Needless to say, grocery shopping has a great influence on our diet. Thus, it is important that you pay close attention to what you put into your grocery cart.
By bringing home healthier foods from the grocery, you are making your first step into a healthier diet. One of the things that I do to ensure that I do not get tempted into buying unhealthy food choices is to create a “healthy” grocery list before I actually do my grocery shopping.
Creating the grocery list beforehand gives me the following advantages:
- It allows me to think through the foods that I am buying.
- It gives me enough time to prepare and plan what I will be eating in the next few days.
- It prevents me from impulse buying.
- More importantly, it prevents me from wandering into the tempting aisles full of unhealthy foods.
To help you out, I have listed below some of the things that you can include into your healthy grocery list. Please note that this is just a guideline from which you can create your own healthy grocery list.
1. Fresh vegetables and fruits
Fresh fruits and vegetables are very nutritious and are usually low in calories. It contains the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that we need. Make it a point to include these on your grocery list.
Keep in mind that we all need at least five servings of fruits and vegetables. It would be wise to choose a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables that everyone in your family likes.
2. Grain and Cereal Products
When buying cereal and grain products, make sure that you select those made from whole grains. Avoid buying those made from refined flours.
Whole grains contain vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Always read the labels before you buy and look for 100% whole-grain or 100% whole-wheat.
3. Protein and Meat Choices
Your protein and meat choices should consist of fish, poultry and lean meats. Try to avoid pre-prepared breaded or deep-fried convenience foods that you can easily put in the oven. These are usually high in fats and sodium.
Eggs, nuts, seeds and legumes also make good protein choices.
4. Beverages
The simpler the beverage, the better. Water, low-fat milk, juices and herbal teas are all good choices. Soft drinks should be avoided. But if you must, it would be good to opt for diet sodas and soft drinks as these contain less sugar.
5. Dairy products
Choose dairy products which are low in fat. Some good choices include low-fat milk, yogurt and cheese. For those who do not like cow’s milk, you can opt to choose the following instead: soy and rice beverages, calcium-fortified orange juice, or goat’s milk and cheese.
6. Condiments, Dressings and Cooking Oil
Be careful with dressings, cooking oils and condiments. Most contain refined sugar and poor quality oils. Always read the labels and choose dressings made with olive oil, canola oil or walnut oil.
Also opt to buy low-fat mayonnaise for your sandwiches and always buy canola oil and olive oil for cooking.
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