Grocery Shopping

I love days when I feel like a success. Grocery shopping use to be something I was successful at. How could it not be, most would probably wonder. Easy- In my pre-pregnancy days I made a menu for the month of what we would have for dinner every night. I allotted 2 days per week for eating out and we always stuck to it. In fact, we started it in September of 2009 and almost made it a year until nausea due to pregnancy kicked in full force in late August early September 2010. From that point on menus were a thing of the past. I couldn’t fathom planning an entire month of meals since absolutely nothing sounded good to me. Even a week seemed like a monumental task. So, needless to say, we began to eat out a lot more and have very random, spur of the moment meals.


While on the menu, grocery shopping was a breeze. I knew exactly everything I had to have for the week with the addition of stuff for our lunches. I was very successful and even did the whole couponing thing for a little while. When we fell off the wagon, grocery shopping became a nightmare. Ryan and I usually do the shopping together (it’s all a part of the newlywed, we are practically inseparable phenomenon that tends to happen) but occasionally I would go alone. Bad idea. I very clearly remember going to Kroger one day and coming back with nothing but breakfast foods. Three different boxes of cereal, bacon, eggs, sausage, Eggos, pancake mix, syrup, fruits, bagels, pop tarts, nutri-grain bars etc. If it was a breakfast food you better believe it was in my cart. When I got home, unloaded the groceries, I felt like I had done so well on this shopping trip and I had really got some substantial items for cooking that week. When Ryan got home however, he just asked me how I had managed to spend X amount of dollars because we didn’t have anything. Whereas he was right, I didn’t admit it and just proceeded to show him all the “goods” I had purchased for us. How dare he think we couldn’t like off breakfast food alone for the week! So, he vowed to never let me go shopping alone again (at least while I was with child since this seemed to hamper my shopping skills). We stuck to this method as best we could, but there were the occasional days when I would have to go alone still. On those days, each time, I would be waiting in the checkout line scanning the items in my cart and I would take out my phone and send Ryan a text that would always say something to the effect of, “I suck at grocery shopping” or “Don’t be mad when you get home.” Hey, at least I could admit it.


As my pregnancy has progressed I have become a lot better and lately we’ve gotten back on track with our menus. We only do them weekly now but still this is progress. I feel much better going to the store again. Even when I am alone I can tackle it. Of course, I lapse occasionally and Ryan asks “did you get any food” (because Edy’s ice cream, Doritos, Jello, and bananas aren’t food at all?). Last night however, I felt like I had earned a trophy. I went shopping and picked up tons of stuff that Ryan would enjoy…not the 8 month preggo here. I splurged and got Cinnamon Toast Crunch (something I never allow us to get because it’s kinda gross and by gross I mean I made myself sick off it once so it’s hard to revert back to it), turkey and ham (I’m a turkey kind of girl and Ryan’s a guy so naturally he will eat anything, right? Um, not so much. So I appeased him and got the ham.) and other various items that he likes. When he got home to “inspect” what I had picked up I got tons of “Good job Bunney!” He was so proud of me for actually getting real food for meals AND for picking up stuff that he likes for once. See, a trophy was in fact necessary and I definitely felt like a success again. Now, if only I can keep this up when he isn’t with me we will be doing pretty well. I will no longer have pregnancy to blame on the shopping, so what will be my excuse then?