A grocery store plan is just the thing you need to avoid temptation at the grocery store.
Don’t you just love the grocery store? As soon as you arrive you smell the scent of freshly baked bread, sometimes before you even set foot inside the supermarket. Brightly colored displays of cookies, soda, and seasonal cakes and candies greet you the moment you’ve headed through those double doors with your grocery cart. Somewhere off in the distance, you can smell the scent of fried chicken.
You always start out with good intentions, but now what happens once you hit the store? If you are like most shoppers, then you may have forgotten all about the fact that you spent half an hour writing a detailed shopping list of all the healthy foods you planned to buy. If this sounds like you, a grocery store plan is just what you need.
So, why does this always happen when we go grocery shopping? Some of it is our inability to say no when our senses are triggered, and some of it may be marketing skill on the part of the grocers’. They know what makes us want to buy those cookies.
Maybe, if you write up a grocery store plan – a list of healthy items to buy every time you go to the grocery store – it will help you to avoid the temptations before you. If you firmly ingrain that list into your consciousness, you’re a lot more likely to find yourself passing up the glutinous white bread, freshly baked though it may be, in pursuit of something a whole lot better for yourself and your family.
Create a Grocery Store Plan and Stick To It
It’s time to design a real grocery store plan that will enable you to stick with your commitment to healthy eating plans.
First, you want to make space in the refrigerator for all the healthy food items you are about to buy.
Get rid of the junk food so you are not still tempted to eat it, and make room for some brand new healthiness!
Second, seriously consider what healthy foods you like to eat. You can certainly try new things, but to make it easier for yourself, make a list of whole, healthy foods you enjoy, and make plans to eat them instead of whatever it is that you’ve been consuming instead.
Third, you want to make a grocery store plan, and stick to it. Here’s what you’re aiming for:
· Fruits and vegetables of all colors, especially lots of green ones. Think about salads, spinach, broccoli, fresh bell peppers, avocados, tomatoes, bananas, oranges, apples, and grapes. Always choose organic produce. It’s worth every penny – and so are you. Don’t forget the watermelon – it’s especially satisfying on a hot summer day.
· Fresh, organically grown meats and fish. It may seem like it costs more to go organic, but it’s your health that is at stake. How much is your health worth to you? Do you really want to eat a bunch of growth hormones, antibiotics, toxic metals (like mercury in fish) and other substances? We didn’t think so.
· Dairy products without RBST – and organic ones, if you can get them. Milk, cheese, yogurt – all these things are great for your body and for your bones.
· Whole grain products. And yes – you should definitely buy organic. Skip anything that has been overly processed as the nutrients are no longer there. Buy fresh bread from a local bakery, if possible, and be sure it contains no preservatives. Even better, buy yourself a cookbook, and learn to make your own breads and baked goods.
· Healthy fats: We already mentioned avocados and fish. These both contain good fats to keep your organs healthy. You also want to buy nuts, olive oil, and even a little bit of real butter. Avoid buying margarine or anything with hydrogenated fat.
Fourth, now it is time to go shopping. Eating a healthy meal before you go is a great way to avoid temptation. You will be less likely to be tempted if you are not hungry. Also, think about what those unhealthy foods will do to your body if you continue to let them in, and keep thinking those thoughts as you walk up to the supermarket doors. You know how difficult it is to lose weight. Not putting it on is the easiest way to avoid that problem. Buy the foods on your grocery store plan, and nothing else.
Fifth, celebrate your success by making a delivious healthy dinner. It may take a little more time and effort to cook from scratch if you are not currently in the habit of doing so, but the rewards are well worth it.
By repeating these steps for the next few weeks, your new grocery store plan will quickly become a habit. Soon, you’ll be on the road to better health – and all because you decided to pick up healthy items at the grocery store on each and every visit.