Tips to do Your Weekly Grocery Shopping

Going to the supermarket on a full stomach can prevent you from buying poor-quality processed foods.

Many times, when we go grocery shopping, we choose products for a special characteristic or we pay attention to the advertising slogans. What considerations should we have when grocery shopping?

Organization is the key to grocery shopping!

Making a shopping list before going to the supermarket is essential to prevent unnecessary products from ending up in the cart. It’s also a good way to save time and money. In this context, we must differentiate between fresh products that we have to buy more frequently and non-perishables.

Don’t go grocery shopping when you’re hungry

Shopping for groceries when you’re hungry can be a big mistake. On the other hand, going on a full stomach will prevent you from falling into unnecessary temptations. If you can only shop at noon, eating a piece of fruit before you go can calm your hunger!

Choose the local market instead of the supermarket

In general, seasonal and local products are the cheapest option. They also have the best organoleptic properties. In some cities, there are local markets that have offers on fresh products.

Small shops tend to have better quality products. They often lower the prices at the last minute so that the food doesn’t spoil. Avoiding throwing food away is also essential!

Stock up on the essentials when grocery shopping

As with clothing, it never hurts to have a stock of some products at home. Prevention is the key if you want to avoid having to go to the supermarket and buying the first thing you find after a long day at work. Some of these non-perishable foods that you can store away are:

• Canned fish in brine.
• Canned cooked vegetables. Don’t forget that you have to wash them well before consuming them.
• Quality pickled goods: olives, pickles, and chives.
• Cans of corn, mushrooms or cooked artichokes.
• Bottles of roasted or stewed peppers.
• Precooked rice or quinoa cups ready for a salad or to add to any vegetable dish.
• Frozen vegetables.

Don’t buy what you don’t need

When trying to stick to a healthy lifestyle, it’s advisable to avoid foods that are rich in saturated fats such as snacks. Not including unhealthy foods in the shopping cart is the first step to avoiding consuming them. Try to stay away from them when grocery shopping!

Pay attention to the nutritional statements when grocery shopping

What do health claims for some foods mean? Light or sugar-free labels aren’t equivalent to healthy, so it’s important that you know how to interpret them. What do they mean?

Light

This range of products originated as a consequence of the unfair criminalization of fats. For a product to have the word light on the label, it must contain 30 percent fewer calories compared to a similar product.

However, containing fewer calories isn’t always good. To explain this, you can compare the nutritional characteristics of a plain yogurt versus a light yogurt.

By decreasing the number of calories, you’re also losing satiety, which causes you to eat more. Therefore, there’s no point in consuming light yogurts to eat fewer calories in a weight loss diet. In other circumstances (such as a high-protein regime) it could actually be a product of interest.

Sugar-free

A product can claim it’s sugar-free when it contains less than 0.5 grams of sugar per 100 grams or milliliters of the product. As in the previous case, this fact alone doesn’t make the food healthy. In the labeling of these foods, other low-quality substances, such as sweeteners, are often the replacement for sugar.

Fat-free

A product is specified to be fat-free when it contains no more than 0.5 grams of fat per 100 grams or milliliters of product. In this case, the important thing would be to specify what type of fat it contains since some fats are healthier than others.

Gluten-free

This health claim is only useful for people with celiac disease. Therefore, it doesn’t give added value to the product.

Vegan

Finally, just because a product is vegan, it doesn’t mean it’s healthy. A product is vegan when it doesn’t contain ingredients of animal origin. However, soft drinks are vegan and can still be unhealthy.

In summary, grocery shopping clearly depends on several factors, such as the health status and preferences of people who make up the household. However, foresight and organization are always helpful. Have everything ready for your next grocery trip!