Buying Healthy Foods at the Grocery Store
June 5th, 2007 | 
Author: 
The local grocery store is a great place to find healthy, nutritious foods. Unfortunately, it is also a place to find less healthy foods and many junk foods. Learning how to follow a healthy lifestyle means learning how to shop for the healthiest foods, and learning how to avoid temptation.
Learning to read labels is an important skill for any healthy shopper. The information on nutritional labels is very valuable, providing complete information on the percentage of many vitamins and minerals a particular food contains. In addition, nutritional information labels provide valuable information on things like the amount of calories, number of at grams, percentage of total fat and amount of fiber each food contains. It is important to choose those foods that have the best nutritional qualities as you roam the local grocery store.
There are some important guidelines to follow to make sure that every trip to the grocery store will be a healthy experience. After all, you cannot have a healthy refrigerator or a healthy dinner table without first stocking your kitchen pantry with the healthiest foods available.
One of the best pieces of advice is probably something you have heard a million times, and that is to never go grocery shopping when you are hungry. Even if it means stopping for a quick snack on your way, it is important to not enter the supermarket while you are hungry. Hungry shoppers make bad choices, and those unhealthy choices will be around long after your hunger has abated.
Another good trick is to hit the produce section of your grocery store first. Fill up your food basket with healthy, nutritious fruits and vegetables. Not only will this allow you to stock the fridge and the pantry with healthy choices, but it will leave less room for all those less healthy foods.
It is also important to always make a detailed shopping list before hitting the grocery store. A well thought out grocery list keeps you from overspending, and also helps keep you from succumbing to the temptation of less healthy junk foods. To keep a detailed list of what you need on your next shopping list, try keeping a notepad by the fridge or on the dining room table. Write down each item as you think of it, and come shopping day, you will have a complete list of everything you need to buy.
As you shop around the grocery store, it is a good idea to take advantage of the many low fat foods that fill grocery store shelves. There are low at varieties of many foods, including milk and dairy products, meats and cheeses, even cakes and pies. Most of these products contain all the taste of the full fat products, without all the fat.
When shopping for low fat foods, however, be on the lookout for extra sugar content. This is not so much a concern with milk and dairy products, but it is sometimes a concern with low fat baked goods. Some manufacturers pack their low fat baked goods with extra sugar, so it pays to be a smart label reader.
As long as you watch sugar content, however, low fat desserts and sweets are excellent choices. When grocery shopping, try to choose naturally lower fat alternatives, such as angel food cake, fig bars and vanilla wafers. Buying smaller portion sizes is another smart strategy for enjoying sweets while limiting fat and calories.
Another smart strategy is to choose whole grain breads and cereals whenever possible. Whole grains contain more fiber and other nutrients than do more processed foods, so buying whole grains makes a lot of sense.
When shopping for the healthiest cereals in the grocery store, it is helpful to understand how the cereal aisle of the typical grocery store is arranged. Shelf space at a grocery store is in high demand and short supply, and cereal manufacturers take advantages of this fact in their store shelf marketing. In general, the less healthy, sugar laden cereals are arranged at kid height, while the more adult, healthier products are on the top shelves.
That is one reason why your kids are always trying to put those sugar cubes disguised as cereal in your cart as you shop. Choosing the healthier cereals from the top shelves is a good strategy, but it is still important to read the labels to make sure you are getting what you think you are.
Posted in Eat Healthier
July 31st, 2009 7:44 am
Nice that people finally realize that organic food is best of all. Junk food must dissapear!
September 15th, 2009 8:56 pm
Your right, there’s almost more bad things in the grocery store than healthy foods. And I frequently make the mistake of going grocery shopping hungry which makes it that much harder with those foods to avoid. You’ve got some good tips here I will be working on
Rebecca
March 29th, 2010 1:44 pm
Nice post, thx i search in google find yeour blog …
April 18th, 2010 3:23 pm
Hi, with this article i was inspired to eat healthy foods. My Mom always scolded me because I only eat fried fried and fried that’s why i have a very dry skin and yellowish eyes
Regards,
Lea Risa
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April 23rd, 2010 12:59 am
The reason that all grocery stores put the basic and most important foods at the end of the store is to tease you to buy more while you are walking.
So making a shopping list is definitely a very good tip.
May 2nd, 2010 10:50 pm
Thx Karen, nice informations.
May 7th, 2010 6:36 am
Thanks for the heads up.
Max
May 7th, 2010 2:52 pm
Some nite points here, and im the same as rebecca i always seem to go shopping hungry which usually ends with junk food haha
May 18th, 2010 12:09 pm
Great guide how to buy healthy foods at the grocery store, you’re the best Karen!
May 24th, 2010 12:17 am
Nice post! organic foods is really important for our health!
May 25th, 2010 1:09 pm
Someone suggested to me the other day that I don’t buy any food that is processed. I looked around but couldn’t find anything except fruit and veg. any ideas?
May 26th, 2010 12:07 am
You hit the nail on the head: “don’t go shopping when you’re hungry.”
May 29th, 2010 12:53 pm
Everybody should go for organic food. I liked this post. I will share with my friends.
June 2nd, 2010 6:24 pm
Alot of foods are processed to some degree.
