Let's make one thing very clear: I HATE grocery shopping. I get these car-carts that have a steering wheel for each of the kids, and it entertains them for about 15 minutes and after that it's all "Don't touch me.... stop poking me....MOM!!!!!"
However, I do love providing healthy, wholesome meals for myself and for my family. I have a system now that helps me pick great recipes to try and helps me get in and out of the grocery store relatively quickly.
So, first thing's first!
Meal Planning
The very first thing I do is decide how many meals I need to shop for. I make two big shopping trips a month, so I figure out how many meals I need to last until my next trip. After I know how many meals I need, I start picking recipes. I use pinterest, Beachbody, random searches, facebook, Tasty's Facebook page, etc. and hunt down healthy stuff I'd like to try along with old favorites. I estimate how many meals each of them will provide. Then I make sure I have enough dishes/meals to last until the next time I go shopping.
I don't personally schedule my meals on certain days and I don't prep it all at once on one day. I just know about how many meals I need and I tend to cook whatever is most perishable first. If I bought something that uses a lot of fresh produce, I use that first to avoid the produce going bad before I use it.
I pick meals that are mostly from-scratch and utilize lower-calorie, lean ingredients. I often tweak recipes to be a little healthier. I don't make a lot of carb-heavy foods like pizza, pasta, or "bready" foods. I try to go for things that are full of veggies and lean protein. So when you see those tempting pinterest recipes that utilize packaged dried salad dressing or processed sauces, or tater tots, or casseroles that use pre-made foods in them, I say avoid them!!!!
Making the Shopping List
I first list all the ingredients I need for my meals. Then I add lots of salad stuff since that is almost always what I have for lunch. I add things I need for my kid's lunches (usually simple and something easily repeated... sandwhiches, organic mac and cheese, chicken, taco stuff, etc.) plus healthy kid snacks including lots of fresh fruit, baby carrots, hummus, and anything else that is somewhat healthy that I can think of. My kids are bottomless pits so having lots of healthy snacks on hand is a must! I tend to buy a lot of plain oats and eggs and avoid breakfast cereal. I buy it for my kids to have but I don't eat cereal at all anymore.
I then check the fridge for staples I need more of; eggs, milk, butter, condiments, etc and I add those too. Try to make your list very healthy. I know that seems obvious but think about what you're adding. Are you buying tons of processed coffee creamer? Soda? Chips and salty snacks? Juice? Those are nutritionally worthless. Learn to be mindful of what you're consuming and think of food as fuel.
I make my grocery list in excel. I'm super nerdy like that. I break it down by area of the store, so "Shelf-stable packaged, Other, Produce, Dairy, Frozen, Meat". I shop roughly in that order so that my cold, perishable items are in my cart last and therefore less likely to spoil.
Shopping
I highly recommend resisting the urge to buy extras. If you buy unhealthy junk, you're much more likely to feel tempted to eat it. If it's readily available and it sounds good, you're going to break. Do yourself a favor and just don't even have it in the house.
Shop the perimeter of the store. Get lots of fresh produce, meats, dairy, etc. and try to shop less in the inner aisles which had more processed foods. When you do shop the inner aisles, try to opt for things that are somewhat healthier. Think whole grain, fewer ingredients, less sodium, less sugar, etc. For instance, think of peanut butter. There are a bazillion different kinds. Look at the label. It should say something like "Peanuts, salt." and that's IT. It shouldn't have hydrogenated oil or sugars added. Peanut butter can and should be very basic. Make the better choice and choose the most basic, less-processed version. It might be slightly more expensive, but it's worth it! You will get used to less sugar and less processed-food. Your body will thank you!
Check these labels out. The first is from JIF peanut butter... you know... "choosy moms choose Jif". Yea, right!
Even things like soy milk, almond milk, etc. are tricky. Opt for "unsweetened". The kind with sugar added can pack a LOT more calories that are totally unnecessary. At first, cutting out most added sugar will be hard. It will taste different. I promise it's worth it though. These hidden sugars are bad news and they really add up!
Beware of Marketing!!!!!
Companies want their products to be attractive to you and they will do ANYTHING to make their products look appealing and healthy. Don't fall for it! Labels like "fat free", "low-fat", "Sugar-free", etc. do NOT mean a product is healthy. Also, unless you have specific reasons why to avoid gluten, dairy or meat products, do not assume "gluten free", "vegan" or "vegetarian" mean it is healthier. Often they can contain more calories and fat and are often just as processed as the "regular" kind.
Get familiar with how to read a nutrition label. How much sugar is in it? How many carbs? Protein? Calories? Fat? What kind of fat? Learn what these things are and how to tell how much you should be eating. Again, be aware of the actual ingredient list. If there are a bunch of things you can't pronounce in it, chances are it isn't good for you. Try checking out My Fitness Pal to track how much you should be consuming of all of those, it's free!!!
Moral of the story: don't believe the packaging. The proof is in the pudding. Hah, see what I did there?
Try to make it fun! Experiment with new recipes, explore foods you've never tried. You will be surprised at how delicious and fulfilling healthy food is!!! Happy Shopping!!!!
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