Putting together a fruit platter looks impressive to friends and family, but is truly one of the easiest ways to enjoy fruit! A couple of other options are my Fruit Pizza and Blueberry Galette!
One of my biggest struggles of late has been grocery shopping. It may sound harmless and mundane to most; the simplistic task of making a list, finding a store that sells those items, and then going to purchase them.
List, store, buy, go home. Easy peasy.
Only… not so much.
Fresh Fruit Platter and How I Shop (kinda)
This is usually how grocery store shopping goes in my house:
Monday-Decide that I must go grocery shopping, start thinking about what I need to get. Day gets busy and by the time hubby gets home and we finish dinner I am exhausted. No grocery store today.
Tuesday-Running low on supplies… need to ransack the freezer for dinner. Plan on going to the store in the afternoon, smallest child ends up taking nap at a weird time and can’t make it. Too exhausted by the time dinner is over. Must go tomorrow.
Wednesday– Kids have activities at night, must go to store this afternoon! Schooling takes longer than expected, one child seems to have a runny nose and sniffles. Yuck, germs. Skip store. Have hubby pick up dinner on his way home.
Thursday-Completely out of milk and bread. Consider watering down some heavy cream for cereal. Make bread from scratch and pretend it was my plan all along. Dinner is left overs, and I declare it “clean out the fridge day”, only don’t actually clean the fridge. Hubby is out of town, so at 8:00om at night I put all kids into the car in their jammies and run to the convenience store for tiny sized totally overpriced milk so we can have breakfast in the morning.
Friday-I will make it to the store today! Absolutely must do anything in my power to avoid grocery shopping on a Saturday. Kids are starting to get tired and run-down (not to mention cranky!) … must get them some fresh and healthy food! Desperate for good food we venture out to the nearest Super Store. The selection is sub-par. Fruits and veggies are wilted and picked over. The meat selection is near expiration. My feet start hurting and I get distracted in the cookie aisle. We go home with 1-gallon milk, four packages of Oreo’s, and some diapers.
Saturday– Family is planning a revolt. They want good food! I finally make up a list and head to the store. The parking lot is full and I walk 100 yards in the rain. The store is a mad house. Everything is picked over and I trip on the stock boy trying to replenish the bananas. They are out of coupon books so I have to pay full price for everything. Checkout lines are three deep and the baby is kicking me in the bladder.
Sunday– We are out of milk as I forgot to buy more yesterday.
If you want more amazing Appetizers, I have a fantastic list!
Fresh Fruit Platter
Ingredients
- watermelon
- green grapes
- blueberries
- kiwi
- cantaloupe
- apple
- orange
- raspberries
- strawberries
Instructions
- Cut up orange, apple, and watermelon.
- Peel cantaloupe and kiwi and slice.
- Arrange rest of fruit on platter.
- Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
Notes
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Hmmmm, shopping tricks?
1. make a list — don’t go “freestyle!”
2. don’t go on an empty stomach — that’s for sure.
3. check expiration dates.
4. And me personally? I reach for produce at the back of the display. I figure it’s been handled the least, and doesn’t have the bruising (or germs?) that some of the stuff in the front of the display does.
That is so smart Sally!! Great tips!
I tweeted here: https://twitter.com/sallykelly1/status/331774449307250688
I hate to say it but I shop Walmart grocery as it is 1/2 mile from my house. I take all the weekly store ads then write a list of everything that is the cheapest from each store (and things we actually need) then Walmart will price match. This is NOT a good thing to do when it is a busy time as it takes the cashier about 4X as long to ring things up.
As far as fresh goes they seam to do a good job at that too!
I’m the best intended shopper, things never meet the standard I set for myself though. What I have learned is shelves are restocked Tuesday nights, so Wednesday morning is optimal, coupons are all out then as well. My motivation : a double Starbucks cap! And no housecleaning Wednesday :o)
I always go to smaller stores to do the grocery, somehow feel they get more fresh stuff . Also don’t go by the attractive packaging, and of course check for the expiration and also the ingredients on the label.
_Archana
I’m don’t have a ritual for shopping that is carved in stone. I’m actually trying to buy less on a weekly basis and buy more on a “as needed” basis. I’m always trying new recipes and never have exactly what I need. I wish I was within walking distance to some good local stores and I would walk to the market every day, assuring myself of the freshest possible produce. I also don’t have children to work around so it’s much easier for me to find the time to grocery shop – and, I actually enjoy it.
I don’t have a lot of tricks really…I usually buy based on freshness. We don’t have a lot of choices here and I find things like fresh fruits and veggies tough to find at times! But I agree that having a list is a MUST or I forget why I am there or buy too much! 🙂
I take full advantage of Farmer’s Markets
I shop at our very tiny local grocery store that often buys from local farmers. I also love to hit the trucks that are along the road in the spring and summer – they sell straight from their gardens!
I’m pretty good at doing all the usual things experts advise. Number one is never shop on an empty stomach. I rarely buy anything unless it’s on sale — i.e., paper towels, tissue, crackers, cereal, coffee, etc. I also have a large area in my garage with shelves so I can by three of whatever is on sale and store it. I’m incredibly lucky and blessed to have an amazing Farmer’s Market 10 blocks from my house on Sunday mornings. I’ve never tasted better strawberries, sweet potatoes, you name it. Sometimes the costs is higher (but SO worth it) sometimes it’s far lower. I also have a Trader Joe’s less than a mile away! Love their sour cream, eggs, butter. All at great prices and terrific taste. However. I’m only shopping for me. And I HATE shopping. Hate it. I only had one child. NO idea how mom’s with a large family manage. No idea. (I had a friend with three children and her husband did ALL the grocery shopping. She just refused to do it.) When my son was little, I’d shop after he went to sleep. Like between 9-10 pm. I would love to have Fresh Direct in my neighborhood. I’m older (69) now and just to have great groceries AND have someone carry them upstairs would be a huge help. HUGE!
Wish I could help you Marie! You are such a sweet soul, it would be an honor to bring up those groceries for you! 🙂