A bag full of grocery memes for new adults planning their weekly menus

Giuliana Tiscioni • Writer

Aug 14, 2026 6:00 AM EDT

Why did no one tell us that grocery shopping would take up so much of our time?

When we became adults, we suddenly found ourselves facing an issue that has been bugging families and people who live alone since the beginning of time: what are we going to eat today? We need to eat every day, several times a day, and for that to happen, we have to have some type of food at home. But how are we going to have food at home if we never buy it? That's where it gets tricky.

If we want to have a handful of somewhat balanced meals, we have to get the ingredients and prepare everything at home, much to our dismay. Going grocery shopping so we have everything we need doesn't mean just showing up at the supermarket. Oh no, it takes at least a few hours of planning. We need to figure out what we want to eat first, make sure it's enough for the week, check that all our nutritional requirements are fulfilled, and most of all, be sure that our wallet can take on such a massive expense, because groceries ain't cheap.

Once we have that figured out (kind of), we put on our big girl/boy pants and head towards the market. When we get there, we feel like we're 8 years old again, and our mom asked us to get a loaf of bread from the next-door bakery, but we don't know what kind of bread she wants.

There are so many vegetables, so many canned foods, so many different brands, and generally, so much of everything that we don't know where to start anymore. That's when our grocery list comes in handy! As long as we remember to bring one. Otherwise, we're on our own, trying to figure out what we like to eat, what our families used to make, and, above all else, what we know how to cook and what ingredients we need. If our experience with the kitchen is not very extensive, most likely we'll just get a few apples, a frozen pizza, and call it a day.

This bag of grocery memes is perfect for getting your mood up for planning your next grocery trip!