by Michael Rapson

Do you ever go into the grocery store and come out with everything but what you went in for?

Or maybe you’ve gone shopping when hungry and bought every snack that looked awesome.

And if you have kids or your significant other that goes with you, you know how hard that can be.

You might even go shopping with the intention of not being there for very long, but end up being there for hours.

So, what can you do to minimize the risks of grocery shopping?

Knowing what to do can save you time and money. Below are a few tips.

Create your menu 

Creating a menu before you go shopping will help with choosing the things to put on your grocery list. Think about what you would eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.

Create anywhere between 7 to 14 different healthy meal options that you enjoy on your menu for each category (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks). Don’t worry about having to schedule each day for each meal. If you have the ingredients in the house, you can choose what you are in the mood for from your menu. This keeps your options open, while also ensuring that you also have healthy meal choices.

Also, having the menu in place will help with keeping an inventory of the foods you need in the house for when you do go shopping. When you run out of something, you can take a quick look and know exactly what you need to put on your list.

Once a month, revise the menu options to keep it fresh and non-boring.  

When you create your menu for each meal, start with a lean protein. Then choose your vegetable. From there, choose your fats and spices to flavor. And then choose your smart carbohydrate choices. 

(For more tips on “How to create the perfect meal”, download my free infographic here.) 

Here’s a list of the things you can choose:

Proteins 

• Lean Meat such as beef, pork, or wild game
• Poultry such as chicken, turkey, or duck
• Fish & seafood such as shrimp or scallops
• Eggs & egg whites
• Cottage cheese or strained plain Greek yogurt
• Cooked lentils or beans
• Tempeh or tofu

Of course, there are other foods high in protein… though these are the high-protein superstars.

Vegetables & Fruit 

Use the rainbow as your guide. Choose a wide variety of colors and fresh if possible. Color means vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients (plant nutrients).   Fruits and vegetables also have water and fiber. Sometimes even a bit of healthy fat and protein.

Colorful fruits and vegetables add value to your body. Like proteins, they make your body work better and help you to stay fuller longer.

• Purple & blue 
  
  Eggplant, Red cabbage, Purple kale, Beets, Blueberries, Blackberries, Lingonberries, Purple carrots, Purple potatoes, Black grapes, Black cherries, Black/purple plums

• Orange & yellow
  
  Oranges, Winter squash and pumpkin, Orange peppers, Carrots, Cantaloupe, Orange cauliflower, Yams, Apricots, Peaches, Mangos

• Dark green 
  
  Spinach, Beet greens (the tops of beets), Kale, Broccoli, Any other dark leafy green (e.g. turnip greens, collard greens), Brussels sprouts, Fresh herbs (e.g. parsley, basil), Green beans, Green peas, Avocado, Zucchini, Cucumber (if you eat the peel)  

• Red & pink
  
  Red peppers, Tomatoes, Strawberries, Cherries, Cranberries, Red grapefruit, Red-skinned apples, Watermelon, Red grapes, Red radishes, Red lettuce, Radicchio, Rhubarb stems 

• Miscellaneous
  
  Onions, Leeks, Shallots, Garlic, Mushrooms, Cauliflower, Fennel/Anise, Celery

Healthy Fats 

• Oils such as:
  • olive oil
  • coconut oil
  • flax seed oil
  • hemp seed oil
  • canola oil
  • omega-3 oils such as fish or algae
• Butter
• Olives
• Avocado or guacamole
• Nuts such as almonds, Brazil, cashews, pecans, pistachios, walnuts, etc.
• Nut butters such as almond, cashew, etc.
• Peanuts and natural peanut butter
• Seeds such as chia, ground flax, pumpkin, sunflower, hemp, etc.

Other foods have some healthy fats as well (especially whole eggs, fish, dairy, and meats.)  But the above list are the heroes. 

Smart Carbs

You’re probably asking what a smart carb is.  “Smart carbohydrates” are carbs that are:

• higher in fiber (so they digest relatively slowly, giving you long-lasting slow-burn energy)
• full of vitamins, minerals and other phytonutrients;
• friendly to your blood sugar, hormones, and digestion;
• versatile and easily cooked;
• whole, relatively minimally processed foods; and
• delicious.

Smart carbs also add value to your body and makes you feel healthier.  Making a smart carb choice means to choose high-quality, health promoting foods consistently. 

