Gadgets for Smarter Supermarket Shopping

Sometimes it seems as if I'm at the grocery store every day. Could be because some weeks I am. Our jam-packed weekends have made organized meal planning and shopping for an entire week tough to get done.

So when I spotted this Kitchen Companion by IntelliScanner on ShinyShiny.com, it sent me on a search of gadgetry and technology that could make the whole shopping drudgery thing a bit more enjoyable.

With a Kitchen Companion ($149), you scan barcodes on items as they become empty, then plug the scanner into your PC where downloaded software compiles it into a grocery list. The list can be sent to an iPod, PDA or cell phone, so no paper has to touch your hands. Of course, you could just write all the empty items down on a piece of paper. But, as my youngest says, "this is cooler."

In our house, there's a good chance the Kitchen Companion would be lost on the laundry room shelf when I need to scan a box of pasta. Somehow, I have a hard time believing it would help me be more organized. But I can dream.

In the Boston area, the Stop & Shop supermarket chain is testing the "shopping buddy," a touchscreen PC tablet attached to shopping cart handles. The IBM shopping buddy is activated with a Shop & Stop card. Shoppers can pull up past shopping histories, find specific items in the store and-I like this feature-order deli items without waiting in line.

The best technology may be the kind that allows you to shop without going to the store. Some chains have home delivery services. In the Northeast, Washington, D.C. area and Milwaukee and S.E. Wisconsin, Shop & Shop offers its Peapod home delivery service. You can make your shopping list online, set a delivery time and for a fee ($9.95 for orders between $50 and $100, and $6.95 for orders over $100), everything gets delivered to your door. If only that included putting the groceries away, too. And making dinner...

Would any of these tech solutions help with your family food shopping?