We all know that meal prepping begins with buying our groceries, but it can sometimes seem intimidating! Here, you’ll find some of our tried and true tips for healthy grocery shopping.  Are we missing anything?  Feel free to comment with your favorite tips below!

The most common mistakes to avoid:

1. Don’t get lured into the next latest and greatest marketing campaign. If it says “healthy” or “natural,” that means nothing. Do not be fooled by the face of the product, you still need to read the ingredients. They are listed in order of highest quantity to least amount in the product. Labels are for marketing, which is meant to grab your attention to get you to buy it.

2. Trying to save money is being, “penny wise, dollar foolish,” or should I say, health foolish. Do not make the mistake of buying products on sale or with coupons that you would not normally buy. You may be enticed by a sale when you don’t actually need that product. I’m not saying to avoid a sale; I am simply saying that you should only buy it if it was your original intention.

3. Don’t buy something out of the healthy or organic section of a store without reading the ingredients. You just can’t trust the section itself; or the entire store for that matter. You must still read the label. The rule of thumb is to not buy food that you cannot pronounce the ingredients. Simple natural food is always best. Just because it’s at a health food store doesn’t mean it is healthy. You still need to be mindful of processed foods and how many organic cookies you ingest. A cookie is still a cookie. By the way, I’m not saying you can’t have an occasional treat, it’s just that the word “occasional” is sometimes mistreated.

4. You also must buy good quality meat, fish, and dairy, if using at all. The chemicals are more condensed in these products. Don’t try to save here. You’re looking for meats that are free from antibiotics, hormones and factory farming. How the animal is raised and slaughtered is important because it transfers to your body. What you eat becomes your cells. I would also suggest that you treat meat as a condiment, meaning eat very little.

5. Shop the perimeter of the store. That is where the fresh food is. All of the living food is always along the outer edges of the store. The processed food that has a longer shelf life is found in the aisles. I recommend that you go to the store with a shopping list and only visit the aisles with your list.

6. Don’t impulse buy unless you are in the produce aisle. Never impulse buy at the register. Those items are there for a reason. While standing in line waiting, you may just get lured by that candy bar or sugar-coated peanuts. If you must pass the time, pick up a magazine instead, or ask someone near you how their day is and share a smile.

7. Don’t shop hungry. You may end up breaking all of these rules just because hunger clouds your better judgment.  This is one of my favorite tips for healthy grocery shopping!

8. Plan your meals on a weekly meal calendar. This will save you money and keep you organized.

9. Shop with a list. Shopping with a list puts the intention of what you’re going to buy in writing, making it more difficult to impulse buy or buy things that are not healthy.

For further help, email me at Sherri@WellnessCookingAcademy.com

Need a meal plan? Check out my 12 Week Cookbook, The Cookin’ Yogi’s, More Energy, Less Waist on Amazon.

Bon Healthy Appetite!  – Sherri Mraz

Don’t fall prey to marketing. Companies have experts working on how to lure you into buying their products. You must have a line of defense. Knowledge has power.