The average grocery store carries over 38,000 products(1). Out of those 38,000 products only a handful are actually good for you. At times it seems grocery chains make health food shopping intentionally confusing. Why is that I see soda, candy bars, and ice cream EVERYWHERE I look but finding almonds is like finding a needle in a haystack?
Luckily for you, Vitacost also carries over 44,000 products. Almost all of your favorite healthy food products can be found in one convenient location — Vitacost.com!
Trust me, typing in “brown rice“ to the search bar and clicking a button is much less painful than navigating a supermarket and standing in line (though I do miss mindlessly scanning the latest celebrity magazines in the checkout area”¦). It’s amazing how many “staple foods” are available for athletes and serious fitness enthusiasts at Vitacost: tuna, salmon, rice, rolled oats, protein bars, raw honey, coconut oil, nuts and nut butters, breakfast foods, pasta, and many, many more.
However, assuming that you consume fresh produce and meats as part of your healthy diet, you probably still make it to the grocery store. Here a few tips to make your trip to the store a little less painful, and much more healthy:
- Always have a plan — The average consumer makes 2.2 trips to the supermarket per week(1). I sincerely believe that this number would be lower if every shopper had a plan before entering the grocery store. It sounds simple enough, but even the most dedicated health enthusiasts are guilty of showing up with NO plan, and end up slowly trudging through every aisle while leaning on an overstuffed shopping cart
- Shop the perimeter — In traditional grocery stores, 90% of your products should come from the perimeter of the store. This is where you will find fresh cuts of lean meat and produce. Just like when you are consuming a meal, start with these healthy options. You’ll find that you are much less likely to fill up (your cart) on junk after layering your cart with meats, fruits, and vegetables.
- Stay in the moment — Shopping for food is a very important event for me. What I put in my body fuels my brain and body, and ultimately determines my performance level. That is why I strive to stay conscious of what I am doing when in the grocery store. It is tempting to plug head phones in or catch up on phone calls, but in my experience this leads to wasted time and surprise items at the checkout (“Hey, who put those Oreos in my cart?”)
(1) https://www.fmi.org/research-resources/supermarket-facts