Hey guys, happy Wednesday to all of you in Boston, Cambridge, etc…it’s hot in the city this week and I don’t know about you but I really lose my motivation to cook when it’s already super hot in my apartment. I have been making a lot of great salads lately and I try to stock up on the things that I eat every week.
In this post I wanted to give everyone a few tips on how to shop when you are on a healthy nutrition plan (which you should be, all the time!). Grocery shopping can be a pain sometimes and if you don’t plan it out, your nutrition can suffer. We all know what happens when we get hungry and we might not have a lot of stuff in the refrigerator. That’s when the old pizza and take out menus get pulled out and we make some bad choices.
Here are the Top 7 things you should do to get the most out of your food shopping and your overall nutrition plan.
1. Make a List: Sit down and plan out your meals for the week. Figure out what you need to buy for ingredients and snacks for the week
2. Plan for Leftovers: When I shop, I try to make foods that I can eat for a day or two later. Things like stir fry, big salads with chicken, avocado and eggs, and lots of grilled chicken and steak will allow me to just heat them up quickly or throw together the salads the next day for lunch.
3. Make your cart colorful: Stock up on fresh fruits and veggies. These items are packed with nutrients and can be used for salads, cooking, snacks, and pretty much anytime.
4. Be sure to eat before you shop: Shopping while hungry is a huge No-No! You will end up leaving with snacks and weird stuff that you really don’t need at all. Have a snack or meal before you go and stick to your list.
5. Shop for fresh and natural foods: Stay away from processed, frozen, and packaged foods. Your staples should be fruits, veggies, lean meats, low fat dairy items, and natural nuts.
6. Don’t be fooled by “fat free”: Choose foods that are natural and you won’t have to worry about this little catch. Fat Free usually means loaded with other stuff to make it taste good. If you stay clear of the cookies, snacks, and other little treats then you should be fine. When choosing dairy items such as milk- 1% is good. Your body needs a certain amount of natural fats, just kick the processed stuff.
7. Shop the perimeter of the store: Most of the crap is in the middle of the store. Yes, even cereal is crap as far as I’m concerned. Stick to the outer aisles- produce, seafood counter, meat section, dairy coolers, and natural foods sections.
The biggest thing that changed my shopping experience was planning everything out. I know exactly what I am going to eat on what night of the week. I calculate what I will have left over for lunch the next day which means less thinking about planning meals for that day.
Eating healthy takes a lot of planning but if you get organized at the beginning of the week and stock up on good food, you can allow a cheat day once per week and keep the rest on track. Don’t let yourself become one of those people that makes excuses about “not having time” to prepare and eat healthy.
You don’t have time? Make time. If your goal is to become fit and healthy, you need to make it a priority.
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