Getting sober becomes enhanced by implementing a healthy diet. The problem that people tend to have is that they have no idea what they should eat to be healthy and on top of it all, they have no idea what to buy at the grocery store. In a day where food delivery is at the tip of your fingertips, you may find it easier to just push send for your order and wait for a driver to bring it to your doorstep.
The ease of not cooking along without having to go grocery shopping is the main attraction to all these delivery services that are now offered so readily from a majority of the local restaurants. Although the appeal of delivery or eating out may seem the easier, softer way, making your own food is a much healthier choice because you know exactly what ingredients are in your dish. Restaurants want their menu options to taste better by adding exorbitant amounts of salt, sugar, flour, msg, and other preservatives to keep their food fresh, without necessarily disclosing it on the nutritional information. All of this could pose potential health problems which means that learning how to grocery shop is in your best interest. Grocery shopping does not have to be daunting for you because grocery shopping can be healthy and effortless by using a few simple tips.
Make a list before you go.
Decide on your menu for the week so that you can make a list of all the ingredients that you will need to prevent excess trips back and forth to save gas and time. You can also make bigger batches of your recipes to keep leftovers for another day. Planning your meals for the whole week will give the ability to know exactly what your meals are beforehand to take away the guesswork and put more focus on your sobriety.
Check out the weekly grocery ads.
Instead of looking over the menus from restaurants that provide delivery, browse through the weekly advertisements that the grocery stores offer instead. These ads can be the blueprint to your menu planning because the prices are significantly discounted for your benefit. You should also stock up on groceries that you use more frequently when they go on sale because you will save time and money overall.
Shop on the outside walls inside of the store.
The items that are on the outer part of the store are perishable items including the produce, dairy, deli counter, meat counter, and items that need to be refrigerated. The items that are in the middle aisle tend to be junk food or full of preservatives, gluten, sugar, salt, contain a high amount of unhealthy carbohydrates which is one of the reasons that you were considering making your own food in the first place. You want to eat things that are unprocessed and easily digested to keep up a healthy lifestyle.
Learn the lingo on the food labels.
One of the most important aspects of healthy grocery shopping is reading labels on the products you buy. “Fat-free,” “gluten-free,” or “low-sodium,” along with a variety of other types of verbiage, can be confusing to what the nutritional information means. Often, these types of words can be misconstrued as healthy when in actuality more sugar, for instance, could be added to compensate for the flavor. More than 5 ingredients on a label are usually unnecessary and mean that artificial ingredients are being included to preserve and pep up the taste in these food choices. Google words that you are unsure of when you are at the store so you can discern their meaning without having to add unnecessary extra ingredients into your body. Learning about what you are putting in your body before you consume it gives you the power to be in charge of your own healthy nutrition.
Try organic and grass-fed.
Having the choice of buying organic or grass-fed options continues to expand in grocery stores while not breaking the bank. In the past, you may have been deterred by the high prices that the tags would show when trying to buy healthier products. Now that there is a bigger demand for clean eating, the price should not keep you from buying organic or grass-fed. Simply defined organic means that produce is grown without pesticides or preservatives that are used to keep the fruits and vegetables fresh longer. Grass-fed and cage-free options in laymen’s terms means that animals are raised more humanely. Plus, you are basically consuming whatever that animal is eating. Chew on this. When an animal eats slop or garbage food while being kept confined in factory barns – then you are basically eating protein that consumed “junk food” and is physically unhealthy. You want lean proteins which have been fed with a healthy food source which you can get from animals who eat grass and get to roam in the fields.
The grocery store is one of those errands that can completely blow your mind if you do not know what you are doing. Making intentional health choices to help your body grow strong in sobriety starts with food that can help you with not only looking better but feeling much better.
Offering a full range of recovery and mental health services, Valiant Living offers “Expanded Recovery” to enrich our clients’ lives in mind, body, and spirit. Through evidence-based therapy options and the endless adventure of Colorado, Valiant fosters connection, encouraging clients to get connected to themselves, their peers, their families, and their higher power. With the power of recovery, clients are restored to full health and experience life-changing healing. Call us today for more information: 303-536-5463
