Stop these 10 Food Shopping Mistakes NOW!

this video is sponsored by amazon fresh one of the most overlooked reasons people don't cook at home as much as they might want is because shopping can feel like a big old chore whether you're just tired after work or maybe you just have epic plans on the weekends and the last thing you want to do is shop for your groceries but without proper supplies there is no way you can get down in the kitchen so in today's video i'm going to be breaking down the 10 biggest mistakes i see when people are shopping for groceries and show you how to build the proper skills systems and shopping knowledge to take your grocery game from feeling like a chore that you dread to an experience that's actually enjoyable and something you look forward to every single week [Music] mistake number one is not taking proper inventory of what you already have on hand which is the number one cause for food waste in the kitchen which is one of my biggest pet peeves and the reason i hate it so much is because when i was growing up inventory wasn't top priority in my kitchen and because of that things were bought twice like ketchup mustard standard pantry ingredients the old ones got pushed to the back and then a few months later they're nasty they've expired and you have to throw them out so before you ever get to the market it's extremely valuable to take inventory of what's already in your fridge what condiments are you low on what are you out of what's missing in your pantry that you need to stock up on and of course what perishable items need to be used up to make room for the fresh ones which leads me into mistake number two which is not making a proper shopping list now listen i am not a type a personality i'm not gonna be sitting down and writing full-on perfect shopping list that is not the point but by keeping a piece of paper somewhere convenient whether it's on your fridge or on your countertop throughout the week when things come up in the moment like oh i need this i need that jot it down or maybe you get a great idea for a meal and you just quickly jot down the meal or maybe the ingredients you need i know for me i'm always running out of ingredients and snacks to cook for my daughter so i'm constantly jotting things down for the week so rather than say studying for the test the night before and cramming and being super stressed out you have now done your homework throughout the week and guess what once your homework's done you are officially ready to shop now shopping in a market can be very overwhelming for people because there's so many different categories so many different items to get and one of the biggest mistakes that i see is shopping out of order you hit the pantry first or the dairy or the meat now of course we're going to get everything at some point but for me it always starts with the fresh produce and for the most part your market is generally going to open you up to this section anyway and when i'm in the produce section this is a place where i'm really keeping an open mind maybe there's something that just looks inspiring that's spurring on an idea for the week or there's just a vegetable or fruit that is looking fantastic that i just need to buy which brings me into mistake number four not being selective with your produce it feels like people just don't think they're allowed to actually select what they want but the truth is that not all produce is created equal and you have the ability to be an active shopper so i prefer white peach over yellow peach don't feel bad about actually touching the fruit everything's gonna get washed after and there's gonna be a huge difference between some of these peaches if we dig a little bit feel around just light don't damage the fruit there we go boom you can see just a slight thumb print and that's totally fine because i'm gonna take this it's important to actually look through the veggies and the fruits that you want to find what looks the freshest or the least wilted or the ripest all right i know citrus can be expensive because it's an imported product so it's all right if you just find one nice juicy lemon that has a little bit of give you don't want it of course rock solid even just one lime and lemon it's amazing how far you can take this throughout the week oh boy pretty standard to have an entire section of just different varieties of apples maybe the most preferential produce out there can be a bit overwhelming remember you don't have to be stuck with one variety i'm a big fan of fuji crispy nice and juicy i also love honeycrisp generally a little bit more pricey i'll grab one of those gala always a solid pick granny smith not so much it comes down to you as a shopper it's your job to find the item that is of the highest quality i'm sure most of you know how to properly shop for an avocado at this point you just want a little give to the outside but one of my favorite tips pop this off now if that is nice and bright green like that good sign that your avocado is going to be nice and healthy on the inside so now that we're done with our fresh produce the next section that i tend to hit is the proteins your fresh meat and fish which brings me to mistake number five which is shopping for one meal at a time because meat can be very expensive and the last thing you want to do is blow your entire budget shopping for protein so when i'm thinking about meal prepping for the week i'm not necessarily going for those individual expensive pieces like a filet or a super pricey ribeye i'm looking for those items that can really extend into multiple meals for example maybe it's a tougher cut of beef or pork that's a little cheaper that i can slow cook and shred up and convert into a ton of meals throughout the week so this is very exciting you might have seen this in a past video but these are short ribs they're calling them flanking style but basically this is the korean style butchering where they slice it right across the bone like this so i'm gonna grab a package of these this is definitely sparked some inspiration for either a cowbee or bulgogi style marinade or something i've shown you in past videos rather than buying a pack of chicken breasts something that can be more cost effective is buying a whole chicken breaking it down yourself and turning it into meals throughout the entire week and another good tip always be on the lookout for really good deals here at this amazon fresh store they have great weekly deals so you can find some really nice cuts for a really good value all right we've made it through produce we've made it through the protein section now we are moving on to the dairy aisle which brings me to mistake number six which is under valuing this section of the market now the dairy aisle is so much more than just checking milk and eggs off your grocery list items that you're going to find and buy in this section really make up a foundation and a base to so many things that you can make throughout the week whether it's making baked goods or different bread recipes smoothie bowl or different types of pastas so many of these dishes that i'm personally making throughout the week all the time are requiring a base of items from this section a lot of times i'll get a yogurt in bulk like this just a plain so i can use it in different recipes and this is just five grams of sugar so just a hint just to sweeten things up 10 grams another 10 grams so some of the brands will actually say it right on the front that's 10 grams that's decent