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Top Ten Ways To Shop Smart At The Grocery Store:
Top Ten ways to shop smart at the Grocery Store:By Marc Laverdure
Another holiday season has passed just as fast as
it came and now it’s time to get back to your old
routine. It all starts at the grocery store.
You ultimately control what goes in your
cupboards.
Making healthy food choices at the start of the
week determines how well you will stick to a
balanced diet for the week to come. The best way
to avoid temptation is to not have any tempting
things in your house!
I have compiled the following list to help keep
your diet on track as you breeze through the
aisles:
1. Stay around the perimeter: Most grocery
stores are designed so that you can find the
produce, meats, and the dairy products along the
outside of the store. All other foods not found
in the 4 basic food groups can be located in the
middle aisles. The middle aisles represent the
DANGER ZONE…proceed with caution while venturing
into the centre aisles. Processed foods, snacks,
and all other treats will try to tempt you with
interesting packaging and sweet scents.
2. Eat before you shop: Shopping on an empty
stomach will make your eyes grow big and you will
quickly forget all of your regular healthy habits.
You fall victim to the powers of the sweet
smell flowing from the bakery. This can make you
more inclined to buy things based on impulses and
stray from your list. Shopping on a full stomach
will not only save you extra added calories, but
it will save you money too!
3. Read labels: The ingredients are listed in
order of occurrence. The first ingredient on a
label is the one that is most abundant in the
product. For example, if you were looking for
strawberry jam, it would be wise to choose one
that has strawberries listed as the main
ingredient instead of sugar. Also, be weary of
products marked “low fat.” This marketing tactic
is used often to camouflage other evil
ingredients such as sugar. Don’t be fooled by
these marketing strategies that can sabotage your
healthy diet choices.
4. Shop alone: Having your kids with you at the
grocery store can be fun but can also lead to
unorthodox purchases. Children will be drawn to
products they identify with from commercials they
have seen on TV. This will force you down aisles
you might usually avoid and end up with products
not normally found in your cart. It is important
to teach children the value of healthy foods but
so is the importance for you to keep your cart
under control!
5. Make a list: Having a plan to follow before
any event will surely help things go smoothly.
I believe planning is the key ingredient to any
and all healthy diets. Plan meals ahead of time
and weighing out your portions for the week are
successful tactics. This way, you know exactly
what you need and how much of it! Also, try
organizing your list so that similar foods are
grouped together so as to avoid random wandering
of unwanted aisles. Or better yet, keep a ready
version of your weekly necessities on your
computer that you can simply add to or edit as
needed to keep your trips to the grocery store
focused and on track!
6. Choose your fruits and vegetables wisely.
Dark green leafy vegetables have the highest
abundance of vitamins and minerals. Look for
fruits that are firm, ripe and unblemished. Also,
look out for mold, especially on produce packed
tightly together in small boxes. If you’re
looking for potatoes, stay away from ones that
have a green tint to their skins. And finally, if
your favorite produce is unavailable, go for
frozen fruits and vegetables rather than canned.
Canned produce are higher in sodium and do not
hold their nutritional value as well as their
frozen counterparts.
7. Stick to the whole grains. Whole wheat
products are more dense and provide you with an
all-natural source of energy and vitamins that
white products are deficient in. White enriched
products have very little nutritional value and
that is why they must be enriched. To make
matters worse, they are enriched with artificial
vitamins and minerals from foreign sources making
them less efficient in providing energy and
essential nutrients.
8. Watch out for fruit juice blends. Whenever
you are buying juice, make sure to always ensure
that it is made up of 100 real
juice.”
9. Plan your meals out ahead of time. If your
trying to eat healthier this year, your best bet
is to select several tasty and good-for-you meal
choices ahead of time, and compile a complete
list of ingredients that you will need to prepare
those meals for your next shopping trip. How
often do we spend money on food only to get home
and say “There’s nothing for dinner!”' Not
knowing what meals can be prepared with the food
that you bought is not only discouraging, but can
lead you back you your old, more familiar (and
likely unhealthy) food choices. Remember:
planning is key!
10. Don’t always use a push cart. If your just
stopping in to buy a couple of things at the
grocery store, go for a carry-on basket instead
of the big shopping carts. When you have a
larger cart, the extra room can be deceiving and
lead you to stock up on unneeded food items. Not
only will you buy less waste, but you will burn
some extra calories in the process!!!