Grocery shopping can come under the heading of all kinds of descriptions and often enough, it may depend on the mood you’re in. Whether it’s running in almost every night after work to get dinner and it feels like a nuisance, to a longer outing to stock up for the next week or two, no two trips are ever the same. And with the hectic pace of life these days or the simple fact we don’t want to put too much thought into the grocery shopping chore, it’s easy to become victim to ending up at home with bags full of groceries that aren’t as healthy as you’d like them to be.
Tips to Navigate the Grocery Store
Without thinking too much about all the information we’re bombarded with these days when it comes to food, drinks and how healthy or unhealthy they may be, there are a few simple and easy-to-remember tips when it comes to navigating the grocery store in a way that leaves your bags filled with the types of food that will keep you healthier. While there’s no substitute for arming yourself with more knowledge about what’s in the food you eat and what constitutes a healthy diet, at least these tips can act as a starting guide to form a foundation for even better shopping techniques in the future.
Stay in the Perimeter
The first thing to remember when entering any grocery store is that the perimeter is healthier than the center. In fact, the store will be the healthiest on the outside track – so to speak – and continually get less healthy as you go deeper into it. On the outside track you have all the fruits and vegetables, which are essential for any balanced diet. These are all fresh products that feed much needed vitamins and nutrients to any body and are also low in fat and cholesterol. Also on the perimeter are foods like eggs, cheeses, yogurts and fresh meats. Again, these products are essentially healthier for you as they are high in protein and fresh.
When making your way around the store and adding items to your cart, think about the percentage of food that has come from the outer parts of the store vs. the inner. If you have five frozen pizzas in your cart and one bag of carrots, the reality is your diet isn’t all that healthy. Now that’s not to say all frozen foods are bad. Of course many weight-loss programs and proponents of healthy eating recommend portion-controlled frozen meals that are nutritionally balanced. There’s nothing wrong with these and they are definitely convenient for people on the go, but if you rely on them for weight control, try to think about supplementing them with some fresh produce as well.
Keep It Fresh
The biggest key to navigating the grocery store in a healthy way is to think logically and think fresh. The fewer boxes and processed foods that are in your cart, the healthier your diet is going to be. Of course everything is a balance and we’re not advocating skipping the inner aisles altogether. But keep in mind the outer perimeter rule and shopping healthy will become a no-brainer.
Katherine O’brian is a fitness enthusiast who writes as a contributing author for Hive Health Media, a health news blog. Katherine enjoys providing readers with healthy tips such as natural remedies for the common cold.
