Have you ever bought a bunch of groceries full of veggies, only to let them go to waste?

At Paleo U, we want to fix that problem with a little planning. Here are three things that will help you make the best out of grocery shopping and actually use your groceries.

1. Buy in bulk when you can.

For instance, when grass-fed beef is on sale, you might want to buy as much of it as you can. It’s expensive! Have your butcher package up a pound or a half pound worth of ground beef, and make several ground beef packages in small units that you typically cook with. You can do this with chicken breasts too; putting a couple in a package. Then, put all of them in the freezer, so you’ll have them on hand when you need them.

It might make one grocery bill is a little bit more expensive than another, but overall, you’ll spend less money. There will be plenty of weeks when you don’t need to buy any protein, because it’s already sitting in the freezer!

And that’s also true of things like onions, which don’t go bad quickly — so if you can buy them in bulk, do it!

2. Prep.

At Paleo University, we believe in setting yourself up for success. That’s why meal prepping is non-negotiable. Go to the grocery store, come home, and immediately start prepping. I like to put on my favorite TV show, Friends, and get going.

Give yourself that hour. It’s you time – you deserve to eat healthy, and this is a necessary part of the process. If you don’t prep it, you might not cook it. After a long day at work, coming home and having to decide what to eat, thinking through all the things you have to do to prepare to cook it, and then finally cook it… Ugh, it makes us exhausted before we’ve even started!

So prep. Come mealtime, you don’t have to think, or do anything extra. Grab a bag out of the fridge, throw it on a pan or throw it in a pot, and you’re done!

3. Use your groceries.

You go grocery shopping with the best intentions, but not necessarily a good plan. Maybe you forgot to prep earlier in the week. You come home after that long, hard day to those groceries in the fridge, and maybe you don’t really want to take the time to cook. So instead, what do you do? Go pick something up from the restaurant down the street.

Now you’ve spent money on groceries, and then you’re spending even more money eating out– so now you’re wasting money and groceries.

Make sure your refrigerator is relatively empty at the end of the week. It doesn’t need to be barren, just that you can look in there and feel good about using what you bought, with the motivation to go to the store and do it all over again.

Bonus tip: Give it four weeks.

Commit to four weeks of trying to use all your groceries up during that week; doing the prep, using the groceries, and making the recipes.

What do you have to lose? Nothing! It’s just a little experiment.

If you give it your best shot and it doesn’t work for you, no biggie. On the other hand, if it does work for you, you’re going to gain more nutrition, gain more health, and you’ll actually save time!

In summary: Buy in bulk when you can, prep to set yourself up for each week, and then actually eat the groceries that you bought and prepped.

Do those three things, and you’ll not only save money and time– you’ll also start to feel more confident in developing healthier habits!

Getting the Most from Paleo U

How to Read Nutrition Labels

Getting the Most from Paleo U

Change Doesn’t Happen Overnight!

How to Make Prepping Even Easier

Think Outside the Breakfast Box

Tools for a Paleo Kitchen

Paleo U Pantry Essentials

Making the Most of Your Groceries