Grocery stores are scary. Not in a shit-your-pants kind of way, but in an anxiety producing way, like when a waiter asks you what you’d like to order and you’re not really sure what you want, but you also don’t want to ask for more time, but you can’t really decide and… you get the point.
There’s simply too much choice. Oftentimes we overshop, leaving us with too much food and a ton of waste, creating both financial and environmental burdens. Plus, recipes typically don’t plan for each other (rude, right?), so one recipe may use up too much of one ingredient, making it impossible to cook a recipe you had planned for the next night.
Shopping doesn’t have to be this way. Instead of being held captive by certain recipes or buying too many vegetables only to see them wither in the fridge, buy ingredients that can easily be used in a wide range of dishes. Our mindset has to change: we need to minimize waste and maximize the possibilities that we have with our food. This allows us to make the most of the money we spend on food; eating delicious, cheap, and healthy food all starts with shopping.
“Cooking on a budget doesn’t mean totally minimizing how much you spend on food (living on rice and beans is cheap, but not too pleasant); it means spending on ingredients that give you the most bang for your buck.”
When I shop, I divide up my list into several categories. First, I have starches/carbs. This usually means rice. pasta, bread, and some grains like farro or cornmeal. I tend to buy these ingredients in bulk, since they will last forever if stored in a cool, dry place. Potatoes are kind of the exception, so I tend to buy no more than 3 weeks worth at any time. Since there’s a starch in almost every meal I make, it’s useful to have a variety so that I can swap out carbs for whatever I’m feeling and don’t get bored. I don’t buy them too often; only when I run low on these staples.
Next, proteins. This is usually the core component of the meal, and I typically base my recipe around whatever protein I’ve decided to make. For me, proteins include eggs, meat products, and alternative proteins like tofu or tempeh. However, it’s totally possible to just consider this category one for “centerpiece” vegetables, such as a cauliflower steak or a big roasted root vegetable medley. Whatever your preference, I would buy enough protein ingredients for about two meals a day for a week unless you have the freezer space to store more. Variety is also great here. If like me you aren’t ready to switch to vegetarianism but are conscious of your environmental impact, the guiding principle here is to buy less but better-raised and higher quality meat. This “centerpiece” is where it’s worth spending a bit more. Cooking on a budget doesn’t mean totally minimizing how much you spend on food (living on rice and beans is cheap, but not too pleasant); it means spending on ingredients that give you the most bang for your buck.
We all just want to be looked at the way James looks at his Beet Gnocchi.
Speaking of value ingredients, one of the big keys to cooking great food cheaply is investing in high-flavor ingredients, such as soy sauce, sambal and other hot sauces, sesame oil, lemons/citrus, vinegar, and mustards. While some of these ingredients may seem expensive (sauces at $5 each can really add up!), they provide the most flavor per dollar and can elevate tons of simple meals. Lots of these ingredients can be bought in larger quantities if you want to save money, and they bring a lot of flavor to the table cheaply (you don’t need to add that much to any dish). It’s also really fun to experiment here! Buy a new sauce or try new kinds of mustard and vinegar. This is a great way to learn about new ingredients and incorporate them into your repertoire, which is one of my favorite parts about cooking!
I lump oil, spices, and sugar into one category. These are staples that make their way into pretty much every meal. I think there’s really only two oils that are absolutely necessary: some kind of high-heat cooking oil (I like canola, but vegetable oil is also great) and extra-virgin olive oil. The high-heat cooking oil is needed for stir-frying, sauteing, shallow frying, greasing pans, and 90% of cooking tasks. Extra-virgin olive oil loses its flavor at high temperatures, so it’s used mostly for salad dressings and finishing pastas or roasted vegetables.
Spices are a little harder to buy. Salt (is that a spice?) is an absolute necessity. Sea salt and kosher salt are both worth having in the kitchen. Depending on on cuisine you like to cook, different spices will be considered staples. I think it’s worth buying spices based on the dishes you know you’ll make the most. Once you have an idea of your most frequently used spices, buy them in larger quantities to save money. I have a huge container of peppercorns, garlic powder, chili powder, and red pepper flakes. For a American/Western palate, this works for most of what I need to cook, but it’s up to you.
