Grocery Shopping

[Journyman16]

Read the labels - in Australia at least they are required to put ingredients on the label. (and if not in your location talk to your politicians and find out why not) Most things cheap are full of shit that will cause you problems. Aspartame for example is probably the most common non-sugar sweetener and it is deadly - look up side effects and you will find a list almost 100 long - and almost every 'diet' food has it.

High-fructose corn syrup is another evil - while a little sugar is OK for your body there are various types and you body really only processes glucose properly - all other varieties cause problems. All of them, although fructose in fruit is OK, provided it's IN the fruit.

Fat on meat etc. has been given extremely bad press - your body LOVES fats... natural ones that is. Margarine is actually worse for you than butter, in spite of the media attention. And it's mostly made from crude oil although these days there are some from seeds, olives etc. You can get (in Australia anyway) cholesterol-fighting butter that actually helps lower your levels.

What I am getting at is you're far better to pay a little more for natural products than save a few bucks by buying the stuff the Corporations want you to eat.

In Australia and Europe they are required to show the numbers of non-food ingredients so you might see something like 'emulsiers, (e403, e406, e413)' and using a code breaker you can see exactly what those are and what the side effects are.

You'd be shocked how many have 'carcinogen' in the list.

 

[Bearlove]

Make as much of your own food as possible - way healthier for you. I know the knee jerk reply will be but I can't cook xzy, look at the ingredients in that prepared xyz your probably better off not eating it. Stop buying frozen fries / oven chips - when you want fries, make them yourself (chances are you will stop eating them and not miss them from your diet). (I don't buy any frozen pre made meals - microwave meals etc).

See what bulk items your store sells - share the cost of these with family or friends.

Instead of buying a packet of two chicken breasts - buy a whole chicken (often a lot cheaper). You can ask the butcher in most stores to break it down for you - into breasts, drumsticks, wings, thighs - save the other bits until you have enough to make a meal.

The best advise of pre plan your meals, making a list, eating a meal before you go etc have all been mentioned.

Store your food properly, keep an eye on the dates of your food to avoid any waste. Herbs can go off quickly, if there looking a bit sorry for themselves - blend with a bit of olive oil and you will get a couple of extra days or pour over pasta / rice etc.