Food shopping. I know, right? It’s the weekly grind. Sometimes it’s required more than once a week. Maybe it’s every day!
Personally, I know that if I don’t plan my meals ahead for the week, things will get messy. Takeaway suddenly looks much more appealing! This is one of the many reasons why I recommend that most people set some time aside every week to make a shopping list up with recipes to make during the week.
Why should I do this?
It saves money. If you plan your meals ahead, you will have a much better idea of which ingredients you need to purchase, and which ingredients you don’t need to purchase. This will save you standing in front of the milk aisle wondering whether you already have a perfectly good bottle sitting in the fridge, and will result in less food going to waste.
It saves you time. Those who shop most days of the week know that it would be quicker buying everything in the one go. However due to lack of preparation, multiple trips often appears the easier way to go. It can be just as easy to make time for a planned shop, you just need to think ahead and make a good habit of it!
It saves kilojoules and therefore your waistline. Failing to plan your meals makes it difficult to stick to a healthy eating plan. If you shop when you are hungry, more often than not a stray packet of biscuits or chocolate will appear in the trolley. I speak from experience here; I am only human too!
So where do I start?
- Set aside some time at the start (or end) of the week and pick out a few healthy recipes that will suit you and/or your partner/ family.
- Write a shopping list and make sure you include the 5 food group essentials – vegetables, fruit, low fat dairy, lean meat/chicken/fish and legumes, and whole grain breads and cereal.
- Ensure you are not hungry before you head off on your shopping trip!
This takes practice!! Give yourself a chance to create this healthy habit you’ll be thanking yourself for it. As the saying goes ‘if you fail to plan, you plan to fail’.
“Must-haves” for your fridge and pantry
I highly recommend having the following staple foods in your fridge and pantry, so consider these when writing your shopping list. They are inexpensive and versatile, so you can use them in a number of combinations for a huge range of meals.
Fridge
- Yoghurt
- Milk
- Eggs
- Fresh veggies ( spinach leaves, cherry tomatoes, capsicum, celery)
- Fruit ( pears and apples)
- Cheese
- Lean meat ( mince) or fish
Pantry
- Tinned Tuna/salmon
- Tinned legumes/ lentils/ chick peas
- Black/ brown rice
- Rice noodles/ hokkien noodles
- Herbs/ spices
Need some help making changes to your diet and coming up with healthy meal plans? This is something I can help you with, so please don’t hesitate to contact me.