EEK! First grocery trip today! Help!

I am a carb cutter, so when I shop, I always make sure I go when I am going to have plenty of time to shop. My best advice to you is to try and make up a menu for the next week of what you will be eating, and take the time to read labels in the stores. By doing these things, I have been able to find low carb pastas, breads, etc. Stock up on veggies. Buy some fresh, and some frozen if you are shopping for enough food to last a week or 2.

I definitely think you should plan your meals, or at least get a feel for what your going to be hungry for and write it down. This way you can stay on track in the store.
Also lots of fruits and veggies. Make sure you are reading the labels. I couldn't tell you how many times I would go to pick up something that I thought was "healthy" and then come to find that it had an extreme amount of carbs/ sodium/ fat in it!!
We love egg whites, light english muffins, cereal with fiber to keep you full longer!
Good luck girl!!

I plan my meals a few days in advance so I know what I'm buying. Always read the labels and I avoid anything that has white sugar, white flour and high fructose corn syrup. I like to buy a rotisserie chicken, pull the meat off and store in the fridge for lunch. 100 % whole wheat tortilla's, hummus, fruits and veggies of course, birds eye brown rice in the freezer section, also love the store brand frozen steamable veggies. I buy lots of canned beans so they are always in my pantry to throw in with something (drained and rinsed of course). healthy harvest whole wheat pasta is very good. jello sugar free pudding are great snacks. if you have a trader joe's i love to get my luna bars from there as well as my Aria for Women protein powder. They have a great cheddar popcorn, spicy black bean dip, there hummus is very good. Cabernet pot roast is out of town! That's where I get my whole wheat tortilla wraps, they have rolled oats and flaxseed in them and are very good.

Definitely try to get a list of what you will be eating for the week. Staples here for healthy eating:

Chicken breast (I stock up when it is on sale)
Olive oil
Eggs
Oatmeal (old fashioned or quick oats)
Vanilla yogurt (my husband won't eat plain) or flavors if they are on sale (for smoothies or snacks)
Lots of fresh fruit (whatever is on sale) and fresh or frozen veggies (again, whatever is on sale though I try to keep onions and peppers on hand -- you can freeze those if you buy more than you need)
Spices (if you don't have) -- black pepper, garlic salt or powder, basil/oregano/Italian seasoning blend
Whole wheat or enriched pasta (I love Ronzoni's Smart Taste -- the purple box -- my husband doesn't like ww pasta either!)
Brown rice (in the bag that you cook for 30-35 minutes)

Some quick and easy menu ideas:

Spaghetti with side salad -- pasta, canned whole tomatoes, tomato paste, mushrooms/peppers/onions and any other vegetables you want to throw in

Chicken stirfry over brown rice -- I usually just buy the frozen mix, throw in some chicken and serve over brown rice

Kebabs on the grill -- chicken, onion, peppers, mushrooms -- marinate in italian dressing or low sodium soy sauce. Pineapple is great on the grill as well!

Grilled chicken, fresh corn on the cob, steamed broccoli (throw corn and broccoli in the microwave for a few minutes while the chicken is grilling)

Taco salad -- lots of lettuce, black beans, whatever veggies you want, a few chips if you want, salsa, and homemade guacamole (avocado with a little lemon juice and garlic)

Strawberry/Spinach salad -- Diced chicken, spinach, halved strawberries, light raspberry vinaigrette dressing. I love throwing in mandarin oranges, sunflower seeds, red onion or Craisins for variety.

I think the tried and true stick to the perimeter of the store and avoid the interior as much as possible is a good one.

I do this as well!

For frozen fish.... I don't eat it but my husband and daughter do, I either like to grill or broil them with a little bit of olive oil and seasonings (depending on the fish). We get salmon, talapia (sp?) and cod. They also enjoy shrimp. McCormick (I think) has a good seasoning rub for fish.

Mellie - I've never heard to stick to the outside and avoid the aisles of a grocery store, but that makes so much sense! Thanks for the tip! Reading through the blog now (very helpful!).

I will definitely be stocking up on fruits and veggies (steph -thanks for the frozen veggie tip! Totally slipped my mind!).

Anyone ever buy frozen fish? If so, what kind and how did you prepare it?

I find Tilapia to be the most affordable. I recently read a recipe where you season and bake the fish, chop it up, and drop it in a wrap with lettuce, tomato, onions and peppers. I plan to try this very soon!

