I actually used curbside service at the grocery store three times so far, and I’d never intended to. The first time was because I had to take my dogs to the vet and I thought driving all the way to town for that, only to return home to drop them off and then drive all the way back into town for the grocery store was stupid as hell. We needed fresh veggies and I made a simple list (and it gave the dogs a chance to sniff other stuff in the air that’s not at home). So, I did that, got the stuff (and the pups loved getting pet on the head at the window) and I was on my way back.

The other two times happened because I was doing quarantine, but I had to go get stuff myself. I looked online, figured out what I was missing for me and the parakeets, and ordered. I just popped the hatchback for ’em and let ’em load it in the back. It worked fine, no problems.

I thought of this as a great convenience for those who can’t do delivery (I’m too damned far for that) or can’t go inside because of quarantine. I didn’t really like the idea of doing it as a “just because”, because it just felt so lazy to me. Like “hi, go do my shopping for me.” Which is weird because I’ve done hardware store online orders and pickups a few times and haven’t felt that way.

Well, in this case, curbside gave me an unexpected benefit: less grocery cost overall because I wasn’t impulse shopping. I spent less, bought better stuff, and didn’t binge on crap food.

I was also able to take my time shopping, comparing items on my recipe list or checking my fridge to make sure I didn’t accidentally buy too much of something. I’ve done that before and the produce ended up going bad, wasting money. More than that, though, no smells or sights to entice me to load up on junk food.

My dietitian told me I should probably stick to curbside shopping til I get my impulsiveness and trigger foods under control. Wean myself off wanting sugary junk and fried or overly-processed food and I can probably walk around in a store without just nabbing random things.

I know the common wisdom about shopping with a list to ensure you stick to the basics. I would end up using the list as a guideline and then would end up still getting more stuff. Or if they ran out of an item I needed on the list, then it was kind of pointless and I’d have to try and remember what recipe I was going to use that certain thing for and was it worth it. That’s happened on many occasions, and so I end up with a cabinet full of stuff I haven’t used yet because 1 or 2 ingredients for a recipe weren’t available and I forgot what I bought the other stuff for. Good thing I’m sticking to one cookbook at a time right now, so maybe it’ll be easier to get over mistakes.

The sights and smells always got me. Even when my internal infernal know-it-all was screaming at me to ignore my nose and my taste-buds that I was an idiot and I shouldn’t get something, it would go in my cart anyway. And I hated that, because when I got home and got partway through the junk binge, then my taste buds would chime in with, “oh, we shouldn’t have gotten that, huh? I don’t even like this for more than 5 minutes, anyway!”

Cue guilt, anger, frustration, and knowing I just wasted a bunch of money for a few minutes of good feelings, all because my taste buds and nose were in the driver’s seat.

Yeah, I think curbside is definitely gonna help me out. I mean, I know the standard idea is that it’s unhealthy to consider some things “bad foods,” but not trying to avoid them when you have the option is more than a little silly to me. Perhaps someday I can eat a bite or two ONLY and be satisfied, but that day is gonna be a long way off after decades of shitty eating and impulsive habits. And frankly, I’ll be happier if I can be around certain foods I have trouble with right now and not even want a bite. I’d love to prefer better food for the rest of my life. Just wish taste buds were easier to train, if at all possible.

Time to delve into some old research ideas.

So yeah, curbside service is gonna be a lifesaver for the next few months, at least. And I’ll stick with it as a good option.

Besides, it gives me an excuse to go somewhere and let the dogs come with me, because they need to get out and about more often and enjoy themselves as they get older.