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Grocery Shopping The Healthy Menu Mailer Way
I have to admit, grocery shopping isn't exactly one of my
favorite things to do. In case you can't "hear" the sarcasm in
my voice, let me tell you that I'd rather be doing just about
anything other than grocery shopping. I tried delegating it to
my husband, but we usually end up eating peanut butter and jelly
sandwiches and potato chips when I do that. Since I can't avoid
grocery shopping, I found a few things that make it a more
pleasant and most importantly a faster process. I'd like to
share my grocery shopping tips with you.
1) Make a shopping list and stick to it. Making a list and
sticking to it will keep you from buying too much junk. Not only
will it encourage you and your family to stick to the new
healthy eating lifestyle, it will also save you some money on
your grocery bill.
Please apply common sense to this though. If you remember that
you forgot to put your baby's diapers on the list, by all means
get them. On the other hand, if you feel tempted to get the new
chocolate pie because there is a two for one sale, skip it. You
get the idea.
2) Eat a snack before you go grocery shopping. Never go grocery
shopping while you are hungry. You'll be much more tempted to
buy junk food and already prepared meals. You'll also end up
buying much more than you really need. Either go shopping right
after a meal, or eat a small snack before you go. Even eating a
piece of fruit and drinking a glass of water will keep you from
feeling hungry while you are in the store.
3) Avoid the aisles with the chips, snacks and candy. Don't
tempt yourself by going down the "junk food" aisles. You're only
human and the candy and snack manufacturers put a lot of money
into making their products as tempting and appealing as
possible. The easiest way to avoid having those items land in
your cart is to skip the aisles entirely. 4) Buy fresh meat and
produce whenever possible. Buy your meat and produce fresh
whenever possible. You'll get the most nutritional bang for your
buck that way. If there is something you either can't find
fresh, or it just doesn't look good, go with a frozen version.
The only exception to this is tomatoes, especially if you are
going to cook them anyway. Tomatoes loose their nutritional
value quickly after they are picked. If you are making tomato
sauce or are using them in a stew or soup, just stick with
canned tomatoes. They are canned immediately after they are
picked and contain more nutrients than a batch that has been
sitting in a truck for days.
5) Write your grocery list with your supermarket in mind. You
will make your shopping trip much easier and faster if you keep
the layout of your market in mind when you write your shopping
list. Think about the departments and isles you go through first
and put those items on your list. Mentally make your way through
the rest of the store adding your items to your list as you go.
You'll avoid backtracking for an item further down on your list
once you are in the store.
6) Clean veggies and herbs. Unpack and clean your vegetables and
herbs as soon as you get back from the store. Loosely wrap them
in some paper towels and stick them in a Ziploc bag. They'll be
ready to use when your recipes call for them.
7) To freeze or not to freeze? Portion your meat out depending
on how much each recipe calls for. Keep what you will be using
over the next two days in the fridge and freeze the rest. With
hamburger meat, you may want to freeze any portions you are not
using the day you bought them.
You'll see that by implementing even just a few of these tips,
your shopping experience will be more pleasant and most
importantly more efficient. You'll spend less time in the
supermarket and more time enjoying your family.
About the author:
Susanne Myers together with Christine Steendahl, owns and
publishes the Healthy Menu Mailer. Each week, we provide you
with 7 dinner recipes. Sign up for a free sample menu at
http://www.healthymenumailer.com/sample-newsletter-signup.html
Written by: Susanne Myers
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