Whether you stay busy with work inside or outside of the home, finding all components for family meals, on-the-go snacks, and sack lunches for work days at your nearest grocery store goes a long way in making your life easier.
Do you make an epic, all-encompassing journey to the store once or twice a month for everything you’ll need? Or can you easily stop in on your way home several times a week to pick up whatever you’re in the mood for? Are you an itemized list-maker, or do you prefer to peruse the aisles for fresh meal ideas on the spot? Great new meal plans can often come from special promotions you may find on your shopping trip or while thumbing through the week’s coupons. Hopefully your nearest grocery store is one of those that not only wants to help stock your pantry with fresh, affordable, high-quality options but to help you brainstorm too. For recipes, nutritional information, and dinner ideas, check your local grocery store’s publications, blog, or recipe cards.
In addition to meal suggestions and coupons, stores often provide online tools. You may be able to select your groceries online for quick and convenient pick-up, and many franchises offer an online store locator to help you find the one most convenient for you.
On a personal note, I grew up in a modest-sized town in northeastern New Jersey. My parents and I could and often did walk to the neighborhood Foodtown, our nearest grocery store, browsing the fresh produce to see what might inspire dinner ideas, toting home ingredients for the evening meal. The well-worn path along sidewalks, past familiar homes and small businesses, didn’t take us far from home. Besides those customary trips we would also stop in for an occasional treat from the bakery, just to make the afternoon special.
Ideally, your nearest grocery store provides not only a rich selection of produce, proteins, and accoutrements so that it’s a one-stop source for everything that goes into your meal prep, cleaning, and personal care for the week, but also a bright, charming neighborhood market with an appealing layout that can feel as refreshing as a visit to a patisserie or street fair.
Take a look at the resources on offer at your neighborhood store, both in the building and on the website. You may very well find something you hadn’t noticed before that could make your life a little simpler and your meals a bit more innovative!
