Sticking to health goals can only get complicated by overwhelming grocery store trips. There are so many items to choose from at one given store and we can easily get blindsided by advertisements of tempting snacks and treats. Read below on my top tips that will help you make the healthiest food choices at the store with ease!
Always, always make a list.
Healthy grocery shopping starts at home! Preplanning your meals and bringing a grocery checklist with you to the store will ensure your success and helps to stick to your a healthy meal plan. It will also help you to avoid unnecessary items such as unhealthy snacks and impulse buys. Grocery stores are purposefully setup to try to get you to buy items you don’t need but with planning you can definitely avoid sabotaging your health goals with items you don’t need or want.
Only go down aisles you really need to.
If you aren’t in front of tempting unhealthy foods then you’re less likely to impulsively decide to purchase them. Write your grocery list by food type; meat, dairy, produce, etc. so that you will go exactly where you need to head to get what you need. Always look as the aisle markers and only go down the aisles that you absolutely have to. Generally the produce and fresh food sections, which you will be focusing on, will be on the ends of the store while the aisles to avoid will be towards the center.
Don’t go on an empty stomach.
Have you ever been to the grocery store and just wanted to buy so many items because you couldn’t wait to get home to try them? You were probably hungry! You are most likely to make unhealthy nutrition choices while hungry. Satiate yourself before you head to the store so you buy items with your head, not your stomach.
Clean out your kitchen before you go.
It’s a good idea to go through your refrigerator and cabinets before you head to the store. Clean out old items and make a note of what you still have available. Not only is it healthier to eat fresher produce but it will make putting away groceries when you come home easier. Toss out and replace spices and herbs that are more than a year old.
Do some research on what is in season and be careful of unhealthy additives.
Go for Organic produce, wild caught fish, and seafood (NOT farmed), pasture raised meats without antibiotics & hormones, and free range poultry fed on their natural diet of bugs & worms, also without antibiotics and hormones.
The most nutritious fruits and vegetables (and the best tasting) are those that are in season. Check out the department of agriculture’s website on a list for every season. These most likely will be the most readily available and cost effective foods at that time.
Another note is to watch out for additives and preservatives in all processed, packaged and canned foods. Sugar is commonly added to most foods along with salt and undesirable fats. As a good rule of thumb, always check the labels and avoid any products with ingredients listed that you don’t know or want to consume. Especially AVOID Hydrogenated vegetable oils, and added sugars of all types, even if labeled ”organic”. READ NUTRITION FACTS AND INGREDIENT LABELS FOR ACCURATE INFO. DO NOT RELY ON STATEMENTS MADE ON THE FRONT OF PACKAGES —That is all marketing jargon meant to get you to purchase. It is not reliable nutrition information.