While often I hear mothers jokingly refer to themselves as taxi drivers (shuttling children between school, piano, sports, and play dates), I don't often hear them talk about the trials and tribulations of grocery shopping. But wait... I can't be the only mom who has to restock the refrigerator shelves on a never-ending basis. How do you do it?
I do love to eat, so grocery shopping isn't a bad gig. However, I have been know to complain that the payoff of this chore can be less than rewarding. To break it down clearly, this is what happens to all the food I buy each week:
I do love to eat, so grocery shopping isn't a bad gig. However, I have been know to complain that the payoff of this chore can be less than rewarding. To break it down clearly, this is what happens to all the food I buy each week:
You see... my husband has a mind-boggling metabolism that causes him to burn 3x the amount of calories (when he's standing-still) as the average person does (while running a marathon); my eleven year-old and I shared the same shoes size (for about two weeks in December), but now he's growing at an alarming rate; and my nine year-old appears small for his age, but eats broccoli and edamame like they are candy bars served on Halloween night. That leaves a very small percentage of the food that I plan, purchase, and prepare each week for my very own consumption. Thus, another trip to the grocery store to restock our shelves and I better get a scoop of ice cream that first night or it'll be gone before I have a chance to enjoy it.
Which brings me to a 'Grocery List' app for moms and dads who are busily trying to feed their crews. I recently discovered Grocery IQ and am happy with the results. The |
best part of this app is the ability to share the grocery list with other members of the household. That means... my husband and I can work off the same list. (He adds 'Coconut Milk' and it shows up on my phone. I mark off 'Water bottle' and it deletes from his phone.) The app also lets us share multiple lists, so we've added 'Grocery', 'Hardware', 'Sports', and even 'Library'. Now, when we are out and about, we don't have to worry about forgetting the list. The list is with us (on our phones- updated) at all times.
It took me a while to get used to carrying my phone in-hand while traveling up and down the grocery aisle, but I like the ability to organize the list by aisle and mark things off my list as I go. Now, I just need need to find the setting that will remind me to eat a few raspberries -- before the boys devour them all as an after school snack.
It took me a while to get used to carrying my phone in-hand while traveling up and down the grocery aisle, but I like the ability to organize the list by aisle and mark things off my list as I go. Now, I just need need to find the setting that will remind me to eat a few raspberries -- before the boys devour them all as an after school snack.