The shopping list solution
 By: Leah McGrath RD, LDN

One day I was in one of our Ingles stores and passed by a woman who was carefully consulting a shopping list. For some reason, I noticed the list and stopped to say “hello” and to ask her about it. As it turns out, this woman had made a template of the aisles of this particular Ingles and where items were located.  She designed her own shopping list that looked something like this:

Aisle 1
    Chips/Pretzels/Snacks
    Bagged Candy
    Sandwich Bread
    Jelly/Peanut Butter
She told me that she checked the appropriate blanks prior to each shopping trip. WOW! That’s organization and planning. Obviously this simplified her grocery shopping, and she had mentioned it to her friends and was also now supplying them with lists. 

Perhaps I just hang out with a slacker crowd, but of my friends, only Rhonda McKenna (Mom and Habitat for Humanity volunteer) is that organized and has a “computer print out that’s in the order of the store.”  When asked about shopping lists, most echoed,  Heather Gast (mom and swim instructor) who wrote she “always uses the backs of envelopes or scrap paper.” Tammy Jones (WOXL 96.5 Radio superstar) openly scoffed at the idea of being that organized and responded that the only list she makes is “where to eat out next.”
If you’re expecting me to say that I am the Queen of Shopping Lists, you’re woefully mistaken. Like many of you, my shopping lists are sometimes haphazardly written on the backs of envelopes or note paper. In the past, I’ve had these handy magnetic shopping lists, but something is always wrong with them. The magnets come off and the pads get lost or the list of items doesn’t represent what I buy.

 Some of you have more unorthodox methods when it comes to shopping lists. Susan Reinhardt (columnist, author, mom and unicyclist) prefers to pick up shopping lists that she finds in the store and use them instead of taking the time to make her own. Brenda Tudor (financial wizard and her husband’s first mate on sailing voyages) just “wings it” and doesn’t do lists. Linda Lio (mom to three with another on the way) doesn’t make up lists unless she’s trying a new recipe. 

Lately, I’ve been picking up abandoned shopping lists when I’m at Ingles. I search for them in the shopping carts and even on the floor and bring them home where I read them and get an oddly voyeuristic glimpse into another household. I like to speculate about what they are making and what their lives are like.

List #1 – written on white computer paper
Onion         
28 oz chopped tomato
cup pesto         
shells
6 oz grated mozzarella cheese
paper towels        
AA batteries
Coffee                  
Conditioner   
Deodorant          
Itch med

 “Pasta dinner with hives” 
I’m guessing this family also has a child since AA batteries are key for electronic games.

List #2 –  written on a salmon colored narrow note sheet
milk       
balloons
croissants              
snack
fruit for us            
wine x2
pick up photos

“Parents and Party” 
They have a small child (photos) and are planning a party, hence the balloons. The wine is what they’ll need after the party. 

List #3 – 3x5 spiral note sheet
Bread     
Milk
Stick Margarine   
Can Lids
Egg         
Soap
Cakes     
Cookies    
Cheese

“Senior with sweet tooth”
Can lids seems to indicate they might be canning fruits or vegetables and most everyone under 50 knows that stick margarine has trans fats and has switched back to butter.

List #4 – on a 8 ” x 11” spiral note sheet in purple crayon
Bananas      
Milk
Bread          
Cereal
Butter         
Coffee
Face Lotion   
Return Movies
Mom with Kids

She does her big shopping once a week and these are just a few items to fill in. Purple crayon and movies indicate kids in the house.

Are you a disorganized grocery shopper? Do you wish it was easier to make up a shopping list? Help is on the way. Go to our website, ingles-markets.com and click on “Weekly Ads” and you can select your purchases and print out a customized shopping list!

If you have questions or comments about nutrition or healthy eating, call or email me: 800.334.4936 or lmcgrath@ingles-markets.com.

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