If you are eating healthy or want to start eating healthy you should start writing a shopping list, plan, organize, and create a menu; Doing these things will help you save money, time, and stick to healthy recipes. You will have to go grocery shopping regularly in since healthier foods tend to have a more limited shelf life. Visiting health food stores can help you meet other health-conscious people.
Healthy eating can consist of fresh and or organic foods with no or gentle cooking methods without depleting food of its nutrients or adding any artificial foods. Most of the time when you eat healthy you have to cook your own food, because you can’t just go out and buy takeout food or fast food in since they are not healthy for the most part. With all the new kitchen appliances and gadgets we have today, cooking food yourself should be easier than before and fun. Below we will provide some of the products that you should include on your shopping lists for healthy eating.
Vegetables: Eat all your vegetables while they are still young. This is when they are tender. You can find some of the best vegetables at fresh food markets or health food stores. Grocery stores that are not health food stores usually sell vegetables that are genetically modified or have been picked while they are green and later ripened in boxes when being delivered to places long distance. Brightly colored vegetables and sprouts contain the most antioxidants and vitamins.
Fruits: It is best to buy seasonal fruits because exotic fruits have traveled long distances and ripened in their boxes and not on the trees. Local, fresh, naturally ripened and organic fruit are the best to buy.
Fish and Shellfish: The best fish to buy is unfrozen and fresh. Most of the fish you see in grocery stores that are not health food stores come from fish farms in which the fish are fed with artificial substances which can be unhealthy. Pink salmon and other popular fish will most likely come from a fish farm. Shellfish will be healthier. For example, shrimp does not live in chemically polluted water. When you boil mussels throw away the ones that do not open.
Meat: To be honest, it’s probably best to not eat meat at all in order to eat healthy; only because it’s difficult to find healthy meat that comes from a farmer that use healthy methods to ensure their meat is healthy. Many of the meats in grocery stores have a large amount of antibiotics and growth hormones. The best meat will come from small farms or organic farms.
Eggs: Buy free-range or organic eggs. Before buying them, make sure they are fresh.
Cheese: Cheese is rich in minerals and vitamins, although they are rich in fats as well. Buy fresh cheese only and try to eat it soon because fresh or gourmet cheese don’t last long.
Herbs: You can use herbs fresh or dried. You can plant and grow your own herbs and use them fresh. Also to preserve flavor you can buy whole spices/herbs and freshly ground them.
Grains: Eat whole grains and Whole wheat. Try not to eat refined grains or wheat because once it’s refined a lot of the ingredients are depleted. Rice may be the only exclusion because even if the rice grain shell is removed, many of the nutrients may remain in the rice grain.
Remember the saying, “you are what you eat”. So begin buying and eating healthy foods and have fun cooking healthy meals.
Top photo credit: Fresh fruit and vegetables by Mundoo
In text photo credit: Cheese School 101 by niallkennedy
