September 21, 2019
Tips for Healthy Grocery Shopping
This post has been sponsored by Borden Dairy . All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Tips for Healthy Grocery Shopping, including healthy foods to buy and how to make a healthy and budget-friendly grocery list.
Shopping for groceries is one of my favorite things to do! I love finding healthy foods at good prices that my family loves. I enjoy shopping for different kinds of produce, teaching my kids about nutrition right in the store, and finding new foods that we haven’t tried before. As a dietitian and mom, eating a healthy diet is super important to me. Today, I wanted to share some of the foods that we regularly buy, how I make my grocery list, and tips for healthy grocery shopping. I’m also sharing why we enjoy drinking cow’s milk, especially Borden, which is now available in Ohio again!
How I Make My Grocery List
I base my meals all around produce. I love choosing produce based on what is on sale, what is in season, and what looks good in-store. We go to a fruit and vegetable market often, get a large cart of groceries, and base much of our eating off of that. Each breakfast has typically some fruit, and all lunches and dinners have veggies. We also snack on a ton of fruit especially.
I also like to keep a well-stocked pantry and freezer at all times, including canned beans, chicken stock, tomatoes, oats, coffee, peanut butter, cereal and more. In the freezer, we always have chicken, venison, veggie burgers, whole-grain breads, frozen fruit and more. That way, we always have food on hand to make.
I also like to have a bunch of dairy on hand. We love Borden 2% White Milk, Borden Dutch Chocolate Milk, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, feta, cheddar cheese and more. I know that some people like alternative milk products but for the most part, we love using real cow’s milk and cow’s milk products.
I like that they are rich in calcium and protein. Plus, my family loves it! My kids love the chocolate milk for a treat and we heat it to drink as hot chocolate, too. Borden milk has no hormones or antibiotics, which is one of the reasons that I like them for my family. Learn where you can buy Borden Dairy here.
I like that they are rich in calcium and protein. Plus, my family loves it! My kids love the chocolate milk for a treat and we heat it to drink as hot chocolate, too. Borden milk has no hormones or antibiotics, which is one of the reasons that I like them for my family. Learn where you can buy Borden Dairy here.
When I realize that we are running low on any of these items, I add them to my grocery list and stock up on them. I also shop sales and love getting the best deal possible. I will start making my grocery list with the items I need that we are running low on and that we always like to have on hand. Then, I add items that we will need for any recipes I’m making that are things that we don’t always have on hand. Finally, I go through the grocery store ad and add items to my list that are on sale that we enjoy or that I have coupons for.
Healthy Grocery Shopping List
Refrigerator
-Fruit
-Salsa
-Hummus
-Vegetables
-Greek yogurt
-Cheese
-Low-sodium lunch meat
Freezer
-Frozen fruit
-Veggie burgers
-Chicken breasts
-Frozen vegetables—broccoli, corn, peas, etc.
-Pork tenderloin, venison, etc.
-Smoothie mixes
Pantry
-Nut butter
-Whole wheat or bean-based pasta
-Brown rice
-Low-sodium canned beans
-No-salt added pasta sauce, canned tomatoes and tomato sauce
-Healthy (or semi-healthy) snacks such as nuts, dried fruit, popcorn, whole-grain crackers, etc.
-Oats
-Chia seeds
-Ground flax
-Applesauce and pouches
-Protein powder
-Coffee
-Tea
Tips for Healthy Grocery Shopping
-Shop in-season produce. It always tastes better and is often a better price than out of season produce. Current in-season produce includes zucchini, peaches and tomatoes.
-Stock up when your favorite items are on sale. We go through a lot of peanut butter for example and when my favorite brand goes on sale, I buy at least 5 jars of it. Otherwise, we would run out of it quickly and when I restock, it may no longer be on sale and I would have to pay more.
-Limit buying snack foods. Snack foods are typically less nutritious than real food and often cost quite a bit. We certainly like our chips and stuff like that at times but ensure that most of our cart is full of healthier items.
-Stock up on Borden milk for a versatile ingredient that can be used in tons of different recipes, in coffee, for cereal or of course, drank plain.
-Have the kids help choose what foods they want. When we go to our favorite produce market, I let the kids pick out at least one item. Let them surprise you with their choice. Last week, we went to a store that sells all foods and Adalyn chose to buy radishes for her food. She didn’t ask for candy or ice cream but literally wanted a bag of radishes!
-Read labels. Read nutrition labels and ingredient lists to stay informed about what is in your food and to help make more nutritious choices.
I could go on and on about choosing what foods to eat and to serve your family. I love grocery shopping and talking about food—it's much of the reason that I became a dietitian. If you have any questions about what foods to buy, feel free to ask my opinion!
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I love your tip for using in season produce, that is something we need to be better about at our house! I usually buy whatever I want at the store which can often get pricey in the winter when strawberries and other things aren't "in season".
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