Are you in the market to shop for your family’s food? If you are, it is advisable that you think about how those food stuffs you place in your grocery cart affect your family’s health. Aside from that, you should also consider how these food choices will influence your children’s mind-set about nutritious foods.
So before paying for your groceries, take some time to scrutinize first the things loaded in your cart. Did you put in healthy foods? Or you just filled it with processed foods containing additives and preservatives as well as drinks that are less or not healthy at all?
Parents who want to provide their family with a healthy diet should begin checking up their grocery list. Whether you want to eat healthy for the purpose of weight loss, or you merely want good nutrition for your family, you should start changing the types of food you are purchasing. Here are some tips on shopping for healthy foods:
• Make a Shopping List
This is one of the most significant things you should bring along when shopping for food. This will keep you on the right track especially if you formulated the list from your meal plan. Since your purpose is to provide your family with a healthy diet, your menus for the week must be made of nutritious ingredients like fruits and vegetables, lean meats, fresh fish, poultry, dairy products, and whole grains. You can also include several raw foods and healthy snacks to perk up your kid’s appetite.
• Follow a Good Path When Shopping
This is a good strategy if you really want to spend your shopping budget wisely. The first area you must go to are the aisles where the healthiest foods are placed. Lean meats, fresh fish, and dairy product are usually found in the same area of the grocery stores. Then, go to the aisles where you’ll find fruits and vegetables, whole grains, cereals, baking supplies, and sauces. Then make the sections for less healthy foods your last drop-off point. This will reduce your chance of overdoing it on unhealthy processed foods and snacks.
• Shop at Food Co-ops and Local farmers’ markets
These are the best areas where you can find the freshest produce. Foods from these sources are usually safe because food co-ops usually sell produce that are pesticide-free and organically-grown.
• Find out What Produce are In-Season
No matter where you’re going to shop, it’s better to know first the fruits and veggies that are in season. Shopping for in-season produce is usually a great deal not just in taste but also in price. One thing to remember, though, avoid buying more than your family can eat.
• Choose Fruits and Vegetables Carefully
If you aren’t given the chance to personally pick those fruits and vegetables, then at least be careful enough in selecting what to buy. Fruits and vegetables do give a clue about their condition so it will be way easy for you to determine if they are fresh and ripe. When choosing vegetables, pick the ones that are firm and crisp. Do not get those with signs of decay. For fruits, avoid getting ones with bruises.
For the past 10 years Marilyn Reid has been active as an advocate for Alternative Health Therapies, with an emphasis on healthy living and raw food diets. Marilyn has been fascinated with the work of the Healthy Lifestyle Nutritionist and Guru, David Wolfe and has a blog which keeps up with the latest in the world of Healthy Lifestyle. Visit her blog at http://healthyfoodrawdiet.com
