Tips for stress-free food shopping!

For many of us, food shopping can be stressful. It takes forever to navigate the entire supermarket, the crowds can be unbearable, you can’t find what you’re looking for and half the time you end up forgetting something!

Don’t panic! At MOLLY MAID, the professional house cleaners, we’re convinced that it’s possible to make food shopping a fun, easy and stress-free experience.  Here are our five top tips:

1. Take inventory of your food –The first step to stress-free shopping is knowing exactly what you already have in your kitchen. You might try organising your cupboards according to food type so you easily can tell when you are running low on something. It’s worth paying attention to best-before dates too, keep an eye on when things are due to expire so you can make sure you replace them if you need to.

2. Plan your meals – Take some time to work out what you’re going to eat for the upcoming days or week. Plan your breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks if you can. The more detail you are able to go into, the easier it will be to write your list. This will also help avoid distraction from offers and special deals that can often make you end up spending more when you get to the shop!

3. Make a list – It might be obvious but it’s worth reiterating! Once you’ve planned out your meals for the week, it should be easy to write out a list of what you need. Try grouping the items as you list them into categories such as dairy, meat, vegetables etc. That will help ensure that you pick up everything efficiently on your way round the supermarket and don’t have to revisit aisles once you realise you’ve forgotten something!

4. Have a snack before you go – Many people have experienced the anger that comes along with being hungry, aka “hangry” as some have coined the term! When your blood sugar levels are low, your brain produces stress hormones which can cause you to feel crabby. The solution is to eat a snack before going food shopping. Having a healthy snack containing fibre and protein will help you feel full and maintain blood sugar levels.

5. Shop online – If you really want to take the stress out of shopping, do it from the comfort of your own home! Most supermarkets offer online shopping and there’s often deals for money off your first shop too. If you don’t like the thought of having to pay delivery for your shopping, look out for the shops who offer a collection service where you can drive over and pick up your items after someone else has picked them off the shelves for you!

Hopefully these tips will make your next shop as stress free as possible!

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