Going Rogue in the Cereal Aisle

Do you use shopping lists? If so, do you ever go “off list”?

Who needs an App or a smartphone? 

For the most part my shopping “list”, usually written on the outside of my left hand. I should actually tattoo a short list of staples – yogurt, coffee, onions – as not to forget the things I consume almost every day but somehow always forget to buy.

There are times I write down actual items on actual pieces of paper, mostly when I am hopping to the store on lunch break. These scraps of paper are safety nets, because a person should never shop when hungry – unless you are running a sociological experiment, which you don’t really have to do because I can tell you how it will play out in four words – high salt; low fiber. Mostly my shopping list looks like a weekly menu.

This week my list will look more like a very eclectic menu - burrito, carbonara, split pea soup, scalloped potatoes, veg stock, pie, and nutmeg.  That will cue me to purchase – pinto beans, tortillas, salsa, sour cream, ham, pancetta, make sure I have flour at home, a smoked turkey wing, a bag of potatoes, a couple onions, carrots, celery (I have thyme and parsley). I will think about making pie which will set off another mental list, butter, cream cheese, apples, pumpkin – anything on sale?

Sometimes this approximation of a shopping list will spur mental conversations like, “Oh I need sugar and nutmeg, seems like it lasts forever – I distinctly remember doing this 5 years ago, how long have I been out?” This could be why I am told I look anywhere from addled to distracted in the store. Some interpret this as stress, but grocery shopping is one of my favorite activities – it is almost always better and occasionally cheaper than a movie, plus buying ingredients for meals reinforces the belief that the world is full of possibilities and with a little work, knowledge and studying a person can accomplish what they set their mind to – who doesn’t need a feedback loop like that?

The best part about a list is going off list. Only two things can cause this to happen – something beautiful is available and something is on sale. A few weeks ago, I went into Whole Foods to buy rice and olive oil – and walked away with 2 whole chickens. Craving wings? No, Whole Foods had a sale on chickens 99¢ a pound for organic chicken (limit 2 per customer). How can you avoid that?

A sale on winter squash will cause me to drop the carbonara and add pork chops and think about whether or not I have wild rice at home. A sale on Tillamook cheddar will cause me to buy elbow macaroni because it is mac & cheese weather. One of the farms at the market had sweet peppers for so cheap, I had to rethink my menu for the next 10 days – paprikash and Italian sausage. This is good, as much as I would love to buy groceries every day or have the limitless funds to buy what inspires me, I find the list with exceptions allows the flexibility and seasonality to make shopping an adventure rather than a chore.

To be continued on the next post...