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Healthy Eating Starts with Healthy Food Shopping!
Prepare a list of the groceries you need ahead of time, and stick to the list when you go to the store. This will keep you focused and can help prevent any spur of the moment, high-calorie purchases. Using a shopping list and keeping a well-stocked kitchen can help reduce the time you spend cooking healthy meals. Read the labels as you shop, and pay attention to serving size and servings per container. Compare the total calories in similar products and choose the lowest calorie ones. Also, never go food shopping hungry. Eat a healthy meal or snack before so that you are not tempted to buy everything in sight.
Another tip to remember: sticking mostly to the perimeter of the store ensures that your shopping cart will be filled with fresh, healthier items since most of the processed, high calorie, high fat items are found throughout the middle of the store.
Shop for quick, low-fat food items, and fill your kitchen cupboards with a supply of lower calorie basics like the following: (Provided by the National Heart. Lung and Blood Institute)
- Fat-free or low-fat milk, yogurt, cheese, and cottage cheese
- Eggs, Egg whites/Egg substitutes
- Whole-wheat sandwich breads, bagels, pita bread, English muffins
- Soft corn tortillas, low-fat flour tortillas
- Oatmeal
- Whole grain cereals, dry or cooked
- Rice, pasta - preferrably brown rice and whole wheat pastas
- White-meat chicken or turkey (remove skin)
- Fish and shellfish (not battered)
- Beef: round, sirloin, chuck arm, loin, and extra-lean ground beef
- Pork: leg, shoulder, tenderloin
- Dry beans and peas
- Fresh, frozen or canned fruits in 100% juice
- Fresh, frozen or no-salt-added canned vegetables
- Low-fat or fat-free salad dressings
- Peanut butter
- Mustard and catsup
- Jam, jelly, or honey
- Herbs and spices
- Salsa
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