If you’re following recent trends on all social media, recently grocery is the talk of town. People share their tricks and tips on how to shop better, smarter and save on money. It’s as if overnight everyone is obsessed about optimizing the way they shop. So, you’ll see numbers like either 5-4-3-2-1 or 6-1, whichever is the combination, everyone is advocating theirs.

The variations are basically like 5 vegetables, 4 fruits, 3 protein, 2 starches, and 1 sauces or something along the line.For me, all those numbers are too complicated and they don’t even talk about how long it should be, is it weekly? Monthly? Or daily? But I have a similar way to approach it.

I am not always perfect in my groceries, in fact sometimes I get so horrible at it. But recently, I noticed one thing that I barely noticed in a long time. There were days when I got hungry but we have no ingredients in our pantry and as a result, I resorted to delivery which is convenient and makes sense. However, they come with costs and sometimes, they even cost more than fresh ingredients than we have at home.

These days, having to be aware of the cues that trigger the delivery habit, I ended up going back to what I used to do, sticking to a simple grocery list. It’s not 5-4-3-2-1 but just something that makes sense for the household I am managing.

My mom also told me that I barely eat vegetables and fruits, so I am including them into my list. I get the idea that having a certain number is easy so in my case, I am doing something like 5 vegetables, 2 fruits, 2 protein and that’s about it. I simply don’t count any condiments because it’s just what we normally have at home and something we rarely buy as well.

That’s how we always shop as well in our household. We do 2 types of protein. So it’s either a combination of egg and chicken, egg and tofu, chicken and tofu or something along the line. Not complicating the way we shop has been such a game changer.

In the past, I was the kind of person who thought eating healthy was expensive. Truthfully, I just didn’t know how to cook well and didn’t learn about my ingredients.

We barely have any food waste these days by doing that kind of grocery. We buy fruits we truly like and things that we will eat rather than following a lot of complicated recipes that will only go to waste.

Having to simplify all the process of groceries, it frees up my time and my thought process as well. The only real challenge I normally have is when my life gets busier, out of the loop and somehow due to certain events, I was off track.

But typically when I am on track the way I shop, that’s how I do it. Just as I was talking about a few weeks ago that I am going to try making pies and focusing on baked goods, these days, that approach is the same.

For our baking goods, we also make sure that nothing goes to waste. We only make things that fit within our budget and recipes that don't need too many ingredients that we don’t even have in our pantry. Sometimes we also find our way around to swap ingredients rather than buying new.

Sometimes I wonder how moms do it because managing a household isn’t as easy as it seems. Throw in some kids into the frame and it gets even more challenging. I can see how minimalism applied in a single income household would be so beneficial. Not only is it cost-effective but it also helps us be mindful about the way we shop, the way we consume things and the way to manage the clutter.

When we curate our groceries, not only we’ll be able to eat healthier, live well but also, one big thing for me is time. Sometimes I can’t be bothered with all these problems like excessive delivery and relying on food cooked outside.

The older I get, the more I value home cooked meals, something that I know how, where, and what goes into the meal.

The younger me loved going outside, eating outside meals and that honestly, as unclean as it could be. Perhaps because I grew up with a lot of restrictions and around people with specific needs, eating out used to be so boring until I maxed out my experience eating outside once I was out of the house.

Growing up, my paternal grandmother curated all the places that she deemed clean and proper. When we went on holidays with them, she would cook, not because she wanted to save money but because she didn’t want to eat food from random places.

Now, I know the wisdom there and I understand her ways. Not everyone agrees with her but she outlived many despite barely working out.

When I used to buy convenience, my health isn’t as good as I’ve been these days. I don’t think it is the way to live either because eating well on a budget and high protein(if you’re like me) is very much possible.