SFH #9: Supermarket sweep

Here are my essential tactics for tackling the grocery store ✅

I enter through the sliding doors briskly. A fresh cool breeze hits my face with a smell of fresh flowers 🌺 in the air, and I'm feeling the excitement in my belly. I'm ready for my mission-It's grocery shopping time. 🛒

Here are my mission-critical tips.🚀

1. Shop the perimeter. The perimeter is where you'll find fresh produce, meat, seafood, eggs, dairy, and frozen foods such as vegetables and fruits—this how I fill 80% of my grocery cart. 🥬🥩🥚🍇

2. I do my best to follow the "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean 15" as my budget allows.

Dirty Dozen (always try to buy these organic): Strawberries, spinach, nectarines, apples, peaches, pears, cherries, grapes, celery, tomatoes, bell peppers, potatoes, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, lettuce.

Clean 15 (these do not need to be organic): Sweet corn, avocados, pineapples, cabbage, onions, sweet peas (frozen), papaya, asparagus, mango, eggplant, honeydew, kiwi, cantaloupe, cauliflower, grapefruit.

3. I don't shop hungry. Go shopping after a meal, when you aren't looking to eat everything in sight. Shopping satiated will reduce impulse purchasing. 😋

4. I'm always reading labels. Knowing how to read a label is one of the most important things for your health. Ingredient lists display in descending order of concentration. The first few ingredients are the most abundant in a given food. Be mindful of serving size and the number of servings in a container. 🏷

5. Speaking of reading the labels, I aim for the least amount of ingredients. One is Ideal. Health industry experts tout to stick to foods with fewer than five (5) ingredients. Better yet, stick to foods without ingredient lists—buy the ingredients instead! And if you do buy packaged foods, the first three (3) ingredients should never include sugar. 🎯

6. I don't fall for marketing gimmicks on packaged foods. "Non-GMO," "organic," and "gluten-free" are nice, but the healthiest foods are often naturally gluten-free, anyway. Meanwhile, plenty of organic, processed foods can make you fat and sick. 📢

7. I go for frozen food over canned. Frozen fruits and veggies are often frozen at the point of picking, locking in their nutrients during peak freshness. Many canned foods may contain BPA in the lining. Frozen can also be more affordable than fresh. 🧊

8. I keep in mind that if it's in my cart, it's in my body. I'm a sucker for salt and vinegar chips. I will eat an entire bag nine times out of ten. Not the healthiest practice 🤪. My best course of action is to avoid putting them in my cart altogether. As much as I love to promote moderation, I have to remember that sometimes it's 'moderation, smoderation' for me - my brain tells me to eat it all! 

Here's to having fun on your next grocery store trip. 🤩