Q&A for How to Go Grocery Shopping

Think about what some of your favorite vegetables are! Try to create meals around them by finding different ways to eat them. It can be really inspiring to go back to the basics that you know feel good to you. You could also aim to try 2-4 new vegetables each week—like broccoli and cabbage one week and arugula and romaine the next. It really helps to get in the flow of not just buying the same things over and over again and developing new taste buds for food.

Do you mean how long do your groceries last? Fresh vegetables, fruit, dairy, meat and seafood last 3 days, if you put it in your refrigerator as soon as you can after shopping (within 1 hour). Your refrigerator's temperature should be kept below 5 degrees Celsius. Everything else has use-by dates stamped on them, you should read this and throw them out if the date has passed. If you mean how long will you actually be shopping for, that depends on how much you need to buy and whether you're a quick or slow shopper.

Rice and dry beans last a long while and are cheap. Frozen vegetables are typically cheaper and last longer than fresh ones. Invest in some good spices and you can create some good meals with just beans, rice, and frozen veggies.

It is great that your mom trusts you enough to buy groceries for the family! Make a list to take with you. This will make shopping much easier and less stressful for you. It can be difficult to talk to strangers, but a store employee or cashier could probably answer any questions you might have. It's a tall order for a 12 year old to buy groceries but you just asked all of us for suggestions, that is a pretty good indication that you could ask other questions in the store without feeling awkward!

Yes, you can! Depending on the store, some offer many different types of items. The best way is to wander through the store to see what they offer! You might find that many items are priced higher than at big stores, mainly because it's a convenience item.