Lately, I’ve found myself stuck in a grocery shopping rut—buying the same ingredients (broccoli, chicken thighs, cottage cheese, whole grain bread), cooking the same uninspired meals, and feeling kind of blah about it all. When life gets busy, I go into autopilot at the store, only to come home and hate everything in my fridge. It’s a vicious cycle: open the fridge, stare blankly, order Uber Eats, repeat.
That’s why Chef Will Coleman’s viral grocery shopping method caught my attention. His approach—simplifying the weekly haul down to six vegetables, five fruits, four proteins, three starches, two sauces, and one fun item—felt like the structured but flexible system I needed to shake things up.
But does it work in real life? I tested his method for a week to see if it could satisfy my picky family.
What Is the 6-to-1 Grocery Shopping Method?
According to Coleman, the 6-to-1 grocery shopping method is a simple way to save money, reduce waste, and eat healthier, basically the trifecta of meal planning goals. I can see why it’s gone viral.
He shared, “Too often, we shop impulsively, driven by hunger or impatience, rather than with practicality in mind. This method was designed to help shoppers plan ahead, stay on track with their spending, and achieve their goals of cooking and eating at home.”
Simply Recipes / Alexandra Emanuelli
Here’s What I Bought
To test the 6-to-1 method, I went to the place most likely to derail my budget: Costco. Armed with only a basic plan and my category limits, I cruised the aisles, determined not to leave with a new Vitamix or an oversized apple pie.
Vegetables: Every Friday, I make homemade pizza, so mushrooms, green and red bell peppers, and onions were an easy three veggies I already knew I’d need. Another recipe came to mind when I reached the protein section and found Italian sausages on sale. That led me to grab a bag of potatoes and onions to make Sausage Skillet Surprise (there’s not really a surprise—it’s just made in a skillet!). Rounding out my six veggies: baby carrots and spinach for easy lunches.
Fruits: One of the top comments on Coleman’s video is, “Five fruits is crazy.” As an all-day nosher, I disagree. The five fruits I grabbed were mangoes, a bunch of bananas, avocados, apples, and pears.
Proteins: Only four proteins for the week felt slightly limiting. I chose bacon for the pizza, Italian sausage for dinner, eggs for weekend breakfasts and lunches, and single-serve smoked salmon packs, which save so many of my desk salads from being sad and uninspired.
Starches: Since I wasn’t sure whether potatoes counted as a starch, I added Kirkland bagels for low-stress breakfasts, Rummo pasta in case I had the bandwidth to make Bolognese, and Better Buckwheat crackers for snacking.
Sauces and Dips: Here’s where I got overwhelmed: Since I’m not much of a fan of premade sauces or dips, I faltered. Did the soy sauce in my cupboard count? I finally settled on a crate of tomato paste for pizza sauce and Loisa’s Recaito to add a garlicky, herby addition to the Sausage Skillet Surprise.
Fun Item: While aimlessly wandering the aisles, I discovered chocolate protein bars called Midday Squares. My favorite flavor is chocolate peanut butter, which is perfect for pairing with coffee and a banana while contemplating my ever-growing inbox.
Did the Shopping Strategy Work?
I’m guilty of getting excited at the grocery store and complaining when I get home that my fridge is too full to shut. I loved that this method forced me to pare down and focus on using what I already had. Instead of buying ground beef for Bolognese, for instance, I used the Italian sausage to stick to the four-protein limit.
A caveat: The grocery method is a set of guidelines, not a rigid rulebook. It doesn’t account for every aspect of your weekly shopping, including beverages, spices, pantry staples, condiments, and baking ingredients like flour.
It was a great jumping-off point, but it wasn’t the end-all to my grocery shopping woes.
The Verdict
As a self-proclaimed enthusiastic shopper (I love a deal), I found this method helped me streamline my grocery shopping and significantly reduce food waste. Instead of tossing “just-in-case” items into my cart—only to have them disappear into a dark corner of my fridge—the guidelines kept me accountable.
Would I do it again? Absolutely. Will I still get distracted by shiny new snacks at Costco? Without a doubt. At least now, I have a solid game plan to keep me on track.
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