Healthy Grocery Shopping Tips

Hello everyone!  Trying to eat better and cooking healthier can at times be a frustrating task, especially when you don't have the right ingredients in your kitchen.  So what do we do?  We head to the grocery store and get what we need to make those meals we have planned.  But when we get there we sometimes don't have the time to sit and read the labels and figure out which items are the most nutritious for us or to figure out what are the best buys.  Let's face it, there's a lot of choices in the store and it can be a daunting task to make the right choices.  Here are a few ideas that might make things easier for you.

Plan Ahead

This means have a plan before you even get to the grocery store.  Plan your meals for the week and create a grocery list to shop from.  Sundays are usually my days to go grocery shopping, so I'll sit down and figure out my meals for the week and write down all the ingredients I need that I don't already have in my kitchen.  This saves me from making trips back to the store.  Another good idea in planning is looking for coupons to not only save money, but you can also incorporate those sale food items in your meal plan for the week.

Consult the Pyramid

If you're having a hard time figuring out what to put on your grocery list, a good resource to follow is the guidelines of MyPyramid.  This is a good example to follow to help fill your cart with plenty of fruits, vegetables, dairy, lean meat, fish, poultry, whole grains, beans, and nuts.

3 Simple Rules

Here's 3 simple rules to follow while in the grocery store that can help you from spending hours there.

1.)  Shop the perimeter of the store, where fresh foods like fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat, and fish are generally located.  Avoid the center aisles where junk foods tend to be located.

2.)  Choose "real" foods, such as 100% fruit juice or 100% whole-grain items with as little processing and as few additives as possible.  If you want more salt, add it yourself.

3.)  Avoid foods that more than 5 ingredients, artificial ingredients, or ingredients you can't pronounce.

I hope these ideas helped  with making your grocery shopping a little less hectic.  With a little planning ahead of time and knowing what to look out for when you're in the store, you'll be ahead of the game when it comes to making those healthier choices for you and your family when it comes to eating.  Now it's time for me to get back to my meal prepping for the week and to get back outside and enjoy this beautiful sunshine!  Have a great day everyone!  :)