Grocery Shopping Mistakes
- Running your Errand on an Empty Stomach. When our schedules are busy, it is not always realistic to plan grocery trips around meals but we can control our hunger in the aisles. If it has been 2-3 hours since you last ate, plan a satisfying snack before you get to the store. Whether you have some back-up trail mix or a fiber bar, it will keep your blood sugar from dropping and your hands from grabbing a chocolate bar. Chances are if you have ever went food shopping with a growling stomach, your cart had cookies, ice cream, chips, or other empty calorie items you would not plan to buy.
- Forgetting to Glance in Your Pantry. How many times have you came home to find you now have 5 cans of beans or 3 boxes of pasta? Sometimes the opposite, you have no milk but thought you had enough to get through the week. You don’t need to make an inventory list but double check to see what items are building up and which are essential. In addition, if there are items you rarely use it would be a good time to look up recipes the include them in order to clean house and start fresh.
- Not Bringing a List or Pen to the Store. Have the mind set to buy the food on your list and avoid straying eyes. If a new food is calling your name, write it down and put in on the list for your next trip. This way you have time to decide if you want it and can look up ways to include it in your meal prep. Think preparing a list is too time consuming, try My Grocery Checklist or Grocery Wiz to click, create, and print your own custom list.
- Obsessing over Food Labels. If you are not sure what you are looking for, the food label can seem like a foreign language. Consult a dietitian or do some research on product comparison at home, not at the food store. It will give you more time to think about the focus for your health overall; types of fat, fiber, vitamins and minerals, protein, etc. There is so much information on the web that it can be overwhelming, a dietitian can help you sift through and find the best option for your family.
- Not Buying Fresh Produce for Fear it Will Spoil. You cannot get more nutritious than fresh fruits and vegetables. They should be staples in your home. Just like you need to learn how to garden, you should learn about which foods will freeze well or how things should be stored to optimize their fresh quality. Even the best food planning can get thrown off schedule. If you see some fruits sitting for too long, freeze them. They can be blended with yogurt later for a cold, refreshing shake.
Tags: , Food, Grocery store, Meal, Vegetable
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