Healthy Grocery List (Includes template)

Perhaps you have found yourself in the middle of the aisles of a grocery store, not knowing which foods to choose and which to avoid. Faced with such indecision, the danger is that you end up buying the ones that do you the most damage. Do you know how to avoid confusion and bad choices? Carrying a healthy grocery list.

Following a healthy and balanced diet depends on two factors: the first is the power of decision and it begins in the shopping cart, where you test your eating habits, both good and bad.

The other factor is time: buying in a hurry makes you take the first thing you see, often influenced by hunger, fatigue, advertising and even the arrangement of products on the shelves... Keep reading so that it doesn't keep happening to you.

Tips for shopping

It is a mistake to go to the supermarket without a healthy grocery list . Because when you don't plan, you buy on impulse and end up filling your cart or basket with foods that you don't need or that are ultra-processed and unhealthy.

But not only that. Not planning could be the cause of you spending more money on your purchases.

How to avoid it? Follow the tips below:

Do not buy when you are very hungry: if you have a big appetite at the time of shopping, you will be carried away by the first whim you find, possibly unhealthy.

Healthy Grocery List

After buying a list of healthy foods, you can put into practice a very simple trick to comply with your healthy and balanced diet: fill your fridge, freezer and pantry with healthy and versatile foods. Having them on hand will make it much easier when preparing food.

I am going to recommend the criteria of the Department of Nutrition of the Harvard School of Public Health , because they are easy to understand and apply in your day to day:

• Vegetables and fruits – ½ of your plate
• Whole grains – ¼ of your plate
• Protein – ¼ of your plate

The more colors and variety of foods, the more likely you are to include all the nutrients you need for good health.

Here are the healthy foods you should always consider on your grocery list:

Fruit

• Apple
• Pear
• Banana
• Avocado
• Kiwi
• Citrus: lemon, tangerines, table oranges
• Red fruits: strawberries, raspberries, blueberries (or in its frozen version to have as a resource in the freezer).

Vegetables

• Chard.
• Garlic.
• Zucchini.
• Pumpkin.
• Onions.
• Cauliflower/broccoli.
• Green beans.
• Lettuces (can be fresh or in bags with a mixture of several lettuces)
• Mix of frozen vegetables (green asparagus, spring garlic, bell pepper, onion, green beans, peas, etc.).
• Potatoes.
• Red and green pepper.
• Tomatoes.
• Carrot.

Meat and other proteins

• Pig.
• Beans, lentils and peas.
• Eggs.
• Nuts and seeds without salt.
• Turkey.
• Chicken.
• Beef.
• Veal.

Fish, crustaceans and mollusks

• clams.
• Cod.
• Scorpionfish.
• squids.
• Shrimp.
• crabs.
• Bream/Seabass.
• Lobster.
• Tuna loins.
• Mussels.
• Salmon.
• Sardines.

Milk, milk products and milk substitutes

• Skimmed or semi-skimmed milk (1%).
• Skim or low-fat yogurt (opt for those with less added sugar).
• Cheese (containing 3 grams of fat or less per serving).
• Fat-free or low-fat soy milk, fortified with calcium.

Breads, cereals and grains

• 100% whole wheat bread.
• Breakfast cereals that contain whole grains, such as oatmeal.
• Whole grains, such as brown or wild rice, barley, and cracked wheat (bulgur).
• Whole wheat or other whole grain pasta.

Fats and oils

• Margarine and other spreads (soft, jar, or liquid) without trans fats.
• Vegetable oils (rapeseed [canola], olive, peanut [peanut] or sesame oil).
• Cooking oil spray.
• Mayonnaise with less fat (light).

Sweets and Sweeteners

• Honey.
• Stevia.

• Bitter or semi-sweet chocolate.
• Cocoa powder without added sugar.
• Reduced sugar jam.

Drinks

• Whole bean coffee.
• Tea.

By having a list of healthy foods and following each of these key tips, you'll know the best decision every time you go shopping, and you'll progress in your healthy lifestyle. Will you apply any? tell us