Today is grocery shopping day. I put it off as long as I could; last night’s meal was concocted from things found in the freezer and a can of soup, and I even made banana bread so we would have something new for breakfast. This banana bread recipe, by the way, is really pretty tasty and not all bad for you:
½ C. butter
½ C. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
¾ tsp. baking Soda
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ C. mashed bananas (about 3)
¼ C. honey
2 large eggs
2 C. whole wheat flour
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees, pour batter in 9 X 5 greased pan, rest at room temp for 10 minutes after pouring, then bake for 50 minutes uncovered, cover with foil and bake 10 more minutes.

When I was in the last month of pregnancy with the twins, I could barely drive a car, or walk more than a few feet at a time, so I started having groceries delivered by Acme. I continued with them until the kids were about four months old and I highly recommend this service. Even to give you a break during a particularly hectic week, the $9 service charge is easily justified as it balances out against the items you get on impulse when actually in the store.

A few months ago after a double child melt down in the cereal aisle and an abandoned shopping cart half full of groceries, I resumed Acme delivery until we had gotten over that particular stint of terrible two-ness. Now, (when I say now, I mean the last two trips… it can turn on a dime) my kids are more eager to please, and so I let them ‘help’ me by fetching an orange, or carrying a shopping bag.

A word about shopping bags: I bought six reusable bags at Giant last fall and I cannot recommend them highly enough. Every store has them now, usually for sale at the checkout, and they are the greatest thing next to home grocery delivery. I cannot describe the dread I used to feel watching the bagger place one item into each plastic bag, filling my cart with about 50 individual bags or more that I was somehow supposed to carry into my house along with two small children. I started begging for paper/plastic combos, but still I had a lot of trips and several broken bags to contend with in the driveway while my children sat either unattended inside or screaming in their car seats.

The reusable bags hold three times what a combo bag does, and they don’t break. They have handles and they stand upright in the van. Not only are they environmentally friendly, they are far and above a better way to go.

I know groceries are way up in price… and I have tried to cut back on things like extra chips or non-essentials in order to keep us somewhere in range of budget. But there are a few things I won’t give up. Like what I promise as a reward now for a successful trip to the store is what I call ‘squishy fruit’. It is organic smooshed fruit by FruitaBu (http://www.stretchislandfruit.com/about.html). We like strawberry, and it is just pureed fruit in a packet that they can suck out – making it both a snack and an activity. They LOVE them. For myself, an essential luxury includes soup and noodle bowls from Annie Chun’s – her pad thai is excellent, the udon a refreshing break from left over PB&J - and each take only 2 minutes to make. That's clutch.
So as soon as I can convince my son to wear pants, we'll be off to shop.

Wish us luck!