Sunday, September 22nd marked the start of Fall, thus putting an end to swimsuit season. Don’t let your wardrobe decide when you should eat well and workout. Instead, continue your healthy eating habits with these grocery shopping tips from George Zoitas.
George Zoitas, CEO of Westside Market NYC, suggests people implement these 6 guidelines while at the grocery store, in order to ensure carts are filled with healthy and nutritious products:
- Make a plan! At the beginning of the week take the time to sit down and plan your meals. This will both help you get a better understanding of exactly what food you need to buy, but it also lets you see what food groups you’re eating for each meal; this gives you the opportunity to change meal plans to incorporate certain foods or food groups.
- Buy fresh food. Fresh food is always better, but don’t let this discourage you from buying frozen foods. Frozen vegetables have all the nutrients locked inside and are just as good as the fresh vegetables in the produce aisle.
- Shop on a full stomach. If you grocery shop on an empty stomach, you’re more likely to give into cravings and buy things that you wouldn’t normally buy. Try eating or having a small snack before attending the grocery store, if you’re in a rush just grab a bottle of water.
- Buy in-season. If you buy in-season, it means that produce is coming from a local area so it is bound to be both cheaper and tastier.
- Let the store do the work for you. If you are the type of person who is crunched for time, cleaning and chopping vegetables and fruit may be too time-consuming. Instead, buy fruits and vegetables that are pre-cut to make it easier to fit healthy foods into your busy schedule.
- Shop the entire store. Many people have said you should only shop the perimeter of the store because that is where the healthy food is located, but no areas of the store should be off-limits! Shopping the aisles you can find healthy alternatives such as whole grain products along with things such as canned beans.
Great tips! I thought the shopping the whole store rather than just the perimeter was an interesting one- I’d never heard of either of those tips before.