Something that I am very passionate about with nutrition is buying healthy foods at the grocery store. Up until my junior year of college, I never needed to worry about what to buy at the grocery store or what I needed to make myself for meals, as it was always done for me. This year is my first year living in an off campus apartment, and I quickly found out the hard way that my meals and grocery store trips would not complete themselves! Conveniently, this year was also the year that I began to go more into depth with my nutrition studies and began learning more about what foods to buy, and what not to buy. Smart grocery shopping may seem like common sense, however, for someone who is looking to totally change their lifestyle and lead a healthier life, it can be a bit challenging! I even find myself struggling often at the grocery store, as it can be very overwhelming and confusing. I have come up with some grocery shopping tips that I have found to be helpful!
For starters, always try to plan your grocery list ahead of time! By doing so, you’re more likely to buy only healthy foods if that is what you put on your list and you stick to it. This also conveniently saves time and money, because you are less likely to grab extra items and spend time looking around for more to buy.
When creating your list, try to cover all of the food groups. You can stick to the MyPlate pyramid food groups in order to create a list that has both variety and nutritious options. These groups are as follows:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Grains
- Milk (calcium-rich foods)
- Meat and Beans (protein-rich foods)
While grocery shopping, I like to start by picking out my fruits and vegetables, because I typically know exactly which ones I want to get and I can quickly get them out of the way. Fruits and vegetables are one of the most important food groups to consider when purchasing groceries, because they are essential to the diet and you can choose from a wide variety.
When it comes to purchasing grains, it is important to read the Nutrition Facts label so that you know what you’re really buying. It is recommended that you make at least half of your daily grains whole grains. You can do so by purchasing whole wheat bread rather than white bread, as this is a great first step in the right direction for changing your dietary habits.
Additionally, when reading nutrition facts labels, some good tips to keep in mind are to buy foods that are high in vitamins, fiber, minerals, unsaturated fats, and polyunsaturated fats. It is best to stay away from foods that have a high percentage of saturated fats, cholesterol, trans fats, fats, and sodium. You can determine these components in a food by looking at the Daily Value percent on a food label. 5% Daily Value or less is considered to be low, and 20% Daily Value or higher is considered to be high.
There are many ways to improve your overall diet, and multiple resources for healthy grocery shopping tips that can assist with the process. Learning how to shop smart can be a long process, but it is definitely worth it in the end. There are only so many things that a person can control in their daily life, and their diet is one of them. It is important to take advantage of the fact that you can control your body’s health, and do everything possible to keep it in good condition. This all starts with you and what you buy to eat!
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