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In the age of Coronavirus, we are all trying to spend as little time as possible in the grocery store to minimize our exposure to the virus. I’ve been taking it as a personal challenge to shop twice a month instead of twice a week and I’ve got to say, I’m kind of starting to like this new shopping schedule. This is one of the new habits I might hold onto after lockdown ends. Here’s some tips and tricks to have a quick, economical and safe trip to the store that stocks you up for weeks.

Create a standard shopping list for your house.

This is the equivalent for the “Order Guide” and “Par List” in any restaurant. I’ve been working off lists like these for years as a chef, but when it came to shopping for myself, for the longest time I was disorganized and undisciplined. I would go to the store without meal planning, forget important items that we were out of and have to go back to the store several times a week. A couple years ago I created a list for my house and instantly started to feel like a grown up. It has saved me so many trips.

Here’s how to do it. List out everything you need to have on hand in your house and the number you like to have on hand (“Par” amount, that’s optional but helpful especially if someone else helps with the shopping). We’re talking about food staples like flour, sugar, cooking oils, baking soda, canned goods, grains and pasta, along with your fresh produce, dairy and meat, and also household needs like shampoo, lotion, toothpaste, medicines, etc. If you cook specific ethnic cuisines, you may have a list of staples that are unique to you. Don’t forget those.

My list is organized by where in my house the items are located (pantry, fridge, cabinet above stove…) so it’s quick and easy for me to see what we need. My mother-in-law has a list that’s organized by grocery store aisles. Also a good idea. Do what works for you.

You may be thinking that this sounds like a lot of work or it will take a lot of time. I made my list in less than 30 minutes. Most of the stuff you know right off the top of your head. You don’t need to take a full inventory of everything you have on hand right now. If your fridge is like mine, you probably have a bunch of sauces in your fridge that you wont necessarily buy again when they run out. Those don’t need to go on this list. Make it a computer doc so you can print it over and over again and update it occasionally as needed.

Here’s my list. Feel free to use it as a template.

Go through your fridge.

Before you make your shopping list and meal plan, go through your fridge and get rid of the stuff you’re not going to eat. This clears space for new groceries and gives a good idea about what you have to work with.

Make a Meal Plan

The first step in knowing what you need to buy is knowing what you want to make. That’s where the meal plan come in. It doesn’t have to be real detailed or rigid.

Efficiency and economy comes from making the same thing over and over again. That’s why restaurants have menus. It doesn’t sound exciting, but I have a pretty limited menu for breakfast and lunch at my house.

Breakfast is either cereal, smoothies, waffles/crepes, bread/bagels with cream cheese while we have it and some sort of eggy dish a couple times per week. Lunch tends to be some combination of healthy snacky stuff: veggies and dip, leftovers, home-made bread and cheese, sliced fruit, nuts, etc. I make sure I have all the stuff needed for these items.

For dinner, I’ll spend more time cooking and like more variety from week to week. I sketch out 10-12 dinners for the 2 weeks. Plan on a few of those being big batches of something that will give you leftovers or a prepped ingredient you can use for another purpose (like roast chicken —> chicken salad or enchiladas). I like to make at least 1-2 meals per month that I can freeze for later, soups, stews, enchiladas, lasagna, etc.

Your meal plan doesn’t have to be real detailed. You don’t have to assign meals to every single day. I think it’s most helpful to think about meals for Week 1 that use perishable produce and the stuff in the fridge that needs to get used first. And meals for Week 2 which uses less perishable ingredients.

Look at what you already have in your kitchen and pantry.

Anything that’s taking up space or going to go bad, you want to find a way to use in your next meal plan. An open package of bacon, a half head of cabbage, 3 avocados that are getting really ripe…. breakfast burritos. Add tortillas and eggs to the shopping list. Soft fruit…. smoothies? Need some yoghurt then. The last 1/4 cup of mayo in a big mayo jar taking up space in the fridge…. egg salad.

