A considerable chunk of the new year is already gone, but that doesn’t mean you should completely abandon your goals. In fact, with the pressure out of the way, you may even have a better opportunity to achieve your aims, including eating right.
One of the most popular New Year’s Resolutions is to change your dietary habits. Everything from consuming more vegetables to ditching red meat, many of us attempt to maintain healthier feeding behaviours. After years of being accustomed to Big Macs, Coca-Cola, and Oreos, is it achievable? Of course it is! It takes dedication, positive reinforcement, and motivation.
The first stop you need to make, though, is the health food store: your go-to source.
Health food stores will likely be your home away from home as you scour the aisles, peruse through the flyers, and compare the ingredients for a wide array of products.
Unsure how to begin? Here are five healthy tips to shop at a health food store:
1. Plan in Advance – But Adapt in the Store
Like you would for any grocery store and shopping trip, it is important to plan in advance by creating a list. This should include the items you wish to purchase, the meals you’re going to make for the week, and how much you roughly project to spend.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should stick completely to the list.
Should you come across something that could give your health a boost or amplify your digestive health, then you should consider buying it. Just don’t go overboard.
2. Focus on the Milk Alternatives
Milk alternatives are becoming more ubiquitous all over the marketplace. It seems people are ditching milk for a wide variety of reasons – health, cost, allergies – and heading for the numerous substitutes: almond, rice, quinoa, soy, cashew, and so on.
Suffice to say, many nutritionists consider this, particularly if you are either lactose intolerant or you don’t get enough vitamins in your day-to-day life.
In the end, pick up that carton of coconut milk and start your day off with a glass of vitamins.
3. Read the Ingredients & Nutritional Value
If you’re acquiring packaged goods or ready-made meals, then you need to take the time to peruse the ingredients, check up on the nutritional value, and compare other items.
Experts say that the fewer the ingredients the better, and the more identifiable ingredients, the better it is for your stomach.
4. Yes, Freezer Options Can be Healthy
For the most part, frozen foods that you drop into the microwave can be horrendous for your health. They have preservatives, chemicals, and a host of unidentifiable ingredients. Simply put: they’re bad for your health.
That said, freezer options can also be healthy at the same time. Noticing an uptick in vegetarian and vegan sales, suppliers are investing in frozen foods tailored towards those who maintain a plant-based diet, filled with lentils, spinach, and oranges.
As long as you study the ingredients used, and you know what they are, then buy the frozen products. You just need to be sure that it isn’t your entire meal plan.
5. Don’t go When You’re Hungry
Do you know what the worst habit that consumers have when they go grocery shopping? They enter into the store hungry. That is not only bad for your wallet, it’s terrible for your patience.
By sauntering into a health food store, you need to have plenty of time so you shop in a smart manner: comparing, reading, browsing, and so on. You can’t do this if you’re starving, or you’re completing your grocery shopping after work.
In the end, go when you’re nourished, and try to avoid the busy times: after work!
Health food stores are your oasis to healthy living. Everything from local organic produce to beverages rich in omegas that you can’t find anywhere else, health food stores can help you reach your objective of resolution: eating right, being healthy, and starting to be happy.
