The 6-To-1 Grocery Purchasing Technique That’ll Save You Time and Cash

If you’re a busy father or mother attempting to feed a household with completely different tastes, grocery purchasing can rapidly flip right into a chaotic—and costly—chore. Between inflation, meals waste, and the countless “What’s for dinner?” dilemma, many people are hungry for options that assist us do extra with much less. Enter Chef Will Coleman’s 6-to-1 Grocery Purchasing Technique: a sensible, versatile technique that makes planning, purchasing, and cooking easier and extra sustainable.

What’s the 6-to-1 Grocery Purchasing Technique?

Designed to assist consumers give attention to components that can be utilized throughout a number of meals, Coleman’s methodology is simple: store for six greens, 5 fruits, 4 proteins, three starches, two sauces, and one enjoyable merchandise. The end result? A cart filled with cost-effective, versatile components that may stretch into per week’s price of meals with out waste or overwhelm.

Earlier than coming throughout the 6-to-1 Technique on social media, I assumed I had an honest grocery purchasing technique. I’ve all the time been acutely aware about meals waste, so every week, I’d plan meals round components I already had and solely store for what I used to be lacking. Appears easy and environment friendly sufficient proper? Whereas that technique does work, I discovered myself in a continuing loop of attempting to not waste leftover groceries from the earlier week, and I wasn’t all the time prioritizing produce and more healthy entire meals. Plus, purchasing that approach simply wasn’t thrilling.

“I created the 6-to-1 Technique out of a necessity for extra intentional grocery purchasing,” Coleman advised me. “I wished a system that made it simpler to plan balanced meals, cut back my reliance on processed meals, and lower down each time and spending on the retailer.”

I just lately put Coleman’s methodology to the check, and the outcomes had been spectacular. I loved the flexibility to be artistic and plan how I’d use recent components in varied methods for a number of meals throughout the similar week in order that I may begin recent the subsequent. I shopped with intention, stayed beneath finances, and had what I wanted to make 9 full meals (three breakfasts, three lunches, and three dinners) for my household of 4.

what I purchased:

Greens: Butter lettuce, celery, Caesar salad combine, onions, recent herbs, cucumbers*

Fruits: Apples, citrus fruits (orange, lemon, lime), strawberries, grapes, tomatoes

Proteins: Floor beef, salmon, rooster, eggs

Starches: Spaghetti, brioche buns, flour tortillas

Sauces: Mayonnaise, avocado cilantro sauce

Enjoyable merchandise: Chocolate chip cookies

*Though cucumbers are technically a fruit, I categorized them as a vegetable right here since I solely used them in salads and inexperienced juice. Once more, one of many nice issues in regards to the 6-to-1 Technique is it’s customizable!

what I made:

Breakfasts: Breakfast burritos, inexperienced juice, fruit salad

Lunches: Salmon Caesar salad, floor beef burritos (with pantry rice and beans), jerk salmon burgers with lemon-garlic-herb aioli

Dinners: Curry rooster (with pantry rice), spaghetti and meatballs (with store-bought sauce), candy and bitter rooster with selfmade fried rice

Snacks: Fruit, chocolate chip cookies

Price Breakdown for the week

Complete spent: $117.90

Meals made: 9 (with 4 servings every)

Price per serving: $3.28

Why this methodology works

As a working mother, I can’t all the time put together three meals a day, day-after-day. However even with my hectic schedule, this methodology helped us eat most of our meals at dwelling relatively than resorting to quick meals, takeout, or spending a whole lot on a single dinner out. Past the fee financial savings, I additionally appreciated the way it inspired us to eat more healthy—with recent components and balanced meals I felt good about serving.

“Prioritizing entire components not solely helps higher consuming habits, however it additionally helps to keep away from overspending on pointless or overly processed meals gadgets,” Coleman defined.

Along with value financial savings and more healthy meals selections, the fantastic thing about the 6-to-1 Technique is in its customizability. It really works whether or not you’re purchasing for choosy eaters, attempting to scrub out your pantry, or simply desirous to keep away from the temptation of impulse buys. Plus, you don’t have to be an expert chef to make it work—only a dwelling cook dinner seeking to simplify the weekly meals routine.

And should you’re all for studying extra, Coleman just lately expanded on this idea in his debut cookbook, From Cart to Kitchen, which dropped on June ninth. The guide options 60 recipes and ten grocery lists that observe the 6-to-1 Technique, making it simple for anybody to start out purchasing smarter and cook dinner with confidence. It’s out there for pre-order now, and after attempting the strategy myself, I can confidently say it’s price each penny.