Planning a weekly menu

If you prefer, you can bring a weekly menu to the store instead of a regular shopping list. This menu can list which ingredients you need to make the meals you’d like to cook the week ahead.

For example, if you’re a fan of meal prepping, try printing out the recipes you’re planning to make. Then, simply shop off of the ingredient lists.

Keep in mind that if you’re used to eating out or ordering in for most meals, trying to suddenly prepare all of your meals and snacks at home might not be realistic. Thus, if you’re new to meal prepping, start slowly and make it a goal to prepare just a few meals the first week.

Once that becomes a habit, you can add more meals to your weekly cooking menu. Like all healthy habits, it may take some time before regularly going grocery shopping and preparing healthy meals at home becomes a part of your routine.

At the store:

Now that you know how to properly prepare for grocery shopping and stock your kitchen, let’s talk about healthy grocery shopping.

Ideally,you’ll want to focus on the following when grocery shopping:

➖purchasing mainly whole, nutrient-dense foods
➖shopping off of your list or weekly meal plan
➖avoiding purchasing foods solely based on the packaging
➖reading the nutrition labels and ingredient lists of packaged foods
➖sticking to your plan and trying to avoid impulse purchases

Unfortunately, most grocery stores are not designed to encourage healthy eating. Instead, they’re laid out to nudge you to purchase certain items — and these are not always healthy.

For example, grocery stores tend to offer sales on and create displays of ultra-processed products like refined snack foods and soft drinks. You’ll often find these at the end of aisles and checkout counters.

If you have a plan, you’re less likely to get distracted by sales and displays.Simply make a point to stick to your shopping list.

Finally,trying to only grocery shop when you’re not hungry may help you avoid making impulse purchases.



source : healthline