Healthy swaps for your food shop
Let’s face it. Most of us push our trolley down the same aisles, buying the same food week after week. Things are starting to change as we become more aware of the impact of ultra processed foods and too much sugar, but there are some simple ways that you can make little changes to your food shop to help you build a healthier diet.
Don’t shop when you are hungry! We have all been there. Piling our trolley with foods that are appealing to our belly hunger are unlikely to be the healthiest choices. You will probably buy more than you need and spend too much of your hard-earned cash on food that you are unlikely to eat.
Menu plan. Whether you plan it, or wing it, putting a little bit of consideration into what you are going to eat for at least 2 or 3 days ahead will save you money, time and effort. See what you already have and build meals around those ingredients. Use the same ingredients to make different recipes, or at different mealtimes – for example if you add some roasted Mediterranean veggies to have with some fish and spuds, make extra for tomorrow’s lunchbox. Perfect with couscous and feta, or as part of a filling for a wholemeal pitta pocket.
Make a list. Keep a shopping list in the notes page on your phone, or on your favourite supermarket’s app. That way, when you run out of something it goes straight on the list. You won’t end up over-buying, or going short.
Do a ‘big shop’ for the non-perishable, longer lasting foods and shop a couple of times a week for fresh food like fruit, veg, meat and fish. Buying fresh food more frequently means that it is less likely to go off. Food waste is estimated to cost families around £800 a year, so anything you can do to reduce this means more money in your wallet.
Look at the date on perishable items and choose those with the longest shelf life. A yellow sticker might not be much of a bargain if you are not eating that food before it goes off!
Look at the price per kg or 100g. Sometimes foods that appears to be the cheaper one isn’t really when you look at the smaller print!
Supplement your diet with more frozen fruit and veg. The more variety we can pack into our diet, the better our nutrition and the better for the balance of bacteria in our gut microbiome. Frozen fruit and veg is so handy and helps us to eat a wider variety of foods. Look out for frozen herbs, wholegrains with veg and frozen edamame beans- a great way to add a pop of protein to meals.
Pack some snacks into your trolley. Oatcakes, houmous, cottage cheese, peanut butter, natural yoghurt, nuts, seeds, dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa) and olives are great ingredients to add to your trolley for those times when the munchies kick in.
Choose low sugar, not no-added-sugar or less sugar! Take a closer look and you may be surprised that some foods labelled high protein, no added sugar or reduced sugar have more sugar than you think. Aim for foods with a sugar content of 5g per 100g or less – low sugar does what it says. This is a legal term – the others are marketing terms, trying to get you to put that food into your trolley!
Pack your trolley with more fibre. Pick up some brown rice, wholemeal or red lentil pasta. Add a few tins of pulses to add to curry, stews or soups. Pop a bag of chia or flaxseed in there too.