8 Ways to Practice Better Grocery Shopping
By Toriyan Wallace
Intern
Making a change to eat healthier can have its tough moments, especially when you’re presented with thousands of options at the grocery store. Don’t get discouraged when grocery shopping! Here are eight ways to make grocery shopping more efficient!
Be Prepared - Plan menus and make your list ahead of time to stay focused as you shop and avoid purchasing less-healthy items you don’t need.
Read Nutrition Fact Labels - Ingredients and nutrient content can vary a lot. When there’s more than one choice, compare labels. Choose the item with the lowest amounts of sodium, saturated fat and added sugars.
Spend Some Time Exploring the Produce Section - Look for produce that is on sale or in season.
Don’t Shop on an Empty Stomach - This can lead to impulsive purchases out of hunger. If you only use one tip from this list, this is the one!
When buying canned fish, chicken or lean meat look for items packaged in water instead of oil, and labeled with no salt added or lower sodium.
Buy Multigrain Bread - Look for items that list a whole grain first in the ingredients instead of enriched flour or “multi-grain.”
Divide the Snacks - When you get home from the store, portion out your snack foods into individual serving sizes in snack containers or bags. This will save you time in the future, help you avoid overeating, and may be cheaper than buying individually packaged snacks.
Buy Frozen or Canned Vegetables - When buying canned veggies, look for items that are labeled no-salt-added or lower sodium. Buy frozen veggies without sauces, seasonings or salt. Before cooking or serving canned veggies or beans, drain and rinse them to get rid of excess sodium.
Source:https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/cooking-skills/shopping/grocery-shopping-tips