White meat is alot healthier for you than red meat, however if you are looking to eat healthily, avoid eating the skin, even though it is tasty!
Alot of foods, even those unhealthy can be enjoyed providing it is done in moderation. I have a friend who can eat and eat, all the wrong foods yet doesn’t change in body shape or size.
As the poster said, sticking to low fat & low sugar foods are best, wholemeal bread/pasta/rice is mucher better than the white variants.
My partner makes a great dish of chicken covered in philadelphia low fat herb & cheese spread, cooked with mushrooms and poured over. This is ridiculously easy to make, although i don’t know the sugar content of the spread.
Jacket potatoes with tuna and mayonnaise light is also another good meal. You can also buy low fat cheese from many supermarkets as an alternative to normal cheese.
June 7th, 2010 2:37 pm
I used to eat a lot of fruit and nut bars but looked at the ingredients recently and have realized that they contain so much sugar.
June 9th, 2010 12:56 am
thanks for the informative blog. i’ve always been one of those people who just settle for fast food but now no way! i’m trying to get into this healthy diet and i’m very excited to start. thank you soo much for these tips!
June 13th, 2010 11:11 pm
Great article, If people would spend as much time and effort on what they put into there bodies as the time spent in the gym….
June 17th, 2010 3:24 am
Thanks for share this information.
June 20th, 2010 6:27 pm
Good and nice tips.thank Karen
July 2nd, 2010 1:19 pm
Organic food is the best food for your stomach XD
We in Russia all love only frash veg. and fruets.
July 7th, 2010 2:00 am
nice info, its very important for me
July 24th, 2010 7:18 am
When I go to a grocery to buy stuff it always pass my eyes the nutritious foods on their display. After reading your blog I will see to it that I’ve got some nutritious foods on my list. Thanks.
July 26th, 2010 6:45 pm
I have stopped going grocery shopping when I am hungry. It has allowed me to reduce the junk food that I bring in my home. And, I have dropped several pounds over the course of a couple of months. Anyway, it is tough trying to buy healthy food because the selection is slim. But I try to stay focused and stick to my grocery list.
August 6th, 2010 7:31 pm
Good, but before searching healthy foods you have to know about healthy foods firstly.
August 12th, 2010 5:55 am
Healthy food is crucial to extending your overall lifespan
August 12th, 2010 5:56 am
I agree,the grocery store can be very tempting.
August 12th, 2010 5:01 pm
Great tips,Karen. For me and my family whole grain breads and cereals is one of the staple in our shopping list. ALso organic and fresh produce ( as much as we can). My Dad has diabetes and I don’t want that for me coz it’s such a painful and fatal disease.As they say health is wealth.
August 17th, 2010 4:31 pm
Many of the major grocery stores in Toronto have an aisle dedicated to healthy or organic foods. Another issue that really bothers me is all the food with added sugar that really doesn’t need sugar. Sometimes its hard to find a jar of salsa that doesn’t have sugar added. Why do I need sugar in spicy salsa… I’m not sure!! But I’ve found a couple salsa brands without sugar.
August 18th, 2010 11:41 pm
Thanks for share this information..
August 22nd, 2010 1:15 pm
I agree with everything you outlined in the article, specially with the part of never going to the supermarket while you’re hungry. When I do that I usually buy a lot of crap.
Starting to fill your cart with healthy foods is also a great tip. That way, everytime you look at junk food, you’ll remember all the good food that you already have in your cart and will feel bad just by thinking about buying crap. Believe me, it works. I always feel bad.
August 27th, 2010 10:17 pm
Can I buy on the internet
September 13th, 2010 9:18 am
Nice blog. I learn a lot of foods are processed to some degree.
October 2nd, 2010 11:29 pm
I would stay completely away from the groecery store!
October 23rd, 2010 10:37 pm
I have been looking for good suggestions on natural health and think that your site is a good source of information. It is not easy to search for reliable recommendations on the Web, but I think I can put this to use! If you have any more reliable recommendations, please let me know. Thanks a million!
November 3rd, 2010 1:08 pm
I guess one simple solution is to buy fresh fruit and vegetables, and meat, anything processed or in a box has a far higher change of being no good. With artifical junk being pumped into just about everything, the supermarket is becoming somewhat of a junkfood outlet…
December 20th, 2010 4:53 pm
this is very nice post and very useful. I will definetely bookmark your website.Thank you.
January 6th, 2011 8:58 pm
Yea, if you think about it healthy food only makes up a small percentage of the grocery store. I would say less than 25%.
Thanks for the post.
January 20th, 2011 9:47 am
I do not buy from large stores. I prefer to shop in the small grocery, butcher and even the health food shop as I can buy biscuits and cereals loose and fresh. Oh and I go to the candle stick maker too. True!
April 12th, 2011 7:35 pm
Thanks for sharing this info
July 24th, 2011 8:57 am
Another informative topic which we must know. This is absolutely true.. I agree. Buying nutritious food at the grocery sometimes tricky. Instead of buying those nutritious food in your list, taking those junk food in your minds lists is done instead.
August 28th, 2011 10:11 pm
Many many great open food markets in Southern CA. I’m blessed!