Guest Post: What’s In Your Grocery Cart? Learn to Shop Like a Nutritionist.

This is a guest post by Lori Kennedy of WOW! Weight Loss, the nutrition program available at all WFCC clubs. Find out more at their website, or follow them on Twitter @woww8loss! If you’re interested in getting into a healthy eating groove, you can email Lori directly, too.

Grocery shopping is a favorite pastime of mine. I find it relaxing to stroll through the aisles and look at all of the food choices. I like looking at the multiple varieties of the same bad, processed food; I find it humourous how food makers can make health claims that don’t actually exist!

Most of the time I find it hard to bite my tongue when I see what other people put into their grocery carts, especially when they are with their children. Don’t get me wrong: I’m a normal person who eats ‘regular’ people food and so do my kids. I have frozen french fries, arrowroot cookies for my son and Goldfish crackers… but that’s about where it ends.

I often see my clients in the grocery store and they love to look into my grocery cart to see if they can catch me buying ‘bad’ food. I will admit that they will likely find boxes of mac and cheese and on occasion pretzels. They are sometimes disappointed when they don’t see cookies, chips, crackers, granola bars or fruit-flavored yoghurt.

I’m frequently asked about brands that I buy and what the inside of my fridge looks like so I’ve put together a list of foods that can usually be found in my grocery cart.

Produce: We visit the farmers’ market during the summer instead of the grocery store. I always have frozen berries for my shakes and a couple bags of frozen veggies in the freezer. We aren’t salad people but we always have raw veggies with dinner.
In my cart: celery, cucumber, kale, carrots, tomatoes, peaches, grapefruit, watermelon, avocado, cilantro, lemons/limes, zucchini, peppers, potatoes

Seeds, nuts, nut milks: year-round essentials. Nuts and seeds have really healthy fats, including lots of vitamin E, great for your skin and hair. They’re great for on the go.
In my cart: pecans or pistachios, almond butter, almond milk, chia seeds, chickpeas or black beans.

Beans and grains: all are versatile in salads and for side dishes. There’s nothing like homemade hummus. And when there are so many options out there, regular old pasta just sounds boring.
In my cart: quinoa, amaranth, chickpeas or black beans, roasted red pepper hummus, popcorn

Meat, fish, and dairy: meat and dairy are one of the areas where if you can go organic, you should. Hormones and antibiotics are not something you knowingly want to get more of.  When it comes to fish, try to stay wild (fish can’t be organic).
In my cart: organic chicken (if I’m lazy, organic rotisserie chicken), fresh turkey breast, Greek yogurt, half and half (for coffee), pasture-raised eggs, string cheese, wild salmon.

The extras: I’m a freezer fanatic – I use it for extra veggies and always have 1-2 frozen meal options in there for “safety.” I’m a fan of Organic Bistro, Amy’s, and EVOL.  Then there’s the chocolate… but what used to be artificially flavored milk chocolate is now dark chocolate with almonds.

So, what’s in your grocery cart?