Six Tips for a Healthy Grocery Trip

In order to develop a healthier diet, you must first learn what your diet is actually composed of versus what you want it to be composed of.

So today, my friends, we will take the first and most important step of learning how to read labels.

Now, I do understand we all might have different dietary restrictions or needs, but most of these are general guidelines. From these guidelines, you can begin to learn what you’re looking for and adjust accordingly.

Get your grocery lists ready because I have six tips for a healthier shopping cart!

1.) Keep it Simple

Think about the layout of most grocery stores.

Outside Isles: Produce, dairy, meats – everything that is a straight, clean, identifiable product

Inside Isles: Everything that has been modified, added to, or created

Avoid those inside isles! If you need to dip in for grains or spices, then go for it, but there are honestly few things left that are worth going in for.

Just remember, if you so much as even look down those isles, you will spot the temptation of junk that may lead you further down the rabbit hole.

Stay in the safe zone. Stick with the outside. Stick with the basics. Clean, straight ingredients.

2.) Keep it Short

Now in sticking to the outside isles, typically, you’re only buying single ingredients. A tomato. A chicken. A banana. The ingredient list contains one item – that item. You know what it is. You know what to do with it.

But watch as you go further in. Watch how the ingredient list grows. You’re no longer buying a tomato. You’re buying tomato sauce. And while you may think you’re only buying a can of pureed tomatoes, look closer, and you will see your ingredient list has not one but ten ingredients! You are now adding salt and sugar to something that you probably plan on adding salt and sugar to anyways!

Or maybe you needed some nice protein packed peanut butter? Shouldn’t it just be peanuts? What are all these other ingredients? Why add sugar to a product that will probably be topped with sugary jelly anyway? And speaking of jelly, why add sugar to something with naturally occurring fructose?

This is exactly how weight gain and health issues arise. We are multiplying ingredients in products that should be plain and simple.

Avoid these traps by keeping your ingredient list short, sweet, and to the point.

3.) Learn Foreign Labels

If you don’t know what an ingredient is, don’t buy it until you do.

You don’t purchase some mysterious tropical fruit without knowing what to do with it. Why would you purchase something with a foreign ingredient?

Now again, if you are keeping your ingredient list short, this shouldn’t be an issue. But sometimes it does arise.

Other times, though, it is nothing to be afraid of. A perfect example would be citric acid which is the naturally occurring acid in citrus fruits (ascorbic acid = Vitamin C).

Educate yourself.

4.) Avoid False Labels

Where you should really be leery is when you come across a product that is marketed as healthy. Companies know how to grab your attention.

They know people want to lose weight, so they throw a “Fat Free!” on their wrapper. So many women fantasize about being a size zero, so what do we see? “Zero Calorie”, “Zero Sugar”. They’re luring you in with words you like to hear.

So say you take the bait for product like that. Say a nice sparkling fruity beverage marketed as no regrets. But fruit has sugar. Fruit has calories. So how is it that this drink doesn’t? And if it doesn’t, then what’s really in it to give it that flavor and color? And what are all of these added ingredients? And why add more vitamins when the fruit should already contain those vitamins? What’s going on?!

See. Now don’t you feel a little bit more concerned about how something like that could be good for your body?

The labels are allowed to have white lies! They’re allowed to tell half truths!

I remember finding a syrup with a bright yellow label strewn across the front: “No High Fructose Corn Syrup!” So I turned it around, and yes, there was no HFCS. But corn syrup was the first ingredient, and sugar was listed in addition to that! How many people do you think bought this syrup thinking it was a good option?

Companies are skilled at making products appear healthy on the outside. Therefore, you need to know what to look for on the inside. You cannot go by the outer label. You must put some effort into turning that product around and revealing the truth or lies behind what they state.

5.) Watch Serving Size

So you’ve found a product with pure ingredients. The labels add up, and you feel it will suit your needs. Now, take a look at the serving size. Was it what you pictured eating?

This one can actually go both ways. You may have found a product with a reasonable sodium or calorie content, but perhaps that’s only if you eat ¼ of the product (not the whole thing like you planned). Or, you may have found a loaf of bread high in fiber, which would be great for your digestive system. But maybe making a sandwich with two slices would be too much fiber for your body to tolerate at once.

The math isn’t hard. Figure it out.

6.) Remember Nutrition Content

Take a look above the ingredient list, and you will find the nutrition label.

Here is where everyone will be different as far as quantity, but there are several factors to look for.

While most people tend to look at just the calories, there are four other important ones I like to focus on. I have listed them below with the usually suggested daily recommended allowance. Keep in mind though that many factors, such as age, weight, and daily activity, affect these numbers.

Sugar & Added Sugar – 27-37.5 grams (Learn more with Sugarcoated Lies)

Sodium – 1,500-2,300 mg (Learn more with A Pinch of Salt)

Protein – .36 grams per lb of body weight

Fiber – 25-30 grams

Unfortunately, most people consume way too much of the sugar and salt and not enough protein and fiber.

Find out what it is that your body in particular needs. These may also be things that you will want to tackle one at a time, adjusting until you find a comfortable balance.

As you can see, getting healthy can be as easy as making simple swaps in your grocery cart. Things may start off slow as you read and research the products you enjoy, but over time, you will find that it takes no extra time to have a guilt-free cart.

Happy shopping!