Listicles: Ten Things I Buy Every Week

Shopping at the Trout Lake Farmers Market in summer 2011

This week's Listicles topic is all about shopping: Ten Things I Buy Every Week. Living on one income in one of the more expensive cities in North America, if not the world, means we try to avoid spending money whenever we can. In fact, we've become downright cheap. I try to avoid buying things whenever possible & try to spend as little as possible for what I need most of the time.

Except for food. I feel like it's worth it to spend a bit more for organic, for better quality, for 'fancy' stuff, for local stuff made by small businesses. I'm not much of a cook but I love to eat good food. So I avoid tallying up our actual food budget because I'm afraid of how high that number might be. Here are ten things we buy weekly:

Costco haul in fall 2012

1. Apples. I don't think I've ever gone for more than a week in my entire life without eating an apple. Since I was a wee thing they've been my favourite fruit.
2. Bagels. I don't know how I ever lived without bagels, but I definitely couldn't now.
3. Some kind of cheese. We're always running out of one & we get antsy if there are fewer than six kinds in the fridge...
4. Sushi. We eat out or get takeout about once a week.
5. At least four litres of milk. Sprout is drinks about a half litre a day now.
6. Chocolate. Can't live without this stuff. I consider good quality chocolate an essential, along with bread, eggs, milk, fruit, veggies...
7. Ice cream, cookies or chips. The cravings, oh, the cravings. I'm normally bad with cravings, but I swear when pregnant I have no willpower to resist Kettle Chips or my new obsession: Black Cherry ice cream. At least it was on sale when I bought it. Heh. 
8. A pastry of some sort. This happens more than once a week--way too many cafes in my neighbourhood! Also: I blame pregnancy. ;)
   
9. Yogurt. The Greek kind. Since I tried its thick, creamy deliciousness I haven't been able to go back. & yes, I know it has WAY more fat than the 'regular' yogurt. But it's worth it for the taste & texture.
10. Beer. At least once a week--usually more--my husband stops off at one of the new craft breweries on his way home from work & brings a bottle or two of amazing beer home. As I'm currently following the probably-more-strict-than-necessary guidelines that pregnant women get in North America to completely abstain from alcohol, I usually just have a sip or two to taste it. Then I spend the rest of dinner staring longingly at his glass of delicious beer. On a related note: I swear it was easier to give up beer during my last pregnancy. Perhaps the fact that this time around I have a toddler to contend with is what makes me long for the booze a bit more? ;)

Tell me fellow Listiclers & lovely readers: What foods couldn't you live without for a week?

Join in the fun yourself--enter the link to your list here (click on the Listicles button to the right), or just browse the many other entries on Northwest Mommy.

Follow Spokesmama here too: