By: Kennedy Profaizer, Nutrition and Dietetics Graduate Student
Need tips on how to maximize your grocery shopping? Well then, you have come to the right place! In this article, you’ll get all the answer to all your shopping questions. You’ll learn the ins and outs of grocery shopping so you’re saving money and spending your time purposefully. You’ll learn all the tricks for navigating a grocery store like a pro, while avoiding the marketing gimmicks used to entice you to purchase certain food products! You’ll learn all the tips for picking the freshest fruits and vegetables, and choosing the best cost saving coupons. Welcome to Grocery Shopping 101! Start with these 5 basic tips when grocery shopping: 1) Shop the perimeter, 2) Plan ahead, 3) Don’t shop hungry, 4) Read labels, and 5) Stock up on “convenience” health foods. What does shopping the perimeter mean? Shopping the perimeter means you avoid the inside aisles where the packaged foods are shelved; it means shopping for the freshest food, such as produce, seafood, meat, poultry and dairy. These are the foods that make up a healthy diet for every athlete. A healthy and energized brain and body from whole foods will boost your performance, improve your recovery time when training, and keep you sharp for academic success. Be a super shopped by looking for these healthy foods around the perimeter: fresh produce with lots of color and healthy antioxidants and fiber such as, spinach, kale, bell peppers, avocados, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, berries, bananas, apples and pears, and grapes. Try fish and seafood for variety in your diet. Choose heart-healthy fish with omega-3’ fatty acids, such as salmon, tuna, cod, halibut and trout. You may bake any of these fish or sauté them in a pan on the stove. When you walk to the meat section, look for high quality, lean proteins such as, skinless chicken and turkey, or 90% lean ground beef. Have you ever noticed that no matter what grocery store you go into the necessities and staples such as milk, cheese, and eggs are always in the back of the store? That’s because grocery stores want you to walk through the entire store to get those “essentials” hoping you’ll spot something else along the way and be swayed to put it in your cart, and that’s called an impulse buy. Pretty sneaky huh? Well, now you know, the stores are purposefully designed and placement of the food is strategic to encourage you to purchase more food. Don’t be fooled, write down and plan your shopping list to avoid these grocery store tricks. Take the time to plan ahead. Again, shopping with a list will help keep you on a budget, prevent over-spending or unnecessary spending, and help you stick with healthy food to fuel your body. The goal is still to purchase affordable food that tastes good and you enjoy. Making a list also, allows you to pre-plan your meals, which makes shopping easier, and frees up time during your busy week, as well. Shopping with a list and menu ideas for the week, allows you to be more mindful of your time and reduces stress about meals and meal preparation, you will already have all the ingredients you need! Don’t. Shop. Hungry. This seems self-explanatory, but if you go into a grocery store super hungry it’s similar to going into a restaurant super hungry, both situations result in over eating. When it comes to over-shopping or over-eating, one of my favorite sayings, “my eyes were bigger than my stomach!” Give yourself To ease the hunger and be less influenced by impulse buying have a snack before you go to the store. Fuel yourself with energy to shop and stay alert to the grocery store marketing tricks all around you. Read food labels. Here’s the 101 lowdown on reading a label: 1) Serving sizes, the number of calories you see are not the number of calories in the entire container of food, rather it’s the calories in a serving size of that food. Be sure to look right above the calorie information to see the serving size listed for the product. All the other nutrient information relates to the serving size, as well. 2) Ingredient lists, try and buy foods with 7 ingredients or less (and ingredients you can pronounce!) Guess what that means, all those fresh foods in the perimeter are less than 7 ingredients! A food with a long list of ton of ingredients generally indicates the food is heavily processed, and may contain more. A good rule of thumb for selecting healthy, nourishing food is: the fewer the ingredients the better! Have no fear, you can still eat like a champ with these “convenience” health foods! Fresh fruits, bagged salad greens, frozen fish fillets or skinless chicken strips (tip: not breaded), whole grains (tip: oatmeal, minute microwave brown rice), yogurt, frozen vegetables, canned vegetables (tip: choose low-sodium or no sodium added, or drain and rinse the vegetables before heating), canned/pouch tuna, nuts/nut butters and seeds. Nutritious and delicious on a budget! So, now that you are shopping experts, let’s talk about the run down on choosing high quality fresh fruits and vegetables to maximize their life with you at home! · Apples and pears; inspect the surface for bruising and dents, these spots lead to quicker rotting. · Bananas; ripe ones are yellow, green ones are fine to purchase, just know you’ll have to wait a few days for them to ripen at home. This all depends on how soon you plan to eat your bananas. · Berries; most of these are in a plastic container so inspect the container for leakage or mold. · Melons (watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew); should feel slightly heavier than they appear, meaning they’re nice and juicy! Unlike apples and pears, scarring on melons are completely fine. · Citrus fruits (lemons, oranges, limes, grapefruits); should also feel heavier than they look, give them a nice squeeze to assess. · Pineapple; my favorite trick is flipping them over and smelling the bottom! If it smells flavorful, purchase! · Cherries; they should be plump and bright with no dents. If most of them are missing stems, you’ll need to eat immediately. · Peppers; should be firm without any soft spots. · Cauliflower and Broccoli; should be bright in color, without any yellowing or browning as a good indicator that they’re fresh and okay to purchase. · Root vegetables (carrots, beets, potatoes, onions); should be hard to the touch and free of soft spots. · Leafy greens (kale, lettuce, spinach, cabbage); should be crisp. That’s it, just make sure they’re crisp. No one ever said they enjoy a soggy or mushy salad! See the blog article by Kailen McGuire all about how to store fresh food safely and maximize your food dollars. And now for the last big shopping tip: coupons! Gone are the days of looking through the newspaper and ads to save money like our grandparents or parents did; instead let’s go digital! Top coupon apps for college athletes eating on a budget: Ibotta and Checkout 51, both give you money back on your groceries rather than a coupon to save upfront, all you have to do is upload a picture of your receipt; SnipSnap and Coupons.com are places where you can find coupons to download straight to your phone. Ah, technology…with these apps you’ll be one smart and thrifty shopper! You’ve passed Grocery Shopping 101! Enjoy being efficient, savvy, and healthy the next time you head to the store. References: 1.https://www.cooperaerobics.com/Health-Tips/Nutrition-Bites/Navigating-the-Grocery-Store-Expert-Tips-from-Diet.aspx 2.https://www.foodtown.com/articles/select-fresh-fruits-vegetables#:~:text=When%20shopping%20for%20vegetables%2C%20key,is%20likely%20passed%20its%20prime. 3.https://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/saving-and-budgeting/articles/coupon-apps-for-groceries
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Contributing AuthorsSIUE Nutrition and Dietetics Graduate Students See More Helpful Nutrition Tips Here
April 2023
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