Thank you to SheSpeaks/MARS for sponsoring this post about SNICKERS® Crispers.
Never Shop Hungry: A True Grocery Shopping Confession
Because I’m a food blogger, I’m in one grocery store or another at least three times a week. That’s made me something of a professional grocery shopper.
You’d think this vast experience of grocery shopping would prevent me from making the most rookie shopping mistakes.
You’d be wrong.
Follow along as I walk you through a typical shopping trip.
Step One
First, because I’m often too busy to pay attention to the whims of appetite, I forget to eat whichever meal I’m supposed to have eaten recently. And then, I don’t take any notice of the ensuing hunger, because I’m (apparently) too busy for that.
Step Two
Everyone knows that you get ready for a grocery store trip by writing an exhaustive list of exactly what you’re going to buy, so that you don’t buy anything weird or impulsive.
I split my list into categories: Dry Goods, Dairy, Meat, Produce, Frozen, and Other. Then, I check the freezer, fridge, and pantry to see what we will need for the next few days. I carefully note down each required item. I also write down a list of meals for the week to make sure that breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all covered.
By this time, the thought of all those items makes my stomach grumble ever so slightly. I even start to look a little funny.
But I ignore it. I grab my purse, walk out the door, and forget my list on the counter. I then proceed to the nearest grocery store without realizing what I’ve done.
Step Three
Upon arrival at the store, I realize that I’ve forgotten my list. I take a moment to mentally kick myself, then attempt to write another list from memory on the back of a recycled napkin. When nothing but cheese-filled hot dog egg rolls come to mind, I give up, crumple up the napkin, and toss it aside.
I attempt to gather my wits about me (what’s left of them, anyway), and head into the store.
Step Four
When I enter the store, the sight and smell of food causes my stomach to growl like an angry honey badger, and I have the impulse to begin hurling random bags of food indiscriminately into the cart.
Only now do I realize that I’ve committed the cardinal sin of grocery shopping. Like a fool, I tried to shop hungry!
If I continue in this state, I’ll soon be heaping my cart high with strange and impractical combinations, such as lobster tails and grape jelly, and when I get home I’ll have a mental breakdown in front of $284.36 of poorly selected groceries.
Thankfully, I keep a supply of SNICKERS® Crispers (available at Walmart) handy for just such a moment, because there’s practically no problem that chocolate can’t solve. Especially if it’s surrounding caramel, peanuts, and crisp rice.
I have a few bites to restore my sanity, and I save some for later. You’ll see why in a minute.
Step Five
Newly invigorated (and no longer hungry, “hangry,” or a victim of Hungry Shopper Syndrome), I march proudly through the aisles and collect my items in an orderly fashion. I may not have my list, but I’ve got my brain working again, so that has to count for something. At least I won’t be buying lobster tails and grape jelly.
OK, maybe just the lobster tails.
Once I’ve paid for the haul and loaded up the trunk, it’s car party time! Remember that bit of SNICKERS® Crisper I saved? I will celebrate my triumph over the grocery store with those last few nibbles of chocolate.
I’ve earned it.
Get your SNICKERS® Crisper at Walmart!
Heather
LOL I forget the list, too. My husband and I have a whiteboard we now take photos of with our cell phones on the way out to the store; if we can remember to do that, too! The Snickers looks pretty good, too – LOL-would definitely put a pep in my step for the grocery shopping outings!
Katie
A whiteboard and a photo! Will wonders never cease. 🙂 Clearly I am still rooted in the analog world I grew up in, what with my pencils and paper.
Gwendolyn Mulholland
I am always forgetting my list when I am at the store but even if I remember it I always miss something. Eating a Snickers might stop me from buying a dozen other items out of hunger. Maybe I will try out, worse thing to happen would be I got a Snickers and extra groceries.
Katie
It’s one of those trade offs, you know? Eat a little bit to avoid buying a whole heck of a lot. 😉
Sage
Cute post! Fortunately, I live in a city, so grocery shopping is a very organized activity involving a list arranged by what’s on sale at each store, further arranged in a way that allows me to pick up the heaviest things closest to home, etc. The cost of groceries in Denmark keeps impulse purchases in check, a multipack of Snickers costs around $8 here. Extortion!
Katie
Holy cow, $18! Wow! I can imagine that shopping is very different over there.
jenise
Katie, You are absolutely right, there is nothing chocolate can’t solve. I think I’m going to have to steal that from you as my new mantra. But I know what you mean about forgetting my list and I hate when that happens, especially after I took so much time making sure I got everything I need listed on it. 🙂
Katie
I should put it on a t-shirt: “There Is Nothing Chocolate Can’t Solve.”
Cassie
The feels that you felt while writing this post? I have felt them too. I can’t count the number of times I’ve forgotten to eat before going to the store, forgotten my list, and suddenly everything on the shelves looks like the greatest tasting thing that has ever been thought of. Sadly, I’ve never considered keeping a couple of Snicker minis in my purse for such occasions.
Katie
Ha ha ha ha, so true: “…suddenly everything on the shelves looks like the greatest tasting thing that has ever been thought of.”
Tori Gabriel
You have just described every shopping trip I have ever taken! I ALWAYS forget the list unless I put it on my phone. Then I forget my phone. LOL. I also make the mistake of shopping hungry and I end up with all sorts in the trolley.
Katie
LOL yes! It’s a comical series of unfortunate events. PS- I love that you say “trolley” where we say “cart”!
Aileen Adalid
Haha your way of shopping is almost the same as mine. Often times I really do shop hungry and that makes me overbuy! :)) It’s quite fun though — I really enjoy it!
Katie
It can be fun to overbuy once in a while! You never know what you’ll end up with.
Terri Beavers
I can relate because I always forget my list if I don’t print it out and put it in my handbag immediately. I’m going to have to try keeping SNICKERS® Crisper on hand because I usually shop during lunch and I’m always hungry when I do. I tend to get things I don’t need when I’m hungry.
Katie
Wow, you type a list and print it! I’m impressed! If I ever got that organized, I don’t know what would happen. 🙂
vidya sudarsan
Ha! I can relate to your post too! Recently, I have started jotting down my shopping lists on my smartphone and that seems to help. But, typing on a phone is rather painful compared to writing on a piece of paper – which I always forget to take with me to the store. BTW, the chocolate looks too tempting.
Katie
I haven’t graduated to taking notes on a smartphone just yet. I’m still an analog girl at heart!
roch
Having a list that is broken down to categories is great. I recommend the same practice for those who are new to a grocery store and don’t like to go binge-shopping. There are so many items and it will be overwhelming.
Katie
I arrange my categories by shopping order as well, so I’m picking up frozen stuff right at the end.
Becca Wilson
Shopping hungry is the worst mistake ever and I am guilty of it more times than not. Snickers is definitely one of my fav candy bars! This could help me out while I try to stick to my list…..when I remember it.
Katie
It’s a relief to know that it doesn’t just happen to me!