5 Tips for Healthier Grocery Shopping

With an average of 35,829 items in each grocery store it is easy to feel overwhelmed walking through the aisles of the supermarket.  At A Perfect Fit we strive to make living a healthy lifestyle as effortless as possible for our clients. In this post, our Registered Dietitian shares five tips for healthier grocery shopping that you can implement today!

1. Make a shopping list

Start your week of meal planning with a grocery list. An itemized list keeps you from forgetting ingredients and prevents you from buying things you don’t need (such as the Oreos on aisle five). Our chefs like to organize their lists by department to make navigating big grocery stores a breeze.

2. Read Nutrition Labels

While reading nutrition labels might seem like a daunting task, with these few pointers you can easily sift through products and choose the best option:

• The ingredient labels have ingredients in the product listed from highest amounts to lowest amounts.

• If the cereal label you’re looking at has “refined grains” (processed sugar) as the first ingredient listed, you might want to put that one back and look for a label with whole grain corn, oats, rice, or buckwheat as the first ingredient.

• The shorter the ingredient list, the better. An ingredient list with more than two to three lines indicates the item is highly processed. Less is more here (I don’t know about you, but we want to be able to pronounce and understand the foods we’re consuming).

• Be on the lookout for misleading marketing buzzwords.

  • “Light”- Calories or fat may be reduced but are typically replaced with added sugars

  • “Multigrain”- The grains are most likely highly refined grains

  • “Natural”- This just means at one point the manufacturer worked with a natural source

  • “Sugar Free” - While they might have removed the sugar, look for artificial sweeteners

  • “Gluten Free”- the product is free of wheat, rye, barley but may still be highly processed

• Utilize technology. There are free apps that you can use to scan nutrition labels and barcodes to help you understand the ingredients in products. Some we found are: Yuka, Shopwell, and Fooducate. 

3. Avoid shopping hungry

Researchers at Cornell University conducted a study revealing that participants who shopped on an empty stomach purchased more high-calorie foods. Whatever is on your mind at the time can influence your decisions, so have a snack or meal before you go. 

4. Shop the perimeter

Generally, center aisle foods are more processed and may contain unhealthy additives or preservatives. Produce, meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy are on the perimeter of the store. 

This is a general statement, keep in mind some grocery store layouts vary. There are also healthful choices in the center aisles like dried or canned beans, herbs and spices, and oils with healthy fats!

5. Know that some convenience groceries are ok

When time is not on your side, some convenience purchases are ok in our book. Keeping a few of these items on hand can help you stay on track with your nutrition goals:

• Steam in bag fresh or frozen vegetables

• Bagged salads

• Precut, washed, and chopped vegetables

• Wild caught frozen fish and seafood

  Rotisserie chickens

For those of you that need assistance with grocery shopping or providing nutrient dense meals for your family, A Perfect Fit is here to help! Our culinary experts plan your meals, create customized grocery shopping lists, shop for you and prepare high-end, healthy meals.