Part of the allure of food is all about getting the right one for your body. You will need to be quite careful about what you eat as – you are what you eat. So when you are making a grocery shopping list, you aren’t all about filling the house; you need to make a healthy list.
Some things you shouldn’t miss from any healthy grocery list if you are going to improve your overall health. This can be one of the toughest decisions, as a grocery list is usually huge, especially when you have a family. Below are six things that you shouldn’t miss from your list.
Bakery, Bread, and Grains
You can’t miss having bread and bakery shopping on your list. It would help if you looked at whole wheat or whole wheat flour – and their products. For those who want to eat healthier, Chinese bakery delivery is an excellent option. Some of the ideas you need to explore are whole wheat bread, English muffins, and pita pockets.
When you are looking for bread products – whole-grain bread, you want something that contains at least 3 – 4 grams of fibre. The other crucial aspect should be they have less than 100 calories per slice of the bread.
As part of the shopping, you also need to look at grains. Some of the best ideas you need to explore are brown rice and whole wheat or whole-grain pasta. It would help if you got whole grains as they make more nutritional sense than processed ones.
Meat and Seafood
If you are looking for healthy foods, you need to have meat and seafood as part of your shopping. These are the most sensitive parts of your shopping as you only want to get the healthy stuff alone. It would help if you looked more into the organized side of meat here.
Seafood, most of them are rich in fishy oil, making them great for your brain and overall body health. When you consume seafood like salmon, trout, mackerel, or halibut, you will get a vast amount of omega-3.
When you go for meat, you have several options that you can go for skinless chicken, ground turkey, or chicken. You can also go for organic beef steak for a much healthier meal. Choose the leanest cuts when you are buying beef, though, as they have little marbling.
It would help if you looked at getting meat that gives you flavour more and less fat than anything else. That’s why getting ground chicken or ground turkey is an excellent idea rather than getting ground beef. The two are quite low in fats – unnecessary fat.
Oils
When it comes to fat, you also need to be extra careful about what you get. It would help if you got something that has low cholesterol levels. And when you are shopping for oils, you need to look at other ideas such as salad dressings, condiments, sauces, etc.
They, too, need to be carefully selected as most of them have an additive that can be unhealthy. You need to look at the ingredients carefully before you buy. Your list should contain;
- Extra virgin olive oil, nonfat cooking spray
- Red-wine vinegar
- Barbecue sauce
- Mustard
- Tomato sauce
- Jarred capers and olives
- Hot pepper sauce
- Salsa
You need to remove mayonnaise from your list as it can be high in fat. That’s why you need to look at hot sauce and salsa as the healthier options.
Frozen Foods
Frozen foods need to be part of the shopping list, and some of the options you need to get are;
- Frozen shrimp
- Frozen vegetables
- Frozen fruit
- Whole-grain waffles
- Whole-grain vegetable pizza
Soup
You will need to get some soup options and canned goods while at it. Not all canned products are bad for you; there are some great options that you can look at;
- Diced or whole peeled tomatoes
- Tuna or salmon packed in water
- Black, soy, or garbanzo beans, lentils, split peas
- Low-sodium soups
- Tuna or salmon packed water
Dairy and Eggs
You also need to get some dairy products and eggs to your list. But you won’t go around and shop for anything that you find there. Being specific about healthy options can go a long way. Some options you need to consider include
- Firm tofu
- Low-fat cheese
- Fat-free or low-fat yoghurt
- Skim or low-fat milk or soymilk
- Eggs or substitutes
- Butter or spread – go for the ones that don’t contain hydrogenated oils
Going shopping can be a tough idea as in most cases, you wouldn’t know what to get. You need to make a list before you even leave the house. You don’t want to miss some items on your list, and the above ideas make sense of the must-haves on your shopping list.