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How to reap wellness benefits
at any grocery store.
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Originally Published June 17, 2004 -- Your Wellness
Guide
Shop Smart: Manage Time, Money, and
Convenience
Special Consumer Wellness Series 2 of 2
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To
read
Part 1 of this Special Consumer Wellness
Series,
click here.
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With
grocery stores catering more than ever before to a healthier and
busier lifestyle, all you need is a little planning and know-how to
reap wellness benefits. In most cases, it’s about managing time,
money, and convenience.
Meal
Planning and a Shopping List
Save
time, money, and unhealthy impulse buying by disciplining yourself
to meal plan and write a grocery shopping list.
Here are some tips: |
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Craft a
shopping list in your computer that contains staple items to stock your
pantry (such as oil, flour, sugar, soups, canned fruit) and to make
common breakfast and lunch meals (such as cheese, cereal, yogurt, milk,
fresh fruit, carrot sticks, bread, tuna). Put only healthy food on the
list. Print out this list each time you prepare to shop. Handwrite any
quantity changes.
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Create a
wellness-oriented, seven-day dinner menu using cookbooks or family
recipe ideas. Many healthy meals are created by using a vegetable side
dish or unique salad as a main focal point, adding a meat/protein
portion and bread/grain. Add the ingredients needed for these meals to
your shopping list.
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Photo Courtesy: Whole Foods
Many grocery stores, such as Whole Foods, now
offer pre-cut salad greens, vegetables, and fruits to
make eating healthy fast and easy. |
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As
another option, to skip the cookbook step and save even more time,
instead subscribe to a weekly recipe newsletter from your grocery
store or another source. Check out “The Six O’Clock Scramble” at
www.thescramble.com. For $4.95 a month you get a week’s worth of
healthy and fast recipes along with a pre-prepared shopping list.
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A
weekday evening is one of the best times to do this menu planning
and shopping list so that you can quickly take an hour or less to
do the shopping over the weekend. |
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Healthy
Grocery Shopping
Just about all of today’s grocery stores cater to the health conscious if
you have done your meal planning and shopping list with wellness in mind.
Most stores have a well-stocked produce section, many alternative and
health foods, and offer most all of the other ingredients needed to make a
healthy meal. Here are some health-minded grocery store guidelines:
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Pick a
store that not only offers excellent produce and healthy foods but that
is also busy. A store with a full parking lot turns over food faster --
a plus.
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Meticulously follow your shopping list.
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Become a
label reader. Learn how to compare foods according to labels to reduce
fat, cholesterol, sodium, and sugar; increase fiber; and improve your
overall diet. A new trend, many stores might also have helpful signs
and additional labeling to help you. Some supermarkets offer additional
consumer education in the form of special promotions, cooking classes,
and informational brochures. Of course, there are also many books and
magazines that provide more in-depth education.
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Be careful
with pre-cut produce. You think you are saving time but you have to use
the produce quicker and it will cost you more. Pre-cut meats, on the
other hand, can be frozen.
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Utilize
the “prepared fresh” section only if you lack the at-home preparation
time or didn’t take the time to develop a complete shopping list. But,
be prepared to pay more. And, not all grocery stores have an emphasis
on quality, prepared fresh, so search out a health-oriented store like
Whole Foods. If at all possible, stay away from the traditional deli,
otherwise you might as well have eaten at McDonald’s.
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If you
don’t have time to shop but took the time to write up a shopping list
and menu, see if your local store will deliver -- it’s probably cheaper
than you think. The Safeway grocery chain, for example, lets you
purchase online with in-store prices, delivers for as low as $4.95, and
no tipping is allowed. |
To
read
Part 1 of this Special Consumer Wellness
Series,
click here.
Terra
Wellington
is a
national authority on creating a wellness lifestyle.
www.terrawellington.com
© Copyright Terra
Wellington
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