I just shop for one person, and after 3 weeks of eating healthy, cooking more, and not eating fast food every night, I noticed a HUGE change in my shopping cart at the grocery store. I tend to stop every day because I'm pretty random in what I want from day-to-day. So I don't buy much. But here's an example from recently (now), and before (then).
Now
Produce (orange, watermelon, green pepper, red pepper, pre-chopped onion, fresh cilantro herbs)
2% milk
Egg beaters
2% pepper jack cheese slices
Low fat sour cream
Salsa
Fat free tortilla shells
2-3 Healthy Choice dinners
Bag of frozen peas and carrots mix
1 lb of chicken breast
Low-sugar oatmeal
Yoplait Whips! yogurt
Pack of Fruit2O
Then
2-3 frozen meals (sometimes Healthy Choice, sometimes not)
12-pack of diet coke
Chips Ahoy cookies
Pringles chip
Cheddar cheese, pre-sliced
Peanuts
Donuts for breakfast
(And most meals eaten at McD's, Sonic's, BK, etc.)
That's cool, rabidstoat.
I eat better balanced (and smaller) meals than before, but my shopping trolley hasn't changed too much, TBH. I no longer buy butter and I rarely buy Munchies. I've added high-fibre cereal, more plain yogurt, and maybe a few more fresh veggies. I do make far fewer trips to the liquor store though!
I forgot to add that my cart hasn't changed much either. I now measure out my portions and just eat more veggies if I'm still hungry. My lunches (instead of the fast food or eating a restaurants 5x a week) will now eat soup, salads, and sandwiches of stuff I brought from home. For what I pay for 1 loaf of bread and lunch meat wouldn't even have covered the cost of 1 meal.
I am trying to buy more fresh veggies and change up my lunches by cooking in bulk and freezing.
I go shopping a lot now too. We try and stay away from prepackaged food now. Plus I'm not so much for the low fat or low carb or any kind of diet food. I like the good stuff just less of it. I think the chemicals we take in eating all the diet driven food might not be so good for us. I went last night and here is what I got.
Frozen blueberries
Whole wheat wraps
Guacamole
Organic eggs
Natural peanut butter
Organic Apples
Wasabi rice chips. Kind of like potato chips but no fat
Before it was mostly fast food. If we did go to the store a lot of the time it would go bad because we would eat out all the time.
My shopping cart has changed a lot as well. Before, it would be piled high with convenience foods (lots and lots of frozen dinners). Now, it is mostly vegatables and fruit. I have noticed a huge drop in my grocery bills because of my change in eating. I am no longer spending money on junk food which is real nice!
What I buy has changed a lot. For a start I shop more often so that I can get fresh fruit and veg, and so that I can buy something that I feel like eating for that evening - if I fancy a veg stir fry I go to get veg to put in it rather than eating something unhealthy out of the freezer.
I eat far less meat and cheese than I ever did. Most of my diet is vegetarian, although I do eat chicken and turkey from time to time. I also hardly ever buy bread now, although I do like wholemeal pittas.
Tons of fresh fruits and veggies! And not a lot of stuff I can use coupons on anymore, bummer! What, they don't think we might wanna save a buck on bagged salads or fat free yogurt? No fair!
I hear you, Beverly -- wish they had coupons for fresh produce! We price shop by going through the circulars and noting the sales prices at different stores, then do most of our grocery shopping at Wal-Mart (they match prices) or Aldi Foods. Sometimes the sales prices around town are much better than what Aldi's offers, I noticed.
When I'm really on top of my game, I am a geek about it, using a spreadsheet with columns for store, department, item, and sale price. I sort the list by department so shopping is a snap. The cashiers never question my price quotes because they see I did my homework. LOL
Kimberly, I do the same thing! I honestly think that I could go through the check out line at WalMart and name my own price because they NEVER question me when I pull out my color coded chart.
The items in my cart haven't changed much. I never bought a lot of prepackaged foods nor did I eat unhealthily. I just ate too much. Probably the most obvious difference is how long it takes us to go through sugar, flour, and shortening. I used to buy those things almost weekly because of all the baking I did. I always bought a lot of fruits and vegetables it is just that now they actually get eaten before they go bad. Also, my grocery bill has gotten much smaller thanks to all of the planning that I do to stay within my calorie limit. I'm not going down the aisles making a lot of impulse food decisions anymore.
Yes, it's funny...The grocery bill hasn't changed all that much overall, I don't think. Howie'd have to tell you, for unlike my number-challenged self, he's Budget Man...Faster than a speeding spreadsheet!
I know we've actually had milk go sour on us, which never used to happen as I'd drink 32oz of it at a time, sometimes twice or more daily. Now we just have a cup with our Kashi and sometimes an 8oz glass at other times. Cheese lasts longer now that we're measuring out 1oz portions, too. We used to go through cheese like, well, CHEESE.
Last edited by Gardenwife; 10-24-2005 at 05:18 PM.
I shop a lot more often too. Fruits, veggies, cranberry juice, and my beloved soy milk. I have to buy those items just about every week. But I don't mind because I have noticed that the healthier food tends to be cheaper (for me) than all the other crap I was buying for us before I began eating healthy.
Potatoes
Hot Pockets (I love these things. I once lost 20 lbs (without trying) when I attempted to live off of Hot Pockets at college. Not very healthy.)
Dr. Pepper
Oreos
Actually, those are probably the only things that I miss from my old shopping list. I've given up soda completely, but those Hot Pockets . . .
I'm at a point where I can afford to live according to certain values. I prefer to spend money at small- to mid-sized locally owned businesses instead of large corporations. I purchase my meat from a store that sells locally raised animals. I purchase as many locally grown fruits, vegetables, and produce as possible.
I used to purchase a lot of frozen appetizers, ice cream, chips+dip, cookies, candy, processed meats, deli salads, frozen White Castle burgers. Trans-fat City!
Now I do a lot more pre-planning of meals so I am purchasing things like (this is this week's list): chicken, onions, cilantro, red peppers, mangoes, yogurt and milk, great northern beans, oatmeal.
I've always been decent about vegetables, but since I started my health initiative, my vegetable-junkfood ratio has evened out a little.
I eat restaurant food much less often, and so far it's worked well to plan ahead those times and determine what menu item to order before even going. Fast food is almost nonexistent in our diet, and good riddance. I have also drastically decreased my consumption of specialty coffees.
How has your shopping cart changed?
What, they don't think we might wanna save a buck on bagged salads or fat free yogurt? No fair! 
I have also drastically decreased my consumption of specialty coffees.
