Illustration by Kat Frick Miller
Welcome to The Globe’s new series, What’s In My Cart?, where we’re asking Canadians how they stock their kitchens. To share your thoughts, fill out this form or e-mail reporter Daniel Reale-Chin at: realechin@gmail.com
Marcelo and Cristina Campos have always lived active lives. The couple met 13 years ago during capoeira classes in Toronto. For Marcelo, an immigrant from Brazil, the dance-like martial arts classes were a way to meet friends from his home country. For Cristina, the classes were a novel way to keep fit.
“Fitness is something we’ve tried to pass on to our kids,” says the couple, who have been married for nine years and are now raising an eight-year-old girl and five-year-old boy in Etobicoke, where they both work as teachers.
Part of maintaining a family of four is about keeping a steady routine, says Marcelo. Throughout the week, the couple, who are both 40 years old, wake up at 5:50 a.m. to prepare a healthy breakfast and pack lunches for everyone in the family. A mix of fresh vegetables including baby carrots and cucumber slices with some salt make for quick snacks for the kids, and leftovers from the night before become balanced lunches.
With tennis, skating, soccer and girl-guide lessons on the docket, the kids spend four days a week doing after-school activities, and Cristina and Marcelo take advantage of the time between work and school pick-up to make it to the gym themselves.
To accommodate their busy schedules, Cristina says dinners need to be made in less than 30 minutes, so they can feed the kids between school and practice. Marcelo adds the couple is also always trying to find ways to get more fruits and vegetables into their diets, such as adding fresh spinach to smoothies.
Here is how the Camposes shops for groceries.
How we save money on groceries: We began using Instacart during maternity leave to have groceries delivered. We don’t use it for deliveries any more, but we use it to check different grocery stores for sales and to keep a shopping list on the app.
How I splurge on groceries: We splurge on berries – fresh blueberries, strawberries etc. They’re expensive, and cheaper to buy frozen, but fresh berries are good snacks for the kids’ school lunches.
The hardest shopping habit to keep up: Buying fresh vegetables and fruit can be tricky. We try to avoid buying them in bulk because they have a short shelf life. But our kids go through them quickly, so it’s difficult for us to balance buying enough but not too much that they go to waste.
How I’ve changed my eating habits recently: Now that both kids are in school full-time, we started planning our dinners around what leftovers could make good lunches the next day. Our kids’ tastes are also changing constantly. We try not to accommodate that, and have them eat what’s on their plate, but we try to make sure we make one meal for the whole family. We often make barbecue because it’s quick, easy and grilling is an easy way to cook without frying. We usually have it with rice and black beans on the side, which is very Brazilian, and a big salad.
Five items always in my cart:
Chocolate hazelnut spread – Nutella (Ferrero) – $7.99: We give this to the kids for breakfast sometimes, or before one of their games on an English muffin. It’s a quick source of energy. We just make sure they eat it in moderation.
Fusilli pasta – De Cecco – $2.65: We make pasta dishes often. It’s filling, quick and you can make it nutritious by hiding vegetables in the sauce. It’s also a complete meal, with a carbohydrate, protein, vegetables and healthy fats from olive oil that we cook the sauce in.
Pepperettes – Schneiders – $8.95: Our son likes these cut up as a snack. They’re a source of protein that he can quickly eat after a lacrosse game.
Chicken wings – Costco – $42.84: We always have some type of chicken in the freezer. The kids enjoy the wings, and we make them less fattening by grilling them with seasonings, dried herbs and olive oil, or by baking them.
Hot sauce – Sriracha – $5.95: This is for the parents. We both enjoy spicy food, and it’s probably our favourite hot sauce.
This interview has been edited and condensed.