Michelle Obama is a list person. Are you?

Before she was the first lady, Michelle Obama grocery shopped like the rest of us. As iVillage guest editor, Mrs. Obama talked to us about everything from how her mother taught her to shop and cook to why she's a "list person"

Learning How to Meal Plan

“My mom was a stay-at-home mom until I went to high school. And Saturday, after our little activities, we would go to the grocery store and just … march around and learn where the sections were. And just through watching, I … saw how she planned out the weekly menu.

And you …look back and you realize that there were days where you could expect meatloaf or Friday was often fish night. And Saturday was the fun dinner, like tacos or fried chicken. Sunday was roast beef night. And now, looking back you realize that that was intentional.

It probably helped her just have some predictability in what she had to do in her schedule. And it allowed her to figure out how to stay on budget and get efficient shopping done for the week. Because if you know what your plan is for the entire week, it makes that day in the grocery store a lot easier.”
Getting in and Getting Out

“Of course, I was the primary shopper before coming to the White House... I had a more flexible work schedule, so sometimes I would go to our Dominick's…which was not right in our neighborhood, but it was nearby. It was around where the kids’ Gap was and where the Best Buy – you do all those errands. And I went to one of those areas. But I'd have my list for the week. And oftentimes, I could get there during the weekday when it wasn't crowded. So I was very efficient with my shopping, get in and out.”
Being a List Person

“I am an absolute list person. And I actually enjoy the efficiency of the list because it also keeps me from buying stuff that we didn’t need. I had my path through the grocery store and I would make my list based on the path that I took.

I would start in the frozen – no, I would go over to the far right aisle in the supermarket and work my way up. And the last thing I would do was the produce section and get all the vegetables and fruits and all that, and then get right into the line. And I stayed on the outer aisle. I mean, that was one of the tips that I got from some folks about how to get the best foods. And if you stay at the outer aisles …you try to avoid going in and getting the processed, packaged foods.”
Next Up: Michelle Obama: the difference between active and over scheduled
First Lady Michelle Obama tossed off her shoes, got comfy on her office couch and dished with me for more than an hour Monday, fie