Do you want to learn how to grocery shop for healthy food? Interested in healthy eating on a budget? Ever wish you could take someone with you to the grocery, and have them tell you exactly what to buy? Well, consider a grocery store tour where I accompany to your favorite grocery and we decide what to buy based on your needs and current health goals. We talk about things like:
- Traffic Light shopping
- Reading food labels
- Identifying marketing ploys
- Healthy eating on a budget
Here are a few tips to get started now:
1. Eat lots of Green Light Foods (fruits and vegetables).
- Fresh is best
- Frozen can also be great
- Choose canned vegetables without added salt and canned fruit packed in juice not syrup
2. Read food labels no matter what section you are in.
- Be sure to check serving size and number of servings per container
- Read the ingredient list to know what's really in your food.
3. If you eat breakfast cereal, chose one that passes the test.
- at least 3 grams of fiber, less than 6 grams of sugar, at least 3 grams of protein
- made from whole grains
- 10 ingredients or fewer
4. Include a varied selection of yellow light foods.
- Nuts and seeds or minimally processed nut/seed butters (eg. peanut butter with only peanuts and salt)
- Whole grain rice, pasta, bread, or tortillas
- Popcorn (buy the kernels and pop at home)
- Eggs (pastured is best)
- Lean red meat (grass fed is best), chicken, turkey, fish (wild caught is best)
- Olive oil
- Cheese, yogurt, kefir
5. Limit red light foods.
Red Light Foods often contain:
- High fructose corn syrup
- Artificial sweeteners
- Chemical preservatives
- Artificial coloring (a color followed by a number)
6. Find a healthier compromise for the foods you can't live without.
Food manufacturers are starting to respond to consumer demand making some versions of our favorite foods a little less bad. For example, if you are going to buy ice cream, consider choosing a brand that contains no high fructose corn syrup or preservatives, such as Breyer's Natural or Turkey Hill All Natural (be sure to check the ingredient list). While this doesn't make ice cream a yellow light food, because it still has all that added sugar, it is getting closer to yellow on the traffic light eating continuum.
A big thanks to Dennis for allowing our grocery store tour to be photographed and letting me put the photos on the blog!
If you live in the Lexington, Kentucky area contact me for pricing and to schedule your savvy shopping tour!
Remember that Health Happens at Home,
Erin Marie
Links on increasing protein, mindful eating, creative uses for a cheese grater, kids lunches, and a review of Blue Apron to inspire healthy living.