Trying to come back from a busy holiday season and 2020 as whole has me trying to simplify my life as much as possible. It’s the beginning of a new year so I feel motivated not only to eat healthy, but also to budget where I can.
Honestly, I don’t think I ventured inside a grocery store more than 10 times in 2020. For starters, I was very pregnant when 2020 began, then had baby and went home from the hospital the day everything shut down. As the cases began to get worse, it was still unlikely I was going to do much in-person grocery shopping regardless of how much I wanted to get out of the house.
I am extremely thankful I live somewhere where I can get quite a few grocery delivery options. Once the pandemic hit, I noticed more places offering delivery. To my house I can get Costco, Tom Thumb, Target, HEB, and multiple other places, which makes grocery shopping fairly easy. I feel like using the Shipt or Instacart apps on my phone not only help me save money, but also they will deliver within two hours usually.
Whenever I go into the grocery store, I feel like I peruse the aisles and most likely am purchasing things I do not really need. Target anyone?! When I am shopping from my phone, I always start a list as soon as we run out of something so I try to only buy what we are eating and needing. The shoppers will always text you if they need a substitute or if they are out of stock of something.
More recently, at the end of 2020, I realized it was becoming increasingly difficult to think of dinner ideas. My children are all involved in different activities, so fast food was becoming too regular. I wanted something that I could cook, but it did not take a lot of time and tasted yummy, too. On a whim, I decided to try out Hello Fresh. So far my experience has been great. While I decided to go with Hello Fresh, there are several meal and food delivery services, such as Blue Apron, Home Chef, Sun Basket, and Freshly.
I chose the least amount of meals for the first few weeks because I was not sure how it was going to turn out. It also has many options, such as family friendly meals, fast meals, and speciality diets as well. I think it is great it offers so many different meals for people. Some of my favorites have been shrimp fajitas, moo shu pork, and any of the chicken meals. Every meal has had a lot of flavor and were very fresh.
The ones I have gotten have been pretty simple and cook fairly quickly. This allows me to make something for myself and also have some for the my kids. I like how I am still able to cook a meal, but everything is prepped for me and comes together in a kit. The best part is I only have to choose the meals, I do not have to think every single night what we are going to have to dinner. Some days I will try to prep everything early so we can just heat up and eat. 
These trials and efforts in the end of 2020 have helped me start off 2021 more organized, healthier, and budget-friendly. I am much more conscious of what we are purchasing for groceries and for dinner options, too. It definitely helps me with my grocery budget as much as you can with four kids! I am all about simplifying and it is refreshing to start off a new year in the best way I can.
What are some things that you have tried to simplify for 2021?
