The most common mistakes that can be avoided when going out for a healthy grocery shopping.
1. Don’t get lured into the next latest and greatest marketing campaign. If it says, “healthy” or “natural,” that means nothing. Don’t be fooled by the face of the product, you still need to look at the ingredients. They are listed in order of highest quantity to least amount in the product. Labels are for marketing, which means to grab your attention to get you to buy it.
2. Trying to save money is being, “penny wise, dollar foolish,” or should I say, health foolish. Don’t make the mistake of buying products on sale or with coupons that you wouldn’t normally buy. You may get enticed by a sale when you don’t actually need that product. I am not saying to avoid a sale, I am simply saying that you should only buy it if it was your original intention.
3. Don’t be buying something out of the healthy section, such as; Greenwise or organic section, without reading the ingredients. You can’t just trust the section itself; or the entire store for that matter, you must still read the label. The rule of thumb is to not buy food that you cannot pronounce the ingredients. Simple natural food is always best. Just because it is at Whole Foods does not mean it is healthy. You still need to be mindful of processed foods and how many organic cookies you ingest. A cookie is still a cookie. By the way I am not saying you can’t have an occasional treat, it’s just that the word occasional is sometimes mistreated.
4. You also must buy good quality meat, fish, and dairy. The chemicals are more condensed in these products. Don’t try to save here. You are looking for meats that are free from anti-biotics, hormones, and factory farming. Humanely raised is important. How the animal is raised and slaughtered is important because it transfers to your body. What you eat becomes your cells. I would also suggest that you treat meat as a condiment, meaning eat very little.
5. Shop the perimeter of the store. That is where the fresh food is. All of the living food is always along the outer edges of the store. The processed food that has a longer shelf life is in the isles. I recommend that you go to the store with a shopping list and only visit the isles with your list.
6. Do not impulse buy unless you are in the produce isle. Never impulse buy at the register, those items are there for a reason. While standing in line waiting you may just get lured by that candy bar or sugar coated peanuts. If you must pass the time pick up a magazine instead, or ask someone near you how there day is and share a smile.
7. Don’t shop hungry. You may end up breaking all of these rules just because hunger hurts your better judgement.
8. Plan your meals on a weekly meal calendar. This will save you money and keep you organized.
9. Shop with a list
