Top Ten ways to shop smart at the Grocery Store:

By Marc Laverdure

Another holiday season has passed just as fast as it came and now it’s time to get back to your old routine.  It all starts at the grocery store.  You ultimately control what goes in your cupboards. 

Making healthy food choices at the start of the week determines how well you will stick to a balanced diet for the week to come.  The best way to avoid temptation is to not have any tempting things in your house! 

I have compiled the following list to help keep your diet on track as you breeze through the aisles:

1. Stay around the perimeter:  Most grocery stores are designed so that you can find the produce, meats, and the dairy products along the outside of the store.  All other foods not found in the 4 basic food groups can be located in the middle aisles.  The middle aisles represent the DANGER ZONE…proceed with caution while venturing into the centre aisles.  Processed foods, snacks, and all other treats will try to tempt you with interesting packaging and sweet scents.

2. Eat before you shop:  Shopping on an empty stomach will make your eyes grow big and you will quickly forget all of your regular healthy habits.  You fall victim to the powers of the sweet smell flowing from the bakery.  This can make you more inclined to buy things based on impulses and stray from your list.  Shopping on a full stomach will not only save you extra added calories, but it will save you money too!

3. Read labels:  The ingredients are listed in order of occurrence.  The first ingredient on a label is the one that is most abundant in the product.  For example, if you were looking for strawberry jam, it would be wise to choose one that has strawberries listed as the main ingredient instead of sugar.  Also, be weary of products marked “low fat.”  This marketing tactic is used often to camouflage other evil ingredients such as sugar.  Don’t be fooled by these marketing strategies that can sabotage your healthy diet choices.

4. Shop alone:  Having your kids with you at the grocery store can be fun but can also lead to unorthodox purchases.  Children will be drawn to products they identify with from commercials they have seen on TV.  This will force you down aisles you might usually avoid and end up with products not normally found in your cart.  It is important to teach children the value of healthy foods but so is the importance for you to keep your cart under control!

5. Make a list:  Having a plan to follow before any event will surely help things go smoothly.   I believe planning is the key ingredient to any and all healthy diets.  Plan meals ahead of time and weighing out your portions for the week are successful tactics.  This way, you know exactly what you need and how much of it!  Also, try organizing your list so that similar foods are grouped together so as to avoid random wandering of unwanted aisles.  Or better yet, keep a ready version of your weekly necessities on your computer that you can simply add to or edit as needed to keep your trips to the grocery store focused and on track!

6.  Choose your fruits and vegetables wisely.  Dark green leafy vegetables have the highest abundance of vitamins and minerals.  Look for fruits that are firm, ripe and unblemished.  Also, look out for mold, especially on produce packed tightly together in small boxes. If you’re looking for potatoes, stay away from ones that have a green tint to their skins. And finally, if your favorite produce is unavailable, go for frozen fruits and vegetables rather than canned.  Canned produce are higher in sodium and do not hold their nutritional value as well as their frozen counterparts.

7. Stick to the whole grains.  Whole wheat products are more dense and provide you with an all-natural source of energy and vitamins that white products are deficient in.  White enriched products have very little nutritional value and that is why they must be enriched. To make matters worse, they are enriched with artificial vitamins and minerals from foreign sources making them less efficient in providing energy and essential nutrients.

8. Watch out for fruit juice blends.  Whenever you are buying juice, make sure to always ensure that it is made up of 100 real juice.”

9. Plan your meals out ahead of time.  If your trying to eat healthier this year, your best bet is to select several tasty and good-for-you meal choices ahead of time, and compile a complete list of ingredients that you will need to prepare those meals for your next shopping trip.  How often do we spend money on food only to get home and say “There’s nothing for dinner!”?  Not knowing what meals can be prepared with the food that you bought is not only discouraging, but can lead you back you your old, more familiar (and likely unhealthy) food choices.  Remember: planning is key!

10. Don’t always use a push cart.  If your just stopping in to buy a couple of things at the grocery store, go for a carry-on basket instead of the big shopping carts.  When you have a larger cart, the extra room can be deceiving and lead you to stock up on unneeded food items.  Not only will you buy less waste, but you will burn some extra calories in the process!!!