Let’s Go Shopping—Grocery Store Savoir-faire

Many women find themselves going to the grocery store with full intentions of buying healthy foods, only to come home with bags of cookies, potato chips, butter, fats and cheese? It can be difficult to change the way that you shop for your weekly foods to match you healthy diet plans.

Especially if this is the first time that you have filled your pantry with healthy foods, you may need a course in Grocery Shopping 101 in order to beat back the temptations that food manufacturers have strategically placed in your path. {+}

Before leaving home, make a grocery list. But before you make a grocery list, make the upcoming week’s meal plan. Developing your meal plan doesn’t have to be difficult, but consider some of the foods that are already in your cupboard to make things easier and less expensive. Once you’ve got your meals planned out for the week, inventory the ingredients that you will need for each dish and notate the ones that you will need to purchase. After you have established what you need, make the grocery list, and list the food in order of the grocery store layout. This way you won’t go haphazardly down aisles that you don’t need to search.

Try to avoid the aisles with cookies and processed foods, such as sugary cereals. Many of these aisles are in the center of the grocery store, with the fresh items at each end of the store. Look for whole grains near the rice and pasta. Read labels to look for 100% whole-wheat to be sure you are getting whole grain products. Take some time to find the healthier foods rather than going straight for your old reliables.

Fresh vegetables and fruits should make up the largest part of your grocery list. I recommend that you eat at least seven or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Choose seasonal produce and get a variety, especially if you are feeding a family.

Proteins and meats should consist of mostly fish, poultry and lean meats. Eggs, nuts, seeds and legumes should be part of your list.

Beverages should be kept simple. Water, low-fat milk, juices and herbal teas are all good choices. If you opt for soft drinks, choose diet sodas and soft drinks to avoid extra sugar.

Choose low-fat dairy products like milk, yogurt and cheese. Try soymilk or rice-milk for tasty alternatives to whole milk. Don’t forget, many fruits and vegetables are good sources of calcium like avocadoes for instance.

Take caution when buying dressings, cooking oils and condiments. They can be sneaky sources of refined sugars and high in fat and calories. Read labels to choose dressings made with healthy oils such as olive oil and canola oil.

Frozen vegetables are convenient and nutritious. If you are cooking for one, there are many single-serving frozen entrees that cook up in minutes. These make it easy to have a variety of vegetables, without having to throw any of it away. If you do have more than you can consume, consider saving your left over veggies to add to a soup for another meal.

Canned foods and foods in jars are very convenient. Make sure the soups and veggies that you choose are low in sodium. Avoid high-fat gravy and sauces like spaghetti and ravioli dishes.

Peanut butter sandwiches can be very healthy. Look for homemade peanut butter without added sugar.

Low-fat meats such as turkey slices, chicken or lean roast beef are better choices for sandwiches than processed lunchmeat.

Learn to Read the Food Labels
Every box of processed food includes a food label. Other foods include them too, but all processed foods are required to list the ingredients and the percentage of nutrition as compared to the RDA (Recommended Daily Requirement).

Looking at the food label above, you’ll notice the nutrition facts. Each serving size is described,
as one serving and the box contains six servings. There are 100 calories in each serving. Calories from fat are 30 calories, which is less than a third of the total calories in each serving.

Next we get the skinny on the fat content. Three grams of total fat with 1.5 grams of saturated fat and 1 gram of monounsaturated fat. This represents 8% of the recommended daily value. According to the food label, there are no trans fat and no cholesterol in this snack.

There is 120 mg of sodium in each serving, which makes up 5% of the daily requirements. Likewise the total carbohydrates are 16 grams, making it 5% of the daily requirements. 6 grams of sugar and 1 gram of protein is included in each serving.

There are no significant traces of Vitamins A or C but each snack offers 4% of the daily-recommended amounts of iron.

According to this label, the Percent of Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on the amount of calories you consume in a day.

Quick Tips For Every Day Shopping
• Never go to the grocery store when you are hungry.
• Always eat a meal or light snack before heading to the store.
• Keep a cold bottle of water in your car, so you won’t be tempted to opt for a high calorie drink when you are thirsty.
• Bring a pen and check off everything on your grocery list.
• Forego the candy aisle and buy some scented candles or new kitchen gadget instead.
• Park your car further out in the parking lot, for more exercise coming in and going out.
• Don’t eat in your car. Not only will this keep your car much cleaner, it will keep you from mindlessly eating while driving down the road. We have a tendency to forget about the calories, sugar and fat that we consume when driving.
• If you will be out and about all day, bring a small cooler and stock it with fruit cups, fresh fruit, water and juice. This will give you plenty of healthy snacks and you won’t be tempted to stop at the fast food hangout.

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