Food shopping is often thought of as the monotonous job at the start of the week – the same dull routine of trawling the aisles not quite knowing what to go for this week. This often leads to over spending on food that doesn’t quite fit the healthy diet you want to follow, or products that end up lingering at the back of the fridge until the rot sets in!

Breaking down this routine can be the first step in creating healthier dietary habits, stopping the temptation to buy and consume unhealthy products that don’t do anything for your health and fitness goals. Follow some simple steps to get the most out of your shop, thereby increasing your health!

Plan ahead
Planning is vital in sustaining a healthy diet. Be sure to create a list of all foods, drinks and ingredients you are going to need for the coming week. Where possible, attempt to mix this up each week – different fruit and vegetables each week, for example. Having a shopping list reduces the risk of grabbing any unwanted, potentially unhealthy snacks, but allowing yourself one ‘naughty’ product each time to have perhaps on the weekend or after a particularly hard workout is perfectly fine to sustain motivation.

Break through the marketing jargon
Many products market themselves as being healthy, using jargon or perhaps unsound research to back up their claims. Be wise to this by doing your own research and having a read of the nutrients on the back. Be sure to note how many grams per portion are listed – some products show very small, unlikely serving sizes to appear more healthy than they actually are. Also be careful of products suggesting reduced fat or gluten free, as these are often laden with sugar to improve taste. In addition, sugar ingredients are not always labelled ‘sugar’ – words such as fructose or sucrose can be used, and are simple sugar molecules.

Use your freezer effectively
Your freezer can be used very efficiently, helping preserve good food, and reducing the need for you to ‘pop’ to the shop every other day. Buying vegetables frozen can prevent wastage – if performed quickly after picking, the freezing process is suggested to maintain the nutrient content within foods. Meat and fish can be bought fresh and frozen at home. Take them out of the freezer the night before you intend to use them – this allows time for them to thaw for ease of different cooking methods you may use.

Meal days
As mentioned above, planning ahead is key in keeping a healthy diet. Having specific meal days can be effective in keeping a balanced, variable diet, especially for families. For example, have a fish-based dish on a Monday and Friday, such as grilled salmon and new potatoes, or have a healthy curry day on a Wednesday, such as a Thai green curry with lots of vegetables. Slow cookers can also be effective, saving cooking time and often increasing the amount of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) that keep during the slower cooking process.