so that's 15 grams 30 personally i wouldn't get anything above 10 grams that's gonna be pretty sugary you of course can get sugar-free oh nice this whole brand is called too good because it has just two grams of sugar so that's just a hint i'll get a few of these as just snack packs really solid so take a minute here to really make sure you have a good base of products and even though this is called the dairy section of course there are wonderful non-dairy products so i'm generally buying some type of dairy-free alternative that i can use in smoothies and muffins and all types of recipes and probably one of the most utilized ingredients in all of my meal prep i am never without a good butter just a quick little tip on butter because it can be a bit overwhelming with all these choices number one if you see cultured butter personally i'm always going for that for a little extra flavor and a rich and creamy texture and in this case since i'm just using it in a bunch of recipes this week unsalted is the way to go so number seven is to not be a close-minded shopper and we have just arrived at one of my favorite aisles which is the international aisle the land of inspiration now this isn't a traditional italian market or an asian grocery store but there are a lot of great items here that can be entry-level things to really get you started with new flavors you know i need a fully stocked asian pantry i have most of the basics right now i do need a another fish sauce great brand right here red boat let's go with this chili garlic sauce i burned through so many rice noodles these brown rice noodles are fantastic i've had this indian brand before these are amazing especially for like quick dinners if you don't have a time to make a curry from scratch a lot of awesome flavors let's go with creamy tomato and ginger so if i'm personally ever feeling stuck with my home cooking just taking a little trip to the international aisle and picking something new is going to be the best way to break a flavor rut i love snacking which brings me to one of the biggest mistakes that i see which is shopping for snacks recklessly now snacks aren't just sweet and salty morsels that you can eat carefree they're an integral part of your weekly diet so the key when shopping for snacks is to be a little more active on your search i'm constantly checking packaging to see what's actually going on with the ingredients if the ingredient list is super long and there's a few too many words i don't understand well i'm probably gonna pass on it i'm on the hunt for snacks that are simple and use whole ingredients for instance like these cheese crackers right here i've actually used these exact crackers for inspiration on homemade cheese crackers that you might have seen on the channel everything on this ingredient list right here is something that i've actually used in my own home cooking and a huge bonus these are perfect for back to school my daughter is starting preschool in a few weeks having snacks that have simple ingredients that i can rely on anyone who's ever had a toddler knows that is extremely important same thing applies with granola of course we've got a ton of different options here take a look at the ingredients first of all see how long the ingredient list is that's pretty simple right there great sign sugar seven grams not too bad at all really good option here right away we've got a tapioca syrup check the sugars oh yeah boom 14 grams let's go with this fruit nut so it's super important to shop for snacks with an educated mindset i think a lot of people go into a shopping experience thinking it should be super cheap and although there's great deals at the market and you can budget you still need to have a long-term mindset when it comes to shopping so sometimes you do need to invest in those key items and pantry items are things that are gonna last for a while and really pay off over time so every time i'm at the market i'm investing in a few key pantry items like picking up one or two oils that i'm gonna be using throughout my week so a jar coconut oil like this can be a little pricey but i buy this once it's going to last me a while and i'm going to be using it to saute things and i'll be using it for baked goods so just a big time investment with one jar maybe a certain type of vinegar that i need to restock on or even hitting up the spice aisle and seeing what draws up inspiration now of course for spices we've got a lot of options i'm not gonna be getting a ton at once because they can be expensive but i'm always gonna hit the spice aisle and at least check it out to see if there's anything inspiring and maybe invest in just one spice at a time see what do i need what do i need just found some gochugaru and i've got a lot of things i can potentially kimchi if i in the garden so i'm gonna pick this up so these key items are certainly to jack up your total grocery bill but when you're thinking with that long-term mindset by building out your pantry with things that are going to last weeks and potentially months the savings over time are going to be huge as you use them to build out different meals and the last mistake is thinking that shopping is a chore which i totally understand we're all super busy and shopping can feel like a big weight on your shoulders but what i've learned over the years is that shopping is a unique language and the more you learn it the better you get at it the more you can operate with confidence so when you start learning some of these tips and start shifting your mindset a bit shopping can go from being a chore to actually something that's enjoyable today i was shopping at my local amazon fresh store which is brand new in oceanside new york and if you want to find your own local amazon fresh grocery store to visit or to shop online for delivery just click the link below in my description one of the coolest things about shopping and amazon fresh grocery store is the ability to just go in there shop for what you want and walk right out all i need to do is again and we are walking out we can bag right over here and that's all she wrote so hopefully this can be a blueprint to gain a little confidence for your weekly trips to the market and if you have any personal tips or skills that you've learned over your years of shopping please comment in below i would love to hear it and i'm sure everyone else would love it as well and i'll see you in the next video mind if i take a picture with the superstar here don't tell me i'm the only guy to recognize you here nice to meet you what is your number one tip for shopping have a game plan before you go in okay know what you're gonna get especially when you go to a place like this you're gonna see stuff that you don't normally get by the time i got out there was a million so have a plan so you don't get too overzealous exactly you sound very legit as a homecoming you're curious you can't build this physique here this video was sponsored by amazon fresh and if you want more meal prep content click one of these videos see you in the next one

Channel: Pro Home Cooks

Views: 642,004

Keywords: grocery shopping, grocery mistakes, how to show, how to shop for food, food shopping tips, best tips for groceries, how to pick produce, how to shop at market, find ripe produce, grocery store, amazon fresh, amazon fresh store, amazon grocery delivery, amazon grocery, grocery delivery

Id: CjBX4L14GaI

Length: 14min 5sec (845 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 07 2022