Shawn Johnson shares her 'odd' childhood pasta recipe and other grocery store must-haves for her family of 4

• Shawn Johnson East spoke to Insider about her family's grocery store must-haves. 
• The retired gymnast shares two children with her husband, Andrew East. 
• Johnson said her kids love her favorite childhood recipe: spaghetti and meatballs topped with popcorn shrimp. 

Shawn Johnson East is mother-of-two, so she knows how much coordination it takes to keep the fridge and cabinets stocked. 

And, according to Shawn, berries account for quite a bit of her grocery store bills. 

"I saw a meme the other day on Instagram that said, 'I knew kids were expensive, but I didn't know it was because of berries,'" she told Insider. "We go through so many berries and so much fresh fruit and vegetables in our house."

Shawn shares two children Drew, 3, and Jett, 1, with Andrew East, a former NFL long snapper. During a conversation in June, she shared her family's go-to grocery store items. 

Breakfast in the East household includes lots of pancakes, so Shawn says there's always a box in her shopping cart

Shawn told Insider that her children love pancakes and are "obsessed" with peanut butter. She and Andrew typically eat the same breakfast as their children, but sometimes substitute it with a protein shake, she said.

"We do a lot of pancakes, whether it's healthy oatmeal recipes or banana pancakes or this craze of cottage cheese pancakes," Shawn said, adding that chocolate and blueberries are also popular flavors.

Shawn also said her children love scrambled and hard-boiled eggs, so eggs are a must-grab. 

Shawn and Andrew typically make sandwiches for lunch, but add one simple trick to upgrade the meal

When considering each meal of the day, Shawn said lunch was the hardest for her.

"I feel like lunch is the hardest as a parent because you're trying to work but then feed kids," she said. 

The East family stocks up on deli items at the grocery store to make open-face sourdough sandwiches.

"We do turkey, cheese, onion, lettuce – your normal sandwich stuff – and we broil it," she added. 

Besides berries, the East family tries to buy healthy snacks like hummus

Shawn said her children don't eat a lot of fresh vegetables for lunch or dinner, but their go-to snacks are "veggie sticks of any kind."

"Whether it's carrots or peppers or cucumbers. And then hummus," Shawn said. "They're in love with hummus and ranch, obviously." 

For dinner, the East children enjoy one of Shawn's favorite childhood recipes: spaghetti with an "odd" twist

Shawn recalled being an enormous fan of spaghetti with popcorn shrimp sprinkled on top as a child. 

"My go-to meal as a kid was popcorn shrimp with spaghetti. Not like spaghetti and meatballs, but popcorn shrimp with spaghetti," she said. "I don't know why, but my kids love it, too. It's very odd, but we do that a lot as well."

Fortunately, Drew and Jett also love the dish. At the grocery store, Shawn grabs bags of Gorton's Popcorn Shrimp alongside noodles and marinara sauce.

"I tried it with them one day and they loved it," Shawn said. "I was like, 'All right, I guess it's a kid thing.'"

The family also enjoys rice bowls with grilled salmon, broccoli, and rice for dinner.