Husbands Can't Be Trusted To Grocery Shop OUR Way

on December 28, 2011 at 4:25 PM

grocery cart News flash! More and more men are doing the grocery shopping -- this according to an article in the Chicago Tribune. OMG, retailers have noticed that men sometimes go to the store! And buy food! DID YOU KNOW!?!

Yes, actually. I live with one of those men they're referring to and I can attest from personal experience that he does indeed do the grocery shopping at times. Like most moms, I appreciate it when my husband does the grocery shopping. In theory. Mostly. Okay, fine, I kind of cringe when my husband leaves for the store. It's not so much because he doesn't know how to buy food. He's a perfectly capable adult! It's just that he doesn't buy the same foods I buy.

The market research shows we're not the only couple with different visions for grocery shopping. Men tend to be less organized and more impulsive than women, who are the ones with the lists. Actually, my husband does show up to the grocery store with a list; it's just that it's the list I've written for him. Otherwise, the difference between what he buys and what I buy could not be more different.

Me: Lots of vegetables, organic milk (organic everything, in fact), large cuts of roasting meat, whole grains like quinoa and brown rice, plain yogurt, granola, whole-grain bread, beans, eggs, 3 different kinds of cheese, and coconut milk.

My husband: Sugary breakfast cereals, white bread, turkey slices, bacon, cookies, regular milk, juice, ice cream, muffins, croissants, jam, butter, peanut butter, frozen foods, boxed macaroni and cheese, and beer (duh). Then there was the time I told him I was going to make Mexican re-fried beans and he came back with kidney beans. KIDNEY BEANS!

Are you picking up on a theme, here? When I come home from the store my husband complains, "You didn't buy anything to EAT!" When my husband comes home I complain, "You didn't buy anything to COOK!" He shops mostly for breakfast, lunch, and snack time. I buy with from-scratch recipes in my head, almost always thinking about dinner. And I'm way more into health food than he is, not that he's a junk-food fan.

Actually, if you put both of us together you'd have the perfect grocery shopping trip. Back in ye olden, pre-kid days we used to go grocery shopping together. Those were merry times! We would come home with food we both wanted. We don't have that kind of time anymore. But now we've found the perfect grocery shopping solution that works for our family: We order our groceries online and have them delivered. Now everybody's happy!

Does your husband do a lot of the grocery shopping? Do you shop the same way, or do you buy totally different foods?

Image via AlishaV/Flickr

About the author Adriana Velez

is a staff writer who dabbles in food, parenting, news, entertainment, molecular biology, and anything else that that pops into her head. She lives with her husband and elementary school-aged son in Brooklyn, land of urban farms and artisan everything.

Filed Under: grocery shopping, in the news

Comments (34)

MamaBearBB

on Dec 28, 2011 at 4:55 PM

I hate going to the store with my husband! He impulsively chooses all kinds of random junk food, just throwing frozen foods on top of the bread, etc. We are also poor and have a very limited grocery budget, so it's not like we can both pick out whatever we want. We have to like, compromise and stuff. I am much happier when I go by myself, and I get to be in charge of everything. :)

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EquestrianMom

on Dec 28, 2011 at 5:08 PM

We get more diner foods when I go. I do all our shopping now, because we are on a budget and I do better with that. Also, SO did the shopping for three months for us a while back, not only did he way overspend at every shopping trip, he also got mainly snack foods, and gained 20lbs over those months! LMAO! That alone was enough to convince him to let me shop :P That said, we do have a board we keep up to write needed groceries and wanted treats on, so I don't forget things like his kind of toothpaste, or if he;s craving chips and I can squeeze it in the budget :) Works for us!

SaphiraJFire

on Dec 28, 2011 at 5:14 PM

My DH does most of the shoppingand yes he always gets jsut what i wantand what we both need every time! back off he's mine! lol

If we do not need a lot he will remembr what we need other wise i will give him a list. If we go together its the same thing. We have the same tast and he also cooks half the time to so he always makes sure to get stuff to eat and cook. we love the same type foods.

My mom is not so lucky lol dad is ok with list but if he does not have a lost of exact foods and brands he will not get anything mom needed. lol

LuckyPlusOne

One time dh went out for ingredients for a salad. He came back with a $40 salad. That was the last time i let him go shopping...

Hot_Mamma_of_2

on Dec 28, 2011 at 5:30 PM

My husband and I go together to do the shopping. I make a list of what we need and when we get there to the store we get whats on the list and then sometimes we get things not on the list but most of the time we follow the list.

hippiemom04

on Dec 28, 2011 at 6:25 PM

My husband buys the groceries because he cooks more. i am a quick meal on the go kind of person. He uses every pan in the house and two loads of dishes for one supper.

LucretiaMcEvil

on Dec 28, 2011 at 6:26 PM

Ugh...anal retentive much?

tyrelsmom

on Dec 28, 2011 at 6:33 PM

If my husband does the groceries he spends twice as much and comes home with half as much food. And ALWAYS mac and cheese. Ew.

Panda2778

on Dec 28, 2011 at 6:35 PM

My husband over-thinks grocery shopping. If I send a list with eggs, milk, cheese, and bread, I might get a gallon of whole milk. The rest is "too expensive" or he thinks he can get a better deal somewhere else. I have to explain to him that yes, although the store in the next large city has a better price, the gas spent to get there doesn't make the trip worthwhile. With him, it's all about "cheap". I do most of the shopping so that we actually get edible things. I know generic brands are cheaper, but my family complains about certain things tasting funny or different when we get store brands. I would rather spend a few cents more for better brands than have a ton of left-overs that get thrown out because my family won't eat it.