Do you plan your grocery list before heading to the market, or are you an on-the-fly shopper? Meal planning for the week–for your family or even just yourself–can feel daunting. How do we create healthy, nutritious, delicious meals while sticking to a budget? And choosing what to eat is only the first hurdle: it can feel overwhelming to navigate large supermarket aisles, packed with tempting highly processed snacks and treats, and offering multiple versions of the same products, while sticking to your pre-planned grocery list and budget. To ease the supermarket stress that affects us all, here are a couple of tips from The Sylvia Center to keep your wallet full, your shopping cart healthy and your spirit calm and ready to tackle your next meal prep session:
- Stick to the perimeter of the store. This is where you will find your fresh produce, meats, fish, dairy, bread and eggs. Supermarkets place processed foods with lower nutritional value in the middle aisles.
- Be mindful that foods marketed to children are placed in supermarkets at children’s eye-level, which may influence them to reach out for a product. If you’re shopping with your kids, come armed with distractions or enlist their help in finding the shiniest apple, or the most orange carrot!
- Look at the unit price of a food, rather than the tag price, to determine which item is cheaper. The unit price is the total cost divided by quantity (for example, if juice is $1.65 for 10 oz, then it is $0.165 cents per oz). This helps you to effectively compare prices when choosing between brands.
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Check out generic supermarket brands for basic items. Own-brand items like flour, sugar or canned items are often more affordable.
- Watch out for misleading advertising, including words like ‘natural’, ‘fresh’ or ‘gourmet’. These terms have no standardized definitions in the US. Always check nutrition and ingredients labels.
- Choose whole grain cereals and bread. Whole grains contain all the essential parts and natural nutrients of the grain seed. Whole grain foods are packed with healthful nutrients and fiber, which can help with heart health, blood pressure and also keep you fuller for longer. Make sure to check the ingredient label to see if whole grains are listed first.
- Canned and frozen produce is a nutritious and convenient way to eat a variety of vegetables year-round. Where possible, limit canned foods with added sugar and salt.
- Buying in bulk is smart. Bulk pantry ingredients are almost always cheaper than smaller packets, and have long shelf lives. Only buy bulk fresh produce and meat if you have a plan to use it or store it appropriately (freeze, canning, etc).
- Seasonal produce is often cheaper, especially when you’re buying locally. This may differ in cities, where farmer’s markets can be expensive.
Grocery shopping should be fun! We hope these tips will help you fine-tune your meal-planning, and encourage you to choose foods that speak to both your health and cravings. There’s a balance to finding nourishment in feeding ourselves and that includes both incorporating nutrient-dense, satiating fruits, vegetables and whole grains–and also allowing yourself other foods that speak to you as an individual.
