“The odds of going to the store for a loaf of bread and coming out with only a loaf of bread are 3 Billion to 1.” — Erma Bombeck

Well, how many times do you actually go out to buy just a loaf of bread! Add eggs, milk, cola, chocolate, chips and there you go; your well-thought-of sandwich becomes a home-made happy meal! Only equally calories and sodium laden. There is no other way to begin a healthy life but healthy and smart shopping. It is always preferable to look out for products that are wholesome and provide with nutrients. Most importantly, food should be a pleasurable experience. If you are not enjoying your meals because you feel deprived or bored, your diet is not right for you; Try out different foods, and as long as you’re eating healthy, there is no one right diet, or way to eat.

1. Never go shopping when you are feeling hungry!

That is very first rule of healthy shopping. This will help prevent impulse buying – usually something junk – to satisfy your hunger.
Find this awesome The Oatmeal comic here.

2. Buy organic fruits and vegetables whenever you can and if possible, locally grown at local farmers markets

Locally grown fruits and vegetables are less likely to have been sprayed with pesticides and chemicals. It’s also a great way to support local farmers. People worldwide are rediscovering the benefits of buying local food. It is fresher than anything in the supermarket and that means it is tastier and more nutritious. It is also good for your local economy–buying directly from family farmers helps them stay in business. Here is a great link to find one near you.

3. Know your super market

You would find in most supermarkets, the fresh foods (the produce, the meats, fish, eggs) are displayed on the outer aisles and processed foods on the inside. Since processed foods have preservatives that extend their shelf life, you should wander around on the outside for most part of your shopping trip.

4. Color up your shopping cart

Do you remember the Antioxidant post, featured earlier, that talked about antioxidants in our food? The darker the food, more antioxidants it has. Therefore, just blindly, fill up your cart with the most colorful fruits and vegetables you can find; the more varied the colors, the better. Remember, the Yellow bell peppers, Blue Berries, Red Spinach, Black Olives, Green Beans and more! This way you will get as many different phyto-nutrients and antioxidants as possible.

5. Labels are important; Don’t ignore them

Become a label reader – though most of the foods in your shopping cart shouldn’t have labels. If you do buy packaged or boxed foods, know what is in them. And following another rule, if there are ingredients that you cannot recognize, pronounce or spell, you should not be putting those into your cart and body.

6. Look for all forms hidden Sugar on the label

Cartoon by Mike Adams at Natural News
Yes, labels aren’t what they should say always. A variety of different versions of refined sugars are often used to trick you into thinking that there is not much sugar in the product. Here are some of the different versions of refined sugar – cane sugar, brown sugar, beet sugar, date sugar, grape sugar, glucose, sucrose, maltose, maltodextrin, dextran, dextrose, sorbitol, corn syrup, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, corn sugar, fruit juice, fruit juice concentrate, barley malt, caramel, carob syrup and sorghum syrup. I would be especially be wary of an “all natural” label. Although an all natural way of eating is duly recommended, “all natural” on a label is often meaningless and deceptive and a guise for hidden sugars.

Carefully go through the amount of sugar on a label – 4 grams is equivalent to 1 teaspoon. Always opt for foods that contain 3 grams or less.

7. How to choose your meat

In the growing era of going vegetarian, meat has become a debatable produce. Always keep an eye on grass feds meats and free range chickens. Organic meats and poultry without hormones would be next best and if you cannot find them, then chose lean cuts of meats and remove the skin from chicken as this is where toxins are stored. Same applies for the fish; Discard fish that list a high mercury content. Ocean caught fish will be generally better than farm raised fish which are usually full of PCB’s.

It’s not entirely impossible to stay away from junk food and live a healthy lifestyle. All we need to do is a smart trip to the supermarket and your husband might even find it interesting.