Healthy Grocery Shopping Tips!

One thing you should know about me is that I love grocery shopping. I loved it when I wasn't particularly eating healthy, but I enjoy it even more now. In my opinion, the grocery store is where health begins. I promise you that once you start focusing on and taking care of yourself, you will be so much happier. It truly affects every aspect of your life. Just stick with it, even though it gets hard sometimes, and I promise you will start to see things change. They might change slowly, but they will change. While grocery shopping this past weekend, I made little notes as I went through the store and took pictures to give you examples of the things I buy. It's important to note that everything that works for me may not work for you. You have to experiment and find what you enjoy. The biggest key in being successful is to make it feel like you're not losing anything. So many "diets" fail because people feel like they can't have the things they want. Remember that you can have anything you want, so long as it's in moderation. Once you figure out that it's all about balance (not starving yourself, or eating only green things, or avoiding chocolate at all costs), you're golden. 

• When I go to the grocery store I always start in the fresh produce section. You're more likely to fill up your cart with these goodies if you're not already thinking "Well, crap, I already have $80 in groceries, I can't really afford all these veggies!". 

• Look for new things. When I go shopping, I always make sure I walk out with one new thing. I try to keep it within the fresh fruits and veggies, but sometimes I pick up something else. Never tried pomegranates? Pick one up! What about those weird shaped fruits they sometimes have? Get one! Fruits and veggies often don't go over $1/each, so it's not too expensive to do this. It will open your mind to new things and find things you might never have tried otherwise. Veggies are a little harder, but if you pick something up you've never tried and don't want to eat it plain, look on the internet for a healthy recipe that includes the ingredient you picked up. Other than that, any fruits and veggies are good. Pick what you like. Don’t get something just because you feel like you “should”. I personally just don’t like apples that much. Yes, they’re healthy, but I know I won’t eat them. There’s no reason to waste good food or good money if you know you don’t really want it. Don’t force yourself to eat something you don’t like. There's really no going wrong in this area though. Peppers are fantastic for flavor, cucumbers are great for dipping in hummus and are seriously low in calories, watermelon is great for a sweet tooth, bananas are awesome with some natural peanut butter or as a substitute for sweetener in oatmeal, and strawberries are the perfect snack.
• Keep an eye out for deals, especially on fresh produce. When it comes to deals in the other areas in the store, unfortunately it's not often on healthy food. I know 2 boxes of Cheez-Its for $5 is a fantastic deal, but try to resist. For example, I love to stock up on blackberries when my local store has them on sale for 5/$5. If you have the money to do so, you can also stock up when there are deals like this and then freeze the fruit. 

