more than your money.

For a small extra fee, you can hire a company like Peapod or Instacart to delivery your weekly grocery haul directly to your house. If you want to do even less work, a meal delivery service (like Sun Basket, Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, or Green Chef) will send you recipes and the exact quantities of ingredients you need for your meals. Meal delivery services range from sending raw ingredients you assemble and cook, to sending you fully cooked meals you can just pop in the microwave.

Ask your friends which services they’ve tried and shop around for different options online. If you’re unsure whether a service is a good option for you, start with just a few meals per week. Plenty of my friends and clients outsource some of their weekly meals and do a small grocery store trip for everything else.

Putting it all together

Learning to cook for myself was one of the best things I ever did for my overall health and wellbeing. But in order to prepare healthy meals at home, I had to go to the grocery store. Once I learned how to reduce waste, spend less money, and get in and out of the store in less time, grocery shopping became a much more enjoyable experience. You can experience a similar change if you follow the steps outlined above.

If you want more help figuring out how to put together easy home cooked meals, you should grab your free copy of Eleven Easy Meal Templates. I put together this PDF guide to share my go-to meals and demonstrate just how easy it can be to prepare healthy and delicious meals even with minimal cooking experience. Sign up using the box below.