Three Tips for Healthier Grocery Shopping

The foods you choose to eat do make a difference in your health. One of the easiest ways to eat healthier is shop healthier.

You probably already use several smart grocery shopping strategies such as:
-Preparing a list ahead of time
-Avoiding shopping when you are hungry
-Leaving the impulse shoppers home

Shopping with a plan saves time, money and energy. Shopping with a plan can also enhance your nutrition when you plan to shop healthy. Here are three simple ideas to improve the nutritional value of the food you put into your grocery cart:

1. Shop the perimeter. Take a moment and visualize the layout of your favorite grocery store. Most stores have the fresh produce, dairy, breads, meats & fish around the outside of the store, right? When you select these fresh items you are choosing the least refined foods and, in general, the most nutritious.

2. Walk only as far as you need. If you need an item in the middle of an aisle, head into that aisle as you walk by. Go only as far as the item you need and then back out of the aisle. Ignore the food products displayed at the end of the aisle products demanding your attention, too.

3. Avoid food coupons. Most coupons come from the processed food manufacturers. In general, more highly refined foods are lower in genuine nutrition.

Shopping with a plan to stay healthy improves the choices you make about the items you put into your shopping basket. When you take healthier foods home you are more likely to put healthier foods into your body.