If it has lots of sugar/high fructose syrup or enriched grains....RUN THE OTHER WAY!

The first ingredient should be what the product is advertising. You want the least amount of ingredients in your food (less preservatives) The ingredients should be real food and not chemicals.

100 calorie packs are misleading. Sure, they are 100 calories, but 100 calories worth of crappy food. I'd take a 100 calorie medium banana over 100 calorie cheesy chex mix pack any day.

I made the same mistake before I knew better.

Also, be careful not to get too many fruits & veggies at once other wise they'll go bad before you can eat them all. Or encourage your whole family to eat them. Green bags help them last a little longer also.

Tilapia is sooooooo good.

I foil wrapped mine and grilled it (takes almost NO time to cook). Lemme find the recipe.

www.easyfishrecipes.info/Recipies/Grilled-Fish-Recipes/GrilledBasilLimeTilapia.htm

So tasty and I think I'm able to eat two of those with grilled sweet potatoes (I cut them into silverdollars foil wrap these and add brown sugar, cinnamon and a little olive oil and throw them on the grill-put them on first, they take a little longer to cook)

Add some veggies and you are good to go!

I'm drooling thinking about it.

Dang, misspelled Recipies

http://www.easyfishrecipes.info/Recipes/Grilled-Fish-Recipes/GrilledBasilLimeTilapia.htm

Enriched is in almost every grained mainstream product like breads, pasta etc...they basically strip out the natural ingredients and add it back plus some. Which I always thought was weird.

Here's an article about how carbs aren't bad, and how to spot a good grain!

http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/healthieryou/html/chapter7c.html

My rules for shopping are simple...
1. Plan a menu
2. Make a list and stick to it.
3. Shop the perimeter of the store first. The outer perimeter is where all the "good" food is. Freshfruits and veggies, meats, grains and dairy.
4 Venture to the center aisles only if you need items for a recipe or low fat salad dressings, mustard, pickles etc.

If you follow the 4 rules above, your shopping cart should be full of "good" healthy food and the high calorie, high fat food isn't so appealing anymore...and also, there probably isn't any room left in your cart!

Best of luck to you!

Wow, I've gotten a lot of advice here too!

I usually try to shop without my husband because he talks me into bad things. I love the whole wheat healthy harvest spaghetti. That's all we eat now. I don't think it's grainy at all. For breakfast I buy egg beaters, Luna Bars, or yogurt and high fiber cereal.

For lunch I eat this whole wheat 35 cal/slice bread called Nickels. I had never heard of it before I moved to OH but you can get it at Walmart. I eat tuna with a little light mayo on wheat, or plain turkey sandwiches with alfalfa sprouts and tomatoes. I'm learning to love spicy brown mustard as my condiment of choice.

Dinner is the area I struggle. I too want to make more fish but don't know how. We do use ground turkey breast to make chili or tacos. Also, I love Boca burgers (soy) or MorningStar Chick N Patties. They are great alternatives to heading out to get fast food.

For after dinner snacks, I just make sure we have fat free sugar free jello puddings of different flavors in the house. We also like popcorn, fresh fruit and 100 calorie bars of ice cream.

Sorry to ramble, hope it helps some. Grocery shopping is the fun part for me, it's actually throwing together the meals once I'm home that freaks me out!

For after dinner snacks, I just make sure we have fat free sugar free jello puddings of different flavors in the house.

These are good if you put a popsicle stick or spoon through the top foil and freeze them. Then you have a pudding pop

I try my hardest to eat clean, meaning avoiding as many processed foods as possible. Basically, I aim for short ingredient lists of recognizable, real things. I try to make sure that the majority of foods in my cart have ingredient lists that are only one ingredient long. Or, better yet, NO label at all (whole fresh vegetables and fruits, grains and beans from the bulk bins, etc.). I think that

It has been a gradual and ongoing process towards clean eating. Starting to make small changes is a good first step so don't fear the grocery store. One "bad" item isn't going to derail your progress, so don't become paralyzed with the choice and run for the drive thru. :happy: Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with all of the different things to think about as I select foods.

Just continue to think critically about what you are buying. I try to take the advice of thinking "Would my great great grandparents have recognized this as food?" If not, then I typically don't buy it.

The basic advice to shop the perimeter of the store is a good one. Look out for the labels "fat free", "sugar free", etc. as that usually means that the manufacturers have added a bunch of sugar, salt to make it taste good.