The 5 Grocery Items We Always Splurge On

Admittedly, it feels a little random to be blogging about grocery shopping, but I thought about this the other day while coming up with our weekly grocery list. I do what I call “loose meal planning,” meaning that I choose a selection of meals for the week ahead and base our grocery list around the needs of those meals. I call it loose because I don’t plan meals based on what is on sale or go overboard on maximizing every last ingredient. I definitely wish I were able to be more aware of this in my meal planning, but as a busy working mom, that is just one ball I am willing to drop. Instead, I always go to the same grocery store regardless of the weekly specials, always follow the same route in the store to pick up all our staples (and you can bet I write my list in order of my route), and definitely buy brands of food based on preferences over what is the most affordable option.

I definitely believe that there is a time and place for both saving and splurging when it comes to food. But over many years of cooking, one of the biggest takeaways that I have learned is this: good food makes good food. I know that may seem obvious, but over the years, I have really been able to narrow in on what foods and ingredients are just worth it to splurge on. And since I am pulling together my weekly grocery list now, I figured I would share five of those items with you here.

1. Coffee Beans

One thing you may notice about some of the items on this list is that although they may be a splurge upfront, we have realized that we actually end up saving money by buying the good quality version. Fresh roasted and ground coffee beans is one of those things. I was a barista at a local independent coffee shop for seven years and in my time there, I gleaned a lot about what makes for a good coffee. If you aren’t a coffee connoisseur then you definitely wouldn’t realize it, but considerations to water temperature, grind size, roasting dates, and brew method all contribute to subtleties in flavour.

Curt and I are definitely not coffee snobs. We own a single-cup Keurig machine and that is how we brew the majority of our at-home coffee. We do, however, buy our own beans and use a reusable k-cup filter. The entire setup is quite basic, but we have noticed that simply buying higher quality beans makes a world of difference in our standard machine. We buy our beans from the same cafe I used to work at and have them grind it specifically for a drip filter right there on the spot. I can’t even tell you how heavenly those first few cups of freshly ground coffee are, even from a Keurig!

It maybe costs us an extra $5 to buy our beans from a local shop rather than a pre-ground grocery store brand and maybe takes an extra stop in our errands (but we will never turn down an excuse to grab a fresh coffee while we’re there!). But the payoff is huge! The coffee is so delicious and actually ends up saving us from buying coffees while we are out and about. There have been many times that I have opted to just go home and make a fresh coffee over grabbing one from a quick drive-thru option.

2. Cheese

I’m sorry, but who does not like cheese? Growing up, I was very naive to the complexity of cheese. We always bought one big rectangular block from the dairy section and piled that high on anything that seemed remotely delicious paired with cheese. There is definitely nothing wrong with your standard brands of cheese, but one of my favourite ways to splurge is on authentic artisanal cheese.

These days, I source my cheese from the deli section of the grocery store. We always keep our fridge stocked with a couple of blocks of marble cheddar cheese, but I also occasionally splurge on specialty cheeses like goat cheese, real mozzarella, and a big wedge of parmesan. These versions are definitely more pricey than your standard block of cheese, but the depth they bring to any dinner recipe is unarguable.

The thing with using artisanal and more complex cheeses in cooking is that often you need less to make a big impact. For example, we like making homemade pizza, but I have found that I can easily cut off a few rounds of real mozzarella to distribute across the pizza rather than shredding an entire block to drown the other toppings. Those rounds are just so rich and melty! The same idea goes with real parmesan. A little goes a long way on a fresh pasta dish. So yes, we definitely spend a fair amount of money on cheese, but we also buy it less frequently.

3. Maple Syrup

Could I be any more Canadian? But seriously, you will not find artificial sugary table syrup in our fridge. We buy the real, authentic, preferably local stuff and the flavour is incomparable. You may think that maple syrup is only used on pancakes or waffles, but the reality is that you can use it in a lot of delicious ways. We use a lot of maple syrup in our house - in dressings, in desserts, in coffee, in oatmeal, in pasta dishes (check this one out!) and the list goes on.

Now I wouldn’t claim that maple syrup is healthy because it is a sugar. Sugar is obviously something you should be aware of how much you are consuming, but like honey, maple syrup is a really wonderful natural, unrefined sugar that can go a long way in satisfying a sweet tooth without many of the undesirable effects of refined white sugar. Not to mention the subtle maple flavour profile.

Compared to white sugar, it is definitely expensive. But we always love an excuse to support a Canadian economy and are thankful for this liquid gold every single day. Try it in your fresh brewed coffee and you won’t be disappointed.

4. Chocolate

I know that not everyone considers chocolate an essential grocery item, but I happen to be the type to keep a small stash of chocolate in our cupboards at all times. I definitely buy seasonal chocolate when it’s on sale, but the majority of the time, I prefer to buy high-quality dark chocolate bars. Dark chocolate actually carries some health benefits (over the milk and white varieties) and makes for a delicious mid-afternoon or after dinner treat. All you need is a small square of dark chocolate to get a full-flavoured sweet tooth fix.

Using good chocolate for baking is a perfect example of both the “good food makes good food” and “less is more” principles. For a dollar or two more, I prefer to buy real, well-crafted chocolate chips over standard varieties and the results make a big impact. In the past, I would dump nearly an entire bag of chocolate chips into a batch of cookies, but with good quality chocolate chips, you don’t need nearly as many chocolate chips to bake the most delicious chocolate chip cookies.

5. Ice Cream

I saved the best for last! If I could only eat one dessert for the rest of my life, ice cream would be my choice. In the past, I have loved churning my own ice cream and will never turn down an opportunity to stop for an ice cream cone, but when it comes to the grocery store varieties, most brands fall short. What I have come to realize is that many grocery store ice creams are actually called “frozen dessert” and they lack the rich creaminess of real ice cream. At the very least, I prefer to look for options that explicitly say they are real ice cream or are made with real cream.

But I’m a brand snob on this one. Where we live here in Canada, the best ice cream brand around is Kawartha Dairy and you can buy tubs of their ice cream at many local grocery stores. It definitely costs a few dollars more than the frozen dessert brands, but the splurge is absolutely worth it. I always stock cones in the summer and make sure to have a couple varieties of Kawartha Dairy tubs in the freezer for easy at-home ice cream cones. Considering it usually saves us from going out for ice cream all summer, splurging on the good stuff helps even out the extra splurge at the grocery store.

You may not have Kawartha Dairy in your area, but chances are your grocery store may carry your own local(ish) dairy brands. At the very least, take a look at the product naming next time you browse the freezer section. Stay clear of “frozen dessert” and just splurge a little for the real stuff.

Like I said, I know this post may seem a little random, but I want to challenge you to think about the grocery items you justify spending a little more money on. Do you buy local produce? Hit an independent butcher shop? What about fresh honey? I definitely don’t think it necessary to splurge on everything on your list, as many of the more expensive options simply use tactical marketing to entice you into buying into their claims. But it’s always fun to experiment with your buying choices to find small ways to make a big difference in your cooking.

What grocery items do you choose to splurge on?