Sale on Lemons!

Ronzoni Healthy Harvest pasta, 12-15 oz.:  10/$10.  Farm Stand Sweet Grape Tomatoes, 1 pint:  $1.49.  Quaker Simple Harvest Granola Bars: 2/$3.  Edy’s Ice Cream: Buy One, Get One Free.

These are just a few of the items on sale at my local supermarket today.   This is the sort of thing that used to mean nothing to me – sales, specials and money-saving coupons – but after hearing from a friend how much she had saved on her grocery spending by stockpiling items when they are at their lowest prices, I’ve started paying attention.  In just two weeks of grocery shopping, I’ve saved over $200 off full-price items at the market.

Gathering my sale lists and coupons, I can hardly believe I have never taken the time to glance at the store flyer before chucking it in the recycling bin, or thought about clipping coupons from magazines and newspapers.  Was it a lack of time, laziness or a fear of black smudgy fingertips left on every surface?  Yes, yes and yes…probably all of those things.  Like most moms, I am frazzled, pressed for time, and downright tired at the end of the week.  The last thing I wanted to do on a Sunday afternoon was make grocery lists and peruse weekly sale flyers.

However, it’s not like I didn’t do anything to prepare for the week ahead.    As Top Chef and Chief Financial Officer of this household, I carefully planned out every meal, snack and social gathering ahead of time, furiously menu planning and making my shopping list to accommodate my culinary visions.  My inner foodie loves to create new dishes, and my husband would help by throwing out some tried-and-true favorites. It was all about his mood or whatever glossy cooking magazine I had cracked open earlier in the week, however, costs were always on my mind, so I was careful to limit quantities to keep us from overspending.

You see, I was a planner.  I planned every meal, bought the exact brands and quantities of food needed for my menu, and followed recipes exactly.  I never estimated, substituted or altered a dish for any reason.  So my grocery shopping followed suit, and like a soldier following his commander’s marching orders, I stuck to my list and couldn’t shop without it.

After filling my cart only halfway, and cringing my way through the check-out line, I’d curse the economic state of the world while shoving the evil receipt into my jacket pocket.   And then I’d make my way home to cheer myself up with that mouth-watering recipe from Food & Wine or Epicurious.com.  I’d jot down the week’s planned menu so that no one would eat the red bell peppers prematurely.  (You wouldn’t have wanted to see me preparing to cook with one missing ingredient.)

Planning, Order, Predictability – that was my M.O.!    But now, I’ve adopted a new plan – and it’s teaching me more about myself than I ever thought a weekly circular could.

After trying out an online program which advocates stocking up on commonly purchased items when they are offered at “rock bottom prices,” in the first week I saved more than half of my usual grocery tab, and decided this could be worth changing my ways.  As I moseyed through the store, I couldn’t help but miss my own little list, with the top right corner dedicated to notes on each evening’s menu.  (I’m embarassed to admit, I’d write it out, as in “Roasted Herb Chicken with Honey-glazed carrots and Red Bliss Potatoes.” )  No menu, no list other than the store sale and accompanying coupons from the paper.  In other words, no plan.

My new no-plan technique for shopping and feeding my hungry family has brought out the creator in me.  The items on sale can and will combine to make several fabulous meals and snacks for the kids.  The chef just has to figure it out in her own way, in her own time.  No more shopping to fit the recipe – now I’m creating the recipe to fit the shopping list.

Whether you’re in your kitchen,  at your desk, in the garden or driving the minivan – life is like the weekly supermarket specials.  You have no idea what is going to be on the list.   If you throw out the menu, you’ll find the pleasure in creating delicious meals from whatever you have available to you.   You may even surprise yourself, and come up with something totally amazing!  Learning to take advantage of all that life has to offer, will forever prepare you for tougher times ahead.  In other words, when your local grocer runs a sale on lemons, make lemonade!

I bet you may be wondering what I can do with the four items listed at the beginning of this essay. Well, the tomatoes will be sauteed in garlic and olive oil and served on top of whole wheat linguini.  The granola bars will serve as my breakfast as I’m dashing out the door to bring the kids to school, and the ice cream…well, the ice cream will come out when I just can’t possibly find enough of life’s sugar to make lemonade.

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