Grocery Shopping

So we're that couple that loves to grocery shop together. It works for us. Andrew's the cook in the house (I help out and have learned from him, but he's got skills) and I do a lot of the conceptualizing of the meals.

Before moving to OT, we really only grocery shopped at Harris Teeter in Adams Morgan. There we not many other options near us. After the move, we continued to grocery shop at HT - at the one on Duke Street which is 6 miles from our house. After about a year of that I've become sick of the drive and traffic on Duke. A new HT is being built in north OT, but won't be complete until summer/fall 2014. Until then, it's time to give up brand loyalty for convenience.

We are fortunate to have a ton of great grocery stores very close to us. Within one mile of us is a Balducci's, Whole Foods, and Safeway. At 1.5 miles is the Trader Joes. Balduccis is the closest at 2 blocks away and we find ourselves going there a lot after work to pick up meat or fish for dinner. It's not a place where we do all our grocery shopping because the price is high on staples. I do love the 10% off coupons they send once a month though. We find ourselves at Whole Foods for the buffet, and the huge selection of grains and granola. But once again, not a place to stock up on all things for the week. So, Trader Joes it is.

I'm learning which brands at TJ I like. The dairy has been hard. I am loyal to Breakstone cottage cheese and Okios yogurt. TJ's has the best price around on bananas at .19 cents each, which I love. We also bought at least 20 chickens from TJs over the course of the summer as Andrew perfected grilling whole chicken. I'm coming along on their cereals, and of course they have amazing dips and chips. And we're always picking up something new in the frozen section just to try out. Some we like, others not so much. So for now, TJs is the go-to grocery.

Collared greens - from our garden not the grocery :)