Shopping for healthy choices can be a real challenge. The supermarket's goal is to get you to spend more and the selections of glamour packaging and promotion often make finding healthy choices difficult on a budget.
Factor in your time and energy to inspect labels and contents and you will see that it can lead to “easy” choices which may be poor ones. In the long run, it costs more money if your health is impacted and your spending on medical care increases.
1. Plan your meals in advance and use that plan to prepare a shopping list at home. Use your sales flyers and coupons, and check your pantry before heading out. Check unit prices while you're at the store.
3. Buying from the outer edge of the supermarket means you're more likely to focus on fresh produce, dairy, and proteins rather than processed, pre-packaged goods.
Foods you cook at home will always be a better value than prepared foods and are less likely to include the sugars, fats, and salt that can negatively affect your health.
4. Learn to read the nutritional labels. It may take a while before this is second nature, but it makes a huge difference in being able to evaluate which foods are best for your family.