(Carrick Pharmacy News) There’s a lot of talk about how to eat healthily at restaurants, but what about at home? That all starts at the grocery store.
And that’s why we have put together this quick list of tips on how to grocery shop for healthier eating. Get the information below.
1. Bring a Shopping List
Grocery stores are designed to convince you to buy more things. And when you buy more, you’re more likely to get some unhealthy foods in your cart. The way to avoid that, however, is as simple as a pencil and paper: a shopping list.
Bring a shopping list of everything you want to buy to the store, and stick to it. That way, you don’t end up with anything you didn’t intend to buy.
2. Get the (Nutrition) Facts
Check the label of everything you put in your cart. Look for the nutrition facts — the information about the calories, fat, carbohydrates, protein, and other properties of the food you plan to buy and eat.
Why does this matter? Because you may think twice about buying some items that have a surprisingly high amount of sugar, fat, calories or sodium.
3. Plan Your Meals Beforehand
If you want to eat healthy meals at home, you’re going to have to do some planning. And it’s best to do this meal planning before you go to the grocery store.
That way, you know exactly what you need to buy and aren’t left shorthanded when it comes time to do some healthy cooking. That helps you avoid eating out or ordering delivery.
4. Shop the Perimeter
The healthiest foods aren’t in the middle of the grocery store — they’re around the edges. So, shop the perimeter first.
Around the edges of the store, you will see the fruits, vegetables, fish, lean meat and grains. These are the foods you should fill your cart with before you move to the center aisles, which often contain less healthy snacks and baking items.
5. Go Whole Grain
When you buy baked goods like bread, there’s a lot of vocabulary to know: multi-grain, wheat, white, whole wheat, whole grain and more. Here’s what you need to know to pick what is usually the healthiest item: It needs to say “whole” grain.
Multi-grain doesn’t necessarily mean the bread was actually made with whole, less processed and healthier grains, but whole grain does mean that.
Talk to your health care provider before you make any major changes to your diet.
