Health & Fitness
Nine Tips to Healthy Grocery Shopping
The most common mistakes that can be avoided
By Sherri Mraz
- Don’t get lured into the next latest and greatest marketing campaign. If it says, “healthy” or “natural,” that means nothing. Don’t be fooled by the face of the product, you still need to look at the ingredients. They are listed in order of highest quantity to least amount in the product. Labels are for marketing, which means to grab your attention to get you to buy it.
- Trying to save money is being, “penny wise, dollar foolish,” or should I say, health foolish. Don’t make the mistake of buying products on sale or with coupons that you wouldn’t normally buy. You may get enticed by a sale when you don’t actually need that product. I am not saying to avoid a sale, I am simply saying that you should only buy it if it was your original intention.
- Don’t be buying something out of the healthy section, such as; Greenwise or organic section, without reading the ingredients. You can’t just trust the section itself; or the entire store for that matter, you must still read the label. The rule of thumb is to not buy food that you cannot pronounce the ingredients. Simple natural food is always best. Just because it is at Whole Foods does not mean it is healthy. You still need to be mindful of processed foods and how many organic cookies you ingest. A cookie is still a cookie. By the way I am not saying you can’t have an occasional treat, it’s just that the word occasional is sometimes mistreated.
- You also must buy good quality meat, fish, and dairy. The chemicals are more condensed in these products. Don’t try to save here. You are looking for meats that are free from anti-biotics, hormones, and factory farming. Humanely raised is important. How the animal is raised and slaughtered is important because it transfers to your body. What you eat becomes your cells. I would also suggest that you treat meat as a condiment, meaning eat very little.
- Shop the perimeter of the store. That is where the fresh food is. All of the living food is always along the outer edges of the store. The processed food that has a longer shelf life is in the isles. I recommend that you go to the store with a shopping list and only visit the isles with your list.
- Do not impulse buy unless you are in the produce isle. Never impulse buy at the register, those items are there for a reason. While standing in line waiting you may just get lured by that candy bar or sugar coated peanuts. If you must pass the time pick up a magazine instead, or ask someone near you how there day is and share a smile.
- Don’t shop hungry. You may end up breaking all of these rules just because hunger hurts your better judgment.
- Plan your meals on a weekly meal calendar. This will save you money and keep you organized.
- Shop with a list
Need further help email me at Sherri@CookinYogi.com. Need a meal plan you can check out my 12 Week Cookbook, The Cookin’ Yogi’s, More Energy, Less Waist on Amazon. Bon Healthy Appetite!
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Sherri Mraz is also known as the Cookin’ Yogi. She works with clients privately and in groups to improve their health. She teaches healthy cooking classes, yoga and is a public speaker. Sherri has trained at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in NYC and is certified through Teachers College Columbia University and by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners (AADP). She is also registered with the Yoga Alliance at the advanced teacher level, a member of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and studied at The Hippocrates Health Institute. She studied ancient nutritional wisdom, and the latest diet and healthy lifestyle trends with renowned experts such as Dr. Mehmet Oz, Deepak Chopra, Dr. Andrew Weil, Dr. Walter Willet, Dr. Anne Marie Colbin, and Dr. Neal Bernard. Sherri is the author of the Cookbook “The Cookin’ Yogi’s, More Energy, Less Waist” and the “3 Day Bliss Detox” She is located at Keystone Chiropractic in Royal Palm Beach. Please contact her at Sherri@CookinYogi.com or visit her website at www.CookinYogi.com
Dr. Randy Laurich with Mark Bellissimo. Photo by Lois Spatz.