Smart Shopping Guide

Bakery in Lidl on Wisconsin, DC

Where to shop for produce?

Lidl and Aldi are the cheapest but the quality is variable and the range is limited. Produce at Whole Foods is usually high quality and frequently cheaper than at Giant or Safeway, although it depends on specific products. Many people love Trader Joe’s; I personally find their quality underwhelming and prices higher than they should be for the quality. I also don’t like that they have everything packaged which means a) more waste, and b) lower flexibility to get the amount you need. Costco is great if you shop for a family and live in a large house.

Where to shop for poultry, meat, and fish?

Costco, if you have membership, is by far the best in terms of quality to price ratio. Fish, in particular, is much cheaper in Costco than in any other stores (with the exception of specialized stores in suburbs, like Global Food in Silver Spring). Whole Foods sells decent lamb, pork, and beef, while Giant has better poultry. I know it’s strange, but it’s true. I steer clear of Safeway and Trader Joe’s based on experience - the quality is just not as good as you can get elsewhere for the same amount of money. They say Mom’s is great but the prices shocked me the one time I went inside so I also steer clear.

Where to shop for grains, legumes, and  pantry staples?

While Costco offers unbeatable value when it comes to flour, sugar, oil, rice, vinegar, peanut butter, and other basic staples, you can find great, inexpensive canned beans, pasta, rice, and grains of all sorts in Giant and Safeway. Lidl and Aldi are very cheap but the range of options is quite narrow. Whole Foods has their 365 brand line that competes very favorably with other stores (their $1.19 for 1 lb of spaghetti is surpassed only by Aldi or Lidl). If you live close to Target or Walmart, check out their grocery section - you might find good deals there, as well.

Where to shop for Asian cuisine-specific groceries?

You simply can’t get light or dark soy sauce, green papaya, or particular varieties of miso in a mainstream grocery store, so you may need to make a trip to a specialty store in town or to one of many large Asian supermarkets in the suburbs if you want to take up cooking Asian food. There are Chinese, Korean, Thai, and Indian supermarkets accessible in the DMV area. An alternative is, of course, online retailers. If you are short on time and don’t mind paying double for convenience, you can find just about anything on amazon.com.

To conclude: Know what you are shopping for and which store will offer you the best value for money. It’s likely you will need to go to more than one store, but it’s fine if you plan strategically!

2. Match the Quantities to Your Needs

Summary: Buy in bulk non-perishable staples that you will use frequently, like rice, flour, pasta, or canned beans. Buy only the quantity you know you will use for perishables unless you invest in a stand-alone freezer. 

How much should you be buying?

The short answer is, buying in larger quantities will cost you less, sometimes a lot less, than buying smaller quantities. As long as you know you will be using this ingredient again, and particularly for buying non-perishables,  I recommend always looking for ways to save money by buying in bulk. 

The wonderful thing about shopping these days is that most retailers adopted the convention of displaying price per specific quantity (like an ounce or a pound) in addition to the price per item, when selling multiple comparable items. Like this, the customer has a better overall understanding of the value they’re getting. For example, suppose you are buying basmati rice; white rice has a fairly long shelf life and it makes sense to buy a larger bag since the price per pound will be much lower compared to small bags. That’s why things like rice and sugar are so much cheaper in Costco, where you can find nearly anything in bulk! 

This logic does not always work though. For example, if you buy a large jar of olives and only need a small amount, you will be stuck with it taking space in your fridge, and will end up throwing some of it away since they don’t last that long once opened, even in the fridge. Same goes for perishable items - it’s cheaper to buy groceries in bulk but only if you know you can use them up before they go off. 

However, you can get away with buying perishables in bulk if they are freezable and you have ample freezer space. In fact, if you have room, investing in a separate freezer is a great strategy to reduce your grocery bills. A lot of foods can be bought in bulk and frozen in batches, for example meats and poultry, sausages, whole wheat flour, burger buns, ice-cream (obviously), nuts, certain spices (e.g., white pepper and paprika), pre-made dough, and certain fruits and berries. You can use sealable bags or invest in a vacuum packing device (see our Cooking Equipment Guide).

What should you be buying?

