Inspired by the Grocery Store Circular

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It’s Wednesday! Often referred to as hump day since the weekend is that much closer on the other side of it. It’s also my favorite day of the week for other reasons. On Twitter it’s Wine Wednesday, Bravo is currently airing Top Chef AND it’s grocery store circular day. I get really excited about the circular for a few reasons. One, in recent years, I have become a little obsessed with coupons and I play a little game with myself matching products on sale to coupons. ( I am NOT a coupon expert by any means visit http://www.afrugalchick.com/ for help with that!) Two, I have mentioned using it to help with meal planning and ultimately cost-saving through it. So really, I use the grocery circular for inspiration!Well, I am half way planned for March this time around, so how about I give a demo on how I get inspired by the grocery circular.

Harris Teeter (afterwards referred to as HT) is right around the corner from my house but proximity alone is not what makes me a frequent shopper there. There sales are sound, the produce fresh and I can find most of what I need for the type of cooking and entertaining I do. (Trader Joe’s carries the Organic snacks, specialty cheese and hard to find items I need).

The front page of the circular is just like the front page of a paper: It has the headlines and pictures that they place to grab your attention and continue reading. This week, HT is focused on its Buy 1 Get 1 specials. I immediately notice frozen mixed vegetables are a part of that promotion. If you don’t keep a bag of mixed vegetables handy, you are missing on a handy staple for some great meals. I use these for pot pies, soups and stews and Shepherd’s pie among other things. Looking over my monthly menu I noticed I am preparing roast chicken Friday and had originally planned for enchiladas with leftovers. Now I am thinking a Mexican pot pie-like casserole may be the perfect use of the leftovers, and a chance to try something new.

A big feature is Pillsbury Grand Biscuits are 10 for $10. I don’t need 10 but this is another item I like having on hand. In fact, a blog reader had shared with me via Facebook an empanada recipe using refrigerated biscuits so that gets added as a weekend meal so I have time to work with a new recipe.

Cool Whip is 99 cents this week. This is something I ALWAYS have on hand. It freezes well and thaws quickly for recipes. I have a South Beach dessert recipe that I swear by and got from Food.com that uses Cool Whip and it’s great for making easy desserts for non-bakers like me.

Now for fresh meat, a great price on Boneless skinless chicken catches my eye but I am also excited about the Center Cut Pork Chops. Their size and thickness when I get to the store will determine their use but I am already thinking the weather is making grilling more and more realistic!

What’s this? Oscar Mayer bacon BOGO? Count me in! My family eats turkey bacon for breakfast but I cook with real bacon when it’s used in a recipe. A new thing I have been doing is cooking some ahead of time and keeping crumbled bacon on hand. Cooking Light gave a fantastic refresher on bacon cooking here. I also cut up some raw bacon to use for MacGyver moments. If itdoesn’t get used for a meal within its useful life, it can easily be cooked in the morning and thrown into an omelet for me or used on top of something like mashed cauliflower or a salad.

Finally, I review the produce. I search for staples like onions, mushrooms, celery and peppers and then look to see what vegetables are priced as seasonal. This week the broccoli  and Bartlett pears look like good options. I see a broccoli stir-fry being added and I am going to try this recipe for the pears!

So that’s my Wednesday ritual! If you have a favorite grocery store take a few minutes to look through its weekly specials and see what catches your eye not only as a good price but also a good item to build a dish around. If you don’t get the paper, go online to see the latest specials or sign-up to have specials e-mailed to you. HT lets you build an online shopping list that you can print or e-mail. And if you find something in the ad that sounds good, but don’t know what to do with it…ask me. I am sure I can steal a good idea from somewhere for you.

Meal Planning and Grocery Shopping

Certainly anyone can plan a meal and go out and buy all of the ingredients. Yet in my experience, that method corners you into buying something not on sale and even worse, something you might never use again (so says the rice flour I bought for one recipe and have yet to use again...although I am determined to do so !)

However, I have found one of the big advantages of monthly meal planning is the ability to grocery shop more efficiently and save time and money down the line. If you can see the larger picture of how you will be using the food you buy, you tend not to waste what you have and you buy what you only truly need. It's been a long time since I have thrown out something I bought that got forgotten in the fridge.

Here's my method. Most grocery stores publish at least one weekly circular that is in the newspaper, mailed to a home or available online. If you're like me and have one favorite store, check what that store has on sale that week in their produce, butcher and dairy sections first. These tend to be the building blocks of your meals and are the key ingredients to start with when planning a meal. In my post on cooking chicken 3 ways I mentioned I took advantage of a sale on chicken to plan some meals. It's as simple as that, ESPECIALLY when it's a great deal. Once you know you have chicken, you can look for recipes that have chicken as a main ingredient AND take advantage of what you already have on hand or look closer at what's on sale in produce and dairy and choose some of those items. The beauty of the Internet is you can Google "chicken and cheese and rice" and come up with about 1,000 options!

Another example, let's say steaks are on a super sale. It's easy (and I often do it) to write "steaks" on the menu and pick a good day for indoor or outdoor grilling. Lettuce is on sale and so are potatoes so...great steak, salad and baked potato. But since you are planning for the month think about what else those steaks could be used for in another week or sometime else during the month: fajitas? steak sandwiches? a mixed grill?  Or maybe you can't think of anything right at the moment so you buy the extras and freeze them. Then wait until the next planning session and say, "hey I have steaks in the freezer!"

The key, and it takes practice, is to take advantage of the sales AND what's in season, especially when you are talking about produce. Not only are they more flavorful, but they're cheaper too! Try this link for a quick guide to seasonal fruits and vegetables. Happy shopping!