Smart carbs include:

• fruit (fresh or frozen)
• starchy tubers such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, yuca/cassava, taro/tapioca, etc.
• other starchy fruits and veggies, such as plantains or sweet winter squashes (e.g. Hubbard, butternut, buttercup, kabocha)
• whole, minimally-processed grains such as quinoa, brown or wild rice, slow-cooking oats, buckwheat, sprouted grains, etc.
• beans and legumes

Shop with a list 

Know what you are going in for and only buy what's on the list. Not only will it save you money, it will also help to keep you from buying impulsively.

From your menu, only buy what you are going to eat for each meal and snacks. This will take a bit of planning, but it will save you time in the long run. For example; if you know you only need 4 pounds of chicken for all of the meals you planned, then only get those 4 pounds.  

If it lives in the house, high chances are you are going to eat it. So, if you have unhealthy “fun” snacks in the house, you will probably eat those. If you choose to have “fun” snacks in the house, keep it to a minimum of 10%-20% of the Calories you’ll consume.

You could write your list on a piece of paper, or as a document in your phone, etc. Choose whatever is going to be the easiest for you. As you select each item, check it off your list.

Don't go hungry 

Shopping for food when you are hungry could lead to impulse buying. Those snack cakes and chips look mighty appetizing when you're in need of food.

If you do go in hungry, make sure to stick to your grocery list.

Try not to hit the fast food place on the way to go shopping or on the way home after shopping. It’s tempting, but it won’t lead you to cooking the healthy meal you had planned on when getting home.

Shop the outside of the store 

Generally, the healthiest whole food options on the outskirts of the food aisles, while the high Calorie processed stuff lives on the shelves in the inner aisles.

If you have to go into the inner aisles, go directly to what you need and get the hell out. Treat it like you’ll burn alive if you stay too long. This will help to reduce the temptation to getting something that isn’t on your list.

A trick I use is leaving the cart at the end of the aisle. This way, I won’t be tempted to grab more than I need and won’t have to deal with other people and their carts blocking the way. Obviously, if you have a child in the cart, then take your child with you, even if that means having to go down the aisle with the whole cart. But still get out of the aisle as fast as possible.

Look for marketing tricks 

Grocery stores are designed to trick you into buying. Products aren’t placed where they are out of accident. Companies pay big money to get the “hot spots” in the store so they are more visible and will entice you to buy them. It’s not a coincidence that you have to pass by a bunch of “fun” foods to get to the healthy ones.

You'll see things like donuts near the dairy, appetizing foods on the end caps, or “fun” foods scattered throughout the whole foods sections. Be on the lookout for things that seem out of place because they are, on purpose.

You might see bright labels, things that say healthy, or brightly colored or odd shaped signs that say “sale” or some other variation to get your attention. The sign that says “sale”, might not be that great of deal. There might be a healthier and cheaper option nearby. 

Look at the nutrition information, not the front. 

The front of the packaging is also a way to get you to think it’s healthy, but that’s not always the case. They’ll use trick phrases like “low fat”, “reduced sugar”, “healthy”, “high protein”, etc.

For example; peanut butter might have “high source of protein”, when in reality, peanut butter is mostly a fat source.  

Instead, look at the back of the package for the nutrition label and ingredients to know what’s truly in them. 

Look for:

• Whole foods
• No more than a few ingredients
• Food that is close to what it used to be
• Organic if possible
• Local if possible
• Minimal or no packaging

Avoid:

• Sugar (look for trick words and phrases)
• Other sweeteners
• Hydrogenated and fractioned oils such as corn or palm oil
• Additives, preservatives, and coloring
• Any other ingredients you don’t recognize
• More than a few ingredients

Trick words and phrases

• “Syrup” – corn syrup, brown rice syrup, agave syrup, etc.
• Words ending in “ose” – sucrose, glucose, fructose, etc.
• Words starting with “malto” – maltodextrin, maltitol, etc.
• “Made with / contains real fruit”
• “Fortified with”

Shop alone if possible

Shopping alone could help to speed up the process.  Especially if you have put the previous tips into action.  You are then able to focus on the task at hand without distraction.

Though, there are times when you can’t go alone or it’s unsafe to do so.

If you do have somebody or a group with you, ask them to help. 

If you have kids who are old to enough to understand, set the ground rules before going in.  Tell them that you are there to shop for what is on the list, and only what is on the list.  This could help to prevent the temptation of them asking for things that aren’t on the list.  Utilize the older kids to help look for what is on the list to help them feel as part of the process, and it teaches them how to shop as well.

When shopping with another adult, the same rules apply as does the children.  Tell them that you are going to get what is on the list, and nothing more.  Ask for their help and divide the list to speed up the process.  When they get what’s on the list, be sure to check off the items they retrieved so you don’t double shop.

Whatever you choose, make the process of grocery shopping as quick as possible so you can get to the other things you enjoy more.      

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