The Grocery Store
One of the biggest struggles that folks have is knowing how to shop and choose the right foods when visiting the grocery store. And while there are SO many choices and a TON of confusion at your local grocer, they’ve actually made it really EASY for you to shop, if you know what sections to visit, and which to avoid.
In fact, I can get in and out of the grocery store with a full cart of fat-burning groceries in just 15 mins nowadays, simply because I know I’ll NEVER even visit 90% of the store aisles on most visits.
So, before we get into my exact grocery list, here’s my EASIEST grocery store tip EVER:
Shop the perimeter of the grocery store and avoid the middle aisles. That’s it!
Here’s why it works:
With few exceptions, the middle aisles of the grocery store are full of processed, packaged foods while the perimeter contains almost all of the whole, natural foods you’ll need to stock up your clean eats kitchen.
Here’s my usual routine when visiting my local grocery store, and I’m sure your store is set up in a similar way.
When I walk in the door I make sure to walk right on past the bakery! Did you know that nearly every grocery store puts the bakery right at the entrance intentionally? If they can get your saliva glands working right away, it’s very likely you’ll spend more as you travel through the store…nothing in a grocery store’s layout is by accident, which is why I know your store is probably laid out the same way.
So, quickly pass by the bakery and head straight to the produce section…this is where wholesome goodness starts…fresh fruits & veggies. In my most recent trip, here are the items I grabbed from the fresh produce section:
Apples
Oranges
Berries
Green Beans
Broccoli
Sugar Snap Peas
zucchini noodles
Mixed greens
Beets
Of course there are a ton of other great choices lying around the produce section…pretty much any vegetable and/or fruit would be a great nutrient-rich choice.
I then walk 5 steps from the produce section to the fresh meats and poultry. At our grocery stores here Maryland they have a section where you can get all-natural and organic meats that are sourced from animals not treated with hormones and antibiotics…your store probably has something like this as well. Just ask if you aren’t sure.
From this section I grabbed:
All Natural Chicken Sausage
Organic Chicken Breast
A couple wild salmon fillets
A bag of large cooked, tail- on shrimp for easy meals
Grass Fed steaks for the pups
Next up is the milk and eggs section, again right on that back wall (still haven’t ventured into the aisles at all). From here I picked up:
Organic Large Eggs
1 container of egg whites
Unsweetened vanilla almond milk
Unsweetened chocolate almond milk
Along the very last aisle in the store are some more dairy items where I grabbed:
Greek Yogurt
1% Cottage cheese
A block of feta
Shredded cheese for the pups
Also in that last aisle is water, so I grabbed a case of regular spring water for the gym, alkaline water for my home use, and some lime selzer water and that essentially took me back to the front of the store to check out. A full cart of fat-burning groceries all while NEVER visiting the center aisles where I’m sure I would have been tempted to toss in a bunch of processed garbage like cookies, crackers, chips, ice cream, cereal, stove top pasta “mixes”…and the list goes on.
If I do ever make a strategic trip into the middle of the store, it’s almost always to get these items:
Beans
Spices
Tomato Puree
Nuts
Stevia
Rice cakes-addicted to my rice cakes!
Packets of tuna
Frozen berries and cherries
Frozen veggies in case I ever run out of fresh
Oats
Flax or chia seed meal
Olive oil, MCToil, or flax oil
Cooking spray
And that’s about it.
Follow that simple advice next time you’re at the grocery store and you’ll be in and out in no time while avoiding all those processed items that wind up ruining your diet once you get them home.
BON APPETIT!!