I thought it might be fun to introduce a new feature on Trading Up Downtown called: Shop, Trade, Save. Whenever I do my grocery shopping for the week, I will share what I purchased, what items I “traded-up,” and where I saved money. Hopefully, my shopping trips will give you some ideas for A Better Bag of Groceries.
Shop
On Sunday afternoon, I took a solo trip via foot to my neighborhood grocery store, which is about a mile each way from my apartment. I ended up lugging two heavy bags of groceries home with me, so I definitely counted my little errand as my exercise for the day. 
Here’s what was in this week’s shopping cart:
- Bananas (NuVal score: 91)
- Old-Fashion Oats (NuVal score: 57)
- Pink Grapefruit (NuVal score: 99)
- Apples (NuVal score: 96)
- Oranges (NuVal score: 100)
- Pears (NuVal score: 96)
- Kashi 7 Whole Grain Cereal Puffs (Nuval score: 90)
- Non-Fat Milk (NuVal score: 91)
- Sweet Potato (NuVal score: 96)
- Grape Tomatoes (NuVal: 96)
- Ground Beef (NuVal score: 30)
- Romaine Hearts (NuVal score: 100)
- Arnold 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins (NuVal score: 37)
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (NuVal score: 12)
- Butterscotch Baking Chips (NuVal score: 1)
- Arnold 7 Grain Bread (NuVal score: 26)
- Shredded Cheese (NuVal score: 23)
- Cucumber (NuVal: 93)
Trade
Here’s where I traded-up this week:
Kashi Go Lean Crunch (Nuval score: 33) for Kashi 7 Whole Grain Cereal Puffs (Nuval score: 90)
Silk Soymilk Light (NuVal score: 82) for Fat Free Milk (NuVal score: 91)
Arnold 7 Grain Bread (NuVal score: 26) for Arnold 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins (NuVal score: 37)
Save
And, here’s where I saved this week:
Reduced produce: I paid just $1.59 for 5 apples and a pear that had barely anything wrong with them.
I just cut off or ate around the bad parts, which were usually just a small bruise or two.
Bag of Romaine Hearts: Just one bag of romaine hearts lasts me all week. You get a ton of lettuce!
What’s your favorite way to shop, trade or save?
Trading Up Downtown Giveaway
You still have time to enter yesterday’s giveaway. I’ll pick a winner tomorrow morning.
Good luck!
Developed by an independent panel of nutrition and medical experts, the 
Love, love, LOVE the topic…hope you make it a regular…how better to Shop, Trade and Save!
I too love this topic and look forward to more!
Hey Tina,
Do you have any tips for storing romaine? I bought a bag like yours (from Trader Joe’s) and was planning to use it all week – but discovered a couple days ago that the tips were nearly frozen. I’ve never encountered this before, so I don’t know if it’s my refrigerator that’s the problem? Do you need to store romaine differently?
@Jul: I just keep it in the bag.
I buy in bulk for my veggies and fruits at Sam’s club because I eat so much of it. I also buy in the reduced section of my local grocery store for other things.
I love seeing what other people buy at the grocery store! We buy almost all our veggies at Trader Joe’s because the prices are so reasonable — a bag of 8 organic apples for $2.50!
Yeah this is an awesome idea! I hope you continue showing us your purchases. Great idea!
Hi Tina,
Great idea! I love to purchase the “damaged” fruits…they are perfect to cut up and put into things, or just cut off the bruises. You can save a bundle that way! I am not a huge romaine fan, but I love the darker lettuce. Normally I buy what is on sale in order to save a few bucks!
This is a great post! Thanks for sharing your loot with us. I love seeing what other people buy and getting ideas. I also like seeing your trade ups!
Great grocery buys! I love sandwich thins and I can’t go to the store without buying apples. I usually eat two a day!
I think it’s funny sometimes the reduced price produce is better than the other stuff because people drop and throw around the other ones anyway!
Would organic fat-free milk and organic lettuce have a higher score than non-organic?
Thanks!
@KZ: At this time organic foods will not be rated higher than non-organic foods. As appealing as the notion of organic is- and the ONQI expert panel all endorse it as good for the planet- there is no scientific evidence that it has any influence on health outcomes. Foods are nutritious if they favorably influence health outcomes. There was no way to include in the ONQI algorithm something that is not a measure of nutritional quality.