Shopping Tips

Friday we went grocery shopping for the SNAP challenge. Here are some tips we followed when trying to pick healthy nutrient dense foods within our $1.50 a meal  SNAP budget. Follow our blogs daily for the challenges we face this week preparing and eating these meals.

1.    Shop around the perimeter. This is not a new tip to the list of healthy grocery shopping lists. However, I feel it is the most important of all the tips. The perimeter houses the produce and whole foods. The center aisles house all the processed foods and items that shouldn’t even been considered actual food.

2.    Create a menu, make a shopping list, and stick to your list! By planning a week of meals, you will determine exactly what you need for the week in food. This makes it easy to stick to what you need and cut down on those things you don’t need. Be sure to stick to your list though otherwise it doesn’t do you much good!

3.    Don’t go up and down the center aisles except for things on your list! As I mentioned earlier, the center aisles do not contain any whole fresh foods that are essential for getting enough nutrients. Make sure you only go for the few items you need and not walk up and down them which may cause you to throw more in your cart than you need. This is definitely a bank breaker.

4.    Focus the majority of your grocery shopping in the produce aisle. Nutrient dense food is found in the produce department. If you are working on your health journey and incorporating more whole foods is the way you get more nutrition and less junk. What usually fills up the majority of your shopping cart? Living foods or dead foods?

5.    Increase your use of Farmer’s Markets in your area. There are farmer’s markets popping up all over the country as people are finding the value in buying fresh and local produce. A lot of times the produce is a lot cheaper than in the grocery store depending on where you live and many of these farmers use organic growing methods but just don’t have the money to get certified as organic. Visit your local farmer’s market and talk to your farmers!

6.    Spend your money more wisely. Focus on more whole foods and less junk food. Sit down and take inventory of your grocery shopping receipts. Calculate how much you spend of junk that has absolutely NO nutrient content such as soda, ice cream, cookies, etc. How much do you spend compared to nutrient RICH foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, etc? If you think eating healthy is expensive, try validating purchases of food that don’t do anything for your body! I was truly amazed about this when I started my health journey!

7.    Do not go grocery shopping when you are hungry. This is another one that we have all heard before, but I just really learned the true meaning of this recently. It really DOES save you money when you eat before you go to the grocery store. I have found I love going after I work out. It makes me more motivated to eat healthier and choose healthier foods. Give it a try and let me know if it works like that for you!