Guidelines for Healthy Food Shopping

Navigating a grocery store can be intimidating at times, but don’t get overwhelmed. Use this guide to help you put the healthiest foods into your cart and onto your table. 

Plan ahead
Before you start a journey, you need to have a plan. Planning helps you create balanced meals and saves time. Plan your weekly meals and snacks and write a list before venturing out to the store. Once at the store, stick to your list and avoid all of the marketing ploys throughout the store, such as end-of-aisle displays and “buy one get one free” promotions. You will save time, money, and leave with a cart full of healthy options. 

Shop the perimeter
Healthier foods like fruits, vegetables, eggs, dairy, meats, and poultry are typically found around the perimeter of the store. The less healthy, processed foods are found in the aisles and on the end-of-aisle displays. Shopping primarily around the perimeter will help you make healthier choices.

​Shop on a full stomach 
When you are hungry, your cravings for fat, sugar, and salt increase and make shopping for healthy foods more difficult. I personally want to buy and eat everything at the store if I shop when hungry. And when you are waiting in line to pay for your groceries, it is even more tempting with the candy and very processed beef jerky taunting you -calling out to be eaten. Before heading to the grocery store, eat a healthy snack that contains protein, such as an apple with almond butter,  to keep your blood sugar levels stable to help resist the urge of ripping open and eating the entire package of unhealthy foodstuffs. Oh yes, it has been done before.

Read labels
Reading the labels on products we buy helps us make the best choice possible for our health and the health of those we love. Having this knowledge allows us to make informed decisions on what we are buying and putting into our bodies. Avoid products that have trans-fats, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, nitrates, and food dyes. These additives have been linked with certain chronic diseases, like heart disease and some cancers. Be sure that the products you consume have enough dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Eating enough of these nutrients can improve your health and help reduce the risk of disease.  

Great. So, what are the best choices in each section of the grocery store?

Produce - Choose seasonal and organic fruits and veggies when possible. Opt for a rainbow of colors in your produce to maximize your nutrient intake.

Meat/Poultry - Choose organic, grass-fed meat and poultry.

Dairy - Choose grass-fed and full-fat versions of dairy that are antibiotic and hormone free.

Eggs - Pasture-raised, local eggs are best, but cage-free, organic is also a good option. 

Seafood - Wild fish is best. Farm raised is not recommended.

Fats - Avocados; olives; grass-fed, organic butter; bacon fat from grass-fed pork; ghee

Oils - Organic, cold-pressed olive oil; organic, raw coconut oil

Other products to stock in your pantry. Buy organic when possible.

Herbs & spices (some are found in both fresh and dried forms): annatto, basil, bay leaf, cayenne, chili powder, cilantro, cinnamon, dill, fennel, garlic, ginger, mint, nutmeg, onion powder, oregano, peppermint, rosemary, saffron, sage, sea salt, thyme, turmeric, vanilla

Canned & jarred: capers, coconut milk, coconut water, olives, pickles, pumpkin, wild salmon, sardines, tahini, tomato sauce, tomato paste 

Nuts & seeds: (keep cold - I store mine in the refrigerator) almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, walnuts 

Beverages: water (can flavor with lemon, mint, or cucumber), herbal tea, green tea

Sweets: cocoa powder, coconut, dates, honey, maple syrup (grade B), dark chocolate

​Source: Sanfilippo, D. (2012). Practical paleo. Las Vegas: Victory Belt Publishing. 

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