Minimalism can be applied to nearly all aspects of your daily and weekly routine. One area that I'm finding really important to focus on is being more mindful about what I buy when I'm at the grocery store. The most important tenet of minimalism for me is thoughtfulness in all aspects of life. Considering the sheer quantity of food waste here in the US, thoughtfulness at the grocery store has taken on national and international importance. I'm not saying you shouldn't buy enough food to feed yourself, but being more thoughtful about the foods you are buying could go a long way in reducing the amount of food you throw out, and could even increase the quality of the food you're putting into your body.Here are a few things I've learned during my foray into mindful grocery shopping:
Plan Plan Plan
I am awful at planning out my food consumption. I am fickle and I want to eat what I want to eat when I want it. The fact is, though, that thoughtfulness while at the grocery store has to start before you even enter the doors. If you're like me, going to the store without a game plan means you're going to leave with half of what you thought you needed and half of random crap you saw on sale that you did not need and is probably not very good for you or will not get eaten.
Make a game plan. You can start small by just planning one meal per week. Make enough so you'll have some leftovers throughout the week. Slowly add recipes to your repertoire that are simple, delicious, and require few ingredients. This will cut down on your planning time and make grocery shopping a breeze.
Go shopping more often
It seems counter-intuitive to shop more in order to waste less. But think about it: planning for 3 days of food for yourself or your family is much easier than planning for 1-2 weeks. You don't have to worry about your produce going bad because most produce will last a few days. You don't have to worry about what you'll feel like eating next Thursday because you just need to focus on the next couple days. Meal planning for three days is a breeze and will take you 5 minutes before you head out the door. It's a lot less daunting to be mindful when you break it down into manageable chunks.
Granted, getting to the grocery store multiple times per week seems daunting in itself. Try to find ways to fit the grocery store into your regular routine. Is there a store you can run to on your lunch break? Can you re-route your commute home so you pass a grocery store on the way? Online grocery ordering through services like Instacart have made grocery shopping from the comfort of your own home a cinch.
With some good planning and minor tweaks to your daily routine, more frequent grocery trips don't have to be a chore.
More mindful = more healthy
I've found that the more closely I examine what I'm buying at the grocery store and how I'm planning my meals, the more careful I am about what I'm putting into my body in general. Mindfulness rarely leads to cookie binges. Shopping more often and actually planning my meals allows me to consider how much protein I'm getting, how many vegetables I'm actually consuming in a day. When I'm at the store, buying less and thinking more means that I'm more likely to go with the healthier option. Brown rice instead of white. Organic and local when available. And by wasting less I'm actually saving money on my groceries so I can spring for the organic option since I know I'll actually eat all of it. Mindfulness has a way of infiltrating all aspects of your life if you let it.
Mindful grocery shopping is a privilege
I am single, make above minimum wage, and have no children. I live in a major metropolitan area and I have access to a car and public transportation that will get me to any grocery store I want to get to. I realize that I am in the minority and that my situation makes being mindful about my grocery shopping very simple compared to the vast majority of the planet. Putting my own situation into that kind of perspective makes not being mindful seem kind of negligent and lazy. I don't want to take all of the advantages that I have for granted.
Do you have any strategies for minimizing your food waste or planning out your meals? Please share!
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