Are you a health conscious grocery shopper? Buying food for someone with diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol?
Are you a health conscious grocery shopper? Do you need to make food choices for someone in your family with diabetes, hypertension or heart disease? Do you read nutrition labels, or buy local/organic? We're curious!
Let's all learn from each other about how to modify our food choices and make great meals, to both prevent and help manage health conditions and chronic illnesses. Have baking tips for someone who is diabetic? We want to hear it!
In our household, where we are trying manage cholesterol and create healthy eating habits for our preschooler. We definitely try to avoid those tempting 'middle aisles'... but it's hard, especially as two working parents! Prevention through diet and exercise is so important, so we're trying to buy more fresh fruits and vegetables (local whenever possible), and limit takeout or convenience food to once a week. I love when the farmer's markets open, it's just an all-around better experience for buying food.
Meal planning seems to be the only way to manage our grocery store trips, but it doesn't take as long as I thought it would... maybe 15 minutes before going shopping. It gets me into reading my cookbook collection too - having once worked at Food Network Canada, I have a good one! - and it saves money too. We don't run to the grocery store multiple times a week as often.
Learning to read and understand a nutrition label properly has been really helpful too. Check out "The Virtual Grocery Store", a partnership between Dietitians of Canada and the Canadian Diabetes Association. Do a virtual shopping tour through an online grocery store, and learn how you can use the nutrition information on the label of packaged foods to make healthy choices for you and your family. Play now at http://www.dietitians.ca/public/content/eat_well_live_well/english/vgs/index.asp
What tips and ideas work for you?
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Good tips, thought-provoking topics and important health information on this very important resource -- Care To Know. Thank you! Two personal observations with respect to health-conscious grocery shopping: First, it requires commitment and dedication, particularly when dictated by specific health issues. Secondly, it requires time -- quality time. At first, no one relishes the notion of having to repeatedly stop and read all those confusing, and often conflicting, product labels. Suddenly, that quick trip to the local grocer has the potential to be a tedious time-eater in itself. The key, I believe, is to become an informed buyer, thereby enabling you to make informed decisions for yourself, your family, your loved ones... in a fast and efficient manner. High cholesterol and hypertension are a concern in our household. Maintaining a healthy low-fat, low-sodium diet is not just a choice for my husband, and for myself, it is a necessity. But, this is one lifestyle change with which I became personally familiar many years ago, after being diagnosed with dangerously high cholesterol levels. I chose to immediately address the problem through essential dietary changes, in consultation with an excellent dietician. I needed knowledge and a plan, and I needed them quickly. These in turn required commitment, focus, patience, motivation... and time. How was I going to find the time? Turns out it wasn't so hard after all. In fact change, which I usually hate and sometimes fear, gradually became easy, interesting and, yes, even fun! My new-found knowledge about low-fat foods and essential daily nutrients helped me create a vast array of appetizing meals and snacks. I learned how to make shopping lists -- and stick to them; then get up and down those grocery aisles quickly and on budget. Adding exercise to a daily regimen is an important ingredient as well. Was it worth it? Do I still willingly maintain this regimen today? Thankfully, in my own experience, the answer to both questions is yes. Formerly high-risk cholesterol levels continue to be in the low-risk category. A little effort goes a long way. In many respects, it is true... we are what we eat.
I'm definitely intrigued about this "virtual grocery store". As a vegetarian aiming to become all-out vegan, I've been putting a bit more thought into my grocery shopping experience, but I won't lie: it's a challenge! I absolutely agree that meal planning is key. It does take me a bit of time to make the shopping list now, but I'm learning some new recipes and find it exciting to try new, flavourful foods!