When your kitchen is well stocked with easy to prepare, nutritious foods, healthful eating is easy. The key is to put the right things in the shopping cart when you’re in the grocery store! Here are five common grocery shopping mistakes that can easily be avoided the next time you’re in the market.
- Going to the market hungry. It’s true – we eat with our eyes, but you’re a lot more likely to look fat foods you might otherwise avoid if you’re hungry when you enter the store. Try not to enter the store “on empty”, and your basket will more likely be filled with premium fuel.
- Tunnel vision when reading the labels. Get out of the habit of only looking at the total fat, calorie or carbohydrate counts on the nutrition facts label. They don’t tell the whole story. For example, look for hydrogenated fats in the ingredients listing, and the type of fat that makes up the total number. Not all fats are created equal!
- Falling for the “falsies” on the front of the box. Some manufacturers will try to fool you with misleading claims on the front of the box. Look out for the “falsies” like “low in net carbs”, which is a term that’s not regulated by the FDA. Figuring out what’s legitimate and what isn’t may require a little extra research, but it’s information that is well worth knowing.
- Listlessness. No, I’m not talking about being tired. I’m talking about shopping without a grocery list. One of the easiest ways to “shop & spend” more than you should is to head into the store without a specific list of items that you need. Start with a plan (in the form of a solid list), and you’ll end up with the right stuff.
- Sticking with Old Faithful. Yes, there is comfort in the familiar, but if you always eat what you’ve always eaten, you’ll always get the same nutrients. Pardon the paraphrase, but it’s easy to buy only what you know. Reach out and touch some new greens, and try an inexpensive experiment or two. Greens contain powerful micronutrients that can vastly improve your health, so reach out and touch some new greens, and try an inexpensive experiment or two.