• The second area I hit up is the dairy section. I have never met someone who loves cows milk quite as much as me, but I have almost completely cut it out of my life. It's not exactly bad for you, but there are alternatives that are much better for you. Try alternatives to cows milk. Coconut, almond, and soy are the usual options. I have tried all three and genuinely enjoy all of them, and I think they all have uses. I really enjoy coconut milk with my cereal, almond milk is perfect for oatmeal, and soy milk is great as a substitute in any recipe that calls for milk because the taste is the most similar. I usually have all three in my refrigerator, but experiment and see which one you like best. Soy milk, in my opinion, is the best place to start. Aim for the unsweetened. 
• Let me tell you about my favorite thing in the ENTIRE WORLD. Yes, I said it. The entire world. It's Chobani's Plain Non-Fat Greek Yogurt. Forget I said the word yogurt though. It tastes nothing like the yogurt you've probably been eating your entire life. I personally think it tastes like sour cream, although I've heard people say they don't get that at all. I use it for so many things. I use it as a substitute for mayo on a sandwich, as a substitute for sour cream on tacos, as a dip for veggies or chicken, etc. In fact, there's a whole conversion chart just for this product. I'll include it below. It can be used for so many things, packs a ton of protein, and has minimal calories. Also try other Greek yogurts by Chobani (or whatever brand your store carries). Super great for pre- or post-workout snacks or breakfasts. They're much more filling than regular yogurts and taste just as great. They are, however, a bit more expensive.
• Stay away from canned foods. The only time I would say to pick up something that’s canned is if it’s beans, and then only if it says “no salt added”. My store only carries one brand that has beans with no salt added and it’s a bit pricey. I usually keep one can of kidney beans, one can of black beans, and one can of garbanzo beans in my cupboard so they’re ready to go if I’m in the mood for beans (they’re packed with tons of protein and a great alternative to meat). I also keep bags of dried beans because they’re much cheaper. Dried beans, however, take a little more planning ahead because you need to soak them first.
• Always read the ingredients. If you see “high fructose corn syrup”, “partially-hydrogenated oil”, “hydrogenated oil, or “nitrates” in the ingredient list put the product down and find an alternative. You will be shocked by the amount of food products that contain these things.
• Don’t be fooled by packaging. “All Natural” ≠ organic, “Multi-grain” ≠ whole grain, “Organic” ≠ healthy. 
• Everything you buy that is made with grains should be whole grain. Don’t take the packaging’s word for it. Make sure you check the ingredient list. The very first ingredient should have the word “whole” in it. If it doesn’t, find something else. Multi-grain is really irrelevant and doesn’t matter. It doesn’t particularly matter how many grains something has, so long as they’re whole grains.
• Stay away from granola bars. I know, I know, they sound healthy, but they’re not. They’re often loaded with sugars and are basically candy bars with some granola added in. Granola alone can be good for you, but I don’t recommend buying it. If you’re anything like me, once you have a little bit, you want more. Granola is packed with calories and the serving size is very tiny. It will only leave you wanting more and that’s just annoying. 
• Oatmeal oatmeal oatmeal! I used to hate oatmeal, and now I have it almost every single day. You can do so many things with it, it’s super filling, and super great for you. There is no significant difference between quick oats and old fashioned. Old fashioned is a little less processed, but it’s so minimal that it’s pretty insignificant. Avoid the pre-packaged oatmeals at all costs. They’re packed with sugars, calories, food coloring, and artificial flavoring. 
• In general, avoid anything that is marked “low fat”, “fat free”, “reduced fat”, or “diet”. Unless the product is naturally low fat or fat free, these words are usually signs that chemicals have been added in to make up for what was taken out. You’re usually better off getting the regular product or avoiding the product all-together. I personally make an exception for this on things like non-fat Greek yogurt, reduced fat shredded cheese, and low fat cottage cheese. Some things are better than others, just make sure you’re checking the ingredient list.
• Stay away from pop/soda. Just don’t even go there. There is no such thing as a healthy pop. Diet pops are loaded with cancer-causing chemicals and regular pops are loaded with sugar (which your body turns to fat when you are unable to digest all of it and also just wrecks havoc on your body in general). If you must have a carbonated drink in your life, try flavored carbonated water.
• Be picky about the bread you choose. The bread should be whole grain, contain at least 5 g of fiber per slice, and be 100 calories or lower per slice. One of my favorites is Brownberry Health-full 10 Grain Bread. Again, make sure the word “whole” is in the very first ingredient. 
• Nuts! Almonds or pistachios are great. They’re packed with healthy fats (yes, there is such a thing!) and are super filling. Watch your serving size, though, as the calories can add up fast. My pick is pistachios because you have to actually work for them which prevents you from eating more and also because the serving size is a bit larger.
• I genuinely love red meat. I will pick a steak or a hamburger over any white meat any time, any day. That being said, red meat truly is not that good for you. Pick white meat instead. White meat is things like turkey, chicken, and fish. I love to get extra lean ground turkey. It’s perfect for spaghetti sauce, tacos, or turkey burgers. It also doesn’t have a large flavor so you can flavor it to your liking. For fish I recommend tilapia. It’s low in calories and also doesn’t have much of a flavor. You can truly do so much with it. I think you’ll like it, even if you don’t like fish. Another tip: If you buy packages of fresh chicken, turkey, or fish, separate them into individual serving sizes when you get home and then put them in the freezer. They’ll last much longer and you won’t have to thaw the entire package when you want some. 
• Frozen foods are the way to go. Frozen chicken is one of the best things in the world. Most grocery stores offer large bags of frozen chicken breasts for around $10 a bag. I recommend going for the chicken breasts that are already cut into tenderloins because it is much closer to a serving size. The whole chicken breasts can often be 2-3 servings in one. Defrost the chicken in the microwave for about 3 minutes and you’re ready to go (if you don’t have a defrost button, do 50% power). Frozen fish, turkey, fruits, and veggies are also fantastic. I buy the majority of my fruits and veggies frozen. Make sure you look to see that they were flash frozen so you’re getting as many nutrients as possible. Also make sure the only things in the ingredients are the fruit or veggie and water. Occasionally with meat, you’ll see a solution, just make sure it’s not added salt. 
• Check the per-ounce price! If your grocery store is like mine, next to the price on the shelf, it will have a per-ounce price. This makes it easy to see which product is giving you a better deal. If it doesn’t have the per-ounce price listed you can find it out by taking the price of each item and dividing it by the number of ounces.

Some items I recommend picking up:

• Spinach (excellent replacer of lettuce in your life. Almost the exact same taste and texture, with tons more nutrients. Has almost 0 calories.)
• Cucumbers (cucumbers with hummus is one of my favorite snacks. They’re also great to add to sandwiches or wraps)
• Strawberries
• Tomatoes (any kind that you like)
• Sweet potatoes (seriously, if you don’t have these in your house, you need them ASAP. Loaded with nutrients and super delicious with a little honey.)
• Bananas (doesn’t everyone love bananas? They’re perfect for everything.)
• Lemon juice (so many uses and super cheap!)
• Low fat cottage cheese
• Non-fat plain and flavored Greek yogurt
• Reduced fat shredded cheese
• Natural peanut butter (I recommend Krema Smooth & Creamy. Ideally you want the only ingredient in your PB to be peanuts.)
• Whole wheat wraps (lower the calories, the better)
• Whole wheat English muffins
• Whole wheat spaghetti 
• Oatmeal
• Simple spaghetti sauce (Keep it simple. You should be able to recognize ALL the ingredients, and I don’t mean recognize them from science class.)
• Beans! (Specifically: Black, kidney, and garbanzo/chickpeas)
• Whole grain bread
• 99/1 Extra Lean ground turkey
• Chicken breasts (Ideally tenderloins and frozen)
• Hummus 
• Eggs (whatever your preference is fine)
• Frozen blueberries/strawberries/mangoes/whatever floats your boat
• Frozen broccoli/edamame/peas/also whatever floats your boat

I’m sure I’m forgetting quite a few things, but I’m trying to remember them quickly. I’m also sure I forgot a ton of tips that I’ll think of later, but that’s okay. This will at least give you an idea. I have a few other tip posts ideas I think I will post in the next few weeks or so. It’s important to note that I am nowhere near a professional, I just enjoy learning about these things and getting healthier for myself as well as sharing it with other people. I hope some of these tips help some of you. Also remember that the number of calories in a food does NOT determine how healthy it is for you. It is NOT all about calories, but about being good to your body. Counting calories can be helpful, but don’t let it take over your life. Diets don’t work, lifestyle changes do.