Disorganization is time consuming
One of the most common complaints we hear from our nutrition-counselling clients is that grocery shopping takes too much time. As a result of this thought pattern, two problematic things can happen.
First, during hectic weeks full of family and work commitments you may find yourself skipping shopping altogether. This means there will be limited healthy fresh foods available in your home and more potential for heavier restaurant meals and convenience foods sneaking into your diet.
Alternatively frequent short trips to the store for quick grabs results in initial time saving but ultimately more time spent per week shopping than a single well planned shop. It also means that you will be tempted to succumb to unhealthy impulse buys and overspend since the more frantic our shopping, the more mindless your purchases will be.
Grocery shopping isn’t time consuming, disorganization is. Spend the time once to develop a master list of all the staple foods and seasonal items that your family eats. Use an app or go with what works for my family and is often more successful for many of our clients: type up a custom list organized by grocery store section and leave a stack of photocopies in your kitchen so anyone in your home can add to items as they run out.
Dietitian Andrea Holwegner “the chocoholic nutritionist” is a media spokesperson and brand ambassador to the food and grocery industry. She is a professional speaker and owner of Health Stand Nutrition Consulting Inc. where she manages a team of Calgary dietitians specializing in weight loss, eating disorders, heart health, diabetes, digestive issues, sports nutrition, pediatrics and more. Visit www.healthstandnutrition.com or phone 403-262-3466 for more information and to subscribe to her free monthly e-newsletter or blog. Twitter: @chocoholicRD. Facebook: healthstandnutrition.