The key with smart shopping is knowing your own taste and matching your shopping to what you want to cook frequently. For example, if you love Asian food, then it makes sense to make a trip to an Asian market like H-mart to stock up on Asian specialty sauces. If you love Indian, you can buy spices in bulk online from various retailers directly or through amazon.com. I do not recommend buying spices in Indian specialty stores as there have been reports of lead contamination in spices produced abroad. You have more options when shopping online. If you love baking, I recommend stocking up on flour at Costco, if you have access to it, since the quality to price ratio is excellent.

To conclude: Consider what you love eating and make a plan for what staples you want to have on hand because you use them often; plan a grocery trip specifically to stores where you can stock up on those. Buying them in bulk will save you money long-term. For perishables, match your quantities purchased to your cooking plans.

3. Manage Groceries to Minimize Waste

Summary: Even very limited meal planning will help you manage your groceries efficiently and minimize waste. Know what you have in the fridge and plan your meals to cook foods with the shortest fridge life first. Freeze unused meat, poultry, and some canned goods. Ensure your fridge is between 35F and 38F to keep food safe and prolong freshness.

What is the major cost of home cooking?

The major cost of home cooking is waste of groceries or cooked food that are thrown away. Of course, the cost of waste is built into takeouts or restaurant meals, but there it’s not as visible. However, with home cooking we have more control over it and can minimize waste by planning meals, shopping only for items we know what we will do with, storing food correctly to minimize spoilage, and using leftovers to make new meals.

In this section of the Guide, I include tips and tricks I have learned over the years that help me manage groceries at home to minimize waste.

• Use perishables that go off fastest first. For example, broccoli goes bad much faster than cauliflower. Green beans go off faster than broccoli. Cucumbers do not last as long as bell peppers. Carrots are awesome since they last a really long time before starting to grow their little carroty beards! Since few of us can go shopping daily, a smart cooking strategy is to plan your meals around what you have in the fridge, adapting as you go along.

• Meats and poultry packed with plastic wrap will need to be used sooner than vacuum packed meats and poultry. If you bought a “family” pack of chicken breasts, for example, the safest way to handle them is to set aside the amount you will use in the next day or two and freeze the rest for later use.

Many recipes call for a particular amount of an ingredient. What to do with what’s left? Here are some suggestions:

• If you need only a portion of meat, poultry, or fish, assess how much is left and if it is less than you would use for a meal, just include it in the meal you are cooking. Make sure to adjust your seasoning accordingly. For example, if the recipe calls for 1 lb chicken but you have 1.5 lb, there is not much you can do with half a pound, so just cook the entire amount. Same with vegetables.

• If you need only half a can of tomatoes, transfer the leftovers into a plastic or glass container and put it in the fridge. It will be usable for a week or three, depending on your fridge.

• If you need only a part of a can of coconut milk or tomato paste, you can transfer what’s left into a plastic container (for coconut milk) or a small zip-lock bag and throw them into the freezer. Just make sure you label them and know where you keep them to use them next time you make this recipe. 

• To extend the life of open condiments and jams, you can cover the exposed surface with a piece of clean, dry plastic wrap to eliminate contact with air since it’s this contact that causes jams and condiments to go off, even in the fridge.  

• To preserve freshness of boxed or bagged lettuce, line the box with a paper towel, both in the bottom and on the top. 

• Chicken stock is a very common ingredient. You can make homemade stock (take our Soups class or contact us for a recipe), reduce it by ⅔ (basically, evaporating H2O), and then freeze the stock concentrate in an ice-cube tray.  Once they are frozen solid, you can transfer them into a zip-lock bag and keep in the freezer. This method will preserve your stock concentrate for a long time, and you won’t have any leftovers. When a recipe calls for a cup of stock, you can use one stock cube topped with water to bring it to the necessary volume. 

Covering jam with plastic wrap extends its life

How should you be storing food to minimize waste?

Storing food appropriately is very important, both to minimize waste and to ensure you don’t accidentally ingest food that’s past its best. Here are some general recommendations:

• Never leave cooked food on the counter overnight. 

• When storing leftovers, make sure to match the size of the container to the volume of food to minimize air contact. 

• Keep the fridge between 35F and 38F and check temperature with a fridge thermometer periodically. This temperature range helps to slow down bacterial growth and keep food fresh for longer. Do not let your fridge exceed 40F. 

To conclude: The key to managing your groceries efficiently is to plan your meals according to what you have in the fridge, preserve ingredient leftovers for future use, and store your food and meal leftovers in a well-controlled fridge.

You can get it on amazon.com for under $10