What's in my trolley is Mamamia's look into the weekly grocery shop of Australian women. From food to everyday essentials, here's a peek at what multi-tasking entrepreneur, author and podcaster Sarah Davidson is putting in her trolley.
Sarah Davidson, otherwise known as Spoonful of Sarah, is one busy woman.
The lawyer turned self-described 'funtrepreneur' is the face behind the bestselling book and podcast, Seize the Yay, and she's also a television presenter, MC and speaker. If you follow her on socials, you'll be across the many hats she wears.
But something you might not know about Sarah is that she loves a supermarket.
"Nic [my husband] will confirm that supermarkets or food stores are one of my happiest places in the world," Sarah tells Mamamia.
"I just love the experience of wandering the aisles to see what’s there."
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So... what does she buy? We spoke to Sarah about her weekly grocery shop and the products she can't leave the supermarket without. Here's what she told us.
How Sarah approaches her grocery shop.
"I’d love to say we have an established routine based on budget, meal plans or anything resembling structure, but I must admit we’re fairly haphazard with our grocery shopping," Sarah tells us.
Both she and husband Nic travel for work regularly and can rarely predict what their weeks are going to look like. So, they tend to shop as they go - depending on what they have on, what they feel like eating and how much time they have to cook.
They also mix up where they get their produce from, switching between shopping online, at the supermarket and at local markets and grocers.
"We go through random phases of preferring one to the other (often dictated by going through phases of enjoying a particular cuisine or dish) and just opt for what works in the moment - which, admittedly, can cause a bit of strife if we’re both indecisive but hangry at the same time," she said.
They have one rule when grocery shopping, though: "Don’t shop on an empty stomach, so you don’t bring the whole supermarket home with you!"
Because they shop so sporadically, Sarah doesn't have a set grocery list or weekly budget.
"We both have a few staples and snacks that are always on the list, but otherwise we're probably shopping for the next one or two days' worth of meals and will just buy the ingredients we need for those," Sarah said.
"We don’t budget too strictly for each shopping trip because what we’re buying changes every time, and the way we shop helps make sure we’re not overbuying (although extra fun things always make their way into the basket)," she said.
"Plus, eating well and nourishing ourselves is a big priority for both of us, so food is something we are a bit more liberal with budget-wise."
How Sarah prepares her food for the week.
"There’s much less food prepping going on these days, even though it does make life so much easier," Sarah said.
"I expect that will change when we have kids, but we’re very spontaneous for the time being and tend to cook as we go."
The Melbourne local also loves eating out, after two years with little opportunity to.
"Even just small, local hole in the wall type eateries are among some of our favourite places for date nights, so we like to make room to be spontaneous during the week," she said.
The grocery items Sarah can't live without.
Fresh produce.
There are some staples Sarah always grabs at the grocery store.
Her fresh produce includes avocados - she can eat them "at all times of the day and in all forms", a bunch of fruit ("there are always some Pink Lady apples, bananas, berries and whatever else is in season"), and protein and veg depending on what they're cooking.
Pantry staples.
"I ALWAYS have tamari almonds on hand and a jar of peanut butter in the pantry," Sarah tells us before spilling on her two other pantry essentials.
"We love a good condiment, so we always have lots of sauces, oils, and dressings for our cooking - I’m so partial to a balsamic glaze or dressing, so that’s always in stock," she said.
"[And] tins of Sirena tuna are a great backup if we need a good dose of protein on the run, so we always have some of those."
Snacks and treats.
Both Sarah and Nic love Greek yoghurt and cheeses so you'll always find those in their fridge. And while Nic is generally the one with the sweet tooth (Sarah admits she's a savoury gal), there's one frozen dessert they both rave about.
"Our treat-in-common that you’ll always find in our freezer, fully stocked, is Halo Top’s ice-creams," she shared.
"Their new oat milk range is an absolute winner – Triple Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Hazelnut (my personal fave), and Choc Chip Cookie Dough."
Miscellaneous products.
And the items Sarah never leaves without: "Breath mints, I love a San Pellegrino sparkling water, and I CANNOT live without sticky chai tea (which you don’t generally get from supermarkets, but you’ll find a 1kg bag permanently in our kitchen)."
Read more what's in my trolley articles:
- What's in my trolley: Everything Canna Campbell grabs in her family grocery shop.
- What's in my trolley: Everything Elyse Knowles grabs in her weekly grocery shop.
- What's in my trolley: A 'flexitarian' couple share their $200 grocery shop.
Feature image: Instagram/@spoonful_of_sarah/Supplied.