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Healthy Grocery Shopping

Healthy cooking starts with choosing the right foods at the grocery store. If your kitchen is stocked with wholesome ingredients, all of your meals will be good for you and your family.

Shopping for healthy foods isn't too difficult, but it helps to have a grocery list ready. Take your list to the store and stick to buying the items on your list and don't add any extra junk foods. In fact, just stay out of the junk food aisles and you will do just fine.

Planning your meals and menus takes time, but you will save lots of money and serve your family some healthy and tasty foods. Below are some quick tips to help you shop for healthy foods on a budget.

• Meal planning is key. Start by planning a week or so’s worth of meals. Be sure to include breakfast, lunch if you pack your own, dinner and snacks. You can save time by building up a recipe file with your favorite dishes.

• Shop with a list. By planning your shopping list, you can resist the seductive call of aisle upon aisle of junk food, thereby saving your family and yourself from an overload of empty calories and have a clear plan.

• Buy a water-filter pitcher instead of expensive individual bottles of water.

• Food-shop with a full stomach!

• It costs a lot more to buy the parts of a chicken, so buy a whole chicken and cut it up yourself.

• When meats are on sale, you can buy larger quantities and freeze individual cuts in freezer paper or freezer bags to take advantage of the savings.

• Think of the departments (dairy, produce, meat, and so on) as separate stores within the supermarket. Target the sections that are safe to browse through like the protein section.

• Buy bulk items when they are on sale. Same with canned goods, frozen vegetables, fish and seafood. Look out for special sales and promotions.

• Read the nutrition labels. For guidelines on how to read a nutrition label click here.

• Buy in season. Sure, it’s tempting to buy strawberries in December, and once in a while that’s fine. But fresh fruit and vegetables are best when purchased in season, meaning they’ve come from relatively close to home. They often cost less, are tastier.

• Make sure the bread you are buying is wheat bread. If the first ingredient is refined wheat flour, then it’s made from the same wheat as white bread which means the wheat was stripped of fiber and nutrients, and in some cases, dyed brown for a fake healthy appearance. What you’re really looking for are the words “whole wheat” in the ingredients list.

• Think about leftovers. Roast whole chicken for dinner and use the extra meat for sandwiches or for a chicken stir-fry. You can also prepare your foods in larger quantities for do-it-yourself frozen meals that you can add to any weekly menu

• Fresh produce is often a good buy, especially when in season, but choose carefully and don’t buy more than what you will eat in a few days so you don’t waste due to spoilage.

• Choose cheaper, leaner cuts of beef. You will reduce the amount of saturated fat in your meals (which is better for your health). The cheaper cuts of beef need to be cooked at lower temperatures and longer periods of time. They are perfect for beef stews, soups and in crockpot meals.

• Make your own snacks with mixed nuts, dry cereals, raisins and other ingredients. Divide the snacks into individual portions and keep them in bags to control calorie intake.

Helpful Resources:

MyPlate.gov provides two great tools to help you grocery shop healthier; a personalized daily food plan and a food planner.

The American Heart Association Grocery List Builder helps you plan out your lists and find foods that are heart healthy.

Figuring out what to put on your list can be difficult especially in the beginning. Whole Foods has planned a complete week of healthy eating, including links to the recipes and a shopping list.  Click here for their menu planner and shopping list. 

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