If grocery shopping ever feels overwhelming, rest assured you are not alone.
Someone recently told me, “I love the grocery store tours on the website. But when I get to the store, I need a refresher because it gets very overwhelming, very quickly!” She said she would love to have a “what would Krista and Zonya buy?” cheat sheet that she could pull out at the store.
Ask and you shall receive!
We have summarized the key things to know when you are standing in various sections of the store. We have also created a cheat sheet in PDF form that you can print or pull up on your phone.
Of course, there will inevitably be something not on this list when you are at the store. So, here are some key things to keep in mind no matter what section of the store you are in:
- Ignore the health claims on the front of the package.
- Always READ THE INGREDIENT LABEL and try your best to stick to a short list of recognizable ingredients.
- Ask yourself, “would I keep that ingredient in my pantry at home?” If not, keep moving.
- Buy as many whole foods as possible (foods that don’t need ingredient labels) and combine them into delicious meals. You can always add your own sugar, salt, and other ingredients. Leave the highly processed foods on the shelves.
Bread
- Look for the word WHOLE in the first ingredient (for example, whole wheat flour).
- Try to find an option with 3 to 6 grams of fiber, 3 grams or less of added sugar, and 140 mg or less of sodium per serving.
- Try to avoid ingredients such as unbleached wheat flour, multigrain, enriched or stone-ground wheat flour without the word WHOLE.
- For more information: Grocery Store Tour – Buying Bread Without a Chemistry Degree!
Breakfast Aisle
- Look for a short list of recognizable ingredients.
- Pay attention to added sugars and serving sizes.
- Look for whole grains as the first ingredients and at least 4 grams of fiber.
- Oats: buy organic if possible.
- For more information: Gr-r-reat Grocery Store Tour: The Breakfast Aisle
Chocolate
- Aim for 60% cacao or higher (the higher, the better).
- Avoid cocoa that has been “processed with alkali” or “Dutch processed.”
- For more information: Chocolate Lovers Rejoice!
Meat and fish
- Meat: look for grass fed and grass finished.
- Fish: look for wild-caught from a region with good sustainability practices (areas like the U.S., Canada, Iceland or New Zealand).
- For more information: “You Are What What You Eat Eats” and Seafood 101
Nuts and nut butters
- Best choice: raw nuts (1 ingredient). Store in the fridge if possible.
- Next best: dry roasted (2 ingredients – nuts and salt).
- Try to avoid seed oils and added sugars.
- For more information: Grocery Shopping is Nuts!
Oils
- Extra virgin olive oil is a great “go-to.”
- For other oils, choose cold pressed or expeller pressed oils. Try to avoid “refined” oils. Extra virgin olive oil is required to be cold pressed.
- For higher heat cooking, consider using avocado oil.
- Choose glass bottles over plastic.
- For cooking sprays, choose “propellant free” if possible.
- For more information: Grocery Store Tour: Cooking Oils are Not Created Equal!
Produce Section
- Load up your cart in this section!
- Pre-cut veggies / fruits and pre-packaged salad kids are convenient, but more expensive than their whole counterparts.
- Consider organic for things on the “Dirty Dozen” list (or fruits / veggies where you eat the skin). Remember: conventional produce is still better than organic junk food. (Here is the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 PDF.)
- Save money by looking for discounted items and in-season produce.
- For more information: Let’s Veg Out – Our Virtual Tour of the Produce Section
Vinegars and dressings
- Embrace “the mother.” It is beneficial bacteria!
- Read the ingredients and avoid added sugar and “caramel color.”
- Consider buying an aged balsamic (A couple of options we really like include: Napa Valley Naturals Grand Reserve Balsamic (25 Stars) and Fustini’s 18-Year Traditional Balsamic Vinegar.)
- Skip the bottled salad dressing and make your own. If you do buy a bottle, look for extra virgin olive oil or a cold pressed or expeller pressed oil.
- For more information: Grocery Store Tour – Vinegars and Dressings
Yogurt
- Look for 3 ingredients – milk and two live active cultures.
- Greek and Icelandic (“skyr”) yogurts are thicker and have more protein.
- Avoid added sugars and artificial sweeteners and colorings.
- Choose plain yogurt, and then you can then add your own fruit, nuts, seeds and other add-ins.
- To save money, look for discounted items. Consider buying the larger container and dividing it up yourself.
- For more information: Grocery Store Tour – Grab a Spoon For a Trip to the Yogurt Section!
With over 30,000 products in most grocery stores, we hope this takes at least a little of the DREAD out of your shopping!
Thank you for the pdf file and the links in the article! So informative and I have been in the store before and asked myself, “Now what did Krista say to look for when buying this?”
Thank you Karen! You are not the only one who asks yourself this…we are glad it is helpful!
Thank you for creating the grocery store cheat sheet! It will definitely make shopping easier moving forward.
I keep three shopping lists on my iPhone, one for Aldi, second for Costco, and third for Sam’s Club. The longest of the three lists is Aldi. They tend to have the lowest cost and it’s super convenient.
Thanks again!!!!