At this time of year, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the season and be distracted by the treasure trove of goodies when we’re in the supermarket. Since many of our celebrations centre around food, we don’t want to let go of all our healthy habits or forget the importance of filling up our shopping trolley and our bellies with REAL food.
Here are some reminders to help keep you on track when you are food shopping this festive season:
- Don’t shop when you’re hungry – you may load up your trolley with foods you don’t need, and your ability to resist temptation will be at its lowest!
- When you shop at the supermarket – stick to the outside aisles where the fresh food is and avoid the centre aisles which tend to be full of processed foods.
- Make sure you are choosing foods from different food groups – remember that pasta, flour and bread are all from one food, in fact usually from one grain – wheat.
- Increase the number of fresh vegetables in your trolley or basket – you cannot eat enough of these healthy gems! Ideally, you would eat 5-7 servings of vegetables every day.
- Shop for small amounts of seasonal fresh fruit. Look forward to eating fruits when they are coming into season.
- Buy Bones! Use them to make nutritious, home-made bone broths like our grandmothers did. Store for use in cooking – even try drinking a cup during the day!
- Try shopping at your grocer’s shop, butchers and farmers’ market, for locally produced food.
