Buying healthy foods at
the grocery store
The local grocery store is a great place to find healthy,
nutritious foods. Unfortunately, it is also a place to
find less healthy foods and many junk foods. Learning
how to follow a healthy lifestyle means learning how
to shop for the healthiest foods, and learning how to
avoid temptation.
Learning to read labels is an important skill for any
healthy shopper. The information on nutritional labels
is very valuable, providing complete information on the
percentage of many vitamins and minerals a particular
food contains. In addition, nutritional information labels
provide valuable information on things like the amount
of calories, number of at grams, percentage of total
fat and amount of fiber each food contains. It is important
to choose those foods that have the best nutritional
qualities as you roam the local grocery store.
There are some important guidelines to follow to make
sure that every trip to the grocery store will be a healthy
experience. After all, you cannot have a healthy refrigerator
or a healthy dinner table without first stocking your
kitchen pantry with the healthiest foods available.
One of the best pieces of advice is probably something
you have heard a million times, and that is to never
go grocery shopping when you are hungry. Even if it means
stopping for a quick snack on your way, it is important
to not enter the supermarket while you are hungry. Hungry
shoppers make bad choices, and those unhealthy choices
will be around long after your hunger has abated.
Another good trick is to hit the produce section of
your grocery store first. Fill up your food basket with
healthy, nutritious fruits and vegetables. Not only will
this allow you to stock the fridge and the pantry with
healthy choices, but it will leave less room for all
those less healthy foods.
It is also important to always make a detailed shopping
list before hitting the grocery store. A well thought
out grocery list keeps you from overspending, and also
helps keep you from succumbing to the temptation of less
healthy junk foods. To keep a detailed list of what you
need on your next shopping list, try keeping a notepad
by the fridge or on the dining room table. Write down
each item as you think of it, and come shopping day,
you will have a complete list of everything you need
to buy.
As you shop around the grocery store, it is a good idea
to take advantage of the many low fat foods that fill
grocery store shelves. There are low at varieties of
many foods, including milk and dairy products, meats
and cheeses, even cakes and pies. Most of these products
contain all the taste of the full fat products, without
all the fat.
When shopping for low fat foods, however, be on the
lookout for extra sugar content. This is not so much
a concern with milk and dairy products, but it is sometimes
a concern with low fat baked goods. Some manufacturers
pack their low fat baked goods with extra sugar, so it
pays to be a smart label reader.
As long as you watch sugar content, however, low fat
desserts and sweets are excellent choices. When grocery
shopping, try to choose naturally lower fat alternatives,
such as angel food cake, fig bars and vanilla wafers.
Buying smaller portion sizes is another smart strategy
for enjoying sweets while limiting fat and calories.
Another smart strategy is to choose whole grain breads
and cereals whenever possible. Whole grains contain more
fiber and other nutrients than do more processed foods,
so buying whole grains makes a lot of sense.
When shopping for the healthiest cereals in the grocery
store, it is helpful to understand how the cereal aisle
of the typical grocery store is arranged. Shelf space
at a grocery store is in high demand and short supply,
and cereal manufacturers take advantages of this fact
in their store shelf marketing. In general, the less
healthy, sugar laden cereals are arranged at kid height,
while the more adult, healthier products are on the top
shelves.
That is one reason why your kids are always trying to
put those sugar cubes disguised as cereal in your cart
as you shop. Choosing the healthier cereals from the
top shelves is a good strategy, but it is still important
to read the labels to make sure you are getting what
you think you are.
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