March is National Nutritional Month, the time when Dietitians promote healthy eating practices and lifestyle behaviors. During the month you may find Dietitians at your local grocery store giving free tours, or at the community library and schools giving cooking lessons or having an open house with educational opportunities. Take advantage of the FREE education your local dietitian can offer -- you may learn something new! For instance...who knew that 1/2 cup of cottage cheese has over 450 mg sodium! Or that cutting out 100 calories from your diet everyday will lead to a 10 pound weight loss in one year!
To contribute to National Nutrition Month, I will have 1 post each week of March dedicated to grocery shopping.
To begin....let's discuss the importance of PLANNING:
Planning 101I enjoy being organized in most aspects of my life. I am VERY organized when it comes to school and my finances...so why be different when it comes to planning the food I am going to eat? Meal planning saves me time during my hectic work week and money because I plan my meals around the items that are on sale. To maintain a healthy lifestyle, planning your meals can help keep you fit and healthy.
A 2012 survey of grocery shopping habits of Canadian residents found that most of the subjects surveyed struggled making healthy choices in grocery stores. Results showed only 66% of shoppers made grocery lists before going to the store, and 1/3 made meal plans in advance. In addition, the survey found the participant's kitchens contained excessive amount of soda pop, packaged convenience foods, deli meats, and lacked fruits and vegetables, legumes, and milk products.
Although meal planning takes time and effort, the benefits outweigh the challenges. Follow these simple steps to successful meal planning:
1. Put it on the List -- keep a running list of groceries you need. As soon as I run out of something, I immediately add it to My List which sits right on my counter. This makes sure I do not forget anything when I go to the store.
2. Use Coupons -- Every week I spend time looking at the week's coupons and develop the meals I am going to make around the items on sale. Clip coupons and keep them in a small envelope in your purse. Or sign-up for online versions on coupons if you have an iPhone.
3. Eat from your Pantry or Freezer -- every week I try and have 1-2 meals using items I already have on hand. This not only helps me save money but it prevents me from leaving food in the freezer too long before it becomes freezer burned.
4. Use the same Ingredients in Multiple Meals -- when planning the recipes you are going to make every week, use similar items in multiple meals. For example, when I make pasta sauce, I will use the leftovers as pizza sauce on a meal I eat later in the week.
5. Stick to Your List -- To help keep your slim figure, STICK TO YOUR LIST! If you stick to your list you will avoid choosing unhealthy impulse items. Only deviate from your list when your favorite staples are on sale. Whenever I go to the store I always check out the frozen vegetable section because every once in awhile the vegetables are on salt 10/$10 and I always purchase them if they are not on my list.
6. Learn to Love Leftovers -- leftovers should NEVER go to waste! After making a main dish, package the leftovers in individual containers to take for lunches the rest of the week. This saves money and time because all you have to do is heat up dinner and BOOM! you have a full meal!
7. Organize your Grocery List -- organize your list by food group of aisle in the grocery store. This will save you time and wasted energy with a busy schedule. I organize my list by food group, but that is because I switch up the grocery store I go to each week depending on which store has better deals/
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