Set a weekly menu
SET a weekly menu ahead of doing your shopping.
Even a loose idea of a few of the options for the week can help.
These are the words of Sharon Bhagwan-Rolls our shopper for this week.
Bhagwan-Rolls is a single mother to two children Albert and Sian and now a grandmother or a feministnaniji to her grandson Aadarsh!
She is a second-generation Fiji Island feminist working on the intersection of gender, media, communications and peace and advocating for greater attention to the peace, development and humanitarian nexus approach in policy and practice in order to ensure accountability to diverse women’s leadership and lived realities.
Bhagwan-Rolls is the chairperson and gender liaison of the Board of Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), technical adviser of the Pacific Islandbased Shifting the Power Coalition, co-chair of Global Fund for Women Board of directors, a member of the World Pulse Global Council and national vice president of the YWCA of Fiji.
She is a breast cancer survivor.
HEALTHY meals are important because a person’s wellbeing and health are valuable says Sharon Bhagwan-Rolls.
Bhagwan-Rolls says their weekly shopping is a family affair coordinated by her daughter Sian and organised by her son-in-law Ankit.
She said they usually spent $250 to $300 on groceries per week and these include toiletries, household items, pet goods, vegetables, rice, pasta, curry spices, milk and treats for their pets- Trixie, Rocket, Auron and Lulu to name a few.
“We shop weekly even though we buy a few things in bulk namely pet food, dry goods or items on sale) and some items we don’t buy weekly,” Bhagwan-Rolls said.
She said they usually bought vegetables from the market because it’s fresh, Extra Supermarket for the good selection and quality fruit options, Fresh Choice Supermarket in Raiwai for meat and pet foods.
New World Supermarket for general shopping and impressive array of local vegetables and fruit, Fukumi Store, Yon Tong, Lazy Chef for speciality items.
She said they cooked food inspired by a range of cuisines and shop accordingly.
She said buying quality ingredients and making healthy meals were important.
“The quality of ingredients is always a consideration.
“A variety in the weekly menu also helps make home-cooked food more special, so finding and trying new recipes also requires an occasional investment in a speciality item or specific ingredient.
“While a healthy option may sometimes be more expensive (for instance whole-wheat pasta/parathas, brown rice and some prepackaged snacks), one’s health and wellbeing are even more valuable. “We are very lucky, as a family that we are able to afford these options,” Bhagwan-Rolls said.
She says planning a weekly menu is easier and helpful, especially when you have a busy work schedule.
“Even a loose idea of a few of the options for the week can help.
“This can be a handy reference when doing your shopping list and make the daily decision of “what to eat” easier when you have a busy work schedule.
“Also, try to make space in your budget for the occasional treat even (and especially) healthy ones. We occasionally stock our freezer with Tasty Island treat ice blocks, as an example !
“Having something to treat yourself also reduces impulse buying.”
While budgeting continues to be an issue for most families, Bhagwan-Rolls said shopping smart starts by having honest conversations about affordability.
“As a single mum when my children were younger, I would write up our shopping list based on what we could afford and also shopping for good health – so ensuring we did go to the local market.
“Now we still discuss household budgets and expenses.
“The impact of COVID-19 is having an effect on what families can afford, so we need to have more public conversations about how we can support families to have these conversations with our children or extended families.”
Bhagwan-Rolls advised and encouraged shoppers to be cautious when shopping.
“We also need to have conversations as consumers about the quality of imported products and reclaim the original “Buy Fiji Made” campaign (I’m talking here about the ‘80s campaign).
“Drawing on the legacy of the work of the late Susan Parkinson and the early days of the National Food and Nutrition Committee creating affordable menus and meal plans using local foods and promoting this through media spaces including community media.”