“Here’s a basic formula that will work for many meals: Pick a starch, a protein and a cooking method for each. With those ingredients in mind, think about what vegetables you have that will work, and use the flavors and spices you have on hand accordingly.”
For sugar, I think buying one granulated white sugar bag, a smaller light brown sugar bag, and a container of honey will cover 95% of all sweetener needs for the beginner home cook. Depending on whether you plan on baking a lot, powdered sugar may also be worth it. While raw sugars and alternative liquid sweeteners like agave are nice, I find them a bit too expensive for what they offer. Just get the basics; explore once you get comfortable.
Now to produce. This is the hardest to shop for, since fruits and vegetables all spoil at different rates, need different storage options, and it’s difficult to plan for how much you need. The solution: buy a mix of long-lasting and fast-spoiling fruits and vegetables that can be used in many different meals. Pretty much any root vegetable will last for a long time if stored in a cool, dark, dry place. I love getting lots of carrots, parsnips, and onions so that I always have cheap, flavorful, vegetables on hand. Fast-spoiling produce, like tomatoes, salad greens, herbs, and berries are often the most expensive produce we buy and the most likely to go bad before we even use it. The key to getting the most out of these purchases is buying produce that can be used in many different dishes. If that sounds like what I’ve said for all the other categories, that’s because buying flexible ingredients is always the best option, but with produce it’s even more important. So you don’t need to buy three dozen heads of cauliflower.
If you buy flexible, you also have to cook flexible. We’ll release more recipes on this blog, but I think the best way to cook is to have an idea of all the things you can do with the ingredients you have on hand. So as you near the end of the week and run low on some ingredients while having more of others, you’ll be a bit less flexible but will still have enough staples to throw together good meals and high-flavor ingredients that bring out the best of your cooking. Here’s a basic formula that will work for many meals: Pick a starch, a protein and a cooking method for each. With those ingredients in mind, think about what vegetables you have that will work, and use the flavors and spices you have on hand accordingly. Here’s an example: couscous with grilled fish would go well with some greens and citrus, so I’ll use some spicier flavors with the couscous and the vegetables. As you learn to cook more, you’ll get more and more flexible with the ingredients you have. Plus, it’s always fun to experiment with one or more of the components to your meal! With flexible ingredients in mind, grocery shopping can be stress-free and finding new ingredients can be really exciting!
Sample Grocery List
OIL
Canola oil
Extra-virgin olive oil
SUGAR
White sugar
Light brown sugar
Honey
SPICES
Kosher salt
Sea salt
Black Pepper
Garlic Powder
Chili Powder
Red Pepper Flakes
Paprika
Thyme
Sage
Cumin
HIGH-FLAVOR
Lemons
Limes
Rice wine vinegar
Peanut butter (Added to bread and also a component for sauces!)
Cholula Hot sauce
Sambal Olek (a kind of hot sauce)
Harissa (a kind of hot sauce)
Soy sauce
Dijon Mustard
CARBS
Medium-grain rice
Steel-cut oats
All-purpose flour
Couscous
Boxed pasta (Macaroni, Farfalle, Bucatini, Radiatori)
Cereal
PROTEIN/CORE
Boneless skinless chicken thighs
Extra-firm tofu
Ground beef (80/20 Chuck)
Ground pork
Eggs
PRODUCE
Baby Spinach
Bell Peppers
Baby bella mushrooms
Bag of onions
Bag of potatoes
Carrots
Bananas (no more than 1 bunch a week for me because they go brown to fast)
Strawberries
Apples
Head of cauliflower
Head of broccoli
Romaine lettuce
Eggplant
Cucumbers
Head of garlic
Knob of ginger
Cilantro
Parsley
Green onions
Image Credits: "Shopping on Aisle Eight" by arbyreed is licensed with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0SD. Photo of James Han by Josh Cough