SHOPPING TIPS FOR HEALTHY EATING
The most important first step you can take for better dietary habits is to learn to properly shop for the food items that will bring about the greatest health. Bad food has less of a chance of getting into your body if it never gets into your grocery cart. With a little thought, planning, and effort, you can make sure only healthy items get into your home.
Taking the time to plan a few days or a week’s worth of meals is necessary. Plan your shopping trip before you leave home to prevent multiple trips to the grocery store. And shop only after you have eaten a healthy meal, so your blood sugar is optimal and you’re not craving sweets. Make a list and decide where you will shop. If you are limited to one stop, pick the store that reliably has the most items on your list. Many cities have health food supermarkets and even many of the larger chain grocery stores carry higher-quality foods, such as organic produce, meats, and eggs.
In most grocery stores, the healthiest items are found on the store’s perimeter. The first stop is the produce section. Choose a variety of fresh greens, vegetables, fruits, and avoid starchy potatoes and corn. Once again, look for organic produce, especially if you are buying apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, imported grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, raspberries, spinach, and strawberries, as these crops have consistently been shown to harbor higher pesticide levels. The produce that consistently has the lowest levels of pesticides includes asparagus, avocados, small bananas, broccoli, cauliflower, kiwi, mangos, onions, papaya, and sweet peas.
Minimize the high-glycemic fruits such as pineapple and large watermelon. A traditional athlete’s food is bananas, but avoid the large ones, as they are also high-glycemic. Instead, find the smallest bananas and eat them only when ripe (no longer green, with small black speckles). Always choose a variety of fruits: apples, grapefruits, and especially phytonutrient-rich berries. Always try to buy smaller quantities of a large variety of fruits and vegetables. Fill your grocery cart with a rainbow of colors—eggplant, blueberries, purple onions and cabbage, red peppers, radishes, tomatoes, butternut and yellow squash, carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, herbs, dark greens, and so forth. The more color, the more nutrients.
Your athletic body needs protein, so the next stop is the meat, eggs, and dairy section. Seek out organic animal products, or those that are truly “natural”—indicated by a label that says the animals were not given antibiotics, growth hormones, or animal by-product feeds. Organic grass-fed beef and lamb, pasture-raised pork, free-range poultry, and wild-caught ocean fish are the best choices. Many of these foods are now available organically in bulk through mail-order outlets. In general, avoid any processed meats and fish since many contain sugar, additives, and preservatives such as BHT and sodium nitrite. Most stores now carry organic eggs. They cost a little more but are still a protein bargain. Minimize the use of dairy products. If you use them, then select organic heavy cream, whole milk, sheep or goat milk products, unsalted butter, and unprocessed cheeses.
If you stick to the perimeter of the store, avoiding the bakery section, you’ll find that you only rarely need to venture up an aisle for food items. The exceptions may be extra virgin olive oil, raw unfiltered honey, beans, nuts, nut butters, and spices. Buy as few items in packages as possible. If you do buy items in packages, always be sure to read the label and study the list of ingredients and nutritional facts. If you can’t identify or pronounce the ingredients, chances are high that these packaged foods should be avoided.