10 Easy Shopping Tips: Tools for a Healthier Diet

Home-cooked recipes and healthier diets only work if you have the tools, that is the food, on hand to match the lifestyle you are striving for. There is a glut of heavily processed food on the market at low prices to tempt you. What alternatives are there for you, the health conscious consumer? Here are some tips that won’t break the budget but can help you on the road to better health.

Same great crunch but much less salt and fat!

Hummus is now being sold in lots of great flavours so you can avoid getting into a rut with just one kind. Hummous is also allowed on some low-carb diets.

It might take a bit longer to cook, but the benefits of brown rice for your body are worth every moment!

 Look for wholemeal, whole wheat, or whole corn as the first ingredient. Wholemeal flour is usually light brown.

Planning ahead of time means you only buy what you need. This helps you avoid unnecessary purchases, which is also great for your pocketbook (and waistline if you want to avoid buying snacks).

In my kitchen there is a sheet of paper stuck to the fridge with the meals I plan to cook that week. My family can see what is on the menu (although not when things are being served). The paper is also an easy reference chart to find out when the last time I made a particular dish (nothing leads to boredom faster than repetition).

I have a loose rule that I must use at least one recipe book in my collection each week. This keeps the menu fresh as well as helps me see which recipe books I can donate because I’m not using them.

The health benefits you get from eating food exposed to less chemicals is immeasurable.

If you need a sweetener, buy a healthy processed white sugar alternative such as turbinado sugar, agave nectar, or stevia.

Aspartame has not yet been deemed safe or unsafe. There are side effects possible from overconsumption of aspartame. The question I haven’t found answered is how much is too much?

What do you regularly drink? If you drink regular soda (high in sugar) or diet soda (using aspartame), you might want to consider cutting it out of your diet altogether.

Here is an article on overcoming cravings you might experience when you cut out soda: http://hubpages.com/hub/7-Tips-to-Overcome-a-Carbohydrate-Craving-Or-Addiction

Margarine uses chemical processes to make it spreadable and tastier. Butter is a natural product. Would you rather increase or decrease the amount of chemicals you are putting into your body?

Consuming soda adds a great deal of sugar and possibly caffeine to your diet. It may seem like you can’t go a day without it but cutting soda from your diet is a powerful step towards better health. (Skipping the soda aisle also frees up money!)

Figuring out what products are locally produced may take some extra time at first, but once you know which toilet paper, produce, or bread is locally produced it’s easy to buy local in the future. You might be surprised what produces are produced within a hundred mile radius of your home and available in a local store. Buying local means the food hasn’t travelled far to reach you and you are supporting your local economy.

TIP: To save time, ask the local Chamber of Commerce or Business Association for the names of local companies.