Food shopping is one of those things that we all do but that no one really talks about. I’ve got some tips that you’re going to want to put into practice for your next haul:

Plan Ahead!

You’ve heard me mention this last month with the January health habits list, but it deserves to be shouted from the roof tops! Without planning, you’re putting your entire week of meals at risk. That may sound dramatic, but hear me out: without knowing what you want to make for the week, you won’t have a clear grocery list. Without a clear grocery list, you will be left to wander the aisles of the grocery store and either overspend on unnecessary items or will not be prepared to create full, balanced meals each day.

Whatever your goal may be (body fat reduction, muscle gain, making better food choices, etc.), it is dependent on how well you plan and prepare.

Tips:

• Take 15-20 minutes out of your day to find some recipes online that feel doable for you. Make sure you plan for leftovers to make your life easier.
• Identify the items that you don’t have on-hand that you’ll need from the store, and create a list.
• Categorize that list by the sections in the grocery store to make it most efficient for you. (I can’t be the only person who forgets an item across the entire store and decides to forgo it because it’s too far to circle back…)

Eat before you go!

I’m sure you’ve heard this one before, but do you follow this rule?
Never go to the store under-nourished.

With blood sugar low, it’ll be harder for you to make sensible decisions, and you may throw things into the cart that you wouldn’t otherwise. When your stomach is growling, just about everything sounds good.

When you haven’t eaten for a while, you are likely more irritable and sensitive to the environment around you. There’s no reason to make the shopping trip more of a negative experience.

Stick to the perimeter!

If there is one thing that I’m constantly preaching to my clients, it’s that the packaged food industry is getting more and more confusing by the day. Buzz words are thrown around on packaging that makes it difficult for consumers to identify what is “healthy”. (Think: “All natural”, “sugar free”, “gluten free”, “superfood”, “plant based” etc.)

Many of these packaged goods have a huge list of ingredients which usually = highly processed. Can you guess what foods are not highly processed? Whole foods, like vegetables and protein sources. These foods are always found on the outer aisles of the grocery store.

If you do venture down the inner aisles, do so with intent. Find what you’re looking for, and keep moving.

It’s a business, after all.

Grocery stores make the most profit when you’re buying more. These businesses will pull out all the stops to get you to flow through each aisle and pick up the most products. This also means offering you big, spacious carts to fill, and playing into your senses to get you to buy.

The next time you head to the store, keep these tips in mind and see how much easier it is to eat well throughout the week.