Groceries 101

Yesterday, I broke one of my cardinal rules of healthy eating.

Never go to the grocery store without a plan.

Bad things happen when I wander around tossing things into my cart on a whim.
So I try to keep a few things in mind when at the grocery store.  

Here are a few of my shopping tips:

1. When I grocery shop I like to have at least 3-4 meals planned out. This leaves room for dinner out one night, dinner at my parents or in-laws, and a night of leftovers. If I try to plan more than 4 or 5 meals, I usually end up throwing away food. I'm thinking of last week's beautiful escarole that went in the trash. Oops.
2. Set yourself a food budget. This is not a hard and fast rule, but I aim to spend $75/week on groceries. It's almost like a challenge when I'm at the store. Can I afford imported cheese this week? Maybe next time.
3. I stick to my list. It helps me save money on groceries, and I tend to buy fewer unhealthy foods. I am more likely to add tomatoes and milk to the list than I am Doritos.
4. Let the produce department do all the work. If for some reason I don't have a plan, I check out to see which veggies look good that day. I can always work in a protein or starch somehow, but if I start with a vegetable that looks particularly delicious, I am off to a good start on a healthy meal.

All this being said, I really enjoy grocery shopping.
So when I ventured out to the store yesterday without any idea of what to make for dinner this week, I remembered tip #4. I stocked up on vegetables and felt well on my way to cooking dinner for the week.

Last night we made killer salads with my large haul of vegetables.

I marinated some tofu in Parmesan garlic buffalo sauce, and broiled it to go on top of the salads. I even managed to get Jerry to try it! He said it wasn't his favorite, but he didn't hate it.
I on the other hand, was in love and could have eaten the entire block of tofu.  The sauce was from Harry and David, but it reminded me of the Spicy Garlic sauce at Buffalo Wild Wings. Love it!

I splurged and drizzled a serving of Marzetti Simply Dressed Blue Cheese Dressing on my heaping pile of vegetables. It was perfect with the buffalo tofu.
I added some homemade garlic croutons after I snapped these photos. Jerry and I are obsessed and pretty much never eat a salad without them.

In case I haven't mentioned how to make them:

Homemade Garlic Croutons

• Drizzle olive oil on crusty bread (we use Heidelberg French Peasant)
• Toast bread
• Rub a clove of peeled garlic on bread immediately after removing from toaster. The heat from the toast will slightly cook the garlic, making it a little more mellow.
• Sprinkle on salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese, or any other flavoring you like.
• Cut into cubes
• Devour a salad big enough for a family of 4

Grocery shopping, love it or hate it?
I love it, and can wander around a grocery store for hours. My dream is that someday Utica will get a Wegman's.  Sigh, someday.....