A Few Words on Shopping
Shopping for food is a skill that most of us are forced to learn on our own. Sure we all went shopping with our Moms when we were little, but the only thing that most of us took away from the experience was a vague recollection of somebody saying, "put that back".
Then one day we find ourselves standing alone in a large, too-well-lit supermarket. No one has given us some magic little list telling us what to buy. We are left to our own devices. Chips, cookies, and frozen foods. A little cereal for nutrition. On our fourth trip we discover the mac-and-cheese isle, and we are happy for a while. But then one day, we glance over at someone else's cart. They seem to be buying things that don't come in cardboard boxes. We wonder where they got those things from, and how they knew to buy them.
Food shopping is difficult for many reasons, not the least of which is biological. Early in the development of our species, sugar, salt, and grease were hard to come by, and so to ensure that we got enough of these, our development was such that we grew to prize these tastes above all others (it's similar to the sex thing and men). These days, with sugar, salt, and grease so easy to come by, we must fight to restrain ourselves from overindulgence (it's similar to the sex thing and Wilt Chamberlain).
Perhaps the best solution to all of this is to do what our parents did (no, not the jello salad thing), and make a list before going to the store. A list keeps you focused, a list keeps you going when you find yourself stranded in the canned vegetable isle and you start thinking about just chucking the whole thing and going out for pizza.
The freshness of foods in the store, and our abilities to preserve that freshness once we get them home, gives the nod to weekly shopping. If you happen to love shopping, or cooking, or the check-out girl, then a daily shopping trip is in order, but otherwise the weekly trip is the way to go.
In compiling your list, the first thing you want to do is to look ahead to see what your week will be like. Everyone is capable of thinking, "I will wake up and eat breakfast", which is why cereal does so well. Most people have a hard time thinking, "on Wednesday I'll get home early enough to roast a chicken", which explains why dinner also often involves cereal.
Below I have put together the basic outlines of a shopping list. My view on shopping lists is that they should be specific enough to get you out of the store with what you need, but general enough to allow you to take advantage of the best of what the store has to offer on the given day that you visit it.
Here are some things to keep in mind while preparing your list.
· Do you have time to prepare what you're buying? A chicken will take about 2 hours to roast, chicken breasts will take about 10 minutes to saute.
· Do you have all the extra ingredients required (spices, etc.) if you are planning on making a specific dish?
· Are you counting on leftovers for lunch, and, if so, are you buying entree enough to create leftovers?
· Are you really going to eat that? (We all have certain items which we feel compelled to buy, but that we never eat. Food costs money. When you throw away food, you throw away money. So if you're not going to eat it, don't buy it.)
Condiments:
In the early stages of cooking, it is often handy to have large amounts of things like ketchup and barbeque sauce on hand. Things like mustard, mayonaise, etc. are also handy to have around.
Fat, Salt, and Sugar:
Our brains are wired to like these things. So listen to your brain and buy a bag of white sugar and a bag of brown sugar. And pick up a bottle of vegetable oil (inexpensive, good for frying and general baking), a bottle of olive oil (more expensive, good for dishes where you'll "taste" the oil), and a pound of butter. Butter is delicous--very few foods could survive untainted by what Marleo Brando put butter through in Last Tango. Then again, right ater that movie came the margarine years. Why Marlon? Why did you do that to us?
Spices:
Start with the basics. Review your spice cabinet and make sure you have all the essentials on hand. While you're there, look to make sure that you don't need any oil, vinegar, baking supplies, or other items of this ilk.
Dried Grain Products:
Check your stock of rice, pasta, etc. Do you need any sauces?
Fruits and Vegetables:
Look through your vegetable bin. Take note of what is rotting (you may not really need more of that). There are a lot of different vegetables out there. Each time you go to the store, besides getting what you know, try getting something new. And remember, while frozen tater tots may not exactly qualify as a vegetable, the catsup that you eat with them does.
Meats:
Try not to have your heart set on any particular cut of meat. Meat prices fluctuate more than anything else in the store, and you can count on the fact that something will always be on sale, and something will always be expensive. If you're a big beef fan and there are roasts on sale, why not buy one? There's no law against cutting it into smaller sections once you're back in the privacy of your own home. Pound for pound, the whole chicken may be your best bet. The chicken may be roasted whole, or cut up into smaller pieces to be used in a variety of different dishes.
Dairy:
You know what you like. Just be sure to check the expiration dates on everything. When buying eggs, it's always good form to check inside the carton to make sure none are broken. In the common cheeses (cheddar, jack, mozzarella), it is sometimes cheaper to buy a larger piece, so be sure to pay attention to the price per pound numbers. If you're going to buy a bigger piece, consider incorporating it into a cheese intensive main dish (pizza, eggplant parmesan, etc.)
Other:
This is different for all of us. Some people's lists are composed entirely of other, i.e. chips, salsa, beer.
Tasty Convenience Item:
You should always buy at least one tasty convenience item while at the store. Otherwise you may get home and find that you have nothing (immediately desirable) to eat.
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Shopping Tips 
