By Heather Kiddoo, Live Active 563 Nutrition & Wellness
As you walk aimlessly up and down the aisles of your grocery store trying to find something “healthy” to eat, you wonder why it has to be so confusing! Do I eat low fat, low carb, high fat, low protein, high protein—UGG! We understand how you feel and it doesn’t have to be so hard. Follow some of these tips and it will set you off to a good start!
- Start with the end in mind which is a wonderfully made dinner! As you are deciding what to purchase at the story—focus on a “balanced” plate. What is a balanced plate? It’s a plate that is approximately:
• ½ veggies
• ¼ starchy veggies, fruit, whole grain bread, rice or quinoa
• ¼ protein
• A thumb size portion of healthy fat
When you break down your meals into “plates” it helps you create a grocery list! Most of your items can be found on the perimeter of the store, in the refrigerated section or in the freezers.
- Shop the perimeter of the store for your fresh veggies and the freezer section for the frozen veggies
- Starchy veggies such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, bananas, squash can also be found in the perimeter of the grocery store.
- Protein can be found at the meat counter, in the refrigerated section or in the freezer! Some great options are chicken, fish, eggs, pork, lean beef.
Other miscellaneous tips…
- If you chose to venture into the aisles, READ LABELS. Look for “ADDED SUGAR” and a lot of ingredients you don’t understand. Added sugar is not the best for you. If you have a sweet tooth try some fresh fruit! And, if you can’t read what you are eating, you probably don’t need it unless it’s prescribed by your doctor.
- If you are going for fat loss, choose leaner cuts of meat! Red meat with lots of marbling or white areas is fattier than meat with very few white areas or marbling.
- Frozen fruits and veggies are ok! We get it—sometimes the fresh stuff goes bad before we can eat it, AND we don’t’ want to head to the store every day. The frozen options are great and they keep longer than fresh. *Target has some great options for frozen veggies including frozen chopped sweet potatoes that are also a good option!
We hope these tips help! If you get tired of eating some of the same old stuff, head to our website for some FREE “healthy recipes” to spruce up your menu! VISIT liveactive563.com and go to “Healthy Recipes”.
To learn more about healthy eating and overall fitness, contact Heather Kiddoo at heather@liveactive563.com. Live Active 563 Wellness and Nutrition is located at 983 40th Ave., Bettendorf, IA.