List your top 5 grocery store items.

Today’s prompt comes at a convenient time: we will be completing our biweekly grocery run after work!

My top five grocery store must haves:

• Fresh fruit and veggies. This staple usually fills the bulk of my shopping cart. I try and purchase seasonal fruits and vegetables, but common produce for our family includes apples, a pineapple, bananas, pears, and a variety of berries as well as avocados, peppers, spinach/greens, carrots, and sweet potatoes.  And yes, I am aware that an avocado is technically a fruit.
• Almond milk. My husband and I make protein shakes daily. While we normally purchase our powders, seeds, and spices through Amazon, almond milk is grabbed each grocery run.
• Beans, beans, the magical fruit. We eat a lot of beans. Or, at least I do. On any given grocery run, one would find a plethora of beans in my cart. Garbanzo beans (for hummus, salads, and Chickpea Paprikish), black beans (for brownie batter dip, salads, and tacos), lima beans, kidney beans, and pinto beans.
• Protein! I very rarely eat meat, with the exception of fish. I usually pick up a pack of chicken and a pork tenderloin for the family, fish, and several packs of tofu for me. Beef is a rarity.
• Bread. Sourdough for the older three, wheat for the little.

What would’ve been a more interesting prompt, however…

‘What are the top 5 grocery store items that you wish you didn’t have to buy?’

• Tortilla chips. My family and I are tortilla chip addicts.  At least one meal and several dips are built around these fucking delicious snacks. I hate to admit how prevalent they are in my household.
• Shit tickets and industrial strength Kleenex. That is ‘toilet paper’ and ‘paper towels’ in layman’s terms. They are must haves and my family goes through a lot of them.
• Dog and cat food. The young one is assigned moving dog food and cat food from the bulk storage containers located downstairs to the weekly storage containers located in the laundry room. Poor kid. As she walks up our Magical Stairs of Lost Thought, it slips her mind to announce the bulk containers are running low. Dog and cat food is bought at the grocery store as an ‘oh shit’, last minute purchase.
• Coffee creamer. I’ve tried. I really have. I only drink black coffee on my intermittent fasting days. What do I say? I like my coffee like my men: strong, slightly bitter, but doctored up enough to make it tolerable. Or however the saying goes. 😏 Unfortunately, I have a very specific brand of coffee creamer that I like. It makes grocery shopping irritating if they are out or if I have to try an alternate store.
• Laundry paraphernalia. Again, my family uses a very specific type of laundry detergent.  It’s uber annoying when the grocery store is out of stock. I’ve tried purchasing online, however, the first time I received a package coated in seeped detergent was the last time I purchased online. Buying bleach straight up pisses me off. “Six bucks? Jesus Christ. I remember when bleach was like a dollar twenty five!” can be heard emitted from my mouth every single time I shop. Every. Single. Time. You’ll hear the same type of exclamation regarding white vinegar, which I use to make fabric softener. Can’t help it.