My Simple Steps to Isolation Shopping

I don’t know about you, but I have found one of the greatest impacts I have felt during this time of isolation is my meal planning and prepping. Whether it’s missing ingredients at the grocery store, or increased time and energy devoted to meals- my routine has definitely changed! But a few of my meal planning techniques have stayed the same, or have been even more helpful for my personal cooking and grocery budgeting!

I have compiled a list of the steps I take each week to plan out my meals, keep myself on budget and reduce my overall time spent in grocery stores, and of course the number of trips I make each week. I hope you can find some of these tips helpful in your own weekly planning!

Step 1: Get Inspiration- skim through some of your favourite cookbooks, or search online for a few recipes you love! I like to save recipes I want to try to my instagram under ‘meal planning’ which helps me to get inspiration and keep my meal planning interesting for both my personal and client plans! With more time at home (for some) this could mean getting to try out more intricate or time sensitive recipes that you may not have otherwise considered. If you can plan for these recipes in advance you are more likely to execute and it will also support you in feeling accomplished at the end of the day if you have conquered something new!

Step 2: Make a plan- Previously I would grocery shop based on what I saw in the store and what I felt like in the moment, which resulted in a lot of random meals and spending over my budget. Now I try to always shop based on what I need for specific recipes and meals! This makes it a heck of a lot easier in the time of isolation to do your shopping and make alternates to what I need. When we enter the grocery store our options are more limited and our time spent in the store should be reduced, if you have your plan you can stick to those simple ingredients with a rest assured feeling that you have gotten what you need on your list!

Step 3: Go To List- Having this list during this unpredictable time means that you can keep up on what you need without needing to hoard or run out. For example I always try to keep a can or two of coconut milk, fresh ginger/garlic and some frozen vegetables in my freezer. These are items that I am constantly using and can be perfect for whipping up a quick meal! The best way to do this is to think back on the last few weeks, what are your go to meals? What do you LIKE to eat and what ingredients do you need to have to make some of these simple meals? Things don’t always go as planned at the grocery store and so having a few key things up your sleeve can be just the thing for making a few meals in a flash! Before heading to the grocery store I skim over this list and stock up (you only need a small amount if you keep it stocked week to week) when I go to the store for my weekly shops. This is also so important as our grocery stores work to ensure items are on the shelf and helps prevent us from buying six cans at a time!

Step 3: Grocery List - When making a grocery list I love to be as detailed as possible, especially through this isolation time when shopping needs to be done efficienitly with little contact with the items. This means I can plan my groceries based on the flow of the store which allows me to efficiently shop and plan. You can even add a few alternates to your list so that you can ensure that if the ingredient isn’t available you will have another way to make that meal!