Tips for Healthier Grocery Shopping in 2019

Your life is fast-paced and busy, and it’s hard to find the time to hit the grocery store and shop healthy. It seems easier to simply go through the drive through of a fast food place or just ordering take-out. The issue with that is that eating processed, fast-food items all the time is quite bad for your body. In order to help you get healthier grocery shopping habits established in 2019, here are some tips to get you started.

Remember: it might seem like a drag to get into the grocery store and buy produce to then head home and prepare a meal. However, it’s well worth your time and energy to look out for your dietary health. After all, it’s easy to fall into the habit of eating junk food all the time, but that’s a surefire way to put on the pounds and increase your odds of diabetes.

Tips for Healthier Grocery Shopping in 2019

For Starters

Before we get started, let’s get into some myths regarding healthy food. For one thing, it’s not hard to find healthy foods. All you need to do is head into the grocery store and pick up items that aren’t processed, sugary or high in fat. It’s simply your palette that needs to change! If you can’t imagine any foods that aren’t fatty, surgary or processed then you’ve been eating far too much junk food.

Secondly, healthy food isn’t expensive. In fact, it’s often cheaper to eat healthy than it is to eat fried, high-fat meals. If you get a selection of produce, a bag of rice and some side items you can make a meal for a family for under $20. If you buy for the week and plan out your meals you can really get that cost down and spend less than $100 in the grocery store to stock up for the week.

Why is it so Difficult?

You’re probably asking yourself: if it’s so darn easy to get healthy foods, why does it seem so difficult? Everyone always talk about how hard it is to eat healthy foods! Well, there are a few reasons. For one thing, fatty, processed foods just taste really good. Foods that are quite bad for you often have chemicals in them that make them addictive, too.

It can be difficult to break oneself of the habit of eating junk food. However, if you follow a few simple steps then you can start shopping, eating and living healthier.

Make a Plan

First, make a plan before you head to the store. Get a selection of healthy meals set aside for the week and plan to make them. Set aside time with your loved ones (or, if you’re single, make it “you” time) to cook meals every night. You’ll find that you not only stress less at the store, but also shop more efficiently when you come with a list of what you want.

Stick to your shopping list when you hit the grocery store. Don’t be tempted to make last-minute junk food purchases. Trust us, you won’t regret leaving those cookies on the shelf. Opting for healthier foods will make you feel better in the long run and save you money in the short run.

What to Buy

Produce, produce, produce. Fruits, veggies, mushrooms and beans. Load up on these, as you literally can’t go wrong. Don’t go too deep on starchy vegetables, as they can be fattening, but go as hard as you want on other forms of produce. It’s seriously difficult to get too many vegetables. Squash, carrots, peas, artichokes, shallots, eggplants, cauliflower and more are all fantastic choices to keep your pantry full of.

Your weekly plan should include recipes, so when you head to the grocery store you should have an idea of what you need. You’ll also want a load of staples like spices, olive oil and the like to round out your pantry so you can make full dishes whenever you want. Loading up on spices you love, nut butters and vinegars for cooking and other staples makes it so you can always spice up your ingredients into a tasty meal.

Final Tips

A good tip to help you avoid unhealthy foods is to cut back on meat. Skinless chicken, lean meats and fish can be good for you in small quantities, but generally speaking, you should avoid red meat altogether.

Finally, keep in mind that you need to make a concentrated effort to stick to your healthy habits. Nothing worth having ever came easily!