week 01 shopping

Stocking the naked pantry

Week 1: Shopping for your first week on your own can be intimidating.  This list is a good start. Start small, but keep a list handy so you know what you and your roommates liked best and ran out of first.

4 is the ideal number

Quantities are for an apartment of four people with medium appetites.  Share the list with your roommates to get their input  (white/wheat, creamy/crunchy, Pops/AppleJacks) before you shop and make sure everyone agrees ahead of time to share the costs.

Also, consider how much time, money, and space you’ll need.

DON’T PRINT THIS PAGE: This blog page is too long to print in its entirety, so copy the shopping list to Word, Excel or some other print-friendly application if you need a hard-copy list.

  • 1 loaf bread (white or wheat)
  • 1 jar peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
  • 1 jar jam or preserves (grape, strawberry, or apricot)
  • 1 jar Nutella
  • 1 box Ritz crackers
  • 1 small jar dry roasted peanuts (use 1/2 cup in recipes, snack on rest)
  • 1 box microwave popcorn (6-10 bags)
  • 2 boxes different kinds of cereal (Frosted Mini Wheats, Pops, Apple Jacks, or granola)
  • 1 gallon milk (whole, 2%, 1%, skim, or soy)
  • 1 tub soft-spread butter or margarine (also known as oleo or oleo-margarine)
  • 6-12 eggs
  • 1 small bottle canola or corn oil
  • 2 boxes Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie Mix with Hershey’s syrup
  • 1 12-16 oz. package dry pasta (spaghetti, rotini, bow-tie, etc.)
  • 1 24 oz.  jar Classico sweet basil marinara sauce
  • 1 box Zatarain’s Jambalaya mix
  • 2 boxes Taste of Thai Pad Thai for Two
  • 1 pound bag dried black beans
  • 1 box (2 envelopes) Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix (dry mix, not bottled)
  • 1 envelope dry Lawry’s Taco Seasoning
  • 1 box of salt
  • 1 can of black pepper
  • 1 can Rotel tomatoes and chilies
  • 2 cans diced tomatoes
  • 1 can red kidney beans
  • 1 can pinto beans
  • 1 can yellow or white hominy (bloated corn kernels)
  • 4 large brown Russett potatoes for baking, each should be as long as an average hand (wrist to finger tips)
  • 2 medium yellow onions
  • 1 bunch celery
  • 1-2 green bell peppers
  • 1 bunch cilantro (flat green leaves, nutty flavor and scent, used in TexMex and Asian recipes)
  • 1 bag Fresh Express Salsa! Ensalada complete salad mix (or other flavor like Caesar, Mediterranean, etc.)
  • 1 bag Fresh Express hearts of romaine or other salad blend
  • 1-2 cups bean sprouts – expire quickly, make the Pad Thai within 2 days of purchase
  • 8 apples
  • 8 oranges
  • 8 bananas (buy slightly green)
  • 1 bunch green onions (also known as scallions)
  • 2-3 limes
  • 2-3 lemons
  • 1 medium container sour cream
  • 12-16 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 small jar real bacon bits (not Bacos)
  • quart-size and gallon-size Zip-loc bags
  • 1 can Pam or other cooking spray

Meat?  Check with your roommates to find out if you can buy chicken, ground beef (at least 95% lean), or sausage.  If you add meat to the first week’s cooking, buy the following:

  • 1 pound chicken tenders (add to Pad Thai)
  • 1 pound extra lean ground beef (add to Taco Soup)
  • 12 oz to 1 pound low fat or light beef kielbasa or other link sausage (add to Jambalaya)
  • 2 8×8 or 1 9×13 foil cake pans (for brownies)

Vegetarians: buy additional quantities of celery, onion, and bell pepper and saute 2 cups of mixed, chopped vegetables to replace 1 lb. of meat in each Week One recipe.

  • 2 bunches celery
  • 4 onions
  • 4 bell peppers

Necessities that don’t go in the pantry

  • toilet paper (buy a minimum of 1 roll per person per week)
  • 1 roll paper towels (if using as napkins with meals, buy two rolls)
  • recycle your plastic grocery bags as trash can liners or buy can liners
  • air freshener (bathroom)
  • Soft scrub (kitchen)
  • Tilex for mildew (Houston bathrooms)
  • 2 scrubbing sponges (keep separate: one for kitchen, one for bathroom)
  • toilet brush
  • 1 plunger (for bathroom; when you need it, you don’t have time to dash to the store)
  • Swiffer – really important if 2 or more people share a bathrooom.  Leave the handled floor cleaner in a corner of your bathroom and wipe the floor every day.  Keep box of the refill wipes available to wipe out tub and wipe off counter.