Have a couple of go-to meals in your repertoire that are great for using up whatever ingredients you have on hand. Some of mine are omelets, soup, pizza, tacos/quesadillas/burritos, crepes, smoothies, stir fries, and salads.

Think about duplicating and re-using sides.

In the summer I’ll make a big batch of grilled vegetables or marinated tomatoes and eat them with 2-3 meals. If I make rice or pasta or polenta, I always make enough for 2-3 dinners. That way some nights I’m only cooking a protein and just reheating a couple of sides. In my younger days, I shunned the microwave and refused to have one at home (still don’t at the restaurant), but then I had kids. Now I’m a big fan of the microwave. Big….fan! Don’t get me wrong, I love cooking for my family, but at least a couple of nights a week we’re not in the mood for the full prep and full sink of dishes. Some afternoons we go out for a hike and don’t get back until our kid is starving and on the brink of a breakdown. I try to set us up so we always have something on hand that can be thrown together quickly.

When shopping for 2 weeks you need to think about shelf life.

I’ve been buying 2 gallons of milk at a time for my house lately. Something I never used to do before Coronavirus. But make sure you look at the shelf life. I’ll veer from my favorite brand to find one with the shelf life that works for the full 2 weeks. Though it’s got to be whole milk. I wont compromise on that.

Another shelf life trick is to “pull from the back”. The next delivery which has a later “use by” date will get placed behind the stuff the store is trying to sell first. I feel a bit guilty recommending this as this strategy totally goes against FIFO (industry speak for “First In First Out”), which I have lectured my staff (and husband) about too many times to count. Just know, stores will hate you for doing this. Don’t do it unless you have to. But we are in a pandemic and desperate times call for desperate measures.

When it comes to fresh vegetables, some will be good for only the first week. Others hold up for a long time. Use the tender, perishable ones first.

Here’s a list of produce that doesn’t tend to last more than a week:

• spinach
• salad greens
• berries
• figs
• cucumbers
• zucchini
• tomatoes
• mushrooms
• fresh herbs
• cherries
• swiss chard/ collard greens
• bell peppers

These fresh items last a long time and and could be used in the first or second week:

• cabbage
• brocolli
• cauliflower
• carrots
• celery
• artichokes
• beets
• radishes (with tops removed, otherwise they go slimy)
• apples
• pears
• citrus
• snap peas
• green beans (depending how fresh at store)
• endive
• romaine (may need to remove outer leaves)
• onions
• garlic
• potatoes
• winter squash

Think about space and what needs to be refrigerated.

We have 2 refrigerators at our house. One in the garage, primarily for our soda water keg, provides overflow storage. If you don’t have that, you’ll have to be extra strategic when shopping for the full week or two weeks.

A lot of produce does not need to be refrigerated. Choose items you can store on your counter if fridge space is limited. Things like apples, bananas, pears, winter squash, citrus, and tomatoes do not need to be refrigerated. Many other items like cabbage, zucchinis, peppers, eggplant do not need to be refrigerated if you are going to use within a couple of days. A lot of condiments do not need to be refrigerated either. Vinegar based hot sauces, soy sauce, unopened jars of mayo or pickles, etc.

Fill out your shopping list and go to the store.

Now that you know what you have, know what you want, fill out your shopping list. Go and get the goods.

Coronavirus Shopping Safety Tips

• Get to the store right when it opens to minimize your exposure to viral particulates in the air.
• Sanitize the shopping cart handles and your hands before entering the store.
• Wear a face mask to protect the workers, other shoppers and yourself.
• Only touch the stuff that your are going to buy, and hope other people are doing the same.
• Use disposable bags
• Sanitize your hands right when you get back to the car.
• When you get home, take off of your shoes and change your clothes.
• Use sanitizer wipes to wipe off non-porous, non-paper containers.
• Once groceries are put away, clean your counters and wash your hands.
• Rinse fruit and veggies with running water before eating them, but not right when you get home. They’ll go bad faster if they get put away wet.

For more safety tips about running essential errands, check out: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/essential-goods-services.html